Looking for advice regarding a PC build.

Scottay2hottay

Scottay2hottay

Scottay2hottay

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6 Nov 2017
Posts
7
Hi. I'm building a pc for the first time, if all goes well it will be an Xmas present for my son. I have already purchased a case and a motherboard, monitor, mouse and keyboard and I would like to keep costs down as much as possible.
I don't expect it to be able to play current releases on high settings and to be honest I plan on upgrading the PC more with an ssd, better graphics card and more ram in February for my sons birthday.
I've already purchased:

Computer case
NZXT CA-S340W-B3 High Performance Gaming Case with VR Support

Motherboard
MSI Z170A TOMAHAWK S1151 ATX Intel Z170 DDR4 7970-001R

I would like help obtaining a psu, compatible processor, HDD, ram, cooler etc.

Being able to play games on medium settings would be fine

I have a remaining budget of around £470 and I would be over the moon to get all of the remaining for under that.

Any help would be most appreciated.
 
This is what i would consider, i have the PSU in my current build and the GPU i ran Fifa 18, Euro Truck Sim 2 and Project Cars with no issues on medium to high settings, Obviously the VRAM is low for modern day gaming but for now im sure it would be fine...

Another option would be to consider a 1050Ti 4GB, Bit extra money but more VRAM and a better card all round

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £124.48
(includes shipping: £10.50)



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My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £450.41
(includes shipping: £10.50)





The 7600k would be the better option, but you'd need to update the motherboard BIOS to support the 7th gen Intel CPUs. From what I've read, you can only do this if you already have a 6th Gen CPU in the motherboard, or if the manufacturer ships the motherboard with the BIOS updated.


For an SSD I would get a Samsung 250GB 850 EVO. It's a fast, highly reliable SSD and currently has a promo where you get the new Assassins Creed game free. Either keep or sell this game for ~£30:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/offer/assassinscreedorigin/

Annoyingly Overclockers isn't apart of this promo, so you'll have to buy elsewhere.​
 
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southernorth said:
My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £450.41
(includes shipping: £10.50)





The 7600k would be the better option, but you'd need to update the motherboard BIOS to support the 7th gen Intel CPUs. From what I've read, you can only do this if you already have a 6th Gen CPU in the motherboard, or if the manufacturer ships the motherboard with the BIOS updated, which I can't confirm.


For an SSD I would get a Samsung 250GB 850 EVO. Is a fast, highly reliable SSD and currently has a promo where you get the new Assassins Creed game free. Either keep or sell this game for ~£30:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/offer/assassinscreedorigin/

Annoyingly Overclockers isn't apart of this promo, so you'll have to buy elsewhere.​
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Thanks everyone. What about from here?
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/intel-core-i5-6600k-lga1151-35-39-ghz-cpu-17780-amazon-2818337
 
Linking to competitors isn't allowed as OcUK hosts this forum and sells items here - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/

Need to know monitor for advice on GPU, and if motherboard is recently purchased to see if you can send it back and purchase a more up to date motherboard with processors that perform the same for less cost, and have better processor upgrade options. Could save you money. If you got it cheap as chips then nevermind.
 
Scottay2hottay said:
Hi.
ASUS VP228HE 21.5-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Gaming Monitor, 1ms, HDMI, D-Sub, Low Blue Light, Flicker Free, TUV Certified - Black

The motherboard is new BTW.
Click to expand...

Cheers. You can remove the link to competitor. The monitor isn't Freesync or Gsync so either AMD or Nvidia GPUs are viable options.

As for the motherboard, take a look at these processors:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £616.67
(includes shipping: £8.70)



​

The first one, the Coffee Lake i3, is the exact same chip as the KabyLake/Skylake i5's. Same cores, same speed (Coffee i3 a little faster at stock), and a lot cheaper. Hence why I asked if there was a chance of returning the board for refund. It could save you up to £60, which could be put towards graphics or something. It would also allow for better upgrades up to six core/twelve thread i7-8700K. Max on Skylake/Kabylake would be four cores/eight threads.

A Coffee Lake processor would go into a Z370 motherboard.
 
Danny75 said:
Cheers. You can remove the link to competitor. The monitor isn't Freesync or Gsync so either AMD or Nvidia GPUs are viable options.

As for the motherboard, take a look at these processors:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £616.67
(includes shipping: £8.70)



​

The first one, the Coffee Lake i3, is the exact same chip as the KabyLake/Skylake i5's. Same cores, same speed (Coffee i3 a little faster at stock), and a lot cheaper. Hence why I asked if there was a chance of returning the board for refund. It could save you up to £60, which could be put towards graphics or something.
Click to expand...

The higher cost of Z370 motherboard does slightly off-set the saving by going with Z270. I do agree though, Z370 + 8350k is the best option. Depends on how much the Z170 board cost aswell, I remember seeing a deal on I think the OP's exact board for £50, which was a very good price.
 
Cheap as chips then, makes up for the processor difference. Southernorth's spec is good, imo. Should be fine to play at 720p on the 1080p monitor with the onboard processor graphics for a month or so. Maybe an even better cooler to overclock more, with the pounds remaining in budget.
 
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Danny75 said:
Cheap as chips then, makes up for the processor difference. Southernorth's spec is good, imo. Should be fine to play at 720p on the 1080p monitor with the onboard processor graphics for a month or so. Maybe an even better cooler to overclock more, with the pounds remaining in budget.
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The only issue I can foresee is the RAM, buying 16GB as a 2X8GB kit would avoid problems later having to pair two 2X4GB kits. A £15 better CPU cooler would also help with the higher overclocks.
 
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I would like to thank you all for helping me. I think it's wonderful that there are people out there who are willing to do so much for others.
So am I to understand that my son would be able to play games without the graphics card?
If so that would be fantastic and I could upgrade in February. I was thinking that the card was a necessity.
 
Scottay2hottay said:
I would like to thank you all for helping me. I think it's wonderful that there are people out there who are willing to do so much for others.
So am I to understand that my son would be able to play games without the graphics card?
If so that would be fantastic and I could upgrade in February. I was thinking that the card was a necessity.
Click to expand...
Without a GPU only very simple games, at a very low resolution (720p or lower) and lowest settings would be playable without a dedicated GPU. CS:GO, for example, would just about be playable with the integrated IGP.

What sort of games would your son be playing?
 
southernorth said:
Without a GPU only very simple games, at a very low resolution (720p or lower) and lowest settings would be playable without a dedicated GPU. CS:GO, for example, would just about be playable with the integrated IGP.

What sort of games would your son be playing?
Click to expand...
Minecraft, ROBLOX, stardew, valley, portal 2. Rocket league.
Could you give me an example, would it run gta V (not that I would let him play that)
 
Scottay2hottay said:
Minecraft, ROBLOX, stardew, valley, portal 2. Rocket league.
Could you give me an example, would it run gta V (not that I would let him play that)
Click to expand...

Yes. Selecting 720p resolution and lowest settings, and checking in the BIOS that integrated graphics is able to use the maximum shared memory selectable (sometimes it's max by default, other times you just set it yourself), it can run GTA V and hit 45-60 fps as has been demonstrated in youtube vids etc. It's not really something you'd want permanently but from Xmas till February it should be fine and fun.

Can even hit around 30 fps @ 1080p (see vid below) on lowest settings but who wants 30 fps.

 
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