Question Budget DDR5 desktop

[thenamelessdead]

Hello, first post here.

I am looking into replacing my old rig, a 2010 1st gen i7-870 machine (currently doing sterling work as a basic Win10 internet and a very popular game whose name starts with Rob workhorse in it's retirement). Until I looked into it I was under the false impression that 16Gb DDR4 and a 2Gb graphics card would bring me up-to-date and be good for years to come. Oh dear.

In an effort to get something that's ok straight out of the gate and offer some longevity in upgradability, I've decided that DDR5 is where I need to be, with a 1080p (preferably 1440p if possible) capable GPU. In terms of gaming, I am mainly planning to play Warhammer Total War, CS2 and Blood Bowl 3, none of which are hugely graphically demanding by the looks of it. Not really interested in playing AAA games with hundreds of FPS.

So far the following seem to be representative of lower budget and upper-lower budget options:

MSI MAG Infinite S3 Gaming PC - Intel® Core™ i5-12400F, RTX 3050, 16Gb DDR5, 1 TB SSD
£699 at Currys

MSI MAG Infinite S3 Gaming PC - Intel® Core™ i5-14400F, RTX 4060, 16GB DDR5, 1 TB SSD
£899 at Currys

The 3050 gets no positive reviews at all, so should I simply avoid that build? From what I've seen it's otherwise pretty decent value given the upgradability, and should be ok running the games I listed. The 4060 build is clearly better, but my budget is modest and I am not going to be spending hours each day gaming anyway.

Any help or suggestions welcome.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

IMHO, you should avoid prebuilts since they tend to cut corners with the PSU and other aspects of the build(like the speed of the ram, SSD used and the motherboard's make and model), only using things that an uninformed customer would be lured into. You've pass on the generic listing for the builds, might want to pass on links to said prebuilts. Yes the RTX3050 isn't something you should be buying into.

To add, both those listing have an F SKU processor meaning they lack an iGPU. If and when you have display related issues, you can't rely on your iGPU since it's non existent.

Would you be able to build a system from the ground up? If so, how much can you spend at most?

 

[thenamelessdead]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

IMHO, you should avoid prebuilts since they tend to cut corners with the PSU and other aspects of the build(like the speed of the ram, SSD used and the motherboard's make and model), only using things that an uninformed customer would be lured into. You've pass on the generic listing for the builds, might want to pass on links to said prebuilts. Yes the RTX3050 isn't something you should be buying into.

To add, both those listing have an F SKU processor meaning they lack an iGPU. If and when you have display related issues, you can't rely on your iGPU since it's non existent.

Would you be able to build a system from the ground up? If so, how much can you spend at most?

You should find that the two listings contain links.

Interesting. I was wondering about the F SKU thing and how much of a problem it might be. Seems like the saving isn't worth it then?

I am sure I would be capable of building a PC, although I have no experience of doing so. My biggest fear with that is encountering BIOS issues or what have you.

How far would a budget of £700 get me? Would DDR5 and a 4060 be feasible?

 

[ARICH5]

The MSI prebuilt contains the MSI mpg series PSU at 500w.
I say choice #2
MSI does have alot of bloatware tho.

 

[punkncat]

You could build a really strong AM4/DDR4 system on that budget...

 

[Lutfij]

@thenamelessdead Yeah I noticed you'd shoehorned links into your initial post by the time my post was submitted.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-mag-infinite-s3-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-rtx-3050-1-tb-ssd-10263475.html?sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=103504&awc=1599_1741540426_036c6eeaf8c705df2d042ad98c7b9f38&srcid=369&xtor=AL-1&cmpid=aff~TechRadar~Editorial Content~103504~Future+Publishing.&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=103504
+
https://www.msi.com/Desktop/MAG-Infinite-S3-14th/Specification
+
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-H610M-G-DDR4
The upgrade path on that prebuilt is stifled, IMHO.

I did this for the fun of it and to see what you can get with that sort of money;
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor (£188.69 @ NeoComputers)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 280 A-RGB 69.9 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£73.14 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX ICE Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard (£163.33 @ Clove Technology)
Memory: Crucial Pro Overclocking 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory (£77.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£31.95 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£99.99 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Sapphire PURE Frostpunk 2 Edition Radeon RX 7700 XT 12 GB Video Card (£407.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 301 MicroATX Mid Tower Case (£52.45 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1185.01
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-09 19:14 GMT+0000
I included 2xSSD's, the smaller capacity for the OS, the larger capacity for your game library. You're on DDR5, you get an iGPU while on the Ryzen 5 7600(non-X) processor, there's room to upgrade with storage, GPU's and even ram. I would honestly build something from the ground up and have input in what was put into a build instead of a prebuilt. Not set in stone but merely a template as to what's possible with the budget you've set aside.

I am sure I would be capable of building a PC, although I have no experience of doing so. My biggest fear with that is encountering BIOS issues or what have you.
Can you reach out to Scan.co.uk and see if they can build you a system if you provided a PCPP link, they build it but for a fee...?

My 2 cents on the matter.