Budget Gaming PC - £650 ($850)

[ProfessorBadger]

Hello,

I have the following build set-up that I'm trying to refine and reduce the cost of it to some degree.

Hoping a few people could spare some time to have a quick look and make some recommendations. Thanks in advance.

Notes :-
£650 is the upper limit, with small room to go over.
Monitor is NOT required.
Operating system IS required.
Case design can be any.

Original - http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/BXxv3F

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£163.98 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£86.55 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£31.98 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£54.65 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB NITRO+ Video Card (£188.16 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case (£25.98 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£48.09 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (£82.98 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £682.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 23:34 BST+0100

Again thanks for any help and assistance.

 

[DeathRabit]

Most curent games utilize can utilize 4 cores going for 2 core CPU is bad idea.
To weak CPU for GPU chose better cpu or cheaper GPU.

 

[ProfessorBadger]

Put an i5-6500 in its place. Price is now quite a bit over. Thinking of removing the SSD outright.

 

[DeathRabit]

My recommendation below * take modified bios and OC i5 to 4-4.2Ghz on stock cooler

Guide: http://overclocking.guide/asrock-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide/

Take only SSD about HDD look on gumtree for used 320-500Gb one they are cheap

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£163.98 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£94.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£31.98 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£54.65 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB NITRO+ Video Card (£188.16 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case (£25.11 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£48.09 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (£82.98 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £689.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 20:16 BST+0100

 

[ProfessorBadger]

Made a few more tweaks, pretty much replicates your list.

I wasn't aware of overclocking non-k chips. Will consider the 6400 and clock it up to ~4GHz.

 

[DeathRabit]

Made a few more tweaks, pretty much replicates your list.

I wasn't aware of overclocking non-k chips. Will consider the 6400 and clock it up to ~4GHz.

This is only possible on moded bioses and on selected Motherboards check in guide. *On Asus motherboards is no more possible Asus disable bios downgrade with recent bios versions. * You cannot use old moded bios.

I change motherboard

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£163.98 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£86.55 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£31.98 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£54.65 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB NITRO+ Video Card (£188.16 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case (£25.11 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£48.09 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (£82.98 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £681.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 23:06 BST+0100

And guide for MSI http://overclocking.guide/updated-msi-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide-new-bios/

 

[ProfessorBadger]

Ah fair enough, my only question would be cooling - you mentioned stock cooler which I assume is just the one that comes with the CPU?

Also, regarding the mobo change, I take it that its the last on this list of bios.
http://overclocking.guide/updated-msi-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide-new-bios/

 

[DeathRabit]

Ah fair enough, my only question would be cooling - you mentioned stock cooler which I assume is just the one that comes with the CPU?

Also, regarding the mobo change, I take it that its the last on this list of bios.
http://overclocking.guide/updated-msi-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide-new-bios/

Yes for 4Ghz out of box cooler will be enough you only use lower voltages comped to 4.4ghz

Yes last listed

 

[ProfessorBadger]

I'm was thinking of another option which would be to;

Get an i5-6600K and thus get a cheaper mother board. (So spend £40 extra on the CPU, save £30 on the Motherboard) So an extra £10 where I can overclock to 4.0GHz+, with a CPU that should be more reliable no?

 

[ProfessorBadger]

Ah fair enough, my only question would be cooling - you mentioned stock cooler which I assume is just the one that comes with the CPU?

Also, regarding the mobo change, I take it that its the last on this list of bios.
http://overclocking.guide/updated-msi-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide-new-bios/

Yes for 4Ghz out of box cooler will be enough you only use lower voltages comped to 4.4ghz

Yes last listed

One thing I have been reading up on is the application of microcodes to halt the overclocking of non-k cpu's. If this is the case would it not be best to go for a K cpu should they update in the future?

 

[DeathRabit]

Ah fair enough, my only question would be cooling - you mentioned stock cooler which I assume is just the one that comes with the CPU?

Also, regarding the mobo change, I take it that its the last on this list of bios.
http://overclocking.guide/updated-msi-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide-new-bios/

Yes for 4Ghz out of box cooler will be enough you only use lower voltages comped to 4.4ghz

Yes last listed

One thing I have been reading up on is the application of microcodes to halt the overclocking of non-k cpu's. If this is the case would it not be best to go for a K cpu should they update in the future?

Until you will use bios listed earlier you will be fine.

Video about this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiw2r-_AdGM