First Build Gaming PC - £900 Budget

James546

James546

James546

Associate
Joined
4 Aug 2011
Posts
25
Location
Arbroath
Hi guys,

So I posted here awhile back about me wanting to make a Gaming PC, unfortunately I never got the chance to buy it in the end. I had to stick to my now 8 year old retail rig. (which did the job til now)

I want to build a gaming PC for myself, mostly for games like League of Legends, Final Fantasy XIV and Battlefield 3/4. As high settings as possible. I will occasionally use photoshop and video editing software (since I study Multimedia) but the PC will be 95% gaming.

I already have the following:
Monitor (not up to date, several years old but good enough until I have more budget)
Keyboard/Mouse

I personally would like a Intel Haswell build (i5-4670k hopefully) Everything else can be whatever is considered good enough, I dont really stay up to date with new parts, but that will change. I also need an OS but I'm torn between W7 and 8 currently, I think I prefer 7 but I wouldn't mind opinions. For storage, an SSD would be nice, preferably 100GB+ but not required. I do have a 500gb external for saving my video/music data, and I hear SSD are just overall better. Finally, I don't wish to use watercooling, I just don't like it that much... I would like it to be as quiet as possible though. My old PC was known for being similar to an aircraft engine so, haha.

The PC is being built for my birthday (6th September) but I get my money on Monday (26th August), so I will order it during that week. The budget may increase to £1k but I will post if that is the case.

I'll also start working towards posting for the free postage, so that I'll be done before buying.

Thanks for reading and looking forward to replies!

~James
 
Last edited:
This is mine brought it like 7 months ago and cost my abit more then £900 but under £1k and its a beast!

ARCTIC FREEZER I30
G.SKILL RIPJAWSX 16GB (2X8GB) DD
SEAGATE 7200.12 1TB 6GB/S
SAMSUNG SH-224BB 24X DVDRW OEM
INTEL I5 3570K RETAIL
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H MOBO
GIGABYTE AMD RADEON HD 7970
zalman z11 case
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** with FREE GAMES £189.95
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £103.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £73.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Windowed Case - Black £69.95
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £65.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020047-UK) £49.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 500GB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA050) HDD £41.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A [BW] Performance CPU Cooler £24.98
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £921.76 (includes shipping : FREE).



Card on Pre-order, not sure if the price will increase after stock!, you can save a little by deleting the hard drive.
 
Hard drive removed and different cooler & PSU:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** with FREE GAMES £189.95
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £103.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £73.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Windowed Case - Black £69.95
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £65.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 520W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £59.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU Cooler £34.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £899.77 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
Thanks for the replies!

I'm liking the look of those RJC. :)

Which would you say is the better one? I can afford to go slightly over budget if its worth it, but I would like to get a new monitor instead of going up to a £1k+ tower budget.
 
:)

With Monitor, the 27" version gets a reasonable review.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** with FREE GAMES £189.95
1 x Iiyama Prolite E2482HSD 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £103.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £73.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Windowed Case - Black £69.95
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £65.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 520W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £59.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU Cooler £34.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,019.76 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
Monitor does look very nice. :) I have an old 17" one but I figured if I'm building a new PC, might as well get a better monitor too.

Mind if I ask about the gpu? I've read reviews and stuff about it and it seems to be a great card but I don't understand some things.

1. What does it mean by new revision? I can see there was some kind of fan problem but is there anything else different?

2. How does the OC work? I heard its done by a certain program within Windows but I've also heard it's done through Bios? I've never OC'd before or really looked into it.

Finally the case: I really like it but how would this one be? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-144-CS I'm just wondering because it sounds better for me, but at the same time I'd rather have a windowed case.

Thanks for the help. :)
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II OC Gamer 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **FREE SHIPPING** £199.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £191.99
1 x Plextor M5S 256GB Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5S) £139.99
1 x Iiyama Prolite E2482HSD 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-HD3 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £99.95
1 x Corsair Carbide 330R Silent Mid Tower Case - Black £74.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £73.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £65.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A [BW] Performance CPU Cooler £24.98
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,062.76 (includes shipping : FREE).



prolly overbudget lol.
specced a 256gb ssd assuming you really dont need a hdd inside for media files. 120gb will fill up quick with games
chose the 670 instead of the 7950, as with the 670 you'll get free shipping, saving a good 20ish quid
 
Thanks for the reply! :)

A little bit over, but I also like the look for this. I do have an absolute max of £1100 but I don't want to top that.

256gb seems better for sure. I have a 500gb external drive which holds all my music, work etc.

Is there any huge difference between the 670 and the 7950? I'm curious cause I hear quite a lot of discussion over it.
 
James546 said:
Thanks for the reply! :)

A little bit over, but I also like the look for this. I do have an absolute max of £1100 but I don't want to top that.
Click to expand...

for 1100 quid, i'd get:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x MSI HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Boost Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **NEW REVISION** with FREE GAMES £189.95
1 x Plextor M5S 256GB Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5S) £139.99
1 x Iiyama Prolite E2482HSD 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £103.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 330R Silent Mid Tower Case - Black £74.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £73.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £65.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 120 REV A [BW] Performance CPU Cooler £24.98
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.95
Total : £1,092.10 (includes shipping : £24.45).



retail cpu (so 3 year warranty vs 1 year warranty, but that being said, cpus rarely ever fail if you're being sensible)
better mobo
and a 7950 with free games instead of a 670
if you dont want the free games, you can always sell them at the bay to recoup some of the initial outlay


James546 said:
256gb seems better for sure. I have a 500gb external drive which holds all my music, work etc.
Click to expand...

yea on my ssd, i've got my operating system, programmes and 2 games on my ssd, and its already 101gb filled. better to get a 256gb ssd

James546 said:
Is there any huge difference between the 670 and the 7950? I'm curious cause I hear quite a lot of discussion over it.
Click to expand...

comparing an overclocked 670 vs an overclocked 7950
http://www.xbitlabs.com/picture/?src=/images/graphics/nvidia-geforce-gtx-760/22_670OCvs785OC_big.png
short summary: they trade blows, you can't go too wrong with either
 
Awesome, thanks for the helpful replies. :)

I'm in the middle of finalizing everything I want now so that I can buy it tomorrow, I'll post whatever I decide on later today and go from there.
 
Okay, update time! So as of now I can buy the build whenever I want, I also made a slight change to the build/s. I can't really post links with my mobile but I'll type the names.

I decided to use my 40" LCD TV for this PC for the time being until I find a monitor which makes me feel happy. Nothing against the suggested one of course but I'll leave it out for now.

I've pretty much gone with RJC's second build with slight changes. I swapped out the MOBO for a MSI Z87 G45. I read up on the gaming features and they seem to be worth the slight price jump. I added a 1TB WD Caviar Blue just for the extra storage instead of the 256GB SSD, it seemed more suited to what I need. I would install Windows and the more important games onto the SSD. The rest on the HDD.

So now the case. I looked into the 300R and it seems a little meh. The 330R seems very nice but maybe a little too much for my liking. I'm wondering if theres a good sturdy case for around £60 which would give me good airflow/cooling along with a decent looking exterior? I particularly liked the Midgard II but I'd like to hear some thoughts.

Finally, I was orginally going to see someone about building it but I think I'm going to try it myself with a friend, I haven't had a chance to ask him yet but how does building the PC go in general? Like time, difficulty, etc etc.

Sorry for asking so much, I just really wanna get my first build solidly done and possibly room for improvement later! :)
 
Okay I finally finished my choices. My budget got put up to just over £1000 so I decided to go for a slightly more expensive case. I ended up picking a Corsair 500R cause it looks modern and sleek without being overly fancy either.

(I don't understand how to link the basket the way you guys do, so I'll just copy links. xD)

CPU: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-470-IN
Graphics: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-190-MS
Motherboard: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-235-MS
RAM: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-064-PA
Power Supply: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-147-AN
CPU Cooler: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-095-TR
HDD: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-257-SE
SSD: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-167-SA

Windows 8: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-152-MS
Case: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-057-CS
DVD RW: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-056-AS

I feel pretty happy with what I chose. The case was by far the most annoying part though, there are many good looking cases for sure, but then its finding one that looks good but also performs good. I think this one will do me well for a long time and for when I decide to look into and start OC'ing. :)

I didn't buy it yet, but curious on opinions. Also will the power supply be good enough to last? I don't really plan on Crossfire with this PC. But I may install additional cooling in the future.
 
Get the HIF 7950 it's on offer and one of the best.
I would not bother with an ssd myself £80 for a few seconds difference.
Modular power supply?
Windows is a rip off you don't even get office anymore don't pay for it.
 
gaming1234 said:
Get the HIF 7950 it's on offer and one of the best.
I would not bother with an ssd myself £80 for a few seconds difference.
Modular power supply?
Windows is a rip off you don't even get office anymore don't pay for it.
Click to expand...

So pirate it?
 
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