£500 Gaming PC Specs - Inc. OS

TheGameNerd

TheGameNerd

TheGameNerd

Associate
Joined
31 Oct 2011
Posts
99
Location
UK
Hey. I'd like to build a gaming PC for my birthday in late June and was hoping someone could spec one for me. I am aware that Haswell is coming out before that, though, and I am on the lookout around that topic.

I'd hope that I can keep this build for a while, and only upgrade it when necessary. This PC should be able to run just about everything on High/Ultra.

Another thing to note would be that I don't currently have an OS to install on this PC. I'd hope to use Windows 7 Home Premium (Not Windows 8!!!), so that takes £80 of the budget.

Budget: £420 (read above)

Here's just a quick guideline I through together if you'd like to have a look at it. I am quite experienced with PCs, but have never hands-on built one. I have helped my Dad build his, but he did most of the work. He'll help me build mine though.

CPU: I'd prefer Intel but if an AMD is needed for the price, I'll be okay with it.
GPU: I like NVIDIA, but again, I'm okay with having an AMD GPU.
RAM: Around 8GB will be okay, I think.
PSU: 450W?
Motherboard: I dunno about this - maybe a Z68? Or a H61?
HDD: 500GB+ please. I'm going to be recording games on this PC so I need a lot of space for video files.
Case: Doesn't really matter, as long as it fits the components.
DVD Drive: Choose one.

Thanks,
Will.
 
Budget: £440

This PC should be able to run just about everything on High/Ultra.

aint going to happen, medium at best for some games, maybe high on low end games, next to none on ultra unless you play chess

budget too low for your spec
 
zakblood said:
Budget: £440

This PC should be able to run just about everything on High/Ultra.

aint going to happen, medium at best for some games, maybe high on low end games, next to none on ultra unless you play chess

budget too low for your spec
Click to expand...

My friend recently bought a PC for £480, and he can run everything he's tried on Ultra/High settings smoothly. For £60 cheaper, you could expect a bit less but around the same.
 
1 x AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD580KWOHJBOX) £99.95
1 x Gigabyte F2A85XM-D3H AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 micro ATX Motherboard £61.99
1 x MSI HD 6670 2048MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card £59.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £59.99
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v2.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AX3U1866GC4G9B-DG2) £44.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x BitFenix Outlaw Gaming Case - Black £39.95
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £438.38 (includes shipping : £10.50).



added a video card for crossfire hybrid mode,

and your friend hasn't got any high end games then, i'm sorry to say so this will be fine for your use.

most high end games need a minimum of a i5 and then so,e even need a i7 on ultra, this trinity is on par with an i3

option 2

if you don't mind the case and psu that is,

1 x AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD580KWOHJBOX) £99.95
1 x Gigabyte F2A85XM-D3H AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 micro ATX Motherboard £61.99
1 x MSI HD 6670 2048MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card £59.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £59.99
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v2.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AX3U1866GC4G9B-DG2) £44.99
1 x Imp MicroATX Tower Case (500w PSU) £30.98
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £388.87 (includes shipping : £10.00).



option 3

gone for a i3 high IGP version

1 x Intel Core i3-3225 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (55W) - Retail **High Performance IGP** £109.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £59.99
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v2.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AX3U1866GC4G9B-DG2) £44.99
1 x BitFenix Outlaw Gaming Case - Black £39.95
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £409.44 (includes shipping : £10.50).



option 4

using a i5 is too much of a push for your budget :(

1 x Intel Core i5-3330 3.00GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £149.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v2.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AX3U1866GC4G9B-DG2) £44.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) HDD £43.99
1 x BitFenix Outlaw Gaming Case - Black £39.95
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £433.44 (includes shipping : £10.50).

 
Last edited:
 
zakblood said:
Budget: £440

This PC should be able to run just about everything on High/Ultra.

aint going to happen, medium at best for some games, maybe high on low end games, next to none on ultra unless you play chess

budget too low for your spec
Click to expand...

Depends on what your playing. BF3, COD, MOH would run ultra on a Trinity system with the right setup.


YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A10-5700 3.40GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD5700OKHJBOX) £95.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A85XM-D3H AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 micro ATX Motherboard £61.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD10EZEX - OEM ** Single Platter ** HDD £59.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G186C9K) £49.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 430W '80 Plus' Power Supply £39.95
1 x Imp MicroATX Tower Case (500w PSU) £30.98
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £449.87 (includes shipping : £10.00).



Overclock the RAM to 2133 and your all set. CPU has integrated graphics capable of running BF3, COD, MOH, FarCry & Crysis on med/high.
 
sorry m8, user posted quote"High/Ultra" end quote (and nice spec btw)

not medium to high, even high on some of those games will have such low fps i wouldn't/couldn't play them unless he's using a lower res that i do
 
zakblood said:
sorry m8, user posted quote"High/Ultra" end quote

not medium to high, even high on some of those games will have such low fps i wouldn't/couldn't play them unless he's using a lower res that i do
Click to expand...

On a budget like that, you cannot afford to be too picky!
 
Here's a build with the 6 Core AMD FX 6300 piledriver chip, and a Radeon 7850 2gb card.

You will be able to play 99% of games at high/ultra, bar like Crysis 3!

YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** Asus HD 7850 DirectCU II V2 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £129.95
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £104.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) HDD £43.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX16C9T3K2/8X) £35.99
1 x Aerocool Qs-200 Lite Midi Tower Case - Black £34.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite Power 500W Power Supply £32.99
Total : £456.98 (includes shipping : £11.75).



I don't think you could squeeze more price/performance for the £ tbh.

Its a B-Grade card, that's where the money is saved! They come with warranty and such. Definitely worth considering the clearance section if you want your PC to last as long as possible, you essentially want to get the most powerful piece for the money!

Its a tiny bit over your budget, but if you shopped around for a few parts you could pull it in.
 
Last edited:
PSU is terrible use at LEAST this one, http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-006-XF&groupid=701&catid=123
EDIT: and this case is cheaper
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-045-ZA&groupid=2362&catid=736

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3330 3.00GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £149.99
1 x **B Grade** OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £79.99
1 x Gigabyte B75M-D3H Intel B75 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £64.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) HDD £43.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX16C9T3K2/8X) £35.99
1 x Zalman T1 Mini Tower Case - Black £19.99
Total : £447.49 (includes shipping : £10.50).

 
Last edited:
What do you guys think about something like this?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £92.99
1 x **B Grade** OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £71.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £49.99
1 x Gigabyte H61MA-D2V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £44.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £39.98
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £526.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
Ideally you want a Z77 motherboard and you could even use a Pentium G860 with it until you can save up for an i5.

TheGameNerd said:
What do you guys think about something like this?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £92.99
1 x **B Grade** OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £71.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £49.99
1 x Gigabyte H61MA-D2V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £44.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £39.98
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £526.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).

Click to expand...

All this is under £500

Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Tomb Raider & Bioshock PC Games Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Tomb Raider & Bioshock PC Games £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
Gigabyte Z77-HD3 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte Z77-HD3 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
Intel Pentium G860 3.00GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail Intel Pentium G860 3.00GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £63.95
(£53.29) £63.95
(£53.29)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) HDD £49.99
(£41.66) £49.99
(£41.66)
Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Avexir MPower Yellow Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CM) Avexir MPower Yellow Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CM) £37.99
(£31.66) £37.99
(£31.66)
BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
Sub Total : £379.07
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £78.16
Total : £468.98

You can upgrade to an Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz in the future

And for the OS, I'd suggest getting Windows 8 developer preview.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom