Budget Gaming PC Build

Matthew Sheridan · 27 Jan 2018 at 19:22

Hi, I want to build my first gaming PC and i've picked some parts but haven't yet ordered anything, What do you think of this list and is there anything I should change?

Processor – AMD Ryzen 5 1500x
Motherboard – Asus STRIX B350-F ATX (don't really care about the RGB but lots of people say its good)
RAM – Ballistix sport LT 8gb stick 1x (Is 2x 4GB sticks better?)
SSD – Samsung 850 EVO 250GB
Hard Drive – WD 30EFRX 3TB (already own this)
GPU – MSI GTX 1050 ti gaming x 4GB
Power Supply – Corsair VS450W ATX
Monitor – AOC G2460PF OR Asus VG245H
Case – Corsair 270R windowed Mid-tower ATX

My cousin also has a used i5 6600k which he would sell me for £100, is this better than the Ryzen 5 or does the ryzen 5 perform better, I have a budget of around £850 but already have peripherals except monitor. I don't need it to be VR ready but want to play things like fortnite or forza horizen 3 at 1080 medium settings at 60 FPS. If you have any better suggestions please let me know.

Thanks

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 09:11

Quartz said:
You really want a GPU better than a GTX 1050 Ti. Try to stretch to a 6 GB GTX1060.

Ok thanks for the feedback Quartz, is the rest of the build ok? should i go with the ryzen 5 1500x or intel i5 6600k?

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 11:01

tamzzy said:
recommended gpu is a 970/1060 fyi.
your budget is a bit too low currently to get the recommended gpu new, unless you source a used 970

I can get a used MSI gtx 1060 6gb gaming x used on ebay for around £300, my cousin is selling a gtx 1070 8gb for £350, how much better would that be than the 1060 and would it fit into this build? Also which would be better to use, i5 6600K or the Ryzen 5 1500x or is there something else i should use. For the monitor i know someone who can get me a very cheap monitor which will do untill i get enough money to buy a better one. And i know a 100% Legal way to get windows 10 home for free with just a few missing features which will save me about £100 to start with. Thanks

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 11:31

tamzzy said:
something else. the 1600 in @orbitalwalsh 's spec is the one i'd recommend.
*AGAIN ALTHOUGH* unless your cousin is selling the 6600k with a heatsink and motherboard - and it has to be less than £250 for it to be worth considering. the reason is that the ryzen 1600 + mobo costs £250. and this is better value than a 6600k + new mobo + cooler.
so unless you can get a good deal on the 6600k spec, the obvious choice is the ryzen 1600 (4c4t on the 6600k vs 6c12t of the 1600)

What do you mean by heatsink? He says it comes with a cooler and he does have a motherboard (Asus H11OM-R) which he could sell me for £25 but i read that thats not much good. So should i get the 1070 8gb from him and then get the ryzen 5 1600 and Gigabyte GA-AB350? (How many USB ports does that have?) Or is there a better motherboard than that which i should go with? And then get 8gb ram and an SSD and then i'll be set

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 11:35

tamzzy said:
something else. the 1600 in @orbitalwalsh 's spec is the one i'd recommend.
*AGAIN ALTHOUGH* unless your cousin is selling the 6600k with a heatsink and motherboard - and it has to be less than £250 for it to be worth considering. the reason is that the ryzen 1600 + mobo costs £250. and this is better value than a 6600k + new mobo + cooler.
so unless you can get a good deal on the 6600k spec, the obvious choice is the ryzen 1600 (4c4t on the 6600k vs 6c12t of the 1600)

Also how upgradable would this be in the future? And should this be able to play Forza horizon 3 at mediam-high settings at 30-60 FPS?

I'm playing fortnite at the moment quite a lot but i want to replay subnautica as well now that its fully released and i'm looking at getting overwatch and forza horizon, would this system be able to run these games well?

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 11:53

tamzzy said:
correct, it isn't and it won't allow the 6600k to be overclocked. you'd be looking at a new mobo ~£120 to pair with that cpu.
#walloftext lol

So should i get ryzen 5 1600 with Gigabyte Mobo or intel i5 6600k and find a different mother board?

tamzzy said:
again, your budget isn't enough you'd be looking at >£1000 total spend
#walloftext lol

I think that if i just get a crappy monitor and windows 10 for free i should be fine

£350 – gtx 1070
£250 – ryzen and Gigabyte Ga-AB350 5 OR i5 6600k and Mobo
£80 – £100 8gb DDR4 ram
£80 – samsung Evo 250gb 2.5 inch SSD
£60/70 – Case
£25 – Corsair 450W power supply used from cousin
Hard drive i already own.
I can probably ask someone i know who works with computers to lend my a monitor for a while for free

Total: £850

How does that setup sound?

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 12:08

tamzzy said:
1600
sufficient for now, at least it'll be an easy upgrade to drop in another 2x4gb sticks in the future for 16gb ram

should i get x2 4GB sticks or x1 8gb stick, i've heard that x2 4Gb sticks is better but it gives me less upgradability cause it uses up 2 spaces instead of 1.

tamzzy said:
1600
that's cutting it close with a 1070 in the build. honestly. recommend 550w.
very decent except for the psu wattage.

How much would a 550w cost? and will that give me enough power to upgrade in the futute?

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 12:11

tamzzy said:
1600
that's cutting it close with a 1070 in the build. honestly. recommend 550w.

I looked up EVGA 550w power supply, do i need a Supernova 550 g2 for like £82 or can i cheap out and just get the 600W1 White for £45? It is 600W instead of 550 and it is so much cheaper, it only has 3 year warranty instead of 7 but how much better is the g2?

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 12:13

tamzzy said:
correct, but the board has 4 ram slots, so it'll be an easy upgrade to drop in another 2x4gb sticks in the future for 16gb ram
so not an issue. get 2x4gb sticks

the cheapest one i'd recommend is

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Super Flower Platinum King 550W 80 Plus Platinum Power Supply - Black= £64.99

Total: £75.49 (includes shipping: £10.50)

but as you can see, it's quite a bit dearer

What about those EVGA ones?

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 12:18

tamzzy said:
the evga 450bt, is okay, but underpowered for your build with the 1070 - and the same wattage as your cousin's psu
i'd avoid the evga 600w you mentioned

Ok is there anything good i could get from amazon? we have prime which means i get free shipping and can return if it comes damaged

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 13:03

tamzzy said:
corsair cx550m, if i had to pick a budget one

Ok thanks so that with ryzen 5 and gtx 1070 and the gigabyte Mobo

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 13:20

tamzzy said:
Ryzen 5 1600. Don't mix it up lol. But yeah

Ok great thanks for ur help ill let u know how it goes

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 14:28

tamzzy said:
Ryzen 5 1600. Don't mix it up lol. But yeah

On amazon the 1600 is £160 + £5 shipping and the 1600x is £175 free shipping, is the 1600x better? i'm assuming it is, and would that be compatible still with all the other parts

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 14:29

Matthew Sheridan said:
On amazon the 1600 is £160 + £5 shipping and the 1600x is £175 free shipping, is the 1600x better? i'm assuming it is, and would that be compatible still with all the other parts

I'm talking about the Ryzen 5 here just to clarify

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 14:32

tamzzy said:
Ryzen 5 1600. Don't mix it up lol. But yeah

Oh i just read that the 1600x doesn't come with the Wraith Spire cooler. So i would have to spend even more on a cooler, i'll just stick to the 1600 then i think but if you think otherwise please tell me

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 14:32

tamzzy said:
Ryzen 5 1600. Don't mix it up lol. But yeah

Oh i just read that the 1600x doesn't come with the Wraith Spire cooler. So i would have to spend even more on a cooler, i'll just stick to the 1600 then i think but if you think otherwise p

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 15:46

tamzzy said:
@Matthew Sheridan stick to the 1600. The wraith cooler is pretty decent, and you can get a mild overclock using that. Dont waste your money getting the 1600x

I can't decide on a case, i was looking at the corsair 270R but people said that it didn't have dust filters, is that a deal breaker? Would the Phanteks P400S be better? Or do you have a case to suggest of your own? I just wan't a plain black case not too flashy but with a glass side panel.

Thanks

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 15:54

Mark1989 said:
Case is personal taste but I can say that the nzxt s340 is a lovely case and cools well

Does the fact that the 270R doesn't have dust filters matter that much?

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 18:21

Mark1989 said:
Not really it wouldn't stop me buying it, should always give pc a clean every so often regardless of dust filters anyway

Ok i think i will go with that then, how often do you think i should clean it? And how do you clean it?

Matthew Sheridan · 28 Jan 2018 at 19:06

Mark1989 said:
Depends on environment and just how clean you are too, but I clean my pc inside once every few months. It's in a smoke free house and pets generally don't go near it.

I just use vac with brush end never do any damage though many people will shout at me for that, I also blast it with air too. Of course do it whilst pc off lol

Ok thanks, what do you think of the build we have been talking about? Any changes you would make

Matthew Sheridan said:
£350 – gtx 1070
£250 – ryzen and Gigabyte Ga-AB350 5 OR i5 6600k and Mobo
£80 – £100 8gb DDR4 ram
£80 – samsung Evo 250gb 2.5 inch SSD
£60/70 – Case
£25 – Corsair 450W power supply used from cousin
Hard drive i already own.
I can probably ask someone i know who works with computers to lend my a monitor for a while for free

Total: £850

How does that setup sound?

That but Corsair CX550M 550W power supply instead of 450W