Which custom build?

[Rococo]

Hi all,

hoping for a little help here, I decided against building myself as i am clumsy and my tech skills only extend as far as changing the PSU. My budget is £700-800 and there are a few OCUK custom builds that fit, but im becoming overwhelmed with the various spec options they all have and how that relates to what i need it for. Also which is the best bang for my buck as some components are on special offer.

I have tried to do some research and it seems AMD is probably the better choice for me, I will be doing research work with lots of tabs, using programs such as Affinity software ( like Photoshop/Illustrator) and possibly music software later, also some gaming ( only older games currently) then the usual home PC stuff.

If anyone could give a little guidance on which general system is best for me and which spec variations to boost up from the generic choice, that would really help! I know im going for 16 RAM just not sure which type, and adding a SSD probably 500/480. Ive been told many graphics orientated programs and games dont need a really good Graphics card, so im assuming a decent processor is more important.

Also if im totally wrong on going AMD let me know and i will start again from scratch.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...-5-2600-geforce-gtx-1660-super-fs-1dv-og.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...zen-5-2600-rx-590-8gb-graphics-fs-1aq-og.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...en-5-2600-geforce-gtx-1660-6gb-fs-1df-og.html

 

[Rococo]

hello, sorry for the massive delay in response, i had no Internet for over 2 weeks which didn't help! Sgarrista this looks great, my preference though is for a hybrid HHD SSD, is this not considered a good way to go anymore? I also want a full size case, not micros because if i do need to upgrade or replace power later for eg, a micro will be too fiddly for me, if all of your components are based on using a micro box, it's ok as it will be a pain for you to re configure? But as the price difference for the cases arnt too different I would still prefer to go that way ( i also will be getting a dedicated sound card at some point and assume a regular size case allows more options) Also not sure if I should i get wifi, i guess i may need it, for passing music files?

Thanks

 

[Rococo]

Sorry i didn't mean an actual 'hybrid' i didn't know they existed, i meant having both HHD and SSD in the same build - i will have fairly large 2D graphic files, photography and eventually if i ever get around to it, working music files, i also want to store some old images, music and films - so do i really need a 1TB SSD shouldn't i get a decent size HHD and then a 500 SSD?

 

[Rococo]

Already answered by EsaT. Not a fan of hybrids either.




Just so you know, there's only a few cm height difference in general between micro-ATX and ATX. It's not a smaller mini-ITX or even SFF (small form factor) so building/replacing isn't usually an issue.




No pain to configure an ATX spec for you. Although you can still save a few pounds on the micro-ATX motherboard as it will fit up to a triple slot GPU and a soundcard no problem.




If you were to add a PCIe wireless card and a PCIe soundcard then yes you'd want ATX. There are good external USB soundcard options as well.

Before speccing an ATX setup... can you confirm you can install Windows 10 yourself to save £100? Otherwise you'll get even less hardware quality as it'll be about £200 for Windows + build fee, and prices for some things have also gone up.

Thanks, my thinking is - how hard can it be to install Windows 10? plus i price checked a month or so ago and there seemed to be cheaper places to buy it. I am torn now on if i should go full size case or not - you seem to think its cheaper and i am assuming these days there is as much choice component wise, if so i don't want to waste your time!

 

[Rococo]

Hey, you need to eek out your Doom sessions you know, what with Corona, so happy to help

Thanks for this, i am going to send it to the custom build guy for a final quote, the previous one you gave me came up slightly cheaper, is there nothing in it specification wise? ( the micro build and the full size one) I am too scared to be mucking about with grey keys, i am not adverse to sailing the seas for content but feel like i want my OS to be rock solid!

 

[Rococo]

Was hoping to get back to you sooner to say what i went with and say a final thanks but things got a little messed up from lockdown! I have sent all 3 specs to OCUK just to get a final updated quote but i think they are either short staffed or really busy, have chased. I think i am going with the larger case set up though because...as well as lockdown and then getting possible Covid my PC decided to play up and then get very unstable very quickly, I now can't get into it atall through BIOS but it reminded me i would be better off with more space inside for when things go wrong.

Had a look but there doesnt appear to be a 'my PC has died' sub here and with my technical level being low I am struggling to work out my options for checks, at this point i just want to narrow down if it is defintely a hardware issue. Have i missed an area in the forum that deals with this sort of thing?

 

[Rococo]

Hi,

have heard back from then and just looking at the full size case spec you gave the price has risen a fair bit - i recall you saying i am better with a 550 PSU, the quote uses a 450, would it be a bad idea to go up to 550 but go with a lower quality PSU silver/bronze? I am also considering adding wifi cabability because of your comments on music and sound cards ( i trust an internal set up more than external) Even without these small changes the price is ( not including the build price) £100 more than your quote so any corner cutting suggestions appreciated! If you think i should bite the bullet, and consider external sound card should i get the music stuff set up and go with a micro please let me know.

Sorry this is dragging on, if you don't have time to comment its fine

 

[Rococo]

Hi,

no problem, i felt bad asking for more advice tbh! I could do with some clarification on going down in PSU quality to go up in power amount, as i suspect this may be a way to cut corners, any other advice on tweaking the full size case spec would be helpful. Any idea why the costs have gone up by £80, availability(covid)?

These are the current specs they have ( which allow some tweaking) around my price range, the spec you created for me they wont include grey goods so it's a little higher than you anticipated, i guess it would help if you can tell me the cost for your spec, now almost £900 is worth it compared to the specs available in their current offers?


https://www.overclockers.co.uk/expr...ryzen-5-2600-amd-radeon-rx-590-fs-1c5-ep.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk-tech-labs-inte 2tbl-9th-gen-coffee-lake-midi-tower-gaming-pc-configurator-fs-01m-tl.html

Thank you

sorry i keep adding to this as things occur to me, do i really need a 2TB HDD plus 500GB SSD? is that the usual amount of space for desktops being used for various tasks? I do have a 2.5TB on a external hard drive currently but its a couple of years old and wasnt a very good one as far as i remember! I have an alert you have responded but can't see anything.

Tried adding extra but it went missing - was asking if the non modular PSU would be an issue in a mid size case? ( currently have a non modular in a full size case which is fine) Also currently the case you suggested has gone up in price and this one is almost the same cost, which is better?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aerocool-rift-rgb-midi-tower-case-black-window-ca-213-ae.html

 

[Rococo]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread, there have been availability issues for components and price hikes, and build time is longer than usual but I have managed to order from OCUK with a slightly tweaked version of Danny75's midi spec!

If anyone has any thoughts on any major differences between:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-b450m-mortar-max-socket-am4-ddr4-matx-motherboard-mb-348-ms.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-b450-tomahawk-max-socket-am4-ddr4-atx-motherboard-mb-33t-ms.html

I would appreciate, i ended up having to decide on the phone and went with the more expensive option just to be on the safe side.

 

[Rococo]

Not sure i understand your reply?, both are in stock ' Wait for b550 entry' and the comparisons i checked online said the Tomahawk was better? if there is a massive difference in quality i will see if i can get it swapped out but i have already ordered.