Jump to content

£500 Gaming Build for a FOAF

Mindstab Thrull
 Share
Posted

Budget (including currency): £500

Country: England

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Far Cry 3, Command & Conquer Remastered

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

Got a message from a friend. She has a friend in the UK who needs a new computer and only has about £500 to spend on a system, including peripherals and presumably Windows. I remembered one Youtuber I watch likes to promote sites that sell Windows keys at a low price and looked that up and applied the appropriate redemption code to find he could get it for under £10. This is what I came up with - still needs keyboard, mouse, and ideally WIFI at some point, but combined that shouldn't be more than £25. Any recommendations?

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£96.85 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£57.98 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Crucial 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory  (£32.32 @ Ebuyer) 
Storage: Western Digital Green 240 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (£28.49 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card  (£124.99 @ CCL Computers) 
Case: CiT F3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (£27.99 @ AWD-IT) 
Power Supply: be quiet! System Power 9 400 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£44.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Monitor: AOC E2270SWHN 21.5" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  (£71.72 @ Currys PC World Business) 
Custom: Windows 10 key (£9.13)
Total: £494.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-25 03:31 BST+0100

 

-- Mindstab Thrull

Nomming ur sanities since 1864 BSE (Before the Sarpadian Empires)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
3 minutes ago, NZgamer said:

Personally I'd look for a cheaper SSD and go for dual channel memory, that will help performance a lot.

I tried. The cheapest 240ish GB SSD wasn't even £1 lower than this one, so it was either that or drop down to ~120GB for a difference of about £10. The biggest reason I went with single is that the RAM is still upgradable, since the motherboard only has two slots for memory. If I did go 2x4GB I could get 3000MHz memory for £36.89 (https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/p4cMnQ/) or almost an extra £5. If the board had four slots it wouldn't bother me so much... what about this?

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£96.85 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£64.95 @ AWD-IT) 
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory  (£36.89 @ Ebuyer) 
Storage: Silicon Power Ace A55 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£20.22 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card  (£124.99 @ CCL Computers) 
Case: CiT F3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (£27.99 @ AWD-IT) 
Power Supply: be quiet! System Power 9 400 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£44.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Monitor: AOC E2270SWHN 21.5" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  (£71.72 @ Currys PC World Business) 
Custom: Windows 10 key (£9.13)
Total: £497.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-25 04:23 BST+0100

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
7 hours ago, Mindstab Thrull said:

I tried. The cheapest 240ish GB SSD wasn't even £1 lower than this one, so it was either that or drop down to ~120GB for a difference of about £10. The biggest reason I went with single is that the RAM is still upgradable, since the motherboard only has two slots for memory. If I did go 2x4GB I could get 3000MHz memory for £36.89 (https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/p4cMnQ/) or almost an extra £5. If the board had four slots it wouldn't bother me so much... what about this?

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£96.85 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£64.95 @ AWD-IT) 
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory  (£36.89 @ Ebuyer) 
Storage: Silicon Power Ace A55 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£20.22 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card  (£124.99 @ CCL Computers) 
Case: CiT F3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (£27.99 @ AWD-IT) 
Power Supply: be quiet! System Power 9 400 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£44.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Monitor: AOC E2270SWHN 21.5" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor  (£71.72 @ Currys PC World Business) 
Custom: Windows 10 key (£9.13)
Total: £497.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-25 04:23 BST+0100

looks good. i'd get a 240gb ssd for £5 more and this monitor instead, as it has freesync

LG 24MK400H-B 24.0" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
6 hours ago, boggy77 said:

looks good. i'd get a 240gb ssd for £5 more and this monitor instead, as it has freesync

LG 24MK400H-B 24.0" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor

Yeah I wanted the 240GB SSD but needed to make cutbacks in order to plug in a motherboard that would support four DIMMs because going dual channel with only 8GB isn't going to be a great experience. Basically, I pretty much know if the system is only going to have 8GB of RAM, I want to be able to expand it, so it's either single-channel on a two-slot board until the user can afford a second stick, or dual-channel on a four-slot board.

 

That monitor looks good but it's nearly £20 more. I assume that when I'm told a budget that there's almost no room for wiggling - maybe £10 at most, and I still try to push it under budget if I can. If I went back to single channel, I could use the original motherboard, which would save me about £12; currently an 8GB stick of DDR4-2666 is £29 which would save me an extra £3, which means if I went with the LG monitor I'd be only a couple pounds over, which might work:
 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£96.85 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£57.98 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Patriot Signature Premium 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 CL19 Memory  (£28.92 @ Ebuyer) 
Storage: Silicon Power Ace A55 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£20.22 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card  (£124.99 @ CCL Computers) 
Case: CiT F3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (£27.99 @ AWD-IT) 
Power Supply: be quiet! System Power 9 400 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£44.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Monitor: LG 24MK400H-B 24.0" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor  (£90.96 @ More Computers) 
Custom: Windows 10 key (£9.13)
Total: £502.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-25 18:15 BST+0100

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

For £50 this is a much better system. A power supply that will last longer, faster dual channel ram, and a much better motherboard.

PCPartPicker Part List
Type Item Price
CPU AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor £101.47 @ Scan.co.uk
Motherboard ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard £74.98 @ Amazon UK
Memory Patriot Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory £36.89 @ Ebuyer
Storage Western Digital Green 240 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive £28.49 @ Amazon UK
Video Card XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card £124.99 @ CCL Computers
Case CiT F3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case £27.99 @ AWD-IT
Power Supply SeaSonic S12III 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply £61.40 @ Alza
Monitor iiyama G-MASTER BLACK HAWK 21.5" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor £89.95 @ Amazon UK
Custom Windows 10 key £9.13
  Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts  
  Total £555.29
  Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-25 19:20 BST+0100  

I understand if you cant go over budget so for £500 this is what I would recommend:

PCPartPicker Part List
Type Item Price
CPU AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor £96.85 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard £64.95 @ AWD-IT
Memory Patriot Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory £36.89 @ Ebuyer
Storage Western Digital Green 240 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive £28.49 @ Amazon UK
Video Card XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card £124.99 @ CCL Computers
Case Xigmatek Scorpio MicroATX Mid Tower Case £28.01 @ Ebuyer
Power Supply be quiet! System Power 9 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply £54.92 @ CCL Computers
Monitor AOC E2270SWHN 21.5" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor £71.72 @ Currys PC World Business
Custom Windows 10 key £9.13
  Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts  
  Total £515.95
  Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-25 19:34 BST+0100  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

The only thing I wouldn't compromise on is the ram. Running single channel low frequency high latency means your cpu will run at 50% of its potential. It will be slow, stuttery, laggy, and everything that can be bad about a computer.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Opt for a pair of RAM's instead of a single one and also tryn squeeze in a SSD, otherwise the components look fine...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

So, 2-RAM-slot motherboard, two 4GB DDR4-2400 sticks, 120GB SSD, monitor and Windows and I'm just under £502 after shipping costs. Until I get told I have any more leeway, I think that's as far as I can go at this point.
@boggy77 I just looked up about single channel vs dual channel and to be fair, often when I hear a post like "your cpu will run at 50% of its potential", it comes off to me as an exaggeration. But according to https://www.hardwaretimes.com/dual-channel-vs-single-channel-ram-gaming-amd-ryzen/ , in some games it actually is as much as 50% difference. So I have this:
 

PCPartPicker Part List

Custom: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 Processor (4C/8T, 18 MB Cache, 3.9 GHz Max Boost)  (£95.98) 

 -- Available at Amazon at the time of writing, though PCPP says Amazon is out of stock.
Motherboard: ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£57.98 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: Crucial 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 CL17 Memory  (£32.90 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Patriot Burst 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£16.93 @ CCL Computers) 
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card  (£124.99 @ CCL Computers) 
Case: CiT F3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (£27.99 @ AWD-IT) 
Custom: Be Quiet! 400W System Power 9 PSU, 80 Plus Bronze (£44.99)
 -- Available at Amazon at the time of writing, though PCPP says Amazon is out of stock.
Monitor: LG 24MK400H-B 24.0" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor  (£90.96 @ More Computers) 
Custom: Windows 10 key (£9.13)
Total: £501.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-26 22:30 BST+0100

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
PCPartPicker Part List
Type Item Price
CPU AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor £101.47 @ Scan.co.uk
Motherboard Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard £64.95 @ AWD-IT
Memory Patriot Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory £36.89 @ Ebuyer
Storage Crucial MX500 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive £34.47 @ Amazon UK
Video Card XFX Radeon RX 570 8 GB Video Card £124.99 @ CCL Computers
Case CiT F3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case £27.99 @ AWD-IT
Power Supply be quiet! System Power 9 400 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply £47.89 @ More Computers
Monitor AOC 24B1XH 23.8" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor £84.99 @ Currys PC World
  Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts  
  Total £523.64
  Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-27 12:51 BST+0100  

Desktop: Intel Core i9-9900K | ASUS Strix Z390-F | G.Skill Trident Z Neo 2x16GB @ 3200MHz CL14 | EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER XC Ultra | Corsair RM650x | Fractal Design Define R6

Laptop: 2018 Apple MacBook Pro 13"  --  i5-8259U | 8GB LPDDR3 | 512GB NVMe

Peripherals: Leopold FC660C w/ Topre Silent 45g | Logitech MX Master 3 & Razer Basilisk X HyperSpeed | HIFIMAN HE400se & iFi ZEN DAC | Audio-Technica AT2020USB+

Display: Gigabyte G34WQC

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing New Builds and Planning

×