Help choosing PC components for my GF :)

PixelChef

PixelChef

PixelChef

Soldato
Joined
8 Oct 2007
Posts
2,844
Hi,

My gf wants to "upgrade" her pc but she basically wants everything.

CPU, mobo, GPU, RAM, case and PSU. She already has an SSD and hard drives and a 1080p monitor.

She is a gamer and plays quite demanding games like Rainbow Six Siege, Witcher 3, etc and will play new upcoming games.

We have looked on OcUk and come up with a draft build:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £485.94
(includes shipping: £0.00)
​


​

I picked the i3 skylake because the i5 is £70 more expensive and I don't think the performance will be much better? She also won't overclock.

Not really sure about cases, but I picked a decent budget one. She doesn't need an excessive one as she won't do any modding or watercooling etc.

I think that a RX 480 would probably be a better card for her price range?

Her budget is around £500

Thanks for any help :)
 
Last edited:
At the bottom of the OcUK basket is a button called bbcode, click it and copy+paste the text that pops up into your post or a new one.
 
PixelChef said:
I think that a RX 480 would probably be a better card for her price range?
Click to expand...
Agreed. It's already nearly as fast as a stock GTX980 on average in DX11 and streets ahead in DX12, and that's with immature drivers. If she's happy with 4GB of video RAM (plenty for 1920x1080) then it'll be even cheaper.

Maybe put the money saved into faster system RAM? Going for DDR4-3000 or 3200 does make a real difference to minimum framerates in most modern games and could be had for only a tenner or so more if you shop around.

http://www.techspot.com/article/1171-ddr4-4000-mhz-performance/page3.html
 
At that budget the i3 is probably all you get cpu wise unless you go for 2nd hand components from the MM.

If you could scrape another £145 together you could step up to something like this.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £645.89
(includes shipping: £0.00)
​


​
 
Last edited:
stulid said:
At the bottom of the OcUK basket is a button called bbcode, click it and copy+paste the text that pops up into your post or a new one.
Click to expand...

Added to main post, thanks

JanxSpirit said:
Agreed. It's already nearly as fast as a stock GTX980 on average in DX11 and streets ahead in DX12, and that's with immature drivers. If she's happy with 4GB of video RAM (plenty for 1920x1080) then it'll be even cheaper.

Maybe put the money saved into faster system RAM? Going for DDR4-3000 or 3200 does make a real difference to minimum framerates in most modern games and could be had for only a tenner or so more if you shop around.

http://www.techspot.com/article/1171-ddr4-4000-mhz-performance/page3.html
Click to expand...

Ive changed it for some 3000mhz RAM :) Same price too!
 
 
The faster ram will just run at 2133Mhz, if its the same price as 2400/2133 then get it anyway.

The build in post#8 will be similar to this - https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18735568 - but you only need a fan for the front of the case and a 3 or 4pin (if using a pwm fan) fan cable extension.

The board itself only has two fan headers, one for the cpu cooler and one for the system fan.
 
The core 1000 case bundle is a very good shout!

I've come up with a revised build based on suggestions here:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £524.90
(includes shipping: £0.00)
​


​

Slightly over budget but only because I added a CPU cooler really, I think it's worth it :p

We may look into getting a 2nd hand i5 Skylake instead for a similar price to the i3 new.

Any more suggestions guys?
 
Last edited:
PixelChef said:
The core 1000 case bundle is a very good shout!

I've come up with a revised build based on suggestions here:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £524.90
(includes shipping: £0.00)
​


​

Slightly over budget but only because I added a CPU cooler really, I think it's worth it :p

We may look into getting a 2nd hand i5 Skylake instead for a similar price to the i3 new.

Any more suggestions guys?
Click to expand...

You need to select a mATX motherboard - eg - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...151-ddr4-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-684-as.html

The above also saves you £10.00

Since you won't be overclocking the stock cpu cooler should be fine - if you gave up the aftermarket cooler you could get 16gb of 2133mhz ram - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/king...nnel-kit-black-hx421c14fb2k2-1-my-245-ks.html

This is what i would do (and am doing - building the Mrs a pc today by coincidence!). It means that you won't need to upgrade the memory down the line which could be costly as you only have two slots so would have to replace rather than adding to.

Just my 2 pence!
 
Last edited:
Oh, didn't realise ATX won't fit in that case! The cast is big enough for a good GPU though right?

Is the stock cooler better for Skylake? May go for 16gb RAM, we'll see
 
 
Jonny L said:
Looks good - you may want a 120mm fan for the front as Stulid suggests.
Click to expand...

Ah yes was gonna do that.

Done :)

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £536.49
(includes shipping: £0.00)
​


​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom