£300-350 Game build possible?

[Kezmeister]

My main games are Overwatch, WoW, GW2 and FFXIV.

My budget is £300-350 and I'm wondering if any build is possible to get these running on the best settings within that range. I've had a play with pcpartpicket but honestly I don't know what's good and what's bad when picking the stuff 🙁 Was trying to pick around an i3 as i believe that's probably best budget CPU?

I don't need a monitor as I'll stick with my 1650x1080 and I don't need an OS as I've already got Window 10 64bit ready for it.

 

[MatthewGB]

First, you shouldn't buy storage secondhand as the data on it is too valuable, and secondly, SSHDs are actually much much worse then an SSD and HDD separately.

Just buy an HDD now and an SSD later.

 

[Multipack]

Yes it will definitely affect your performance, but you dont need a copy of Windows 10 - it wont work with your new system anyway - as you can reinstall it from a USB drive and reactivate provided you have linked your Microsoft account to the installation and only plan on using it on one system.

And you made a v good decision opting for the i5 btw. CPU's are very durable and rarely fail, and you'll see a big improvement from the i3 and will be a lot more future proofed.

What do you mean by it wont work with my new system?

It's on the hard drive which i was going to stick into this new build or doesn't it work like that or something?

Edit: Just having a read around now and from what I'm gathering it's something to do with the OS being tied in with the mobo or something like that?

So to move this hard drive over and continue using the windows 10. I need to deactive the key then format the hard drive. Put it into the new build reinstall windows then get in contact with microsoft to reactivate it?

Nope nothing to do with the OS being connected to the board, it's a compatibility thing. The chipset drivers etc wont be compatible and you are going to be faced with endless problems. Do a clean install of Windows on new system and you can reactivate it without buying a new license provided you only plan on using the copy on one system. Just choose the hardware upgrade option and reactivate, but make sure you sign in to Windows using your Microsoft account that you have previously used to sign in on on old system.

You dont contact Windows to reactivate, there's an option in settings.

 

[Kezmeister]

Alrighty thanks. I've created a bootable flash for windows 10 and I see now they've made it very easy to move license to a new PC

So which of the 3 is the best for performance, ignoring the sotrage space

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/MwW9TW,jDGkcf,t238TW/

 

[Multipack]

Black have longer warranties and slightly better performance, but Blue are fine too. Those have different caches in that link though - the higher the better. 2.5" disks cost more than 3.5" despite no greater performance, and tbh I have tried most and dont see a big difference. Out of those I'd probably go for the 1tb Blue.

Here's a good explanation of the differences though.. http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/1741-wd-blue-vs-black-comparison-best-drive-for-gaming

 

[Kezmeister]

Thank you for all the help throughout all of this Multipack. Really appreciate it

Hopefully that should be the end of it now. I have everything sorted 😛

Do I need to buy some mounting brackets and screws for this HD or do they usually come with a case? As they don't come with the HD itself

 

[Multipack]

No all screwes, cables etc will come with the board/case. The only thing you'll need are a coupe of screwdrivers nad a little patience.

One thing, be ultra careful when inserting the CPU as the amount of threads you see on here where people have bent pins is crazy. Make sure you notice the plastic cover over the cpu_socket and dont press it down onto the pins. As long as you lay the cpu chip flat carefully then everything else will be a piece of cake.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Kezmeister]

Ah that's great and will do thanks for the heads up

Will let you know how it's gone / maybe an image once it's all built. all parts expected to be here on/before 4th jan latest

 

[Kezmeister]

Hi,

PC is built and running thanks again everyone for all the help!

My only concern is the Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive. It's making a rather disturbing grinding noise.

I've been googling but can't really find out if this is normal or not. Does anyone know more about this?

Am I best sticking with the Intel Hd 530 driver that came with MSI also or replace it with intels generic driver? Windows itself gave me a different one to both of those also :S

 

[Kezmeister]

Here's an example of the grinding noise I'm speaking of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20E3RZ0uQIs

Although it's not as loud as this persons.

I'm hoping that it's the header accesing files on the drive by moving left and right. But my brother has the same specs hard drive only it's seagate instead of WD and his is always silent.

 

[Kezmeister]

My PSU has now started making a nasty rattling noise today is this normal? 🙁 it's the cosair cx 450m. It sounds like a car engine and is vibrating my whole desk.

When it's not rattling away it's making feint clicking noises.

 

[Multipack]

Hi,

PC is built and running thanks again everyone for all the help!

My only concern is the Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive. It's making a rather disturbing grinding noise.

I've been googling but can't really find out if this is normal or not. Does anyone know more about this?

Am I best sticking with the Intel Hd 530 driver that came with MSI also or replace it with intels generic driver? Windows itself gave me a different one to both of those also :S

Sorry Kezmeister, been a busy NY. Am glad its up and running. Your HDD doesnt sound right if it sounds like that. Are you sure it isnt just the rotation noise? Can you record it at all? They make a very quiet noise occasionally, but not like in that video!

And again, it's hard to say whether the PSU is a problem without hearing it, but it does have a fan in it. Can you check that all your voltages are ok?

 

[Kezmeister]

Hey, no problem that's understandable hope it went good!

Just waiting for WDs extended test to finish then I'll check voltages for PSU.

SMART status was a pass and the quick test was a pass also.

I'll try recording it on my phone then upload it to here somehow if it's allowed.

 

[Kezmeister]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J09pWNQPK7U

Just came across this video, exactly what the noise is from 10-20seconds. So I'm assuming it is normal afterall and well some hard drivers louder than others I guess? Just weird how a seagate of same specs is completely silent though. After reading all the reviews for WDs and how much it always gets recommened.

 

[Multipack]

Yeah thanks! Sounds like you've had some stress tho.. At least it's all still under warranty!

Is the HDD screwed down properly on to the drive bay? That could be the issue. WD disks are pretty reliable and it's probably loose or rattling. The tests seem to suggest it's fine.

The PSU sounds like it could be coil whine. Is this how it sounds? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA8FY7t5S-M It could be related to your Windows power state. Have you checked to see if Performance mode makes it worse/better?

 

[Kezmeister]

Well that's the exact noise of the HD from 10-seconds. It has calmed down compared to a few days a go. I suppose that could be the issue then is the way the bay fixed in. Sadly there's no option to fix it in via screws. It clips into a slide out draw when then slots into the bay. No option there to then fix it with screws. Probably because cheap case? 😛

And for the PSU yes that's the sound only a lot louder 😀

I'll check health status in BIOS now and also the power option in windows is already set to High Performance. Do you mean to change it to balanced?

Edit: Extended test on WD was a pass also

 

[Kezmeister]

This is PSU noise, just recorded it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAq8bJpwVtg

 

[Multipack]

Ha yeah budget cases wont help. Double check it's slotted in properly and there's nothing loose. It sounds like a healthy drive tho.

And only really meant to change the power plan around to see if it changed anything. Performance is best for performance but it'd be interesting to see if it did make a difference. Sometimes it can be related to minimum processor state. Might be a good idea to contact COrsair support and play them that tho. They may offer an RMA.

 

[Kezmeister]

hmm doesn't seem to be an option for pc health status in MSI Bios :S

 

[Multipack]

Which board is it?

 

[Kezmeister]

Ah here we go, was in a weird location. Hope this is correct info.

Cpu Core Voltage 1.064 V
System/5V Voltage 5.080 V
System/12V Voltage 12.192 V
System/3.3V Voltage 3.344V

CPU Temperature 21Celsius
Sys Temperature 30 Celsius

CPU Fan1 Speed 842 RPM
Sys Fan1 Speed 792 RPM


and here's the recording of my PSU when it decides to crazy on me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAq8bJpwVtg

 

[Multipack]

Yeah I watched vid and answered a few posts above ^^

Your voltages are fine, but you could just use HWInfo https://www.hwinfo.com/download.php I thought you were looking for EIST and C states etc. I wouldn't be really comfortable with the PSU but its probably fine. See what Corsair say maybe.

 

[Kezmeister]

Ah thank you well it's good to know the HDs well.

I'll have to nip over to corsiar forums then or try get in contact with them, see what their thoughts on it are.

Thank you again for all the continued help and support these past 2 weeks, really appreciate it!

 

[Multipack]

Yeah I'd just open a ticket in their customer support portal. At worst they'll put your mind at ease even if you end up having to put up with a growling CPU lol.

No probs anyway bud. Any time you think I might be able to help with anything just let me know.

 

[Kezmeister]

Yea created a ticket. some reason it's put it through as a standard RMA which I want as a last resort as that'll be a long process. Hopefully they'll just reply to my ticket and yea put my mind at ease.

Some videos around basically showing you to take the fan off and put vaseline in there but that'll void the warranty so I'll put up with the noise for now lol 😛.

But yea thanks a lot for everything will get it all sorted eventually.