[SOLVED] Advice on building new Intel PC - can I knock the specs down a bit?

[Lambda139]

I've spent a few days designing a new computer, haven't done this for a while and I've gone slightly (a lot) over budget! Is there anything I can knock off my planned build or downgrade without feeling the effects on overall system performance too much?

My planned build is:

CPU: Intel I5-9600K - £210
Motherboard: Aorus Z390 Pro Wifi - £206.32
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8Gb 3200MHz - £121.85
GPU: MSI Gaming Radeon RX580 8Gb - £218.19
Case: Corsair Carbide 275R Black - £59.99
Monitor: ASUS VG245H - £169
HDD: Seagate Barracude 2TB - £55.99
SSD: Samsung MZ-76E500B/EU 500GB 860 EVO Sata III - £78
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED - £37.35
PSU: Corsair CX650M - £67.45
Keyboard: Corsair K70 LUX - £87.98
Mouse: Corsair M65 Pro RGB - £42.99
Mouse mat: Corsair MM300 Extended - £29.99

Total - £1385.10 (Plus a few accessories such as thermal paste and some extra case fans)

This build will replace a PC that I have had for about 5 years, and bought second hand so it was already old. I mostly use it for gaming, MMO's, PUBG etc. Not really used for multimedia, streaming, editing or anything like that.

Will be buying Windows separately.

I didn't really want to exceed £1000 total for my new build, so if anybody could advise on any parts that I can downgrade without affecting the overall spec too much that would be much appreciated! I do want it to last a few years, but not worried about playing everything on Ultra settings or with 4K or VR etc. I also haven't looked at components for a while so I'm thinking that I may have over-specced some parts for no good reason.

And also, as per the sticky guidelines, please see below:

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Next 2 weeks

Budget Range: Ideally around £1000 or less

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming only

Are you buying a monitor: Currently have a Dell P2412h and a HP S2231a, would like to find a modestly priced monitor that has a better spec, and give the old monitor to my son.

Parts to Upgrade: New build

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Have only tried Amazon so far, seems to be the cheapest

Location: Derbyshire, UK

Parts Preferences: Probably Intel CPU and Radeon GPU

Overclocking: Maybe, not averse to overclocking if there is little chance of blowing my CPU up!

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: Buying new, would like the best possible for the budget.

Additional Comments: Not worried about noise, want the coolest PC possible.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My old PC is starting to struggle with PUBG, and also the PSU recently stopped working (an old unbranded model). Was originally planning to replace the PSU and do a minor upgrade, but now set on buying a whole new setup...

Really appreciate any help you can give me on reducing the overall cost!

Thanks

 

[Eximo]

Nothing I would want to take out unless you HAD to keep it under 1000£.

You can ditch overclocking that will save 150£ right there. Get an i5-9400 and a cheaper B360 board, wouldn't need the cooler since the non-overclockable chips come with one.

It can be cheaper to get a board without WiFi and add a card, certainly more flexible.

You could ditch Intel entirely and get a Ryzen 5 platform. Motherboards that can overclock are much cheaper (B450), CPUs come with decent enough coolers for light overclocking.

The peripherals are expensive, but I have little opinion on them. If you want them, then they are fixed cost.

 

[punkncat]

The easiest things I see to do would be to reduce the RAM speed for something a bit cheaper and eliminate the monitor/mouse/keyboard/pad for now. Use what you have for another paycheck or two. You could also save a few bucks by spec'ing a lower wattage PSU.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Yeah, unless you wanted to go Ryzen and get the 2600 and a B450 motherboard. The Samsung SSD could be swapped out for a Crucial P1 or MX500 of the same size. If you went Ryzen you could drop the cooler as the one that comes with the CPU is plenty good.

This would save you some money, but I doubt it'd get you under the budget... however, if you were to cut the RAM capacity down to 2x4 and go with 8GB you could just upgrade later and that might get to budget. 8GB is enough for just about anything, normal usage wise, right now. The only thing you'd need more for is video editing or other workstation tasks.

 

[Lambda139]

Thanks for all the comments, really helpful. I've made a few changes and knocked the price down by £485, taking the build to £900 which is great. Monitor could be left for another day admittedly, and I think cheaper peripherals are hopefully as good. Stuck with the cooler as I'm paranoid about overheating.

CPU: Intel I5-9400F - £167
Motherboard: Asrock B360 Pro 4 - £92
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x4Gb 2666MHz - £57
GPU: MSI Gaming Radeon RX580 8Gb - £218
Case: Corsair Carbide 275R Black - £59.99
HDD: Seagate Barracude 2TB - £56
SSD: Crucial CT500MX500 500Gb - £67
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED - £37.35
PSU: Corsair CX550M - £55
Keyboard & Mouse: Corsair K55 - £70
Mouse mat: SteelSeries QcK Mini - £7
Case fans: Corsair AF120 LED Dual pack - £18

Do you think this is a good build for the price, and would there be much of a performance drop over the previous build?

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

I like everything there. Hoestly, I'd go with a better cooler as well. Intel's stock cooler just barely keeps up with the modern i5s. The slower RAM is just fine on Intel based systems as memory speed has a much smaller impact on performance. 8GB is enough for now as well. RX 580 is a great choice for a mid range GPU. You won't be disappointed with the MX500 either. It might cost less but it is no slouch when it comes to performance. Yeah, I think you are in good shape here.

 

[Lambda139]

Thanks for that, feel much happier about the build now it’s had some feedback!