Budget build non gaming

nwgilbert

nwgilbert

nwgilbert

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Joined
14 May 2015
Posts
162
Hi,
I'd like to build a PC for around £300-£400 (build only, not including operating system, monitor/accessories).

This probably raises the question... Why would you bother...
I built another PC for around £1500, using the support of this forum to select parts. This is my gaming build.

However, the new build is for my partner and will be used for work only
(emails/Microsoft office/adobe Photoshop/illustrator/InDesign)

Could someone kindly help by putting together a budget build of around £300-£400?
I am also wondering, with a lower end PC, would I get much more for my money if I was to build myself or buy ready-made off the shelf?
 
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to get you started and ready to go which you then can upgrade when you got more money

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £414.05 (includes shipping: £14.10)




without going older in tech and while this doesnt include an optical drive, i dont think you could do any better in a self build of new parts

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £403.19 (includes shipping: £12.30)​
​


much better stuff on the used market.​
 
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Thanks for the advice.
This isn't really a pc that I'll be looking to upgrade in the future. It's for work purposes only so as long as it runs the software we need (applications mentioned above) then there's no need for further upgrading. I'd rather get it right first time.

Can anyone help with further suggestions?
Ready made build or build myself?
 
 
Hi, thank you for your replies.
I really like this build by LewisRaz.
What are others thoughts? Any further tweaks before I proceed with purchase?

LewisRaz said:
Building yourself will often save a few quid. Its down to you to decide if its worth that or not.

Here is a ryzen system:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £431.19 (includes shipping: £12.30)
​
Click to expand...
 
What about a cooler? Do I need one?

nwgilbert said:
Hi, thank you for your replies.
I really like this build by LewisRaz.
What are others thoughts? Any further tweaks before I proceed with purchase?
Click to expand...

LewisRaz said:
Building yourself will often save a few quid. Its down to you to decide if its worth that or not.

Here is a ryzen system:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £431.19 (includes shipping: £12.30)
​
Click to expand...
 
It comes with the wraith cooler which is very good for a bundled cooler.

You may want to check with some of the AMD boys that the ram is compatible as I just grabbe the first one I saw.
 
Can someone please advise... is the below build compatible?
Also whether you recommend any adjustments?

LewisRaz said:
Building yourself will often save a few quid. Its down to you to decide if its worth that or not.

Here is a ryzen system:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £431.19 (includes shipping: £12.30)
​
Click to expand...
 
this is probably the cheapest i'd recommend.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £461.19 (includes shipping: £12.30)​
​

so basically the 1200 is a lower clocked version of the 1300x (but the chips are all unlocked)
having a b350 board allows the 1200 to be overclocked to 1300x speeds and beyond.
the board also has 4 ram slots, so when you find that 8gb isn't enough, its easier to just drop another 2x4gb sticks in, to make 16gb
ryzen also loves faster ram and performance increases tangibly with it - and 3200mhz is its sweet spot
i know that the psu specced is overkill - but i couldn't honestly (hand on heart) recommend any of the cheaper kolink psu. besides £38 is a pretty decent deal on a cheapo superflower psu
cheap solid case with 3 fans already included so the system inside will be cooled well
275gb ssd for the main drive - again, i couldn't honestly recommend any system without an ssd drive included - this is the single biggest upgrade one can do for quality-of-life/system responsiveness.
getting a secondary hdd for mass storage is again, easy to do later down the line
as you said that your wife isn't gaming, then a gt710 would suffice. also has cuda cores to help accelerate photoshop/illustrator/indesign - if this also isn't enough in the future, then no fear, the psu is up to the job to take a midrange gpu :).
 
Thank you for your response.
Few questions regarding your comments above:

"so basically the 1200 is a lower clocked version of the 1300x (but the chips are all unlocked)
having a b350 board allows the 1200 to be overclockedto1300x speeds and beyond."
Click to expand...
I've never over clocked CPU before. Is it worth doing if the pc is not used for gaming? I looked into AMD Overdrive and it looks like a fairly simple process if it's worth while...
If I do this, does the CPU need additional cooling?

Can you please elaborate about the cuda cores for the gpu? There is no customisation required.. right?

Is there a cheaper alternative for the ram or is it really worth going for the 3200mhz?
Same goes for the SSD... Cheaper alternatives?

Personally I hate the case. Any other suggestions? Can I pretty much choose any case or are there limitations with the build?
I like this one:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfenix-nova-midi-tower-case-white-window-ca-221-bx.html
Is this good for general cooling?
 
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nwgilbert said:
I've never over clocked CPU before. Is it worth doing if the pc is not used for gaming? I looked into AMD Overdrive and it looks like a fairly simple process if it's worth while...
If I do this, does the CPU need additional cooling?
Click to expand...
it is simple for a mild overclock. many guides on the internet to show how it's done. benefits would be to your processing time for photoshop/illustrator - depending on how much editing you do, i guess
the stock amd cooler is decent for a mild overclock. doesnt need an aftermarket cooler.

nwgilbert said:
Can you please elaborate about the cuda cores for the gpu? There is no customisation required.. right?
Click to expand...
no customisation required. nvidia has these to help with rendering etc, basically applications that are cuda compatible offloads rendering from the cpu to the gpu, making it faster. iirc photoshop and illustrator can take advantage of gup acceleration for rendering

nwgilbert said:
Is there a cheaper alternative for the ram or is it really worth going for the 3200mhz?
Click to expand...
for £10, its worth it

nwgilbert said:
Personally I hate the case. Any other suggestions? Can I pretty much choose any case or are there limitations with the build?
Click to expand...
no limitations, just your budget. bear in mind that the motherboard also plays a part in the case selection. the board in my spec is mATX, hence you can use a smaller case.

nwgilbert said:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfenix-nova-midi-tower-case-white-window-ca-221-bx.html
Is this good for general cooling?
Click to expand...
it's semi decent, cases are a personal preference. the case in my spec is for mATX boards, hence smaller. it also comes with 3 fans (nova only comes with one) and the interior design is more up to date than the bitfenix nova you linked.
 
nwgilbert said:
Same goes for the SSD... Cheaper alternatives?
Click to expand...
Missed this bit in my wall of text post.
Not really. But please do shop around. You could get it for cheaper - or maybe ask ocuk to price match :)
I wouldn't get any SSD with less than 240gb these days. If you had the budget I would recommend 480gb lol
 
Thanks tamzzy. Appreciate your feedback.

I just hate the look of the kolink aviator case externally. Can you recommend any other that has same quality interior as kolink around that price bracket?
Anything Micro ATX will fit right?

Here's a few I've been looking at:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aerocool-qs-240-micro-atx-case-black-ca-192-ae.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cougar-qbx-mini-itx-cube-chassis-black-ca-013-cu.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/kolink-sanctuary-micro-atx-cube-case-black-ca-02k-kk.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...o-atx-case-black-cc-9011086-ww-ca-212-cs.html



525gb would be the next step up on SSD.
Just a question about SSD in general.... I use cloud drive (Google drive) which saves the files to your PC and then uploads automatically.
Would I benefit in performance loading those files onto an SSD instead of standard HDD?...
or does SSD only improve performance for operating system booting and loading software(apps etc.).
 
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nwgilbert said:
I just hate the look of the kolink aviator case externally. Can you recommend any other that has same quality interior as kolink around that price bracket?
Anything Micro ATX will fit right?

Here's a few I've been looking at:
Click to expand...
not quite, but close enough, some cases do not take full width mATX boards. but the ones you listed do.
your first case listed, i would have specced :P, but adding a second fan just increased the cost a tiny bit - the good old price creep
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £46.08 (includes shipping: £11.10)​
​

nwgilbert said:
Just a question about SSD in general.... I use cloud drive (Google drive) which saves the files to your PC and then uploads automatically.
Would I benefit in performance loading those files onto an SSD instead of standard HDD?...
or does SSD only improve performance for operating system booting and loading software(apps etc.).
Click to expand...
depends on how big the files are, and how many you load at the same time. you're less likely to feel the performance increase of an ssd if you're loading a large file sequentially (like a video) that doesn't saturate sata bandwidth.
personally, i have a 1tb ssd and a 1tb media drive - so everything goes on my ssd unless it's a large video file.
 
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