Looking for a £2.0-2.5k Gaming/Streaming build from scratch

ProclivitasX

ProclivitasX

ProclivitasX

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14 Aug 2020
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3
Hi all,

I'm a bit out of the loop with gaming setups at the minute, I built my last desktop maybe 6-7 years ago and sold it about 4 years ago. I've now got the space to get a gaming build back and whilst I've spent a good few hours here and there researching, I'm still quite lost with where to start.

Would really appreciate any advice, I'm really quite short on time to build one (the last one took me ages), so I'm not too fussed about paying a small excess to have it built out or buy a pre-built.

I'm hoping this budget can get me:
  • AAA smooth FPS
  • Dual Monitor (1 @ 1440p, 2nd is just supplementary)
  • Capable of streaming good quality (1080p?)
  • Gaming keyboard/mouse/speakers/headset (not sure how much to set aside for these)
  • It'll be a high speed wired connection
  • Case: I'd like to have this on show, I had a Haf-X case last time and it was waaay too bulky!
Not sure if I'm forgetting anything else.

Basically all I have is a desk, chair, and an old MacBook Pro. So I need to start from scratch!

Edit: Not sure if possible but future possibility of hooking up a PS5 & capture card would be decent (assuming it works that way).

Thanks.
 
This would be a good base to start with - 3900X, 32GB RAM, 2070 Super and 1TB NVME. You might want to add another 1-2TB SSD if you expect to have a lot of games installed, but you can always add this later. Or maybe a 2-4TB HDD if you intend to have a lot of documents/videos/streams saved etc. Case is obviously entirely your own preference.

Only BIG issue atm is Nvidia are expected to release next-gen GPUs by the end of September potentially, they are holding an event on 31st August to announce them where we hope to hear pricing and launch dates. So investing right now £500+ on a GPU seems a little daft. Do you have a temporary GPU you could use, or hold off purchasing for a month or so maybe? :o As you intend to stream, I'd stick with a Nvidia GPU as the NVENC (Nvidia's encoder) for streaming is fantastic - not many streamers use the x264 CPU encoder now if they can avoid it.

Monitor wise, I would grab the new Dell S2721DGF which is 27" 1440p 165Hz IPS panel and G-Sync/FreeSync compatible... Great value! I've just ordered one myself and there is a huge thread here about it. You can get a 15% off code if have NHS/Student discount available from anyone, so ends up being £331 delivered. ;) I'd maybe jump on this purchase sooner if you do decide to go for it, as not sure when the current £390 sale price ends.

You can either build it yourself (btw 3900X can be had for £400 elsewhere) or you can ask OcUK for a quote in the Customer Service subforum to build the system if you just copy/paste a basket, they usually charge in the region of £100 extra. I'd also suggest getting your own Windows 10 key from popular auction site for £5-10. That'll save you £100+ getting a Windows license via OcUK.

Keyboard/mouse/headset etc all depends what you're after. Keyboard I'd definitely recommend a good mechanical one, especially if playing FPS games. Corsair, SteelSeries, Logitech, Razer, Ducky etc all do good mech keyboards. Mouse is up to you, personally I got the Razer Viper Ultimate Wireless last xmas and love it. So precise and the wireless tech they have is great. Headset wise, SteelSeries Arctis 7 or Corsair Virtuoso SE might perk your interest as both well reviewed and PC/PS4 compatible. Speakers if you want something fairly decent but not too expensive, look up the Logitech Z333 or for a little more the Z533.

Hope this all helps! :D

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,712.88 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​
 
Last edited:
Welcome aboard.

Like just said, in graphics cards situation is bad now for spending lots of money with new generation of cards coming in following months.
Just for comparison what's coming next-gen consoles are basically gonig to have better GPUs than £500 cards.
Especially next Xbox has very strong GPU.
And even Intel should be joining discrete GPU game.

So definitely best to avoid buying anything expensive.
Good thing is that graphics card is one of the easier to change parts.

For CPU cooling I would recommend good heatpipe coolers.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alpenfohn-brocken-3-cpu-cooler-140mm-hs-05a-al.html
Only minority of waterpipe coolers are better than best heatpipe coolers and Ryzens actually don't need the best possible coolers unlike Intels.
Also heatpipe coolers are more reliable and only thing which can fail is cheap and easy to replace fan, whose failure doesn't kill all cooling power.

For PSU 650W is enough unless you'll be going for the most power hungry everything.


For monitor lot depends on what room illumination you prefer: Normal room, or darkened/dimly illuminated room?
Until we have FALD backlight monitors IPS isn't good for dimmer light, where VA's way highest contrast of LCDs shines.
But IPS has more consistent response times, while all but couple latest Samsung VAs have some transitions sluggish compared to IPS/TN.
For normal room lights that Dell would be very good.


In keyboards there are many aspects to consider besides look and marketing.
Mechanical keyboards have typically vastly difference feel and behaviour compared to "normal" keyboards.
Also they typically fail to give damn about noise.
Something which might cause background noise issues especially with omnidirectional microphones.
Logitech G815 with GL Tactile would be one of the safer ones in noise.
 
^^ Good advice.

My only reason for the 850w PSU was it's well priced (only £20 more than a decent 650w) and with the foresight he'll potentially upgrade GPU or wait and get the next-gen Nvidia GPUs which are a bit more power hungry.

I'm sure the 3900X full load is 220w, 2080 Super can peak 265w which equal 485w already... plus your other bits in the system etc. So be even more on next gen GPUs, so think 850w gives plenty of headroom at a good price to run efficiently. Although obviously could run on a 650/750w easily too, but such a small price difference.
 
Sparx said:
This would be a good base to start with - 3900X, 32GB RAM, 2070 Super and 1TB NVME. You might want to add another 1-2TB SSD if you expect to have a lot of games installed, but you can always add this later. Or maybe a 2-4TB HDD if you intend to have a lot of documents/videos/streams saved etc. Case is obviously entirely your own preference.

Only BIG issue atm is Nvidia are expected to release next-gen GPUs by the end of September potentially, they are holding an event on 31st August to announce them where we hope to hear pricing and launch dates. So investing right now £500+ on a GPU seems a little daft. Do you have a temporary GPU you could use, or hold off purchasing for a month or so maybe? :o As you intend to stream, I'd stick with a Nvidia GPU as the NVENC (Nvidia's encoder) for streaming is fantastic - not many streamers use the x264 CPU encoder now if they can avoid it.

Monitor wise, I would grab the new Dell S2721DGF which is 27" 1440p 165Hz IPS panel and G-Sync/FreeSync compatible... Great value! I've just ordered one myself and there is a huge thread here about it. You can get a 15% off code if have NHS/Student discount available from anyone, so ends up being £331 delivered. ;) I'd maybe jump on this purchase sooner if you do decide to go for it, as not sure when the current £390 sale price ends.

You can either build it yourself (btw 3900X can be had for £400 elsewhere) or you can ask OcUK for a quote in the Customer Service subforum to build the system if you just copy/paste a basket, they usually charge in the region of £100 extra. I'd also suggest getting your own Windows 10 key from popular auction site for £5-10. That'll save you £100+ getting a Windows license via OcUK.

Keyboard/mouse/headset etc all depends what you're after. Keyboard I'd definitely recommend a good mechanical one, especially if playing FPS games. Corsair, SteelSeries, Logitech, Razer, Ducky etc all do good mech keyboards. Mouse is up to you, personally I got the Razer Viper Ultimate Wireless last xmas and love it. So precise and the wireless tech they have is great. Headset wise, SteelSeries Arctis 7 or Corsair Virtuoso SE might perk your interest as both well reviewed and PC/PS4 compatible. Speakers if you want something fairly decent but not too expensive, look up the Logitech Z333 or for a little more the Z533.

Hope this all helps! :D

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,712.88 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the recommendation & sorry for the mega late reply!

I'm really keen on getting the NZXT H510 Elite case and making it look nice - does that motherboard fit with the NZXT case do you know? Also, I keep hearing conflicting comments about installing a watercooler into that case and not sure if I'd need to remove the front fans etc. I'm thinking maybe one of them Kraken watercoolers but they look expensive compared to Corsair or Artic Liquid and not sure if it's worthit?

I think I'll be giving a self-build a go since I'm getting the itch to put it all together!

Appreciate the heads up about the new graphics card potentially coming out. It's probably something I'll have to live with as I need a good desktop pretty soon I think.

Thanks again, appreciate any input there. It feels good to get back up to speed with some of these things.
 
ProclivitasX said:
Thank you so much for the recommendation & sorry for the mega late reply!

I'm really keen on getting the NZXT H510 Elite case and making it look nice - does that motherboard fit with the NZXT case do you know? Also, I keep hearing conflicting comments about installing a watercooler into that case and not sure if I'd need to remove the front fans etc. I'm thinking maybe one of them Kraken watercoolers but they look expensive compared to Corsair or Artic Liquid and not sure if it's worthit?

I think I'll be giving a self-build a go since I'm getting the itch to put it all together!

Appreciate the heads up about the new graphics card potentially coming out. It's probably something I'll have to live with as I need a good desktop pretty soon I think.

Thanks again, appreciate any input there. It feels good to get back up to speed with some of these things.
Click to expand...

They are already announced ( the new cards that is ) buying a 2070 now is a waste of money! you could get something over twice as fast in two weeks for the same amount of money.
 
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