Help with finding/building parts for a new PC (games)

Lotias

Lotias

Lotias

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Hello, a friend recommended me to visit these forums to ask for some help in my dilema.

So I am currently looking for my first desktop PC in years. (due to previously had lots of travel etc Ive stuck with a laptop).

Now I am looking for something that are powerful, fun and biggest thing: Can run Star Citizen to a high standard as well as do photoshopping/layout work on. I have no problems with building something myself, but already assembled could work too, for the right price (Even though building is more fun, right? ;) )

So Im thinking of a budget for around £2500, is that enough? + if not included some nice screen to go along with it all.

As I have been doing research it seems like AMD kinda has become the brand to go with, even though I've always had Intel and Nvidia previously. Which would you recommend?

I know that people say the more RAM the better, but is 16GB okey or should I shoot for 32GB right away?

Best regards
Lotias

PS. Sorry for my weird english, its not my native language!
 
@Lotias

ways of getting windows cheap but you'll have to google that - gtx 1080ti and 144hz 1440p g-sync screen :D
ryzen 1700x to provide lots of threads for editing work and give the system a good shelf life- X version so you dont have to worry about overclocking it manually
silent case and cooler when doing work

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £2,504.72 (includes shipping: £20.82)​
​
 
Lotias said:
Oh wow! That is absolutely awesome! Great that you squeezed a screen into there as well, Thank you so much! might pop in an extra fan just to be safe.
Would you say that its better to get 2 x 8GB over 4 x 4GB?
Click to expand...

with ryzen, 2x8gb - more stick the more stress on the CPU IMC!

again, i'll admit im pro-bequiet for the reason of- its quiet haha - also run the case myself, has a 140mm in the front and 120mm in the rear- linked to a fan controller - again i just set mine to full power as its.. silent ...

there is room for a dvd or Media SD card reader panel is needed at the front of the case - if not cage can be removed

ArtC5cw.jpg


1JKZyYc.jpg

you prob could use a gtx 1080 with star citz, but the way that games development has rolled out- might need a super computer by the end!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
ha nevermind, i saw it in the list eventually ha, anyways this is my take on it. small yet very powerful

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £2,440.92 (includes shipping: £23.10)
​
 
Last edited:
Lotias said:
As I have been doing research it seems like AMD kinda has become the brand to go with, even though I've always had Intel and Nvidia previously. Which would you recommend?
Click to expand...
With Intel having kept desktop users limited to four cores for freaking decade and those dual core CPUs around to drag down game multithreading development I'm not exactly fond of Intel at the moment.
And let's not forget Intel having switched from solder to tooth paste under heatspreader causing heat transfer bottle neck from CPU die and rising temperatures.
Also Intel is constantly charging from new motherboards despite of minimal or no advances in architecture...

I mean "6th" generation Skylake was rather small improvement from "4th" gen Haswell ("5th" Gen mostly missed at desktop) and "7th" gen Kaby Lake was Skylake with just clock speed tweaks.
And now "8th" gen Coffee on pants.... err, in Lake is just more of Kaby Lake cores...
Which happened only because Ryzen forced Intel for the first time in 10 years to give desktop users more available CPU power.
Intel must be angry for that and hence they still haven't released promised more affordably priced non-OC chipsets for Coffee Lake.

While mostly thanks to higher max clock speeds Intel takes lead in most games Ryzen isn't that much behind and is entirely different beast from "Faildozer".
It has full strong cores instead of "two core modules" of wimpy core and half of wimpy core and in energy efficiency it's fully comparable to Intel.

If not in hurry waiting little for Zen+ CPUs could be worth it.
Max clock speeds seem to be improved decently and these memory latency improvements would definitely further help in single core/tread performance decreasing Intel's advantage in games:
https://www.techpowerup.com/242119/first-leaked-benchmarks-of-amds-ryzen-7-2000-processor
Also motherboard chipset should be all around tweaked with improved power consumption.

Though with AM4 socket being used to 2020 also current motherboards have nice upgrades paths with only BIOS update needed.
 
Lotias said:
Can run Star Citizen to a high standard as well as
Click to expand...
Problem of that is we don't know when that game gets released (they don't even make any promises anymore) so hard to say how current parts will do then.
Well, at least it still has some years to go for record of Duke Nukem Forever...

Though if you select case well that can definitely do well even then.
In long term it pays to choose such parts which don't become technically obsolete/old well.

So what size case you want?
Do you want flashy case with window and such? (to keep looking parts instead of using PC)
Cheese grater gaming look with case made out of holes?
Or more classy look with no window and maybe ability muffle noise of components instead of leaking all noises directly out?

And while fad is for no 5.25" bays those are used also for lots of other devices besides optical drives and can be used to also add newer connectors to keep case up to date longer.


orbitalwalsh said:
1 x Cougar GX-F 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £77.99
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Why are you even suggesting cheap capacitor PSU from average maker to high end PC with extremely expensive luxury graphics card?
No matter how much is paid that graphics card will be seriously old in five years unlike good PSU.

Well, at least HEC seems to have gone for agressive fan speed profile to keep those cheap capacitors cooled...
https://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/cougar-gx-f-750w-psu-review/6/

Plenty of well performing CPU coolers for cheaper. (and without weighting kilogram) to make difference for Seasonic Focus Plus.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/seas...plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-05q-ss.html

And Antec Earthwatts (though out of stock at moment) with same insides would be similarly priced to Cougar.
 
EsaT said:
Problem of that is we don't know when that game gets released (they don't even make any promises anymore) so hard to say how current parts will do then.
Well, at least it still has some years to go for record of Duke Nukem Forever...

Though if you select case well that can definitely do well even then.
In long term it pays to choose such parts which don't become technically obsolete/old well.

So what size case you want?
Do you want flashy case with window and such? (to keep looking parts instead of using PC)
Cheese grater gaming look with case made out of holes?
Or more classy look with no window and maybe ability muffle noise of components instead of leaking all noises directly out?

And while fad is for no 5.25" bays those are used also for lots of other devices besides optical drives and can be used to also add newer connectors to keep case up to date longer.


Why are you even suggesting cheap capacitor PSU from average maker to high end PC with extremely expensive luxury graphics card?
No matter how much is paid that graphics card will be seriously old in five years unlike good PSU.

Well, at least HEC seems to have gone for agressive fan speed profile to keep those cheap capacitors cooled...
https://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/cougar-gx-f-750w-psu-review/6/

Plenty of well performing CPU coolers for cheaper. (and without weighting kilogram) to make difference for Seasonic Focus Plus.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/seas...plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-05q-ss.html

And Antec Earthwatts (though out of stock at moment) with same insides would be similarly priced to Cougar.
Click to expand...

went for price and in stock :D

plus i trust PCB vendors words over reviewers and news sites :D not the best and not the worst unit- price warranty and eff rating with modular , not such a bad price
 
orbitalwalsh said:
@ExoMale ...kahhhhhhhhhhhhhhn!!

Will have to switch a cooler and HDD to squeeze in a nice unit :)
Click to expand...

on my build or just in general? i didnt have to choose a 650w or a 4tb, they were in budget, so why not ha, long term they be useful, but im sure others like yourself will come along with more big brother builds ha ha, that 4k monitor is on sale and seemed worth the extra cost over the tn non 4k monitor of same model as such.
 
ExoMale said:
on my build or just in general? i didnt have to choose a 650w or a 4tb, they were in budget, so why not ha, long term they be useful, but im sure others like yourself will come along with more big brother builds ha ha, that 4k monitor is on sale and seemed worth the extra cost over the tn non 4k monitor of same model as such.
Click to expand...

sory, was when you mentioned i'd left out PSU haha, wasn't sure if i stuck one in haha

do love a good ITX build , can the Node take 2.5/3 slot GPUs?
 
orbitalwalsh said:
sory, was when you mentioned i'd left out PSU haha, wasn't sure if i stuck one in haha

do love a good ITX build , can the Node take 2.5/3 slot GPUs?
Click to expand...

ha i wasnt sure that got seen before i edited it, normally you dont list cougar units and i guess i overlooked it lol.

if you talking about the case i picked, it supports 310mm cards, but dont see much more than 2 slots, however from looking at the 1080 i picked, it doesnt appear it would stick out to worry? im sure this cube case cant be worse than other ones thats smaller yet still fit a 1080ti in. i quickly did it, normally i choose that long cougar one you see from my posts, but was out of stock still, but maybe the prodigy ones be better? i just like small systems now lol
 
ExoMale said:
ha i wasnt sure that got seen before i edited it, normally you dont list cougar units and i guess i overlooked it lol.

if you talking about the case i picked, it supports 310mm cards, but dont see much more than 2 slots, however from looking at the 1080 i picked, it doesnt appear it would stick out to worry? im sure this cube case cant be worse than other ones thats smaller yet still fit a 1080ti in. i quickly did it, normally i choose that long cougar one you see from my posts, but was out of stock still, but maybe the prodigy ones be better? i just like small systems now lol
Click to expand...

yeah, was just curious, was trying to look for an itx case myself to be able to handle 3 slot coolers but so hard :(

felt like a change, and so be honest was trying to get the pennies down without scraping the barrel to much haha!

trying to think if star citz supports VR like Elite ? could be another alt to having a screen - could be scaled back to a non g-sync unit...
 
orbitalwalsh said:
yeah, was just curious, was trying to look for an itx case myself to be able to handle 3 slot coolers but so hard :(

felt like a change, and so be honest was trying to get the pennies down without scraping the barrel to much haha!

trying to think if star citz supports VR like Elite ? could be another alt to having a screen - could be scaled back to a non g-sync unit...
Click to expand...

to be fair ive never cared for that game or the similar older ones anyways, so i wouldnt know what they be like ha, but i suppose VR could be interesting and made an option, mean after couple years theres now a VR fallout4, guess it would depend on interest and demand.

tbh i wouldn know, i never went looking at small cases before that often and since getting my system i have, but not to the levels of users like yourself which is why im awaiting delivery of the non armor elite 110, but surely there are plenty of cases of the form factor you want to fit in what you want as like i said, there are builds of such, but i guess its just how wide? if you have a 3 slot gpu plate then you pretty much have no hope from an itx case, some are made wide enough to accommodate the cooler rather than the bracket.
 
EsaT said:
So what size case you want?
Do you want flashy case with window and such? (to keep looking parts instead of using PC)
Cheese grater gaming look with case made out of holes?
Or more classy look with no window and maybe ability muffle noise of components instead of leaking all noises directly out?
Click to expand...

Im quite happy with a mid-tower sized case, also dont want anything too flashy. Window is okey but nothing Im eagerly going for. so discrete sleek suit is kinda what Im after.
 
@orbitalwalsh @ExoMale

What Im thinking, comparing your build a little are the motherboards. One is mini, does that mean its harder to build and more likely to overheat? (heat distributed on a smaller area). I am completely lost when it comes to motherboards, so what are REALLY the difference? size and slots?

Also I feel like going for the 1080Ti is the way to go, even though its more expensive, it feels like it will last me that bit longer.

Other than that Ive really fallen for the be quiet! 600 midi tower case, both look and space wise.
 
Lotias said:
Im quite happy with a mid-tower sized case, also dont want anything too flashy. Window is okey but nothing Im eagerly going for. so discrete sleek suit is kinda what Im after.
Click to expand...
With Lian Li having done 180 turn focusing on gaming/bling bling won't get much more discreet than Fractal Design Define R-serie.
Behind door 5.25" bays don't cause any look problem no matter what device you might have in it.
Newer R6 has bottom air filter accessible from front, but that internal compartmenting is hindrance for assembling PC with less continuous free space
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-define-r5-midi-tower-case-black-pearl-ca-035-fd.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-define-r6-midi-tower-case-black-ca-07h-fd.html

Though pretty much all 5.25" devices are now black so they wouldn't "stick out" from that BeQuiet.
Like I said case can be easily used for 10 years giving long time value for money, so sacrificing versatility for some no 5.25" bays fad doesn't make sense.

Antec used to have very discreet cases, but also they've gone mostly for gaming/bling bling look.


Lotias said:
What Im thinking, comparing your build a little are the motherboards. One is mini, does that mean its harder to build and more likely to overheat? (heat distributed on a smaller area). I am completely lost when it comes to motherboards, so what are REALLY the difference? size and slots?
Click to expand...
There's definitely less choises in small cases and huge amount of less choises in motherboards.

And there's centainly need for more effective case cooling in small cases
Unlike reference graphics card pushing their heat out from case non-reference cards dump that heat inside case.
So with smaller air volume load spikes willl increase case temperature faster unless airflow through case is up to the job.

Also it can be very limiting when later upgrading PC.
So while there's definitely place for those small PCs for normal use such case just isn't much "future proof", unlike case taking normal ATX motherboard.
 
Just different flavours, would be nice if there was an Intel spec just to give you a broad set of different systems etc etc

Me personally, no more need for ATX and ITX can be a little too limiting , I think only Gigabyte support bitfurcation ( ability to split a single 16x slot to two 8x slots ) but think only for Intel . I have one and 3 NVMe m.2 drives so a bit... Stuck unless I can find a case (mATX not itx ) that can handle 3 slots but space for a PCIe PCB to make it all work :(

Ti is built like a bull , should last longer, specially with that amount of ram , under 4k though ! Important to remember as still lacks full 60hz 4k gaming .

If you can splash a little more in certain areas, like Focus PSU - can't fault it, I personally don't use it as able to gain access to Riotoro Units which are just colour rebrands by ex Corsair staff and is £20 cheaper with same 10 year warranty .

https://www.riotoro.com/products/enigma-850w-g2/

Cases , are part function and part form, and left down to yourself to choose, we can all help but cases as just to hard to get it perfect first time for someone to match their personal tastes
 
lets be honest, how many people actually care for dual graphics? how many features of an atx is useful over smaller boards? how many people care for overclocking? itx and m-atx can share similar features apart from itx is single card for the obvious, so they all this 'future proofing' lark, plenty of small cases with good airflow, but hving big doesnt always mean better cooling, some have crap flow, im not saying go itx, i chose a small but powerful system within budget offering practically everything op asked of, dont just dismiss it because its small and the case chosen isnt to your taste, we give ideas of what they could get, i like anyone dont make people buy things, also many itx/m-atx can support more than 4 sata ports if thats a concern.

something from intel to compare with, note no windows this time due to price, also while a decent 4k screen can be had, i went for a really wide screen for an example, still wouldnt get windows without dropping to a smaller screen,

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £2,466.87 (includes shipping: £0.00)​
​
 
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