Building first gaming PC

ak1974

ak1974

ak1974

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Joined
23 Dec 2019
Posts
5
Hi,
I've been asked to build a gaming PC for my nephew, having never done this before I'm unsure of some things.
He wants the following spec:
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
nvidia GTX 1660 SUPER GPU (which seems to be out of stock everywhere!)

I'd like for him to be able to upgrade to an RTX 3060/3070 in the near future.
What do I need to do now to ensure he can upgrade the CPU/GPU later, i.e. Do I need to make sure the motherboard will support them and, if so, how can I check?

Thanks
 
Any modern motherboard will support it. eg ryzen b450/x470/b550/x570

The only thing you will need t spend more money on is a better quality psu with enough power to drive it like:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £569.42 (includes shipping: £12.60)
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Its approx £160 for a 2600x while the superior 3600x is only about £190. I would suggest stretching the budget for that if possible.
 
Do you have a budget to work with? Any preferences or requirements for case size, is WiFi needed etc?

Yes GPU stock is very hard to come by at the moment, also prices are incredibly inflated, due to the lack of supply and high demand.

My usual first idea for a budget-orientated gaming system would be a Ryzen 3600 CPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVMe (WD SN550), Corsair RM650/750 PSU etc... GPU whatever you can get your hands on as a stop gap until you can get a RTX 30xx GPU.
 
Thanks for your help @Sparx.
Budget is £1000 but that's for everything including monitor, mouse and keyboard.
Yes, ideally I would like WiFi as well.
As for the case, I haven't really thought about the specific details, I just want something not too bulky that can fit a larger GPU later
 
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I'd go for something like this mATX build. Case is great for the money with the 4 pre-installed ARGB fans. 3600 CPU still great bang for buck. Mobo has WiFi built in too. 1TB NVMe should be enough storage for a young gamer. 650w PSU perfectly capable to upgrade to a 3060/3070 at a later time.

It leaves £400 left to get the GPU and other parts you need. Very hard to find GPUs at a reasonable price though so will be the most frustrating part!

Monitor wise, eats half the budget but this new LG model would likely be a good shout. But I'd focus first on getting the GPU before anything else! As that may set a prescedent for what's left to spend on the monitor/keyb/mouse etc. :(

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £604.90 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​
 
Thanks @Sparx, that's really helpful.
Most videos I've seen tend to use a (gigantic) 3rd party CPU cooler. Is that only really required if you're thinking of overclocking?
 
The 3600 comes with a stock cooler already. Yes it can be nice to get a better/quieter cooler, but the stock Ryzen ones aren't that bad tbh.

With your budget being constrained by needing a GPU, monitor, keyb/mouse etc... Not much point wasting another £30-40 on a better air cooler, when initially the stock one will be just fine.
 
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