£700 Gaming/Work PC

WillW · August 23, 2015

Hi LTT forum!

i want to build a £700 gaming/working pc. It needs to:

Be able to dual boot windows 10 (or 8) with linux mint

have about 2tb storage space

ssd isn't necessary but would be nice.

Follow the blue/black colour scheme

have 6+ sata ports

be able to run virtual machines with 8gb ram (so 16GB if possable)

be a good gaming pc!

and finally last for 5+ years.

This is what i've come up with:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ThtyrH

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

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£196.14 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£59.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£44.74 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£65.45 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 260X 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£117.92 @ Amazon UK)

Case: NZXT H440 (Blue/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£84.99 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Super Flower Golden Green HX 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£57.12 @ CCL Computers)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) (£75.24 @ CCL Computers)

Total: £701.56

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-23 10:59 BST+0100

Thanks,

WillW

alexhelvetica · August 23, 2015

Get a SSD.

I don't like the sound of that PSU, I haven't heard that name before

Get a WD or Seagate HDD instead.

That GPU is lower grade, get a R9 series one. (Anyone better than a R9 270 should do)

Zackfoo · August 23, 2015

Get an SSD.

I don't like the sound of that PSU, I haven't heard that name before

Get a WD or Seagate HDD instead.

That GPU is lower grade, get a R9 series one. (Anyone better than a R9 270 should do)

that is a very well known brand with quality....

And toshiba has very reliable hdd too better than seagate.

alexhelvetica · August 23, 2015

that is a very well known brand with quality....

And toshiba has very reliable hdd too better than seagate.

I have never heard of it.

I didn't know the brand, so i said something about it.

Better be safe than sorry

abdul94 · August 23, 2015

I would personally go for a EVGA PSU (same price as that one 550W 80+gold) and i would also get a better gpu since you want it to last 5+years.

Check 280/380 possibly, it does go over your budget but for gaming (Depends on what games you play) the 280/380 will last a lot longer.

Windows2000 · August 23, 2015

I'll cut down on the CPU and get a better GPU/RAM.

Also, the PSU seems really expensive and I've never heard of the brand.

And

Get an SSD.

Bruh you only put an "an" when the first letter of the word coming after is a vowel.

#GrammarNazi

But OP get a SSD.

Cut down on everything else and put a SSD in it especially if you're going to use it for work.

I don't know what kind of work you do but an SSD is a must.

alexhelvetica · August 23, 2015

I'll cut down on the CPU and get a better GPU/RAM.

Also, the PSU seems really expensive and I've never heard of the brand.

And

Bruh you only put an "an" when the first letter of the word coming after is a vowel.

#GrammarNazi

But OP get a SSD.

Cut down on everything else and put a SSD in it especially if you're going to use it for work.

I don't know what kind of work you do but an SSD is a must.

I say "an" more than i say "a".

"an" sounds better than "a"

I am wrong, I will fix it!

jimakos234 · August 23, 2015

For those that dont know the psu, it is one of the best out there, they make the b2,g2,p2 series for evga ( evga's top psu line) and their leadex gold

series are the same , if not better , as evga's.

Other than that, get a r9 270 or r7 370 and a SSD if you can.

theereal · August 23, 2015

Hi LTT forum!

i want to build a £700 gaming/working pc. It needs to:

Be able to dual boot windows 10 (or 8) with linux mint

have about 2tb storage space

ssd isn't necessary but would be nice.

Follow the blue/black colour scheme

have 6+ sata ports

be able to run virtual machines with 8gb ram (so 16GB if possable)

be a good gaming pc!

and finally last for 5+ years.

This is what i've come up with:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ThtyrH

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

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£196.14 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£59.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£44.74 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£65.45 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 260X 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£117.92 @ Amazon UK)

Case: NZXT H440 (Blue/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£84.99 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Super Flower Golden Green HX 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£57.12 @ CCL Computers)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) (£75.24 @ CCL Computers)

Total: £701.56

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-23 10:59 BST+0100

Thanks,

WillW

Never heard of that PSU, but im sure its not that bad.

That GPU is rather low end-ish, and will not last for 5 years.

Also if youre gonna upgrade to Windows 10 right away it might be cheaper to just get Windows 7?

WillW · August 23, 2015

Thanks!

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/jJ2tTW

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/jJ2tTW/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£196.14 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£59.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£70.48 @ CCL Computers)

Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£65.45 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card (£156.79 @ Amazon UK)

Case: NZXT H440 (Blue/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£84.99 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Super Flower Golden Green HX 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£57.12 @ CCL Computers)

Total: £690.93

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-23 11:28 BST+0100

This seem good?

A few questions:

does the Xeon come with a cooler

slight issue - red memory - blue colour scheme!

EDIT: i have a copy of windows 7 pro!

Edited August 23, 2015 by WillW

jimakos234 · August 23, 2015

Yes it looks good.The xeon comes with the stock cpu cooler, also you could get away with a h97 mobo, since the xeon cant be overclocked.

Try asrock h97 performance mobo for a redish theme.

Electro_XD · August 23, 2015

Try this out: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/LmKyzy

- Better cooler

- i5 4690k has simmilar performance but lower price (I think)

- Blue/Black Case

- SSD

*EDIT*

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/XT3KmG

- Same things, but with Xeon e3 back

- A little over budget :c

- Still works great

Zackfoo · August 23, 2015

I have never heard of it.

I didn't know the brand, so i said something about it.

Better be safe than sorry

is okay tho but hey you should look into that brand the next time you upgrading your psu. Most people recommend the leadex series from superflower over corsair rm850i tho.(according to a poll i did a while ago) It gets a 9.7 score from johnny guru too. (same score as corsair rm850i btw)

colt92 · August 23, 2015

Avoid 3TB HDDs, they have higher fail rates and should not be considered reliable.

jimakos234 · August 23, 2015

Try this out: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/LmKyzy

- Better cooler

- i5 4690k has simmilar performance but lower price (I think)

- Blue/Black Case

- SSD

he needs the hyperthreading for the workloads, thats why the xeon comes more handy for the price point (i7 without the igpu). If it was pure gaming, the 4690k would be better, no arguments there.

WillW · August 23, 2015

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/CzRLTW

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

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£196.14 @ Scan.co.uk)

CPU Cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock 2 51.4 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler (£32.99 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£60.97 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£40.52 @ CCL Computers)

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£37.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£49.14 @ Aria PC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked Video Card (£128.99 @ CCL Computers)

Case: NZXT H440 (Blue/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£84.99 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£46.32 @ Scan.co.uk)

Case Fan: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 PWM CO 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£5.50 @ Aria PC)

Total: £729.57

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-23 11:48 BST+0100

About £30 overbudget but as i said i just found a copy of windows 7 pro 64-bit in a box! anyway i really like the H440 in bule/black. can you reccomend how to cut £30?

Electro_XD · August 23, 2015

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/CzRLTW

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

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£196.14 @ Scan.co.uk)

CPU Cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock 2 51.4 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler (£32.99 @ Aria PC)

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£60.97 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£40.52 @ CCL Computers)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£40.52 @ CCL Computers)

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£37.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£49.14 @ Aria PC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked Video Card (£128.99 @ CCL Computers)

Case: NZXT H440 (Blue/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£84.99 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£46.32 @ Scan.co.uk)

Case Fan: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 PWM CO 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£5.50 @ Aria PC)

Case Fan: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 PWM CO 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£5.50 @ Aria PC)

Total: £729.57

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-23 11:48 BST+0100

About £30 overbudget but as i said i just found a copy of windows 7 pro 64-bit in a box! anyway i really like the H440 in bule/black. can you reccomend how to cut £30?

Take away the fans, I've placed in the fans because the case I've chosen before doesn't come with good fans. NZXT's Fans are ok, so you can cut £11 out. If you really can't go over £700, I think you should keep the fans and chose the case I've chosen. But the H440 is a great case so if I were you, I would go a little over budget instead.

WillW · August 23, 2015

Take away the fans, I've placed in the fans because the case I've chosen before doesn't come with good fans. NZXT's Fans are ok, so you can cut £11 out. If you really can't go over £700, I think you should keep the fans and chose the case I've chosen. But the H440 is a great case so if I were you, I would go a little over budget instead.

Seems good. Sure i can find an extra £19 somewhere...

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/R8vHgs

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/R8vHgs/by_merchant/