PC £500-600

BB90 · 19 Jan 2013 at 13:09

Hi all,

I need a new desktop, my laptop is about to give up on me and I know I'll get better value for money with a desktop.

I know I may open a can of worms, but how do AMD and Intel prebuilt systems compare? I understand that while AMD may perform less well than Intel at the higher end, at my lower end budget is it true that I may do better with an AMD CPU?

I've had a look at putting one together myself and it doesn't seem too difficult as long as I take necessary static precautions, and I assume I will get better value for money than buying a prebuilt system? If so could someone please suggest some components?

I do little more than word processing and watch films on my laptop, so my main concern for performance is games. I am not concerned about ultra graphics and such, but decent frame rates at medium-high settings on some recent titles would be great.

I hand myself over to your collective wisdom.

BB90

BB90 · 19 Jan 2013 at 14:19

Yes sorry, just the tower. I assume that building my own is the best bang for my buck option then?

Thanks

BB90

BB90 · 19 Jan 2013 at 15:55

Thank you for all your suggestions.

One more thing I forgot to add, I need a wireless desktop - is it as simple as getting one of these?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-118-EX

BB90 · 19 Jan 2013 at 23:06

Those are what turns the mains wiring into a network, correct?

For online gaming what sort of speed would I need?

Thanks

BB90 · 20 Jan 2013 at 11:48

Cool thanks guys, think I should be OK with 200mbps then.

BB90 · 20 Jan 2013 at 12:02

Also - another quick question.

I am leaning towards the first build in post 7, with the i5 3570k and the Radeon 7850. I am assuming that this has sufficient scope for future upgrades and is relatively future proof?

Apologies, I am quite inexperienced with computer components - I assume that the CPU is the most likely limiting factor.

Cheers