Another New Build Gaming PC Thread!

MHI

Hi Guys

I'm going to make my own gaming PC but not very up on the best parts/prices to get.

I'm ok to build it i'm very confident in that but purchasing the best parts nad getting best bang for buck is my worry.

I see pre-made machines on adverts & donedeal but i'd prefer to build my own so i know the complete history of the machine.

Ok what i want to achieve.

High performance Gaming
Ultra Graphics with Mods installed if possible.
Games like Skyrim, GTA V, The Witcher 3, etc

General web browsing & email.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Budget would be €700.00 to €800.00 max

I feel i could get a better machine building myself for that value than buying one or am i wrong?

Digital Solitude

Building is better value

R9 380 €200
i5 6500 €200
Z170 board €70
240gb SSD €65
8gb RAM €40
Case €60
500w PSU €60
1tb HDD €50
Total €745

Any questions, ask away

Xenoronin

Get the 4gb version of the R9 380 btw. High VRAM requirements from skyrim texture mods and TW3.

Get parts from Mindfactory or computer universe. Get the case from amazon to avoid the second parcel shipment charge from germany.

TerrorFirmer

Realistically, ultra quality settings with mods installed on games like The Witcher 3, GTA V, etc would require a much larger budget.

The build above is solid and would play new games at 1080p high settings quite well.

You could get a 2nd hand PC with the same performance for about 500 - what's the major bottleneck in games performance is generally GPU, not CPU, so even though any new build will be a much, much better machine on paper, the real world performance won't be any better than a lot of 2nd hand machine machines with the same or similar graphics card.

eg. i5-6500 with R9 380 and DDR4 ram (2016) won't really be any faster in games than an i5-4440 with R9 280X and DDR3 ram (2013).

Even an i5-3550 with HD7970Ghz from 2012 will perform to about 85% of the performance of the recommended build.

CPU's have stagnated massively in recent years because Intel's architecture is so good, the real movement has been in graphics cards. The benefit of CPU improvements are only really seen at the very high end where GPU's start to become the limiting factor. This only applies to Intel - AMD processor's are a bad joke.

But the platform itself is much newer and you have better upgrade options.

MHI

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply guys.

Maybe my budget is not realistic.

If I was to go with something like the above system but changed the graphics card to a GTX760 would I be pretty future proof for the next few year playing on ultra with mods.

To be honest I've seen YouTube videos of oblivion, skyrim etc with mods on ultra settings and it looks amazing and I'm a massive skyrim fan, Gta v mods look amazing also plus the textures on PC games just beat consoles hands down. But I would need a good frame rate couldn't stand jerky screens.

grindle

The GTX 760 is worse than the R9 280x or 380. If you want mostly Ultra settings in new games with good frame rates at 1080p then you want a 390.

Digital Solitude

You're going to be playing with decent settings with a 380, Skyrim nodded should be okay on it, GTAV will push it out. Adding about €100 or so will net you a 390, which is one of the best price/performance cards on the market, you should be close to Ultra modded at that stage

TerrorFirmer

It's also worth noting that you don't have to run games anywhere near ultra modded settings for them to look vastly better than the console versions.

The build suggested to you would run the Witcher 3 at high settings at 50-60fps. The PS4 version runs at lower visual quality at 30fps and tanks to 20fps in places.

Same with Fallout 4, and other titles as well. If you genuinely want to run games at ultra at 1080p with mods installed, a GTX970 or R9 390 is the target you should be hitting as above (both start at around €320).

MHI

thanks a bunch guys, so if i go with the above specs and put that extra few quid into the Graphics Card with a GTX970 or R9390 i should be good to go, not looking for 4K UHD Graphics once i can run these i'd be chuffed.

Skyrim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTVnPoDCyLo

GTA V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7nZ19r-0lo

Now to sell my PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 to get some cash together and fund some of the costs.

Best place to buy any recommendations?

Also whats the best OS? Windows 10, 8, 7? what is everyone using?

Digital Solitude

Mindfactory.de is the cheapest place to buy, amazon is the best if you've any trouble

I personally use Windows 10 and I like it, personal preference reslly

MHI

can you guys see anything wrong with this build?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2RFgRB

is using the AMD Processor recommended over the Intel i5 bit of a price difference!

TerrorFirmer

Stick with i5, AMD processors are much slower and are are a dead-end platform as well compared to Intel.

TerrorFirmer

Also those prices are all from US retailers and not really applicable at all, you should be looking at Amazon/OCUK/Mindfactory or similar.

Digital Solitude

Big performance hit using AMD though, there's a good reason every build specced here has an Intel processor. The only guy I've seen go against our advice and buy an AMD chip last summer is now looking to upgrade.

Intel are worth the price.

Also, Kingston V300s aren't great SSDs, they're low quality iirc, Crucial or Samsung are better buys

MHI

Holy Cow Batman!! take a look at this!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tktMryae6R0

This is what i want

TerrorFirmer

MHI wrote: »

Holy Cow Batman!! take a look at this!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tktMryae6R0

This is what i want

Better get the wallet out - to maintain a steady 50-60fps looking like that, you'd need a seriously beefy high-end PC.

MHI

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Better get the wallet out - to maintain a steady 50-60fps looking like that, you'd need a seriously beefy high-end PC.

why can't all games look this good

So its not just a matter of beefing up the GPU then?

Think im gonna make a wise decision and not rush the build, spend what i can when i can and ensure that i get the build quality i want even if it means parts gathering dust for a month or 2.

TerrorFirmer

Primarily GPU but you can't save money by getting a cheap CPU as then the CPU will bottleneck you then with a high-end system.

Skyrim modded to the gills like that isn't really 'Skyrim' anymore, and is a massively punishing application that requires heavy GPU and CPU grunt with plenty of RAM and also, VRAM.

It's no different then if you apply mods for Fallout 3 and New Vegas - old games that run on virtually anything, but heavily modded is a different story altogether. Even Fallout 4 already has visual mods that make the game look much better, but it comes at a heavy performance price.

Your options are to either build your €800 PC and enjoy games at high framerate at good visual levels, or add another couple of hundred if you want to run everything at ultra/modded.

There's no way to do it the way you want on your budget unfortunately.

MHI

Yep i agree Terror, i think i'd rather throw a couple more €€€ at it and get it right. have a mac mini 2012 for sale interested LOL

grindle

MHI wrote: »

So its not just a matter of beefing up the GPU then?

Think im gonna make a wise decision and not rush the build, spend what i can when i can and ensure that i get the build quality i want even if it means parts gathering dust for a month or 2.

It looks like that's the same guy who posted the Star Wars Real Life video - that guy's build has 2 x 980Ti in it. ~€1300-€1400 worth of graphics cards alone.

Get a 390 for now and in a couple of years the GPUs at the 970/390's price-point should be about equivalent to a 980ti.

MHI

I was checking online some prices for my build and Amazon are having a PC Gaming Sales starting tomorrow, fingers crossed for some good deals.

I've decided this is the guts of my build, maybe someone can tell me if I'm slipping up somewhere.

Case: I Like the NXZT Cases in white but they are pricey, does case matter will all components fit into any case?
CPU: Intel i5 3.5gh
RAM: Kingston 2 x 4 gb
Motherboard: I'm kinda stuck on this one,whats best value with build in wifi and upgradeable
Storage: WD 1TB Hard Drive (does colour make a difference seems there is lots of different types + 240gb Crucial SSD (for OS)
Cooler: Coolmaster Hypo EVO 212
GPU:Radeon R9 390 8gb
PSU: Stuck on this also,want something that will do a good job but not cost the world.
OS: Windows (cheapest i can find)
Games Controller: What are the recommendations, i'll have my PC connected to a projector so keyboard & Mouse not really an option,plus i prefer controllers.

Am i forgetting anything?

Digital Solitude

You don't need a cooler unless you've a k CPU

Case matters for motherboard size, mATX and ATX are the main ones, ATX case will fit ATX or mATX boards, but an mATX case will only fit an mATX boards.

Theres one part I can't remember

Don't get a WiFi board, they're really expensive for some reason. Get either homeplugs or a €15 WiFi adapter.

SeaSonic do good PSUs, a 500w will do you

Eoinmc97

MHI, most Mobos don't come with built-in WIFI, but you can add a WLAN network PCIE card for about €15 to do the same thing.
As for PSUs, Seasonic, beQuiet, Corsair, CoolerMaster and XFX are great PSU makers.
600W will allow your PSU to run at it's highest effeciency and stay the quietest, but if money is an issue, 500W will do.

MHI

Digital Solitude wrote: »

You don't need a cooler unless you've a k CPU

Case matters for motherboard size, mATX and ATX are the main ones, ATX case will fit ATX or mATX boards, but an mATX case will only fit an mATX boards.

Theres one part I can't remember

Don't get a WiFi board, they're really expensive for some reason. Get either homeplugs or a €15 WiFi adapter.

SeaSonic do good PSUs, a 500w will do you

Ah so a fan comes with the Intel i5?

Eoinmc97 wrote: »

MHI, most Mobos don't come with built-in WIFI, but you can add a WLAN network PCIE card for about €15 to do the same thing.
As for PSUs, Seasonic, beQuiet, Corsair, CoolerMaster and XFX are great PSU makers.
600W will allow your PSU to run at it's highest effeciency and stay the quietest, but if money is an issue, 500W will do.

Cheers Eoin I'll look at 600w psu as i want it to be silent

MHI

can anyone recommend a nice case & motherboard to fit the above

Digital Solitude

What i5 is it? NZXT H440 is pretty good AFAIK, looks swell too

MHI

Digital Solitude wrote: »

What i5 is it? NZXT H440 is pretty good AFAIK, looks swell too

this CPU http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Skylake-Processor-i5-6500-Turbo/dp/B010T6CWI2?ie=UTF8&keywords=intel%20i5&qid=1459716184&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3

what about this case, cheap and looks nice imo, the H440 is nearly twice the price.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-S340-White-Tower-Case/dp/B00NZI69JU/ref=sr_1_20?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1459716242&sr=1-20&keywords=NZXT+H440

Digital Solitude

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-Z170-HD3P-GA-Z170-HD3P-Motherboard/dp/B013E37FW0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1459716296&sr=8-7&keywords=Z170+motherboard

Motherboards are motherboards for the most part, this should do nicely, will allow overclocking in future if you want


There's a cooler with that CPU yeah. If you want a third party cooler I'd recommend staying away from the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. I recommended them until I found out how hard they are to install!

MHI

Digital Solitude wrote: »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-Z170-HD3P-GA-Z170-HD3P-Motherboard/dp/B013E37FW0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1459716296&sr=8-7&keywords=Z170+motherboard

Motherboards are motherboards for the most part, this should do nicely, will allow overclocking in future if you want


There's a cooler with that CPU yeah. If you want a third party cooler I'd recommend staying away from the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. I recommended them until I found out how hard they are to install!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-S340-Wh...ords=NZXT+H440

will that motherboard fit in the above case?

Also just thinking surely i'd need a dvd drive to load windows OS onto the pc?

Digital Solitude

MHI wrote: »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-S340-Wh...ords=NZXT+H440

will that motherboard fit in the above case?

Also just thinking surely i'd need a dvd drive to load windows OS onto the pc?

Link doesn't work

You can use USB

MHI

Sorry try now.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-S340-White-Tower-Case/dp/B00NZI69JU/ref=sr_1_20?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1459716242&sr=1-20&keywords=NZXT+H440

The Amazon pc store Sale Has Started, see any deals here?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/b?node=5313654031