All in for ~£1500?

[Knubje]

Hi,

I've read through the forum for a lot of advice on the latest rig builds. I'm currently on the following which was built for gaming/virtualization 5-6 years ago now:
- i7-3770k @ 3.4GHz
- 32GB RAM
- 500GB Samsung 970 SSD
- Nvidia GTX970
- A fairly crappy old Iiyama 24" screen.

I'm working from home a lot now on two screens and my hobby is gaming. Mostly PUBG and COD:Warzone at present. I really need a new case/components with a decent monitor (main). No other peripherals.

Total budget for the lot is ~£1500. I have a penchant for "Bang for buck". Ideally looking for:
- 16 GB RAM (Minimum)
- M.2 drive, 500GB or more.
- Nice shiny 4k monitor for gaming (if possible)
- GPU to backup that monitor and games for the next 3 years minimum.

Any opinions more than welcome. Thanks all!

 

[Lemin]

Nice shiny 4k monitor for gaming (if possible)
- GPU to backup that monitor and games for the next 3 years minimum,
that alone would take whole budget !

 

[Sparx]

4k gaming? Not quite... 1440p? Much more achievable

Something like the below is a base to work with. If you still want 32GB for VMs then it's an extra £60.

Edit: If you don't feel like you need the raw power of a 3700X and it's going to be gaming only, then the 3600 will perform pretty much identically - saving £130 to spend elsewhere i.e. 1TB M.2 drive, 32GB RAM if you need it for VMs (if not don't bother, 16GB is plenty for gaming) etc...

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £299.99
• 1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £129.95
• 1 x TeamGroup MP34 512GB NVMe PCIe M.2 Solid State Drive= £79.99
• 1 x Powercolor Radeon RX 5700 XT Dual Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £379.99
• 1 x Super Flower Leadex III 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply - Black= £99.95
• 1 x AOC Q27G2U/BK 27" 2560x1440 VA 144Hz 1ms FreeSync Widescreen LED Backlit Gaming Monitor= £259.99
• 1 x Phanteks Eclipse P400 Air Midi Tower DRGB Case - Black= £83.99
• 1 x Team Group 8Pack RIPPED Edition 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C14 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/= £139.99

Total: £1,473.84 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

 

[tamzzy]

superwide 1440p screen
3700x matx 32gb ram build

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £299.99
• 1 x MSI B450M Mortar MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 mATX Motherboard= £109.99
• 1 x Team Group Night Hawk RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - RGB Black (TF1D= £158.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £399.95
• 1 x Bitfenix Formula Series 650W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply= £74.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £149.99
• 1 x Zalman M3 Plus Micro-ATX Case - Black Tempered Glass= £50.99
• 1 x Iiyama PROLITE XUB3493WQSU 34" 3440x1440 IPS 75Hz 4ms FreeSync LED Backlit Widescreen Gaming Monitor= £359.99
• 1 x CoolerMaster MS110 Keyboard And Mouse RGB Gaming Set (MS-110-KKMF1-UK)= £52.99
• 1 x Creative Inspire A250 2.1 Speaker System - (51MF0420AA004)= £29.99

Total: £1,708.68 (includes shipping: £20.82)
​

 

[Gray2233]

superwide 1440p screen
3700x matx 32gb ram build

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £299.99
• 1 x MSI B450M Mortar MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 mATX Motherboard= £109.99
• 1 x Team Group Night Hawk RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - RGB Black (TF1D= £158.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £399.95
• 1 x Bitfenix Formula Series 650W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply= £74.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £149.99
• 1 x Zalman M3 Plus Micro-ATX Case - Black Tempered Glass= £50.99
• 1 x Iiyama PROLITE XUB3493WQSU 34" 3440x1440 IPS 75Hz 4ms FreeSync LED Backlit Widescreen Gaming Monitor= £359.99
• 1 x CoolerMaster MS110 Keyboard And Mouse RGB Gaming Set (MS-110-KKMF1-UK)= £52.99
• 1 x Creative Inspire A250 2.1 Speaker System - (51MF0420AA004)= £29.99

Total: £1,708.68 (includes shipping: £20.82)
​

I love the look of that Zalman M3 Plus case, I'm after one myself but it's been on Pre-Order for an age and lord knows when it'll be in stock.

Here's another option without peripherals or monitor, think the OP said he only needs the tower + monitor anyway.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Team Group Night Hawk RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - RGB Black (TF1D= £158.99
• 1 x MSI B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £139.99
• 1 x Seasonic Core Gold GC-650 650W 80+ Gold Power Supply= £79.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £149.99
• 1 x Phanteks Eclipse P400 Air Midi Tower Case - Black= £64.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £299.99
• 1 x Aorus Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £409.99

Total: £1,303.93 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

Kinda difficult to find stuff in stock right now to be honest.

1. The Pro Carbon is a full ATX board but has Wi-Fi.
2. Gigabyte 5700XT Aorus for £10 more than the Gaming version, better cooler and comes with a years extra warranty.
3. PSU choice is purely due to it having an ETA on stock, I'd take the Bitfenix over it otherwise.

PS: The Aerocool Aero One range looks interesting too, but again all on pre-order. Here's the M-ATX version:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Aerocool Aero One Mini Eclipse ARGB Micro- ATX Case - Black Tempered Glass= £49.99

Total: £49.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

 

[Knubje]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm going to probably end up with a blend of suggestions. I'm not sure on a wide monitor, I'm used to the standard 24"!

 

[Gray2233]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm going to probably end up with a blend of suggestions. I'm not sure on a wide monitor, I'm used to the standard 24"!

Ultrawides can be amazing depending on your use-case, you might need an adjustment period but I'd say they're well worth it.

The price of the one recommended by @tamzzy is fantastic value.

 

[Knubje]

Hi guys,

Bumping this old thread as I can show you exactly what I went with in the end. Total damage was £1700, mainly because I was having a hard time finding a decent monitor around my ~£300 budget so had to go bigger or go home on a few bits. Plus adding £10-£40 on additional items when you're spending so much kinda makes sense to me. Either way, it's on order and will be here and built in the next week!

Mobo: msi-x570-a-pro

RAM: Kingston Fury Black 32GB

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor

M2 DISK: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB PULSE Video Card

CASE: Phantecks Eclipse p400 air midi

Monitor: Nitro XV272UP 27" 2560x1440 IPS 144Hz 1ms FreeSync Widescreen LED Gaming Monitor

PSU: kolink enclave 700w 80 plus modular

Fairly tasty! Just waiting on that Haribo now...

 

[tamzzy]

@Knubje why didn't you ask first before pulling the trigger?

Mobo: msi-x570-a-pro

crap board. like lterally one of the worst x570 boards. yes it'll be able to run a 3700x, but the VRMs won't be able to handle anything more

PSU: kolink enclave 700w 80 plus modular

same again, should've got something of higher quality

 

[Joxeon]

crap board. like lterally one of the worst x570 boards. yes it'll be able to run a 3700x, but the VRMs won't be able to handle anything more

Its worse than the tomahawk, mortar and pro carbon which were all suggested in this thread.

The samsung NVME is poor value also when you could either get a 1TB gen 3 for that price or a 500gb gen 4 for less.

 

[Gray2233]

Another case of someone getting a page full of advice, ignoring it, then coming back to inform us of how he's bought a bunch of sub par components without checking in with the people he initially asked for advice first.

It's amazing how often this sort of thing happens.

 

[Lemin]

usually you never hear from op again after build

 

[tamzzy]

The samsung NVME is poor value also when you could either get a 1TB gen 3 for that price or a 500gb gen 4 for less.

true. normally i'd say that too, but op is using it for VM, so may be worth it.
but if gen4 is cheaper than the 970 evo then it definitely makes no sense to get the 970 evo

 

[Gray2233]

true. normally i'd say that too, but op is using it for VM, so may be worth it.
but if gen4 is cheaper than the 970 evo then it definitely makes no sense to get the 970 evo

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Aorus 500GB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (GP-ASM2NE6500GTTD)= £128.99
• 1 x Seagate Firecuda 520 500GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive (ZP500GM3A002)= £129.95
• 1 x Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £128.99

Total: £387.93 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

Still would have went for a 1TB Gen 3 for around £140-150 personally, but yeah, you can get same capacity gen 4 NvME's for the same amount as the Samsung 970 Evo Plus.

Would have went for the Gigabyte if I was after a Gen 4.

You can get 1TB Gen 4's for under £200.

 

[Knubje]

Wow, didn't expect replies to be so vicious. You can argue I've "ignored all the advice" here but I haven't at all. Only a few components have changed. I actually thought I was being reasonable by posting an update to what I bought. Oh well...

Having slept on it, I do appreicate people offered some options and perhaps I should have at least checked before pulling the trigger (it's itchy, what can I say?). Having said that, a PC is a personal thing and I did use these posts as a baseline for what I wanted.

@Knubje why didn't you ask first before pulling the trigger?


crap board...

...same again, should've got something of higher quality

Done and done sir. I've called OcUK this morning and amended my order to the Tomahawk. I'm still not sure the difference on the mobo's after checking them comparatively. Losing a second M2 slot on the Tomahawk and possibly not supporting stupid fast RAM only things I can see from my lay perspective. I totally appreciate the importance of a good PSU and hadn't realised it's low quality. Updated to a Seasonic Focus PX-650 650W 80+ Platinum Modular. My calculatations on wattage required I should be well under that limit of whats needed.

Its worse than the tomahawk, mortar and pro carbon which were all suggested in this thread.

The samsung NVME is poor value also when you could either get a 1TB gen 3 for that price or a 500gb gen 4 for less.

Poor value is a subjective thing. I am not planning on doing hardcore VM work, but it is a possibility I need to be prepared for. I'm not after capacity but I see your point.

Another case of someone getting a page full of advice, ignoring it, then coming back to inform us of how he's bought a bunch of sub par components without checking in with the people he initially asked for advice first.

It's amazing how often this sort of thing happens.

I haven't followed everything to the T but I certainly took advice on board. I've even come back and amended a few of my choices based on the uproar. I've actually googled more issue from people with the Tomahawk than the X570 but it's a newer board and possibly less popular. *shrug*.

Not entirely sure in what world the Ryzen, GPU, Monitor or RAM are "a bunch of sub par components". Hyperbole aside; I apologise for not checking back in with you guys. I fully appreciate the assistance and time people put into the original recommendations. My only hope is that I save a modicum of respect and leave with my dignity not entirely shredded.

Thanks all, I'll post my results when it's all built in the near future.

 

[tamzzy]

Wow, didn't expect replies to be so vicious. You can argue I've "ignored all the advice" here but I haven't at all. Only a few components have changed. I actually thought I was being reasonable by posting an update to what I bought. Oh well...

hah. i think it was more the case (lol pun) that a few options were listed, and then you went ahead to buy without posting your final build for a critique...tbh idgaf as it's not my money to waste

Done and done sir. I've called OcUK this morning and amended my order to the Tomahawk. I'm still not sure the difference on the mobo's after checking them comparatively. Losing a second M2 slot on the Tomahawk and possibly not supporting stupid fast RAM only things I can see from my lay perspective.

I've actually googled more issue from people with the Tomahawk than the X570 but it's a newer board and possibly less popular. *shrug*.

there isn't much on the net on the msi x570 boards because they're so crap and anyone in the know avoids them with a big detour.
ram speed isn't an issue.

Poor value is a subjective thing. I am not planning on doing hardcore VM work, but it is a possibility I need to be prepared for. I'm not after capacity but I see your point.

should just get the WD SN550 and save a few bob then. the real-world speed difference is literally zero

Updated to a Seasonic Focus PX-650 650W 80+ Platinum Modular.

don't need to overspec. a solid psu will do the job
though having a quick glance at the ocuk storepage, i can see that most PSUs are out of stock; so i can see why you may have chosen this psu currently
with that being said, you may get more value for your money if you were to shop around. ocuk store isn't really renowned for their great value, mostly...