First gaming PC

Hi, looking to get a new desktop, thought I'd go for a desktop that could handle some gaming as fancy playing some PC games, mainly Cities: Skylines, no idea if this would be hard to run but would want my desktop to run it well. Been looking around and have a budget of about £500, these two caught my eye so far:

[Links removed - competitor links not allowed by forum rules I'm afraid]

Either of these particular better? Perks of either? Or any alternatives you would recommend?

I basically know nothing about PCs or building them myself, so just looking for an entry level one that would handle most current games pretty well. Any help and advice appreciated, cheers.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
wow what a useless idea. Fine:

1) CYBERPOWER Empire Elite Gaming PC
AMD FX-4300 processor
Windows 8
Hard drive: 1 TB
Memory: 8 GB

or

2) HP Pavilion 500-515na Desktop PC, AMD A10, 8GB RAM, 2TB, Black

I'm sure a quick google will lead you to these to see full specs if that helps.... and is allowed....
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
For a decent gaming PC you are looking at around £550. I am afraid it is not allowed to post competitors links on this forum since it belongs to PCS who sells desktops/laptops
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Processor (CPU)
AMD FX-6300 Six Core CPU (3.50GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)
Case
PCS DOMINATOR 6806B BLACK CASE
Motherboard
Gigabyte 970A-DS3P AM3+ (ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ R9 270X - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
1st Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £543.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/amd-bulldozer-top-spec-pc/LYWqqSs5ja/
 

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
Keynes build will perform much better than either of the two machines you suggested, as the ones you were thinking about had much weaker graphics cards, and the graphics card is pretty much the most important thing in a gaming PC :)
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Case matters, cheap case don't offer good cooling and airflow for your components. Try to spend £40+ in the case
 
And if I wanted this PC to wirelessly connect to the internet, what would you recommend? And is the Bullguard antivirus recommended over other antivirus software, or is it best using the free trial and then purchasing antivirus after then?
 

Spuff

Expert
Bullguard seems well regarded but there are a range of choices for anti virus/firewall.
Look for reviews on the internet.
To connect wirelessly you need a wireless card in your machine, a PCI-e is probably preferable. I would say any 300 Mbps should be all you need.
 
Last edited:
Thanks, and final question (for now), so this suggested PC, would this be able to play most games around at the moment at medium to high settings? Anything it would struggle with?
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Thanks, and final question (for now), so this suggested PC, would this be able to play most games around at the moment at medium to high settings? Anything it would struggle with?

You should be able to check benchmarks online for the gpu you have chosen.
 

Spacecoke

Active member
i would also recomend Windows 7 64bit. Windows 8 was designed for touchscreens and is a complete failure. I would get windows 7 64bit and wait for the free windows 10 upgrade that PCS has on offer. ;)
 

Spuff

Expert
Windows 8 was designed for touchscreens and is a complete failure.

People have preferences for 7 or 8 but 8.1 is categorically not a failure. You can make the use of 8 look just like 7 (including the traditional start menu), you don't need to go near tiles. W8 also has performance benefits.
If you don't like the visual styling of W8 you will be disappointed by the default appearance of W10.
It's not PCS making the free W10 offer, W10 is going to be offered free by Microsoft to all users of 7 or 8.
 
Last edited:
Top