Buying first gaming PC

DellBoy121

DellBoy121

DellBoy121

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9 Jan 2016
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Hi guys. Don't know if this is the right place for this post.

First time posting here and am a complete novice when it comes to gaming computers. I've had an iMac since 2011 but now I'd like to update my computer and use it primarily for gaming. My budget is £800-£850.

I will be playing mostly first person shooters (mostly Overwatch) I will also be playing SC2 and league of legends. Ideally I'd like something which is going to last a good few years and stand the test of time.

I have literally no idea what to get. I will be doing intense research into it, however, I was just wondering if anyone could help me.

Thanks in advance.
 
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hello and welcome, i assumed you are after a new computer thats not apple as you cant upgrade imacs for gaming
 
mickyflinn said:
Will you be building the pc yourself and do you need a monitor, keyboard, windows , etc ?
Click to expand...

I have a monitor and keyboard all sorted. I will need windows. I have zero experience building a computer, so I think its best its prebuild. I was thinking of a basic one from the Overclockers gaming section that I would edit as needed.
 
What monitor do you have and what games do you usually play or will want to play ? This makes a massive difference in regards to graphic card / processor / amount of memory needed.
 
I guess this is pretty reasonable for 1080p, I'm no stulid tho.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x OcUK Tech Labs Skylake Z170 Midi Tower Gaming PC Configurator = £820.82
    • Case:Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-01 Mid Tower Gaming Case (CC-9011050-WW)
    • Motherboard:MSI Z170A Krait Gaming Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard
    • Processor:Intel Core i5-6600K 3.9GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
    • Memory:Team Group Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C16 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (TPKD48GM2400HC16DC0
    • CPU Cooler:Alpenfohn Ben Nevis CPU Cooler - 120mm
    • M.2 Solid State Drive **For Operating System If Selected**:Unwanted
    • Solid State Drive 1:Samsung 120GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E120B/EU
    • Solid State Drive 2:Unwanted
    • Mechanical Hard Drive 1:Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM003)
    • Mechanical Hard Drive 2:Unwanted
    • Optical Drive **Please Check Chassis Support**:Unwanted
    • Graphics Card:Sapphire Radeon R9 Nitro 380 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11242-07-20G)
    • Power Supply:Super Flower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black
    • Sound Card:Unwanted
    • Networking:Unwanted
    • Case Lighting:Unwanted
    • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
    • Security Software:Unwanted
    • Keyboard:Unwanted
    • Mouse:Unwanted
    • Monitor:Unwanted
    • Gaming Headset:Unwanted
    • Speakers:Unwanted
    • Gaming Chair:Unwanted

Total: £834.92
(includes shipping: £14.10)
​


​
 
PhoenixUK said:
What monitor do you have and what games do you usually play or will want to play ? This makes a massive difference in regards to graphic card / processor / amount of memory needed.
Click to expand...


Monitor wise I have an Asus VG248QE and a BenQ XL2411Z. The main games I want to play/play now are Overwatch, CS:G0, starcraft 2 and some league of legends. The main game I'll be playing is Overwatch.
 
Sixense said:
I guess this is pretty reasonable for 1080p, I'm no stulid tho.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x OcUK Tech Labs Skylake Z170 Midi Tower Gaming PC Configurator = £820.82
    • Case:Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-01 Mid Tower Gaming Case (CC-9011050-WW)
    • Motherboard:MSI Z170A Krait Gaming Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard
    • Processor:Intel Core i5-6600K 3.9GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
    • Memory:Team Group Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C16 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (TPKD48GM2400HC16DC0
    • CPU Cooler:Alpenfohn Ben Nevis CPU Cooler - 120mm
    • M.2 Solid State Drive **For Operating System If Selected**:Unwanted
    • Solid State Drive 1:Samsung 120GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E120B/EU
    • Solid State Drive 2:Unwanted
    • Mechanical Hard Drive 1:Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM003)
    • Mechanical Hard Drive 2:Unwanted
    • Optical Drive **Please Check Chassis Support**:Unwanted
    • Graphics Card:Sapphire Radeon R9 Nitro 380 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11242-07-20G)
    • Power Supply:Super Flower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black
    • Sound Card:Unwanted
    • Networking:Unwanted
    • Case Lighting:Unwanted
    • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
    • Security Software:Unwanted
    • Keyboard:Unwanted
    • Mouse:Unwanted
    • Monitor:Unwanted
    • Gaming Headset:Unwanted
    • Speakers:Unwanted
    • Gaming Chair:Unwanted

Total: £834.92
(includes shipping: £14.10)
​


​
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for posting this. I'll take a good look at it and then do some more research.
 
This is will perform better .

My basket at Overclockers UK:
  • 1 x OcUK Kinetic H1 - Intel H110 Configurable Skylake Micro ATX DDR3 Gaming PC = £743.04
    • Case:Kolink KLM-001 Micro-ATX Case - Black
    • Processor:Intel Core i5-6600 3.30GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
    • Memory:Ballistix Sport 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00CEU)
    • Graphics Card:Zotac GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (ZT-90101-10P)
    • Primary Solid State Drive / Hard Drive:Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
    • Storage Mechanical Hard Drive:Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM003)
    • Optical Drive **Not Compatible with Kolink Victory Case**:OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
    • WIFI:Unwanted
    • Operating System:Unwanted
    • Security Software:ESET Smart Security - Trial Key
    • Build Time:Standard Build Systems - Dispatched within 7 working days
    • Warranty:OcUK Standard System Warranty - 3 Year (24 Month C&R + 12 Month Labour)

Total: £757.14
(includes shipping: £14.10)
​


​
 
I personally wouldn't splash a fortune on a GPU (a part of the system that gets outdated and loses half of it's value within 6 months of purchase) for set of games that can be ran maxed out at 1080p on anything between £100-150.
Anything more than a low end 960 or 380 will be a waste of cash on that resolution in my opinion. It's always more economical and better performance wise to get low/mid range GPU and upgrade it if needed.

I'd also get at least 250gb (preferably ¬500) SSD and stick any game/software on that instead. 250gb might be a bit small when games nowadays use up 50gb+ each.
 
I disagree, personally I wouldn't go any lower than my GTX970 for 1080p. Not for modern gaming.

If you could squeeze an R9 390 into the build i'd say go for it.

You could go for the following, swapping the 120gb SSD and the 1TB HDD for a 1TB SSHD hybrid drive, crank up to 750w from the psu and run an r9 390 for 1080p+ gaming.

I've also swapped the retail 6600k for an OEM one as you don't need the intel cooler. There's little point in having a K processor on a H-170 board, but it's the same price as the 6600 non-k, so either or really.

1080p Gaming Monster Overclockers UK:

Total: £857.43
(includes shipping: £12.60)
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​

-=EDIT=- I see the above ones are prebuilt by Overclockers. I say get down and dirty and do it yourself. You can buy an anti static wristband for less than a fiver normally and youtube tells you how to do everything. Once you know, you never forget.

And yeah i've gone £7 over your budget, but what's £7 for a massive jump in performance...
 
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I would also say build your own,I had never built a computer before and was going to go prebuilt,the guys on here persuaded me to build it myself.it took me 2 days and a good read of all the manuals and boom I built my own,and really happy I did as if anything goes wrong etc I know where to start and you get a good understanding what's what's in there,
 
Thank you for all the replies thus far. I've been doing a bit of research and have a few questions:

Firstly what is the difference/ which is better between the Radeon R9 Nitro 390 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Backplate and say the MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card.

Is there a massive difference between the 970 and the 980.

Is an intel i5 better in terms of performance and reliability than any AMD stuff. For example how do the AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6350 Black Edition 3.90GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor or the AMD Kaveri A10-7870K 12 Compute Core APU w/ Radeon R7 Graphics (4 CPU + 8 GPU Compute Cores) compare to the i5 6600/6600k.
 
CorrodedTemplar said:
I disagree, personally I wouldn't go any lower than my GTX970 for 1080p. Not for modern gaming.

If you could squeeze an R9 390 into the build i'd say go for it.

You could go for the following, swapping the 120gb SSD and the 1TB HDD for a 1TB SSHD hybrid drive, crank up to 750w from the psu and run an r9 390 for 1080p+ gaming.

I've also swapped the retail 6600k for an OEM one as you don't need the intel cooler. There's little point in having a K processor on a H-170 board, but it's the same price as the 6600 non-k, so either or really.

1080p Gaming Monster Overclockers UK:

Total: £857.43
(includes shipping: £12.60)
​


​

-=EDIT=- I see the above ones are prebuilt by Overclockers. I say get down and dirty and do it yourself. You can buy an anti static wristband for less than a fiver normally and youtube tells you how to do everything. Once you know, you never forget.

And yeah i've gone £7 over your budget, but what's £7 for a massive jump in performance...
Click to expand...

After doing a bit of research this seems like a good around machine. Would it be able to play most games at good meetings with decent fps? Also would it be good for future games? I'd want it to last at least 3-5 years.
 
If I was going to get a prebuilt one, how does this look?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...dr3-gaming-pc-fs-152-og.html#t=a4b7c5d;e5f0i0

Case Aerocool Qs-180 Micro-ATX Chassis - Black
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 3.30GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
Memory Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C10 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX318C10FBK2/16)
Graphics Card Asus GeForce GTX 970 TURBO OC 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Primary Solid State Drive / Hard Drive Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
Storage Mechanical Hard Drive Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM003)
Optical Drive **Not Compatible with Kolink Victory Case** Not wanted
WIFI Not wanted
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
Security Software ESET Smart Security - Trial Key
Build Time Standard Build Systems - Dispatched within 7 working days
Warranty OcUK Standard System Warranty - 3 Year (24 Month C&R + 12 Month Labour)

price is £842.14 (including shipping)
 
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nice build, i was going to help with suggestions aswell, but my basket messed up some how, but i was going to suggest windows 8.1, but because windows 7 wasnt available, but you would likely have better game compatibility by not going for windows 10.

i have 64bit 8.1 most games that are not originally supported do work, i also have 32bit 7 pro and all games bar couple i have do work, but 32bit 10 for games or software have issues ive been finding unless its from the app store, but this is my own experience, the end choice is yours.
 
Sorry for the slow reply, been fairly busy.

The difference between the R9 380 and the GTX 970/R9 390 is massive, to be frank.

I have one of the higher end GTX 970's now, and it was paired with an AMD fx8350 processor, and now it's paired with an Intel i5 6600.

And from my experience, if you went AMD you'd go the cheapest you can get within reason, as the prices of the new Intel Skylake stuff is fantastic and the higher end AMD cpu's just can not compete.

(in my favourite racing game the intel gave me 50 extra minimum FPS, I literally could not believe it.)

In games that are CPU hungry, you'll feel it with the AMD chips.

In games that are Graphics card (GPU) heavy, the difference is much much less noticeable.

SO yes, I would suggest an Intel for this budget.

The GTX970 will be fine for 1080p single monitor, mines just starting to struggle and i'm gaming over a triple screen 1080p setup at high-ultra graphics. But in theory the R9 390 has a longer future in it due to it's 8GB of VRAM compared with 3.5ish on the GTX970.

-=-=

As for the latest prebuilt you've put up, the case will leave a lot to be desired, but this can be upgraded in the future when you have spare £50/60

The rest of it seems solid mate, you will have plenty of fun with that build.
 
CorrodedTemplar said:
Sorry for the slow reply, been fairly busy.

The difference between the R9 380 and the GTX 970/R9 390 is massive, to be frank.

I have one of the higher end GTX 970's now, and it was paired with an AMD fx8350 processor, and now it's paired with an Intel i5 6600.

And from my experience, if you went AMD you'd go the cheapest you can get within reason, as the prices of the new Intel Skylake stuff is fantastic and the higher end AMD cpu's just can not compete.

(in my favourite racing game the intel gave me 50 extra minimum FPS, I literally could not believe it.)

In games that are CPU hungry, you'll feel it with the AMD chips.

In games that are Graphics card (GPU) heavy, the difference is much much less noticeable.

SO yes, I would suggest an Intel for this budget.

The GTX970 will be fine for 1080p single monitor, mines just starting to struggle and i'm gaming over a triple screen 1080p setup at high-ultra graphics. But in theory the R9 390 has a longer future in it due to it's 8GB of VRAM compared with 3.5ish on the GTX970.

-=-=

As for the latest prebuilt you've put up, the case will leave a lot to be desired, but this can be upgraded in the future when you have spare £50/60

The rest of it seems solid mate, you will have plenty of fun with that build.
Click to expand...

Ok so intel i5 it is then over any AMD stuff I could afford. After doing some more research I like the look of the GTX970 over anything else in my budget.

I'll only be using one screen so it shouldn't be a problem.
As quite honestly I have no idea about cases, what is wrong with the one I've chosen and could you suggest something better? I don't mind spend the extra if it makes a big difference.
Thank you for your reply I found it very useful.
 
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