First build in 8 long years -- £1100 budget

SymTax

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Just as the title says, it's been 8 years since I built my last PC. I've done a few upgrades on it since then, but they've always been slight QOL changes and nothing drastic.

It's got the stage now where I can barely run games on the lowest settings and reach 30 FPS consistently, so I thought it'd be a good idea to just start from scratch.

I've already got all peripherals sorted, this will just require the case and everything inside it.

I suppose the only key specification is that I want to try and 'futureproof' this as much as possible with my budget. I've got 2 young children so this will likely be the last opportunity in a while to indulge myself on this type of thing.

Your help and suggestions are much appreciated.
 

Gray2233

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Are you able to reuse any of your storage drives?

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,107.85 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

Something like this should fit the bill given your budget.

I'd recommend looking up "Sabrent Rocket NvME" as you'll get a much faster M.2 drive for the same price. You could also consider looking up "Crucial Ballistix LT" (make sure AES is in the product code) to save some cash on the RAM, a little bit of tweaking and it'll be just as good as the Corsair stuff for less money.
 

SymTax

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I'm running a Samsung 840 Pro 128GB SSD thats maybe 4 years old and an 500GB HDD that I've used for nearly 8 years.

They both work fine, but I'm conscious on whether they would cause a bottleneck or sorts if I continued using. Ideally I want to ditch the HDD and replace it with an SSD.
 

Gray2233

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That SSD is a little on the small side, if the HDD is still going strong there's no harm in using it as a storage/backup drive.

I would recommend spending the extra £50 on a 1TB SSD though, as I said google "Sabrent Rocket NvME" -- the 1TB version is going for £100-110 on the rainforest website.
 

SymTax

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Yeah that's pretty much what it's used for now, so I've no issues just carrying that on.

I'll also probably take you up on that suggestion and pick up the 1TB SSD.

Is there anything else that you would suggest could be 'improved' for only a small increase in price? I do have the funds to go slightly higher on the budget if it's really worth it, however what you've specced so far looks more than capable of anything I'd be throwing at it.
 

Gray2233

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I can't think of anything to be honest, someone else might pop in and have an idea but I can't see much available improvement. You could consider going for a better HSF than the one provided I suppose, but the one the CPU comes with isn't that bad in honesty. One of these would be a good option if you did go that route:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £116.94 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

The Dark Rock Pro 4 is on sale at the moment, but honestly the Mugen 5 would be ample. I'd also recommend checking the Dark Rock Pro 4 would fit the case you decide to go for, although the Meshify I listed above is a great case, fantastic airflow compared to most modern options.

You could also consider the 2070S over the 5700XT, the following isn't horribly priced:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £469.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

That said, it isn't much faster than the 5700xt (in fact they trade blows in some games) so all you'd really be gaining is RTX. You'd also only get a 2 year warranty with that model compared to 3 for the 5700XT.
 
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SymTax

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Is RTX really worth the £70.00 increase in price?

I'm all for getting it if it's worthwhile, just honestly not that knowledgeable on RTX since my current PC starts overheating at the mere thought of it.

I've also just realised that I've not thought about the OS on this. I've got W10 at the moment, I assume there is a way to 'transfer' this over?

Edit: The HSF is likely something I'd get afterwards to satisfy further urges to spend more money.
 

Gray2233

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I wouldn't say so personally, others may disagree.

Ray Tracing isn't quite there yet, there aren't a lot of supporting games and when enabled it can tank performance. It's worth reading into further and getting other opinions as you may find it more appealing than I do, but I couldn't justify it for £70 more. In a few years things may well be different.

You should be able to transfer your Windows 10 over, although honestly you could download it from the MS website and run without activating and you'd not loose much. At worst you can find a key for £10 or so if you google around.
 

SymTax

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I've been given an alternative build suggestions for a similar price point.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,153.99 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​

This comes with a Cooler Master MasterBox MB510L ATX Mid Tower Case at £40-£50, putting the total price to around £1200.00.

Keen to get some thoughts on whether this build would be a suitable alternative. I'm unsure on the reasoning behind a couple of the changes, but honestly don't know enough to make a good judgement call on it.
 

Gray2233

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I wouldn't go with that build.

1. Do you really need a 1TB HDD? You already have storage. The Samsung drive is over priced, you could get a much faster 500gb Sabrent Rocket NvME for that price, or failing that the drive I originally listed which performs similarly but has double the capacity.
2. What do you need the X570 for over the B450 max?
3. Why spend that much on a PSU when you could save £25 with the RM currently on sale? It's still a fantastic unit with a ten year warranty, and more overheard (although you're unlikely to need it).
4. Why that memory when it's the same price as the 3600mhz stuff I listed? I could understand saving cash and getting a 3000-3200 set such as the Crucial Ballistix LT I mentioned but I fail to see the point in the listed change.

Here's some other RAM options I'd take if I were to buy specifically from OCUK and not get the 3600 stuff I originally listed:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £142.98 (includes shipping: £0.00)


If you're willing to spend an extra £100 you could easily fit in the 1TB Sabrent Rocket NvME and switch out to the CM case if you prefer it.​
 

lee32uk

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SymTax said:
I've been given an alternative build suggestions for a similar price point.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,153.99 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​

This comes with a Cooler Master MasterBox MB510L ATX Mid Tower Case at £40-£50, putting the total price to around £1200.00.

Keen to get some thoughts on whether this build would be a suitable alternative. I'm unsure on the reasoning behind a couple of the changes, but honestly don't know enough to make a good judgement call on it.
Click to expand...


Go with a Sabrent Rocket instead of the 860 EVO. You will have to Google it as it isn't sold on here.

An MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX is a cheaper option. That X570 board doesn't really offer anything extra for the money.

You can get a cheaper 550W psu.

There are also cheaper Ram kits. The 3000 version of that Team Group for example.
 

SymTax

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Gray2233 said:
I wouldn't go with that build.

1. Do you really need a 1TB HDD? You already have storage. The Samsung drive is over priced, you could get a much faster 500gb Sabrent Rocket NvME for that price, or failing that the drive I originally listed which performs similarly but has double the capacity.
2. What do you need the X570 for over the B450 max?
3. Why spend that much on a PSU when you could save £25 with the RM currently on sale? It's still a fantastic unit with a ten year warranty, and more overheard (although you're unlikely to need it).
4. Why that memory when it's the same price as the 3600mhz stuff I listed? I could understand saving cash and getting a 3000-3200 set such as the Crucial Ballistix LT I mentioned but I fail to see the point in the listed change.

Here's some other RAM options I'd take if I were to buy specifically from OCUK and not get the 3600 stuff I originally listed:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £142.98 (includes shipping: £0.00)


If you're willing to spend an extra £100 you could easily fit in the 1TB Sabrent Rocket NvME and switch out to the CM case if you prefer it.​
Click to expand...

The questions you've asked are similar to my line of thought. I was given this build suggestion by someone, so was interested to hear some opinions on it.


lee32uk said:
Go with a Sabrent Rocket instead of the 860 EVO. You will have to Google it as it isn't sold on here.

An MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX is a cheaper option. That X570 board doesn't really offer anything extra for the money.

You can get a cheaper 550W psu.

There are also cheaper Ram kits. The 3000 version of that Team Group for example.
Click to expand...

I'll almost certainly pick up the Sabrent Rocket suggested by yourself and Gray. Seems like the smart choice.


Edit: Will I need to pick up any thermal paste? I can recall not needing to buy any extra previously, but I'm unsure if it'll be the same now as it was 8 years ago.
 

tamzzy

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from ocuk:
ryzen 3700x
Scythe SCMG-5100 Mugen 5 Rev.B PCGH edition
msi b450 mortar max matx
powercolor radeon RX 5700 XT dual fan
Kolink citadel Matx case
2x arctic cooling p14 pwm pst fans (not pwm pst co)

not from ocuk:
crucial ballistix LT 3200c16 2x8gb
sabrent rocket 1tb nvme ssd
evga supernova g3 650 gold modular psu
 

orbitalwalsh

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better card, had for £402
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £438.89 (includes shipping: £9.90)
​

so far oc3d, gamers nexus and eteknix place it at the top end, equals or beats Red devil

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,101.59 (includes shipping: £11.70)​
​
 
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SymTax

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Forgive my ignorance, but what makes it a better card than what has been suggested previously? It's slightly more expensive, so is it actually worth the increase?
 

tamzzy

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SymTax said:
Forgive my ignorance, but what makes it a better card than what has been suggested previously?
Click to expand...
slighty quieter and slightly cooler.

SymTax said:
It's slightly more expensive, so is it actually worth the increase?
Click to expand...
personally i don't think so.
i think the best value 5700xt is this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powe...ddr6-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-19f-pc.html
for £380

you can read this article: https://www.techspot.com/review/1861-rtx-2060-budget-vs-premium-graphics-card/
sums up my rationale and applies to all GPUs
 

SymTax

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tamzzy said:
slighty quieter and slightly cooler.


personally i don't think so.
i think the best value 5700xt is this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powe...ddr6-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-19f-pc.html
for £380

you can read this article: https://www.techspot.com/review/1861-rtx-2060-budget-vs-premium-graphics-card/
sums up my rationale and applies to all GPUs
Click to expand...

That's a pretty interesting article. Clears up a lot of queries I had about various cards.

I'm likely going to be ordering this time next week, so I'll probably touch base again for one final check before making the purchase.

Hopefully not too much changes price wise between now and then.
 
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