Yet another PC build advise thread, budget £800

LondonGman · 27 Dec 2017 at 22:00

I think it is about time to upgrade my old PC. I can probably salvage the 550W PSU, Nvidia 970 Graphics card and numerous hard drives. Maybe also the DVD drive otherwise the rest is a junk old Dell Inspiron.

Been looking through the forums and would like to cap budget at £800 all inclusive and came up with this

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 1600 3.60GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £167.99
1 x Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3 AMD B350 (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £86.99
1 x Team Group Dark Pro 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDPGD416G3= £188.99
1 x Phanteks Eclipse P300 Glass Midi Tower Case - Black= £54.95
1 x Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut High Performance Thermal Paste - 1 Gramm= £4.99
1 x BenQ GC2870H 28" 1920x1080 VA Widescreen LED Monitor - Black= £169.99

Total: £687.10 (includes shipping: £13.20)

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/benq-gc2870h-28-1920x1080-va-widescreen-led

My questions are what else do I need? Do I need to buy a CPU fan or do they now come with the cpu, and if so what do you recommend.

I have a Window 10 key

Can the build be improved on. I don't need to spend more unless it significantly improves the build.

I have not used AMD in a long time but seems recommended here. I chose the monitor based on price, is it worth paying more for larger better or better.

Please advise before I click buy, I have been lurking these forums for far too long, time to treat myself . Mass Effect Andromeda is waiting. also I need to finish GTA5 with silky smooth graphics

tamzzy · 29 Dec 2017 at 18:24

LondonGman said:
I can probably salvage the 550W PSU, Nvidia 970 Graphics card and numerous hard drives.

just make sure that the 550w is of a reasonable quality.
also, if the drives are old, the odds of them failing are that much higher - could be worth it to consolidate those drives?
if you don't have an ssd, then getting an ssd for your new build will make a lot of sense.

LondonGman said:
My questions are what else do I need? Do I need to buy a CPU fan or do they now come with the cpu, and if so what do you recommend.

you don't need an aftermarket cooler. the 1600 comes with a very decent stock cooler. the thermal paste, also isn't needed either.

LondonGman said:
I chose the monitor based on price, is it worth paying more for larger better or better.

1080p for a 28inch monitor won't look so great.
i'd recommend a 24inch monitor for 1080p gaming - which will pair nicely with your 970 (and ryzen 1600)

orbitalwalsh · 29 Dec 2017 at 19:29

How.manu hard drives ? Cases above and most midi cases only take 2x HDD

If you've got more then 2. Recommend bequiet Pure 600

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x be quiet! Pure Base 600 Midi Tower Case - Black Window= £84.95

Total: £96.05 (includes shipping: £11.10)

If not, the P300 is a solid choice !

Core components listed above is solid as well and good customer service if needs be . Should be able to do 3.6ghz on stock cooler
You fill need at least a 140mm fan, that case doesn't come with any, just an exhaust !

If you want to hit 3.9ghz then basic AIO should do the trick

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x ID-Cooling FrostFlow+ 280 All In One CPU Water Cooler - 280mm= £54.95

Total: £63.65 (includes shipping: £8.70)

LondonGman · 29 Dec 2017 at 22:56

just make sure that the 550w is of a reasonable quality

yeah it is a relative new and high quality in anticipation of this build

also, if the drives are old, the odds of them failing are that much higher

very fair comment, I had a portable hard drive die with irreplaceable stuff once :confused:

. I will look into this

the thermal paste, also isn't needed either

I thought you needed to paste the top of the CPU. ??

If you've got more then 2. Recommend bequiet Pure 600

4 drives. 2 act as one striped for the OS, then a separate games drive and my storage drive. I think I might take the advise above and get a new drive and your suggested case.

If you want to hit 3.9ghz then basic AIO should do the trick

what I do is build it first and then look at the performance with my old Graphics card then maybe have a go at this

Thanks for the info, especially the crucial info on the cases. exact reason I thought I dropped my spec here before I buy

tamzzy · 30 Dec 2017 at 00:21

LondonGman said:
I thought yo
u needed to paste the top of the CPU. ??

don't need it. already comes pre-applied on the cooler.

LondonGman said:
very fair comment, I had a portable hard drive die with irreplaceable stuff once. I will look into this

back-up, back-up, back-up again - even with a new drive

LondonGman said:
4 drives. 2 act as one striped for the OS, then a separate games drive and my storage drive. I think I might take the advise above and get a new drive and your suggested case.

it sounds like you do not have an ssd. please please please get one

it's the single biggest quality of life upgrade you can do to a computer.

overbudget, but costs can be trimmed

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 1600 3.60GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £167.99
1 x Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3 AMD B350 (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £86.99
1 x Team Group Dark Pro 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDPGD416G3= £188.99
1 x Phanteks Eclipse P300 Glass Midi Tower Case - Black= £54.95
1 x Samsung 500GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E500B/EU)= £149.99
1 x WD Blue 2TB 5400rpm SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (WD20EZRZ)= £58.99
1 x Acer Predator XB240Hbmjdpr 24" 1920x1080 TN 144Hz Gaming Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/Red (UM.FB0E= £209.99

Total: £932.59 (includes shipping: £14.70)

LondonGman · 30 Dec 2017 at 01:44

firstly, thanks guys for the help, appreciated, I will take a picture and post here when I get it early net year.
ok i agree I need a new hard drive, and I did a little research; what your take on the M2 format instead of SSD
ie Blue 3D NAND 500GB M.2 2280 6Gbps Solid State Drive (S500G2B0B) same price to suggested SSD and similar performance but no wires.
I am visiting a mate to see his 26" monitor over the weekend before I decide on the screen size.

LondonGman · 30 Dec 2017 at 01:45

double post

orbitalwalsh · 30 Dec 2017 at 06:11

M.2 drives whether SATA 3 or NVMe are nice due to not have wires like you said .
Believe SATA 3 based ones don't get as hot as NVMe drives for throttling as well, but they only did throttle or get very hot from massive file writes.

Clone your main OS drive straight to if

tamzzy · 30 Dec 2017 at 08:18

LondonGman said:
what your take on the M2 format instead of SSD
ie Blue 3D NAND 500GB M.2 2280 6Gbps Solid State Drive (S500G2B0B) same price to suggested SSD and similar performance but no wires.

it's the same price, but the WD blue performs marginally slower. but yes, you get the benefit of a smaller format. it's still a SATA drive and doesn't make use of the NVMe interface.
(but for the budget, not a bad drive)

LondonGman said:
I am visiting a mate to see his 26" monitor over the weekend before I decide on the screen size.

if you're looking for a bigger screen, then you'll want a higher resolution - its all about the dpi/ppi - 91ish ppi = 24inch@1080 = 32inch@1440. 27inch@1080 = 81 ppi
also to drive a higher resolution in games, then the gpu needs to be fast enough

orbitalwalsh · 30 Dec 2017 at 08:27

tamzzy said:
it's the same price, but the WD blue performs marginally slower. but yes, you get the benefit of a smaller format. it's still a SATA drive and doesn't make use of the NVMe interface.
(but for the budget, not a bad drive)

if you're looking for a bigger screen, then you'll want a higher resolution - its all about the dpi/ppi - 91ish ppi = 24inch@1080 = 32inch@1440. 27inch@1080 = 81 ppi
also to drive a higher resolution in games, then the gpu needs to be fast enough

The WD has faster write and read 560/530 Vs 540/520 but there ideal manufactures testing and in terms of loading a game. Means jack all

prob in the hundredths of seconds.

If you see a cracking deal on an SSD whether NVMe/ m.2 sata or traditional 3.5" - get it

If your creating an AI then would be a different story

As mentioned with the resolution.
If you do go 26/7" for 1080p , you'll have very large pixel dots, which means you have to turn up AA and AF settings higher then with a 24" screen to smooth out the ragged edges .

tamzzy · 30 Dec 2017 at 08:31

real life performance of the wd blue is slower: https://www.anandtech.com/show/10741/the-western-digital-blue-1tb-ssd-review/5
for the same price i'd still get the sammy 850 evo imo - it's not as if there's 10 bajillion wires to connect :cool:

tamzzy · 30 Dec 2017 at 08:33

orbitalwalsh said:
If you see a cracking deal on an SSD whether NVMe/ m.2 sata or traditional 3.5" - get it

yup, that'll be the 850evo on ocuk at the moment. or, the crucial mx300 525gb - can be had for just over £100 if one looks around
(for nearly 50 squids less - my pick would be the mx300)

orbitalwalsh · 30 Dec 2017 at 10:10

tamzzy said:
yup, that'll be the 850evo on ocuk at the moment. or, the crucial mx300 525gb - can be had for just over £100 if one looks around
(for nearly 50 squids less - my pick would be the mx300)

Killer deal. Cheap and space is the key thing now since price has rocketed .

LondonGman · 5 Jan 2018 at 22:16

Bought the components and took pics. see
https://imgur.com/a/Rbvu6
Not everything was in stock so had to get alternatives. Had to get the Night hawk version of ram which was slightly more expensive. Opted for the M.2 drive for the experience.
Thanks everyone for the advise and will spend weekend building it and thanks to Overclockers for the little bag of Haribo sweets the sent with the order.
BTW the delivery note said I got a free game, Quake Champions (AMD promotion). how do I get this, presumably steam key?

tamzzy · 6 Jan 2018 at 07:37

LondonGman said:
Opted for the M.2 drive for the experience

Nooooo whyyyyyy!? The wd blue is not a real m.2 drive! Its sata! And also slower than the Sammy 850evo! Send it back!

LondonGman · 6 Jan 2018 at 13:07

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/wd-blue-500gb-m.2-ssd-1tb-hdd-bundle-bu-01p-wd.html

Got the sata and m.2 bundle.

tamzzy · 6 Jan 2018 at 13:35

Nooooo....send it back!! Honestly, it's in the m.2 form factor but it's not a nvme drive. Look at the specs, it's a sata SSD. Not worth it! An m.2 nvme drive will hit read/write speeds of >1500mb/s

orbitalwalsh · 8 Jan 2018 at 05:22

tamzzy said:
Nooooo....send it back!! Honestly, it's in the m.2 form factor but it's not a nvme drive. Look at the specs, it's a sata SSD. Not worth it! An m.2 nvme drive will hit read/write speeds of >1500mb/s

Sata 3 is fine honestly . Only if there was a killer deal on NVMe drive is it work it .

tamzzy · 8 Jan 2018 at 10:13

orbitalwalsh said:
Sata 3 is fine honestly

not for the price he paid. could get a 850evo + 1tb hdd for cheaper though.

orbitalwalsh · 8 Jan 2018 at 10:19

tamzzy said:
not for the price he paid. could get a 850evo + 1tb hdd for cheaper though.

didnt look at pricing sory, if it costs more and got less storage then sad face