Need help absolute newbie

Soldato
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Welcome to the forum.

New AMD Ryzen processors and motherboards will be announced in about 10 days or so, with the actual release in the following weeks. A Ryzen "3300X" 6 core could be as low as $130 and make a great fit for the budget you mention. So if you can wait, wait. If not, let us know.

Meantime, more details would be good - have a monitor already? If so which brand and model. Does it have any Gsync or Freesync. If it's your first PC the answer is probably no but now and then a first timer will surprise with: "Yes got a Gsync" lol.

Retail copy of Windows will cut into that budget by a ton, making it a pointless purchase, i.e. had you saved up a bit more money then you'd have bought something worth it. So add that cost on top, not included in budget. Or better yet, install Windows yourself, and start using it free while you look for a cheap key. Search online for more info on this.
 
Soldato
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Can you even get prebuilt gaming boxes that actually can game for 500 folded pictures of her Maj?

Prices are good just now, and the AMD GPU game bundle if sold can help.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £361.20 (includes shipping: £12.30)​

For CPU, OcUK can add a quad core eight thread Ryzen 2500X if requested, for £120. Or can take advantage of Ryzen 2600 at £140 just now, which would come with a second game bundle.

+ build fee

- game bundle or 2 game bundles

= ~£500 depending on build fee. Assuming a £50 build fee (which isn't cast in stone) for a budget PC like that, you could get £80 for selling both game bundles and end up below £500. Even if you decide no, want the cheaper CPU and I'll keep the one game bundle, it won't be far over £500.

Small SSD which I don't like to spec if I can help it. But budget is budget, it'll hold a few games and more storage can always be added.

But I'd wait if possible as the 3300X should be even better and priced between the 2500X and 2600, all going well. Or it will make those older gen CPUs even cheaper.
 
Associate
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You will need a copy of windows as well, 500 is going to make it tight to do and it wont be a great gaming machine as i think the cheapest on overclockers AMD section is a 2200g based item for 440 ish ..

If you want someone else to build it then its going to cost a lot more.
 
Soldato
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You will need a copy of windows as well, 500 is going to make it tight to do and it wont be a great gaming machine as i think the cheapest on overclockers AMD section is a 2200g based item for 440 ish ..

If you want someone else to build it then its going to cost a lot more.

Looks like you totally ignored my first post, where I explain about Windows, and the second post too which is a better spec than the 2200G or 2400G based system, where build fee is also addressed.
 
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Well i just went to overclockers shop and looked for there cheepest prebuilt, which is in the mid 400s iirc.

Yes your second spec is a decent gaming box but who is going to build it? for 50 quid?
I wouldnt, i wouldnt want the owner coming back to me all the time with niggles (which we all know crop up) for 50 notes, what if something is broken down the line.. who diagnoses and fixes it? i presume Overclockers have a warranty on all there boxes and would deal with that as per the norm. Do overclockers offer a "build" option, would have thought that would make there prebuilts redundant.

Then you have to sell the games if you want to get close to 500, yes you can do this.. if you can find a buyer and can be bothered. Its a cracking AMD that but i wonder how long they will last.

And speaking of lasting, would a cheep (or dodgy) windows key continue to work? - we have seen MS kill abused keys before so i would prob want a full retail copy i could transfer down the line.. lets face it windows is prob the most important part of a pc next to the cpu. Iam lucky enough to get access to legit windows software as part of my job and where i work (university IT) for a big discount but not everyone can get that.
 
Soldato
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OCUK, would cover the build for £50 (custom service) and add a 3 year return to base warranty - as long as all components bought through them.

As for cheap Windows keys - they're great. I use them a lot for gaming builds. The kids systems even swapped to new motherboards. At ~£10 even if it only lasted a couple of years (I've never had an issue) what's the risk? Save and buy retail during this period or buy another cheap key.

I use full retail on my work machines but for budget gaming machines or just gaming in general; grey market keys are a proven bargain, despite slight deactivation risks.
 
Soldato
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Well i just went to overclockers shop and looked for there cheepest prebuilt, which is in the mid 400s iirc.

Yes your second spec is a decent gaming box but who is going to build it? for 50 quid?

OcUK are known to quote around that figure for budget specs. They are free to quote whatever they like but it's a normal figure. They built a budget PC I ordered for my brother for £30 fee just a couple years ago. So it really is worth asking them, instead of assuming nobody will build for that fee. Remember that they make money on selling the parts as well, so keeping build fee reasonable helps clinch the deal, if not customer may go elsewhere.


I wouldnt, i wouldnt want the owner coming back to me all the time with niggles (which we all know crop up) for 50 notes, what if something is broken down the line.. who diagnoses and fixes it? i presume Overclockers have a warranty on all there boxes and would deal with that as per the norm. Do overclockers offer a "build" option, would have thought that would make there prebuilts redundant.

Yes, OcUK does offer a custom build service, and warranty is included with custom spec prebuilts as well.


Then you have to sell the games if you want to get close to 500, yes you can do this.. if you can find a buyer and can be bothered. Its a cracking AMD that but i wonder how long they will last.

You can go with 2500X and keep the game bundle, and its £530 if the build fee is £50. And he did say "around £500".


And speaking of lasting, would a cheep (or dodgy) windows key continue to work? - we have seen MS kill abused keys before so i would prob want a full retail copy i could transfer down the line.. lets face it windows is prob the most important part of a pc next to the cpu. Iam lucky enough to get access to legit windows software as part of my job and where i work (university IT) for a big discount but not everyone can get that.

You'd have to be quite unlucky for it to stop working because if you do your homework and search well, and buy well and there's no issues. The good keys are excess/unwanted genuine keys that large companies offload to sellers.




Don't recommend. 2400G is for a PC with a bit of light gaming, not for a "Gaming PC".
 
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Thanks for all the help.

From what I’ve heard I will most likely wait for the new releases mentioned to arrive.

I’ve heard and quote that a ‘stormforce onyx Ryzen 5 2400G 8GB 1TB Radeon RX’ is a good choice here are the specs sent to me by a friend;

CPU and Memory:

  • AMD Ryzen 5ryzen 5 2400g processor.
  • Quad core processor.
  • Processor speed 3.6GHz.
  • 8GB RAM DDR4.
Hard drive:

  • 1TB HDD storage.
  • Hard drive speed 7200RPM.
Graphics:

  • Shared graphics.
  • AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 with .
Interfaces and connectivity:

  • 3 x USB 2.0 ports.
  • 1 x USB 3.0 port.
  • 4 x USB 3.1 ports.
  • Ethernet port.
  • 1 HDMI port.
  • 1 VGA port.
  • Wireless/Wi-Fi enabled.
Operating system and software:

  • Microsoft Windows 10.
General features:

  • Size H38.1, W20.8, D45.6cm.
  • Weight 11kg.
Another mentioned by my friend is the ‘Cyberpower AMD Ryzen 5 2400G, onboard Graphics, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD Specs are as follows;

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2400GMotherboard: AMD A320M chipsetGraphics: RX Vega 11 Onboard GraphicsRAM: 8GB 2400MHz DDR4Storage: 1TB SATA III HDD
Operating System: Windows 10 Home

I also don’t have a monitor so if anyone would have ideas please feel free.

Thanks.


 
Soldato
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I’ve heard and quote that a ‘stormforce onyx Ryzen 5 2400G 8GB 1TB Radeon RX’ is a good choice here are the specs sent to me by a friend;
Not when compared to @Danny75's build - for virtually the same money. Danny's build would obliterate that system for similar money and with only a bit more effort on your part. The SSD could be subbed out for a 1TB conventional drive - if you needed the storage and an SSD added later...

Depends what you want?..
 
Soldato
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That kind of spec is exactly what I was on about when I said don't include retail Windows price in your around £500 budget or it'll be a waste of money. The PSU, which I warned about, is not listed either.

An RX 570 leaves the integrated graphics on the 2400G in the dust.

Spend £500-ish on decent hardware and build fee alone. Spend £100~ish on monitor (some decent options there), and then up to you whether to spend full whack on retail Windows or not. You can use Windows for free by the way, you'll just get a watermark after a month or so, which'll go away when you activate a key. But it'll still be usable and give you time to save up for it without compromising the hardware.
 
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You can get windows keys for cheep from ebay or what not.. but imho on windows i would not go down this route as its one of the most important parts of the build and one day switching on your build to find windows deactivated due to a key issue is not my idea of fun.
I would buy a retail copy of windows. Windows now is evolving from version to version but always staying at 10, if you buy a legit copy of ten now you will have it for years with no issues and regular updates. A dodgy key may, or may not, stop working on you.

As for the rest, an APU like the 2400g can game, just not great but you can always upgrade the gpu down the line. Then again if you can get the 2500x or 2600x and overclockers can build for 50 or so notes then its a win.
 
Soldato
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So what exactly would I need to do for free windows. I’m still completely new to this.

8GB minimum USB stick. And use of a laptop or PC for the download (or ask friend/family if they can download it for you).

Visit (either you or friend/family) Microsoft website and download Windows 10 to the USB stick, choosing create installation media to install Windows 10 on a different PC. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

That done, you're good to go. When the PC arrives you can plug in the stick, boot up and you should be prompted to install Windows 10. Very easy. Choose continue or skip or whatever when it asks for the product key.

When Windows is installed, visit AMD website and install the graphics driver for the RX 570, and then the motherboard manufacturer website for a few drivers, install and done.
 
Soldato
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Something you haven't mentioned so I'll ask: will you be using an ethernet cable to your router or wireless? Former is recommended. If you have no choice but to use wireless, then it needs adding.
 
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OP
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How would that work would I just need to feed an Ethernet through a router or is there an easier way and how much is the difference between wired and wireless (is it worth the time/ money). Would overclockers build it wherever their stationed and send it over as one or would I need to get that done separately also not required but is there a case that would fit these components that has lighting for relatively the same money.

Thanks again.
 
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