My friend is finally looking to get a new PC after 12 years.. some help, please?

[OJLloyd]

Good Evening All,

This forum has been really great for me in the past when putting together specs for either myself or friends, so I'm back again.

One of my friends - what I like to call a 'Casual Dad Gamer' - is finally looking to get a new PC; upgrading his now 12 year old system. He's by no means a regular gamer, so the system doesn't have to be unreal, but he has a budget of £800 (ideally) -900 (max) and ideally would be looking at something that can run all of our favourite games (LoL, CS:GO, CoD Warzone) in 144+ on 1080p.

I know that those games can pretty much be ran on a potato, so I would caveat that by saying that he's likely to also play some future titles too.
I know that pricing up a 1080p system isn't too difficult and I could do it myself, but as I say this forum has always been great at cutting down costs.

He doesn't need a monitor, as we're going to find him one in a sale somewhere, but he does need a Windows License.

If anyone is able to help me put something together for him I'd really appreciate it.

if you have any other questions just let me know

Thanks a lot in advance,

Oli

 

[OJLloyd]

Hi All

I had a dabble at putting something together based on one of the defaults on the PCS list:

PCSPECIALIST - Configure the AMD Am4 Home Office to your ideal requirements.

PCSpecialist is an award-winning manufacturer of high quality custom PCs & Laptops. Configure the AMD Am4 Home Office to your ideal requirements.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

It's a little above budget, but I think I could talk him around to it.

Would you experts have any input on what could be worth cutting down? I dabbled with the idea of a reduction in the GFX but I couldn't really see why we wouldn't go for the one I added, then the reduction is a 4GB 1650.

Any help is appreciated!

Cheers

Oli

 

[Steveyg]

Hi mate, now isn't a great time to be buying with the new hardware out due in the next couple of weeks everything is going to change. It's likely going to be a few months before the budget end of the new hardware starts to show up though and under £1000 just isn't realistic in the current market

This is as close as I can get but I'm not happy recommending it, I don't like the choice of PSU mostly because 650W is really really low for what's coming in the future. If he wanted to put a newer GPU into this it would be likely he would have to go with a new PSU as well. Usually we recommend the 850W Corsair RMx

Also the GPU isn't a good selection but it's the best fit for the budget, the 1650 is absolutely ancient now and with the new GPU's most likely next month it would put the 1650's 3-4 years behind in terms of technology and performance, it's not a good investment

I'd recommend at minimum waiting a number of weeks to see how the new hardware shakes out, then if they can wait for the budget versions of the new Ryzen platform. Most importantly though if they can stretch the budget any.

£850 gaming computer is simply not worth buying and throwing away money. £1000 gives you a base you can build on. £1200 could get you a solid system

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (2.5GHz) 18MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B660-PLUS WIFI D4: ATX, LGA1700, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6500 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
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 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,073.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/wUw3a4fV6p/

 

[OJLloyd]

Hi mate, now isn't a great time to be buying with the new hardware out due in the next couple of weeks everything is going to change. It's likely going to be a few months before the budget end of the new hardware starts to show up though and under £1000 just isn't realistic in the current market

This is as close as I can get but I'm not happy recommending it, I don't like the choice of PSU mostly because 650W is really really low for what's coming in the future. If he wanted to put a newer GPU into this it would be likely he would have to go with a new PSU as well. Usually we recommend the 850W Corsair RMx

Also the GPU isn't a good selection but it's the best fit for the budget, the 1650 is absolutely ancient now and with the new GPU's most likely next month it would put the 1650's 3-4 years behind in terms of technology and performance, it's not a good investment

I'd recommend at minimum waiting a number of weeks to see how the new hardware shakes out, then if they can wait for the budget versions of the new Ryzen platform. Most importantly though if they can stretch the budget any.

£850 gaming computer is simply not worth buying and throwing away money. £1000 gives you a base you can build on. £1200 could get you a solid system

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12400F (2.5GHz) 18MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B660-PLUS WIFI D4: ATX, LGA1700, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6500 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
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 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,073.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/wUw3a4fV6p/

Thanks for coming back to me here Steve.
I did actually explain this to him the other day, that it's never a good time to buy this time of year, and I've reiterated it to him now and he says he has no issue waiting for a little bit - do we know when will be best to revisit?

Cheers

Oli

 

[Steveyg]

Thanks for coming back to me here Steve.
I did actually explain this to him the other day, that it's never a good time to buy this time of year, and I've reiterated it to him now and he says he has no issue waiting for a little bit - do we know when will be best to revisit?

Cheers

Oli

If you come back at the end of October we should have a good idea of how the new GPU's perform and we'll likely know when the budget end CPU's and boards will be released, so if he can wait until then I'd strongly recommend it

 

[Martinr36]

Thanks for coming back to me here Steve.
I did actually explain this to him the other day, that it's never a good time to buy this time of year, and I've reiterated it to him now and he says he has no issue waiting for a little bit - do we know when will be best to revisit?

Cheers

Oli

The new kit goes on pre order on the 15th with release on 27th

 

[Steveyg]

The new kit goes on pre order on the 15th with release on 27th

Budget end boards and CPU are yet to be announced though mate, so I'd say it's better to wait a while longer due the restrictive cash flow

 

[Martinr36]

Budget end boards and CPU are yet to be announced though mate, so I'd say it's better to wait a while longer due the restrictive cash flow

Yeah saw that bit afterwards about the cash flow

 

[OJLloyd]

Just thought I'd check in here to see if there's any changes yet in the market or are we looking at a few more weeks?

Thanks a lot

Oli

 

[SpyderTracks]

Just thought I'd check in here to see if there's any changes yet in the market or are we looking at a few more weeks?

Thanks a lot

Oli

It's a little bit of a grey area at the budget end.

The new Ryzen 7000 entry level 7600x just works out too expensive currently until the upcoming B650 boards are released in a couple of weeks and even then, factoring in DDR 5 being quite a lot more expensive than DDR 4, it's still probably not going to be the best value proposition on a budget.

Intel 13th Gen may well offer more value at the lower end on existing B660 boards, and if not, then Intel 12th Gen is likely to be the winner.

But it does mean holding on perhaps for 20th October when Intel 13th Gen arrive, unless you're happy going with current 12th Gen. @Steveyg build above is very good for a current 12th Gen offering, I wouldn't change anything on that. Prices may come down on 12th Gen when 13th Gen release.

It's been a weird release from AMD at the lower end, they seem to have entirely departed from any kind of budget orientation although I think it may be more related to economic pressure than choice.

 

[OJLloyd]

Evening all, I've just come to check in on the situation - and I can see that Stevey's build has actually increased in price, rather than gone down (as we originally potentially expected). Is this likely the best I'm going to be able to offer over to him? I'm sure he'll still buy it, as he's not short of a penny (unlike me) - but I wanted to check in with you guys and gals in the know before I sent it over to him!
Thanks as always

Oli

 

[SpyderTracks]

Evening all, I've just come to check in on the situation - and I can see that Stevey's build has actually increased in price, rather than gone down (as we originally potentially expected). Is this likely the best I'm going to be able to offer over to him? I'm sure he'll still buy it, as he's not short of a penny (unlike me) - but I wanted to check in with you guys and gals in the know before I sent it over to him!
Thanks as always

Oli

The only additional consideration I would say is that AMD are releasing new GPU's on November 3rd, apparently they'll be at least announcing the lower end cards.

May affect prices for the better.

It's all total guesswork though.

 

[OJLloyd]

The only additional consideration I would say is that AMD are releasing new GPU's on November 3rd, apparently they'll be at least announcing the lower end cards.

May affect prices for the better.

It's all total guesswork though.

Cheers Spyder, I'll let him know and we'll probs just go for the order on / around Nov 4th! - Cheers, Oli

 

[SpyderTracks]

Cheers Spyder, I'll let him know and we'll probs just go for the order on / around Nov 4th! - Cheers, Oli

Should have also said, @Steveyg is still very valid for the price. It's a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[B4zookaw]

AMD are releasing new GPU's on November 3rd, apparently they'll be at least announcing the lower end cards.

They're announcing new GPUs on the 3rd, with models expected to go on sale late Nov or Dec. Most articles I've read expect top tier GPUs to be available first, similar to Nvidia's launches. So you'd have to hold out a bit longer if you want to see if it's worth getting an AMD GPU over Nvidia.