New build after years away from PC building (Budget €800)

youcancallmeal

1. What is your budget? [€xxx]
800 but can push it out a bit if necessary

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/3D Modelling/HTPC/Internet] (If gaming include which games)
Gaming(Nothing too demanding), Software Dev and general purpose

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No]
Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.]
No.

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No]
Yes

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]
27". Preferably some that gets very bright as it will be in a room that gets a lot of light. I also have a decent Dell 24" P2419 that I'll use as a secondary monitor.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]
Maybe wireless if I can't free up one of my homeplugs.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking?
No.

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]
Any way is fine

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days]
Within next 2 months

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.]
No.


I've built a few gaming PCs years ago, think 2007 was the last time I built one. Komplett and Hardwareversand were the go to places back then but I'm guessing probably not any more. I'm kind of tempted by a prebuilt PC but if I'm going to get better bang for buck by buying the components separately I'd just do that. Also it's more fun putting together myself I suppose.


Case - I'm more interested sound proofing than flashy LEDs and a window. I had an Antec P180 back in the day that I loved.
Storage - Don't need huge amounts as I have a NAS box. 256GB SSD should be fine, I hope.
CPU - This is where I really need help, haven't a clue about the current generation and I've no interest in overclocking.
GPU - I don't need anything too high end, just something reliable to let me play games from the last 20 years and respectable performance on new games for a few years to come. VR is something that interests me but I guess I'm looking at a lot more than 800 for something like that.
RAM/PSU/Motherboard - Whatever does the job.

Thanks in advance!

youcancallmeal

I've come up with this with which is in and around my €800 budget but no monitor. I can just use my 24" Dell until I can find a 27" I like at a good price. I think the 1600 is the AF version which I've read is as good as the 2600. Not sure about the graphics card, I could spend on a bit more on something better if it made sense.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£88.97 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£67.61 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: *Crucial Ballistix Sport AT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£69.83 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: *Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (£59.48 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card (£129.99 @ CCL Computers)
Case: GameMax Kamikaze PRO MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£56.23 @ Box Limited)
Power Supply: be quiet! System Power 9 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£52.99 @ CCL Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit (£99.00 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £624.10

Homelander

Drop out windows, you can install it for free and it works forever in trial mode with a tiny watermark in the corner of the screen. You wouldn't even notice it.

Put the extra £100 into getting a GTX1660 Super and I would also consider a 1TB M2. Games are getting so ridiculously large, it will fill up fast. The new Modern Warfare alone is almost 200GB for example.

Case wise not sure about that Gamemax model, cases that are that cheap with 4 RGB fans tend to look nice but to have not great airflow as the fans aren't great. Just check some reviews on YouTube or something first.

youcancallmeal

Homelander wrote: »

Drop out windows, you can install it for free and it works forever in trial mode with a tiny watermark in the corner of the screen. You wouldn't even notice it.

Put the extra £100 into getting a GTX1660 Super and I would also consider a 1TB M2. Games are getting so ridiculously large, it will fill up fast. The new Modern Warfare alone is almost 200GB for example.

Case wise not sure about that Gamemax model, cases that are that cheap with 4 RGB fans tend to look nice but to have not great airflow as the fans aren't great. Just check some reviews on YouTube or something first.

I didn't know that about Windows 10, sounds like a good idea. I think I might have an old Windows 7 key around somewhere, maybe I can install it and see if I can upgrade it free to Windows 10.

I wasn't really sure on the case, just threw that in because I see a lot of other builds on here with it. I'm willing to spend a bit on a good case as theoretically it should last for years through multiple builds. I'm not sure if I would go as far as a premium €200 case.

I left the 500GB M2. It should be enough to get me up and running and can always get another one if I run into space issues.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£88.97 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£67.61 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: *Crucial Ballistix Sport AT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£69.83 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: *Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (£59.48 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card (£220.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Thermaltake V200 RGB ATX Mid Tower Case (£80.58 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: be quiet! System Power 9 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£52.99 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £640.45

K.O.Kiki

You don't need to install Windows 7 - just fresh install Windows 10 and will accept your key (I used a Win7Pro key that came with my used ThinkPad - installed onto both main desktop & laptop now).

Also not sure on that Thermaltake case - the front looks like it's closed off completely so it's barely sucking in air!
Look for these cases instead:

Phanteks P400A Digital
MSI MAG FORGE 100R
DeepCool Matrexx 55 Mesh
Bitfenix Nova Mesh RGB
Thermaltake Commander C3[x] series

ctlsleh

Are there CPU/GPU combos that should be considered and balanced out?

Was thinking about the Ryzen5-3600 plus a 1660Super
Seems like good performance that would probably last a few years?

As previous poster, looking to buy my first build for sim racing, assetto corsa etc......

Appreciate any insights.

youcancallmeal

ctlsleh wrote: »

Are there CPU/GPU combos that should be considered and balanced out?

Was thinking about the Ryzen5-3600 plus a 1660Super
Seems like good performance that would probably last a few years?

As previous poster, looking to buy my first build for sim racing, assetto corsa etc......

Appreciate any insights.

I've actually taken a liking to this Ryzen 3600 + Asus MB combo. Seems like a really good price for not a huge amount more than I'm already spending. Also postage is going to get ridiculous if i start ordering each part from a different vendor.

ctlsleh

How does this look?
Would like to get the price down a bit


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

MidlanderMan

Homelander wrote: »

Drop out windows, you can install it for free and it works forever in trial mode with a tiny watermark in the corner of the screen. You wouldn't even notice it.

Put the extra £100 into getting a GTX1660 Super and I would also consider a 1TB M2. Games are getting so ridiculously large, it will fill up fast. The new Modern Warfare alone is almost 200GB for example.

Case wise not sure about that Gamemax model, cases that are that cheap with 4 RGB fans tend to look nice but to have not great airflow as the fans aren't great. Just check some reviews on YouTube or something first.

The kamikaze pro has fantastic airflow. Mate built one and it's a great little case. You can even increase airflow further by removing the second layer of mesh inter the outer piece of you want, but it's not needed. Whisper quiet air cooled system.

K.O.Kiki

ctlsleh wrote: »

How does this look?
Would like to get the price down a bit


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

Some of your prices didn't show.
Is your budget still €800?

PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Jqf8CL

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£157.28 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI B450M MORTAR MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£69.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX6000 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£62.42 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card (£220.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: RIOTORO CR400 ATX Mid Tower Case (£46.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12III 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£56.04 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £703.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-20 22:45 BST+0100

youcancallmeal

I've refined my list a bit, stuck with the Gamemax Kamikaze. I was considering the Phanteks P400a Digital but from the reviews I've seen of the Kamikaze it ticks all the boxes for me and it's cheaper. Only problem is now the 1600AF is out of stock on CCL and the 1660 Super is out of stock on Amazon. Not sure whether to wait or try source them elsewhere. I'm considering just going for the 3600 instead but I really don't think I'll need the extra processing power. I also ordered the Benq EX2780Q as my main monitor.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor (£93.97 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£77.39 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£77.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: *Western Digital Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£61.94 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card
Case: GameMax Kamikaze PRO MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£99.99 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: be quiet! System Power 9 CM 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£71.02 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £482.29

ctlsleh

Thanks, i had chosen the MSI Pro carbon AC motherboard as i wanted WiFi ? is there a better suggestion?
and i chose the Ryzen 5 3600, as i hear its the best value for money?
will the 1600 suffice for SIM racing?

Rob2D

youcancallmeal wrote: »

Hardwareversand were the go to places

F.

youcancallmeal

Rob2D wrote: »

F.

It was a bit of a pain making the payment, had to go to the bank and do a special European bank transfer iirc. The upside was getting all the components you needed in one place at a price nowhere in the UK and Ireland could match. Seems like nowadays you need shop around with pcpartpicker and potentially have to pay postage on multiple items from different vendors, not ideal when you're building a system from scratch

Homelander

I always buy from the one place and have everything arrive at once. It would drive me mad ordering from 5 different places. Usually I buy from Overclockers UK, not always the best prices but really good support and very fast delivery. Sometimes Amazon.

youcancallmeal

I pulled the trigger on this build, all from CCLOnline

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6GHz 6 Core (Socket AM4) CPU £169.97
ASRock B450 Steel Legend AMD Motherboard £93.98
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x 8GB) 3000MHz DDR4 £76.72
Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB M.2-2280 NVMe PCIe SSD £138.97
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6GB Graphics Card £214.99
Be Quiet! System Power 9 CM 500W Semi-Modular PSU £71.02
GameMax F15M Gaming Case - Black £59.75

£835.35

Bit over my budget at around €950 inc delivery but I changed my mind on the type and amount of storage at the last minute. Also the Gamemax Kamikaze Pro case jumped from 55 to 100 for some reason so I went with the newly released GameMax F15M. It appears to be a copy of the Cooler Master H500 at a fraction of the price, hopefully it's decent.

I just realised I only have a 4GB usb flash drive and it says here I need at least 5GB for installing Windows 10. Is there any other options available to me? I have a usb dvd writer drive, could I perhaps write an iso to a blank dvd?