Gaming PC

[Jamez Gamer]

     If you can find a pre-built system that you could show us to comment on, or have a friend that can recommend a quality prebuilt.  But for the most part, pre-built isn't your best option.  They generally overlook certain aspects, or overcharge on certain parts, or omit parts altogether.  Could you link us a website that you use to shop for PC parts and maybe we could do some searching.  I think for your budget, an APU will be your best bet.  Check out those reviews I posted, you will be able to get very playable framerates on some popular games.  Especially the games that you listed that you want to play.  I also want to recommend a few more fun games that aren't too graphically demanding:

League of Legends and Hearthstone, these are two very fun games that are free!  The aren't too graphically appealing, but the games themselves are so fun!

Civilization V, one of my personal favorites, a super good strategy game that I have spent countless hours on, even though the game is relatively old.  Can be bought for 5-10 pounds.

I want Civilisation V, I don't like Hearthstone or League of Legends (Hearthstone is a card game yes? League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena, right?)

I like strategy, action, shooter, retro, simulator, and FPS.

I don't like puzzle or RPG.

[Faceman]

I want Civilisation V, I don't like Hearthstone or League of Legends (Hearthstone is a card game yes? League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena, right?)

I like strategy, action, shooter, retro, simulator, and FPS.

I don't like puzzle or RPG.

Ya, Hearthstone is like Magic the Gathering, except on computer.  League of Legends is multiplayer, I forget the exact term for that type of game.. I want to say RTS?

 

Civilization, Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon, etc.. will run very well.

FPS games won't run as well, but will be playable at minimum-medium settings, but you will probably enjoy playing those games on your console more. 

 

This PC will work very well as a desktop/workstation PC, as well as playing those games that are limited to PC.  It is also easily upgradeable, should you decide to do that in the future.  Ask your friends if you think that build I created(the 2nd one) is going to be good for what you want to do.  Also, building a PC is a lot of fun!

[Jamez Gamer]

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3DWgO

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3DWgO/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3DWgO/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£95.99 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  (£37.82 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (£55.08 @ Ebuyer)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£33.59 @ Aria PC)

Case: Xigmatek Aeos MicroATX Mid Tower Case  (£24.72 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£35.76 @ Amazon UK)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive  (£10.78 @ Scan.co.uk)

Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor  (£84.55 @ Ebuyer)

Keyboard: Gigabyte GK-KM6150 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  (£9.35 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £387.64

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-04 23:07 BST+0100)

 

Ok, so this is an APU system.  Basically it means that the CPU is also the GPU.  You will be able to get some decent performance from this.  It is also possible to upgrade in the future if you would like to.  So it gives you quite a bit of freedom.

The keyboard comes with a mouse, so it has everything you need.

 

Here is a product description of the AMD A10-6800k

 

Things that you could upgrade to in the future:

An SSD, this will give you super fast boot times,

a AMD GPU.  If you feel like the graphics you are getting aren't good enough, you could buy a GPU and get a little more performance.

Also, I probably won't use this keyboard and mouse for first person twitch shooters like Black Ops II, but it would probably be okay for now, for working and internet browsing, and playing strategy and turn based games and simulators but I'll wait until a later date and get a better keyboard and mouse before I start using it for FPS. However, I feel like this will do quite well. I will have my expert take a look at it (he used to fix computers long time ago back in the 80's and 90's).

[Jamez Gamer]

Ya, Hearthstone is like Magic the Gathering, except on computer.  League of Legends is multiplayer, I forget the exact term for that type of game.. I want to say RTS?

 

Civilization, Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon, etc.. will run very well.

FPS games won't run as well, but will be playable at minimum-medium settings, but you will probably enjoy playing those games on your console more. 

 

This PC will work very well as a desktop/workstation PC, as well as playing those games that are limited to PC.  It is also easily upgradeable, should you decide to do that in the future.  Ask your friends if you think that build I created(the 2nd one) is going to be good for what you want to do.  Also, building a PC is a lot of fun!

I understand. But Black Ops II on minimum shouldn't be that demanding right? Not like Far Cry 3 or Crysis 3? I mean it's primarily a console game from seventh gen so surely it's minimum settings are really low? Doesn't matter anyway I already have it on PS3 so I don't have to get that game I just want to test out why people say KBM's more accurate for FPS but it's not of any importance at all. I don't have to build it myself. My step grandfather knows a guy. If he can't get him to build he should be able to build it himself (he used to work for a tech company). That shouldn't be a problem.

Well, if it runs Stanley Parable, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, Antichamber, Civilisation 5, Sims 2 (Sims 3 sucks) and retro FPS like Quake 1, DOOM II, Duke Nukem 3D, BLOOD, Hexen, Heretic and Rise of the Triad, it is sufficient.

[Faceman]

Also, I probably won't use this keyboard and mouse for first person twitch shooters like Black Ops II, but it would probably be okay for now, for working and internet browsing, and playing strategy and turn based games and simulators but I'll wait until a later date and get a better keyboard and mouse before I start using it for FPS. However, I feel like this will do quite well. I will have my expert take a look at it (he used to fix computers long time ago back in the 80's and 90's).

Right, that keyboard and mouse is more for functionality than performance.  It is better to focus your money on components that have an impact on in-game performance.  Keyboard and mouse can be upgraded at a later time very easily.

 

Use this build instead, I forgot that APUs run better with higher performance RAM:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3DWLh

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpick...Lh/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpick...WLh/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£95.99 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  (£37.82 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  (£63.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£33.59 @ Aria PC)

Case: Xigmatek Aeos MicroATX Mid Tower Case  (£24.72 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£35.76 @ Amazon UK)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive  (£10.78 @ Scan.co.uk)

Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor  (£84.55 @ Ebuyer)

Keyboard: Gigabyte GK-KM6150 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  (£9.35 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £396.55

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-04 23:21 BST+0100)

 

See if your friend likes that build, also, you could ask him if he has a spare optical drive, PSU, or keyboard/mouse laying around or at a discount.  Hopefully his computer knowledge is up to date as APUs are a newer technology.  Check out some of those reviews I posted, they will give you actual, real-world performance marks for this particular APU.

[Faceman]

I understand. But Black Ops II on minimum shouldn't be that demanding right? Not like Far Cry 3 or Crysis 3? I mean it's primarily a console game from seventh gen so surely it's minimum settings are really low? Doesn't matter anyway I already have it on PS3 so I don't have to get that game I just want to test out why people say KBM's more accurate for FPS but it's not of any importance at all. I don't have to build it myself. My step grandfather knows a guy. If he can't get him to build he should be able to build it himself (he used to work for a tech company). That shouldn't be a problem.

Well, if it runs Stanley Parable, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, Antichamber, Civilisation 5, Sims 2 (Sims 3 sucks) and retro FPS like Quake 1, DOOM II, Duke Nukem 3D, BLOOD, Hexen, Heretic and Rise of the Triad, it is sufficient.

Ya, all of those games will run well.  Black Ops II will probably have to be at a lower settings.  If games like Tomb Raider, Bioshock, Hitman can be played using this APU work at low-medium settings. Black OPs two should be similar.  I will try and find some real world performance benchmarks of this APU and BO2

[Jamez Gamer]

Right, that keyboard and mouse is more for functionality than performance.  It is better to focus your money on components that have an impact on in-game performance.  Keyboard and mouse can be upgraded at a later time very easily.

 

Use this build instead, I forgot that APUs run better with higher performance RAM:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3DWLh

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpick...Lh/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpick...WLh/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£95.99 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  (£37.82 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  (£63.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£33.59 @ Aria PC)

Case: Xigmatek Aeos MicroATX Mid Tower Case  (£24.72 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£35.76 @ Amazon UK)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive  (£10.78 @ Scan.co.uk)

Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor  (£84.55 @ Ebuyer)

Keyboard: Gigabyte GK-KM6150 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  (£9.35 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £396.55

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-04 23:21 BST+0100)

 

See if your friend likes that build, also, you could ask him if he has a spare optical drive, PSU, or keyboard/mouse laying around or at a discount.  Hopefully his computer knowledge is up to date as APUs are a newer technology.  Check out some of those reviews I posted, they will give you actual, real-world performance marks for this particular APU.

Okay, will do. He has stuff left over from when he used to work for the tech company but it's from the 90's so it's a CD ROM, floppy disk ROM and the keyboard and mouse is also from the 90's and has a ball in the mouse and the keyboard is a worn out membrane keyboard. I doubt they even work very well anymore they're not even very good for general use let alone gaming.

 

Also, he probably doesn't know anything about APUs or GPUs. He knows about CPUs though. (This is why I'm doing the research instead of him because he doesn't know of the new tech or how to build a modern gaming rig)

[Jamez Gamer]

Ya, all of those games will run well.  Black Ops II will probably have to be at a lower settings.  If games like Tomb Raider, Bioshock, Hitman can be played using this APU work at low-medium settings. Black OPs two should be similar.  I will try and find some real world performance benchmarks of this APU and BO2

Yeah... I'll probably play the multiplatform third person games on console cos they work better with a controller. I don't really care about Black Ops II cos I might not like it with the keyboard and mouse anyway. I don't think they use the same controls they used  to have in DOOM and Quake anymore...

[Faceman]

I understand. But Black Ops II on minimum shouldn't be that demanding right? Not like Far Cry 3 or Crysis 3? I mean it's primarily a console game from seventh gen so surely it's minimum settings are really low? Doesn't matter anyway I already have it on PS3 so I don't have to get that game I just want to test out why people say KBM's more accurate for FPS but it's not of any importance at all. I don't have to build it myself. My step grandfather knows a guy. If he can't get him to build he should be able to build it himself (he used to work for a tech company). That shouldn't be a problem.

Well, if it runs Stanley Parable, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, Antichamber, Civilisation 5, Sims 2 (Sims 3 sucks) and retro FPS like Quake 1, DOOM II, Duke Nukem 3D, BLOOD, Hexen, Heretic and Rise of the Triad, it is sufficient.

Actually, type in A10-6800k into youtube, lots of games are playable at 1080p, and if you drop resolution to 720p, which is still HD, you will be able to play almost anything.

Crysis3, Black Ops2, Bioshock the list goes on.

[Jodomcfrodo]

I guess it doesn't matter if I can't play first person shooters because I already have an Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Wii U and Xbox One. I just wanted to play some games I can't get on console, such as Roller Coaster Tycoon 1, Quake 1, DOOM, Stanley Parable, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 even, and... I can't remember now. If I could play some other games on minimum such as Black Ops II then okay, but if not, it's not of paramount importance or anything. The reason why I need to get a desktop is because my laptop needs replacing and I figured I might as well get one that can play video games but I didn't get as much money as I was hoping. If not I'll just get an office PC. It's no big deal.

If you already have a 360, ps3, ps4, will u, and an xbox one. Why don't you sell 3 or 4 of them, then use that around $500 to build a much better system? Do you really need all of them?

[Jamez Gamer]

Actually, type in A10-6800k into youtube, lots of games are playable at 1080p, and if you drop resolution to 720p, which is still HD, you will be able to play almost anything.

Crysis3, Black Ops2, Bioshock the list goes on.

Well... If I can play Crysis 3 at minimum settings, I can play anything 

[Jamez Gamer]

If you already have a 360, ps3, ps4, will u, and an xbox one. Why don't you sell 3 or 4 of them, then use that around $500 to build a much better system? Do you really need all of them?

I haven't gotten the PS4 yet, I already sold the Wii U and no one wants to buy my PS3, my friends have  an Xbox 360 so I can't sell that, and they're going to be getting an Xbox One, so I can't sell that. I could decide to save up for a better PC instead of saving up for a PS4 but there's an urgency to getting a PC immediately.

[Jodomcfrodo]

I haven't gotten the PS4 yet, I already sold the Wii U and no one wants to buy my PS3, my friends have  an Xbox 360 so I can't sell that, and they're going to be getting an Xbox One, so I can't sell that. I could decide to save up for a better PC instead of saving up for a PS4 but there's an urgency to getting a PC immediately.

You could sell the 360. Then when they get a one you're good and your urgency problem is solved. On your budget, your experience is really gonna be sub par. It's not gonna be fun IMO. 

[Jamez Gamer]

You could sell the 360. Then when they get a one you're good and your urgency problem is solved. On your budget, your experience is really gonna be sub par. It's not gonna be fun IMO. 

Somebody managed to run Crysis 3 at 720p 30 fps minimum settings on a rig that costs less than £400. I could sell my 360 now but they're not getting a One until... March 2015. About 9 months from now. That's a very long time to lose contact with them, for me.

[Jodomcfrodo]

Somebody managed to run Crysis 3 at 720p 30 fps minimum settings on a rig that costs less than £400. I could sell my 360 now but they're not getting a One until... March 2015. About 9 months from now. That's a very long time to lose contact with them, for me.

Yea I guess your right. I meant in overall performance. Booting is going to take forever. Loading games is going to take forever. But hey I have very very high standards.

[Jamez Gamer]

Yea I guess your right. I meant in overall performance. Booting is going to take forever. Loading games is going to take forever. But hey I have very very high standards.

Yeah. Whereas I don't mind. I can do other stuff whilst I'm waiting. I'm a very patient person. I probably won't play games that have loading screens in between deaths though...

[Jodomcfrodo]

Yeah. Whereas I don't mind. I can do other stuff whilst I'm waiting. I'm a very patient person. I probably won't play games that have loading screens in between deaths though...

I'm extremely impatient. Thats my problem with everything. But enjoy your new system!

[Jamez Gamer]

I'm extremely impatient. Thats my problem with everything. But enjoy your new system!

Thanks! 

[jtrier1]

I want to build a gaming PC. I only have £350 and live in England. I need to be able to run all games preferably at 1080p 60 fps at minimum or medium settings. I need peripherals. A minimum price monitor, keyboard and mouse. I don't need an operating system. It has to be able to play all video games and browse the internet even at absolute minimum settings. I will only go over budget marginally if it is completely and utterly impossible to build a gaming PC that can run all games at minimum settings for medium tier graphical video games. The graphics don't have to be as good as the PlayStation 4 or anything. I just need it to run Microsoft Office and want to play games on it, on minimum to medium settings. I don't need Microsoft Office. If I can't build a PC at a cost of £400 that will run video games then I will scrap the idea altogether. I have no idea at all how much it's supposed to cost because I haven't been playing on a gaming PC since 1998 on Quake and DOOM. So I'm not sure what the benchmarks are for building a gaming PC. I don't need a gaming PC, because I have consoles, but I would like to have one. Can anyone help, or is this impossible for this price?? If it's impossible, I'll just get an office PC instead.

 

If I left anything out, sorry. It's the first time. I'm getting it prebuilt, by the way. Although I might be able to get it prebuilt without further cost so I won't factor that into my costs. 

 

I don't know of anything like this, so some help would be nice although I'm not sure what to do.

 

Thanks.

 

Oh, by the way. The reason why my budget is so low it's touching the floor is because I can't save up for a better PC because my laptop is slowly dying on me so I can't wait until I have more money. Anything over £400 means waiting longer and I'm not sure how much longer my laptop's gonna last. I would fix the laptop but there's no point if I'm getting a desktop. Plus, I don't have an income or anything so it's really hard to get any more money. £400 is already going to take me a month to save up for so it's hard for me to go over that. I also don't mind if it's a terrible PC that can't run better games very well, it's okay for me. 

 

 

If you want to game on a budget, Go AMD. Here is what I would suggest for someone on your budget:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3EaOq

 

Game-Debate.com says a system like this can play 92% of all current games out now.  Its under budget at $582.87, which is 345.45 British Pound Sterling, so a system like this should suit your needs perfectly.

 

Note that I did not add a display because it would've gone over your budget, but the 260x has an HDMI port which you can connect to a Television with an HDMI port. Then you can add the Display later.

[Silver Knight]

If you want to game on a budget, Go AMD. Here is what I would suggest for someone on your budget:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3EaOq

 

Game-Debate.com says a system like this can play 92% of all current games out now.  Its under budget at $582.87, which is 345.45 British Pound Sterling, so a system like this should suit your needs perfectly.

 

Note that I did not add a display because it would've gone over your budget, but the 260x has an HDMI port which you can connect to a Television with an HDMI port. Then you can add the Display later.

A nice build, but not everyone likes to play PC games on TV (i personally don't mind it ).

 

Also, why did you use an APU with a dedicated GPU? I think it would've been better if you used something like X4 750k or X4 760k BE which are both less expensive than the one you suggested

 

And then he could use the leftover money, save a little bit more, and buy himself a nice display (i think that 1600x900 would be nice, especially since he can get more FPS on that resolution and with 260x than on Full HD)

 

EDIT: Here, i just changed your CPU and GPU, and now it costs around 300 pounds And if you want, you can use 760k instead, which is around 6 pounds more  http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Ei1t

[Jamez Gamer]

If you want to game on a budget, Go AMD. Here is what I would suggest for someone on your budget:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3EaOq

 

Game-Debate.com says a system like this can play 92% of all current games out now.  Its under budget at $582.87, which is 345.45 British Pound Sterling, so a system like this should suit your needs perfectly.

 

Note that I did not add a display because it would've gone over your budget, but the 260x has an HDMI port which you can connect to a Television with an HDMI port. Then you can add the Display later.

I would get that, but I have to do my work off of the computer using my Microsoft Office. If it was solely for gaming then I would consider that.

[Jamez Gamer]

A nice build, but not everyone likes to play PC games on TV (i personally don't mind it ).

 

Also, why did you use an APU with a dedicated GPU? I think it would've been better if you used something like X4 750k or X4 760k BE which are both less expensive than the one you suggested

 

And then he could use the leftover money, save a little bit more, and buy himself a nice display (i think that 1600x900 would be nice, especially since he can get more FPS on that resolution and with 260x than on Full HD)

 

EDIT: Here, i just changed your CPU and GPU, and now it costs around 300 pounds And if you want, you can use 760k instead, which is around 6 pounds more  http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Ei1t

I don't know if this is a glitch or something but it says that most of those things aren't available in the United Kingdom only in the USA 

[Silver Knight]

I don't know if this is a glitch or something but it says that most of those things aren't available in the United Kingdom only in the USA 

No, it isn't a glitch... I unknowingly used USA pcpartpicker, but nevertheless, you can use that as a reference and try to keep the cost of the parts identical to the cost of those parts there.

[jtrier1]

A nice build, but not everyone likes to play PC games on TV (i personally don't mind it ).

 

Also, why did you use an APU with a dedicated GPU? I think it would've been better if you used something like X4 750k or X4 760k BE which are both less expensive than the one you suggested

 

And then he could use the leftover money, save a little bit more, and buy himself a nice display (i think that 1600x900 would be nice, especially since he can get more FPS on that resolution and with 260x than on Full HD)

 

EDIT: Here, i just changed your CPU and GPU, and now it costs around 300 pounds And if you want, you can use 760k instead, which is around 6 pounds more  http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Ei1t

 

ahh...Good call.

[jtrier1]

I don't know if this is a glitch or something but it says that most of those things aren't available in the United Kingdom only in the USA 

I think I realized that I can change the location on PCpartpicker after I made your list.