Looking at a new machine

Hi guys,

So I'm looking at getting a new box sometime soon. Currently I've stuck to laptops pretty much exclusively for about 10 years but face it, I need something beefier than your average laptop and well gaming laptops complete with their £3000 price tag are kind of a no go. I've probably got about £500 to play around with, though I could push that to about £650 possibly even £700 at a major crunch point.

We're talking I am going to need the full works, a fully functional desktop. I've got a 32 inch TV that could be utilized as a screen if needed as it has both HDMI and DVI inputs available to me (though how in the hell I'll manage to pay attention to a screen the size of my TV without getting major neck pain I've not worked out.

Games wise, I'm not too demanding, I have some basic requirements such as running something like a modded version of Minecraft a bit smoother than my current laptop can and I'd like to be able to play some games in higher graphical settings than I've currently experienced but we're not looking at a "killer" box just yet something basic to get me back in.

What suggestions would you make? Buy something pre-built and modify it? Or go from scratch (a project I haven't undertaken in about 15 years now) and try to build something from nothing?

Build from scratch, buy a good SSD, overspend on your video card (although CPU also for Minecraft I'd have to guess, having not really delved into the system requirements of it specifically).

From scratch, hands down.

I suppose I should have been specific. If I was to do a scratch build, I'd need some suggestions of parts to use because like I said in the original post; there's been almost 15 years of no playing around doing this.

I used https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc pretty extensively to get my build going. And then used http://pcpartpicker.com/ to handle picking out my parts without having to worry so much about compatibility because it checks for you.

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Originally Posted by NorthernChaosGod

I used https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc pretty extensively to get my build going. And then used http://pcpartpicker.com/ to handle picking out my parts without having to worry so much about compatibility because it checks for you.

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This

I never see people using i3 CPUs, and I have been VERY happy with the performance of my i3-4360 @ 3.70GHz x64. I prefer MSI products when it comes to Motherboards and graphics cards. I still run a beat up old MSI GTX480 and don't have many issues. a 660 or 680 would be more than enough I'd think. For cases and power supply I like Rosewill and I'm using Kingston HyperX FURY RAM. Oh and Solid State is the way to go for storage.

the last time I did much parts purchasing, about a year ago I found Amazon to be the easiest and cheapest route. Not sure if that would hold true for the UK though.

See if you can get a 3+ GHz i5 , GTX 960 or better video card and at least 8 GB RAM. A 500W PSU should be able to run it all without any problems and some headroom to spare.

You should be able to get the CPU and video card for around £300, 16GB RAM for about £70, and I would be surprised if you couldn't find a reasonable motherboard for £100. a decent 500W PSU shouldn't have to cost much more than £60.

The only real thing you need to pay attention to for the motherboard is the CPU socket and RAM type. I used DDR3 RAM in my example here, but DDR4 is probably not a terrible idea nowadays. Not sure how much more that would cost, though. I doubt the DDR3 RAM in my system is the limiting factor, but I also only have a GTX 570.

Put in a 250GB SSD if you have money to spare. It doesn't directly affect game performance in most cases, but it will cut down on loading times a lot if you install the games there, and your other applications will load a lot faster.

Try pricespy.co.uk if you want to find good deals easily. I use the norwegian version of that site all the time. Works great for me.

Ok so I know you're all saying build one from scratch but frankly I've not done that in 15 years or so. I'm fairly confident I could but it's more a case of if I put something together there's a lot of research involved and figuring trout out again that frankly, these days I'm not sure I have the time to do :(

As such, I've been looking on Amazon and found the following PC, looking at a 16 - 32GB ram model possibly (depending on whether I buy the full package or not and cost involved). Please take a look see what you guys think I ought to be looking at from the options there if any are worth it (don't be dismissive guys but be honest).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00Y2ZX0F6

I would not buy that computer. AMD processors are trash and I can't imagine you'll be satisfied with the performance of a GT 730 for that price.

Building a PC is much easier than it was 15 years ago and your 500-750 budget will go much further if you take that route. There are plenty of great build recommendations and guides out there - I like starting here:

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1094682

My core component recommendations for a more than capable mid range build today in that budget: a Core i5 4460 or higher, 8GB DDR3 ram at 1600MHz or higher, a small SSD for Windows and a large HDD for games, and an R9 380 or a GTX 960 if you can get one for cheaper. There's flexibility in choosing motherboards, cases, and power supplies but try to stick to brand names if you can (Asus, MSI, Gigabyte mobos; Corsair, NZXT, Phanteks cases; Corsair or EVGA PSUs). All you really need to know for compatibility is that your mobo needs to match your CPU, your case needs to match your mobo, and reviews for your graphics card will suggest an appropriate PSU wattage.

Last but not least, you must get Windows for cheap from the Microsoft Software Swap on reddit if you can.

For reference, I was able to put together quality components, for less than the barebones version of the PC you linked, and I can't overstate how much it demolishes it in terms of performance:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/zmbnzy

In this day and age, I would even suggest that you got a video card with 4 GB VRAM. With consoles now having ~5 GB shared system RAM available to games, it's no problem for developers to create games that use more than 2 GB of that for video RAM, as many games do not need more than 2 GB for their core engine and systems. 4 GB VRAM will allow you to run on ultra texture settings for probably the next 3-4 years when it comes to multiplatform games. Or really, until the next console generation arrives, would be my bet.

It would also more easily allow you to use 3rd party high res texture mods for older games, if you're into that sort of thing. I run mass effect and new vegas with 4k textures myself :p, but then again, i can do that with 2 GB VRAM.

I'd maybe recommend getting a prebuilt if you were only going to spend enough to get a basic Internet machine, but spending that much you should really do yourself a favor and either build the same for less or get better performance for your money.

Other than making sure your parts are compatible and you have enough power for everything, there shouldn't be a lot of research to do.

Well, other than keeping noise levels in mind. That's one of the few things that are hard to see from text specifications. Generally, in my opinion, avoid radial fans on video cards like the plague. Two big normal fans, or three even, will allow the same amount of cooling with far less noise. Slow and big is better than fast and small when it comes to noise. If you're going to exclusively play with good noise insulating/cancelling headphones, that doesn't matter as much, I guess. Most cards are acceptable when idle.

The most research you'd have to do is look at the processor you want and figure out the socket type it matches so you buy the right board.

I used LogicalIncrements http://www.logicalincrements.com/ to build a $1000 performance mini-ITX system. It all fits in an Ncase M1, so it looks pretty good too. It struggles a bit at 1080p/Ultra, but it can handle all the rest.

Anyways, try Logical Increments, it's pretty good at giving you a sense for how much what you want will cost.

edit - also don't expect to save much money building from scratch. But do expect to get exactly what you want.

That's actually a great site and while not all recommendations fall in line with my preferences, it's still gonna be something i use in the future. Thanks, N.