Valorant PC build

fold2

fold2

fold2

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24 Jun 2021
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Location
Birmingham
Hello all.

Sorry for another "tell me what to buy post" - I feel a bit lazy doing this but hopefully some kind soul will save me hours worth of research. It's a pretty simple PC build question i think.

I've been out of the loop for years now, but since the pandemic I booted the old gaming PC up and reignited my love for CS 1.6 in the form of Valorant. I know it's not a demanding game because my frame rates are very high on it sometimes, but the constant stuttering is ruining the gameplay, and it seems to be getting progressively worse. Plus the loading times switching through menus and loading into game are terrible. Lowering the graphics settings from max to lowest don't really change the FPS, but I'm aware some games are like that.

Sometimes it runs perfect, but I'm aware my hardware isn't good enough really.

I have a Core i5-2500k, socket 1155 sandy bridge

An Asus P867PRO motherboard

4 gb memory (DDR3 - 668 mhz)

AMD Radeon R9 200 .

I assume this all makes sense from CPU-Z.

I have solid state hard drives so they're ok.


I'm assuming my motherboard is way too old to accept a new CPU. So I'm prepared to buy both.

I also slightly suspect my current memory MAY be the main problem, but i don't want to waste money on more old DDR3 memory if it won't fix it.

And maybe my GPU might be good enough still, but would it fit in a new mobo anyway? Guessing not... So yeah.

Basically I just want a PC to run Valorant nicely and I'm guessing a low-end gaming PC in 2021 would be more than enough, given how close my old PC comes to running it well.

I also want to buy a new case as well so I can feel like I've got something snazzy and new under my desk. My old Antec 900 is a bit long in the tooth now.

Any bundles for motherboard, cpu, gpu and memory?

I suppose the crux of my thoughts are... I feel like if I buy a new gaming PC i'll have WAY more power than what I need for Valorant.

I'm a different person to when I was in my teens and early twenties - I know my habits and I'm not getting into gaming as a whole again. But I am a bit addicted to this competitive FPS!

Thanks for all your help and any suggestions.
 
Welcome aboard.

8GB was standard for gaming PC decade ago and 4GB good only for playing MS Word half dozen years ago.
So kinda suspicious of that memory amount. (maybe it's 2x 4GB DIMMs?)

But also 4 core/4 thread CPU is super low end now and unless you minimize amount of background bloatware, there's going to be hiccups in more demanding games.
Just for scale consoles have more than double the CPU power with 8 core Zen2 architecture based design.

This bundle would be good base for PC to last longer.
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £455.44 (includes shipping: £10.50)​
​
Motherboard could easily take 16 core CPU later in case 6 core starts bottlenecking games.


And instead of case I would replace also PSU.
Case can't damage/kill parts no matter how aged it is, but old PSU is risk at least for causing additional wear of parts.
Especially if it wasn't quality PSU when new.
 
Thanks so much for the good reply.

Sorry to report but there's no mistake - I do only have 4gb of RAM :cry:

This is my PSU:

https://www.******.com/174182-ocz-modxstream-pro-600w-modular-psu-135mm-fan-ocz600mxsp-uk

Could you link to me a decent budget PSU?

And thanks again for your help.

PS: You're not stopping me buying a case. I want to feel like I have a new PC :cry:


EDIT: sorry just noticed forum blotted out my link, but the name of the PSU is visible anyway.
 
Forum software censors some addresses automatically.
And in forum rules forbid naming/linking OcUK's competitors.

Definitely time to change that PSU.
It was outdated low end design 10 years ago and with mediocre built quality using cheap capacitors.
Also it has never been 600W PSU by any modern standard with only ~500W in 12V.

There really aren't much "mid price" PSUs with better quality and modern design.
When price starts going down, lots of things get cost downed quite fast.

Though 10 year warranty PSUs don't cost that much.
Phanteks AMP 550W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £72.95
That's actually stronger than your current PSU and well enough for 5600X and mainstream graphics cards.

Graphics card is really the biggest factor for PSU sizing.
So are you going to stay in mainstream cards in there, or possibly get some higher end cards?
(doesn't matter if new or second hand)
 
Yeah makes sense about the forum. Although I did actually buy the PSU from ocuk back in the day!

I'll add that PSU to the cart.

And in terms of GPU - I was kind of assuming, being as you didn't spec me a new card, that my current one will be good enough for my needs.

And yeah, I don't foresee upgrading the GPU hugely to need huge power.

Thanks again.
 
All graphics cards of R9 200 serie are seriously outdated for newer games.
Unfortunately now is really bad time to be shopping for GPUs with prices of even mainstream cards high.
 
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