Build Advice, Please.

[LoopyElf]

Hey,
My PC is getting tired. So tired it can barely keep itself awake

I've needed an replacement system for a while but more important things have taken presidence. Unfortunately, the state of my current PC, and the current WFH environment means I have to replace on a lower budget. Anyway, I have a budget around £600-700 and was looking at the two 'Tailored to you game machines':
Tomb Raider Elite:

PCSPECIALIST - Custom Computers and Laptops Built to Order

PCSpecialist is a manufacturer of high quality custom computers and laptops. Configure your ideal computer in just a few simple steps with a broad range available.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Battlefield Elite:

PCSPECIALIST - Custom Computers and Laptops Built to Order

PCSpecialist is a manufacturer of high quality custom computers and laptops. Configure your ideal computer in just a few simple steps with a broad range available.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

(It says £660 for this but clicking the link gives price of £724... I'd have to drop the SSD)

Are there any better options/changes to spec that would be around the same price or even cheaper?

For reference, my current PC is an i7 950, with a GTX960 so both of these specs are significantly better.

Thanks in advance.

 

[LoopyElf]

Actually, how does the 'next day' Vortex F measure up?

Case
PCS P209 RGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-9400F (2.9GHz) 9MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H310M-A R2.0: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
256GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 400MB/W)
2nd Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V2 Series High Performance 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
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
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)

 

[LoopyElf]

I've tweaked around a little and come up with the following build; I'd be grateful for any feedback.

Case
AVP MAMBA BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME A320M-K: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.0, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
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
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
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 Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 15 working days

 

[LoopyElf]

Any chance of a little feedback, please? It would be much appreciated.
Many thanks.

 

[Scott]

Hi there,

Apologies, I had spotted this thread but wanted to leave it to see if anyone had anything to say as my advice around this area is always to spend more and cover all bases.

I don't have any gaming systems or configurations in mind that I would stand by and recommend at this budget unfortunately.

Those systems will all be thoroughly tested by PCS and will do exactly what they say on the tin. Personally, I wouldn't chose to go down either route as they are all, what I consider, dead end systems. There is no path to upgrade them with any significant future potential. It's often best to save for a bit longer so that you can invest in a system that will, both, easily handle what you require and have the scope of dropping in a new GPU or Processor to breathe further life into the system at a later date.

With that in mind, you would be looking at around £800-£900 for such a system.

 

[LoopyElf]

Thanks. I had initially intended to spending on a £1000+ system towards the end of the year. Unfortunately, my current (10-year old PCS - barring a few upgrades) system is very much on its last legs and I need a replacement ASAP (work being a big factor).
I'm not too fussed about future proofing as I can look at replacing the system in 12 months and using this one as a work machine/pass on to my daughter for games.
All of the above configs blow my current system out of the water so they're fine for my current needs.

Having said that, is there anything 'stand-out' wrong with the last of those configs?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks. I had initially intended to spending on a £1000+ system towards the end of the year. Unfortunately, my current (10-year old PCS - barring a few upgrades) system is very much on its last legs and I need a replacement ASAP (work being a big factor).
I'm not too fussed about future proofing as I can look at replacing the system in 12 months and using this one as a work machine/pass on to my daughter for games.
All of the above configs blow my current system out of the water so they're fine for my current needs.

Having said that, is there anything 'stand-out' wrong with the last of those configs?

The only drawback is 8Gb RAM, that really needs to be 16Gb and as fast as possible, but that's the only real issue outstanding.

 

[LoopyElf]

Excellent, thanks. Doubling the memory would make it a bit more expensive then I'd like; especially if I upped to 2666Mhz. Looks like it might be cheaper to grab a second DIMM from Amazon at a later date...

 

[ubuysa]

Excellent, thanks. Doubling the memory would make it a bit more expensive then I'd like; especially if I upped to 2666Mhz. Looks like it might be cheaper to grab a second DIMM from Amazon at a later date...

If you have a Windows 10 license for your existing PC you can convert that to a digital license and then transfer it to your new PC. That way you wouldn't need to buy a copy of Windows and could spend that cash on more and better RAM...