1st Gaming PC - is this any good for £500

dt99

dt99

dt99

Associate
Joined
18 Sep 2016
Posts
18
I have no idea about building a PC, so I need a pre built one.

I5 3300, GTX 1060 6gb, 16gb ram....£509. Is that any good, if not what should I be looking at for £500 maximum?
 
WiFi will be needed, headset, mouse, keyboard I can sort out, same with a monitor. I basically have £500 for the PC itself, but that needs to include Windows.
 
Okay that's promising that you don't need all of the peripherals included.

For that budget it's not advisable to spend full whack on Windows 10 Retail. You can download it from Microsoft onto an 8GB minimum USB stick, and install for free and use it. Then try find a legit key. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/get-windows-10-free-or-cheap,5717.html

If you can get use of a computer, or ask someone to do it, they/you can download it onto the USB drive as "Create installation media for different PC". And that's all you'll need to get started.


Option 1 - very decent CPU with enough cores and threads to see you through the next few years without having to upgrade. Cheap discounted case that'll do the job. RX 570 with about 3 times the gaming performance of Ryzen 2200G and no glitches in some games (which can happen when using Vega integrated graphics albeit not in every game). B-Grade PSU to save a bit of money, means box has been opened and returned, PSU maybe has been used, not a huge deal in this case because as OcUK would build the system for you they will test the PSU to make sure it's working and would be covered by the system warranty. 8GB (2x4GB) 3000MHz DDR4 to get started, still enough for most games out there, can add more in future. 1TB HDD, can add a faster SSD in future. Or spend a bit more (about £10 more) for a 500GB SSD instead. Good motherboard that shouldn't give you any issues. Cheap wireless (at least is AC) to get you off and going, might be fine for your needs or can upgrade as need requires.

With build fee added, this could take you up to around £575. However, you'd receive 4 free games that you could sell to get you back down to around £500.


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £524.18 (includes shipping: £12.30)




Option 2 - this is if you can't spend more than £500 to begin with and/or don't want to sell games to recoup costs. Ryzen 2400G and discard the RX 570 graphics card. Use the integrated graphics on 2400G for now, add graphics card later. You can get 16GB (2x8GB) 3000MHz DDR4 rightaway. You can get 500GB SSD rightaway. Build fee might take it to around £500.


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £442.59 (includes shipping: £11.70)

​



If interested you can inquire about build fees for these specs (or others) in - https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forums/pre-sales-queries.117/

Feel free to ask any questions you may have here though.​
 
Just this week I put together a build using half new and half used parts for a friend, with a i5 3470 16gb ddr3 and an RX 570 for about £300.

CPU ram and motherboard were all used/refurbished from reputable websites, most of the rest from here. I did throw in the PSU from my old system, but the rest was all pretty easy to get ahold of and would offer similar performance to what you've listed for a fair bit less :)
 
I'll be honest, I haven't got a clue about processors, motherboards and what goes with what, so the chances of me putting it all together is a long shot. Example, I have no idea what the difference is between the various i5's. The PC is going to be for my son, but he is not very IT savvy, he just wants a gaming pc so he can get games a lot cheaper than his PS4. I can buy a PC from another website for example, AMD Ryzen 2600 3.90ghz, RX570, 8GB ram, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 etc for £520, but the whole thing is a minefield. I haven't got a clue what is good and what isn't. My decisions are generally based around, will it play GTA V.....yes, it will, OK that will do. He isn't fussed about playing in 4k and ultra settings and all that.
 
dt99 said:
I can buy a PC from another website for example, AMD Ryzen 2600 3.90ghz, RX570, 8GB ram, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 etc for £520
Click to expand...
That Ryzen would be way better than that old Swiss cheese leaky Intel four thread CPU.
Next-gen consoles are simply going to completely curb stomp old quad cores in CPU power available for games.
 
dt99 said:
My decisions are generally based around, will it play GTA V.....yes, it will, OK that will do.
Click to expand...

Both will play GTA V, the first spec with RX 570 will make it a good experience. Tough game to run with settings that look decent.



dt99 said:
I can buy a PC from another website for example, AMD Ryzen 2600 3.90ghz, RX570, 8GB ram, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 etc for £520, but the whole thing is a minefield.
Click to expand...

Alright that price is good, to begin with. Ryzen 2600, RX 570 and 1TB HDD, so far so good. Here comes (some of) the minefield:

The 8GB RAM what speed is it and is it two 4GB sticks (dual channel - better for gaming) or a single 8GB stick?

Is the motherboard a solid B450 that will allow a cheap upgrade to a Ryzen 8-core (rather than buying new motherboard and CPU), or is it a cheapo A320 board? Does it have four memory slots (GTA+rest of the system will use slightly over 8GB memory if you have it, and benefits from it) so you can slap in two more sticks, or does it have two memory slots?

Is it a cheapo PSU? How much does it output on the +12v rail to be able to handle GPU upgrades?

Find out and weigh the pros and cons of cheaper stuff with Windows already installed, or spending a bit more for better components in some areas that will allow more cost-effective upgrading.

If upgrading is of no concern (it will be later on) then just get that £520 system.
 
EsaT said:
That Ryzen would be way better than that old Swiss cheese leaky Intel four thread CPU.
Next-gen consoles are simply going to completely curb stomp old quad cores in CPU power available for games.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's good to know. At least I'm heading in the right direction knowing what CPU to buy.
 
Danny75 said:
Both will play GTA V, the first spec with RX 570 will make it a good experience. Tough game to run with settings that look decent.





Alright that price is good, to begin with. Ryzen 2600, RX 570 and 1TB HDD, so far so good. Here comes (some of) the minefield:

The 8GB RAM what speed is it and is it two 4GB sticks (dual channel - better for gaming) or a single 8GB stick?

Is the motherboard a solid B450 that will allow a cheap upgrade to a Ryzen 8-core (rather than buying new motherboard and CPU), or is it a cheapo A320 board? Does it have four memory slots (GTA+rest of the system will use slightly over 8GB memory if you have it, and benefits from it) so you can slap in two more sticks, or does it have two memory slots?

Is it a cheapo PSU? How much does it output on the +12v rail to be able to handle GPU upgrades?

Find out and weigh the pros and cons of cheaper stuff with Windows already installed, or spending a bit more for better components in some areas that will allow more cost-effective upgrading.

If upgrading is of no concern (it will be later on) then just get that £520 system.
Click to expand...


Brilliant! Now I'm lost.....I haven't got a clue about any of this, maybe he should just stick with his PS4. Insert a disc and play.
 
dt99 said:
Brilliant! Now I'm lost.....I haven't got a clue about any of this, maybe he should just stick with his PS4. Insert a disc and play.
Click to expand...

That, or the Windows/2600/570 system you've seen don't sound like a bad idea in this case. Not everyone has the time or the will to learn a bit about what exactly they are buying.
 
Forget about the ram speed, its not important with a 500 quid system although it should have 2 x 4gb modules in it for dual channel access - something to ask.
Upgrading, your prob not going to do this... again 500quid system so dont waste your time worrying about it. 4 memory slots is nice if you want to take it to say 16gb in future and two are taken already.. but you could just opt for 16gb to start with for not a lot more.
cheepo psu, on a 500 quid system its not going to be epic. i wouldnt worry about it unless you want to chop out the video card for a much more powerful one at a later date.


Stuff you should be concerned about,
8 Gb of ram, if possible upgrade this to 16
no SSD, but a 1tb hard disk - imho not the way to go. 500gb ssd or even 256 which is prob enough will make the machine an awful lot faster.
get a 2600 6 core, nothing comes close rice/performance
a 570 is also near impossible to beat £ for punch.
 
Stephanie Peterson said:
Forget about the ram speed, its not important with a 500 quid system although it should have 2 x 4gb modules in it for dual channel access - something to ask.
Upgrading, your prob not going to do this... again 500quid system so dont waste your time worrying about it. 4 memory slots is nice if you want to take it to say 16gb in future and two are taken already.. but you could just opt for 16gb to start with for not a lot more.
cheepo psu, on a 500 quid system its not going to be epic. i wouldnt worry about it unless you want to chop out the video card for a much more powerful one at a later date.


Stuff you should be concerned about,
8 Gb of ram, if possible upgrade this to 16
no SSD, but a 1tb hard disk - imho not the way to go. 500gb ssd or even 256 which is prob enough will make the machine an awful lot faster.
get a 2600 6 core, nothing comes close rice/performance
a 570 is also near impossible to beat £ for punch.
Click to expand...

Ok, great, that's very helpful. The SSD option, do you put the OS on that? What about games, should there be a separate HDD for them? Surely 256gb will fill up fast?
 
Not much to take issue with here - it's exactly what I said just said in a different way to make it sound like different new advice.

But one thing - RAM speed is important with Ryzen and low budgets, because 3000 C16 can squeeze 15-20% improvement in a lot of games compared to some 2133 kits out there with even slacker timings. Also, because 3000 is very cheap right now and you're only saving pennies going for slower. So it's an area where the gains are similar to going up half a graphics card tier, for very little cost.


rPwMHqB.png



You put the OS and programs on the SSD, and all the games that will fit. And you juggle the space, by uninstalling one game to install another that he wants to play. You can add a larger SSD quite easily later on.
 
Appreciate all the advice, just been watching YouTube videos, building the pc doesn't look too tricky....I may give it a go!!
 
dt99 said:
Appreciate all the advice, just been watching YouTube videos, building the pc doesn't look too tricky....I may give it a go!!
Click to expand...
You should - if you go into the build as informed as possible you shouldn't incur any major surprises and if you hit any problems there's usually someone lurking that will be able to talk you through any issues.

(@Danny75 - how do we hide a certain horror thread? :D)
 
Danny75 said:
lol I was thinking earlier, shall we show him hell first (the CPU saga) and heaven after (the easy pop in and running on all cylinders), or vice versa?
Click to expand...
We could link to the last 3 pages - and tell him the previous pages were just preamble leading up to the final spec?

I do have 3 recent threads that are full-on success stories of 'happy members', new to the dark arts, with spangly working systems that require no 'health warnings' before reading.
 
He wants a gaming PC. You could buy an used AMD FX-8350 with ram and mb combo for about 100 and then put GTX 1060 6GB on it, That's like 300 max, and for that money that thing will outperform anything they posted above.

And it will outperform this as well :

I5 3300, GTX 1060 6gb, 16gb ram....£509

Then you will have another 200 left over to buy everything else you need.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom