Cheapest 1st gaming pc build.

Alan Cairns

Alan Cairns

Alan Cairns

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28 Jun 2020
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26
Hey all

I have been asked to build my nephew his first gaming pc. What is the cheapest one can be built that will be, upgradeable over time and able to play a whole host of games, does not have to be on max settings at the start, dont know a budget, but it’s only for the pc, as I have spare keyboards and mouse, and also have a gaming monitor already waiting.

I think the main thing is that parts can be replaced with better parts as and when necessary.

thanks in advance for any help, it is appreciate.
 
What resolution is the monitor? You do realise that now is not a particularly good time to build a "budget" pc with component prices (especially motherboards and gpu's) at a all time high? With that in mind how much do you want to spend?
 
Looking at £600 minimum really for a new self build. Ideally more if upgrading as times goes on due to wanting a better PSU and case.

If you're savvy you can source decent 2nd hand bits as said for some nice prices, but will require time and research.
 
The budget I had in my mind, was between £500 and £600, probably push it to £700 but only if it makes a big differenc.

the monitor is 144hz, 32 inch, Samsung g5, curved.

is getting everything second hand a risk?
 
Alan Cairns said:
is getting everything second hand a risk?
Click to expand...
most of my current gaming pc is second hand :cry:
(but the difference is that i have access to the forum's member's market)

second hand = no warranty, so it depends if you're willing to have a trade of between cheaper but no warranty and accept that risk
 
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Alan Cairns said:
The budget I had in my mind, was between £500 and £600, probably push it to £700 but only if it makes a big differenc.

the monitor is 144hz, 32 inch, Samsung g5, curved.

is getting everything second hand a risk?
Click to expand...
Honestly.... that monitor and that price range, along with the idea of it being upgradeable over time, meaning ideally a new(er) platform don't really go together that well imo.
The main issue will be graphics, even on lower settings you're going to need a fairly decent gpu for it.
 
For GPU second hand market will be a must, a quick search and you still can get hold of 1080TI if your 1080p gaming
 
With purely new kit:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £868.82 (includes delivery: £7.99)​



​

This is, of course, well outside your budget.
 
Kolink Citadel Mesh Micro-ATX Case - Black
CA-051-KK
£46 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Intel Core i5-12400F 2.50GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail
CP-6AR-IN
£125 (incl. VAT)
£99 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Intel ARC A750 Gaming 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card
GX-08U-IN
£240 (incl. VAT)
£170 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Corsair CV Series CV550 550W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply (CP-9020210-UK)
CA-25C-CS
£54 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Alan Cairns said:
The budget I had in my mind, was between £500 and £600, probably push it to £700 but only if it makes a big differenc.

the monitor is 144hz, 32 inch, Samsung g5, curved.
Click to expand...

This is the least I'd personally want to buy, the Arc is better for your monitor's resolution than the RX 6600.

To get nearer budget, buy a 5500 or 4600G. It is important the motherboard/platform supports rebar if you're buying an Arc GPU.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail - £149.98
Gigabyte B550 Gaming X V2 (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard - £116.00
Lexar Hades 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C18 3600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit - £39.94

Intel ARC A750 Gaming 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £249.95

WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) - £69.95

Kolink Castle Midi Tower Case - Black - £54.95
Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 550W 80 PLUS Gold Modular Power Supply - Black - £71.99

Grand Total: £764.75 (includes delivery charge, £11.99)
 
Thanks for the replies, so realistically the budget needs to be more like £8-£900, and would that, then be upgradeable in the future. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking saying £500 .
 
Alan Cairns said:
Thanks for the replies, so realistically the budget needs to be more like £8-£900, and would that, then be upgradeable in the future. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking saying £500 .
Click to expand...

If you go B550/X570 the highest CPU is a 5800X3D and that can be run with a 4090, with Intel you can get a 13900K (same story). AM5 would be the most upgradeable of them all, because support is supposed to last for years, but it would make the build a lot more expensive because you'd need a Ryzen 7600 (£230+) B650 motherboard (£180+) & DDR5.
 
Alan Cairns said:
Thanks for the replies, so realistically the budget needs to be more like £8-£900, and would that, then be upgradeable in the future. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking saying £500 .
Click to expand...
Honestly, if it was me I'd be budgeting around £1000, windows is around £100 unless you use one of the keys that may or may not work etc... rumours are pointing to mid April for a 4070 launch which might (unlikely, considering the money grab they're on at the moment) see some changes in gpu prices.

Have you considered a laptop? Yes I know it doesn't have an upgrade path like a desktop but there's been some pretty good deals on gaming laptops of late.

I'd also maybe be keeping an eye out places like hotukdeals for prebuilts that have gone on offer, they sometimes work out a cheaper than building it yourself....
 
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Mix of new and b-grade items. Could probably shave off quite a bit on the b-grade items.
i would expect this lot to cost about £520-530 if buying all from OCUK. Max £550
You can make the offers via customer services: https://help.overclockers.co.uk/hc/en-gb/requests/new

only a couple of things i would change from this build is to get a b550 board rather than a520, and a better ssd (both upgrades probably in the region of £30 total extra if funds allow - obvs not from OCUK so I've not listed them here)

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £680.16 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​
​
​
 
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lsg1r said:
Honestly, if it was me I'd be budgeting around £1000, windows is around £100 unless you use one of the keys that may or may not work etc... rumours are pointing to mid April for a 4070 launch which might (unlikely, considering the money grab they're on at the moment) see some changes in gpu prices.

Have you considered a laptop? Yes I know it doesn't have an upgrade path like a desktop but there's been some pretty good deals on gaming laptops of late.

I'd also maybe be keeping an eye out places like hotukdeals for prebuilts that have gone on offer, they sometimes work out a cheaper than building it yourself....
Click to expand...

I did consider a laptop, seen some around the £650-£700 mark.

you know, I never thought about having a look at hotukdeals, but I will now.

cheers.
 
tamzzy said:
Mix of new and b-grade items. Could probably shave off quite a bit on the b-grade items.
i would expect this lot to cost about £520-530 if buying all from OCUK. Max £550
You can make the offers via customer services: https://help.overclockers.co.uk/hc/en-gb/requests/new

only a couple of things i would change from this build is to get a b550 board rather than a520, and a better ssd (both upgrades probably in the region of £30 total extra if funds allow - obvs not from OCUK so I've not listed them here)

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £680.16 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​
​
​
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice, seems quite good value. I’ve not worried too much on Win11, that will be bought on top of the budget, and I’ll be going for a proper key for windows, got burned before from these key sites.

very grateful for all the advice from all of you, much appreciated for your time.
 
Alan Cairns said:
I’ve not worried too much on Win11, that will be bought on top of the budget, and I’ll be going for a proper key for windows, got burned before from these key sites.
Click to expand...

Really? I must be in the minority then...
My key is from 2012 (bought as win 7)...still going on strong 11 years later and using win 11

For the price differential i definitely wouldn't get a white windows key
Even if each grey key lasted 1 year, it would take 20 years for a white key to be more cost effective lol
 
If you were prepared to go up to 1000 as suggested, you could get AM5 within budget, but personally I'd rather have a stronger graphics card and invest in the PSU if I was playing at 1440p. I know upgradability is a requirement, but 1440p is pretty demanding in modern games and a 5600 is plenty capable enough.

AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail - £248.99
Asrock B650M PG Riptide (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard - £179.99
Kingston FURY Beast 16GB (2x8GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C40 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit - £74.99

Intel ARC A750 Gaming 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £249.95

WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) - £69.95

Lian Li Lancool 205M Mesh Micro-ATX PC Case Black - £69.95
Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 550W 80 PLUS Gold Modular Power Supply - Black - £71.98

Grand Total: £977.78 (includes delivery charge)


AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail - £149.99
Gigabyte B550 Gaming X V2 (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard - £115.99
Lexar Hades 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C18 3600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit - £79.99

PowerColor Radeon RX 6700 XT Fighter 12GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £374.99
AMD Radeon™ Get The Game Bundle - The Last of Us™ Part I - £0.00

WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) - £69.95

Lian Li Lancool 205 Midi-Tower Case - Black Window - £64.99
MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 UK PSU 850W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply - £129.95

Grand Total: £997.84 (includes delivery charge)
 
You’re all wonderful people with these tips and helpful builds. I do appreciate you taking the time.

So after careful discussions with my sister, we agreed that the budget could be upped to nearer the 1k mark, still would be nice to not waste money for just the sake of it. Is it worth getting a couple of m.2 drives (if motherboard takes more than one, and a normal ssd drive, I assume staying away from the bog standard hard drives due to their speed.
 
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