Light gamer + programmer needs a cheap but capable PC

UPDATES FROM PAGE 2!

Hi all,

So I do some coding in Java and R, and am a light gamer only playing a bit League of Legends and some older games when they were proved to be good like old AC series. And occasionally playing older total war series.

So any cheap but reliable PC you guys can recommend? So basically I don't wanna something TOO good because it will be a waste.

Ideally a budget of £600 for everything? Don't know if it's feasible. Can rise to £800 for everything if it helps.

And I will probably have 2 large screens as well don't know if that's something here can recommend?

I haven't had a desktop PC for like a decade. But now I will be settling down a bit so think maybe laptop wont be a good option because the screen just is a bit small lol

Thanks in advance!

K

What's your max budget?

lets say £600? Is it feasible?

Dito said:

lets say £600? Is it feasible?

Click to expand...

I'd say that would be fine for the desktop alone. I'd wait for oussebon to suggest a build as he's very knowledgeable about best components on a budget.

ok thanks!

And I don't know how to build a PC just saying lol. I'm too noob for DIY zzzzz

For a strict £600 maybe something like:


Case
PCS ENIGMA 6003B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 1400 Quad Core CPU (3.2GHz-3.4GHz/10MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME A320M-K: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.0, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030 - DVI, HDMI
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) 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 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price £596.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/q4VyVUagyu/

If you had additional budget however I'd suggest the R5 1600(x) for ~£50 more and the B350 motherboard another £50 or so, and ideally a better case for ~£20 like the Spec-03. It would significantly improve performance (for things like compiling and gaming), features, upgrade options, and future-proofing. I'd go as far as suggesting it's not really worth buying the PC without those improved parts.

Dito said:

ok thanks!

And I don't know how to build a PC just saying lol. I'm too noob for DIY zzzzz

Click to expand...

No worries, PCS allow you to select each component but they deliver it fully assembled (except the wireless antenna which you have to fit yourself ), you just have to plug it in and away you go.

Thanks both! I will finish relocating in the middle of November so hope you guys don't mind me checking with you again cheers!

Good luck with the move. And do please check in again before ordering anything from PCS - since new components being launched and price changes can affect what's best value. Plus your budget may be different later in the year ofc.

thanks man

[ubuysa - This is from Dito. I was intending to merge your two threads, since there for the same purchase, but managed to foul up somehow. I've aded your recent post here for others to comment.

Hi guys,

I've posted here before. https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?55152-Light-gamer-programmer-needs-a-cheap-but-capable-PC&

I'm in a position to buy now.

So any help for updated suggestions would be largely appreciated! XD

My updated requirements.

I do some coding in Java and R, and am a light gamer who doesn't have much time on gaming these days. Only playing a bit League of Legends, maybe would want to play Dead by Daylight, and new Total War game.

So basically I don't wanna something TOO good because it will be a waste.

Ideally a budget of £600 for a PC only, I have things like keyboard, screens etc. Can rise to £800 if it is worth doing it.

And, how long does a PC usually last before needs to be upgraded?

ok no problem lol

You have a range of options at that budget level.



A Ryzen APU's onboard graphics might be enough for Dead by Daylight at carefully managed settings and should be fine for LoL. But it would be a bit lean for Total War titles. Even if they ran, what's the point of playing a beautiful game when it looks like potato. A GTX 1050 ti would probably be the right compromise. It won't come close to ultra in TW titles, but will run them with some of the eye candy turned on and should have headroom for future titles.



Other than that, an AMD R5 or Intel i5 CPU would be ideal, for the coding uses and also to support gaming and potential GPU upgrades down the line in 3-4 years time.



An SSD should be possinble in this budget and will be hugely helpful for general productivity.



RAM is expensive at the moment, so the compromise here will probably be sticking to 8gb, with an option to upgrade later on. Ideally when RAM prices are better.



On balance, I'm going to recommend:




Case
PCS CYCLONE GAMING CASE (Blue LED Fans)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Six Core CPU (3.4GHz-3.9GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME A320M-K: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.0, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 Ti - DVI, HDMI, DP
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1[SUP]st[/SUP] M.2 SSD Drive
250GB WD Black™ M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/s R | 1600MB/s W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) 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 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price £798.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/kQ6k2r4feb/



Primarily as the cheaper Intel motherboards just have too many compromises, particularly with regards to NVMe SSDs.



the 1x8gb 2133MHz RAM is less than ideal. The ideal would be x2x8gb 3000MHz, because

- dual channel

- higher frequencies

- 16gb



However RAM prices are crazy right now, and 1x8gb does leave you the option to add another 2133MHz stick later. Or since it is by far the cheapest 8gb RAM option, if you decide to replace it in the future with 2x8gb 3000MHz, it is the least wasteful option. (1x8gb 2133MHz is almost £20 cheaper than 2x4gb 2133MHz, and £40 cheaper than 2x8gb 3000MHz).



The case and PSU should support a range of future upgrades. The CPU is very powerful, orders of magnitude better than the R5 1400 discussed previously.



How does this sound?

Thanks Oussebon.

It sounds good to me. Actually I don't really understand what you said anyway lol.

I think it is sensible that you gave recommendation with taking future extension into account.

Also, it seems that if it's you, you'd like to push the spectrum a bit higher? If my impression is correct, how far you would push for?


2) On the other hand, I wonder if I don't want to play Total War (I don't have time really), only LOL (which I am playing on the university laptop at the moment, so no gaming PC is needed for this game) and occasionally Dead by Daylight, will your recommendation above be considered as a waste?

I am trying to get see things under different scenario a bit, hope you don't mind

The only part of the build that's specifically for gaming is the graphics card. For older total war titles (Medieval 2, Empire) a GT 1030 would be fine I think. It is a lot cheaper, and you could spend what you save on 16gb RAM.

Be aware though that the 1030 is not really a gaming card, for instance it would fail to run Witcher 3 (i.e. a game launched over 3 years ago) at 1080p on the lowest settings at anywhere near a decent framerate. So if a new title came out that you fancied the look of, it probably wouldn't stand a chance.

Ok thanks. Going back to your original recommendation, would you recommend to push budget higher, let's say around £1000, giving value of money into consideration?

For £1000 or so, I'd get a slightly better case with more features (Game Max Falcon), the R5 2600x CPU for the higher frequencies, and 16gb 3000MHz RAM.

The RAM is the single biggest extra spend, but since you'll be keeping the RAM for the lifetime of the system and it saves you having to mess about with compatibility for upgrades, it seems a sound investment.

If you really don't have time for games beyond LoL and old Total Wars (Medieval II is probably still my favourite...), and you're highly unlikely to make the time for more games down the line, then sticking to the GT 1030 GPU is fine and saves ~£90.

Thanks man. I will think about it and hope you don't mind I double check with you what to order once I make up my mind

yes Medieval II! My favourite as well.

I thought I would like shogun 2 more but no.

A GT 1030 should be fine for Shogun II too. Rome II will require serious settings management, and Attila + probably doesn't bear thinking about.

Keep us posted