Looking into making first gaming PC
- Thread starter Reiss
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Soldato
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2008
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Decide what screen resolution/refresh rate you're expecting to game at. That will inform many of your other choices and even decide if what you're expecting to achieve for your £1,000 is even possible.
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Soldato
Do you need WiFi? Is £1k budget for PC components only? Do you already have the monitor, keyboard/mouse etc or have separate budget for this?
Assuming just PC components only, I'd go for something like the below...
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Assuming just PC components only, I'd go for something like the below...
My basket at Overclockers UK:
- 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £169.99
- 1 x MSI MAG B550M MORTAR WIFI (AMD AM4) B550 Micro-ATX Motherboard= £169.99
- 1 x Patriot Viper Steel 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C17 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVS416G360C7K)= £74.99
- 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £109.99
- 1 x Phanteks AMP 550W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £86.99
- 1 x Thermaltake S100 Micro-ATX Tower Case - Black Tempered Glass= £44.99
- 1 x MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming X 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £379.99
Total: £1,036.93 (includes shipping: £0.00)
Hi All. I was going to post almost an identical thread to this asking the same question. Sorry OP can I do a mini-hijack? Hopefully the Q’s I ask might be useful to you.
Basically I have a £1000.00 (give or take) and want to build a gaming rig for mainly FPS type games. Have a new 1440p LG Freesync monitor and all the other bits (keyboard/mouse/OS etc).
Thought a 550 M/B would sensible as it’s the latest but does that give decent upgradability over the 450 boards for the future CPU/GPUs? Ie is it worth the extra cash?
@Sparx - having read various of these threads I was looking at a similar spec. I have a new 1440p LG Freesync monitor and just wanted to check this would be good enough to drive that resolution with a decent FPS?
EDIT - I note the RAM suggested is out of stock/pre order and I keen to order ASAP (giving my old PC to young nephew for his birthday). What would be the next best RAM (in stock) you would recommend? Thanks.
As always, appreciate any advice and thanks for looking.
Matt
Basically I have a £1000.00 (give or take) and want to build a gaming rig for mainly FPS type games. Have a new 1440p LG Freesync monitor and all the other bits (keyboard/mouse/OS etc).
Thought a 550 M/B would sensible as it’s the latest but does that give decent upgradability over the 450 boards for the future CPU/GPUs? Ie is it worth the extra cash?
@Sparx - having read various of these threads I was looking at a similar spec. I have a new 1440p LG Freesync monitor and just wanted to check this would be good enough to drive that resolution with a decent FPS?
EDIT - I note the RAM suggested is out of stock/pre order and I keen to order ASAP (giving my old PC to young nephew for his birthday). What would be the next best RAM (in stock) you would recommend? Thanks.
As always, appreciate any advice and thanks for looking.
Matt
PCIe gen 4 only matters currently for NMVEs it will be a long time before it matters for GPU as only a couple of the high end ones can saturate gen2 x16 or gen3 x8.
MSI has already come out and stated support for Zen3 / ryzen 4000 CPUs for their B450 and X470 boards and the CPUs released after that zen4 / ryzen 5000 will require a new board socket AM5 which will also feature DDR5 so all the current boards won't be compatible for those.
If a cheaper MB will mean a better GPU then that will benefit right now although with new GPUs arriving in 8 weeks or so its not the best time to be buying.
If i had to buy a GPU right now i'd probably go for something like this as I could then sell it if I dicided to upgrade and most likely break even. Might even be able to knock them down to £300.
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £339.89 (includes shipping: £9.90)
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Soldato
5700 XT will be ample for 1440p and work nicely with a FreeSync display, assuming paired with something like a Ryzen 3600.
You can see how this combo would run here @ 1440p (COD MW in there somewhere) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SRdM3U40rU
If you need a RAM kit that's in stock right now, I'd go for this Corsair's LPX kit. Or if you want some RGB another £20 gets you this kit which I think is near identical just a diff heatspreader + RGB.
Or if you're on a tight budget and not fussed about the extra few FPS etc, then a 3200 kit like this TeamGroup Vulcan Z T-Force kit is also pretty good.
Edit: Also that B-Grade 5700 XT Joxeon found is an absolute steal.
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Soldato
@Reiss just to clarify, are you looking to build this yourself? (recommended, as you can get better quality components - also much more fun 
)
Or are you wanting to buy a pre-built from OcUK?
Also, do you need WiFi or will you be wiring the PC directly to the router for internet?
)Or are you wanting to buy a pre-built from OcUK?
Also, do you need WiFi or will you be wiring the PC directly to the router for internet?
Soldato
If you need WiFi then I'd go with the mATX build I suggested in my first post above then 
If you got the budget for another £30, I'd use the Arctic Freezer 34 Esports cooler for the CPU, instead of the stock one.
Obviously if you want a different case then go for whatever you fancy, just make sure it's got good airflow and at least micro-ATX size. I would've originally suggest a standard ATX build, but those motherboards are more expensive, the B550 boards with integrated WiFi start at £195. So I'd go mATX to include WiFi at a decent price, unless you really want an ATX case/board
Mouse/keyboard wise, there's lots of options - depends on your personal taste really. Mouses like the GPG Model O, Razer DeathAdder v2, Logitech G402, SteelSeries Rival series mouses, Corsair M55 / M65 / Harpoon / Scimitar and the Logitech G402 are all decent for the money. Then keyboards you have Razer Cynosa, Corsair K55, SteelSeries Apex 5, or if you wanna go mechanical there are hundreds lol.
If you got the budget for another £30, I'd use the Arctic Freezer 34 Esports cooler for the CPU, instead of the stock one.Obviously if you want a different case then go for whatever you fancy, just make sure it's got good airflow and at least micro-ATX size. I would've originally suggest a standard ATX build, but those motherboards are more expensive, the B550 boards with integrated WiFi start at £195. So I'd go mATX to include WiFi at a decent price, unless you really want an ATX case/board
Mouse/keyboard wise, there's lots of options - depends on your personal taste really. Mouses like the GPG Model O, Razer DeathAdder v2, Logitech G402, SteelSeries Rival series mouses, Corsair M55 / M65 / Harpoon / Scimitar and the Logitech G402 are all decent for the money. Then keyboards you have Razer Cynosa, Corsair K55, SteelSeries Apex 5, or if you wanna go mechanical there are hundreds lol.
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Hi. Thanks for all the advice in this thread. I have made my order. Essentially your suggestion Sparx. Had to order the M/Board from elsewhere as it was not in stock at OcUK sadly.
I notice you suggested an alternative cooler to stock above. Was that because of the case chosen or would you suggest that for me with the below case also? Thanks again.
My basket at Overclockers UK:
I notice you suggested an alternative cooler to stock above. Was that because of the case chosen or would you suggest that for me with the below case also? Thanks again.
My basket at Overclockers UK:
- 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £169.99
- 1 x MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming X 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £379.99
- 1 x Phanteks AMP 550W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £86.99
- 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £99.95
- 1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB (2x8GB) 3600 MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Dual Kit= £89.99
- 1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £119.99
- 1 x Kolink Bastion RGB Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black Window= £54.95
Total: £1,015.05 (includes shipping: £13.20)
The stock cooler that comes with the CPU would be ok but if you want something a bit cooler, quieter and better looking you can't go wrong with this for the price.
My basket at Overclockers UK:
My basket at Overclockers UK:
- 1 x Jonsbo CR-1000 120mm RGB CPU Cooler - Black= £20.99
Total: £23.73 (includes shipping: £2.74)
Soldato
I'd suggest a decent aftermarket CPU cooler no matter what case you have, only if you have the budget though. It's not a necessity by any means if you don't have the ££ spare and want to keep things tight
The stock one is 'ok' but if you want something nicer to keep temps/noise down, as at load it gets pretty toasty under load (70-80c+) and also means it can boost clocks more reliably - then I'd get something like the Arctic 34 eSports Duo. Annoyingly it's out of stock with OcUK atm though. There is a single fan version which is just as good usually 2-3c difference between push and push/pull fan configs.
Joxeon's suggestion is probably good too and likely better than the stock cooler as well, but I've not seen any reviews or personally witnessed the performance on those Jonsbo coolers. But I know the model I mentioned is very well reviewed and raved about, performs great for the money.
The stock one is 'ok' but if you want something nicer to keep temps/noise down, as at load it gets pretty toasty under load (70-80c+) and also means it can boost clocks more reliably - then I'd get something like the Arctic 34 eSports Duo. Annoyingly it's out of stock with OcUK atm though. There is a single fan version which is just as good usually 2-3c difference between push and push/pull fan configs.
Joxeon's suggestion is probably good too and likely better than the stock cooler as well, but I've not seen any reviews or personally witnessed the performance on those Jonsbo coolers. But I know the model I mentioned is very well reviewed and raved about, performs great for the money.
So I’ve bought the setup you recommended @Sparx however I’m having problems with the gpu with getting green screens and having restart my pc on games such as call of duty war zone, apex legends etc and was wondering if there are any other gpus you could recommend within the same price range that wouldn’t have these problems thanks again
Soldato
Really? Shouldn’t do, I’d be surprised if it was a faulty GPU on arrival but possible. Unless the pre-overclock isn’t stable.
Do you have both 8-pin PCIe pins connected to the GPU? And the 8-pin connected to CPU (top left of mobo) all correctly etc? This would cause artifact issues if power not sufficient. But wonder if MSI’s overclock isn’t stable, which if the case I’d send it back anyway.
I’d either RMA the card, or go for another brand same model - like the Sapphire version but it is a tad more...
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sapp...ddr6-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-38z-sp.html
Or totally flip to Nvidia, but their equivalent is a 2070S which is a great gpu (I have one) - edit: just looked online if you Google ‘MSI GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER VENTUS GP OC’ it’s on sale for £390 which is a great deal (was £450 or something) from a popular retailer.
Do you have both 8-pin PCIe pins connected to the GPU? And the 8-pin connected to CPU (top left of mobo) all correctly etc? This would cause artifact issues if power not sufficient. But wonder if MSI’s overclock isn’t stable, which if the case I’d send it back anyway.
I’d either RMA the card, or go for another brand same model - like the Sapphire version but it is a tad more...
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sapp...ddr6-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-38z-sp.html
Or totally flip to Nvidia, but their equivalent is a 2070S which is a great gpu (I have one
) - edit: just looked online if you Google ‘MSI GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER VENTUS GP OC’ it’s on sale for £390 which is a great deal (was £450 or something) from a popular retailer.