£350 gaming PC

LukieBoy007

LukieBoy007

LukieBoy007

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England
Hi,
My brother wants a PC for Christmas, so I'm going to build him one. There's a budget of £350, and it must include everything (including wireless networking) apart from OS and monitor. It will be used for playing games like Football Manager, Euro Truck Simulator, Minecraft, other indie games and Battlefield 4. Perhaps some others too, we'll have to see what the Steam Winter Sale brings :D.
This is what I have so far:
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 7770 GHz Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £71.99
1 x AMD Athlon X4 750K Black Edition 3.40GHz (Socket FM2) Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD750KWOHJBOX) £59.99
1 x ASRock FM2A55M-DGS rev 2 AMD A55 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £41.99
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £39.95
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - White £39.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) HDD £35.99
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Single Module (GD34GB1600C11SC) £29.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless PCI Express Adapter (TL-WN781ND) £10.98
1 x Gigabyte M6800 1600DPI Gaming Mouse £8.99
1 x OcUK USB Keyboard - Black £4.99
Total : £359.78 (includes shipping : FREE).



Does this all look good?
The case he personally chose, and it looks good to build with imo anyway.
I know, it only has 4GB of RAM, but the plan is to get another 4GB in April, hence the single module.
A few questions:
- I don't know much about wireless cards, is the one I have picked good enough?
- For the OS, am I right in thinking he can use the Windows 8.1 trial for 3 months and then buy a product key when it runs out and go from there? Will it require a full reinstall?

Thanks for any help! :)
Luke.
 
 
I was considering going Intel, as I have an i5 3570k myself which I could put in his machine when I upgrade (won't be for at the very least 2 years though).
I can't go the b-grade route though.
Surely the way game coding is currently heading, making use of more cores and all, wouldn't the quad-core AMD CPU be better than a dual-core Intel CPU?
 
Not really. I'm not sure in this case but more cores does not mean better performance. Can I ask why you can't use b-grade parts?
 
Why are you unable to use BGrade parts?

Think you'll be pushing it to play BF4 on a £350 machine!

AMD Build.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD580KWOHJBOX) £99.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x ASRock FM2A75M-DGS AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £52.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) HDD £39.95
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £39.95
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - White £39.95
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.98
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter (TL-WN727N) £5.95
Total : £354.71 (includes shipping : FREE).



Intel Build - My girlfriend actually uses this CPU/GPU combo and runs anything i've thrown at it so far. Not tried BF though i'm afraid.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x **B Grade** MSI HD 7850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz & Sleeping Dogs PC Games £89.99
1 x **B Grade** MSI Z68MA-G45 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £40.00
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £39.95
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - White £39.95
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £30.00
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Single Module (GD34GB1600C11SC) £29.99
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.98
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter (TL-WN727N) £5.95
Total : £375.79 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
I'd avoid the Asrock mobos, seen several threads with their FM2 mobos having burnt out literally! The A55 chipset lacks sataIII and OC'ing options.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A8-5600K Black Edition 3.60GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD560KWOHJBOX) £71.99
1 x MSI A75IA-E53 AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £69.95
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £55.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 130 RC-130-KKN1 Mini ITX Case - Black £45.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x Gigabyte KM6150 Keyboard and Mouse Set £9.98
Total : £378.83 (includes shipping : FREE).



Mini-itx mobo with bluetooth and wifi included. It's A75 so has sataIII and some OC'ing options. You can boost the IGP on the A8K a little it should handle the less demanding games ok, then drop in a dedicated GPU later on.

The CM 130 case can mount 120mm CLC coolers unlike the CM 120 that preceded it and has mesh at the front to improve the airflow too.

Best of luck with the build, it's asking a lot for the budget but yes you can use the windows 8 trial for a bit fella :)
 
B-Grade is fine for hard drives (possibly graphics cards too) but I'd rather not go B-Grade for the motherboards as warranty is only 90 days I believe?
 
LukieBoy007 said:
B-Grade is fine for hard drives (possibly graphics cards too) but I'd rather not go B-Grade for the motherboards as warranty is only 90 days I believe?
Click to expand...

With OcUK, but not the manufacturer, it can still be RMA'd within their warranty as per normal with the manufacturer.

Still makes sense to choose one with a close RMA hub, gigabyte or msi.
 
Hmm in that case the Intel build Indie specced looks interesting.
The budget is now £350, not including M+KB (only saves a tenner or so :p).
£10 over, but how's this?
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Z87-G43 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard - FREE Alpenfohn Civetta Cooler!! £79.99
1 x MSI HD 7770 GHz Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £71.99
1 x Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £47.99
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - White £39.95
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £39.95
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £30
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Single Module (GD34GB1600C11SC) £29.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter (TL-WN727N) £5.95
Total : £360.79 (includes shipping : FREE).



However, if I'm going to be giving him my i5 in 2-3 years, then Indie's build does look better.
He's not aiming for maximum graphics on BF4 btw, just the ability to play it.
 
What version is your i5? If he's deffo going to get that any time soon then best go down the route of a motherboard that can accept that chip :)

I'd really recommend upping the GPU from the 7770. The BGrade 7850 is a really nice card for the money. Might also be worth checking out the Members Market to see if they have anything interesting on offer in terms of GPU's.
 
LukieBoy007 said:
Hmm in that case the Intel build Indie specced looks interesting.
The budget is now £350, not including M+KB (only saves a tenner or so :p).
£10 over, but how's this?
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Z87-G43 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard - FREE Alpenfohn Civetta Cooler!! £79.99
1 x MSI HD 7770 GHz Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £71.99
1 x Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £47.99
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - White £39.95
1 x Antec VP450P 450W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £39.95
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £30
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Single Module (GD34GB1600C11SC) £29.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter (TL-WN727N) £5.95
Total : £360.79 (includes shipping : FREE).



However, if I'm going to be giving him my i5 in 2-3 years, then Indie's build does look better.
He's not aiming for maximum graphics on BF4 btw, just the ability to play it.
Click to expand...

With this build your i5 won't fit. Yours is socket type 1155 were as your mobo here is 1150.
 
No, you need a Z77 board for the ivybridge. Trust me, I have an i7 3770k with that exact mobo and it was a nightmare getting it to work. You have to have another CPU in it first to update the BIOS and after that you can't overclock the CPU!
 
Rhyswh said:
With this build your i5 won't fit. Yours is socket type 1155 were as your mobo here is 1150.
Click to expand...
Yeah I know, that build was just if I wasn't going to give him my i5 anytime soon, in which case he would be better off upgrading to a Haswell i5.

Rhyswh said:
No, you need a Z77 board for the ivybridge. Trust me, I have an i7 3770k with that exact mobo and it was a nightmare getting it to work. You have to have another CPU in it first to update the BIOS and after that you can't overclock the CPU!
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I do remember seeing something about BIOS updates in order to get it working. Cheers for the heads up!
 
No worries. Yeah I got stung by the BIOS update. On the Gigabyte site it says it's compatible, but doesn't tell you that you need to update the BIOS first. I had to go buy another £45 CPU just to upgrade the BIOS to you use my i7!
 
Right, £400 is the absolute highest we can go, although I'd prefer to keep it below that by all means.
This is the final build I'm considering now:
YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** MSI HD 7850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz & Sleeping Dogs PC Games £89.99
1 x AMD Athlon X4 750K Black Edition 3.40GHz (Socket FM2) Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD750KWOHJBOX) £59.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £43.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte F2A85XM-D3H AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 micro ATX Motherboard £40
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - White £39.95
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £30
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Single Module (GD34GB1600C11SC) £29.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless PCI Express Adapter (TL-WN781ND) £10.98
Total : £359.87 (includes shipping : FREE).



I'm thinking either that build above, Indie's Intel build he did or this build (thinking of a future upgrade path):
YOUR BASKET
1 x **B Grade** MSI HD 7850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz & Sleeping Dogs PC Games £89.99
1 x MSI Z87-G43 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard - FREE Alpenfohn Civetta Cooler!! £79.99
1 x Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £47.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £43.99
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - White £39.95
1 x **B Grade** Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-252-SE) £30
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Single Module (GD34GB1600C11SC) £29.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
1 x TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless PCI Express Adapter (TL-WN781ND) £10.98
Total : £387.86 (includes shipping : FREE).



For the Haswell build, the plan would be to get another 4GB of RAM around April time. Next thing would be to upgrade the CPU (to an i5 most likely) a year or so later. Then the GPU.
 
That's what I assumed.
Will the Pentium bottleneck the 7850?

EDIT: I've found the Gigabyte Z87-HD3 1150 Motherboard for £3 more (£83). I'm guessing it's better than the MSI one? Gigabyte are also a good UK-based company are they not?
 
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