Looking for a gaming pc...

[mawsie]

Hello there, I was sent to this forum by a friend as I was told that I could find help.

I would like some assistance on getting a gaming pc that isn't too expensive, as only an average gamer I don't see the need to spend an excessive amount on a gaming PC, the one I am looking at has this setup:

Spoiler

We have put together the perfect package for the home user wanting a AMD FX Bulldozer System to play Games, on the internet or do office style work.

Case: Galaxy 3 Gaming Case With Side Window and Blue LED Fans
Motherboard: Gigabyte 78LMT-S2P
CPU: AMD FX Quad Core
CPU Model: AMD Bulldozer FX 4100 3.6ghz Quad Core 8mb Cache
CPU Socket: AMD AM3 / AM3+
CPU Speed: 3.6 Ghz
Memory: 8gb DDR3 1600mhz Crucial Ballistix Sport
Hard Disk: 1tb Sata Hard Drive
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon 5450 1gb DDR3 with HDMI With Hyper Memory upto 2gb
PSU Size: 500 Watt Branded Power Supply

Features: 1x Gigabit Network Card,1x VGA Ports,1x DVI Port,2x PS/2 Ports,Sound Card,4x USB 2.0 ports
Rear Panel Connections: Front USB Ports,Gigabit Lan,USB 2.0,Front Audio Ports
Front / Top Case Ports: 2x USB 2.0 Ports,Headphone Jack,Microphone Jack

Operating System: No Operating System

Warranty: 1 Year Collect and Return Warranty
Also includes: FREE 60 Day Trial Norton Internet Security ( OEM )

Model Number: GigaN68PFX4100v8
EAN Number: 5055592800618

Is this a good system to get or not? If not can you suggest a system for me to get that is around or under £500?

Thanks, any help is greatly appreciated,
Mawsie.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Its NOT a gamers machine , NOT with that crap graphics card, unless you like playing freecell...

Also you will NEED an OS...Windows 7.. add another £80 and a DVD DRIVE ... add another £25...


All the best Brett

 

[mawsie]

Do you have anywhere that I can find a good PC with suitable graphics card and an OS?

 

[Adsuki]

Pre-built PC's are the worst, and so are the bulldozers CPU. If you want a good gaming machine, you should build it from scratch with parts but if you want to get a pre-built, then here's what you do.

1. Get a good Intel i5 with 4-8 DDR3 RAM.

2. Upgrade the PSU to 500W.

3. Get a HD 7850 2GB.

But you also didn't list your budget and what games you will be playing. To know your budget and what games you'll be playing, I then can suggest either a custom build that includes the OS or you can put an OS and a graphics card into it. Hope this helps. =)

 

[Rammy]

It's not that what you are asking is impossible, but even a cheap premade desktop is perhaps £300+. Most manufacturers will start their "gaming" machines at maybe £500 or so but they are very poor for running games. You can do a self-build gaming machine for £500 for sure. Can you buy one from a company? I kinda doubt it. Also, it can be very hard to guarantee the quality of some components.

If you want to consider a self-build, people will have many suggestions. If you aren't up for it then I'd recommend increasing your budget to around £600 and finding a company who will let you self-configure options. As Brett pointed out that first machine will cost you at least £600 anyway, and you can do a lot better for the price.

 

[mawsie]

I would self build however I'm very inexperienced with this and am not 100% confident with it.

 

[Sunius]

Check these videos out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls

After you've done it, I'm sure you will be deadset on building your own PC, because it's very easy when you see what it is all about, and MUCH cheaper . At this point, give us a budget to work with and we'll make sure that every penny is worth it .

 

[zrobbb]

Most people don't really know what they're doing to begin with. Read online, find some guides and learn about the different components. It is pretty simple really, similar to a jigsaw puzzle. There are lots of people on the forum who will be willing to help you out. Buying a pre-built 'gaming' PC is a waste of money, as they are expensive and deliver very poor performance.

Rob

 

[simon12]

+1 to the above advice and an extra +1 to thats not a gaming PC or even close. If you decide not to self build look for a company that build to a custom spec, if you shop around you can get one for around 20-25% over the price of the parts which is not bad for the piece of mind and warranty. Check toms best CPU/GPU for your money articles for advice on what to get or post your budget and people will recommend good builds.

 

[mawsie]

Say if I was to set my budget at around £600 for the PC alone, I can get monitors and other things separate but I will not be looking to spend much more than £600 on the actual system. What would you recommend for this?

 

[Sunius]

Something like this would be great:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£163.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£94.97 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.16 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£57.96 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (£159.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 371 ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.94 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£49.98 @ Novatech)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£59.94 @ Aria PC)
Total: £648.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-19 19:38 GMT+0000)

 

[mawsie]

Something like this would be great:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£163.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£63.32 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.16 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£57.96 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (£159.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 371 ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.94 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£49.98 @ Novatech)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£59.94 @ Aria PC)
Total: £617.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-19 19:34 GMT+0000)

How much would a PC with specs like these be to buy straight off?

 

[Sunius]

I can't imagine any shop would sell such a prebuilt computer for less than 800-900 pounds.

Also, at the last second I edited the list: I've included a much better motherboard. It's really worth the extra pounds. However, if 600 is the maximum and you cannot spend more, the build in the quote (in your message) will do nicely too.

 

[mawsie]

Thankyou, do you have any recommendations of a good keyboard, mouse and monitor(s) for this setup?

 

[Sunius]

This monitor would be nice:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/236-asus-ve247h-led-full-hd-monitor-hdmi-d-sub-dvi-1920x1080-300-cd-m-10m1-2ms-speakers-black

I can't advice you on mice or keyboards: I'd suggest you just go to a shop and touch a few of them - that way you can choose which you like.

 

[taptempo]

I would self build however I'm very inexperienced with this and am not 100% confident with it.

I was like you a few years back. Was nearly dead set on having a pre-built because I was afraid I'd screw it up. Well, I took the plunge and did it myself. It's A LOT easier than it seems. There are also a lot of helpful youtube tutorials for inexperienced beginners. Show you step by step at a nice and slow pace.

Thankyou, do you have any recommendations of a good keyboard, mouse and monitor(s) for this setup?

Good solid keyboard and mouse for a great price, I'd recommend: Mouse- Razor Deathadder. Keyboard- Microsoft Sidewinder X4

 

[shanky887614]

if it makes it easier.

most pc parts come with books with very clear instructions on how to put them together.


for example there are notches in the cpu and in the motherboard so you can only put it in one way.

the same with the ram


just make sure that you either check the motherboard support before you buy the parts or you get someone to scout the items for you.


it wont take long to put the build together


here is a very, very good guide on how to put it together

part one
http://revision3.com/unboxtherapy/ugpc-2012-build-video-1-unboxtherapy

part 2

http://revision3.com/unboxtherapy/the-ultimate-gaming-pc-project-episode-2

part 3

http://revision3.com/unboxtherapy/ultimate-gaming-pc-project-episode-3