1st build gaming PC for son

gills79 · Sunday at 20:15

Hi all,

My 14 year old son wants to build a gaming PC for Christmas. I don't know much about gaming PC's and he has come up the following list with the help of a friend (who has built one):

https://uk.************.com/list/pTnXsp

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (£112.80 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B550M-PLUS WIFI II Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£147.98 @ CCL Computers)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Kingston NV2 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£47.99 @ CCL Computers)

Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card (£269.99 @ Amazon UK)

Case: Montech AIR 100 ARGB MicroATX Mid Tower Case (£49.00 @ Computer Orbit)

Power Supply: Gigabyte UD750GM 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£79.00 @ Computer Orbit)

Total: £736.75

Can anyone please advise if this set up is OK, any better alternatives to the parts (for similar price) and any tips.

All advise very gratefully received.

Thank you

Tetras · Sunday at 21:31

A few tweaks to up the memory to 32GB.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3D2-AM) = £119.99
1 x Asus TUF Gaming B550-Plus WIFI II (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6HX-AS) = £105.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 32GB (2x16GB) 3600 MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Dual Kit (CMK32GX4M2Z3600C18) (SKU: MY-4CL-CS) = £50.00
1 x MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ventus 2X OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-39A-MS) = £269.98
1 x Team Group MP44L 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-03128) = £50.00
1 x MSI MAG FORGE 120A Airflow ATX Mid-Tower Case - Black (SKU: CAS-MSI-01946) = £59.98
1 x Asus TUF Gaming 750W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (SKU: CA-061-AS) = £80.00

Total: £735.94 (includes delivery: £0.00)

Danny75 · Monday at 04:37

gills79 said:
Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card (£269.99 @ Amazon UK)

Can anyone please advise if this set up is OK, any better alternatives to the parts (for similar price) and any tips.

I would urge your son not to get the Windforce OC 4060. It is hot and noisy. A friend picked it up despite having been recommended other cards instead and then immediately complained about the noise. It can be 20C hotter than other models. Very poor cooler. Youtube reviews can confirm.

Craig_d1 · Monday at 18:15

gills79 said:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (£112.80)

Morning,
Firstly, this forum is run by OCuk. part of the rules is you don't list competitiors, so just edit your 1st post as above taking out their names

to make you aware, AM5 platform has been replavced by AM5 platform..if buying new , the budget does mean am4, but it's just to make you aware that upgrades will be fairly limited whereas am am5 platform will still be supported into 2027

if going am4, for the cpu, the 5600, look on auction sites...you should be able to pick up one easily at £80 or less(should be less)...other mktplace is where I'd look, but other wise where you listed is the cheapest new
I go with the tuf board also but much cheaper here(OCuk than where you listed..I used to buy stuff from there, but not in last few years, they went right downhill and where bought out...now what they have is expensive, just put in some slightly more expensive ram as has rgb, and as your kid is 14, that's a thumbs up(well is for mine). Def go 32gb as well...16gb isn't enough now for latest games
put in a different case just as an alternative, and m.2 ssd on offer so touch cheaper, but they're almost the same otherwise.
keep the asus gpu @Tetras added also. it's fuly modular(so you only plug the cables you need, 210 yrs warranty and has the new connection for latest nvidia gpu's..for extra £10 get the 850W...not needed for the build but for future upgrade/replacement you can take the psu with you. I'll add 850W below, but 750 more than fine too

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Asus TUF Gaming B550-Plus WIFI II (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6HX-AS) = £106.00
1 x Antec CX700 Elite RGB Mid Tower - Black (SKU: CAS-ATC-02736) = £59.95
1 x Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 32GB (2x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Dual Kit (CMW32GX4M2Z3600C18) (SKU: MY-4CK-CS) = £64.99
1 x Team Group G50 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-03131) = £47.99
1 x Asus TUF Gaming 850W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (SKU: CA-060-AS) = £89.99

Total: £380.90 (includes delivery: £11.98)

Craig_d1 · Monday at 18:16

so if you can get the cpu for £70, leaves £300 for a gpu..personally, I'd look at the AMD 6750XT...you can get one brand new for £290/£300 at the mo. It's 19% faster than the 4060 also

£50 will bag a new gen 7700XT from OCuk , saphire pulse for £359 which is 37% faster than the 4060

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Specs

NVIDIA AD107, 2460 MHz, 3072 Cores, 96 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 8192 MB GDDR6, 2125 MHz, 128 bit

www.techpowerup.com

the link has a relative performance section where the 4060 is 100% and other card performance will be based off that

My basket at OcUK:

1 x SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 7700 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 12GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture (SKU: GRA-SPR-00767) = £359.99

Total: £363.98 (includes delivery: £3.99)

gills79 · Tuesday at 22:17

Craig_d1 said:
Morning,
Firstly, this forum is run by OCuk. part of the rules is you don't list competitiors, so just edit your 1st post as above taking out their names

to make you aware, AM5 platform has been replavced by AM5 platform..if buying new , the budget does mean am4, but it's just to make you aware that upgrades will be fairly limited whereas am am5 platform will still be supported into 2027

if going am4, for the cpu, the 5600, look on auction sites...you should be able to pick up one easily at £80 or less(should be less)...other mktplace is where I'd look, but other wise where you listed is the cheapest new
I go with the tuf board also but much cheaper here(OCuk than where you listed..I used to buy stuff from there, but not in last few years, they went right downhill and where bought out...now what they have is expensive, just put in some slightly more expensive ram as has rgb, and as your kid is 14, that's a thumbs up(well is for mine). Def go 32gb as well...16gb isn't enough now for latest games
put in a different case just as an alternative, and m.2 ssd on offer so touch cheaper, but they're almost the same otherwise.
keep the asus gpu @Tetras added also. it's fuly modular(so you only plug the cables you need, 210 yrs warranty and has the new connection for latest nvidia gpu's..for extra £10 get the 850W...not needed for the build but for future upgrade/replacement you can take the psu with you. I'll add 850W below, but 750 more than fine too

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Asus TUF Gaming B550-Plus WIFI II (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6HX-AS) = £106.00

1 x Antec CX700 Elite RGB Mid Tower - Black (SKU: CAS-ATC-02736) = £59.95

1 x Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 32GB (2x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Dual Kit (CMW32GX4M2Z3600C18) (SKU: MY-4CK-CS) = £64.99

1 x Team Group G50 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-03131) = £47.99

1 x Asus TUF Gaming 850W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (SKU: CA-060-AS) = £89.99

Total: £380.90 (includes delivery: £11.98)

Good Morning,

Thank you for your reply (and the advice on posting) wasn't aware of the rules, i just searched for a forum and went straight to it. Having trouble editing original (can't find an edit option?) but will work on it to keep to the rules.

Thank you for your advice. Will look all of these up and weigh up options. :-)

gills79 · Tuesday at 22:23

Craig_d1 said:
so if you can get the cpu for £70, leaves £300 for a gpu..personally, I'd look at the AMD 6750XT...you can get one brand new for £290/£300 at the mo. It's 19% faster than the 4060 also

£50 will bag a new gen 7700XT from OCuk , saphire pulse for £359 which is 37% faster than the 4060

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Specs

NVIDIA AD107, 2460 MHz, 3072 Cores, 96 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 8192 MB GDDR6, 2125 MHz, 128 bit

www.techpowerup.com

the link has a relative performance section where the 4060 is 100% and other card performance will be based off that

My basket at OcUK:

1 x SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 7700 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 12GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture (SKU: GRA-SPR-00767) = £359.99

Total: £363.98 (includes delivery: £3.99)

Hi,

Thank you for for the advice. Will have a look at the options and see what is what. :-)

mickyflinn · Tuesday at 22:49

Oops wrong thread.

Craig_d1 · Tuesday at 23:29

gills79 said:
. Having trouble editing original (can't find an edit option?) but will work on it to keep to the rules.

Thank you for your advice. Will look all of these up and weigh up options.

Each time you post, at the bottom left of each post you'll see a report box...next to it on your own posts will be an edit button. click that and it just opens your post, and you can alter and then at bottom will be a same button

sx_turbo · Tuesday at 23:37

If you can from experience up the SSD to a 2tb

It can be upgraded at a later date, but is a ball ache, I personally hate having separate drives and moving files between them, I personally prefer 1 large drive though that may not be best practice if the drive fails.

1tb does fill up amazingly quickly though, I've only got 6 games, windows and office on mine and I have to be mindful of space when downloading games, especially when most are 100's of GB these days.

Also as has been said, the 4060 is not very good value, and provides much better price / performance at this price point of card.

gills79 · Wednesday at 20:06

gills79 · Thursday at 12:10

sx_turbo said:
If you can from experience up the SSD to a 2tb

It can be upgraded at a later date, but is a ball ache, I personally hate having separate drives and moving files between them, I personally prefer 1 large drive though that may not be best practice if the drive fails.

1tb does fill up amazingly quickly though, I've only got 6 games, windows and office on mine and I have to be mindful of space when downloading games, especially when most are 100's of GB these days.

Also as has been said, the 4060 is not very good value, and provides much better price / performance at this price point of card.

Hi,

Following some of the advice i have changed CPU and Motherboard to AM5, and upped memory. Does the below makes sense as a build?

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8400F 4.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£147.95)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard (£129.99)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (£79.99)
Storage: Kingston NV3 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£87.99)
Video Card: MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card (£254.99)
Case: Antec CX700 RGB ELITE ATX Mid Tower Case (£59.95)
Power Supply: Asus TUF Gaming 850G 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99)

Total: £850.85

Thank you.

gills79 · Thursday at 12:10

gills79 said:
Good Morning,

Thank you for your reply (and the advice on posting) wasn't aware of the rules, i just searched for a forum and went straight to it. Having trouble editing original (can't find an edit option?) but will work on it to keep to the rules.

Thank you for your advice. Will look all of these up and weigh up options.

Hi,

Following some of the advice i have changed CPU and Motherboard to AM5, and upped memory. Does the below makes sense as a build?

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8400F 4.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£147.95)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard (£129.99)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (£79.99)
Storage: Kingston NV3 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£87.99)
Video Card: MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card (£254.99)
Case: Antec CX700 RGB ELITE ATX Mid Tower Case (£59.95)
Power Supply: Asus TUF Gaming 850G 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99)

Total: £850.85

Thank you.

gills79 · Thursday at 12:14

Craig_d1 said:
Each time you post, at the bottom left of each post you'll see a report box...next to it on your own posts will be an edit button. click that and it just opens your post, and you can alter and then at bottom will be a same button

No edit option on my original post. There is an Edit option when I initially make a post (i have just replied to some and can see edit option) - but older posts the edit option is not there.

gills79 · Thursday at 12:16

Tetras said:
A few tweaks to up the memory to 32GB.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3D2-AM) = £119.99

1 x Asus TUF Gaming B550-Plus WIFI II (AMD AM4) B550 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6HX-AS) = £105.99

1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 32GB (2x16GB) 3600 MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Dual Kit (CMK32GX4M2Z3600C18) (SKU: MY-4CL-CS) = £50.00

1 x MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ventus 2X OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-39A-MS) = £269.98

1 x Team Group MP44L 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-03128) = £50.00

1 x MSI MAG FORGE 120A Airflow ATX Mid-Tower Case - Black (SKU: CAS-MSI-01946) = £59.98

1 x Asus TUF Gaming 750W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (SKU: CA-061-AS) = £80.00

Total: £735.94 (includes delivery: £0.00)

Hi,

Following some of the advice i have changed CPU and Motherboard to AM5, and upped memory. Does the below makes sense as a build?

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8400F 4.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£147.95)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard (£129.99)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (£79.99)
Storage: Kingston NV3 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£87.99)
Video Card: MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card (£254.99)
Case: Antec CX700 RGB ELITE ATX Mid Tower Case (£59.95)
Power Supply: Asus TUF Gaming 850G 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99)

Total: £850.85

Thank you.

Craig_d1 · Thursday at 12:26

gills79 said:
Hi,

Following some of the advice i have changed CPU and Motherboard to AM5, and upped memory. Does the below makes sense as a build?

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8400F 4.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£147.95)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard (£129.99)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (£79.99)
Storage: Kingston NV3 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£87.99)
Video Card: MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card (£254.99)
Case: Antec CX700 RGB ELITE ATX Mid Tower Case (£59.95)
Power Supply: Asus TUF Gaming 850G 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99)

Total: £850.85

Thank you.

I'd change the 8400f to a 7600 if you can. the 7600 from look is 13% faster...not only that it has an igpu in there also(so if gpu packs up you can use the one built into the cpu while you get a repacement(not for gaming but pc will still work).. L3 cache is far lower on the 8400f also..on am5 the 5500 cpu had lower l3 cache, and relly gimped it for gameplay
still not conviced by nvidia at lower end

Tetras · Thursday at 14:33

gills79 said:
Does the below makes sense as a build?

The 8400F is an unusual choice, but it would be nice to be on AM5 (better future upgradability).

gills79 · Thursday at 20:40

Tetras said:
The 8400F is an unusual choice, but it would be nice to be on AM5 (better future upgradability).

Showing my lack of knowledge there. What would you recommend instead?

Tetras · Thursday at 20:47

gills79 said:
Showing my lack of knowledge there. What would you recommend instead?

Ideally, the 7600 that Craig_d1 suggested, but if your budget can't stretch I wouldn't cry about it. That said, you can currently buy the B650 Eagle for £110 and that would fix your budget problem for the CPU.