First Time Gaming PC

S

shorty2243

Member
Hello,

This is my first time buying a gaming PC ( or any PC for that matter ) and I really like the idea of a custom built machine tuned to my needs.

I have a few specs in mind that I would like to have ( graphics card, processor, memory) but have very little knowledge about some other the specs that I know are going to be important ( cooling system, hard disk+ SSD).

I know I would like the following specs:

Windows 10
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor
RAM: 16 GB / Storage: 2 TB HDD & 256 GB SSD
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 ( or greater )

But am struggling to create a build I know will function correctly and contain everything in the above list (or close enough ).

I'd like to spend around £1000 ( can go more if needed ).

Can anyone help me out with a potential build / quote or point me toward someone I can talk to about it.

Thanks !!
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
What exactly are your needs? :) Gaming? (and if so, what games) Video editing?

The GTX 970 is a fine card for what it is, but it has been superseded by cards like the GTX 1060.

Perhaps something like the following:

Case
InWIN GT1 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H110M-R: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Hard Disk
2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£89)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £975.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-skylake-home-office-pc/vQt7gSAm9P/
 
S

shorty2243

Member
Wow! thankyou :)

I'll be using for a range of games but higher end i'm thinking along the lines of Fallout 4 and Warhammer.

As well as gaming Ill be using it to run some basic python computer simulations but nothing too tasking.

That build looks pretty perfect :D - Quick question on the Graphics Card, will the fact its a 3 GB mean it performs any worse than the 4GB for the 970 ? It's allocated video right ? so does it just mean it won't be able to deal with as much ?

Thanks again for the help! :)
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
shorty2243 said:
Wow! thankyou :)

I'll be using for a range of games but higher end i'm thinking along the lines of Fallout 4 and Warhammer.

As well as gaming Ill be using it to run some basic python computer simulations but nothing too tasking.

That build looks pretty perfect :D - Quick question on the Graphics Card, will the fact its a 3 GB mean it performs any worse than the 4GB for the 970 ? It's allocated video right ? so does it just mean it won't be able to deal with as much ?

Thanks again for the help! :)
Click to expand...

Either gtx 1060 will outperform the gtx 970. I would try to push for the 6gb version since it has a higher clock speed and more vram
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I think the clock speeds are the same, it's the CUDA core count that is different. But Keynes is right that the 6gb version is worth pushing for - I actually meant to put in the 6gb version, so good spot on my error there. :)
 
S

shorty2243

Member
I need some advice on the below build;

First time buying a gaming PC, Will be looking to play games such as Fallout 4 and Warhammer.

I have the below build which someone helped me create, I would just like to know if there is anything i can do to lower the price without sacrificing the quality of the machine.

Currently the build is about £1000, which was my upper limit and I'd like to lower that if possible.

I'm open to any suggestions / changes where perhaps I have some overkill or extra specs that wont be needed.

Build:

Case
SHARKOON VG4-W GAMING CASE (Green LED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H110M-R: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
FREE PARAGON GAME READY PACK with select GTX 10 Series GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£89)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,002.00 including VAT and delivery.


Thanks in advance!!
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Anything you lower could affect performance. You've said you need an i7. If an i5 would suffice (often there is relatively little difference between them in gaming performance) that would be an option.

8gb RAM would also be o.k. in most cases but again you've said you need 16gb - and besides the motherboard only has 2 DIMMs (slots for the RAM). So if you go for 8gb (2x4gb) and decide you want 16gb later, you'd need to replace the existing RAM rather than just buy more. So it makes more sense to just buy 16gb now.

You could get a lower end GPU like the RX470 but again, it's cheaper because it's less powerful.

You could get a cheaper SSD. Again, the cheaper ones would be slower. But it wouldn't affect FPS. Personally I'd just stick with the Evo as the savings would be relatively modest in the context of the overall build cost.
 
S

shorty2243

Member
Okay, Ive had a little look around and got to the build below;

I've tried to bump some specs down a level and keep what I think have the bigger impact ( graphics card );

do you think this build will still be ok to play games like Fallout and Warhammer on high settings ?

Case
SHARKOON VG4-W GAMING CASE (Green LED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-6600 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H110M-R: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
FREE PARAGON GAME READY PACK with select GTX 10 Series GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£89)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1
 
S

shorty2243

Member
Okay, so say I keep the i7, all I've lowered from the original then is the RAM to 8GB, but that should be ok right ? just means I wont be able to run as many applications at the same time but in terms of just running those games should be ok ?
 
S

shorty2243

Member
General Desktop Questions

Couple of questions I have about a new PC Gaming Desktop build I'm looking at:

- Do the hard drives only provide more memory or are there other aspects of PC performance that would be affected by removing a second hard drive ?

- Would buying an external hard drive later down the line cover all the same functions as getting a second hard drive built into a build now ?

For Example:

would the only difference between the below specs;

1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE

or

1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

be that I have less memory to store things ?

or will it effect performace in any way ?
 
Rakk

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
shorty2243 said:
- Do the hard drives only provide more memory or are there other aspects of PC performance that would be affected by removing a second hard drive ?
Click to expand...
Basically its just storage space and not having a 2nd drive doesn't make a blind bit of difference (I believe some video editing things benefit from working on multiple drives but I'm not entirely sure)

shorty2243 said:
- Would buying an external hard drive later down the line cover all the same functions as getting a second hard drive built into a build now ?
Click to expand...
External drives will work for storage fine but they will tend to be slower than installed hard drives and may need power supplies of their own (my external drive has a power cord and plug with it) and I suspect most games cannot be installed to an external drive either - but I haven't really looked into it, however you could just buy an extra internal hard drive later on and install it.

One thing I would say though is that given the size of some of the latest games you may find 250GB doesn't last very long at all.
 
S

shorty2243

Member
Thanks! That's good to know...

Second Question:

Is there a big difference between the i5 and i7 processors ?

What kinds of performance specs will be affected by having an i5 over an i7 ?
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Is there a big difference between the i5 and i7 processors ?

What kinds of performance specs will be affected by having an i5 over an i7 ?
Click to expand...
See the links in my previous post in this topic:
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/foru...Time-Gaming-PC&p=370922&viewfull=1#post370922

all I've lowered from the original then is the RAM to 8GB, but that should be ok right ? just means I wont be able to run as many applications at the same time but in terms of just running those games should be ok ?
Click to expand...
While 8gb RAM is ok, bear in mind that the motherboard only has 2 slots for the RAM. So if you want to upgrade to 16gb RAM (and you probably will in the not too distant future) you will have to replace both 4gb sticks of RAM in order to add 2x8gb sticks. Which means you'd have wasted the ~£30 you're spending now on the RAM. So it makes more sense (cheaper and less wasteful) to get £30 from the outset. I touched on that in one of my previous posts also.

1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE

or

1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
Click to expand...
If you want to save money now, not getting the secondary HDD it probably the best idea, since you can very easily just plug one in yourself in the future if you want more space. :)
 
S

shorty2243

Member
Okay, Thanks for the help, decided to just suck it up and get better specs, no point trying to save now if i'm only going to want to upgrade at a later date...

My Final Build;

Case
SHARKOON VG4-W GAMING CASE (Green LED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H110M-R: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
FREE PARAGON GAME READY PACK with select GTX 10 Series GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£89)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1


Thanks for all the help!! :)
 
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