Amateur PC gamer needs a new PC

[Muss]

Hi people,

Essentially i have to get myself a new pc as my old one is falling apart besides my GTX 960 graphics card. It runs games like destiny 2 fine on medium/low graphics but games like AC origins do really struggle. Sadly, here is where im at an end, as i know literally nothing about computors and the graphics card was given to me by a friend!

All i want to be able to do is play games on it, i dont need ultra or even high graphical settings. Just want it to run smooth and last between 3-5 years with small and easy upgrades in between to slowly go from med/high running capabilities to med/low towards the end of the life span. I'll initially be shoving in the graphics card i have with the help of a friend but also can upgrade that again in the next few months so i dont need one of them for now but would appreciate future suggestions! Id rather spend most of the budget on hard to replace, long lasting components and let me drip feed into it things like hard drives and graphics cards later on.

Now, my budget is up to £1000 but i would obviously love it to be lower than that if possible.

Is what im after even achievable too?

Anyway any help or any build suggestions would be appreciated. Or would just calling the helpline be a better way to approach this.

Anyway, thanks!
R

 

[orbitalwalsh]

You able to list your full current PC spec to see if anything can be kept or upgrade or to see if full rebuild would be better
And with £1k build and AMD releasing Ryzen, it can be done, hitting 1080p 60hz with high settings- better then a console at least

 

[Quartz]

The GTX 960 is still a fine card, especially for older games, but it's at the lower end of the current ranges of GPUs.

Here are the requirements for Assassin's Creed: Origins.

Here are the Assassin’s Creed: Origins system requirements (minimum)

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400s @ 2.5 GHz or AMD FX-6350 @ 3.9 GHz or equivalent
CPU SPEED: Info
RAM: 6 GB
OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or AMD R9 270 (2048 MB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
SOUND CARD: Yes
FREE DISK SPACE: 45 GB

Assassin’s Creed: Origins Recommended Requirements

CPU: Intel Core i7- 3770 @ 3.5 GHz or AMD FX-8350 @ 4.0 GHz
CPU SPEED: Info
RAM: 8 GB
OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD R9 280X (3GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)

Your GTX 960 should cope just fine, so your problem lies elsewhere: CPU or RAM, most likely.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Quick example that would fly, and reuse your HDD and windows

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Quad Core 1400 3.40GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £139.99
• 1 x Gigabyte GA-AB350M-Gaming 3 AMD B350 (Socket AM4) DDR4 Micro ATX Motherboard= £87.95
• 1 x Team Group Dark Pro 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Red (TDPRD48G3200= £109.99
• 1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 580 Red Dragon V2 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £259.99
• 1 x CoolerMaster MasterBox Lite 3.1 Micro-ATX Case - Black Window= £39.95
• 1 x AOC G2460PF 24" 1920x1080 TN FREESYNC 144Hz 1ms Gaming Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/Red= £218.99

Total: £870.06 (includes shipping: £13.20)


Monitor wouldn't be needed but would work wonderfully with the Rx 580​

 

[Muss]

Unfortunately I'm sat at my work PC and not home one to be able to give a full spec but will do when I get home. I know I have an i5 and 3.30Ghz is in my head for some unknown reason. I also know i have 8GB RAM as windows 10 OS. No SSD drive. Admittedly I'd prefer the whole new thing minus card if poss (will prob update that in 4 months or so) as my knowledge is limited and then i'll be relying on youtube vids and friends spare time for taking things apart and putting them in the next one!

I would have stuck on console if it wasnt for all my friends upgrading to PC! No one to play with haha.

 

[Muss]

Oh and I neglected to mention. I also have a decent monitor that I do not know the name of right now but will update that once i get home too!

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Oh and I neglected to mention. I also have a decent monitor that I do not know the name of right now but will update that once i get home too!

That's good, saves cash, though im guessing 1080hz/60p ? 144hz sync screens are fun though

 

[Muss]

Yeah thats right! I think its 1ms refresh. Not that i know what any of this means haha. Thanks for your help by the way. Very much appreciated

 

[Quartz]

Unfortunately I'm sat at my work PC and not home one to be able to give a full spec but will do when I get home. I know I have an i5 and 3.30Ghz is in my head for some unknown reason. I also know i have 8GB RAM as windows 10 OS.

That should be a perfectly decent spec even today. Are you sure you haven't got some malware running? Og forfend, but you are running the 64 bit version of Windows, aren't you?

 

[orbitalwalsh]

You might find you have a 3rd gen + Intel chip and can slap in a second hand i7 K version... But only if you have the supporting board .
Like you said may find yourself going full build - least it'll all be new and under warranty

HDD could be cloned to SSD and used as a media drive

 

[Quartz]

The Intel i5-3xxx CPUs are still decent workhorses even today. I'm still rocking an i7-3770S.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Might be worth i7 K drop in, but in terms of lasting 3-5 years, with AMD finally back in the game , CPUs will greatly move on. Intel now at 4 cores for i3 and 6 for i5 and set to increase. Ryzen smashing out value and cores . So now CPUs will fall out of sync faster as there will be demand for the effort of multi core coding .
Have a check of the second hand market and see what chipset board you have

 

[Muss]

Ok so home from work these are the specs:

GeForce GTX 960
Intel(R) Core(TM) I5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz
7.95 GB RAM
500GB HDD
1920X1080 60Hz
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, x64-based processor.

It also is the loudest machine on the planet haha

If I'm missing anything please let me know and also where to find it as I cannot stress enough how much I do not know lol

 

[orbitalwalsh]

I'm guessing you've got a blower style 960? And basic fan on the CPU ?

Assassin's creed in Crouse's areas becomes massively CPU bound , even with current patch .
Worth seeing about a 2nd hand i7 K chip to help out. And if you want your games prettier. Gtx 1060 3/6,GB

At qp80p ultra game uses under 3,GB vram

https://overclock3d.net/reviews/software/assassin_s_creed_origins_pc_performance_review/6

Also seems clock speeds play key aswell in all areas of the game.

https://www.bit-tech.net/reviews/tech/cpus/how-to-overclock-the-intel-core-i5-2500k/1/

Might be worth a shot first and foremost , although depending on your CPU cooler abilities . Pic of your rig would help

 

[Muss]

Ahh ok, how hard is a cpu to fit... this might be my stumbling block here. Oh and yeah i believe so. The rig itself has like 6 fans too

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Ahh ok, how hard is a cpu to fit... this might be my stumbling block here. Oh and yeah i believe so. The rig itself has like 6 fans too

Not to hard. Here and YouTube will be your friend

 

[Noughtboy]

As orbital mentioned, ACU is very CPU bound. It chomps through Thread ripper.

However, Tim on Adored TV makes a valid point that if you are buying now, get as many cores and threads as you can for longevity.

As such, look at Ryzen 5 or 7.

However, to fix your noisy case now, look at a decent air cooler (approximately £30) and download Speedfan to adjust the speed of your installed case fans or get a fan controller (check whether your fans are 3 or 4 pin).

Then overclock your 2500k to 4.3Ghz+. By all means, add a GPU first; either RX580 8GB or GTX1060 6GB as the stopgap

Should buy you enough time until Ryzen + comes out or cheaper motherboards arrives for Intel Coffee Lake in the next few months.

 

[Muss]

Thanks for all your help everyone. I was going to query this as the first YT video I watched said about motherboard compatibility with certain CPUs. Any ideas where I can first find out what motherboard I have and what is compatible or will these things be included with whatever I purchase? Or have you guys already worked out what is compatible by my current processor? Sorry, for continued queries!

All in all would you recommend waiting for the new boards and buying everything in one hit in a couple months time (as i can cope for now fine and save ACO to play later)? Just trying to be as cost efficient and forward thinking as possible. I think I would rather spend in big chunks annually rather than lots or small upgrades quarterly for example. Taking the time to learn and fit things too will be hard as my work is often unpredictable - hence the sticking to console for so long despite obvious downfalls with it!