Build Advice New PC build within £800 (UK) budget ?

[Predestined]

I'm in the UK, so I suppose scan.co.uk or ebuyer.com or amazon for parts, but im open to suggestion. I used to build pcs for family and friends but haven't built one in last 15 years, so I've no idea what's decent quality or not nowadays

Im after a Mid range future proof gaming PC for my adult daughter. She plays or wants too play, The Sims 4, the cat game stray and baldurs gate 3. Will do box standard office work on it and probably watch anime and some basic photo editing that most people do now adays, not professional.

£800 budget ideally but can push too £900. To be built over next couple of weeks at latest. She's impatient to have it built now.

Base unit, only, and maybe a decent gaming keyboard if it fits in the budget. No monitor or peripherals. She has office PC ones she will use for now, and then intends to upgrade these seperately next payday. Windows home required in the build cost.

I was thinking a graphics card GPU with 12 GB vram such as the 6700xt? As should be more future proof?

Not reusing any old parts.

Also im curious... A friend of hers offered to build one using ASRock B760M motherboard, TEAMGROUP T-CREATE DDR5 6400 ram, ADATA Legend 1TB M.2 SSD. Thermalright Assassin x CPU cooler. I haven't heard of the last 3, and ASRock didn't have a very good reputation when I was building them 15 years ago. I want to ask. Are these components any good?

 

[Eximo]

I'll put something together. Any particular form factor requests? Small/Large, colors, rgb?

ASRock used to be the budget brand of ASUS, but they split up a long time ago. I would say today they are one of the 4 major motherboard producers for Intel. I have two ASRock boards from this current Intel socket, no complaints.

 

[Eximo]

Added a keyboard and mouse, you can remove them if you choose. Nothing too fancy though.

Getting a 6700XT into the system without sacrificing something important is a bit tricky. Could drop down to a quad core or an older Zen Ryzen CPU (5000 series)

Or we could go for a DDR5 Intel build using an a newer i3. That would leave room to upgrade to an i7 later on.

Could also build around a late model AMD APU and skip the GPU for now. Basically the same GPU in the steam deck.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor (£149.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME B760M-A WIFI D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard (£119.95 @ AWD-IT)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£62.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£64.94 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card (£269.00 @ Computer Orbit)
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 55 MESH ATX Mid Tower Case (£39.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A650GL 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99 @ AWD-IT)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Retail - Download 64-bit (£105.54 @ Senetic)
Keyboard: Logitech G413 SE Wired Gaming Keyboard (£50.98 @ Currys PC World)
Mouse: Logitech G305 LIGHTSPEED Wireless/Wired Optical Mouse (£45.98 @ Currys PC World)
Total: £999.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-11 19:25 BST+0100

 

[Eximo]

AMD APU

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 8700G 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor (£305.99 @ MoreCoCo)
Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard (£149.00 @ Computer Orbit)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory (£113.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£64.94 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 55 MESH ATX Mid Tower Case (£39.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£96.93 @ NeoComputers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Retail - Download 64-bit (£101.26 @ Senetic)
Keyboard: Logitech G413 SE Wired Gaming Keyboard (£50.98 @ Currys PC World)
Mouse: Logitech G305 LIGHTSPEED Wireless/Wired Optical Mouse (£45.98 @ Currys PC World)
Total: £969.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-11 19:35 BST+0100

 

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor (£114.97 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: *Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (£16.00 @ Computer Orbit)
Motherboard: *MSI PRO B760M-A WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard (£123.99 @ AWD-IT)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£62.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£64.94 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Video Card: *Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 7600 XT 16 GB Video Card (£319.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: *SeaSonic FOCUS GX 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£86.99 @ AWD-IT)
Total: £789.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-11 20:04 BST+0100

 

[vMax]

Best I could do with a 6700XT included and a 12400, 32GB DDR5, 1TB Gen 4 NVMe ssd etc at £880. If you are willing to do a bit of shopping on eBay, you could reduce the price a tad more but this is fairly stout system and will batter the games she plays...

PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/K7JWTY

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor (£149.99 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX AG400 ARGB 75.89 CFM CPU Cooler (£29.99 @ AWD-IT)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M-HDV/M.2 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard (£98.78 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5200 CL40 Memory (£84.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£64.94 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 309 Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card (£340.00 @ Amazon UK)
Case: KOLINK Observatory MX Mesh ARGB ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.98 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: Antec NeoECO Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£71.17 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £887.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-11 21:01 BST+0100

 

[RaidHobbit]

I`m going to disagree with several of the above posters.

CPU - i5-12400 117w turbo - £114.97 Amazon.
CPU Cooler - We only need to dissipate 117w so an Artic Alpine 17 is fine - Amazon £12.99
Motherboard - For a DDR5 motherboard there is no need for an ASRock B760M. That`s for extreme speed DDR5. You can get a ASRock H610M-HDV/M.2 for £70.98 on CCL or £87.16 on Amazon.
Memory - Cheapest 2 x 16GB DDR5 you can find, Crucial CT2K16 is £84.99 on Amazon.
Storage - There is no need for a M.2 for most users. A couple of seconds of loading times over an SSD is not worth the money. You can get a 960GB Adata SSD for £50.18 on Amazon.
GPU: 4060 8GB Palit Storm £314.97 on Amazon

That GPU is only 115w, you can get a 500w PSU with the above build bronze 80+ with enough headroom without needing a gold. You`re looking at £40 to £50 for one of them.

Total build around £700.

 

[35below0]

I`m going to disagree with several of the above posters.

CPU - i5-12400 117w turbo - £114.97 Amazon.
CPU Cooler - We only need to dissipate 117w so an Artic Alpine 17 is fine - Amazon £12.99
Motherboard - For a DDR5 motherboard there is no need for an ASRock B760M. That`s for extreme speed DDR5. You can get a ASRock H610M-HDV/M.2 for £70.98 on CCL or £87.16 on Amazon.
Memory - Cheapest 2 x 16GB DDR5 you can find, Crucial CT2K16 is £84.99 on Amazon.
Storage - There is no need for a M.2 for most users. A couple of seconds of loading times over an SSD is not worth the money. You can get a 960GB Adata SSD for £50.18 on Amazon.
GPU: 4060 8GB Palit Storm £314.97 on Amazon

That GPU is only 115w, you can get a 500w PSU with the above build bronze 80+ with enough headroom without needing a gold. You`re looking at £40 to £50 for one of them.

Total build around £700.

Mostly sensible but you left out that you saved 100 but put together a much less reliable and long lasting system.

H610 motherboards are not exactly rubbish, but belong in a sub-500 build.
Cheapest compatible RAM is ok. It is compatible?
You pay 50 quid for a 1Tb Adata SSD, you get what you pay for.
Ditto cheap PSUs.

It will run, just not very far and is not the best use of £700

TEAMGROUP T-CREATE DDR5 6400 ram, ADATA Legend 1TB M.2 SSD. Thermalright Assassin x CPU cooler. I haven't heard of the last 3, and ASRock didn't have a very good reputation when I was building them 15 years ago. I want to ask. Are these components any good?

TEAMGROUP, yes.
Adata... i wouldn't but they're not utter garbage. SSDs don't last forever and are prone to data loss. Most trusted brands nowadays would be Crucial, Samsung, Western Digital. Maybe a few others like Patriot or Mushkin of the top of my head.
Thermalright, yes. Easy yes. Not my favorite but performance is imposible to poo poo.

AsRock do make some good motherboards. Some very very excellent ones too. Some... are bad. Real bad: https://www.techspot.com/review/2424-asrock-motherboard-fail/
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/motherboards/asrock-pg-z790-riptide-review/3

 

[RaidHobbit]

Mostly sensible but you left out that you saved 100 but put together a much less reliable and long lasting system.

H610 motherboards are not exactly rubbish, but belong in a sub-500 build.
Cheapest compatible RAM is ok. It is compatible?
You pay 50 quid for a 1Tb Adata SSD, you get what you pay for.
Ditto cheap PSUs.

It will run, just not very far and is not the best use of £700


TEAMGROUP, yes.
Adata... i wouldn't but they're not utter garbage. SSDs don't last forever and are prone to data loss. Most trusted brands nowadays would be Crucial, Samsung, Western Digital. Maybe a few others like Patriot or Mushkin of the top of my head.
Thermalright, yes. Easy yes. Not my favorite but performance is imposible to poo poo.

AsRock do make some good motherboards. Some very very excellent ones too. Some... are bad. Real bad: https://www.techspot.com/review/2424-asrock-motherboard-fail/
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/motherboards/asrock-pg-z790-riptide-review/3

The motherboard is perfectly fine.

The user isn`t going to need the 96GB RAM capacity of the one you posted, or utilise the ultrafast speeds of RAM it can take, or likely utilise even one of the multiple PCI x1 slots it has, or have a whole bank of SSDs or HDDs. You`re wasting the buyers money on bells and whistles instead of giving them what they actually need to do the job.

And your response is worse, a Z790, really? Your logic is that because they are spending more than £500 they should buy an enthusiast overclocking motherboard for a CPU that cannot be overclocked and which has loads of extras the vast majority of people will never use? Really, you would recommend that?

They should get the cheapest 2 x 16GB of DDR5 they can find, there is no need for ultrafast speeds, they aren`t 3D rendering. It is safe for most people to cheap out on the RAM as for them it will make no perceptible difference at all.

They can spend £5 extra to get themselves a Patriot SSD if they wish but they do not need a 1TB M.2. drive. An SSD is fine and plenty fast, and way cheaper. Bells and whistles again.

With the MSI PSU then they aren`t rated, they are missing from the tier lists. If the user wants a rated one then that`s okay but they don`t need a 750 watt Gold one. Its not an overclocking CPU requiring extra focus on voltage stability with a top spec GPU and they won`t be running a top spec GPU. They don`t need 750 watts.

The system I proposed will last years, has a 250 watt draw under load (which should be treated as 320 watt for a Bronze 80+ PSU), and as I proposed a 500 watt Bronze 80+ I`ve given them a spare 180 watts for the PSU as it ages and for a GPU upgrade in the future.

 

[35below0]

The motherboard is perfectly fine.

With respect, it's cheap.

The user isn`t going to need the 96GB RAM capacity of the one you posted, or utilise the ultrafast speeds of RAM it can take, or likely utilise even one of the multiple PCI x1 slots it has, or have a whole bank of SSDs or HDDs. You`re wasting the buyers money on bells and whistles instead of giving them what they actually need to do the job.

I didn't post a build. But if i were to suggest something, it would be a B760 or z690.

The z790 Riptide is an example of a quality AsRock motherboard. A response to a different question.

They should get the cheapest 2 x 16GB of DDR5 they can find, there is no need for ultrafast speeds, they aren`t 3D rendering. It is safe for most people to cheap out on the RAM as for them it will make no perceptible difference at all.

I would advise that people buy RAM they checked is confirmed compatible, and no faster than they need. Just grabbing the cheapest DDR5 kit without any consideration is not good advice.

They can spend £5 extra to get themselves a Patriot SSD if they wish but they do not need a 1TB M.2. drive. An SSD is fine and plenty fast, and way cheaper. Bells and whistles again.

That's not for me or you to say.
I will agree with you that a Samsung 990 Pro is marginally better than a Crucial P3, and i would suggest the much cheaper but no crappier P3.
I.. um, i did buy a Samsung 990 Pro. I didn't need or want to cut any corners. In truth, i would have been perfectly fine with a P3 or a WD SN SSD or one of the more reputable other drives.

Also, a 1Tb drive is minimum, esp. if games are involved.

With the MSI PSU then they aren`t rated, they are missing from the tier lists. If the user wants a rated one then that`s okay but they don`t need a 750 watt Gold one. Its not an overclocking CPU requiring extra focus on voltage stability with a top spec GPU and they won`t be running a top spec GPU. They don`t need 750 watts.

Tier lists aren't the alpha and omega on the subject of PSUs. Bronze, Gold, etc. efficiency ratings are even less important.

The SeaSonic Focus and Pure Power M12 are trusted and reliable PSUs and for good reason. They are not the only choice but i think the reputation and build quality is more important here than efficiency rating or wattage. Besides, with an efficient unit, having extra watts is no penalty and allows for a future CPU or GPU upgrade without requiring a PSU upgrade as well. If it never happens, then maybe that's some money overspent. Quality has it's price though, and it is worth paying.

The system I proposed will last years, has a 250 watt draw under load (which should be treated as 320 watt for a Bronze 80+ PSU), and as I proposed a 500 watt Bronze 80+ I`ve given them a spare 180 watts for the PSU as it ages and for a GPU upgrade in the future.

I didn't criticise the watts, i criticised the quality. Watts are ok. The quality is in line with the rest of your picks. Bad.
The Adata drive is backed by a puny 3 year warranty, and the H610 motheboards are an afterthought for motherboard manufacturers. Only for those who are on a very very limited budget.

If you wish to criticise TH members who suggest lavish builds that far exceed what is normally needed, you may have a point. But at least in this thread all the suggestions are sensible.
And i think you have gone too far in the other direction. It is possible to build something decent for ~£500 but just barely. Grabbing the cheapest junk on the shelf is not the answer.

I'm not attacking you personally, you don't deserve that. But you are a little bit careless with someone else's money. That system is likely to be bad news in the near future. For just a little more, most the the wrinkles can be ironed out.


When it comes to computers it has been my experience that cheap equals miserable, prone to headaches, and isn't long lasting. Buy quality instead. It will feel better and won't need replacing as quickly.
I would advise against a H610 motherboard, ADATA NVMe and cheap PSU. That is throwing perfectly good money away. £500 is a LOT of money, and that suggested build is NOT a lot of computer.

Other suggested builds are more expensive and also worth a lot more.

 

[Predestined]

I'll put something together. Any particular form factor requests? Small/Large, colors, rgb?

ASRock used to be the budget brand of ASUS, but they split up a long time ago. I would say today they are one of the 4 major motherboard producers for Intel. I have two ASRock boards from this current Intel socket, no complaints.

Ah. Thank you, and thank you for the I fo on Asrock, in my day they were just a budget brand to be avoided. Nice to know he wasn't pushing a pack of Croc on to her

 

[Predestined]

Thank you everyone for the input. It's greatly appreciated

For the record I'd rather add to her money and pay a bit more for reliability and longevity. In ancient times when I was building pcs it was cost effective to buy better more reliable components. Cheap memory and motherboards were to be avoided like the plague, as they failed within a year or two. Hopefully this will last her 5 years or more so I'm building with that in mind.

Also if the 6700xt makes her go over budget or make reliability cuts necessary then I'd rather not get it. It's not something she needs, it's something I read, that vram will become the future of gaming and so getting more now would be better for later. So if I'm getting a more reliable and better longevity PSU, and motherboard, what's the best alternative graphics to meet her needs, not my desires??

 

[artk2219]

Thank you everyone for the input. It's greatly appreciated

For the record I'd rather add to her money and pay a bit more for reliability and longevity. In ancient times when I was building pcs it was cost effective to buy better more reliable components. Cheap memory and motherboards were to be avoided like the plague, as they failed within a year or two. Hopefully this will last her 5 years or more so I'm building with that in mind.

Also if the 6700xt makes her go over budget or make reliability cuts necessary then I'd rather not get it. It's not something she needs, it's something I read, that vram will become the future of gaming and so getting more now would be better for later. So if I'm getting a more reliable and better longevity PSU, and motherboard, what's the best alternative graphics to meet her needs, not my desires??

An RX 6650 XT, or 7600 would be a decent sub in, not as powerful, and with less VRAM, but it saves you 100 Pounds. On the other end of the spectrum an RX 6800 is around 30% more powerful, also comes with 16GB VRAM instead of 12. I've seen those come down to 360 - 380 pounds often recently. The review below has a whole bunch of cards that are ranked by their time spy scores as a general reference. If you're looking to have slightly longer support, AM5 is supposedly being supported until 2026, at the very least the upcoming 9000 series will be available to upgrade to.

RX 7600XT Review with a bunch of GPU's for reference.

Radeon RX 7600 XT 16GB - Sapphire Pulse OC review (Page 30)

We review the Sapphire Pulse OC edition of AMD's Radeon RX 7600 XT 16GB, a new entry in its desktop gaming graphics card series. The notable improvement in this model is its increased memory capacity. With a price tag of $329, it is $60 more expensive than its predecessor, the RX 7600 non-XT...

www.guru3d.com

I7 14700K review with a bunch of other CPU's in there for reference.
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i7-14700k/26.html

PCPartPicker Part List
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/gPWn4M

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/yXmmP6/amd-ryzen-5-7600-38-ghz-6-core-processor-100-100001015box) | £182.99 @ AWD-IT
**CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Assassin King SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/9Gstt6/thermalright-assassin-king-se-argb-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-ak120-se-argb-d6) | £26.00 @ Computer Orbit
**Motherboard** | [MSI PRO B650-S WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/mP88TW/msi-pro-b650-s-wifi-atx-am5-motherboard-pro-b650-s-wifi) | £149.99 @ Amazon UK
**Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/r7XV3C/corsair-vengeance-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr5-6000-cl36-memory-cmk32gx5m2e6000c36) | £102.79 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Crucial P3 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/sw4Ycf/crucial-p3-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-ct1000p3ssd8) | £67.94 @ Overclockers.co.uk
**Video Card** | [PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/z9H7YJ/powercolor-fighter-radeon-rx-6650-xt-8-gb-video-card-axrx-6650xt-8gbd6-3dh) | £229.98 @ Ebuyer
**Case** | [Montech X3 Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/HRH7YJ/montech-x3-mesh-atx-mid-tower-case-x3-mesh-black) | £49.98 @ Scan.co.uk
**Power Supply** | [Corsair RM650 (2023) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/GdwmP6/corsair-rm650-2023-650-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020280-na) | £79.99 @ AWD-IT
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **£889.66**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-04-15 18:19 BST+0100 |