Gaming & Music PC budget £1250

[Alex Hall]

Hi!

I am looking for a PC that will enable me to play games like minecraft, overwatch, and other online multiplayer games.

I also mix and master music in my spare time, so will be using Pro-Tools. So the PC would need to be able to handle fast processing of multiple layers of music with ease.

I realise this might be a big ask, but I'm looking for the best possible PC for my requirements and my budget is max max £1250.

I have no idea about PCs as I have been using Macs for music processing for years, and using an Xbox rather than PC gaming.
I'd be happy to buy a pre-built PC ideally, but could also build my own with the help of a few friends.

Thanks for your help!

 

[LiE]

Do you need a monitor in that budget ?

 

[Alex Hall]

No I have a monitor, keyboard & mouse

 

[LiE]

No I have a monitor, keyboard & mouse

What’s the monitor resolution and refresh rate ?

 

[LiE]

This is touch over budget. Depending on your resolution the 5700 XT may be overkill for gaming so you could save some money there. There is limited stock for power supplies around £70-80 mark so you could shop about there. Gone with 32GB memory and B450 motherboard as the Tomahawk is solid and spending more won't provide any tangle benefits.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £319.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £109.99
• 1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £119.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £398.99
• 2 x Team Group Dark T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDGED4= £59.99
• 1 x Silverstone Essential 650W 80 Plus Gold Semi-Modular Power Supply= £79.99
• 1 x Lian-Li Lancool II Mesh performance Midi-Tower Case - Black= £74.99
• 1 x Cryorig H7 Single Tower Heatsink with 120mm Fan= £34.99

Total: £1,274.81 (includes shipping: £15.90)​

​

 

[Gray2233]

snip

2x16GB kit for £99:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey= £98.99

Total: £98.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)

​

The 3700X has shot up in price, probably worth going for an 8 core for Pro-Tools but still.

Alternative M-ATX build with a 3600, B550, and a HDD for storage purposes:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £179.99
• 1 x Phanteks AMP 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £96.95
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey= £98.99
• 1 x MSI MAG B550M MORTAR WIFI (AMD AM4) B550 Micro-ATX Motherboard= £154.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £109.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £398.99
• 1 x Aerocool Aero One Mini Eclipse ARGB Micro- ATX Case - Black Tempered Glass= £49.99
• 1 x Seagate 2TB Barracuda 7200RPM 256MB Cache Internal Hard Drive (ST2000DM008)= £59.99
• 1 x Arctic Freezer 34 eSports White CPU Cooler - 120mm= £29.99

Total: £1,179.87 (includes shipping: £0.00)

​

Cheaper CPU, if more power is needed a 4700 or 4900 could be popped in down the line when the new processors launch.

 

[Alex Hall]

Legend! Thanks! My monitor is at 144Hz refresh rate 1920 x 1080p

 

[LiE]

I'm not sure I'd go for a case with non-PWM fans, for me at least, that control is super important.

5700 XT will be perfect for 1080p 144hz.

Make sure to include £10 for a Windows key in the budget.

Here is the updated list with the cheaper RAM Gray suggested.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £319.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £109.99
• 1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £119.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £398.99
• 1 x Silverstone Essential 650W 80 Plus Gold Semi-Modular Power Supply= £79.99
• 1 x Lian-Li Lancool II Mesh performance Midi-Tower Case - Black= £74.99
• 1 x Cryorig H7 Single Tower Heatsink with 120mm Fan= £34.99
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey= £98.99

Total: £1,253.82 (includes shipping: £15.90)
​

 

[EsaT]

• 1 x Silverstone Essential 650W 80 Plus Gold Semi-Modular Power Supply= £79.99
• 1 x Cryorig H7 Single Tower Heatsink with 120mm Fan= £34.99

Arctic Freezer 34 can be gotten for £10 cheaper.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arctic-freezer-34-co-cpu-cooler-120mm-hs-079-ar.html

And that Silverstone's warranty is total lack luster 3 years.
Phanteks AMP has 10 year warranty.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phanteks-amp-650w-80-plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-09q-pt.html

 

[LiE]

Arctic Freezer 34 can be gotten for £10 cheaper.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arctic-freezer-34-co-cpu-cooler-120mm-hs-079-ar.html

And that Silverstone's warranty is total lack luster 3 years.
Phanteks AMP has 10 year warranty.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phanteks-amp-650w-80-plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-09q-pt.html

Good suggestions.

 

[mickyflinn]

Good suggestions.

Agreed, but..

The Arctic e34 sport does look nice.

 

[heatonpkmassive]

I would care more about functionality.

 

[mickyflinn]

I would care more about functionality.

Me too, but you have to live with your purchase and who doesn't like a bit of bling.

 

[heatonpkmassive]

Me too, but you have to live with your purchase and who doesn't like a bit of bling.

Guilty as charged sir, just fitted some LED strips