Buying Gaming PC €2000 Buget

Zekey

So I am looking to buy my first proper Gaming PC.
I have had my current PC for 6 years and i am in desperate need of a new rig.
I have managed to saved up in and around €2000 however, I have little to no idea about the inner workings of your standard gaming PC.
The only thing i would have to go on is the flawed logic of "this is the most expensive, thus this must be the best" which I know is plainly wrong.
I have done some rudimentary research myself but I really am completely lost at this stage.

So I have come here in a hope to find more technically minded folks who may be willing and able to help me with which is the best option for buying my new gaming PC for within or around(within rational limits) my budget of €2,000. Im just looking for the best specs I can get for the budget I have.

Here are some of my details;

1. What is your budget? €2,000 - €2,200

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming and Streaming online video. The main game I am hoping to play are Elite:Dangerous, Civ 6, GTA V, Fallout and Shadow of Mordor. I dont play many fps type games but I am interesting in being able to play most games on high settings for the next few years hopefully. As far Streaming online video goes, I currently have a 2 monitor setup and i generally have videos(youtube and streaming movies in 1080)on one monitor while I am searching the web or Gaming on the second monitor.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes I would prefer for the PC to come with the OS installed (sorry I dont know much about setting up a new PC)

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Not Really, It's all 6 years old.

5. Do you need a monitor? No, I currently have dual monitors but i do plan on getting new monitors once I save up more money.

6. Do you need any peripherals? No, much like my monitors I already have a keyboard and mouse but I do plan on getting new ones once I have the money. Also I primarily use headphones so external speakers should be unnecessary.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? I would be willing to but I am apprehensive as I am not fully sure about what overclocking actually does.

8. How can you pay? Cash or credit card, preferably but I can also use bank transfer.

9. When are you purchasing? I would like to order between now and January but I am flexible.

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? I am based in Waterford and I would definitely need help but I would prefer a pre-built rig as I have no idea about how to build/put together a computer.

me_irl

Highly recommend visiting PC Part Picker.

https://pcpartpicker.com/

This is their "Enthusiastic Gaming Build"

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/J6xFf7/enthusiast-gaming-build ($1519.58 roughly €1453.45 depending on parts / delivery)

With a video on how to put everything together.

wotzgoingon

me_irl wrote: »

Highly recommend visiting PC Part Picker.

https://pcpartpicker.com/

This is their "Enthusiastic Gaming Build"

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/J6xFf7/enthusiast-gaming-build ($1519.58 roughly €1453.45 depending on parts / delivery)

With a video on how to put everything together.

They are American prices though.

OP I would wait for the new year. January at CES and see what Ryzen is like and prices and release date. Also intel have new CPU's out in January as well.

Denny_Crane

For the tower alone your budget is complete overkill. Decide on the monitor you want - I suggest a 1440p ultrawide - decent ones can be got from the korean sellers on ebay or spend more for a domestic seller like amazon. Use the rest of the budget for the tower. You could easily have over 1200 available after buying a good 34" UW.

6700/7700K with 16 GB ram and a GTX1080 should be 75fps on most games on ultra and around 1200 quid.

There is however alot of new stuff coming in the new year.

PC building is very easy. Youtube it both Linus and Jay have had their 5 year olds do it. Loads of guides from the aforementioned kids, to drunk builds, to serious guides.

Blazer

€2000 will get you a top of the range pc with video card and a high end g sync monitor. But complete overkill.
I built mine for €1100 and that included a 27" monitor.
I already had a video card but add in a gtx1070 for around the €500 and you're sorted.
I'll post links later on. T I ordered mine from overclockers.

john0272

Zekey wrote: »

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? I am based in Waterford and I would definitely need help but I would prefer a pre-built rig as I have no idea about how to build/put together a computer.

If you don't feel comfortable building it yourself you can try www.dragonflair.com they make great products.
That said, if your €2000 budget doesn't include any peripherals you should be able to get a good config with an i7-6700k and a GTX 1080.

Digital Solitude

john0272 wrote: »

If you don't feel comfortable building it yourself you can try www.dragonflair.com they make great products.
That said, if your €2000 budget doesn't include any peripherals you should be able to get a good config with an i7-6700k and a GTX 1080.

Never heard of DragonFlair until you John, and one third of your posts are recommending them. Is there any affiliation I wonder

john0272

Well I mentioned them in another post... Not an affiliate no but I got my PC a couple of months ago through them so it might be why it pops up in my head

Lu Tze

john0272 wrote: »

Well I mentioned them in another post... Not an affiliate no but I got my PC a couple of months ago through them so it might be why it pops up in my head

They seem to have a huge markup for their labour costs. "Life time" support also seems a bit odd. And seemingly your warranty is void if you upgrade anything (unless you buy the parts through them!)

john0272

Lu Tze wrote: »

They seem to have a huge markup for their labour costs. "Life time" support also seems a bit odd. And seemingly your warranty is void if you upgrade anything (unless you buy the parts through them!)

Do they? I remember comparing it to some builders in the UK at the time and it was more or less the same. I suppose the exchange rate was different then...

Blazer

A PC is very easy to build. the only difficulty I ever found is those bloody switches for the HD leds, and the power and reset switches. It meant I had to read the manual to know the proper way to put it in.
My last PC took me 10 minutes to put together and another 15 minutes to get it all up and running with Windows. Its worthwhile learning that much as least as it will always stand to you...just a final warning though...under no circumstances tell your parents. My mother used to go to bingo and come back with laptops for me to fix no matter how many times I gave out to her for doing it. Its the curse of IT techs...every bloody house you go to will ask you to take a look at their pc or laptop.:mad:

Redfox25

Yep those leads are a pita to fit. Everything else is gandy enough.
If you did run into issues then feel free to ask for help here along with pictures and you will get lots of support.
First time i built i hadnt the mobo power lead in. Spent agez trying to figure it out myself and then about 1 minute for some kindly soul here to spot it and help me out.
Good luck with the build. Do it yourself and never look back.

Zekey

These are the different places i have been looking so far, I was hoping to get your input on the specs and value

https://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingCart.aspx?submit=ChangeItem

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/J6xFf7/enthusiast-gaming-build

http://www.custompc.ie/intel-core-i7-5820k-2011-v3-rog-extreme-gaming-pc-213704-p.asp

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/view/Vortex-1500-gaming-pc/

https://www.dragonflair.com/collections/venom/products/venom-better

http://techbuyersguru.com/2000-premium-gaming-pc-build

https://www.originpc.com/configurator/prime/4.aspx?shellid=2

K.O.Kiki

Don't buy from Newegg. I recommend Amazon (monitor/case), Mindfactory, Overclockers. There's a few others that are good.

ElNino

On partpicker switch the country to the UK at the top and you will get a list of UK prices and suppliers. I built a PC more or less off their high end gaming build about a month ago and I am very happy with it. I am getting 144 fps in 1440 with Ultra settings on a Dell 27" G-Sync Monitor.

Redfox25

Avoid the custom pc site. That pc you linked has a poor balance of gpu vs cpu. The 970 is a decent card but for that money you should be getting a 1070 at least.the 1070 is miles better and will last longer.

john0272

OriginPC is based in the US so you'll end up paying customs. As Redfox25 said the custompc.ie is outdated and extremely expensive.

Denny_Crane

Build it yourself or get one of the regulars here to do it.

Zekey

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Don't buy from Newegg. I recommend Amazon (monitor/case), Mindfactory, Overclockers. There's a few others that are good.

Such as....

Digital Solitude

Zekey wrote: »

Such as....

Scan, alternate, caseking, computeruniverse

Zekey

Would any of you have any specific suggestions for what i am looking for? I really have no idea what im looking at when i go to pc sites.

I would really appreciate it if anyone could give me a suggestions for specific pieces and which sites to get them on or maybe just entire builds or prebuilt pcs

K.O.Kiki

Zekey wrote: »

Would any of you have any specific suggestions for what i am looking for? I really have no idea what im looking at when i go to pc sites.

I would really appreciate it if anyone could give me a suggestions for specific pieces and which sites to get them on or maybe just entire builds or prebuilt pcs

Take a look at Logical Increments

Zekey

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Take a look at Logical Increments

So which tier am i aiming for with the budget i have, a mixture of Outstanding and Exceptional?

What would you recommend?

Or should i wait for CES in January?

K.O.Kiki

Zekey wrote: »

So which tier am i aiming for with the budget i have, a mixture of Outstanding and Exceptional?

What would you recommend?

Or should i wait for CES in January?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (€351.85 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14S 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler (€83.83 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€129.93 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€112.84 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€138.89 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (€102.39 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card (€666.94 @ Mindfactory)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S ATX Mid Tower Case (€86.83 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€98.84 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €1772.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-30 16:01 CET+0100

These are example prices - Case & Power Supply are best bought on AmazonUK

With PCs, it's always "well, I could wait until..."
Ask yourself simply, do you want to play now?
If yes, buy now, upgrade later.

Zekey

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

With PCs, it's always "well, I could wait until..."
Ask yourself simply, do you want to play now?
If yes, buy now, upgrade later.

Thank you bud, seriously, thank you. I do want to upgrade now, i have been saving up for this for awhile.
This is all i have wanted since I first started this thread, i just wanted ppl to give me precise recommendations.
This was really a huge help

K.O.Kiki

Zekey wrote: »

Thank you bud, seriously, thank you. I do want to upgrade now, i have been saving up for this for awhile.
This is all i have wanted since I first started this thread, i just wanted ppl to give me precise recommendations.
This was really a huge help

Aye, I've been too busy with overtime to look into every thread & draw up recommended systems

Zekey

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Aye, I've been too busy with overtime to look into every thread & draw up recommended systems

Dont worry about it bud, you are not superman
Thanks again for helping out this tech illiterate noob

Zekey

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (€351.85 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14S 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler (€83.83 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€129.93 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€112.84 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€138.89 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (€102.39 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card (€666.94 @ Mindfactory)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S ATX Mid Tower Case (€86.83 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€98.84 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €1772.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-30 16:01 CET+0100

And these will all come with the wires and connections i need right?
Also where would be a god instructional video/site for putting all this together?

Xenoronin

Yup, everything is included. The only issue that stands out is that the PSU is coming from germany, and as such, will come with a European Plug. It's just a kettle lead, so pick one up in your local hardware store or use an adapter for a while.

Youtube has plenty of guides, and you can google a lot of how to guides. Most of the time you won't need a guide though. Everything has a pretty well defined place and label, and nearly everything can be only put in in one direction. e.g. you have markings and guides on the CPU, power cords have a clip while the sockets have a lip to secure the clip.

The only thing you'll probably have to refer to a manual for is the motherboard case headers (Power switch, HDD LED, Reset btn, Power LED).

Oh, and pay close attention to guides on installing the CPU Cooler. That thing is massive and will need you to just be careful and not over tighten.

john0272

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (€351.85 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14S 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler (€83.83 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€129.93 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€112.84 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€138.89 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (€102.39 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card (€666.94 @ Mindfactory)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S ATX Mid Tower Case (€86.83 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€98.84 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €1772.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-30 16:01 CET+0100

These are example prices - Case & Power Supply are best bought on AmazonUK

With PCs, it's always "well, I could wait until..."
Ask yourself simply, do you want to play now?
If yes, buy now, upgrade later.

That cooler is way too expensive. I doubt OP will overclock. And a 5400rpm HDD? Seriously? Get a 7200 rpm. There's almost no price difference for better performance.

Redfox25

Order the case and psu from Amazon as Kiki pointed out, save yourself having to buy a kettle lead and I believe that Mindfactory charge another 30 quid for the case delivery as it comes from another site.

Good luck with the build and be sure to share pictures when its done.

Zekey

Redfox25 wrote: »

Good luck with the build and be sure to share pictures when its done.

Will do, thanks

K.O.Kiki

john0272 wrote: »

That cooler is way too expensive. I doubt OP will overclock. And a 5400rpm HDD? Seriously? Get a 7200 rpm. There's almost no price difference for better performance.

The Noctua NH-C14S is the best-performing downwards blowing cooler though, very quiet as well.

I know tower coolers are cheaper, but IMHO if you can afford it, I'd recommend the NH-C14S since it cools other motherboard components too.

Zekey

So altogether with vat and delivery it is coming to €2120.69

K.O.Kiki

Zekey wrote: »

So altogether with vat and delivery it is coming to €2120.69

Eh?
Where is the extra €350 coming from?

Zekey

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Eh?
Where is the extra €350 coming from?

Amazon:
Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S Midi-Tower Grey - computer cases (Midi-Tower, PC, 1x 120 mm, ABS synthetics, Steel, 1x 120 mm, ATX, EATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ATX)
£77.95
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series F4-3200C16D-16GVR 16 GB (8 GBx2) DDR4 3200 MHz C16 1.35 V Memory Kit - Classic Black
£124.09
Noctua NH-C14S
£64.99
Intel Core I7-6700K Processor (4 GHz, 8 M Cache, LGA1151)
£315.95
Crucial MX300 525 GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive with 9.5 mm Adapter - Grey/Blue
£118.61
WD Blue 3TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch
£87.65
Converted to Euro = 1,845.26

Scan.co.uk:
650W Seasonic, Hybrid Modular, 80PLUS Gold, 1x120mm, ATX, PSU
£104.99
ASRock Z170 GAMING K4, Intel Z170, S 1151, DDR4, SATAe, M.2 (PCIe/SATA), 2-Way CrossFire, Killer E2400 LAN, USB3 C, ATX
£110.48
Converted to Euro = 275.96

total = 2,121.22 in euros

minitrue

Amazon stuff listed there comes to £790 which should be something like €950 ... there's no video-card up there but I doubt it is €900?

Zekey

minitrue wrote: »

Amazon stuff listed there comes to £790 which should be something like €950 ... there's no video-card up there but I doubt it is €900?

sorry forgot the video card
Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 AMP Extreme 8 GB GDDR5X Graphics Card
£800.63

its pretty close to 900

minitrue

From the earlier post I see with that card

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card (€666.94 @ Mindfactory)

So I think you have messed yourself up going UK and not sticking to mindfactory, at least for that!

Zekey

minitrue wrote: »

So I think you have messed yourself up going UK and not sticking to mindfactory, at least for that!

You make a good point there...i imagine it wont be my first mistake in this whole process, this is all new to me and its a learner exercise as much as a purchase.
Thanks for pointing this out though, I will go through all compare everything to mindfactory again

minitrue

Lean on the wisdom you have been given, though I appreciate it's very hard to know who to trust how much and how literally to take things.

K.O.Kiki is a regular expert here who knows what they are doing (as best I can tell) so I suspect you want case+psu from amazon and everything else they said from mindfactory. If you really want to order somewhere else you might need to change around some parts to alternatives so as not to screw yourself.

I've looked a little at the build now and my own comments would be to also agree that a 5400 rpm drive is wrong here and I'd be thinking about a 1TB ssd. How much space do you need for what?

It's obviously an easy build to shave money out of, so given it's already being nice all over the place I wonder if changing to the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-ULTRA GAMING would be a good idea for all the usb 3.1 a/c thunderbolt 3 goodness it adds. I'd wait for someone like KOKiki to add a comment on that though before pulling the trigger!

Zekey

Thanks for all the input guys
And yes, I believe I will wait for K.O.Kiki's comment before i confirm the purchases
I am currently using 3 different sites: Mindfactory, amazon mainly and then Scan.co.uk for the power supply
here is what my order stands like at the moment:
http://imgur.com/gallery/sDJt0

Digital Solitude

Praised be Kiki

Zekey

Preach

Digital Solitude

£800 is crazy, check out a few different models of 1080 on Amazon to find one closer to 650-700 pounds or lower and you'll be sound, the Amazon parts list is golden overall

Zekey

Digital Solitude wrote: »

£800 is crazy, check out a few different models of 1080 on Amazon to find one closer to 650-700 pounds or lower and you'll be sound, the Amazon parts list is golden overall

You didn't look at my imgur link did you?

Digital Solitude

Nope... Hold on

*Fully up to speed*

Get a top tier PSU from Amazon or mindfactory no? Save the hassle of three sites.

Other than that you're sound. Would recommend a 7200rpm HDD but no major issue considering I'm guessing it'll be for storage where speed doesn't matter. 1tb SSD is madness imo

K.O.Kiki

From Mindfactory:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (€348.94)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€123.86)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€108.94)
Storage: Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€128.45)
Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 3TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive (€117.85)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card (€658.95)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€90.85)
Total: €1577.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-03 23:52 CET+0100
+€30 shipping

From AmazonUK

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14S 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler (£64.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair Carbide 400C ATX Mid Tower Case (£98.36 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £163.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-03 22:56 GMT+0000
(don't forget a 3-pin kettle lead!)

Should all be ok for height/width.

€1799.96

K.O.Kiki

FYI on Mindfactory, if you see "Lagernd" (in storage) it means it's in their other warehouse & just takes an extra 1-3 days.

Zekey

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

FYI on Mindfactory, if you see "Lagernd" (in storage) it means it's in their other warehouse & just takes an extra 1-3 days.

Now while that is about €30 cheaper than the current configuration i have in my imgur post (http://imgur.com/gallery/sDJt0) wont i have to buy an adapter for the powersupply if i get it from the source you have linked above because it comes from Germany.

Also what are the important differences between the tower you are recommending now and the tower you recommended originally? This is more out of curiousity than anything seeming as i'm trying to learn, also it seems more expensive.

K.O.Kiki

Zekey wrote: »

Now while that is about €30 cheaper than the current configuration i have in my imgur post (http://imgur.com/gallery/sDJt0) wont i have to buy an adapter for the powersupply if i get it from the source you have linked above because it comes from Germany.

Also what are the important differences between the tower you are recommending now and the tower you recommended originally? This is more out of curiousity than anything seeming as i'm trying to learn, also it seems more expensive.

All ATX power supplies are 100-240, 50-60Hz compatible. Just need the correct kettle lead.

Changed the tower case for CPU cooler height.