£800-900 PC Budget- advice please?

[Timination]

Hi everyone, this might be already posted but my webpage crashed just after I pressed submit, sorry!

This is my first pc build, I am strictly within £800-900. Here are a few things that I want to include within the build-

- Recording/editing/ rendering- for producing high quality youtube videos (1920 x 1080p)
- Graphics card - a decent card that will run most games at high settings (not ultra)
- Animation/digital art - I am a freelance animator
- Energy efficiency - speaks for itself

Basically, I just want something that is not excessive. I have no plans to do SLI or anything like that. Would these specs be sufficient?

Case
InWIN GT1 BLACK GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® Z97-P: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 750 Ti - VGA, DVI, mHDMI - 3D Vision Ready

1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

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
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler (£29)

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 (£12)

USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

 

[keynes]

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 960 - 1 DVI, HDMI, 3 DP - 3D Vision Ready
Free Item
FREE HOS: KAIJO DIABLO BUNDLE with GTX 950 & 960 GPUs!
1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)
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 (£12)
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)
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 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £907.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-home-office-pc/8av8ypYucE/

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Here's what I'd go for:

Case InWIN G7 BRUSHED EFFECT DARK GREY CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-6600 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® Z170-P: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM) 8GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - DVI, HDMI, mDP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card NONE
3rd Graphics Card NONE
1st Hard Disk 120GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
3rd Hard Disk NONE
4th Hard Disk NONE
M.2 SSD Drive NONE
1st PCI-E SSD Drive NONE
2nd PCI-E SSD Drive NONE
RAID NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Fan Controller NONE
Extra Case Fans NONE
LED Lighting NONE
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)
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Firewire NONE
TV Card NONE
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor NONE
2nd Monitor NONE
3rd Monitor NONE
4th Monitor NONE
Monitor Cables NONE
Eyefinity Adapter / GeForce 3D Vision NONE
Keyboard & Mouse NONE
Mouse NONE
Game Streaming NONE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Games Controller NONE
Speakers NONE
Webcam NONE
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Cable Tidy NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Promotional Item FREE RAINBOW SIX OR ASSASSINS CREED with select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £753.33
Price £904.00

The 750ti won't game well, maybe medium settings max. The i7 won't help with gaming either.

 

[keynes]

The 750ti won't game well, maybe medium settings max. The i7 won't help with gaming either.

Rendering and animation

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Rendering and animation

OP said it was for gaming as well, which the 750ti won't do well at. The i7 would help with rendering for the youtube channel, but I assume the channel is use to upload gameplay?

The i7 would make rendering faster, not of better quality, whereas the 970 will make games run at better quality and faster

 

[keynes]

OP said it was for gaming as well, which the 750ti won't do well at. The i7 would help with rendering for the youtube channel, but I assume the channel is use to upload gameplay?

The i7 would make rendering faster, not of better quality, whereas the 970 will make games run at better quality and faster

Not arguing buddy just highlighting it . He indicated many uses not primarily gaming. I think an i7 with a gtx 970 would be within the budget if the ssd is dropped. But a gtx 960 , i7 and an ssd seems like a good compromise

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Not arguing buddy just highlighting it . He indicated many uses not primarily gaming. I think an i7 with a gtx 970 would be within the budget if the ssd is dropped. But a gtx 960 , i7 and an ssd seems like a good compromise

Yeah, I know mate

Depends what the primary use is I guess.

Here's a build with an i7 and 970, but is slightly over budget:

Case InWIN G7 BRUSHED EFFECT DARK GREY CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® Z170-P: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM) 8GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - DVI, HDMI, mDP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card NONE
3rd Graphics Card NONE
1st Hard Disk 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk NONE
3rd Hard Disk NONE
4th Hard Disk NONE
M.2 SSD Drive NONE
1st PCI-E SSD Drive NONE
2nd PCI-E SSD Drive NONE
RAID NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Fan Controller NONE
Extra Case Fans NONE
LED Lighting NONE
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)
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Firewire NONE
TV Card NONE
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor NONE
2nd Monitor NONE
3rd Monitor NONE
4th Monitor NONE
Monitor Cables NONE
Eyefinity Adapter / GeForce 3D Vision NONE
Keyboard & Mouse NONE
Mouse NONE
Game Streaming NONE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Games Controller NONE
Speakers NONE
Webcam NONE
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Cable Tidy NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Promotional Item FREE RAINBOW SIX OR ASSASSINS CREED with select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £777.50
Price £933.00

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Just did a different build and works out cheaper with more RAM:

Case CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM) 16GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - DVI, HDMI, mDP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card NONE
1st Hard Disk 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk NONE
3rd Hard Disk NONE
4th Hard Disk NONE
M.2 SSD Drive NONE
1st PCI-E SSD Drive NONE
2nd PCI-E SSD Drive NONE
RAID NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Fan Controller NONE
Extra Case Fans NONE
LED Lighting NONE
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)
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Firewire NONE
TV Card NONE
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor NONE
2nd Monitor NONE
3rd Monitor NONE
4th Monitor NONE
Monitor Cables NONE
Eyefinity Adapter / GeForce 3D Vision NONE
Keyboard & Mouse NONE
Mouse NONE
Game Streaming NONE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Games Controller NONE
Speakers NONE
Webcam NONE
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Cable Tidy NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Promotional Item FREE RAINBOW SIX OR ASSASSINS CREED with select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £745.00
Price £894.00

 

[Timination]

The type of games I play are Runescape, Rocket League, Telltale games, Lego games, Indie titles- I don't play any new games. I also want to livestream these sort of games too. Would the 750ti really struggle to manage those at high settings? Currently using both your ideas, still including the 750ti, here goes:

Case
CORSAIR 230T COMPACT GAMING CASE - RED LED

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM)
16GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 750 Ti - VGA, DVI, mHDMI - 3D Vision Ready

1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

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
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler (£29)

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 (£12)

USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

 

[keynes]

The type of games I play are Runescape, Rocket League, Telltale games, Lego games, Indie titles- I don't play any new games. I also want to livestream these sort of games too. Would the 750ti really struggle to manage thos

It wouldn't struggle but a gtx 960 will give you the choice of playing more demanding games in the future. No need for coolermaster evo CPU cooler for the CPU you have chosen.

 

[Timination]

Might go with the 950 as a compromise. Does the case actually matter too much? Should I take notice of the suitability in their description?

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Might go with the 950 as a compromise. Does the case actually matter too much? Should I take notice of the suitability in their description?

The case does matter, don't choose one of the first 4 or so, since they have limited airflow and aren't suitable for gaming.

I'd go with a 960 for those games, the 950 is an entry level card and the 960 is only £23 more, which is definitely worth the increase in price

 

[Timination]

Cheers George, I see that you often put the Corsair Carbide 200 case in your recommended builds- would that be a feasible case for my needs? I really don't care for led fans and flashy designs, just a solid case with good airflow. Still deciding on the gpu but to be honest, I don't want to rush things.

 

[Timination]

What PSU should I use for this build?

Hi everyone,

After some really good advice in my first PC build spec plan, I'm only really confused on one thing, the power supply. I've been getting mixed responses from all over. I would like to know whether a 450w PSU would be sufficient to run this proposed build? I know for a fact it'll run fine if I get a GTX 950, but I'm opting for a GTX 960 to deal with future games (to record and livestream). I don't want to waste energy, but an underpowered system is never good news either. I'm all about energy efficiency. Is a 550w PSU overkill? The i7 processor will presumably require a fair bit of power too. Here are the specs, and many thanks.

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® Z97-P: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 960 - 1 DVI, HDMI, 3 DP - 3D Vision Ready

1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY

Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)

Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

 

[keynes]

It wouldn't make a difference. The 550w psu will give you more room for future upgrades. The configurator will indicate whether nor not the psu you have chosen is sufficient

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Hi everyone,

After some really good advice in my first PC build spec plan, I'm only really confused on one thing, the power supply. I've been getting mixed responses from all over. I would like to know whether a 450w PSU would be sufficient to run this proposed build? I know for a fact it'll run fine if I get a GTX 950, but I'm opting for a GTX 960 to deal with future games (to record and livestream). I don't want to waste energy, but an underpowered system is never good news either. I'm all about energy efficiency. Is a 550w PSU overkill? The i7 processor will presumably require a fair bit of power too. Here are the specs, and many thanks.

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® Z97-P: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 960 - 1 DVI, HDMI, 3 DP - 3D Vision Ready

1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY

Processor Cooling
Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19)

Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Looks like a good build, the 450w PSU will be fine and as keynes said the configurator will say if it needs more power

Cheers George, I see that you often put the Corsair Carbide 200 case in your recommended builds- would that be a feasible case for my needs? I really don't care for led fans and flashy designs, just a solid case with good airflow. Still deciding on the gpu but to be honest, I don't want to rush things.

Sorry, never saw this before! The 200R would be fine, I have the 300R and it has great airflow. They're really good cases and they don't cost the earth.

 

[Glissov]

Energy efficiency has nothing to do with how many watts the PSU can deliver. The PSU will deliver what your system requires (so long as it has the wattage to do so).

 

[Timination]

Glad to know the case will be fine- I'll probably get an extra fan to compliment the default case fans though. Also, many thanks for the quick replies regarding the PSU- I think I'm all sorted to order now. You guys are the best.

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Glad to know the case will be fine- I'll probably get an extra fan to compliment the default case fans though. Also, many thanks for the quick replies regarding the PSU- I think I'm all sorted to order now. You guys are the best.

No problem, and yeah an extra fan or two never hurt

Give us an update once you get it!