New to PC building - where to start?

[jdear]

Former console player, looking to get into PC gaming but I have absolutely no experience with building and a very limited understanding of parts needed for PCs, let alone which parts are "better".

I'm looking for some advice on where to start looking to improve my knowledge of building / parts as well as any recommendations for parts to use in a future build.

I have a budget of £1200, and would be looking to play games ranging from FPS to RTS. I'm not currently concerned about playing VR games.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sweols]

Do you need the following
Keyboard
Mouse
Headset/speakers
Screen
Windows

 

[jdear]

Yes, I am starting entirely from scratch.

 

[sweols]

Yes, I am starting entirely from scratch.

Have you got access to a TV or similar? Otherwise I'd see about increasing your budget a tad. ~£1400. Better to get solid gear first time around, if you're able to spend that little bit extra

 

[wookiee87]

next question do you prefer amd or intel, have freinds sugessted what might be better for you, plus what are you going to do whith a new machine, browsing, gaming or edditing or a combination of all?

 

[jdear]

Have you got access to a TV or similar? Otherwise I'd see about increasing your budget a tad. ~£1400. Better to get solid gear first time around, if you're able to spend that little bit extra

I could go up to £1400 at the absolute maximum, provided that includes all required accessories

 

[jdear]

next question do you prefer amd or intel, have freinds sugessted what might be better for you, plus what are you going to do whith a new machine, browsing, gaming or edditing or a combination of all?

I had a friend suggest AMD as they are supposedly cheaper at each price point. In terms of use, I'd be looking at gaming primarily but of course also general day to day browsing and office work.

 

[sweols]

Should allow for you to purchase windows elsewhere.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £103.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £169.99
• 1 x Samsung 1TB 860 QVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 64 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-76Q1T0BW)= £109.99
• 1 x NZXT H510 Midi Tower Gaming Case - White Tempered Glass= £69.95
• 1 x ASUS TUF Gaming VG259QM 25" 1920x1080 IPS 280Hz 1ms FreeSync/G-Sync Compatible LED Backlit Gaming Mo= £268.99
• 1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 5600 XT Red Devil 6144MB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £289.99
• 1 x ASUS TUF M5 Mouse and TUF K5 Keyboard Gaming Peripheral Bundle= £79.91
• 1 x Seasonic Core Gold GC-650 650W 80+ Gold Power Supply= £79.99
• 1 x Arctic Freezer 34 eSports Duo White CPU Cooler - 2 x 120mm= £34.99
• 1 x Corsair HS50 Stereo Gaming Headset Carbon (PC/PS4/Switch)= £54.95
• 1 x Team Group Dark T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDGED4= £79.99

Total: £1,362.35 (includes shipping: £19.62)​

​

I could go up to £1400 at the absolute maximum, provided that includes all required accessories

 

[BongoHunter]

Similar to the above, but with slightly better graphics card and monitor (IMO) - Windows 10 keys can be purchased very cheaply online


My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £169.99
• 1 x Team Group Dark T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDGED4= £79.99
• 1 x MSI B450M Mortar MAX (Socket AM4) DDR4 mATX Motherboard= £89.99
• 1 x Bitfenix Formula Series 650W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply= £74.99
• 1 x ASUS CERBERUS Gaming Desktop Bundle, Cerberus LED Backlit Keyboard and Cerberus Mouse= £35.99
• 1 x WD Blue 3D NAND 1TB 2.5" SATA 6Gbps Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0A)= £109.99
• 1 x ASUS TUF Gaming VG32VQ 32" 2560x1440 VA 144Hz 1ms FreeSync LED Widescreen Curved Gaming Monitor= £394.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming OC 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £398.99
• 1 x CoolerMaster MasterBox Lite 3.1 Micro-ATX Case - Black Window= £39.95

Total: £1,414.49 (includes shipping: £19.62)
​

 

[EsaT]

If not needing it fast £260 would get 2560x1440 VA and there are also others below £300.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...een-led-backlit-gaming-monitor-mo-057-ao.html

There's also IPS for £350.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/acer...-widescreen-led-gaming-monitor-mo-141-ac.html
Though if you prefer dark/dimly lighted room, IPS isn't good and gets beaten by VA's lot higher contrast/better black.

Besides normal daily use also strategy games benefit from modern resolution.