System Check - Future Proof Sub £1k

[Ducky Spud]

I'm looking at building up a basic gaming system with my daughter, so nothing too complicated, no overclocking, extreme cooling etc just yet.

However I want to get some decent core components that I can upgrade in future should she want to. On that basis I've gone for an AM5 system as I believe that is relatively new and we should be getting CPUs with the same socket for the next couple of years at least. I also know the PSU is a lot more than I need currently, but the £10-20 I'd save by dropping down to something thats 650W I'd rather just spend now and avoid having to swap out at a later date.

I don't really want to spend over 1K at the moment, if anything I'm after cheaper suggestions to get the cost down for now. But can somebody just sense check the selections below, I've been out of the game for a while and everythings changed

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x MSI SPATIUM M480 Pro 1TB SSD PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-MSI-00814) = £79.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C38 6000MHz Dual Channel Ki (SKU: MY-0AY-TG) = £99.95
• 1 x Phanteks XT Pro Ultra ATX Case Tempered Glass Window, White (SKU: CAS-PHK-01444) = £70.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £172.99
• 1 x Sapphire Radeon RX 7600 Pulse Gaming 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-02Y-AM) = £248.99
• 1 x Aerocool Integrator Gold 850W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-23T-AE) = £89.99
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6K0-AS) = £169.99

Total: £932.89 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

I'm happy to stick with the retail CPU cooler for now, but can anybody confirm if that case comes with any fans at all? Back in the day cases always came with a couple of basic fans at least, an intake and an outlet fan, but it doesn't seem to say any are included there.

Thanks

 

[Tetras]

I'm happy to stick with the retail CPU cooler for now, but can anybody confirm if that case comes with any fans at all?

Yes, the xt ulra comes with the fans pictured (4x RGB), but not the AIO which has been installed in the roof.

if anything I'm after cheaper suggestions to get the cost down for now

The simplest switch is put in a RX 6600 instead of the 7600, which would save about £50.

 

[freddie64]

Not sure how good that PSU is, but looks like it only has a 3 year warranty.

Alternative, slightly more expensive and only 750w (ok for your build), but has a 10 year warranty.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Corsair RMx Series RM750x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (CP-9020199-UK) (SKU: CA-266-CS) = £95.65

Total: £95.65 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[tamzzy]

White 7700XT
with the remaining money get the ThermalRight Assassin King AK120SE ARGB White
and it'll be a nice little nifty build
could also swap the ram to the white ones but these are out-of-stock at the moment: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team...800c30-6000mhz-dual-channel-ki-my-0b6-tg.html
could go with the cheaper, slower version but i'd suggest not to, unless you're in a hurry to build https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team...000c38-6000mhz-dual-channel-ki-my-0ay-tg.html
with the white ram, cpu cooler and gpu, would be a nice looking white-on-black build

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £172.99
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming A620M-PLUS WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-ASU-01397) = £133.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FF3D532G6000HC30DC01) (SKU: MY-0B8-TG) = £110.00
• 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58F-WD) = £64.99
• 1 x CORSAIR RM Series RM650 Fully Modular 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply (SKU: POW-CRS-01425) = £79.99
• 1 x Kolink Inspire Series K6 ARGB Micro-ATX Case - Black (SKU: CA-047-KK) = £29.99
• 1 x SAPPHIRE PURE AMD Radeon™ RX 7700 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 12GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture (SKU: GRA-SPR-00768) = £389.99
• 1 x AMD - Radeon Choose Two Games Bundle (SKU: DIG-AMD-02576) = £0.00

Total: £981.94 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Gray2233]

I'd pony up the extra £20 for the following case if aiming for a white theme:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh RGB Micro-ATX Case - White (SKU: CA-05Y-KK) = £52.99

Total: £52.99 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

It's also worth noting that you can get an XFX 6750XT (albeit in black) for £299 which performs about on par with the 7700XT last I checked and would save £90, I'd probably put the saving toward one of the following motherboards:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Asrock B650M PG Riptide (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-18Y-AK) = £159.98
• 1 x MSI Pro B650M-A WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-378-MS) = £160.00
• 1 x Gigabyte B650M Aorus Elite AX (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BE-GI) = £164.95

Total: £484.93 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[sx_turbo]

I would avoid the 620 boards.

The hard drive I'd seriously consider upgrading to a 2tb, I've found the 1tb fills up pretty quickly these days

 

[Ducky Spud]

Thanks everyone for your input. Took some of it on board and updated my cart.

Gone for mATX instead, a different case to what was suggested just because I prefer the look for a couple of quid more.

Left the graphics card the same, the 7700XT or 6750XT would be an improvement, but I don't think it would be required for what the initial plans are to justify the extra £100 or so. It's biggest challenge will be 1440p Fortnite so this one should be fine and keeps costs down for now. Can always upgrade as the kids grow up and move onto more taxing games.

Also I can add a second SSD if needs be rather than spending more on a larger drive now. I know 1TB doesn't go far, but it won't have much on it and it does just keep initial costs down.

This is what I'm looking at currently:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £172.99
• 1 x Sapphire Radeon RX 7600 Pulse Gaming 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-02Y-AM) = £248.99
• 1 x Corsair RMx Series RM750x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (CP-9020199-UK) (SKU: CA-266-CS) = £95.65
• 1 x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - White (FF4D532G6000HC30DC01) (SKU: MY-0B6-TG) = £109.99
• 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58F-WD) = £65.00
• 1 x Gigabyte B650M Aorus Elite AX (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BE-GI) = £164.95
• 1 x Jonsbo D31 Standard Micro-ATX PC Case – White, Tempered Glass (SKU: CA-02Q-JB) = £54.95

Total: £912.52 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[tamzzy]

the d31 does not come with any fans. would also recommend getting the d31 mesh instead
how do i know? i use the d31 mesh white too

 

[sx_turbo]

post in error

 

[Eddie99]

I'd suggest a Thermalright PS120SE cooler for £30, a bit overkill for a 7600 but it will run much quieter than the stock cooler and should be good for any CPU upgrade later on. I'd also spend a little bit more on the case such as a Fractal Design Pop Air.

 

[Gray2233]

Left the graphics card the same, the 7700XT or 6750XT would be an improvement, but I don't think it would be required for what the initial plans are to justify the extra £100 or so. It's biggest challenge will be 1440p Fortnite so this one should be fine and keeps costs down for now. Can always upgrade as the kids grow up and move onto more taxing games.

It's an extra £50 for an XFX 6750XT which is substantially better, if you're really focusing on saving a little with Fortnite being the focus you might as well save £50-80 and get a 6600 as suggested by @Tetras.

 

[tamzzy]

just note that amd cards have issues with running dx11 performance (competitive) mode in fortnite. you will need to run dx12 as a "workaround"
nvidia cards have no bugs with fortnite

 

[Ducky Spud]

the d31 does not come with any fans. would also recommend getting the d31 mesh instead
how do i know? i use the d31 mesh white too

I was assuming it came with a couple of fans at least! If needs be I have a few older 120mm fans in my old rig I can pull out and use. Why do you suggest the mesh? Just better ventilation?

I'd suggest a Thermalright PS120SE cooler for £30, a bit overkill for a 7600 but it will run much quieter than the stock cooler and should be good for any CPU upgrade later on. I'd also spend a little bit more on the case such as a Fractal Design Pop Air.

The Fractal case does look quite nice! I think ultimately the case will end up being my kids choice! I'll shortlist a few and let them choose.

It's an extra £50 for an XFX 6750XT which is substantially better, if you're really focusing on saving a little with Fortnite being the focus you might as well save £50-80 and get a 6600 as suggested by @Tetras.

I've updated my cart to have the 6600 instead. Gets the total down to around £850 which is fantastic. Looks like that will still get 100+fps so more than enough for what we need now, thank you.

just note that amd cards have issues with running dx11 performance (competitive) mode in fortnite. you will need to run dx12 as a "workaround"
nvidia cards have no bugs with fortnite

As long as there's a work around that's not a problem. I've read about this issue and it seems an easy fix. Historically I've always gone for Nvidia cards but at the moment it seems you get more bang for your buck with AMD which is why I've made this choice.

Currently looking at a RX 6600, similar priced Nvidia card would be an RTX 3050 and looking at performance comparisons it looks like an easy choice to make.

 

[freddie64]

Currently looking at a RX 6600

If you don't mind second hand, one for sale in MM.

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...eta-quest-fibre-cable.18989539/#post-37216834

 

[Ducky Spud]

No issue at all with second hand but that one's been marked sold by the time I checked. Thanks anyway