First PC

U

uhhhhhh01

Member
Hello,

So I'm pretty much useless when it comes to PC knowledge and I'm looking for some advice.

I've tried researching on my own, but if I'm completely honest, this subject kind of confuses me.

I want to buy a PC that can run games like Valorant/Genshin Impact. I'm not sure what is considered a reasonable price, but I will say that I don't want to go over £800 (If it costs more, then I can go up to £1000).

I will admit, I am slightly nervous because I don't know much about PCs and I don't want to get scammed/spend more than necessary.


Any advice would be much appreciated :)
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Unfortunately PC pricing is more than a bit mad at the moment. £800 is almost impossible; £1000 is entry-level. Yes, this is completely bonkers.

The key question is what monitor you have/will be buying, and whether the cost needs to be included in the above prices...
 
S

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
At the minute with the hardware shortages prices are at an all time high. It will be quite difficult to get a PC for £1000 that's anywhere decent.

What I can help with is a solid base that can be upgraded over time to become a really powerful machine. We can help give advice for upgrade paths too. This would be the cheapest gaming build I would be comfortable recommending, keep in mind this is a base to build on with potential to become very powerful. This build has room to add as much as you like to it going forward but I went for a very good CPU and paired it with an adequate motherboard. Used a good case with plenty of room inside and included for a PSU that will handle any upgrade you can find to put in

This would be an entry level 1080p build to begin with though

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 Ti - DVI, HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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 [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
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 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,158.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/dB9ewfVPDV/
 
U

uhhhhhh01

Member
Steveyg said:
At the minute with the hardware shortages prices are at an all time high. It will be quite difficult to get a PC for £1000 that's anywhere decent.

What I can help with is a solid base that can be upgraded over time to become a really powerful machine. We can help give advice for upgrade paths too. This would be the cheapest gaming build I would be comfortable recommending, keep in mind this is a base to build on with potential to become very powerful. This build has room to add as much as you like to it going forward but I went for a very good CPU and paired it with an adequate motherboard. Used a good case with plenty of room inside and included for a PSU that will handle any upgrade you can find to put in

This would be an entry level 1080p build to begin with though

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 Ti - DVI, HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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 [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
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 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,158.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/dB9ewfVPDV/
Click to expand...
Hello,


Thanks for the reply, I found it really helpful :) I do have a few questions though.

Is there a specific monitor that would be best for this? Or will any one do?

And what upgrades paths do you recommend for later on?

As of right now I only have £2000 for the entire thing.
 
S

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
£2000 for a build and monitor is a much healthier budget. We can work with that, is it just for gaming? Does this need to include keyboard/mouse/speakers/etc?
 
U

uhhhhhh01

Member
Steveyg said:
£2000 for a build and monitor is a much healthier budget. We can work with that, is it just for gaming? Does this need to include keyboard/mouse/speakers/etc?
Click to expand...
Yeah this will be just for gaming. I do also need to get keyboard/mouse/etc.
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
£2k is an interesting price point. You can just get a PC and monitor to do 1440p/QHD gaming, which is an enormous step up from 1080p/HD. We'd all fully recommend that. You can get a 1440p monitor for around £280 to £300 (Samsung G5 for a curved screen or AOC Q27G2U for a flat screen). The cost of the tower comes to around £1700. Sadly, if £2k is the top of your budget, this doesn't leave much for peripherals! My advice would be to see if you have keyboard, mouse and headset/speakers that you could reuse for now and get an upgrade down the line.

The build could look something like this:

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX K500 ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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 [KUK-00001]
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,701.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/D65xRu6tCE/

This offers really good performance now and plenty of scope for future upgrades.
 
U

uhhhhhh01

Member
sck451 said:
£2k is an interesting price point. You can just get a PC and monitor to do 1440p/QHD gaming, which is an enormous step up from 1080p/HD. We'd all fully recommend that. You can get a 1440p monitor for around £280 to £300 (Samsung G5 for a curved screen or AOC Q27G2U for a flat screen). The cost of the tower comes to around £1700. Sadly, if £2k is the top of your budget, this doesn't leave much for peripherals! My advice would be to see if you have keyboard, mouse and headset/speakers that you could reuse for now and get an upgrade down the line.

The build could look something like this:

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX K500 ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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 [KUK-00001]
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
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 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,701.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/D65xRu6tCE/

This offers really good performance now and plenty of scope for future upgrades.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice, the only issue is that I have never owned a PC before so unfortunately I do not have any spare keyboards/mouses or speakers lying around.
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Ah, that's a pity. I will try to save a bit on the price without compromising it too much. Will you be connecting with WiFi or do you have a wired Ethernet connection?
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
That's a pity: it would have saved you £19 if you had been able to use a wired connection. Ah well.

Here's a build that gets us down to £2010. I've added the Corsair bundle, as it's surprising good value for keyboard, mouse and headset. If you prefer speakers, that can just about be done for the same price, though you wouldn't have a microphone and most PC gamers prefer headsets. I've removed the hard drive and downgraded the primary SSD slightly (if you can afford £20 or so more, it's well worth going back to the 980 Pro).

This assumes you're going with the AOC Q27G2U for £280. I'm not sure there's anything else in the build I'd be willing to downgrade for your purposes.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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 [KUK-00001]
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
Corsair Gaming Bundle - K55 Keyboard, M55 PRO Mouse, HS35 Headset & MM100 Mouse Mat
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 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,731.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/DmUkN3jWT7/
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Looks like a great package for the price, @jamiephillips909: thanks. £280 (monitor) + £70 (peripherals) brings us to £350, giving us a tower budget of £1650. If we take the build I suggested above, remove the Corsair bundle and add the 500GB 980 Pro back in, it comes to £1655, a grand total of £2005. I'm not sure I can do any more precise than that.
 
jamiephillips909

jamiephillips909

Godlike
sck451 said:
Looks like a great package for the price, @jamiephillips909: thanks. £280 (monitor) + £70 (peripherals) brings us to £350, giving us a tower budget of £1650. If we take the build I suggested above, remove the Corsair bundle and add the 500GB 980 Pro back in, it comes to £1655, a grand total of £2005. I'm not sure I can do any more precise than that.
Click to expand...
Now thats just superb use of a budget bravo !!!!!
 
U

uhhhhhh01

Member
sck451 said:
That's a pity: it would have saved you £19 if you had been able to use a wired connection. Ah well.

Here's a build that gets us down to £2010. I've added the Corsair bundle, as it's surprising good value for keyboard, mouse and headset. If you prefer speakers, that can just about be done for the same price, though you wouldn't have a microphone and most PC gamers prefer headsets. I've removed the hard drive and downgraded the primary SSD slightly (if you can afford £20 or so more, it's well worth going back to the 980 Pro).

This assumes you're going with the AOC Q27G2U for £280. I'm not sure there's anything else in the build I'd be willing to downgrade for your purposes.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
12GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6700 XT - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
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)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
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 [KUK-00001]
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
Corsair Gaming Bundle - K55 Keyboard, M55 PRO Mouse, HS35 Headset & MM100 Mouse Mat
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 10 to 12 working days
Price: £1,731.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/DmUkN3I
Click to expand...
I'll look into buying this and the monitor you mentioned now. Thank you very much for all the help!
 
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