Looking for a new gaming PC - budget £1200

[jamesy505]

Hi, my current PC has finally given up the ghost, so im thinking of getting a new PC. My last PC had a i5-2500K and GTX 570, so has been around 12-14 years.

The PC will be used exclusively for gaming. No specific games in mind, but would like to play the latest games even if lowered settings.

I was planning on hooking it up to my LG OLED, but not sure if thats a good idea or not. If not, i'll look to get a monitor instead that isnt included in this budget - although recommendations would be appreciated.

I'd be looking probably at a pre-build, as my tech skills have not improved since I last tried to build a PC

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Vern1961]

Following this as my budget for a Win 11 gaming PC is about the same (current old potato beyond any further upgrades and won't take Win11).

As I noted in another thread OCUK do have a "Graphite" branded pre build PC listed for £1199 which on the surface looks quite good for gaming. However when you examine the specs a bit more, somewhat lacking. Although it has a Nvidia 4060 GPU it only comes with 1 x 1Tb SSD. No doubt Win 11 will chew up 50% and you would only need to install a few other apps and a couple of A list games to use that up. Only has 16Gb of RAM when generally accepted these days you should be looking at 32Gb as a minimum. No optical drive either, some of us still have the odd game or content that is on disc and use the PC to rip CD's for the MP3 player. I don't know whether OCUK can comment on their own products, but how about a version of the Graphite that makes do with a lesser GPU (maybe a 3050 or 3060) to get started and instead gives you the 32Gb of RAM, at least one additional 2Tb mechanical drive and a DVD RW drive for the same price. The GPU can always be upgraded later. Or why can't we take the "shelf" version and configure to our particular needs?

 

[Tetras]

What resolution is your LG OLED? 4K?

This is the minimum I'd look at for 4K, but the lifespan of a 7700 XT at 4K is not going to be that long (they're aimed at 1440p):

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Harrier - AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Radeon Gaming PC (SKU: FS-1EU-OG) = £1,449.98
  • Case: 1 x Aerocool Dryft Mini v2 Micro-ATX Case
  • Processor: 1 x Build Stock AMD Ryzen 7 7700X Eight Core 4.9GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Tr
  • Memory: 1 x Corsair Vengeance EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-41600C40 5200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK32GX5M2B5200Z40)
  • Graphics: 1 x SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 7700 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 12GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture
  • Cooler: 1 x Kolink Umbra Void AIO 240mm Performance ARGB CPU Water Cooler
  • M.2 Solid State Drive: 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E)
  • Operating System: 1 x Build Stock Microsoft Windows 11 Home Advanced - Systems

Total: £1,449.98 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

This is more what I'd be aiming for 4K gaming in the latest games:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Calcite - Intel Core i7 14700KF, RTX 4070 Ti Super Pre-Built Gaming PC (SKU: FS-PB05-EP) = £1,999.99

Total: £2,007.98 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

Motherboard: Intel B760 WIFI (Socket 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard
Processor: Intel i7-14700KF Processor
Case: APNX Creator C1 White Mid Tower
Cooler: 240mm White All in One RGB Cooler
Power Supply: 850W Gold 80 Plus Gen5 PSU
Storage: 1TB Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive
RAM: White 2x16GB DDR5 6200MHz Dual-Channel Kit
Graphics Card: Nvidia RTX 4070Ti Super 16GB
Operating System: Windows 11 Home 64-bit

For a budget of £1200? Something like this (note my changes to the base spec, including swapping the GPU):

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Oxygen - AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, GeForce RTX 4060Ti Gaming PC (SKU: FS-1BZ-OG) = £1,192.04
  • Case: 1 x SYSTEM OFFER - APNX Creator C1 Blue Mist Limited Edition Mid Tower Case
  • Memory: 1 x Kingston FURY Beast EXPO 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (KF560C36BBEK2-32)
  • Graphics Card: 1 x SAPPHIRE NITRO+ AMD Radeon™ RX 7700 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 12GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture
  • M.2 Solid State Drive: 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E)
  • Operating System: 1 x Build Stock Microsoft Windows 11 Home Advanced - Systems

Total: £1,192.04 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Gray2233]

Your money will go further if you build yourself, it's really not that difficult to do with modern systems.

A couple of items are on pre-order, but hopefully they wont take long to come back into stock.

M-ATX as that's my personal preference, if you go for the build be sure to measure up the GPU and make sure it fits in the case.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £182.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Vulcan EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C38 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLABD532G6000HC38ADC01) (SKU: MY-0B2-TG) = £99.95
• 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58F-WD) = £69.94
• 1 x MSI MAG A750GL 750W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.0 PCIE5 Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-013-MS) = £99.95
• 1 x Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 GRE Gaming 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-SPR-01588) = £499.99
• 1 x Asrock B650M PG Riptide (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-18Y-AK) = £159.99
• 1 x Aerocool Dryft Mini v2 Micro-ATX Case (SKU: CAS-AER-00607) = £54.99

Total: £1,167.80 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[jamesy505]

What resolution is your LG OLED? 4K?

This is the minimum I'd look at for 4K, but the lifespan of a 7700 XT at 4K is not going to be that long (they're aimed at 1440p):

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Harrier - AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Radeon Gaming PC (SKU: FS-1EU-OG) = £1,449.98
  • Case: 1 x Aerocool Dryft Mini v2 Micro-ATX Case
    
  • Processor: 1 x Build Stock AMD Ryzen 7 7700X Eight Core 4.9GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Tr
    
  • Memory: 1 x Corsair Vengeance EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-41600C40 5200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK32GX5M2B5200Z40)
    
  • Graphics: 1 x SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon™ RX 7700 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 12GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture
    
  • Cooler: 1 x Kolink Umbra Void AIO 240mm Performance ARGB CPU Water Cooler
    
  • M.2 Solid State Drive: 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E)
    
  • Operating System: 1 x Build Stock Microsoft Windows 11 Home Advanced - Systems

Total: £1,449.98 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

This is more what I'd be aiming for 4K gaming in the latest games:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Calcite - Intel Core i7 14700KF, RTX 4070 Ti Super Pre-Built Gaming PC (SKU: FS-PB05-EP) = £1,999.99

Total: £2,007.98 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

For a budget of £1200? Something like this (note my changes to the base spec, including swapping the GPU):

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Oxygen - AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, GeForce RTX 4060Ti Gaming PC (SKU: FS-1BZ-OG) = £1,192.04
  • Case: 1 x SYSTEM OFFER - APNX Creator C1 Blue Mist Limited Edition Mid Tower Case
    
  • Memory: 1 x Kingston FURY Beast EXPO 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (KF560C36BBEK2-32)
    
  • Graphics Card: 1 x SAPPHIRE NITRO+ AMD Radeon™ RX 7700 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 12GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture
    
  • M.2 Solid State Drive: 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E)
    
  • Operating System: 1 x Build Stock Microsoft Windows 11 Home Advanced - Systems

Total: £1,192.04 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

Thanks for the different options. Given me a bit to ponder over

My OLED is 4K, G3 model.

 

[jamesy505]

Your money will go further if you build yourself, it's really not that difficult to do with modern systems.

A couple of items are on pre-order, but hopefully they wont take long to come back into stock.

M-ATX as that's my personal preference, if you go for the build be sure to measure up the GPU and make sure it fits in the case.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £182.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Vulcan EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C38 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLABD532G6000HC38ADC01) (SKU: MY-0B2-TG) = £99.95
• 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58F-WD) = £69.94
• 1 x MSI MAG A750GL 750W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.0 PCIE5 Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-013-MS) = £99.95
• 1 x Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 GRE Gaming 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-SPR-01588) = £499.99
• 1 x Asrock B650M PG Riptide (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-18Y-AK) = £159.99
• 1 x Aerocool Dryft Mini v2 Micro-ATX Case (SKU: CAS-AER-00607) = £54.99

Total: £1,167.80 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

Thanks for the options.

Last PC I built it wasn't really the build, more the cable management and a finger print on the graphics card meant it didn't boot correctly

 

[Tetras]

My OLED is 4K, G3 model.

That's unfortunate, 4K is hard work (and expensive).

You might be interested in this video, relative to the 7900 GRE Gray2233 suggested:

4K Gaming Doesn't Have to be Expensive - AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE PC Build

Building an Affordable Radeon RX 7900 GRE 4K Gaming PC This video is sponsored by GIGABYTE. You can find all the parts I used below *System Specs / Parts...

www.youtube.com

 

[jamesy505]

That's unfortunate, 4K is hard work (and expensive).

You might be interested in this video, relative to the 7900 GRE Gray2233 suggested:

4K Gaming Doesn't Have to be Expensive - AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE PC Build

Building an Affordable Radeon RX 7900 GRE 4K Gaming PC This video is sponsored by GIGABYTE. You can find all the parts I used below *System Specs / Parts...

www.youtube.com

Thanks, I'll have a look at the video.

I would need to decide if better to buy a monitor instead, as my G3 has run out of HDMIs with everything else plugged in

 

[jamesy505]

That's unfortunate, 4K is hard work (and expensive).

You might be interested in this video, relative to the 7900 GRE Gray2233 suggested:

4K Gaming Doesn't Have to be Expensive - AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE PC Build

Building an Affordable Radeon RX 7900 GRE 4K Gaming PC This video is sponsored by GIGABYTE. You can find all the parts I used below *System Specs / Parts...

www.youtube.com

Regarding the 4k, would it be better buying a monitor instead?

 

[Tetras]

Regarding the 4k, would it be better buying a monitor instead?

Probably not. If you got a good 1440p monitor it would cost you say.. £200-£300, which is in the region of what you'd save on the graphics card by playing at a lower resolution.

 

[jamesy505]

Probably not. If you got a good 1440p monitor it would cost you say.. £200-£300, which is in the region of what you'd save on the graphics card by playing at a lower resolution.

Cheers. Sounds like the options are the 1st or 3rd options or something like what's in the video

 

[Tetras]

Cheers. Sounds like the options are the 1st or 3rd options or something like what's in the video

7700 XT can certainly do 4K for now, but a 7900 GRE would be a lot nicer and more what I'd class as entry-level 4K. If you didn't want to play the latest games it'd be less important because the 7700 XT can power through old stuff @ 4K no problem.

TPU's review includes some numbers for each game in their test suite (above the average FPS resolution graphs), this is at max settings with no upscaling being used.

Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT Pure Review

Sapphire's Radeon RX 7700 XT Pure comes with a great-looking white cooler design that makes it a top choice for every white build. Compared to the Pulse you get a more powerful cooler that has three fans instead of two, with whisper-quiet noise levels and good temperatures.

www.techpowerup.com

If you want a better idea of what it looks like In reality, I'd try a search on YouTube for the game, resolution and the card, e.g.

RX 7700 XT in 4K - Test in 25 Games

BUY CHEAP GAMES HERE: https://www.instant-gaming.com/?igr=edwardstudioDISCORD:https://discord.gg/64pKqEs5FQ----------------------------------------PC Configu...

www.youtube.com

 

[Gray2233]

Get a HDMI switch for your TV.

As for the build I listed, if you really don't want to self build you can contact OCUK and they'll build it for you for a fee. It should still work out around the same price as some of the others, and be much better balanced for your needs.

 

[jamesy505]

I'm back again. I think I'm going to go for a monitor, as I don't have enough space next to my TV for a PC.

Could you recommend a monitor that would complement any of the builds above?

I don't think 4k is generally a requirement if the PC can target 1440 instead.

Thank you

 

[jamesy505]

I have crunched some numbers and I now have a budget of £1750. This needs to include a monitor though.

With the updated budget, would you change any of the advice given above?

Thanks

 

[Tetras]

With the updated budget, would you change any of the advice given above?

With the 7900 GRE being available for £500 now, that's a decent price for the performance, though I don't know if that is reflected in the build costs @ OCUK (or if it is, how quickly).

Could you recommend a monitor that would complement any of the builds above?

Monitors aren't my thing, I'd make a new thread in the monitor forum.

 

[jamesy505]

With the 7900 GRE being available for £500 now, that's a decent price for the performance, though I don't know if that is reflected in the build costs @ OCUK (or if it is, how quickly).


Monitors aren't my thing, I'd make a new thread in the monitor forum.

Thanks

 

[Craig_d1]

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6K0-AS) = £169.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £172.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FF3D532G6000HC30DC01) (SKU: MY-0B8-TG) = £110.00
• 1 x Lexar NM790 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 Solid State Drive (LNM790X001T-RNNNG) (SKU: STO-LEX-01452) = £69.94
• 1 x Corsair RMe Series RM850e Fully Modular Low-Noise ATX Power Supply v2 (CP-9020263-UK) (SKU: CA-27N-CS) = £125.00
• 1 x Asus GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Dual EVO 12GB GDDR6X PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ASU-02141) = £539.98
• 1 x Phanteks XT View ATX Case Tempered Glass Windows, Black (SKU: CAS-PHK-01445) = £74.99

Total: £1,274.88 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

I'd go with something like above...phone in and speak to OCuk, they'll ask you to email order, then they'll build it...can't see them charging more than £200...don't buy a copy of wondows for £100+, they can add it and you get a code elsewhere for £20 or less...that'll leave £300 for a monitor...va or ips..depends if you want curved, high contrast (VA) or play in well lit room, better colour, lower contrast, flap (IPS).....or keep saving and go oled...in which case i reckommed a 42" LG c3 tv...£750 atm​

 

[jamesy505]

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6K0-AS) = £169.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £172.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FF3D532G6000HC30DC01) (SKU: MY-0B8-TG) = £110.00
• 1 x Lexar NM790 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 Solid State Drive (LNM790X001T-RNNNG) (SKU: STO-LEX-01452) = £69.94
• 1 x Corsair RMe Series RM850e Fully Modular Low-Noise ATX Power Supply v2 (CP-9020263-UK) (SKU: CA-27N-CS) = £125.00
• 1 x Asus GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Dual EVO 12GB GDDR6X PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ASU-02141) = £539.98
• 1 x Phanteks XT View ATX Case Tempered Glass Windows, Black (SKU: CAS-PHK-01445) = £74.99

Total: £1,274.88 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

I'd go with something like above...phone in and speak to OCuk, they'll ask you to email order, then they'll build it...can't see them charging more than £200...don't buy a copy of wondows for £100+, they can add it and you get a code elsewhere for £20 or less...that'll leave £300 for a monitor...va or ips..depends if you want curved, high contrast (VA) or play in well lit room, better colour, lower contrast, flap (IPS).....or keep saving and go oled...in which case i reckommed a 42" LG c3 tv...£750 atm​

Thanks mate. That's a decent shout. Where do you get Window for cheaper?

 

[Craig_d1]

Thanks mate. That's a decent shout. Where do you get Window for cheaper?

Google or watch some tech yt vids like redgamingtech. They generally have a sponsor and. It's against forum policy to straight out and say