So frustrated. I just need help. New buyer.

[Jimmytwohand]

Hi all,

I have spent hours trying to find a non-partisan and active uk forum for advice. I have just given up and decided any advice is better than none.

I am looking for a pre built Pc. Main use will be gaming. I have absolutely no clue how to build my own. Budget is around the £500 mark flexible based upon performance.Main use is gaming ( I would like to play total war, battlefield, gta V). I have no idea how to overclock or install additional bits. There are so many options and combinations I am completely lost and am on the verge of just walking into the local pc world and buying something (or going console) except I have the feeling there is better value and performance out there. It seems that it is impossible to determine this without some kind of advanced degree in electronics though, and I can't seem to find a forum that is both active and not linked to a manufacturer/builder.

I don't need something ultra 100fps but decent performance for the latest games and good performance on one or two year old titles.

Any advice appreciated as I am literally lost with all the options.....

Many thanks,
J

 

[Jimmytwohand]

Sorry I should have said:
I have a monitor and peripherals from an old pc. Os needed though I suppose.

 

[Wozza63]

As this is the forum of PC Specialist, we can only recommend PCs from PC Specialist. If you want a pre built next day machine you can look here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers-next-day/pc/

You can however get a custom PC which may provide a little better value. It will still be built by PC Specialist, but will take a little longer to arrive. If you want us to find a custom specification, let us know and we can sort one out. Failing that the "Fusion FX" on the link above seems to be about right for your needs.

And if you need any help with some of the technical terms and what specific parts do, then just ask. We are happy to help

 

[Jimmytwohand]

Thanks for your advice. As I am on the pcspecialist website I expected the advice to be related. I can't find any impartial and active forums so that is fine! I don't necessarily need a next day day PC, however when it arrives I would like it to be functional out of the box, I am unequipped to be dealing with bios issues and the like.

The fusion fx looks good but can you give me examples of performance compared to higher and lower specs please? I really don't know how to translate these model numbers and makes into actual real world performance....

My apologies for my complete ignorance in these matters.....
J

 

[jerpers]

The fusion fx should run the games you stated on medium settings at around 40fps. It's not blisteringly fast but suits your budget well.

 

[Wozza63]

Thanks for your advice. As I am on the pcspecialist website I expected the advice to be related. I can't find any impartial and active forums so that is fine! I don't necessarily need a next day day PC, however when it arrives I would like it to be functional out of the box, I am unequipped to be dealing with bios issues and the like.

The fusion fx looks good but can you give me examples of performance compared to higher and lower specs please? I really don't know how to translate these model numbers and makes into actual real world performance....

My apologies for my complete ignorance in these matters.....
J

My apologies, we occasionally get some people thinking this is a general PC forum. It should be functional out of the box. Windows usually arrived partially installed so the only things you should need to do is log in to your Microsoft account/create one and possibly change a few settings if required. There should be no BIOS issues.

The main component you should use to judge the performance is the graphics card, in this case the AMD R7 360. If you search Google for the graphics card name then you will find some reviews on that card with some benchmarks using games to help you judge what kind of fps you can get with it.

Here is a custom system for you to look at which contains mostly similar parts to the Fusion FX but with an upgraded graphics card for better performance.

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 311 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD FX-4300 Quad Core CPU (3.80GHz/4MB CACHE/AM3+)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A97 R2.0 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
8GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ R7 370 - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 12, Eyefinity
1st Hard Disk
500GB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 16MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
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
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 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £484.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/amd-bulldozer-top-spec-pc/ezNfH8yx_t/

 

[noob#1]

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/944349/

I would probably recommend upgrading to SSD (240GB, you can easily install a 2nd HDD at later date, it's quite easy to do). For that budget I wouldn't worry about any but the cheapest case. I've also added a R9 380 with 4GB of VRam, which should help in playing at higher res. (and is more future proved), however the total comes out at £567 so a bit more...

 

[Wozza63]

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/944349/

I would probably recommend upgrading to SSD (240GB, you can easily install a 2nd HDD at later date, it's quite easy to do). For that budget I wouldn't worry about any but the cheapest case. I've also added a R9 380 with 4GB of VRam, which should help in playing at higher res. (and is more future proved), however the total comes out at £567 so a bit more...

You don't want an R9 380 in the cheapest case. Should be looking at a case at least £40 to make sure it has decent enough cooling to support a powerful GPU.

 

[Jimmytwohand]

This has been very interesting reading. You have my gratitude for helping me through this minefield.

It was very useful doing some googling of the graphics cards and now I have a starting point and some real world comparisons of performance to use. It does seem that pushing the budget into the 6 - 650 range would get a much better system. I'm not sure medium 40fps would really cut it now you have put it into perspective.

HArd drive size is certainly something which could be cut as I feel 500gb would be massive for my needs.

I really appreciate you taking the time to build these specs for me chaps!

 

[Wozza63]

This has been very interesting reading. You have my gratitude for helping me through this minefield.

It was very useful doing some googling of the graphics cards and now I have a starting point and some real world comparisons of performance to use. It does seem that pushing the budget into the 6 - 650 range would get a much better system. I'm not sure medium 40fps would really cut it now you have put it into perspective.

HArd drive size is certainly something which could be cut as I feel 500gb would be massive for my needs.

I really appreciate you taking the time to build these specs for me chaps!

Yeah pushing to £600 is usually a really good investment and just gets you an all round more comfortable system. £500 is always a bit of a struggle when trying to configure and is always stripped down to the bare essentials without any luxuries such as an SSD. As for the hard drive space, you would be surprised how quickly it disappears with modern games. Just Empire Total War, Battlefield 4 and GTA V would take up ~110GB before DLC and for every AAA title you buy you are losing at least 30GB at a time.

Here is what a £650 budget could get you:

Case
PCS ALPHA TRION 7622B BLACK CASE - Slightly better case for cooling.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4460 (3.2GHz) 6MB Cache - Much better CPU and can handle all the latest games no problem.
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ R9 380 - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 12, Eyefinity - Better GPU which would provide high and even ultra settings depending on the game.
Free Item
FREE ASHES OF THE SINGULARITY CODE with select AMD R9 380 Series GPUs!
Free Item
FREE CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 3 with select AMD R9 380 Series GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE - double the storage (upgrade to the Caviar Black if you can, its much faster)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Processor Cooling
INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
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 & 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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
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
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) - Don't forget to add Silver Warranty for a fiver!
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £649.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-haswell-pc/V74cvSHOOg/

 

[Jimmytwohand]

Now that is looking very nice! Thank you. That small jump seems to make a lot of difference.

 

[Jimmytwohand]

I have been asking for some second opinions over at that place that sounds like the local ironmongery and I have had advice to look at a 550w power supply and the i4590 chip. Does this sound sensible? Thanks,
J

 

[jerpers]

If you can afford it, then why not. It won't improve your gaming performance too much, money is better spent on a better GPU. For the PSU, I prefer the modular ones such as the CS 650. Gives more headroom for future upgrades and is quieter.

 

[Jimmytwohand]

I am liking the look of Wozzas build in #10 but with the i4590. I am confused about the power supply with it seeming like an extravagance to some but being highly recommended by others. I doubt I will be upgrading so I am not so sure about the need for future proofing.

Builds seem a little bottlenecked at the moment so I'm also considering the fast track service.

I feel comfortable going to around £750 now. Sorry to be a little indecisive but if anyone has any better suggestions for this new price point than the above let me know. I'm wondering whether faster ram would be useful?

Could someone also confirm that this motherboard uses Hdmi connection. I'm guessing so from what I've googled, but as you can probably tell I'm no expert!

Thanks so much for the help. It seems I have blundered onto a very good company from the reviews I have seen.

 

[Rakk]

Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ R9 380 - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 12, Eyefinity - Better GPU which would provide high and even ultra settings depending on the game.

Could someone also confirm that this motherboard uses Hdmi connection. I'm guessing so from what I've googled, but as you can probably tell I'm no expert!

If you have a discrete graphics card (of which there is one in the spec from Wozza), the graphics ports on the motherboard do not get used, it is the graphics ports on the graphics cards that get used
The graphics card in the spec provided by Wozza does indeed have HDMI (and DVI and DP)

 

[Wozza63]

If you are able to push to £750 then this might be a nice spec

Case
PCS ALPHA TRION 7622B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4690 (3.5GHz) 6MB Cache - Better CPU
Motherboard
ASUS® Z97-P: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs - Better motherboard, higher quality, more features. Could be dropped for something else if you aren't interested in its improvements.
Memory (RAM)
8GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ R9 380 - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 12, Eyefinity
Free Item
FREE ASHES OF THE SINGULARITY CODE with select AMD R9 380 Series GPUs!
Free Item
FREE CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 3 with select AMD R9 380 Series GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
120GB SAMSUNG 750 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW) - SSD is a good optional upgrade. You'll get a nice performance boot especially in OS loading times and essential programs. Games and stuff would need to be installed to the main hard drive.
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Processor Cooling
INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
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 & 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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
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
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 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £752.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-haswell-pc/QQpvHxSbZO/

 

[Jimmytwohand]

Wozza I really appreciate your advice. As a COMPLETE amateur I am trusting your obviously superior knowledge.

I am really not sure what motherboard improvements may do.....
This PC will be for gaming, other stuff can be sacrificed. I hear CPU and mainly Graphics card being mentioned. Would a 390 be a worthwhile push....? Does this affect PSU/case etc? I know I have set a budget and abandoned it twice already but I feel it may be worth a stretch. This is based on very little knowledge though.....

I don't mind waiting for games to load as long as in game performance is fine. Would you still recommend the HDD solid state upgrade?

 

[Wozza63]

A 390 upgrade isn't a bad idea, it would give you a good performance boost, its what I use and it performs well. It can play most of the latest games at 1440p resolution, max settings at over 60 fps.

The upgraded motherboard provides more USB ports, more SATA ports used for hard drives, more RAM slots for easy upgrading later on and a few other things. It's not a necessary upgrade and indeed won't improve your experience in game but its an upgrade generally encouraged for higher end machines.

The 390 may mean you need to upgrade your PSU yes and case not entirely necessary but a slight bump upwards for better cooling might be necessary.

The SSD is also completely optional, I personally prefer it and its another piece of hardware that generally gets added on higher end machines with more room for luxury so its up to you. If you don't get an SSD you could go for a Seagate SSHD Hybrid drive which can bring some of the benefits of an SSD but at a larger capacity and a lower price. Speed will be better than a standard hard drive, but worse than any SSD. The SSHD is actually a few £££ cheaper than the Caviar Black which was going to be my other recommendation, so I definitely recommend getting the SSHD at the very least.

If you want to increase the budget that would be fine. £750 would still mean a really good PC but if you want the upgrade to the 390 then you may need to stretch to £800-850.

 

[Jimmytwohand]

Hi and thanks once again for your continued advice and assistance.

I decided to go ahead and order the last spec you posted: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-haswell-pc/QQpvHxSbZO/

I am now having a bit of a wobble and thinking I should have gone 390. As it is easter and nothing will be happening on my order for a few days yet I guess there is still time to amend. If I added in the 390 instead what case and psu would you advise? I'm getting a bit paranoid about psu and inclining toward 650cs modular but I think that might just be paranoid overkill. The case options are also baffling to me.

Thank you so much,
J

 

[Wozza63]

Cases generally improve with the price. If you want to upgrade then any around the £50 mark would be suitable. Just pick which one you like the look of and also the size of it if you have any preference over size.

The 390 would certainly require a 650W PSU. You can get either the standard one or the module Gold rated one for £10 extra. Chances are the PSU will outlive most other components whichever you go for but the Gold rated one means that it should last longer and is more reliably and would certainly be a component that you could use in your next PC or keep in an upgrade. Non-modular means that all of the cables are soldered in and modular means that they can be removed easily. So with non-modular you may just have a few extra cables plugged in not doing anything. It's definitely not a requirement and is usually the preferred option for people who want tinker with the PC and like to keep it very tidy inside.