Budget gaming pc help

Jordangaiger

Jordangaiger

Jordangaiger

Associate
Joined
11 Sep 2017
Posts
7
Hi guys ,
I am looking to buy a pc with a budget of around 400-600 - not a lot I know, something that is going to play most games on a medium setting which will perform well,
Any tips?, ideally I would like it fully setup with operating system etc,
Going to be playing games like pubg
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
I'm not totally against buying a used machine if people think I could get A bargain also :)?!
 
Do you need a monitor too?

Going to assume you do for now.

You would still need to factor in the price of Windows from somewhere...

And if you could try to stretch to the 1050Ti with 4Gb of memory.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £562.98
(includes shipping: £13.20)



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If you need the whole lot, then I would suggest one option is to get a cheap base unit from an auction site, something like a Dell, and put a decent graphics card in it. I just had an Core i5 (3rd Gen) 8GB RAM, 2TB HDD, Windows 10, Midi Tower for £172, then bought a decent Graphics card, the PSU was more than enough for the GTX 1060 3GB (£179), and I got a cheap 1080p monitor also. All in it was less than £400, and the person who it was for is over the moon.

I'm not saying that is you only/best option, but given the budget, if you need to buy new everything, with Windows 10 etc, then you'll struggle to get anything near the same performance for the money.

The other option is a cheap G4560 build, with an B250 board, 8GB RAM and a GTX 1050 Ti, add hard drive/SSD, case, PSU, O/S, monitor etc. you'll be at about £600, but it won't be as good.
 
Journey said:
The other option is a cheap G4560 build, with an B250 board, 8GB RAM and a GTX 1050 Ti, add hard drive/SSD, case, PSU, O/S, monitor etc. you'll be at about £600, but it won't be as good.
Click to expand...
Informed Geeks Think Alike :) - but i couldn't squeeze in the Ti in budget - but suggested he stretched. They're tough builds to not go over budget...

Journey said:
If you need the whole lot, then I would suggest one option is to get a cheap base unit from an auction site,
Click to expand...
I agree with @Journey - sound solution too re purchasing of older parts and adding select new.

I misread the your 'used machine' part - i thought you 'didn't' want used.

As you're open to new parts i would definitely try and get a base unit second hand - even try Gumtree there's the occasional bargain to be had. For similar money you could grab a machine with considerably more oomph. There's obviously risks - but if you bagged yourself a good one the gains over cobbling together a budget machine would be considerable.
 
I'm thinking about buying a used machine like you said , with a good processor and lots of ram and then buying a graphics card, just need to make sure I get something compatible and not ruin the computer :)!
 
Jordangaiger said:
I'm thinking about buying a used machine like you said , with a good processor and lots of ram and then buying a graphics card, just need to make sure I get something compatible and not ruin the computer :)!
Click to expand...

Post back on this thread when you have a possible buy - list the spec and either Journey or I will happily advise if we're about (other too - loads of us lurking at different times).
 
Processor - intel core i3 2100 @ 3.10ghz
Memory - 8gb ram ddr3
Windows 10
250gb hard drive
Integrated graphics
£180
I'm thinking that I should get something slightly better to be able to play all games on a decent setting right ?
 
I'm unsure of the cases/motherboards - and the cards they can support - they look very low profile after a quick google and the boards look propriety/none standard. (not familiar with mass produced/propriety systems). You could maybe get a low profile GTX 1050Ti in there but i would need to check when i have more time.

If you had to swap cases it would have to accommodate the none standard motherboard and you would need a new PSU.

@Journey may be able to shed more light on this as i suspect from his recommendation of DELL he has far more experience in this type of system - and perhaps what you can do to bastardize the parts.

Are there no standard ATX builds?
 
There are DELLS which aren't low profile cases within price - this would make it possible to fit in a GTX 1060. Although, again you would need to ascertain it could cope with a GTX 1060 - with BIOS update.

You may have to search over a few days then buy as soon as you see the right one - as they probably get snapped up quickly as the upgrade route is simpler.
 
AMD have the best bang for buck at the moment but still might cost a bit more with all the extra bits needed.
 
Plec said:
I'm unsure of the cases/motherboards - and the cards they can support - they look very low profile after a quick google and the boards look propriety/none standard. (not familiar with mass produced/propriety systems). You could maybe get a low profile GTX 1050Ti in there but i would need to check when i have more time.

If you had to swap cases it would have to accommodate the none standard motherboard and you would need a new PSU.

@Journey may be able to shed more light on this as i suspect from his recommendation of DELL he has far more experience in this type of system - and perhaps what you can do to bastardize the parts.

Are there no standard ATX builds?
Click to expand...

Just look for the standard ATX Dell/HP's in a tower, they have normal every day components for the most part, just OEM branded motherboards etc. Even the PSU's these days are usually a standard ATX affair.

The last model I got was an Dell Optiplex 3010 tower, I've just checked and there is one or two on there now at £154.99, spec is a little lower, but the price is too.

Intel Core i5 3470 3.20GHZ CPU
8GB DDR-3 Memory
500GB Sata Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW Drive
Intel HD Graphics 2500
8 x USB 2.0,Ethernet Port, VGA Port, HDMI Port
Stereo headphone/Microphone combo jack,
Keyboard & Mouse
Wireless USB adapter
Brand New Windows 10 Home Premium 64 Bit With C.O.A

If you end up getting one, you may have to get some molex to 6-pin PCI-E power adapters, if you go for a graphics card that needs that. Although you may be lucky and get a system that has one on already.
 
Journey said:
>snip<
Click to expand...
Thanks Journey - yeah, i was looking at his selection.

I've spotted a few now i've had time to search - are they OK with the 1060 after BIOS update?

@OP - if this works this is a great idea - i've never considered propriety systems as an option for an upgrade. If it takes the 1060 - it's a stonking build/idea for the money.
 
Plec said:
Thanks Journey - yeah, i was looking at his selection.

I've spotted a few now i've had time to search - are they OK with the 1060 after BIOS update?

@OP - if this works this is a great idea - i've never considered propriety systems as an option for an upgrade. If it takes the 1060 - it's a stonking build/idea for the money.
Click to expand...

Didn't have any issues, with the one I got even before I completed the update to the latest BIOS, just plug and play after cloning the OS to an SSD, then doing all the usual faff.
 
Journey said:
Didn't have any issues, with the one I got even before I completed the update to the latest BIOS, just plug and play after cloning the OS to an SSD, then doing all the usual faff.
Click to expand...
@Jordangaiger - i'm saying thanks on your behalf - as that answers all your questions - what you need to buy and that the upgrade should be relatively painless.

Cheers @Journey - i never realised that propriety 3rd gen systems/Mobos were so slutty with newer cards.
 
Plec said:
@Jordangaiger - i'm saying thanks on your behalf - as that answers all your questions - what you need to buy and that the upgrade should be relatively painless.

Cheers @Journey - i never realised that propriety 3rd gen systems/Mobos were so slutty with newer cards.
Click to expand...

Lol, I'd not tried a Geforce 1060 before that one, last time it was a RX 470, but I had to change the PSU in that system.

OP - worst case is you may need to change the PSU or nick the molex connector from the DVD-RW to add further graphics card 12v. :)

EDIT: Keep your eyes open for the Dell T3500 Precision I got one with a 6c X5650 for £130, in June. ;)
 
AMD version

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £631.04
(includes shipping: £18.12)



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includes a Freesync monitor with max refresh rate of 75Hz

as others say, second hand my be the better price or could spec better. But its just like buying a car brand new or 2nd hand .

@Plec no Gigabyte GPU ;(
 
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