What kind of setup?

[Robbietalk]

It's been a while since I've had a proper PC. I'm thinking about finally getting some kind of gaming setup in the near future, but I'm so out of the loop that I'm finding it hard to work out what I want to aim for. 

My brain is turning to spaghetti from all the reading I’ve been doing, hence why I decided to come and ask some questions even though I’m still uncertain of what I want. Sorry for not being as coherent as I’d like about what I’m asking!

 

Obviously, ‘future proofing’ isn't always possible, but what kind of price (UK) & specs do you think it would take for a desktop that would (hopefully) have a reasonably easy time with 1080p gaming for a good 5 years? I don’t play AAA games all the time, but I’d like to be able to run them decently when I do feel like playing one.

How much more would it take for a desktop that would cope similarly well with 1440p games? 

And also, how much worse value is it getting a prebuilt at the moment compared to building? I noticed some on Amazon that sound amazing value (https://www.amazon.co.uk/ADMI-Gaming-PC-3-6Ghz-Windows/dp/B07798R425/), but I’m guessing either I’ve misunderstood something about the specs or the rest of the parts are unreasonably low quality.

 

Finally, since I have to deal with some pretty tight space constraints I’m also wondering how much more expensive a good quality laptop that would similarly do well for 5+ years would be?

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this, it’s good of you to be helping people on here.

[Dedayog]

i'd err on the side of a very solid AM5 system for a good 5 years of good 1080p gaming... this machine will do 1440p as well, drop settings one click usually.

 

CPU can be upgraded next gen or the gen after, just drop in.  but the AMD 7600 can play anything.  16GB VRAM on the 6800 can handle any AAA game without running out, as is fast enough to produce good frames at 1440p.  Add more SSD as you see fit.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  (£182.99 @ AWD-IT) 
Motherboard: ASRock B650M PG Lightning Wifi Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  (£121.72 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  (£105.64 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN580 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (£59.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 319 Radeon RX 6800 16 GB Video Card  (£370.00 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case  (£59.99 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Power Supply: Deepcool PM750D 750 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  (£79.59 @ NeoComputers) 
Total: £979.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-03 18:21 BST+0100

 

Your PC on Amazon is decent for the PRICE< but look at delivery...  That machine isn't worth 950.

 

[Robbietalk]

8 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

i'd err on the side of a very solid AM5 system for a good 5 years of good 1080p gaming... this machine will do 1440p as well, drop settings one click usually.

 

CPU can be upgraded next gen or the gen after, just drop in.  but the AMD 7600 can play anything.  16GB VRAM on the 6800 can handle any AAA game without running out, as is fast enough to produce good frames at 1440p.  Add more SSD as you see fit.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  (£182.99 @ AWD-IT) 
Motherboard: ASRock B650M PG Lightning Wifi Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  (£121.72 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  (£105.64 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN580 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (£59.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 319 Radeon RX 6800 16 GB Video Card  (£370.00 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case  (£59.99 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Power Supply: Deepcool PM750D 750 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  (£79.59 @ NeoComputers) 
Total: £979.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-03 18:21 BST+0100

 

Your PC on Amazon is decent for the PRICE< but look at delivery...  That machine isn't worth 950.

 

Thanks for the build. Would that be targeting 60 FPS for AAA games?

Btw, regarding the prebuilt, here in the UK the delivery is free but the main price in £750. I didn’t realise it would be so different for the US.

[Dedayog]

2 minutes ago, Robbietalk said:

Thanks for the build. Would that be targeting 60 FPS for AAA games?

Btw, regarding the prebuilt, here in the UK the delivery is free but the main price in £750. I didn’t realise it would be so different for the US.

Yes, always recommend over 60fps for gaming in any build I suggest.  You can get 60fps at 1080p with a 6650XT (system in my sig)  but I took that 5 years out and guessed that a 6800 16GB would be good for 1080p and 1440p then for >60fp as well.  Can't guarantee WHAT fps then, but I would buy that system if I was spending 1000 and had your needs.

 

For the UK price of that system, build it in pcpartpicker to find a baseline PARTS cost, then add what you consider fair for LABOR to build it.  If that suits you, it's a decent deal.  Though I'd take a 6800 over a 4060 all day every day, as well as a 7600 over a 12400.  But the price may be easier to swallow and have a corresponding and acceptable performance reduction for the price paid.

 

You didn't give a hard budget number so I am projecting my own views on this, sorry.

[Robbietalk]

27 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Yes, always recommend over 60fps for gaming in any build I suggest.  You can get 60fps at 1080p with a 6650XT (system in my sig)  but I took that 5 years out and guessed that a 6800 16GB would be good for 1080p and 1440p then for >60fp as well.  Can't guarantee WHAT fps then, but I would buy that system if I was spending 1000 and had your needs.

 

For the UK price of that system, build it in pcpartpicker to find a baseline PARTS cost, then add what you consider fair for LABOR to build it.  If that suits you, it's a decent deal.  Though I'd take a 6800 over a 4060 all day every day, as well as a 7600 over a 12400.  But the price may be easier to swallow and have a corresponding and acceptable performance reduction for the price paid.

 

You didn't give a hard budget number so I am projecting my own views on this, sorry.

Thanks, as I said I’ve been struggling to get a feel for current specs so this is a lot of help.

[Dedayog]

1 minute ago, Robbietalk said:

Thanks, as I said I’ve been struggling to get a feel for current specs so this is a lot of help.

No problem at all.  I am sure more people will comment with their opinions and suggestions today or tomorrow.  There are a few more ways to skin a cat

 

They'll offer other components and hopefully explain why, so you can make the best informed decision.