Advice on cheap gaming computer

[Deleted]

Hello,

Currently playing on a laptop and I'd like to buy a computer instead. I don't know much about computer parts, so any advice on how to get the best for my money would be great.

My budget is ~£500 and, bare minimum, I'd like to have good fps while raiding 25m (don't care about quality settings, low on everything is fine!). As for resolution, I'm fine with 720p. I already have my own peripherals.

I don't do much with my computer besides playing games (WoW, and some older FPS games). Living in the UK at the moment.

I know self-built is a better option, but I don't want to build the computer myself and I've got nobody to help me build it, so is there any way I can order the parts and have it put together for me as well?

Any recommendations on what to buy?

[Deleted]

As far as I know Overclockers.co.uk will put the system together for you if you buy the parts there. Perhaps you can look into that? If that's the case I would go with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£101.69 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£62.89 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Memory: GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£57.90 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.90 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card (£154.79 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£51.05 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£46.49 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £525.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 01:21 BST+0100)

[Deleted]

Thanks for your input, I was referred to http://www.ginger6.com/intel-core-i3...c-p-47848.html by a friend with the following setup:

- 00 - CPU - Intel Core i5 3570 (4x 3.4ghz) HD 2500
- 00 - CPU Cooler - Standard Intel CPU Cooler
- 01 - Case - G6 Mars Blue (no LCD)
- 01 - Case Fans - Standard case fans
- 01 - Power Supply - 500w Standard
- 02 - Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V LX2 - Z77, SATA600, USB3.0, PCI-E 3.0
- 03 - Memory - 4gb Kingston DDR3 1333mhz
- 04 - Hard Drive 1 - 500gb SATA3 Hard Drive (UDMA 600)
- 05 - Optical Drive 1 - Dual Layer DVDRW Drive
- 07 - Graphics - 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti: DVI, mHDMI, VGA, DX11, 3D Vision
- 08 - Soundcard Integrated Soundcard
- 15 - Warranty - 3 Year Bronze (1 Year Parts & Labour + 2 Year Labour)
- 16 - Build Time - Standard Build - Approx 5 Working Days

Total: £527.64.

Not exactly sure how well that compares to yours, any feedback or suggestion is very welcome!

[Punisher]

They are pretty equivalent, but I would try to know what is the PSU used, in case it is some kind of 'firework psu'

Edit
Just saw the i5 3570, I don't know how they fit this in the price, but I would get the PC from overclocker.co.uk, not sure about ginger6....

[Deleted]

The CPU is slightly better, the PSU is worse for sure, less RAM (probably not a big deal), much worse GPU. If you can get my build for the same price then definitely get it.

[Deleted]

It seems ginger6 is pretty reputable (9.6/10 on trustpilot from 500+ reviews), I had a few questions regarding your list. I noticed that the case is ATX and motherboard is Micro-ATX, I've heard about some heating problems with Micro-ATX but I'm not exactly sure. Your CPU does seem to be dual core, I'm not sure if this will cause problems with anything, I do see it being 4 logical cores though (HT).

I think I could knock the price up to 600~ top limit if need be

[Deleted]

You could change the CPU to something better (with the higher budget)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£165.59 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£62.89 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Memory: GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£57.90 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.90 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card (£154.79 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£51.05 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£46.49 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £589.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 05:48 BST+0100)

There is no heat issues with an mATX board, not in this build anyways. The i3 is absolutely fine on a budget, nothing to be concerned about. Check if you can't get them to build it like I mentioned, it'll be a much better system.

[Deleted]

This is the build I have:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£158.39 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI B85-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£75.00 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£41.45 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£46.79 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card (£135.96 @ Dabs)
Case: Xigmatek ASGARD PRO (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£35.15 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£36.18 @ Aria PC)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£7.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £536.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 06:58 BST+0100)

The memory is on offer, and should have marginal (1-2%) increases (EDIT: in limited-budget builds). You're pretty limited by budget, however, and this should hold you over.

[Eroginous]

Hello,

Currently playing on a laptop and I'd like to buy a computer instead. I don't know much about computer parts, so any advice on how to get the best for my money would be great.

My budget is ~£500 and, bare minimum, I'd like to have good fps while raiding 25m (don't care about quality settings, low on everything is fine!). As for resolution, I'm fine with 720p. I already have my own peripherals.

I don't do much with my computer besides playing games (WoW, and some older FPS games). Living in the UK at the moment.

I know self-built is a better option, but I don't want to build the computer myself and I've got nobody to help me build it, so is there any way I can order the parts and have it put together for me as well?

Any recommendations on what to buy?

It will always cost more to have a computer built for you (or to buy one pre built). You can do it yourself easily enough, there are plenty of guides on Youtube to help you, and I am sure that if you asked, you would have a friend who could help you put it together.

The hardest part is the CPU/cooler, and it's pretty self explanatory. Everything else is plug n play and only has a few possible configurations anyway.

In terms of parts, you should always compare parts across multiple sites so as to find the best price. If you're buying a new PC (one you want to be good for a few years) you should definitely try for an i5 over an i3, remembering that Wow is a CPU heavy game. It's going to run better on an i5 with a lower end video card, than on an i3 with a higher end video card.

Also keep in mind that unless you are getting a good deal on ram, you are not going to use 8gb before you top out your CPU, especially if you are not overclocking and Wow is all you do. You also might want to consider going with an SSD instead of a mechanical, especially if all you are going to be doing is Wow.

I didn't see a price listing for OS, but that runs about $100 too, so unless you are getting a bootlegged copy from somewhere (I would go with win 7 64 bit) you are going to have to buy one. You can always use the HDD from your laptop if you absolutely have to have more hard drive space, but I don't think you will be able to use the OS on it without formatting and reinstalling.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I'll have a look at overclockers then and see if I can lower the price with cheaper ram as I pretty much don't see it being maxed out.

[vesseblah]

When doing comparisons keep in mind that the GTX650ti and 650 ti Boost are two totally different cards in totally different power brackets. Ti Boost (2GB model) is 50-100% faster in all games than the regular 650ti.

[Eroginous]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I'll have a look at overclockers then and see if I can lower the price with cheaper ram as I pretty much don't see it being maxed out.

Unless you are running 64 bit windows, you can't even use more than 4 gigs of ram (windows won't even recognize it as a resource). You can have 8 gigs installed and your computer will see it in the bios, but 32 bit Windows will only use 4 gigs of it max. That's part of the reason I suggested 64 bit windows, so later on you can get more ram and utilize it if you decide to do more than just play Wow.

If you are getting 8 gigs for super cheap, then I would stick with it. No point in skipping the 4 gigs if it's only going to save you $5-10.

Being on a budget of $500 is tricky, especially when you factor in shipping and tax. I would suggest buying parts in person at Frys or another local computer parts store.

I am lucky that I have a place within 30 miles I can go to for all my stuff.

[Deleted]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£158.39 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£94.99 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£35.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£46.79 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card (£142.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 335 Upgraded ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£36.18 @ Aria PC)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£13.14 @ Aria PC)
Total: £558.46
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 15:45 BST+0100)

I have just taken one of the lists above and slightly edited, would this be a good setup? I wasn't 100% sure on the motherboard still. I do not plan to overclock but generally my computer will be on quite a lot and the room is quite warm (in case it matters).

[Eroginous]

So long as you have no plans on overclocking, stock cooler will be more than adequate. It's also more about airflow than temperature. Everything looks good, though I would decide which version of windows you will be using (32 bit or 64 bit) so you can settle on either 4 or 8 gb of ram.

[vesseblah]

though I would decide which version of windows you will be using (32 bit or 64 bit) so you can settle on either 4 or 8 gb of ram.

There's no point in taking 32bit Windows ever with less than 4GB RAM unless you're 100% sure you need it for something. 32bit OS will not run any faster or better with low memory machine and it costs exactly the same so just get 64bit straight away and you don't need to worry about it.

32bit OS is necessary only if you have some old hardware that does not have 64bit driver support at all. I have Canon's flatbed scanner collecting dust on the shelf, they just say on their web page "we don't support 64bit OS for this device, you should instead buy this newer model...". Last official driver is for 32bit XP but it works with 32bit Vista/7 too when forced to install with safeties off.

[DStrukt]

cyberpowersystems.co.uk is a nice site, ive never had a problem with them anyway

[Deleted]

If you don't intended to overclock then a B85 motherboard will be fine, other than than that the build is fine I guess http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...1#post21375503. Only reason I picked overclockers.co.uk was because someone mentioned they would build it for free if you buy the parts from them.

[Eroginous]

There's no point in taking 32bit Windows ever with less than 4GB RAM unless you're 100% sure you need it for something. 32bit OS will not run any faster or better with low memory machine and it costs exactly the same so just get 64bit straight away and you don't need to worry about it.

32bit OS is necessary only if you have some old hardware that does not have 64bit driver support at all. I have Canon's flatbed scanner collecting dust on the shelf, they just say on their web page "we don't support 64bit OS for this device, you should instead buy this newer model...". Last official driver is for 32bit XP but it works with 32bit Vista/7 too when forced to install with safeties off.

Of course, you are correct. However, the OP is on a budget of $500-600, and he has not listed an OS in his build (easily $100 by itself). That means he is either going to use one he already has a license for, or he is going to bootleg one. No sense in buying 8gb of ram if he has a 32 bit windows disc he plans on using.

Which is why I brought it up to begin with. It would be bad for him to get his new machine in the mail, have no OS, and then be stuck unable to use it because he didn't plan for OS.