£300 Gaming PC?

BrettK · 20 Feb 2015 at 20:17

Hey. So, it's been a long time since I built my first gaming PC and I'm not really all up on hardware these days, but my nephew has been asking if it's possible for me to build him one for £300 (or near enough). So I was wondering if I could get some suggestions on parts if it's possible?

Thanks in advance, guys!

stulid · 20 Feb 2015 at 20:19

Hi and welcome.

Is it just a tower you are looking for? no OS, keyboard etc?

What games does he want to play?

BrettK · 22 Feb 2015 at 01:03

He needs a tower and all the hardware. No OS. No keyboard and mouse. He's looking to play Counter Strike Global Offensive and Minecraft, but will probably try some other games if he can run them.

stulid · 22 Feb 2015 at 01:47

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18656726

Look at that thread.

Little*Freak · 22 Feb 2015 at 17:21

BrettK · 24 Feb 2015 at 16:47

stulid said:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18656726

Look at that thread.

I'll check it out, thanks.

BrettK · 24 Feb 2015 at 16:49

Little*Freak said:
Right now you can get an overclockedable Pentium K system with a **B Grade** GTX660Ti for £321 +shipping.

If you don't like the idea of a **B Grade** card and want to keep it under £300 you can just get a new AMD 250X for £297 +shipping.

Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 £56 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-531-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=567

Gigabyte B85M-D2V Intel B85 £43 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-469-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2576

GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB £44 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-114-GL&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM £35 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-252-SE&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940

Antec VP450P 450W £33 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-172-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2462

Aerocool V2X Red Edition Midi-Tower - Black / Red £20 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-125-AE&groupid=2362&catid=2277

Sapphire Radeon R7 250X 1024MB £66 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-345-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1984

Or you can get this really good card.

**B Grade** Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660TI OC Windforce 2X 2048MB £90 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-317-GI

What's all this "B grade" stuff? I never was that great with hardware, and only brushed up enough on it all to build my own system in 2012. But I'm afraid I'm a little behind on it all these days.

Also, that's a duo core processor. Would that really be better than getting him a cheap AMD quad core for gaming?

Thanks for the help so far.

EDIT: also, would that power supply still be sufficient if he upped the graphics card from the 250x to the 260x? Thanks again!

stulid · 24 Feb 2015 at 17:15

What does "B-Grade" mean?
B-Grade items are manufacturer's repairs or items we are unable to sell as new, they may be subject to packaging damage or may be a brown box product. All B-Grade items come with a 90 day warranty and may be missing items such as driver CD's and cables. Unfortunately we are unable to provide you with the reason why this is B-Grade as each B-Grade item is different.

The Pentium K is ok.

The PSU is ample for those cards, all low power usage.

BrettK · 27 Feb 2015 at 23:32

stulid said:
The Pentium K is ok.

The PSU is ample for those cards, all low power usage.

Thanks buddy. Is there any little extras I should pick up for him? Will the cooler have thermal compound with it?

Also, now that I know what a B grade product is, I think I'd prefer to get him a new card so the warranty is longer on it. So what I'm wondering is, if I got him the Sapphire Radeon R7 260X instead, considering my nephew was willing to spend a little extra for the Nvidia card, is the power supply still sufficient for it?

Thanks again.

Digital X · 27 Feb 2015 at 23:35

The Processor box contains the CPU, Cooler and Thermal Pate. PSU should be fine yes.

Little*Freak · 27 Feb 2015 at 23:53

Yes, you can get the Sapphire R7 260X. The Antec VP450P 450W will be enough.

Would recommend the GTX 750Ti or GTX 960 instead though. Due to the newer architecture of the cards. Anything more than these cards would probably need a better PSU.

*a suggestion, if you have a higher budget or different requirements, ask for another spec

BrettK · 2 Mar 2015 at 18:29

digitalx said:
The Processor box contains the CPU, Cooler and Thermal Pate. PSU should be fine yes.

Thanks buddy.

BrettK · 2 Mar 2015 at 18:35

Little*Freak said:
Yes, you can get the Sapphire R7 260X. The Antec VP450P 450W will be enough.

Would recommend the GTX 750Ti or GTX 960 instead though. Due to the newer architecture of the cards. Anything more than these cards would probably need a better PSU.

*a suggestion, if you have a higher budget or different requirements, ask for another spec

I'd prefer I got an Nvidia card for my nephew anyway, so I think the 750ti would be a better choice for him at only £10 more than the AMD 260X. The 960 is way out of his budget though, unfortunately. So, to double check, the PSU that was listed will be sufficient for the 750ti, right?

Thanks buddy.

stulid · 2 Mar 2015 at 18:38

A 750ti is a very low power consumption card (many dont even need external power) and will be fine with that PSU.

P.S a lot of price have changed,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 250X 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £65.99
1 x Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £53.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYED38G1600HC9DC01) £47.99
1 x Gigabyte B85M-D2V Intel B85 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £42.95
1 x Antec VPF450 450W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £36.95
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) HDD £34.99
1 x Aerocool V2X Red Edition Midi-Tower - Black / Red £19.99
Total : £317.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Bgrade GTX750 (not a Ti) - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-424-MS

BrettK · 2 Mar 2015 at 19:33

stulid said:
A 750ti is a very low power consumption card (many dont even need external power) and will be fine with that PSU.

P.S a lot of price have changed,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 250X 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £65.99
1 x Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £53.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYED38G1600HC9DC01) £47.99
1 x Gigabyte B85M-D2V Intel B85 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £42.95
1 x Antec VPF450 450W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £36.95
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) HDD £34.99
1 x Aerocool V2X Red Edition Midi-Tower - Black / Red £19.99
Total : £317.84 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Bgrade GTX750 (not a Ti) - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-424-MS

That's even better for his budget. Thanks again, buddy. I think I'll keep him away from the B Grade stuff because of the shorter warranty, but I'll probably pick him up the 750ti over the AMD card.

Only thing I wanted to ask now was the do with the processor again. Would that duo core really be better for him for gaming purposes than a cheap AMD quad core?

EDIT: Actually I think that's worse for his budget, but still, I'll buy all the parts minus the GPU and then get him the best he can afford with what's left afterwards.

BrettK · 4 Mar 2015 at 17:14

If I get my nephew the EVGA GeForce GTX 750Ti SC 2048MB, will the power supply still be sufficient?

Thanks

stulid · 4 Mar 2015 at 17:16

Yes. I already answered that.

But prices and deals have changed again,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £55.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLRED38G1600HC9DC01) £44.99
1 x Gigabyte B85M-D2V Intel B85 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £42.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 350W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £36.95
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) HDD £34.99
1 x Aerocool V2X Red Edition Midi-Tower - Black / Red £19.99
Total : £250.86 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Also £115 for a 750ti is expensive, there are AMD alternatives that give better performance,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-169-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1982

BrettK · 4 Mar 2015 at 23:50

stulid said:
Yes. I already answered that.

But prices and deals have changed again,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £55.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLRED38G1600HC9DC01) £44.99
1 x Gigabyte B85M-D2V Intel B85 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £42.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 350W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £36.95
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) HDD £34.99
1 x Aerocool V2X Red Edition Midi-Tower - Black / Red £19.99
Total : £250.86 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Also £115 for a 750ti is expensive, there are AMD alternatives that give better performance,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-169-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1982

Bought everything before you posted the new basket. It went over the budget a bit but I gave him the rest of the money. The only thing I was unsure about was whether a similar priced AMD quad core might have been better for him or not, but for his gaming needs I think his build will be fine.

Thanks for all the help.

Telecaster · 5 Mar 2015 at 18:20

BrettK said:
Bought everything before you posted the new basket. It went over the budget a bit but I gave him the rest of the money. The only thing I was unsure about was whether a similar priced AMD quad core might have been better for him or not, but for his gaming needs I think his build will be fine.

Thanks for all the help.

As per the GPU power requirement being answered many times, the CPU is more than good enough.

This is it's performance against the equivalent priced quad core AMD:

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-G3258-vs-AMD-Athlon-X4-740