Building my first PC and I need your help!

Dniel

Dniel

Dniel

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Joined
9 Nov 2017
Posts
10
Hi, I recently spilt about 500ml of juice over my much loved Macbook Pro Retina HD 13"and fried pretty much everything inside of it.

So after some research I think it fits my needs more, and it should save me some money to build a PC? Also in the future it will be more customisable, more so than the macbook pro.

I'm not looking to build the most expensive set up as i am quite cash strapped. Would be looking to spend about £500 at most, but would build on this in future.

My needs for gaming are mainly older style less demanding games, I do play CS:GO occasionally so it would need to be able to run this, 40-50fps is more than enough on med/mid settings and wouldnt mind being able to do some video editing as well.

I currently have 2 turntables with serato as well but this only requires USB 2.0, 2 GB memory and at least Intel 2.0 GHz Core Duo.

I also stream films, netflix etc to a HD 1080p tv so don't require 4k streaming or any of that but would need a HDMI output and would be looking to get an SSD for sure, 120gb would be ample to begin, but would probably look to upgrade to more within 3 months.

I was looking at another website that said a good start up PC suggestion was this, what do you guys think about it?

Ideal

GeForce GTx 1050-TI Graphics Card £140
AMD Ryzen 3 1300X AM4 CPU £110
Gammax 400 Heat sink & Fan £25
MSI B350 PC Mate Motherboard £80
8GB DDR4 Corsair 2400mHz Ram £79
PNY CS1311 2.5 in 120 GB SSD £65
EVGA 500B power supply £57
NZXT S340 PC Tower £68

Total £624

Or cheaper alternative

GeForce NVIDIA GT 1030 £63
Intel Pentium 3.6ghz G4600 £77
STOCK £0
Gigabyte B250M-DS3H £60
4GB DDR4 Corsair RAM £36
PNY CS1311 2.5" 120GB SSD £65
EVGA 500B power supply £57
NZXT S340 PC Tower £68

Total £426

This ideal set up is still over my price range so the cheaper alternative is to take the cost down, am i sacrificing a lot of performance and adaptability by doing this?

Also what about the DVD player, sound card (does this have aux ports?), WiFi and USB, are these all bought seperately are they all compatible?

As for Operating system, I'm reluctanct to pay £120 for windows 10, If running a windows OS system I would rather Win7 but im open to advice, I currently have a Keyboard & mouse so this will not be required, also im not looking to budget in for a monitor/screen here either as i can use my home HD tv in the mean time.

As you can see this is all quite new to me and some suggestions and help/advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks, Daniel
 
GTX 1050 Ti is good; a GT 1030 is NOT GOOD. 120 GB isn't really enough for a SSD, so just forget it.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £623.22
(includes shipping: £12.30)



​

It sounds to me like you should be visiting Fleabay and getting a second-hand PC.
 
Thanks for your input, I was planning on putting a 1T HDD in at a later date (in a few weeks) and just running with a 120GB SSD in the mean time, i know 120GB is enough for all the applications and media I had as my previous laptop was 120GB so know this is quite restricting.

Is this the gaming set up you would recommend for the £600 budget? I will take this into consideration, I may even just use this as my build.
 
Hi,

Look for:

Corsair CX 550W Bronze (grey label with 5 year warranty, not green with 3 years) - £47.67
MSI B350M Bazooka, this also has four DIMM slots for RAM upgrades but can also overclock unlike A320 chipset - £71.98

And:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £476.05
(includes shipping: £11.10)



​

Total: £595.70

Download Windows 10 onto USB stick from Microsoft website and use it without activating for 3 months. After a month a watermark will appear in bottom-right but will still be usable. This way you'll have time to save up a bit more for a copy or explore other methods which can't be discussed much here.

If you can spend more, go for 1500X processor or 1600. And/or a GTX 1060 3GB/6GB. Focus on processor first, because that will remain longer in your system than the GTX 1050Ti, which is great to get you off and running but is a card you'll eventually replace.

That Hynix SSD is the best of the budget bunch. 550W for GPU upgrades.

RAM prices suck.
 
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link deleted

G4600 For £60?

Alexmunich0n said:
I swaer i just seen the g4560 for £50
Click to expand...

Hey Danny75 Thanks for that will defenitely look into this! Looks perfect for my needs, if i were to order everything as is would i still need to buy extra cables etc or should i just need the anti static wrist strap & thermal Paste?

Danny75 said:
Hi,

Look for:

Corsair CX 550W Bronze (grey label with 5 year warranty, not green with 3 years) - £47.67
MSI B350M Bazooka, this also has four DIMM slots for RAM upgrades but can also overclock unlike A320 chipset - £71.98

And:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £476.05
(includes shipping: £11.10)



​

Total: £595.70
Click to expand...
 
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Hey Dniel, you're welcome.

Good to go, as is. CPU comes with cooler and thermal paste already. You don't even need the wristband, just touch any metal (not plastic) part of the case and the exterior of the power supply, whilst building. I like to do this before my fingers touch a new component for the first time. Also, don't hold parts like the processor and RAM for too long. Like, don't get them and toss them in the air and play catch for an hour. :)

You'll need a screwdriver for a few things. And obviously you'll need to use another computer first to download Windows 10 onto the stick.
 
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Ooops apologies, I did wander after i sent that link if i should delete it, gone now.

Brilliant thanks very much for all your help, much appreciated :)

Danny75 said:
Hey Dniel, you're welcome.

You'll want to remove competitor link as OcUK sells products too and they host this forum. Can always link to actual manufacturer website, like Intel, AMD etc. Or just find the product on OcUK website, if there.

Good to go, as is. CPU comes with cooler and thermal paste already. You don't even need the wristband, just touch any metal (not plastic) part of the case and the exterior of the power supply, whilst building. I like to do this before my fingers touch a new component for the first time. Also, don't hold parts like the processor and RAM for too long. Like, don't get them and toss them in the air and play catch for an hour. :)

You'll need a screwdriver for a few things. And obviously you'll need to use another computer first to download Windows 10 onto the stick.
Click to expand...
 
Good build from Danny75, on a side note, don't thhrow away your MBP just yet. My sister spilt red wine on hers (whole glass), assumed it was dead but just left it in a drawer, came back to it about 6 months later and it turned on again. Unless you're 100% sure you've fried the mobo, give it some time (and possibly rice).
 
I took it into apple to see if he could do anything with it, he quoted me at least £1200 in parts to fix it, one part alone was like £539.99 but he didnt let me see the list of what he thought was damaged.

I was gonna keep it around a while maybe take it to bits anyway and see if i could salvage anything from it, but when i spilt on it, it instantly shut off, went black and stopped doing anything.
 
Wow, may as well buy a new one (probably what they want you to do). Sounds like your mobo definitely shorted, however it's not necessarily a death sentence. Could wash it down with isopropyl alcohol as Quartz suggested, that might clean any residue from it, although depending on how diluted you like your juice, there might not be much anyway.
 
TacticalFish said:
Wow, may as well buy a new one (probably what they want you to do).
Click to expand...

Funny that, haha that was exactly what he said "might aswell buy a new one, or you can apply for finance and get one"

Ill give it a bash with some of the isopropyl, would the parts for this macbook pro still be useful to me or would i be better breaking, testing circuits somehow and selling as spares?

Danny75 said:
MSI B350M Bazooka, this also has four DIMM slots for RAM upgrades but can also overclock unlike A320 chipset - £71.98
Click to expand...

I notice you speak about overclocking, ive been reading about this a bit and am i right in saying i shouldnt overclock it without getting a seperate heatsink and fan for extra cooling? As the stock will not cool enough? Is this just for future or would you recommend setting up to overclock on set up
 
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Dniel said:
I notice you speak about overclocking, ive been reading about this a bit and am i right in saying i shouldnt overclock it without getting a seperate heatsink and fan for extra cooling? As the stock will not cool enough? Is this just for future or would you recommend setting up to overclock on set up
Click to expand...

The stock cooler will allow for overclocking. However, if your chip is capable of high frequencies for Ryzen (3.9-4.1GHz), then temps will probably an issue for 24/7 usage with stock cooler because of the voltages required. But it's better to find out first, get an indication of whether your chip actually can go pretty high for Ryzen, and then get a better cooler to deal with temps if needed later on. It could turn out your chip may only do 3.7-3.8GHz. Cinebench R15 would be a good indicator of overclock stability that doesn't cause temps as high as Prime or Realbench. A Cinebench-stable overclock is not usually a stable overclock for everything, but it's good for getting an idea of around how much voltage will be required (maybe +0.025v or +0.05v on top of that). Cinebench temps will also be very close to maximum gaming temps.

Since it's a budget build, as an example it would be better to start off with Ryzen 1600 with stock cooler than 1500X with better cooler, for same price.
 
Danny75 said:
The stock cooler will allow for overclocking. However, if your chip is capable of high frequencies for Ryzen (3.9-4.1GHz), then temps will probably an issue for 24/7 usage with stock cooler because of the voltages required. But it's better to find out first, get an indication of whether your chip actually can go pretty high for Ryzen, and then get a better cooler to deal with temps if needed later on. It could turn out your chip may only do 3.7-3.8GHz. Cinebench R15 would be a good indicator of overclock stability that doesn't cause temps as high as Prime or Realbench. A Cinebench-stable overclock is not usually a stable overclock for everything, but it's good for getting an idea of around how much voltage will be required (maybe +0.025v or +0.05v on top of that). Cinebench temps will also be very close to maximum gaming temps.

Since it's a budget build, as an example it would be better to start off with Ryzen 1600 with stock cooler than 1500X with better cooler, for same price.
Click to expand...

Thanks, for the help with that I have no previous experience with overclocking so was not really intending on doing this unless it was advised and I can find some good tutorials. Also after seeing the difference in price between Ryzen 1400 (being 140) and Ryzen 1600 (being 180), I think i'll sacrifice the extra cost and go for the 1600, also as you said this will last longer in the PC. I can't afford the bump from 140 - 250+ for the graphics card update so that will have to stay at 1050 TI in the meantime i think.

As for my final solution to my build,

GFX - GeForce GTX 1050 TI
1 x https://www.overclockers.co.uk/evga...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-30q-ea.html

CPU - AMD Ryzen 1600
1 x https://www.overclockers.co.uk/amd-...hz-socket-am4-processor-retail-cp-39z-am.html

MothBo - MSI B350M Bazooka? (Only item i can't get off OC's, is the MSI B350M Mortar or MSI B350 Gaming the same?)

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...am4-ddr4-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-320-ms.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...am4-ddr4-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-31z-ms.html


RAM - Team Group Dark Pro 8GB DDR4
1 x https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team...nel-kit-black-grey-tdpgd48g300-my-070-tg.html

Mem - Hynix SL308 120GB 6.0Gb/s SSD
1 x https://www.overclockers.co.uk/hyni...-hard-drive-hfs120g32tnd-n1a0a-hd-014-sh.html

Power - Corsair CX 550W Bronze
1 x https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...nze-power-supply-cp-9020121-uk-ca-238-cs.html

Case - AeroCool QS- 240 Micro-ATX Case
1 x https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aerocool-qs-240-micro-atx-case-black-ca-192-ae.html

Does Something here come with built in WiFi or will i need to buy a wireless adapter card too sorry? something like this?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/tp-l...pci-express-adapter-archer-t6e-nw-182-tp.html
 
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Dniel said:
Thanks, for the help with that I have no previous experience with overclocking so was not really intending on doing this unless it was advised and I can find some good tutorials. Also after seeing the difference in price between Ryzen 1400 (being 140) and Ryzen 1600 (being 180), I think i'll sacrifice the extra cost and go for the 1600, also as you said this will last longer in the PC. I can't afford the bump from 140 - 250+ for the graphics card update so that will have to stay at 1050 TI in the meantime i think.

As for my final solution to my build,

GFX - GeForce GTX 1050 TI
1 x https://www.overclockers.co.uk/evga...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-30q-ea.html

CPU - AMD Ryzen 1600
1 x https://www.overclockers.co.uk/amd-...hz-socket-am4-processor-retail-cp-39z-am.html

MothBo - MSI B350M Bazooka? (Only item i can't get off OC's, is the MSI B350M Mortar or MSI B350 Gaming the same?)

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...am4-ddr4-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-320-ms.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...am4-ddr4-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-31z-ms.html
Click to expand...

Avoid the Gaming Pro as it only has two memory slots.

The Mortar is a slightly higher tier to Bazooka but still pretty much the same.

If buying motherboard from OcUK, check out these bundles:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £821.99
(includes shipping: £11.10)



​

The ASRock ATX bundle is actually cheaper than 1600 + MSI Mortar. The Asus Strix ATX bundle only a little more expensive, has better sound (codec at least) and Intel LAN (although seems like you'll use WiFi). If you don't need to save money by getting the Bazooka elsewhere, then I'd get one of either the ASRock or Asus bundles. Both out of stock but I think because the 1600 itself is out of stock right now. If you go with ATX motherboard, change the case to an ATX instead of micro-ATX.


Dniel said:
Does Something here come with built in WiFi or will i need to buy a wireless adapter card too sorry? something like this?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/tp-l...pci-express-adapter-archer-t6e-nw-182-tp.html
Click to expand...

No, nothing there comes with WiFi. Not so clued up on WiFi but pretty sure this Asus model should be fine for your internet speeds unless they exceed 150-200 Mbps. Someone correct me if I'm wrong:

My basket at Overclockers UK:


​
 
Dniel said:
Does Something here come with built in WiFi or will i need to buy a wireless adapter card too sorry? something like this?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/tp-l...pci-express-adapter-archer-t6e-nw-182-tp.html
Click to expand...
Wifi is limited to more expensive and luxury motherboards.
Besides internal cards there are also USB adapters.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/peri...-wireless-lan/wlan-and-extenders/wireless-usb

Dniel said:
Also what about the DVD player, sound card (does this have aux ports?)
Click to expand...
Outside cheapest motherboards integrated sound card should be capable to accurate enough for human ear D/A conversion.
ALC887 and ALC892 are the codecs used by those motherboards.
ALC889, 898 are clearly better level and higher end motherboards usually use ALC1150
Though if you use headphones and want to have posional audio in games then separate sound card has better feature set.
 
Nice one Danny75, thank you. I will keep an eye out for them coming back in stock and hopefully ill be able to get a hold of an
"Asus ROG Strix B350-F & AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 1600 CPU & Motherboard Bundle"

My router is situated within 3m of where the desktop will be so i might aswell go with LAN rather than wifi, will keep the cost down aswell.

Thanks Esat, will the integrated sound card affect sound quality when listening to music through Serato or if i was recording music?

Edit. I have an external sound card for that I just remembered.
 
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