First PC build - budget start and upgrade advice sought

TWheston

TWheston

TWheston

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Joined
18 May 2020
Posts
3
Hi folks
Looking to put together a PC.
For context, currently Xbox one (first gen) serves as our gaming and entertainment hub - no TV as such.
I'm currently hooked on Elite Dangerous which will keep me entertained for some time, love the total war games and fantasise about playing them on high-spec, and my wife has her eye on Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.
1080p is fine for time being, but 1440p would be nice when I can get a better monitor
What I'd want out of a PC is something quiet and unassuming visually - would rather not have loads of flashing colours!
I want start with something ideally around the £600 mark, but I would want it to be somewhat future-proof.
I'm wondering, is it better to start spending more on base components (Motherboard & processor) and upgrade the plug-in parts, or vice-versa?
Coming from Mac - viruses are a concern, so not sure about multiple storage...

I have pulled together a starting point - grateful for any feedback and advice.
- MSI 7C02-020R MSI B450 Tomahawk Max (AM4) £113
- RYZEN 5 3600 SIX CORE 4.2GHZ (SOCKET AM4) PROCESSOR £155
- PURE POWER 11 500W 80 PLUS GOLD POWER SUPPLY £64.99
- VENGEANCE LPX BLACK 16GB (2X8GB) 3200 MHZ AMD RYZEN TUNED DDR4 MEMORY DUAL KIT £79.99
- RADEON RX 5500 XT MECH OC 8192MB GDDR6 PCI-EXPRESS GRAPHICS CARD £199.00
- 970 EVO PLUS 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-E 3.0 X4 NVME SOLID STATE DRIVE £139.00
- PURE BASE 500 MIDI TOWER CASE - £74.99 ( I do like this case...)

I'd ideally like to shave £150 off this list. Ultimately, I want the option to upgrade in years to come, but to achieve something that will surpass current console capability.
 
I'd consider going for a Ryzen 2600 or 1600AF if your budget is roughly £600, Also swap out the Samsung Storage, it's overpriced and you'll be able to save a few £££ and get a 1tb for £100ish :)

Good choice on case, Very highly recommended on here and reviews also have a lot of plus signs for it...
 
Minibiker said:
I'd consider going for a Ryzen 2600 or 1600AF if your budget is roughly £600, Also swap out the Samsung Storage, it's overpriced and you'll be able to save a few £££ and get a 1tb for £100ish :)

Good choice on case, Very highly recommended on here and reviews also have a lot of plus signs for it...
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I see you have a Ryzen 2600 - I take it you are happy enough with the performance for the time being? I gather the processor can be upgraded in future?

About the SSD - I was looking at the read/write speed of this which seemed pretty swift - how much attention should I be giving to read/write speeds on SSDs?
 
Charlatan said:
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £105.64 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​

Here's £100 off already. £75 on a case for a £600 budget is madness
Click to expand...

Appreciate the note on the SSD - seems this is a particular component I can save on.

Your note about the case did make me chuckle - I take your point entirely. However, I see the case and motherboard as core components around which everything else can change in future, so I reckon I'll stick with it.

Appreciate you taking the time.
 
TWheston said:
Thanks for that. I see you have a Ryzen 2600 - I take it you are happy enough with the performance for the time being? I gather the processor can be upgraded in future?

About the SSD - I was looking at the read/write speed of this which seemed pretty swift - how much attention should I be giving to read/write speeds on SSDs?
Click to expand...

I'm more than happy with the 2600 I've had a few in different builds.. I was going to go for the 3600 but don't really need to at the moment for my needs...

As tamzzy has said, just normal things like gaming there is no need to worry about read/write speeds, if your editing and creating I'd maybe consider then
 
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