First Gaming PC Build Ideas

[fowkeskeezy]

I'm looking to build my first ever PC to maximize my online gaming experience for games such as World of Warcraft, something I'd love to play on the highest settings with no framerate issues. A new expansion is on the horizon and my current system has trouble even running the game in low so I feel now is definitely the right time for me to upgrade.

My budget is around £1000 but I'm able to bump this up to possibly £1200 if it's going to make my new PC a complete beast. I'd like the clarify I'm a UK resident and all parts MUST be available to buy from PCPartPicker UK.

I have no idea whatsoever is good and what isn't right now. I heard about Tom's Hardware from a friend of mine from World of Warcraft, he used this forum himself to some ideas as to what to buy for his first build.


EDIT: This is a build that was suggested to me before on this forum but I never got around to buying any of the parts. At the moment, if this is even any good, three parts are out of stock.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£163.94 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.95 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-Plus ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£112.90 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.98 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£243.13 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£69.95 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£11.79 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£73.98 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £760.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-06 18:01 BST+0100)




Thanks in advance,
Sam

 

[Danbuscus25]

do you need an OS, monitor, or keyboard?

 

[Danbuscus25]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£163.94 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£129.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£55.08 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£56.89 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.82 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£407.03 @ Aria PC)
Case: NZXT Phantom 530 (Red) ATX Full Tower Case (£103.84 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£77.98 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-LPRO-12025R-RP 56.2 CFM 120mm Fan (£11.90 @ Amazon UK)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-LPRO-12025R-RP 56.2 CFM 120mm Fan (£11.90 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1097.80
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-06 17:30 BST+0100)

this will max out all your games, and then some. i went for an all red theme, hence the case, fans, ram, mobo, and psu are red 😛

 

[fowkeskeezy]

do you need an OS, monitor, or keyboard?

Just an OS. I've bought a new monitor and keyboard recently.

Edit: Updated main post with a build I was suggested late last year. Not sure if it's any good for what I want/can be improved.

 

[Danbuscus25]

eh, that build will run most games on ultra, however in the next few years it will start to hold you back.

 

[fowkeskeezy]

eh, that build will run most games on ultra, however in the next few years it will start to hold you back.

How about the one you suggested? I don't really know anything about parts but I was always under the impression that Nvidia cards were better than Radeons from what I'd heard people say. Whether this is true or false I don't know.

 

[fowkeskeezy]

Any other suggestions?

 

[Danbuscus25]

nvidia vs amd is pretty even, they both have cards that compete for high performance and budget cards. the build i listed will max out any game 1440p, and in the next few years it might start to dip down to only max on 1080p.

 

[RCguitarist]

eh, that build will run most games on ultra, however in the next few years it will start to hold you back.

A 770 will only hold him back in a few years if he is running 1440p and isn't happy with anything less than 60fps. If he is running at 1080p then he will be good for max settings for the next 5 years unless there is a sudden revolution in gaming technology.

Also, he doesn't need a 290X for the games he will be playing. Heck, he could SLI two 770s for just 100 more than a single 290X. That would be way more powerful.

 

[Danbuscus25]

i would not get 2 cards, as a lot of games and applications do not support sli/crossfire, so that would actually give you less performance.