Gaming PC 800-1k budget

...Ghost...

My son wants to build a gaming PC. Will also be used for school work and general. I built a PC a few years back and got my pick list here......purchased from hardwareversand.

Will need everything except a mouse and MS office.

1. What is your budget? €800 - 1000

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming/Internet/Homework (DEUS EX would be most taxing game).

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Mouse only
5. Do you need a monitor? Yes

5a.What size do you need. 24"+ Might get 2 monitors*

6. Do you need any of these peripherals?

*Keyboard: Must be silent. Parents in next room...so not a mechanical click/clack type.

*Wireless Card:

*Speakers: Speakers are not priority unless a good deal.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No

8. How can you pay? Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser

9. When are you purchasing? 2 weeks

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? no help needed.

Other comments/wishlist:::

Will want a dvd burner.
Will want a tall tower.
Will want easy access USB 3.0 ports (4 at least).
Seriously considering liquid cooling, as there will be hours of gaming in a small room. :rolleyes:
Will want 500GB SSD for C drive and one storage drive around 2TB+.=9-0

Considering 2 monitors....depending on price. 144Hz. So, 2 HDMI connections preferred. Please advise....
my own PC build uses 1 HDMI and a VGA connection if memory serves correctly. I use 2 monitors.

K.O.Kiki

I'll price one up for you tomorrow or day after, Amazon Prime Day (ends today) kinda messes with PCPartpicker's pricing.

FYI Windows 10 can be installed for free, directly from Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

...Ghost...

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

I'll price one up for you tomorrow or day after, Amazon Prime Day (ends today) kinda messes with PCPartpicker's pricing.

FYI Windows 10 can be installed for free, directly from Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

Cheers. I have Amazon Prime if that makes any difference. Also I am sure I have a 2TB hard drive I could pull from my PC. I have at least 1 spare. I think its a 2TB WD BLUE I have spare.

K.O.Kiki

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (£124.56 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard (£98.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£60.35 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue SN500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (£57.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital - RE4 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For £0.00)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB ARMOR OC Video Card (£209.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair - SPEC-03 ATX Mid Tower Case (£54.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£53.42 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Lite-On - iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer (£13.85 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: Samsung - LC27JG50QQNZA 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor (£204.23 @ Amazon UK)
Keyboard: SHARKOON - Skiller Wired Gaming Keyboard (£9.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £888.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-07-17 11:38 BST+0100

A good chunk of the budget went to the monitor, as it's the part that will last longest.

...Ghost...

Thanks.

If he decides on a second monitor, would a video card with 2 HDMI ports be a better option? If so, could you recommend one?

I checked my own set up and I run 2 monitors...an HDMI and a DVI port are used. My GPU is a low end one, as my own PC is not for gaming. Everything else is high spec.

K.O.Kiki

DisplayPort is better than HDMI.

...Ghost...

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

DisplayPort is better than HDMI.

OK thanks. Any cables or other items needed that wont come with the pick list?

...Ghost...

Will be ordering this today/tomorrow. Monitors are to fit into a book case with cavities of 25" (diagonal). Decision to get 2 monitors is made and he is happy enough with 60Hz.

How about THIS one? If you have a better suggestion, would like to see. I have AOC monitors a few years with no issues.

Will be mounted to the wall with brackets.

Can you also confirm what extra cables and bit will be needed for this build?

Anima

It would be a lot better to get 1 monitor that is larger and >100hz for gaming to be honest.

...Ghost...

Anima wrote: »

It would be a lot better to get 1 monitor that is larger and >100hz for gaming to be honest.

Going larger means cutting up the book shelf to accommodate a larger size screen. I could do this, but would rather avoid it, because the thing is mounted to the wall and is about the size of a single bed. I won't rule it out though. What screen were you thinking?

Shlippery

...Ghost... wrote: »

Will be ordering this today/tomorrow. Monitors are to fit into a book case with cavities of 25" (diagonal). Decision to get 2 monitors is made and he is happy enough with 60Hz.

How about THIS one? If you have a better suggestion, would like to see. I have AOC monitors a few years with no issues.

Will be mounted to the wall with brackets.

Can you also confirm what extra cables and bit will be needed for this build?

That's DVI/VGA, would be a big downgrade vs the one suggested, perhaps something like the following instead of 2 x22"

If your son had any interest in 'Ultrawide' , it's a Freesync monitor which would pair nicely with his GPU.

29" Ultrawide - Freesync, thin bezels, IPS.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-29WK600-Ultrawide-DisplayPort-Freesync/dp/B079YYB44B/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=lg+ultrawide&qid=1564589892&s=computers&sr=1-


This website will give you an idea of dimensions. Height clearance should be fine. Worth thinking about.

http://www.displaywars.com/29-inch-235x1-vs-22-inch-16x9

Alternative Option: 24" - Freesync, tiny bezels (would be good for 2 monitors side by side) IPS (good viewing angles)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-24MK600M-3-side-Borderless-Monitor/dp/B07GNNDLJS/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=24%22+freesync+ips&qid=1564590355&s=computers&sr=1-5

...Ghost...

Putting the order together now. I added 3 sata cables. Haven't decided on monitor just yet.

Some problems I am hoping you can help with. I am trying to get everything through Amazon, so if an alternative is available, I would prefer to get on Amazon, or I can order from the likes of komplett or pcworld if necessary.

1. Storage: Western Digital - RE4 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For £0.00)
There is no stock of this. What is the alternative? I have an older 2TB WD Blue storage drive. Can I use that?

2. Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB ARMOR OC Video Card (£209.99 @ Amazon UK)
No stock on Amazon. Looks like it's back on the 11th. Would THIS one do the job?

3. Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£53.42 @ Amazon UK)
Not available for a month on amazon.

TerrorFirmer

Is 2 monitors necessary? One good 27" 1440p 144hz is solid, can get a basic one for not much more than £200.

Re: 2TB drive, any alternative is fine. Some are better than others, but realistically as a storage drive, anything new will do.

Re: GTX1660 - yes, your alternative is fine, but keep in mind the cheapest 1660Ti is not much more and it's a much better card, so if sticking with the 1660, unless silence/cooler performance is a major factor (unlikely for a kids pc) stick to the budget options, the cheapest 1660 is £199. Cheapest 1660ti>decent 1660.

PSU wise. I wouldn't get too tied up in this. With a 1660/1660Ti class card, the PSU is not that important. Not to say, to buy crap, but any half decent 450W will be grand. EG, EVGA 450w at around £35 is fine.

...Ghost...

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Is 2 monitors necessary? One good 27" 1440p 144hz is solid, can get a basic one for not much more than £200.

Not right away, but he does want 2 eventually. I have a 2 monitor setup and he likes it, but it's not set in stone as to how many monitors will be purchased for this order.

Re: 2TB drive, any alternative is fine. Some are better than others, but realistically as a storage drive, anything new will do.

Great. I have three 2TB drives for storage. Two of them are empty. I will donate one to him.

Re: GTX1660 - yes, your alternative is fine, but keep in mind the cheapest 1660Ti is not much more and it's a much better card, so if sticking with the 1660, unless silence/cooler performance is a major factor (unlikely for a kids pc) stick to the budget options, the cheapest 1660 is £199. Cheapest 1660ti>decent 1660.

Thanks. Will look to the Ti cards and see what's there. The silence is more for my sanity. He is in the next room and if the background dB level is higher from a noisier system, his clicking will be louder.

PSU wise. I wouldn't get too tied up in this. With a 1660/1660Ti class card, the PSU is not that important. Not to say, to buy crap, but any half decent 450W will be grand. EG, EVGA 450w at around £35 is fine.

My own rig has a 450W. I thought 650 was a big enough jump, but then i'm not the expert here. A 550W corsair might be a nice compromise.



It's a bit annoying that I can't get everything from Amazon. Would be handier. Looks like I will have to order from Komplett and PCWorld for a few bits. The MB maybe from Komplett.

What's the deal with PCWorld Ireland? Total rip off!!! The MB price difference is about 40% higher than the UK stores.

Shlippery

Avoid the bricks n mortar stores for PC components, you'll pay an arm and a leg. Ireland just doesn't have enough demand for a dedicated PC Components store...

Which bits are you looking at on other sites?

Can try find an alternative on Amazon.

I've found https://overclockers.co.uk very reasonable as well as http://scan.co.uk , good solid delivery to Ireland.

zep

https://www.cclonline.com/pc/gaming-pcs/pbm/ccl-ronin-gaming-pc/

Just a pre-built option spotted on another site, seems to be great value

...Ghost...

Shlippery wrote: »

Which bits are you looking at on other sites?

Can try find an alternative on Amazon.

I've found https://overclockers.co.uk very reasonable as well as http://scan.co.uk , good solid delivery to Ireland.

The PSU and MB are either not available on amazon, or there is a 5 week delay.

Would like a decent PSU of 500W minimum. The MB I am willingt to order from komplett, or PCworld UK. Will be placing order this evening.


Question: The SSD in the list. I have not seen a naked SSD before. Is that the new norm? No chassis/case? I know it goes inside the tower, but seems a bit exposed to me.

jebidiah

...Ghost... wrote: »

The PSU and MB are either not available on amazon, or there is a 5 week delay.

Would like a decent PSU of 500W minimum. The MB I am willingt to order from komplett, or PCworld UK. Will be placing order this evening.


Question: The SSD in the list. I have not seen a naked SSD before. Is that the new norm? No chassis/case? I know it goes inside the tower, but seems a bit exposed to me.

That's an M.2 SSD. It plugs into a port on the motherboard.

Shlippery

Yea, m2 ssd's are great, slot into the board with a tiny screw. Believe they're faster than the 2.5" drives too.

PSU - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CP-9020102-UK-CX550M-Bronze-Certified/dp/B01C3FFLZ8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=500w+psu+corsair+semi-modular&qid=1564668650&refinements=p_76%3A419158031&rnid=419157031&rps=1&s=gateway&sr=8-1

As far as motherboards go, I don't think it matters too much as long as it's a B450 - but open to correction!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-B450-GAMING-PLUS-Motherboard/dp/B07FNKGZPM/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=b450+am4&qid=1564670078&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Something like this perhaps.

Best of luck with it! Son should be delighted.

...Ghost...

Shlippery wrote: »

Best of luck with it! Son should be delighted.

It's his money, so he will appreciate it more. Will be a bit of fun putting it together.

Unless anyone contradicts your thoughts on that board, I will go ahead and order that this evening.

Just have to decide on monitor and tower.

...Ghost...

Order placed. Went over budget in the end to get what he wanted. Total was €1300 (ish) Overspend went on upgrading the case, getting a second monitor and a proper gaming keyboard. Also ordered speakers and brackets.

Some of the prices are higher than when the first list was put together. The suggested monitor shot up in price. I also wanted to select items that were in stock and ready for delivery no later than 1 week. A few quid was saved on the upgraded case by going directly through the third party supplier.

This is what we went for:

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (£119 @ PC World UK)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 GAMING PLUS AM4 ATX Motherboard (£84.90 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£65.22 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue SN500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (£69.71 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital - BLUE 2 TB 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (Taking from my own rig)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB ARMOR OC Video Card (£209.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 tower (€125 delivered @ Sotel...amazon third party supplier)
Power Supply: Corsair - CX 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Power Supply (£59.99 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Lite-On - iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer (£14.11 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: 2 x LG 24" 24MK600M (£129.97 each @ Amazon UK)
Bracket: Mounting Bracket x2 (£9.99 each @ amazon uk)
Keyboard: Corsair K70 LUX cherry mx red Gaming Keyboard (£99.98 @ Amazon UK)
Speakers: Logitech Z200 (£19.97@ amazon uk).

Shlippery

Keep us updated with the build! Let us know how it turns out!

...Ghost...

Everything has arrived so far, except the monitors. We started the build a few hours ago. I let him hook it up to my monitors and install the free windows version. Everything going well, but one minor thing is annoying me. Normally when my PC is on, the power button has a green lit LED. When we powered it up, the led flashed red and seems to flash randomly moreso when under load. It's the same case as mine, so I expected the power button to go green and I am wondering if some wires were incorrectly installed. Instructions were followed and I double checked the polarity of the relevant wires.

Question....does it matter which slot we put the ram? I put them one space apart from each other (into the red slots).

I'm a bit jealous of the GPU. Thinking I may have to upgrade mine

TitianGerm

...Ghost... wrote: »

Everything has arrived so far, except the monitors. We started the build a few hours ago. I let him hook it up to my monitors and install the free windows version. Everything going well, but one minor thing is annoying me. Normally when my PC is on, the power button has a green lit LED. When we powered it up, the led flashed red and seems to flash randomly moreso when under load. It's the same case as mine, so I expected the power button to go green and I am wondering if some wires were incorrectly installed. Instructions were followed and I double checked the polarity of the relevant wires.

Question....does it matter which slot we put the ram? I put them one space apart from each other (into the red slots).

I'm a bit jealous of the GPU. Thinking I may have to upgrade mine

Swap the GPUs when he's in bed

K.O.Kiki

...Ghost... wrote: »

Everything has arrived so far, except the monitors. We started the build a few hours ago. I let him hook it up to my monitors and install the free windows version. Everything going well, but one minor thing is annoying me. Normally when my PC is on, the power button has a green lit LED. When we powered it up, the led flashed red and seems to flash randomly moreso when under load. It's the same case as mine, so I expected the power button to go green and I am wondering if some wires were incorrectly installed. Instructions were followed and I double checked the polarity of the relevant wires.

Question....does it matter which slot we put the ram? I put them one space apart from each other (into the red slots).

I'm a bit jealous of the GPU. Thinking I may have to upgrade mine

It's probably the "HD_LED" wires making it flash.

Shlippery

...Ghost... wrote: »

Everything has arrived so far, except the monitors. We started the build a few hours ago. I let him hook it up to my monitors and install the free windows version. Everything going well, but one minor thing is annoying me. Normally when my PC is on, the power button has a green lit LED. When we powered it up, the led flashed red and seems to flash randomly moreso when under load. It's the same case as mine, so I expected the power button to go green and I am wondering if some wires were incorrectly installed. Instructions were followed and I double checked the polarity of the relevant wires.

Question....does it matter which slot we put the ram? I put them one space apart from each other (into the red slots).

I'm a bit jealous of the GPU. Thinking I may have to upgrade mine

Yep, match the ram slots by colour! so the two reds would be fine.

& yea, looks like could mixup of the tiny pins. HDD activity would be most likely to make the led flicker as Kiki mentioned.

They're by far the most frustrating part of a build!

Should be easy fix though