My son has about £800 to spend on a gaming computer

[Stonker]

He's more into truck driving and farming simulators but does also play 'shoot em up' type games.

Can somebody dvise where to start with a spec?

 

[EmelWalsh]

Does your son need a monitor, OS or peripherals?

 

[Stonker]

Sorry....no. We have a 22" Samsung TV with HDMI in that he will use to start with and he will look to upgrade later. He also has a basic mouse, keyboard and steering wheel.

He just needs the PC. He currently has a USB wifi dongle but he does fancy a PCI card (will he get a better connection?)

He will need windoze though

 

[Sparx]

Well, if you want to save money without going OTT considering he only plays simulators and the odd FPS, a 7850 would do perfectly fine. I was going to spec a 7950 initially! Also if he doesn't plan to overclock or SLI/Crossfire at any point then this mobo will do just as well also.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz & Sleeping Dogs PC Games £149.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128N/EU) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) **FREE SHIPPING** £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £66.66
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX550M High Performance 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020001-UK) £59.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £29.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £790.56 (includes shipping : FREE).

 

[honosuseri]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz & Sleeping Dogs PC Games £149.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128N/EU) £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £66.66
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX550M High Performance 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020001-UK) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £45.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £29.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £822.55 (includes shipping : £12.50).



You could add a heatsink later to help overclock, make a good stocking filler for Crimbo

 

[Sparx]

Oh hono, it's like we are in sync.

 

[Idleman]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £66.66
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX550M High Performance 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020001-UK) £59.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £29.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £809.56 (includes shipping : £12.50).

 

[Stonker]

I'll look into that. I've never built a PC before but have changed cards. Is it relatively straightforward?

 

[PapaLazaru]

It is amazing what you can get for £800 these days. Specs are top notch.

 

[Stonker]

what's the difference between the 7850 and 7850 graphics cards?

 

[Sparx]

I meant to spec the Gigabyte one originally in my own post actually. Gigabyte have a UK based RMA centre (I think), also it has a higher base clock.

 

[Idleman]

I meant to spec the Gigabyte one originally in my own post actually. Gigabyte have a UK based RMA centre (I think), also it has a higher base clock.

I believe ya.

 

[Sparx]

I believe ya.

I did.. I love my Gigabytes..

 

[Stonker]

Oi....this is my thread

 

[Idleman]

what's the difference between the 7850 and 7850 graphics cards?

Do you mean between a 7850 1GB and a 7850 2GB?

 

[Stonker]

Do you mean between a 7850 1GB and a 7850 2GB?

sorry, I meant 7850 & 7870

 

[as905]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £184.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £149.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128D/EU) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £66.66
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX550M High Performance 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020001-UK) £59.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £29.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £809.56 (includes shipping : £12.50).

this is the best one.

 

[Idleman]

sorry, I meant 7850 & 7870

The 7870 has more processing power and is clocked higher. Thus making it a better card. But the 7850 overclocks very well, so for the price makes it better value.

 

[Stonker]

OK. I don't really understand over clocking (other than it gets more performance and generates more heat). Will I be doing that with the recommended systems?

 

[Sparx]

this is the best one.

What's wrong with mine, eh!? It's the bloody same!!