Gaming pc first ever build

[Misthios]

Hi all, I'm looking to build my first pc and I've realised how under-clued i am! I've been recommended to post here as you may be able to help clear the muddy waters.

I'm trying to work to a £400 budget, I don't need a monitor, keyboard or mouse so don't need to factor those.

In terms of what I want to do on it, it'll only be for those games that never make their way to console, so StarCrafts 1 and 2, indie titles, two point hospital, things like that. I have my ps4 for AAA titles so I'm not bothered about it being top of the line.

I may be able to get a cheap GeForce GTX 780 ti and I've been suggested an Intel i5 cpu so with those in mind, what are the best suggestions?

Cheers

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Do you have a copy of Windows??

Btw,it's not a great time to buy an Intel CPU right now as there is a shortage and prices have jumped up.

If you can list the most intensive games you hope to run it would be useful.

How much will the GTX780TI cost??

[Misthios]

Oddly enough i believe I do have a copy of Windows

Oh really? That would make sense, eBay seems to be the only place I've seen so far that has them for around 50quid or so.

Hmm that's a tough one as I don't know the specs for the games, but I never got to play statecraft 2 so that's a must for me, the last also really wants to play two point hospital. Id love to give Jurassic park evolution a go aswell, as you can tell i like rts games
Honestly, I don't think I'll ever play the likes of the new assassins creed or tomb raider on pc, I've a console (ps4) for that I'm happy with, I may wish to give overwatch a go or maybe skyrim so I can enjoy the mods but, in my mind, I'm more concerned about the rts style.

780ti will hopefully be free, it was a free gift to my mate in the first place

[Ravens Nest]

I know its not intel, but AMD Ryzen 5 (6 core 12 thread) is very good for your budget, and will play RTS just fine.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/GxKNWD


Or in regards to i5 an I3 is a good alternative as the later ones are basically repackaged I5's (I5 used to be (4 cores 4 thread) now they are (6 core 6 threads), I3 used to be (2 cores 2 threads) now there (4 cores 4 threads)

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/8NHnw6

Both within your £400 budget, as you have an O/S, GPU and the rest already.

CAT-THE-FIFTH will probably help improve my suggestions.

[MrJim]

I know its not intel, but AMD Ryzen 5 (6 core 12 thread) is very good for your budget, and will play RTS just fine.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/GxKNWD


Or in regards to i5 an I3 is a good alternative as the later ones are basically repackaged I5's (I5 used to be (4 cores 4 thread) now they are (6 core 6 threads), I3 used to be (2 cores 2 threads) now there (4 cores 4 threads)

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/8NHnw6

Both within your £400 budget, as you have an O/S, GPU and the rest already.

CAT-THE-FIFTH will probably help improve my suggestions.

If you're going with Ryzen, you really want 2x4Gb RAM modules rather than single channel 8Gb...this kit is basically the same price and appears to by Ryzen compatible:

https://www.cclonline.com/product/24...zG9xkK3jKsRY2A

[PC-LAD]

Here is everything within budget, delivery inc. https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/mKtNWD. If you want a nicer case, you'll have to drop the SSD

[PC-LAD]

i am plebian, if you can get that gpu for free, just keep the spare cash for games as an upgrade to something like a 1600 is pointless for indie titles, IPC on single core gets utilized more. XP, imma subbed to this thread so I hope you get a good build.

[Misthios]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I really appreciate them. In an ideal world, how long will these builds last before I need to upgrade parts and would these be a one part at a time job or all at once?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Oddly enough i believe I do have a copy of Windows

Oh really? That would make sense, eBay seems to be the only place I've seen so far that has them for around 50quid or so.

Hmm that's a tough one as I don't know the specs for the games, but I never got to play statecraft 2 so that's a must for me, the last also really wants to play two point hospital. Id love to give Jurassic park evolution a go aswell, as you can tell i like rts games
Honestly, I don't think I'll ever play the likes of the new assassins creed or tomb raider on pc, I've a console (ps4) for that I'm happy with, I may wish to give overwatch a go or maybe skyrim so I can enjoy the mods but, in my mind, I'm more concerned about the rts style.

780ti will hopefully be free, it was a free gift to my mate in the first place

Modding can push VRAM,so some of the newer cards might be useful,but a GTX780TI for free is a much better deal!!

Intel CPUs are having a massive pricing issue due to 14NM shortages. Looking at the suggestions already they are broadly OK,but here is my take on them:

https://www.cclonline.com/product/25...ooler/CPU0537/
https://www.cclonline.com/product/24...Drive/SSD0675/
https://www.cclonline.com/product/24...Gray-/RAM3683/
https://www.cclonline.com/product/25...board/MBD2471/
https://www.cclonline.com/product/23...W-GB-/PSU1428/
https://www.cclonline.com/product/25...lack-/CAS3324/

I am assuming you are not really go to overclock the CPU,as maybe a slightly more expensive motherboard and a better cooler would be worth getting it.

You might need to add some 120MM fans to the case,but the build should come to around £420ish including some fans. OFC,there is only a 240GB SSD,but you can add a larger 1TB to 2TB hard later. However,it made me wonder whether a 6C/12T CPU is wasted on a game like SC2 or Skyrim which don't seem to thread that well.,and neither does Two Point Hospital. If it is Skyrim:Special Edition it might thread a bit better though. I also looked at the Jurassic Park game too:

https://gamegpu.com/rts-/-%D1%81%D1%...n-test-gpu-cpu
http://www.pcgameshardware.de/Jurass...rtung-1258464/

It does show scaling upto 6 cores too. If it were not for that game,I would have suggested a Ryzen 3 2200G or Athlon 200GE instead. What is a shame,is the Intel Core i5 8400 probably is well suited for the games you are looking at but the prices have massively gone up.

[Ravens Nest]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I really appreciate them. In an ideal world, how long will these builds last before I need to upgrade parts and would these be a one part at a time job or all at once?

If you only stick with RTS games then you may need to get more ram in a year or two's time (Another 8GB when its cheaper..) , if you go with the Ryzen 5 with 6 cores it will last along time maybe 3-4 years at a guess because of the amount of cores. the GPU may last another couple of years, its similar to a Geforce 970 which i have and that runs everything i play at 1080p at high to ultra level on my i5 6600k

[Misthios]

thanks all.

I've been doing some reading on the components everyone has suggested and im pretty darn happy with whats been suggested, so thankyou. i'll be looking to secure the case first and keep an eye on everything else as i know prices fluctuate. Ive been looking at some cases to see what else is about and i quite like the idea of a CiT F3 Mid Tower Gaming Case (sorry i cant post a link as ive not hit my 5 posts minimum) as it has a front and back built in fan (and is a wee bit cheaper), i think this will be fine size wise, would you concur?

[Ravens Nest]

Sorry for the late reply, i don't know much about that case but it looks great especially for the money..

[emilsobo]

For your budget i would recommend

CPU: Ryzen 5 2400G
Mobo: A420 with 4 ram slots
PSU: some cheap 400W
Case: Cheapest you can find
Ram: 8gb ddr4 2400mhz
HDD: some 500gb 5400rpm

[Misthios]

Apologies for the go-quiet all, its been one of those weeks.

I picked up my pcs new home (desk) from gumtree during the week, thats all now set up and awaiting the parts. Got the GTX 780 Ti safely tucked away so im going to go ahead and order my case (im going for the CiT F3, not the fanciest in the world but it should do what i need) MOBO and CPU so i can start my build whilst im annual leave.

Wish me luck