PC Build <£600?

[Hicks12]

Just wondering if you guys could give me a hand, I have speced together a rough build but it needs to come down on the budget and I am a bit out of touch from this gen!
Aiming for a total of £700 including monitor, Ideally cheaper is better so £650 would be the best mark!

Uses: Gaming for the most part @ 1080p


CPU: 4670k (dont need this as it wont be overclocked... whats the best step down?) - £165

GPU : AMD 7870 - £140 (anything else? THink this is a minimum tbh)
RAM: 8gb DDR3 1600mhz - £40
Motherboard: Not a clue here... suggestions?
PSU: http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCZ-OCZ-ZS55...2&keywords=psu ? £41
Case: Something generic ~ £35
HDD: 1tb WD blue - £48
SSD: 120gb Crucial m500 or plexor m5? - £70
OS: Windows 8 upgrade - £55
Monitor: One of those LG 23" monitors - £110

So atm £74 over budget...

Any suggestions on where I can skimp a bit, surely there is a solid PSU for that £30 price and then I guess the SSD I could drop that to a 64gb? its only a glorified boot drive .

Suggestions welcome, appreciate any help!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Is this for you??

[Bonebreaker777]

Pretty sure CAT will come up with the best there is for you out there.
For gaming I would probably say either new AMD FX-6300 or some used i5 from eBay (Sandy Bridge or higher).
Motherboard depending on your CPU choice.
Keep the memory.
As PSU goes I will leave that suggestion to people who don't reply over they phone ;-)
The SSD is a good choice,either one of them, but I would probably choose the Plextor.
For storage just go for any 1TB with the longest relative warranty compared to the price,and some review here ( http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/4884...rdable-storage).
Case down to your decision.
As GPU goes you can either go with your currently choosen GPU and get closer to your self appointed budget or go higher that a 7870.
As monitors go you may be interested in the following ( http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/4798...-to-the-people).

[herulach]

At that kind of price you're going to get a lot better performance from an AMD system, something like this:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1SpG5

I've put a 7950 in there, but if you keep an eye on offers you can probably grab a 7970 for around £200. At that kind of budget I wouldn't bother with an SSD. Its noticeable in loading times, but you'll get much better value out of spending £70 extra on your GPU. My system (admittedly not including a case or monitor which I had) came in around the 450 mark (before I started faffing with watercooling and stuff again).

[Hicks12]

Sorry cat i must have forgotten to type that,no its for a friend whohas no clue about computers just uses them . If it was me I would have the i5k and a high end motherboard and be done with it but I need to get him something close to that budget.

Thanksfor the suggestions gguys, didn't really know amd was great for gaming at the minute as I know they have been trailing behind in the higher end, I'll have a look into it but surely I should be able to fit an i5 into this budget haha.

Yeah ssd will stay simply because this is an end user and everyone I know that I have popped in an ssd for won't go back it's night and day, not for games but for everything else on the PC however getting a 64gb does seem more reasonable! I will have a harder think tonight after work.

Again thanks for the help thus far

[DanceswithUnix]

It makes a big difference if you have *everything* on SSD, but I just don't get the boot drive argument. That is just hassle. How often do you boot anyway?

I would rip out the SSD.

[Bagnaj97]

It makes a big difference if you have *everything* on SSD, but I just don't get the boot drive argument. That is just hassle. How often do you boot anyway?

I would rip out the SSD.

I'm going to have to agree, the SSD is a luxury and should be the first thing to go if you're struggling with your budget. The other thing is you said this system is for a friend who has no clue about computers, that means they're just going to click next on every installer (including the c: default install path) and a small SSD boot drive will rapidly fill up!

[Hicks12]

Thanks guys, when I mean no clue really I mean non techy he understands not to just click next and where to install programs so its not an issue regarding that, I have build 10 systems over the last 2 years and well the response has been that SSD make the most difference and thats coming from similar people and then myself who is always working with computers, they do appreciate the extra time and snappiness for the system.

The system doesnt need to play Crysis on max so its not needing to be amazing but solid performance all round would be good, I have gone back to the drawing board and believe this is a better spec and he is happy to pay the extra atm:

i5 4570 - £150 , no overclocking so no need for K
AMD 7870 XFX (TAHTI LE) £135
8gb ddr3 1600mhz £40
Gigabyte GA-H81M-D2V - £42 (no overclocking so I think this is FINE? Value for money I am looking for something to start and leave for him)
XFX P1-450S-X2B9 (450w PSU) £36
HDD 1tb WD blue - £48 cant find anything cheaper here but I think its okay
SSD undecided but 120gb M500 or plexor or samsung 840... - ~£70
Windows £55
Case no idea, left £35 for him to decide as its a preference

Total : £721


Have I missed something or can things be changed? This performance is fine for him I am pretty sure of it!
I did consider AMD but it seems very little in terms of cost for performance, fx8320 wont compete yet a build with an okay motherboard left me at £705

Thanks guys!

[herulach]

If its just for gaming a 6300 plus a 50 motherboard with the difference in the GPU will wipe the floor with that system. Or you could actually bring it in on budget. Seriously talk to him about the sad though, I appreciate they can make a system feel a lot snappier, but they're also much cheaper and easier to add later as its a 70 part rather than having to sell/bin a 150 at a loss to upgrade.

[Domestic_Ginger]

2nd hand IB or SB gives better value imo. Four bins overclock on the non'k chips (with suitable mobo) makes up for any improvements. I'm pretty sure the motherboards will be cheaper too and maybe pick up a nice cheap cooler for added quiet.

The 7870 tahiti is pretty loud; I've said this a thousand times but I would seriously consider bios modding it when you get it.

[scaryjim]

... I did consider AMD but it seems very little in terms of cost for performance, fx8320 wont compete yet a build with an okay motherboard left me at £705 ...

Won't compete in what? If BF4 is on the cards, an 8320 will handily smack down an i5 due to the well threaded nature of the game engine. And with new consoles having 8 x86 cores, we'll see more and more AAA games with well-threaded engines. An FX6300 should be equal to an i5, but only costs £85 new. A decent 970 motherboard with VRM cooling can be had for < £60. So for not much more than just a new i5 (£130 for the i5 3350P), you can get a new CPU and motherboard, easily overclockable, and better prepared for future AAA games, which will undoubtedly use more heavily threaded engines.

If it's all about budget, slap in a 7870 GHz, and you've still not hit £300 for the CPU, Mobo and GFX. So at that point you can either save your mate £100 on the build, or bump up to the 8320 (+£30) and a 7950 (+£70), and you've got an 8-thread overclockable gaming rig with 3 gold-tier Never Settle games, with ~ £200 left in the budget for RAM, HDD, Case and PSU.

As to the SSD, I'm actually struggling to tell the difference between my Win 8 laptop with a 1TB machanical, and my Win 7 laptop with a 120GB SSD - which I'm guessing is down to excellent caching by Windows into the additional 4GB of RAM the new laptop has. So with plenty of RAM I don't think an SSD is actually that important - I think it's a better upgrade to older machines that ditch out to paging files more often. But if you're set on SSDs, why not get a cache drive? Brings most of the benefits of an SSD, but without the hassle of managing different install points for different programs. And it'll only add £35 to the build.


EDIT: OK, just for fun I've slapped together a build in ebuyer. I can do FX6300/8GB DDR3-1600/7870 GHz for £525, including Win 7 (but no SSD). Without shopping around. Here's the details: http://www.ebuyer.com/lists/list/253941

[Chadders87]

Its definitely possible since I built the following for £600:

CPU - Intel i5 3570k
Motherboard - Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB)
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
GPU - Sapphire AMD Radeon 7870 2GB
PSU - BeQuiet 450w (140mm)
Case - BitFenix Prodigy
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium (Reused old key, zero cost)

Then I added in a monitor for £120, mouse and keyboard, and a wireless headset bringing the total to £800.

If your keeping the cost down I would avoid the SSD and go for an older / lower clocked CPU.

[Hicks12]

Hey guys I appreciate the thought and have looked at AMD again , honestly went by the anandtech benches and they dont paint a pretty picture (8320 is worse than my 2500k) I assume anandtech have gone mass Intel bias?

Spec :

AMD FX8320 - £116
AMD 7870 - Was going for the 7870 tahiti le XFX but the cooler is horrendus, good spot jim that Sapphire 7870 at £134.20 is good.
RAM : 8gb ddr3 1600mhz, prices have skyrocketed but I have managed to secure some for £38.
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 - Asus always been solid for me and this seems pretty good, CAT I know you're the man for motherboards... any good? ~ £60, jim is that Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P better?
PSU : XFX P1-450S-X2B9*- £33.59
CASE : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antec-VSK-40...31&s=computers - £24.98 @ebuyer
HDD: 1TB WD blue - £45.59
Windows: £55
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB £71.49 or the SanDisk 120gb EXTREME 2 which seems amazing - £81.86
Monitor: Advice? I cannot seem to find the 23" LG one at the £110 point anymore ~£120 (closer to £100 better... 23" I think he wants I would double check)
DVD DRIVE: LITEON DVDRW £12.49

So roughly(worst case): £720.

Or best case £700.34 if I can find a decent IPS monitor for £110 and go for the evo.

Seems okay?


Thanks so far for the help!.

[DanceswithUnix]

Hey guys I appreciate the thought and have looked at AMD again , honestly went by the anandtech benches and they dont paint a pretty picture (8320 is worse than my 2500k) I assume anandtech have gone mass Intel bias?

Not really biassed, just a matter of interpretation.

A 4670K with Titan graphics will beat an 8350 with Titan graphics in almost any game. AMD only really makes sense on a limited budget, where saving £60 on the CPU might get you from entry level graphics to mid range graphics card and that more than compensates for the lower spec CPU.

These FX cpus are built for clock speed though, so I think generally the 6350 is a better buy than the 8320. Most games don't use the extra two cores but will use the higher clock. Cheaper too.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

People need to consider pricing for one moment. The FX6300,FX6350 and FX8320 are Core i3 level pricing not the price of a £170 to £200 Core i5 K series. The Core i3 CPUs are slower in a number of newer games and cannot be overclocked. For a build lasting a few years,the FX CPUs are a better choice IMHO as all the major new generation multi-platform engines thread well or will thread well. IMHO is the whole E8400 against the Q6600 debate again. The Q6600 ended up winning that one.

Even in older games,the FX CPUs are good enough in many and only fall down in some older and newer games. The Core i5 series are not magical,you simply pay more for more performance in certain areas. The only reason they look so good is down to the fact the Core i3 CPUs are now very neutered indeed. You need to consider what markets the Core i3 CPUs and the Pentium dual cores are targeted towards. They have small dies and passable IGPs for use in mass market prebuilds and laptops for general use by Joe and Jane public and for cheap workstations(banks,etc),and in this market 20% or 30% extra performance is not really important. Hence,Intel does not really need to care,and have locked out overclocking on these parts,and even have locked out overclocking on cheaper motherboards. Intel wants gamers to buy expensive K series parts and more expensive chipsets,to maximise profits from gamers,so not making the Core i3 look great its a win/win scenario,as many markets are not really affected,and instead of a gamer going for a £80 Core i3 and a £55 motherboard and overclocking it,they now buying a £150+ Core i5 and a £70+ motherboard,since the Core i5 is artifically made to look much better than a Core i3. Its typical halo type marketing.

[Hicks12]

Yeah I know what you mean CAT, Intel unfortunately has been doing this for years .

The issue I have is that surely with something like the 4570 I wont be overclocking it for him so it will stay at stock so a £40 motherboard should be fine, essentially the difference between the FX8320 and 4570 is £30, I can get that added if it adds a tangible difference for future games or current games.

I cant really see the £30 going anywhere else as the 7950s are a bit more than £30, cheapest non XFX I could find was the MSI twin 7950 boost which is a very good card but costs £190, not sure I can justify the performance as the 7870 is okay at 1080p res, overclock it a bit and it will certainly match stock 7950s.


How good is the cooler with the FX chips? I know everyone seems happy with the stock intel ones, is it better or worse than that?

Thanks