Seeking advice on a PC build with a budget

[Maxswann]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a PC for gaming and video editing, possibly streaming and a tiny bit of music production (not a priority). Would ideally like it to be reasonably capable of multi tasking, and capable of running most games at high-ish specs, so I’m fairly certain an AMD processor would be best (?). My budget is no more than £1200, ideally under £1000. I can spend more further down the line but would like something fairly capable from the beginning. If anyone has any bang-for-your-buck ideas with regards to monitor, mouse & keyboard, that would be appreciated too!

Thanks in advance, and sorry for my lack of knowledge, a lot has changed since I built my last PC! Let me know if you’d like any more details.

 

[Steveyg]

Honestly mate £1200 doesn't go far in the market right now, hardware prices are through the roof with demand far outweighing the supply at the minute. I'll throw something together here shortly but think of this as more a good back bone that can upgraded as opposed to a beast out the door

 

[Steveyg]

This is what I would recommend, then the upgrade path I've left two RAM slots free to go to 32GB to help with editing and the GPU can be upgraded to either a 3060Ti or a 3070 depending on what monitor you want to go for.

The 3060Ti is for 1440p 144Hz whereas the 3070 would be better suited to 1440p ultrawide

This is a solid 1080p build though until you can upgrade the GPU

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (1900 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
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)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,281.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/jEMQ63h!nT/

 

[Maxswann]

This is what I would recommend, then the upgrade path I've left two RAM slots free to go to 32GB to help with editing and the GPU can be upgraded to either a 3060Ti or a 3070 depending on what monitor you want to go for.

The 3060Ti is for 1440p 144Hz whereas the 3070 would be better suited to 1440p ultrawide

This is a solid 1080p build though until you can upgrade the GPU

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (1900 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
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)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,281.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/jEMQ63h!nT/

Hi mate, thanks very much for your reply, and sorry mine is so late. I’ve gone away and done some research, and also managed to scrape together some more funds, extending my budget to £2000. I‘ve made a new build according to my new budget, so I’d greatly appreciate your input on what I’ve put together (you’re probably gonna tell me I’m an idiot and I’ve learned nothing in my research)

Case
Dont like the look of any on the site, probably will send one in.
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 8 Core (3.9 GHz @ up to 4.4 GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CORSAIR MP400 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 3480 MB/R, 1880 MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 2300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Asus Xonar AE 7.1-Channel Gaming Audio Card
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Capture/Streaming Cards
Elgato Game Capture 4K60 PRO MK.2 - PCIe Card
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
Microsoft® 365 Personal (12 Month Subscription - Digital Key)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - 3 User, 1 Year
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days


I vaguely understand the issue with graphics cards at the moment. Not sure if the one I picked is better than the one you picked, I’m only guessing because it’s slightly more expensive haha. But I wanted to ask your opinion on it. I’m struggling to grasp whether it’s worth getting a 2060 or a 1660, or just waiting to see if I can get a better one at RRP in the future, or even waiting until PC Specialist get an order in on June 1st? I’m just trying to figure out if it is a waste of money to buy one that’s available right now or wait for a much better one that would still allow me to come in on budget at RRP, if such a card exists?

I also couldn’t find the cooler you selected with my overclocked processor- and on that also, is the processor I selected as good as the one you selected - even with the overclock? Thats another thing I’m struggling to understand. Judging by the number I would expect mine to be better but then it seems that the one you selected has a higher maximum ghz? Not too sure what that means, to be honest by research I mean I have just binge watched linus tech tips.

Also I’d be happy to take the £200 capture card out if it meant I could build a noticeably better system.

Thanks again for your reply man, again let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to clarify.

 

[AgentCooper]

Going for a overclocked build isn’t generally advised. AMD chips have a built in frequency boost which will act as an automatic overclock. As long as they’re in the right environment they’ll find their own peak boosts.

Given your myriad of system uses, I’ve specced up a build that will cover the bases. You’ll be fully set for 1080p gaming at a high level and also have enough clout to do video editing, content creation and audio work.

A 1440p system and monitor is not out of range with a £2000 budget, we can easily tweak things to make that achievable. You’ll just lose a few bells and whistles, let us know how you’d like to proceed 👍

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,851.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/AE0vS9!tJG/

If we go 1080p and you don’t have a monitor already, this AOC screen is a corker 👍

 

[Maxswann]

Going for a overclocked build isn’t generally advised. AMD chips have a built in frequency boost which will act as an automatic overclock. As long as they’re in the right environment they’ll find their own peak boosts.

Given your myriad of system uses, I’ve specced up a build that will cover the bases. You’ll be fully set for 1080p gaming at a high level and also have enough clout to do video editing, content creation and audio work.

A 1440p system and monitor is not out of range with a £2000 budget, we can easily tweak things to make that achievable. You’ll just lose a few bells and whistles, let us know how you’d like to proceed 👍

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £1,851.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/AE0vS9!tJG/

If we go 1080p and you don’t have a monitor already, this AOC screen is a corker 👍

Thank you mate. I think I’d prefer to see what we can do at 1440p if that’s alright, and what do you reckon regarding the graphics card? am I right to understand the RTX is better than the GTX? And also, do you think it’s worth waiting for a 30 series to become available on PCS? If it actually will be available on 1st June then thats only a month to wait, and I might be wrong but I’d assume my 2060 will have depreciated in value a lot by the time I look to sell it when 30 series become available.

 

[AgentCooper]

It’ll be tight to try and cover all your bases if the £2000 budget needs to encompass a 1440p video editing and gaming build plus a monitor. How serious is the editing, what sort of stuff do you do?

 

[Maxswann]

It’ll be tight to try and cover all your bases if the £2000 budget needs to encompass a 1440p video editing and gaming build plus a monitor. How serious is the editing, what sort of stuff do you do?

Honestly I’m essentially just starting, I grew up making YouTube videos but haven’t had a PC capable of video editing for over 10 years, and now I just finished a media and journalism degree I‘d like to start putting what I’ve learned to good use! I’d ideally like it to be capable of editing 4K video, I’m not too fussed about render times as long as they’re not ridiculous, I’m more bothered about Adobe premiere being slow or framey when I’m editing longer videos or with higher resolutions or more complicated effects, etc. I’m suggesting this based on very limited knowledge so feel free to tell me to shut up. but might it be an idea to get a beefy intel APU and wait till graphics cards are reasonable? Or are beefy intel apu’s super expensive right now too?

 

[sck451]

I edit in Premiere Pro with a 5600X and a 1660 Super. Now, I wouldn't recommend this, especially as you're very reasonably looking at 1440p gaming, but it runs just fine. Sometimes I have to turn the playback resolution down if I have loads of After Effects stuff going on, but it's never awful. If you're doing it professionally, you'd want much more than a six-core CPU, but that can't fit in this budget, I fear.

I would suggest the ideal combination would be the 5600X and the 3060 Ti (NVidia cards perform much better in Premiere Pro than AMD ones). Sadly the 3060 Ti is out of stock for now, apparently until June. That build, at my estimate and today's prices, would be between £1750 and £1800 depending on precisely what other options you choose; a 1440p 144Hz screen runs at around £280-300, so we're only a bit over your budget...

 

[Maxswann]

I edit in Premiere Pro with a 5600X and a 1660 Super. Now, I wouldn't recommend this, especially as you're very reasonably looking at 1440p gaming, but it runs just fine. Sometimes I have to turn the playback resolution down if I have loads of After Effects stuff going on, but it's never awful. If you're doing it professionally, you'd want much more than a six-core CPU, but that can't fit in this budget, I fear.

I would suggest the ideal combination would be the 5600X and the 3060 Ti (NVidia cards perform much better in Premiere Pro than AMD ones). Sadly the 3060 Ti is out of stock for now, apparently until June. That build, at my estimate and today's prices, would be between £1750 and £1800 depending on precisely what other options you choose; a 1440p 144Hz screen runs at around £280-300, so we're only a bit over your budget...

Awesome thank you. Do you think it would be worth going a bit more over budget to get a 5700X?

 

[sck451]

5700X isn't a thing. The next step up the ladder is the 5800X. It would certainly be a performance boost for you, but it would also necessitate a better cooler (H100i probably), so that's quite a bit more overall.