really need advice on buying a complete pc

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Jun 23, 2012
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Hi

I would really appreciate some advice on buying a complete pc for gaming with games such as cities skylines etc

However I am restricted to only buying from fierce pc uk as I only have a credit voucher for that store upto the value of £650

So I don't have a pc or laptop right now so ideally would need a full setup monitor tower etc

The processor,gpu combo I can choose from is this

I5 4690 with gtx 960 £650

I5 4690 with gtx 750ti £615

I5 4690 with r7 260 £600

I5 4690 with gtx 750 2gb £580

Or

Amd x4 860k with gtx 960 £550

Amd x4 860k with r7 260 £400

Amd x4 860k with 750ti £450


All above include 21" monitor psu motherboard 1tb hdd and 8gb of ram


Which would be the best to go for obviously cheaper the better which has the best value ?

Thanks
 
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I would go for the I5 4690 with GTX 750ti £610 http://www.game.co.uk/en/fierce-stheno-quad-core-gaming-pc-bundle-core-i5-4690-3-5ghz-gtx-750-2gb-graphics-8gb-ram-1tb-327114?pageNumber=3&pageSize=40&catGroupId=&vendorShopId=2046

It'll run Cities easy, it meets the requirements for project cars. Once you get the gaming PC bug you'll just want to carry on pouring money into it 😛 At least with that setup if you did want to upgrade it's just a case of changing the graphics card. Changing a CPU means a new motherboard a fresh install of windows etc etc.

All you'd need to upgrade to 4k with that setup in the future is a new PSU, Graphics card (albeit expensive at the moment) and a monitor.

Every year I save up £500 to upgrade mine and my girlfriends PC, sounds like a lot but considering how much cheaper games are on steam and gog etc and the fact I don't have to pay a monthly fee, it probably works out the same.
 
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Thanks for the advice p nut uk its much appreciated

I will have a look at the pc you suggested thanks but I not sure its the 750ti I think it could be just the 750 2gb ?

Also as its not the k version so it cannot be overclocked would the i5 4690 last a few years before it would need an upgrade?

And for that set up you posted is that a fair price considering its a pre built pc ?

Sorry for all the questions but the only two gaming pcs I had before were

Q6600 clocked @3.0gz 6gb ddr2 ram and hd6870

And

Phenom 2 x4 965 4gb ram hd6870

They were ok and for me the q6600 performed much better. Just so it would give me and idea how would the i5 and gtx 750 compare ?

Thanks
 
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Wow not even a ti, this changes things slightly as I see it you have 3 options...

Save up for the i5 960 combo and be safe in the knowledge you have a very good gaming pc, high 1080p

I5 750 combo, you'll have A CPU that will last but your graphics card will be weak, you'll be able to play 1080p but the settings will be low/med, if you overclock it you will be able to get it very close to 750ti levels. Bearing in mind that you want to play graphically less demanding games this could be fine.

860k 960 combo, I know I wrote it off before but for the right now, you'll have a good gaming pc if you don't plan to upgrade. I can't vouch for how it'll run project cars. The 860k isn't awful, it's just not as good as an i5. You'll have high 1080p graphics, but just might come across a game that suffers because of the cpu

Edit: I couldn't even a i5 and 750ti combo on the site
 
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Thanks again both of you for all your advice. It really is much appreciated.

Right today game website listed 100s more gaming pcs from £250 right upto £3300

With my budget being at £700 ideally cheaper. I have noticed the there are alot of amd systems

6 and 8 core @4.0ghz how would these fair against the i5 ?

If you could have alook again please as I'm just trying to get the best system for my money.

So would appreciate some more advice again

Thank you
 
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I phoned feirce pc today to see if they had a suitable bundle but they were no help at all

I asked if I could pay to change a few components and they refused unless I bought direct through there website.

What gets me though is too add windows 7 to a pc from feirce website its £67 and for windows 8.1 its £89

Well on game website they only have windows 8.1 for £89.95 and yet they told me if I wanted windows 7 I would have to still order windows 8.1 for £89.95 as they don't sell windows 7 through game website.

So this is what I am thinking and I hope they agree to it upgrade the 4690 to 4690k and upgrade the gtx 750 2gb to the 750ti

Now on feirce pc own website the upgrade cost combined is around £15

So as I would prefer windows 7 over windows 8.1 and they will install windows 7 but charge me for windows 8 that's about a £23 difference I am going to suggest they just upgrade the i5 to the k version and the 750 to the 750ti

Hope all the makes sense

Right so hopefully the final pc I can order will go like this

i5 4690k
8gb 1600mhz ram
Gtx 750ti
Windows 7
21.5" monitor
Keyboard and mouse

Now this would cost £670 deliverd is This good ?

Also the PSU is a 500w aerocool integrator not sure if its ok ?

The other options could be

X4 860k or fx 8350 ?

Or G3220 and 750ti ?

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks
 
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First let me say what a god awful site that is, also whoever came up with the bundles needs bludgeoning with a Victorian table leg, an I7 with a 75 (non Ti!) and only TWO 270x bundles!

I've come round to the fact the 860k isn't as god awful as I thought, it many games it's ok as the GPU is the limiting factor, however it holds back the GPU in some certain games, GTA 5 is one of them (from what I saw), it just won't reach 60fps steadily, although you'll still get 30fps if you lock it.

This one is a 860k 260x for £450 all you need is the OS, the 260x is slightly better than the 750(non Ti) and as good as a 750Ti, your looking at Medium 1080p graphics, good value for money but hey you might as well spend your voucher right?
http://www.game.co.uk/en/fierce-venus-quad-core-gaming-pc-bundle-athlon-x4-860k-4-3ghz-r7-260x-2gb-8gb-wifi-619710?pageSize=40&catGroupId=&vendorShopId=2046

The 8 Core FX 8350 with the 750Ti bundle, as good as a 260X, in the future with DX12 games are able to make better use of all the cores available so it may be possible that these 8 core processors will be excellent gamers in the future, however I would air on the side of caution, just because they're able to doesn't mean they will. I've watched a few benchmarks of GTA 5 with this CPU and a 270X and a and it definitely suffers because of it compared to my i5 and 270X. At around £630-£650 once you've added and OS and monitor etc. I wouldn't recommend it on value. I never saw any 6 core CPUs there.

860k with GTX 960, £520, needs OS. on games where you aren't limited by the CPU, you'll have gorgeous high maybe ultra settings.
http://www.game.co.uk/en/fierce-mars-quad-core-gaming-pc-bundle-athlon-x4-860k-4-3ghz-gtx-960-2gb-8gb-wifi-620258?pageSize=40&catGroupId=&vendorShopId=2046

i5 with GTX 960 £600 Needs OS and monitor, keyboard and mouse, you'd need about £730-£750 to get this up and running, CPU won't hold you back on anything really. High/ultra 1080p graphics and 60fps.
http://www.game.co.uk/en/fierce-stheno-quadcore-gaming-pc-intel-core-i5-4690-3-5ghz-cpu-gtx-960-2gb-graphics-8gb-ram-1tb-327118?pageNumber=5&pageSize=40&catGroupId=&vendorShopId=2046

I looked at EVERY ONE they had and the two I'd recommend are the i5 GTX 960 or the 860k GTX 960.

I've been watching many benchmarks with the 860k and it'll play modern games like GTA 5, Witcher 3 and Project CARS at 30fps+ (I'd lock it there for a smoother experience) So if you don't mind sometimes having to reduce the FPS count then you should be happy with the 860k.

Of course if it was possible then get the i5 GTX 960 but I know it may not be an option and I wouldn't like you to feel forced to go out of your comfort zone to appease a bunch of geeks on the internet 😉

Side Rant: GAME have a god awful selection of PC's 😛 350 PC's and only 3 have an i5!

Edit: JUST seen your most recent post, if they can upgrade parts then ask them how much for an i5 and 270X

Don't worry about getting a k version too much, unless it comes pre overclocked you'd only risk voiding your warranty.

That PSU is a bit poor but to be honest if they cover your PC for 2 years leave it there. They'll be the one paying for replacements.

Stay away from the G2020, I'm shocked to see it there, it's out of production and it's crap for gaming, I've had one!. Worst of the lot






 
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P nut uk thanks ever so much for your time and advice on this it is appreciated.

You have made my decision alot easier now with taking your advice on board and doing countless hours of my own research.

I have decided to source the monitor keyboard esle where and buy a copy of windows 7 home premium from ebay for £30.

Now as much as the i5 is a nice processer I think I am going to go with the x4 860k

There reason being is I would like a gaming pc asap but for the games I want to play cities skylines euro truck sim 2 football manager I think and hope will be sufficient on decent settings on the x4 860k ?

Project cars I can try but could always just buy that for my xbox one.

Another reason I have decided to go with the x4 860k is I don't really feel comfortable paying £600plus for a prebuild pc.

As in a year or two I could save and buy decent parts of my choice and build it myself and get a much better experience all round.

So that's why I thinking just get the 860k for a year or two or at least untill I can afford to build a better one.

Onto graphics after alot of research and appreciate your advice I am thinking of not getting the gtx 960 as it will be quite expensive and I have read that it might be a little overkill for the 860k.

So I was thinking like you said the 260x or the 750ti which one would be better for this setup ?

X4 860k
8gb 1600mhz ram
1tb hdd
500w psu

So either the 260x or the 750ti as they both will cost they same amount with that system @ £349.99

I am leaning towards the 750ti but would like to hear you opinions on this.

And overall do you think this is a wise choice and will it run the games I suggested at decent graphics ?

And the last pc I owned was a phenmon ll x4 965 with a 6870gpu how would you say they compare ?

Again thanks for all your advice

Edit @ tea urchin thanks for advice its also much appreciated

I do plan on building a nice rig in the future with an i5 or better.

But for now purley because of the voucher at game I am probley going to go with the 860k and the 750ti or 260x I just need some more advice on this

I appreciate the i5 is much much better than the 860k but according to youtube. Overclockers.partpickers.google most oftern people say the 860k is a nice low end cpu and can play and achive nice results with high end games ?

And I will bear that in mind with the PSU thank you.

I should also add that the 860k I'm hopefully buying will be overclocked @ 4.3ghz

Thanks.
 
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Between the 750ti and the 260x i'd go for the 750ti they perform the same but the 750ti uses less power and would be easier to sell in the future.

It will play the less demanding games on probably high 1080p, the great thing about steam now is that you can get a refund if the game doesn't work right or any reason as long as you've played it less than 2 hours and had it less than 14 days.

It probably won't be any more powerful than your old rig, maybe a little.

I think it's wise to not spend much on a pre build. As you know the better value comes from self builds.

My only advice would be to see if you can get a 270x upgrade, if you can get one for around £30 more then it'd be worth it, but don't feel pressured to if you're not comfortable.
 
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Sorry I have not responded I have had the flu.

So have not ordered the pc or done any more research in last few days.

It looks like the 860k with the 750ti is unavailable on their website now.

I have ordered windows 7 and keybaord and mouse for £37 so that's on its way

Now just the pc to consider -

860k and gtx 960 for £429

Or

Amd 8350 and gtx 960 £479

So the amd is an extra £50 is it worth it over the 860k ?

Thanks
 
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@ p nut uk thanks for the advice again so I will just go with the 860k and gtx 960 and when it arrives I will let you know if it were the correct choice thanks again.

@ masterdell I know the 860k is an amd chip ?

And I know what you saying get the i5 but that pc would cost £600. Where as the 860k would cost £429

Now considering I do not plan on upgrading any of the pc from that website. I am only buying a pc there as I have vouchers and initially I was just going to get a console.

This way I can can get a cheap budget pc to play the games I want to now for £429 and that would leave enough to buy a ps4 and two games for £289.

Then next year I am going to build my own pc put about £600 in (I'm on a low income) and buy each piece slowly on deals from websites and try and get a nice i7 or something.

Cheers
 
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Good choice! That's what I posted very early in this thread and did so for one simple reason: Gaming experience vs. cost of the CPU. I will admit that I prefer AMD for one simple reason: in real world applications (gaming, home/office, graphics) for the ordinary consumer, the real-time performance differences may be difficult to actually see. I didn't argue about the superiority of the AMD chip....on the bench Intel is superior, period. But in real life applications is spending 2x to 5x the amount of money really prudent when one's experience level may not warrant it? It's kind of like buying a Mercedes on the day you get your driver's license. Damn good car, but can you really appreciate why it's a better car?

You're going to enjoy your new rig and that all that matters.
 
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What a waste of money. Why waste money if youre on a low income? Just buy the i5 and 960 and you wont need to buy a new PC next year and more years to come... Is that so hard to understand?
 
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Don't worry.. I made him get the i5 in the end. He messaged me. He went with the i5 and the 750 Ti or 960. He didn't say which GPU he went for. Either way, the are both very capable GPU's.
 
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Got this PC in the end -

i3 4150
8GB DDR3 Ram
1 TB sata HDD
60GB SSD
600W Corsair PSU
H81M - D motherboard
GTX 660 Ti
Windows 8.1 pro 64bits

Plus 22" monitor, keyboard and mouse and a few other bits and pieces, all this set up cost £300.

I think i got a sweet deal as the i3 is still good, and from what i am told i could upgrade to an i5 or i7 later if need be.

What do you lot think is the PC good deal for now ?

Also one thing i have noticed so far is that some games stutter and are a bit slow, like Euro truck 2, football manager 2012, G Mod, any ideas what this could be ?

Thanks
 
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Do you have the monitor plugged into the back of the graphics card and not into the motherboard's I/O?

That's a really good deal. The 660 Ti is a great card and coupled with an i3 and a good deal, I think you should be really happy :)

The PSU is mediocre but you should be fine. Next time you do an upgrade, just do the PSU as well :)
 
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