Moderare gaming build help

Jordss

Jordss

Jordss

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Joined
25 Jan 2015
Posts
13
My PC is getting over 3 years old now, Making all sorts of strange noises, Becoming slow, Having memory problems, So I feel it's soon time to get a new one but this time I would like to build my own!

I'm not a serious gamer, I don't play games all the time (Few hours a day) and I don't really play games that need high end specs, A few games I play are;

- Warframe
- APB Reloaded
- Need For Speed World
- Robocraft
- Tribes Ascend

There are others, I also play some MMO browser games a bit too, Also I use Browser and Skype everyday!

Anyway, I'd like something moderate, Not high end and not too expensive, I'd say about £450 (Cheap as possible really) Not including monitor, Mouse and Keyboard, I like to play my games on Medium settings, Highest if It can manage it with no lag, I just want something that is fast enough to keep up with no lag, Good framerates, And will last a good few years without needing upgrades

What Builds would you suggest? I live in UK by the way!
 
Hi and welcome.

Can you re-use your OS, or are you possibly going to sell it along with your current rig?

If you're doing the latter, would you be okay with using Windows 10 preview till 15th April (when you have to actually buy it) so more power can be squeezed into your present budget?

And also, any chance of re-using your case? If so, which one is it?
 
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Hello and thank you for the reply,

I think I would be buying windows 8.1, I don't mind weather this is included in the cost depending how much I have left over.

Regarding the case, I doubt it would be big enough to put much in so include the case in the price, I don't want an expensive one, solid build and one which just looks good, No windows in it either.

Hope you can help!
 
Okay, £450 without Windows included then.

AMD:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11220-00-20G) £115.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £83.99
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16001104G-2CW) - Blue Light £53.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £52.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0500-KR) £43.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 412S CPU Cooler £28.99
1 x Xigmatek Mach Midi-Tower Black £22.99
Total : £457.52 (includes shipping : £8.00).




"Dead" socket (pretty old now and no worthwhile upgrade path), but very good bang for buck. According to Gigabyte's website, it does come with internal USB 3.0 for the case's front ports (2 x USB 3.0).

An R9 270 video card sounds about right for moderate gaming and fits into budget. You can also check out the B-Grade cards available if you fancy taking a punt, by entering a search for "B Grade" on the OcUK shop website, selecting Clearance Lines and then Graphics Cards. You may find something more powerful there for around the same price. And they keep refreshing that list often. If you see a keeper, grab it quick before someone else does. ;)


Intel:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11220-00-20G) £115.99
1 x Intel Core i3-4150 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £92.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97P-D3 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £61.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLRED38G2400HC11CDC01) £53.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0500-KR) £43.99
1 x Xigmatek Mach Midi-Tower Black £22.99
Total : £446.53 (includes shipping : £8.00).




This one is a newer platform and a lot more upgradable (CPU-wise) and has stronger cores but an overclocked FX-6300 will narrow that particular gap and also beat the i3 when it comes to multi-core/thread applications. You won't require an aftermarket cooler as stock cooler will be plenty and there'll be no overclocking the i3.

Faster RAM than the AMD spec. AMD doesn't benefit as much from 1600+ and might struggle to run 2400.

I'd probably go with the Intel if it was for me (and assuming the games you like were the games I wanted to play), because an i3 will be enough I think, and I could always stick in an i5 or i7 down the road if I needed to. Unless... I really fancied overclocking, and had no intention to ever upgrade the rig.

I know you want a complete overhaul but it would be really helpful if you listed your current spec, because for instance a simple hard drive test will tell you if your drive is in decent nick or not, and you could re-use it in the new rig (if it is SATA not IDE) as a storage drive and buy a nice 128GB SSD instead to make your system snappier. You may even have a decent enough PSU already for all we know? And try and rescue the DVD drive (if SATA), which I have not included in the specs.

Hope this is helpful. Do ask for more opinions.
 
Hey,

Sorry for the silly question but what is a 'B Grade' Item?

Also regarding parts from my old computer, My HDD Makes some weird noises and has been for a while now so I think it Would be best to buy a new one, My DVD Drive I could probably use again.

I will post a system summary of what is currently in my PC later tonight when i get Home, I will also have a proper good Look at the parts you have suggested then too!
 
B grade means it could be an item a customer returned (non faulty of course), a refurbished item from the manufacturer, or something with a small defect (eg a scratch on a case). Often they can be missing accessories, but if you don't need accessories (eg a crossfire bridge or driver disc for a graphics card) and are on a tight budget then they are good bang for buck. They come with a 90 day guarantee, but I would want to double check whether the manufacturer's warranty still applies as I'm not 100% on that.

To give you an idea of cpu performance btw, I run dragon age iniquisition on that i3 cpu, and it JUST ABOUT manages to get 60fps out of my gtx970. So it'll do, but it is a limiting factor. Paired with a 270 it would make a nice match, and gives you the freedom to upgrade on the same motherboard later on, but if you don't plan on upgrading it ever, the amd platform will be a better buy.
 
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That B grade section doesn't look too bad, Will keep my eye on there!

Also I did an Everest Report on my Hardware so there is a lot of information in it, If there is any other Information you would like then I could get it for you, It is and old PC as you can tell and I think anything would be better than this.

I'm hoping this works, Copy and paste it into URL Bar;

file:///C:/Users/Jordan/Documents/EVEREST%20Reports/Report.htm

You wont need half the information on there but most of the info about my hardware is on that report!
 
Hey,

Sorry for the late reply, I've been very busy and I have not had time to take my PC apart to look at PSU. However I have quickly looked and crafted a build myself, I have not looked around yet to see where I can get parts cheaper, and im using my DVD drive from old PC and not sure about case yet but this comes to just under £470;

AMD FX8350 8 Core Black Edition 4.0/4.2 GHz (Comes with Cooler)

Sapphire R9 270x 4GB 1020Mhz

G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB RAM (2x4GB) 1866Mhz

Asus M5A97 Motherboard AMD

EVGA 500W power supply-White

Seagate 1TB 7200RPB 64MB cache HDD

Do you think this would give better performance than the builds listed above? What do you think of this build? I have calculated it just under 470 pounds but can probably get it about 450 with shopping around, This isn't including case!
 
Not to be mean but you are better of buying all bits in one place and OcUK has definitely one of the best customer support there is...

Also When it comes to CPU I would go to Intel for futureproofing...
 
Jordss said:
Do you think this would give better performance than the builds listed above? What do you think of this build? I have calculated it just under 470 pounds but can probably get it about 450 with shopping around, This isn't including case!
Click to expand...

Yes, better. If you don't factor in a case or aftermarket cooler (with AMD it's a must as the stock cooler is awful), and go for that cheaper PSU then you have a bit more room to play.

I don't think the so-called "white" PSU is actually white. Can't find any pics on the net of an EVGA 500W white PSU. I've specced the model in the basket below. Compare the manufacturer code with the model you found to see if it's the same.

The 270X 4GB is slightly more powerful than the 270 but is not a good choice because you're paying extra for the extra 2GB that the card is not strong enough to utilize effectively if needed for gaming at high resolutions. The 280 3GB is stronger than the 270X and makes more sense, if you're aiming for something slightly better. It will be stronger at 1080p, and also stronger at higher res.

As far as the processor, yes the 8-core is stronger, but you'd want the cheaper FX-8320 as it is the exact same CPU as the FX-8350, before overclocking. Simple overclock takes it to 4GHz (or higher if you land a good chip and have a decent cooler).

Having said that, without the case and aftermarket cooler and with a slightly cheaper PSU, you're now within reach of an Intel i5 (that doesn't require aftermarket cooler) and a 280.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus H81M-K Intel Core i5 DIY Micro ATX Motherboard, CPU & RAM Bundle £218.98
1 x MSI Radeon R9 280 Gaming 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £44.99
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Power Supply (100-W1-0500-KR) £39.95
Total : £463.50 (includes shipping : £8.00).




Personally, I'd get the Bronze EVGA 500B for £4 extra.


YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (100-B1-0500-KR) £43.99

 
Hello,

All of these builds are looking really good, But now I am confused about weather to go with AMD or Intel?

I've always thought AMD was the more powerful and better processor but now I just don't know, Which would be better for my use and faster overall?
 
Jordss said:
Hello,

All of these builds are looking really good, But now I am confused about weather to go with AMD or Intel?

I've always thought AMD was the more powerful and better processor but now I just don't know, Which would be better for my use and faster overall?
Click to expand...

i5-4440 strength-per-core = stronger (approx. 40-50%).

FX-8320 overall multi-core strength = stronger (approx. 10-30%).

That's according to general stats. It can vary depending on the application.

MMO games typically benefit from strong cores not more cores, which favours Intel.

Maybe consider motherboard though. The Intel one in that spec only has two memory slots so would be full with 2 x 4GB.

And as for the AMD Asus M5A97, it would be good if you could find out the exact model, as some aren't the best choice for an FX 8-core.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £76.99
1 x Asus M5A97 R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £67.99
1 x Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £55.99



Is it one of those three?

Unless you were going for the EVO (or even in place of the EVO) this is the one I'd go for:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI 970 Gaming AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £71.99



Pretty new release compared to other AM3+ offerings and brings more features.

My vote's still Intel anyway, for what it's worth. Have a read of this thread, see if it helps you make up your mind: http://www.overclock.net/t/1518482/intel-or-amd-for-mmo-gaming
 
You state your current PC is three years old.

Could you specify exactly what you have? Because at three years old it could have some re-usable parts or have some upgrade potential.

This PC I am using to type this on is from 2009, currently getting around 50/60fps minimum frame rates on World Of Tanks with the right settings.

Using Windows 10 beta at the moment, as it is free to trial, so effectively a free OS until it is finalized.

There are new AMD GPU's due for release this year, with new Intel CPU's and Motherboards later this year also.

The current AMD CPU's and required motherboard chipsets have been around for some time, not sure when that is due a refresh.
 
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