1K gaming PC

Associate
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6 Aug 2010
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Hi

Can you kindly help me build a gaming PC.

Requirements for the 1k budget
Need a gaming monitor (do this based on your build)
To be a silent as possible (never did water cooling before but willing to learn if it makes it run quietly)
Want a AMD build - did a bit of research and I think for my budget and for the performance i want - it would be best.

Happy to go over budget if need be. I going to slowly start buying parts as they go on offer.

Many thanks for your time.
 
Associate
OP
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Many thanks - Like the graphics card and processor.
Compared to my previous build, the ram and motherboard is considerably cheaper. Would it be worth increasing the budget or is it likely to not make to much difference in performance?
 
Soldato
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Don't go for that above build.

1. The PSU is of an ancient design, you want to look at a more modern design.
2. You could get a Sabrent Rocket 1TB NvME from the rainforest website for the same price as that Intel drive.
3. The stock cooler should be sufficient for the 3600, but even if it isn't you're better off with something like a Mugen 5 over that Akasa A10.
4. You really want to get 16GB of RAM even if it means going a little over budget.
5. VA is iffy for gaming in my opinion, I'd recommend reading up on the different panel types.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,036.58 (includes shipping: £14.70)

The memory and SSD will work fine, but are placeholders, I would recommend shopping around for the following:

Sabrent Rocket NvME (I'd recommend spending the extra £50 on a 1TB drive also, but more storage is easy to add down the line if needed).

Crucial Ballistix Sport LT (Make sure it has AES in the product code).

Case is B stock for the sake of saving some money, I'd look around for something else if it isn't to your taste.

Monitor is IPS at 75hz, but as I mentioned earlier you may prefer a TN or VA panel at 144hz, I'd recommend reading into it as there's a number of options for around £150.

The Sabrent Drive will be much faster than a regular SATA drive and comes in at almost half the price of comparably performing NvME's of the same capacity. The RAM is highly tweakable, lots of people are hitting 3600-3800mhz on it, although even if you don't tweak the settings it'll still be solid.
 
Soldato
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Close to Swindon, but not Swindon
Don't go for that above build.

1. The PSU is of an ancient design, you want to look at a more modern design.
2. You could get a Sabrent Rocket 1TB NvME from the rainforest website for the same price as that Intel drive.
3. The stock cooler should be sufficient for the 3600, but even if it isn't you're better off with something like a Mugen 5 over that Akasa A10.
4. You really want to get 16GB of RAM even if it means going a little over budget.
5. VA is iffy for gaming in my opinion, I'd recommend reading up on the different panel types.

PSU is not an ancient design, but on a budget what do you expect? Seasonic have the best PSUs in the business and you get a solid unit for the price.

Agreed on the SSD, shame OcUK don't stock them though :(

Yeah but do you really want the stock cooler? No gamer would settle for that and the Asaka units are fine. My bro is running one without issues, those fans also have high static pressure.

16gb isn't 'required' but more of a nice to have

VA isn't iffy in the slightest, is the same tech as IPS but cheaper. Never had an issue with my old one either.
 
Soldato
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The PSU came out 10 years ago mate, and even on a budget you can get a ton of better options for around the same price. It was good when it came out but it's way past it's sell by date, it lacks a ton of important protections. PSU's don't age like fine wine, things have moved on. Here's a quick list of better options:

1. be Quiet System Power 9 500-600w can be had for less if you shop around.
2. Coolermaster MasterWatt 550w can be had for less.
3. Bitfenix Formula Gold 550w can be had for the same price (and is a VASTLY superior PSU in every respect).
4. Superflower Leadex III can be had for £10 more (and like the Formula Gold is vastly superior).

Stock cooler should be fine, the 3600 is hardly a heat generating monster, and even if it wasn't the Mugen 5 is the same price as the Akasa and is a better product.

For a modern gaming system built on the back end of 2019 I'd argue 16GB is the bare minimum, especially when you have a budget of a grand.

A lot of people (myself included) dislike VA panels for various reasons, the OP can read up on that himself as there's a plethora of information out there describing the panel types, I'd rather not derail his thread.

PS: Seasonic like any company has good and bad products, I'd also argue against them making the best PSU's on the market. They have some good units but there's a lot of very strong competition, some of which is offering superior products as of today.
 
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Associate
OP
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6 Aug 2010
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30
Firstly - Thanks guys for your opinions and advice, its very much appreciated as I currently am clueless having not looked at equipment in years.


After little research - I'm sold on the following

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £179.99
Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £68.99
Sabrent 1TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280
= £110
Powercolor Radeon RX 5700 XT Dual Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £379.99
Super Flower Leadex III 550W 80 PLUS Gold Modular Power Supply - Black= £69.95 - is this likely to run quietly or should i invest in another?

Total £806


Obviously I will need to increase my budget, I can go up to £1200

Motherboard price isn't much different between the tomahawk vs mortar so which is going to perform best?
Case - I will look around, don't really want 2nd hand - for the parts I have, is there only certain cases that would be appropriate?
Watercooling / silent fans ?
Gaming monitor, I don't honestly want a curved screen - and think 144hz monitor would be a really good investment for me after watching some comparisons, is 240hz not in my budget?
Is 16gb Ram enough - should I go for more?

My budget can be increased more if need be, I am not likely to upgrade for years so would rather get it right first time. I have a few hard drives from my current PC, so besides the SSD I wont need anymore for now.
 
Man of Honour
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16,177
from ocuk:
ryzen 3600
arctic cooling freezer 34 esports duo - white
msi b450 mortar max matx
powercolor radeon RX 5700 XT dual fan
kolink citadel matx case
2x arctic cooling p14 pwm pst fans (not pwm pst co)

not from ocuk:
crucial ballistix LT 3200c16 2x8gb BLS2K8G4D32AESBK
sabrent rocket 1tb nvme ssd
evga supernova g3 650 gold modular psu

monitor:
aoc q3279vwfd8

total build cost including monitor = <£1230 if you shop around

if you want to spend a bit more on the monitor for a 144hz panel...then:
dell s2719dgf
 
Associate
OP
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6 Aug 2010
Posts
30
Hi All

Thanks you for your help, I am buying parts slowly and waiting for black Friday for some of the bigger/more expensive parts.

Managed to get
Sabrent 1TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 £82
MSI B450 TOMAHAWK for £82

Been watching a few videos advising 5700 XT can be noisy and heat up? and there's only a few versions that are actually good, as I'm waiting for a sale, which ones would be considered as safe(besides the one listed above)? or should I go for NVIDIA 2070s since I've made some good savings.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
6 Aug 2010
Posts
30
Hi All

I need some help please - I didn't finish my build and now parts are quite limited/expensive.

As mentioned earlier - I have the following

Sabrent 1TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280
MSI B450 TOMAHAWK
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Processor
+ I have multiple other harddrives in my old pc.

Im not to worried about the price, I guess I'm willing to spend 1k from here - I want to order today also.

I think I am happy with these but if you can find something better let me know.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £516.64 (includes shipping: £11.70)



Need recommendations on the following please

I plan gaming and video editing so 32gb ram (no idea what would be best value for money atm)
A new heat sink for my 3600x as I heard the one it comes with isn't good?
Some fans for my case
a Freesync monitor
A PSU thats as quiet
Gaming Keyboard
Anything else im missing?

 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
25 Oct 2010
Posts
5,231
Are you sure that GPU will fit in that ITX case? I'd double check were I you. Here's an alternative that will save you £50 and still be perfectly functional:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £349.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)

The HSF that comes with the 3600X is decent, I'd recommend using it to begin with and if you feel temps are a problem it's an easy change. If you really want a third party cooling solution this is a great option:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £44.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)​

Some memory options:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £289.98 (includes shipping: £0.00)

One is obviously a lot cheaper than the other, the more expensive is Micron-E Die which means it's highly tweakable. You should be able to get it running at 3600mhz with good timings if you're willing to play about with it, if not you might as well save the cash and get the cheaper stuff.

Ignore the following spoiler until reading the bolded statement below:
For PSU's I think you're limited to SFX rather than ATX given your case choice, as such the following would be an option:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £116.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)

You're limited by availability and form factor at the moment unfortunately, but the above is a solid PSU for your needs.

For monitors you could look at the Pixio PX7 Prime, it's a 27" 1440P IPS monitor with a 165Hz refresh rate and Freesync, review here:

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/pixio/px7-prime

You can't buy from OCUK but if you look you'll easily find it for £400.

Keyboards are a bit more personal, what I like to type on you might not. I'd recommend looking up switch types and finding a nice mechanical board you feel would suit your needs.

Edit: Have you bought that case? I ask because you state you have the Tomahawk Max, which is an ATX motherboard while you're looking at an ITX case (very small form factor and wouldn't work with your chosen motherboard).

Alternative case and PSU suggestion assuming you do have the MSI B450 Tomahawk:

My basket at Overclockers UK:


Total: £164.98 (includes shipping: £0.00)
 
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Associate
OP
Joined
6 Aug 2010
Posts
30
Hi

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to help me.

I haven't brought the case or graphics card yet. So I can scrap that case and find one more appropriate.

I probably wont end up tweaking the ram because I dont know how to, so will go for the cheaper.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £697.22 (includes shipping: £12.30)​

More than happy with that. I dont know if I wanna pay £400 for a monitor right now, probably would have if the 2070 super didn't go up by £100 recently.

I was thinking of ASUS VG278QR 27 Inch FHD as its £250 atm and will give me 144hz and freesync? I know its limited to 1080p - is it worth the extra £150?

Thank you so much for your help again. - Let me know your thoughts and I will order soon.
 
Soldato
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25 Oct 2010
Posts
5,231
For the monitor I would recommend this over the one you're looking at:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £278.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)

I realise it's out of stock on OCUK, but if you shop around just a little you can find it for £290-300. 1440P over 1080P, VA over TN so a superior panel type and resolution while still giving you FreeSync. A much better option to be paired with your 5700XT. Hold in mind, in terms of performance the 2070S and 5700XT are very close, there's very little between them if that's what's holding you back from getting a higher resolution screen.
 
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Associate
OP
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6 Aug 2010
Posts
30
Okay, I will commit, but since the MSI one and Pixio PX7 Prime are the same price, which would you pick out the two?
 
Soldato
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5,231
Okay, I will commit, but since the MSI one and Pixio PX7 Prime are the same price, which would you pick out the two?

I've edited my post, please check again.

The MSI I've recommended on the basis of you not wanting to spend more than £300, the PX7 I've recommended on the basis of you wanting to go for something a little more premium.

For up to £300 I don't think you can do better than the MAG272QR, on the other hand the PX7 at £400 competes with Gigabyte models using the same panel which are £50-100 more expensive.
 
Associate
OP
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6 Aug 2010
Posts
30
Ah, I will go for the Pixio PX7 Prime as I cant find much in stock for the MSI one

I have changed the case to one with glass instead - shouldn't be an issue?
Also the PSU was out of stock so changed it - is the one i picked okay?
Almost forgot the thermal paste aswell :p


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £713.67 (includes shipping: £12.30)​

+Pixio PX7 Prime


I think that's everything...
 
Soldato
Joined
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Posts
5,231
The case with glass wont be an issue at all, I only specified one without as your earlier choice didn't have one. :D

That PSU is fine.

You don't need to worry about thermal paste, you'll get some with your HSF and to be honest AS5 isn't the best of the best anymore anyway.
 
Soldato
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6 Jun 2008
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11,616
Location
Finland
Almost forgot the thermal paste aswell :p

Every CPU cooler comes with paste, mostly as good as that silver overhype gunk, which hasn't been any top paste in long long time. (in a galaxy not so far way)
Like £21 Arctic Freezer 34, which is more than enough for lowly six core.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arctic-freezer-34-cpu-cooler-120mm-hs-077-ar.html

Six core is also unlikely to need 32GB of memory, unless it's only "seat warmer" for high core count Zen3:
Unless doing multitasking 16GB will be still good for majority of games and that 6 core won't be doing much of multitasking in heavier games soon expecting 8 core as rule.
 
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