HELP NEEDED: New build for first timer and advice.

[LuckyRabbit]

Hello,
I really need help with choosing or making a decision on what kind of computer I need/want. I had previously seen this thread but wanted to post anyway for my own peace of mind.

would be using it for internet browsing, and for playing games. I already have an Xbox One so the only games I will play on the computer would be the Total War series (mainly Warhammer II and earlier) with the aim being to play on high/ultra settings. Not too hung up on FPS but I do understand that it can improve performance.

I had initially been tempted by a laptop however I understand these can be more expensive when compared to desktops, as well as much harder to upgrade or change should the need arise.

I was also intrigued by the All-in one pcs as i wondered if that would be a better all round option, and if so what configuration would be best. i was slightly confused as it says the starting specification, yet still needs to be configured? Also how easy are they to upgrade should you need to?

My budget would be around £750-£850 - keyboard not necessary - undecided on monitor at this point (hence all in one pc).

Would like to emphasise that i don't care about playing other types of games only the Total War series.

Any and all advice/recommendations welcome; apologies for the mass of hyperlinks.

Many thanks

 

[polycrac]

In my view that thread you point to contains Ouessebon at their finest, I laughed so hard when I first read it!

Generally, all in one pcs are very hard to upgrade, I wouldn't recommend one. Given your budget is fairly tight, I think a laptop is a mistake too, you would be paying for portability at the expense of performance and TWW is fairly demanding. A desktop would be the most cost effective. Does the budget above include the monitor?

 

[LuckyRabbit]

At the moment the budget doesn't include the monitor just the pc

 

[polycrac]

Maybe something like this:

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Six Core CPU (3.4GHz-3.9GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2933MHz ~ (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 570 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
1st Storage Drive
240GB ADATA SU630 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 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 802.11 AC1200 867Mbps/5GHz, 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
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
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
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 7 to 10 working days
Price: £817.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-home-office/MgjPbFvj36/

If you want to cut the cost now, you could reduce the storage to 1TB and fit more later. You could also skip the wifi card if you have a cable connection. If you wanted to spend more, you could up the GPU to the 580 (its on offer at the moment so the price difference isn't as big as usual). It should be fine for 1080p, 60Hz monitors and the PSU is a bit more than strictly needed so when you want to upgrade the GPU you can. The motherboard can support some newer CPUs, so again you have an upgrade path for the future.

 

[LuckyRabbit]

Interesting. I think I would do as you suggested and drop down to the 1TB and upgrade to the 580.

What are the differences between AMD CPUs vs intels? (not bias just haven't had an AMD before)
Same question about graphics cards AMD vs NVidia? I could make the changes suggested and change the graphics card to a 4GB Geforce GTX 1650, with the total price being about the same (£810).

Again I know nothing about this stuff so feel free to correct/educate me.

 

[Oussebon]

What are the differences between AMD CPUs vs intels? (not bias just haven't had an AMD before)

One of them has a blue logo, one of them has an orange/red one.

i.e. as far as the end user is concerned there's not really much of a difference. The question isn't whether to buy Intel or AMD, but rather which CPU from either company offers the best performance for the price range - and also has the best balance of features with the motherboards that come with them.

I'd agree with Polycrac that the AMD R5 2600 is your best bet - though I would suggest upping to the R5 2600x seeing as it's only £7 more at the moment. It's Total War, the extra frequency would help.

Same question about graphics cards AMD vs NVidia? I could make the changes suggested and change the graphics card to a 4GB Geforce GTX 1650, with the total price being about the same (£810).

Same answer as above, green logo vs red one. Which GPU is best for you depends on the performance level you're looking for, and the relative pricing.

Don't buy the GTX 1650. The RX 570 is overall a faster card. Which holds true in Total War Warhammer II

The RX 570 is also £20 cheaper. So it's cheaper, and offers more performance.

you could up the GPU to the 580 (its on offer at the moment so the price difference isn't as big as usual).

When PCS say something is on offer in the configurators, don't pay any attention. It's rarely any better a deal than the component normally is - it seems to mean they might have shaved a few quid off, if that.

The RX 580 is £60 more than an RX 570. And only offers 12% more performance.

If you wanted to spend £60 more than an RX 570, just buy a GTX 1660 for another £40 on top of that as it demolishes both of them, providing over 40% more performance *than the RX 570) in TW:WH II.

TL;DR: The best bang for buck GPUs are the RX 570 and the GTX 1660. Anything in between is poor value.

You could make a case for the RX 590, as the pricing is barely any more than the 580 right now.

 

[LuckyRabbit]

Wow thanks that was very useful!

So I had another go; dropped back to the 570 and went up to the R5 2600x with the same HD and SSD and kept the wifi card as I don't have a wired connection - is there anything else I should consider?

Total price atm is £798.

What monitor would you suggest? (just asking for interest - although if it fits in budget you never know).
Also out of interest can you tell me about cases?

 

[Oussebon]

So I had another go; dropped back to the 570 and went up to the R5 2600x with the same HD and SSD and kept the wifi card as I don't have a wired connection - is there anything else I should consider?

Sounds fine to me

Also out of interest can you tell me about cases?

You don't want to spend too much on a case due to the limited budget, but cheaping out on a case and getting one with poor airflow or upgrade options isn't a good play either. The case isn't just about aesthetics, it's also about features and cooling design. The Fractal Focus G is a good budget case.

What monitor would you suggest? (just asking for interest - although if it fits in budget you never know).

I'm assuming you're shopping for a fairly budget one. Which means 1080p 60hz, usually in the ~£100-120 range.

If you can go to ~£130 or so then this should be excellent: AOC G2460VQ6 24"

It's a budget 1080p gaming monitor, and still sits within the price range, but has freesync with an extremely wide freesync range. i.e. it can synchronise the refresh rate to your monitor to your GPU's framerate output, which can smooth out gameplay.

 

[LuckyRabbit]

I'll keep that monitor suggestion in mind.

Thank you guys for all your help, it's been really appreciated.

 

[LuckyRabbit]

We probably discussed this, but I hit proceed and this message popped up:


Checking your specification...
We've checked your specification for compatibility. Please consider our advice below before proceeding:

• You have selected a 550W power supply, but based on our calculations you actually only need a 450W power supply. We have calculated your specification to require around of 432W power including a 20% allowance. Although it is not a mandatory requirement to select a lower wattage power supply, doing so will save you money and the last thing we'd like to do is over charge you!

I'm guessing that's from the update to the cpu you suggested, should I just proceed?

 

[Oussebon]

550W PSU costs only a few quid more and will keep more GPU upgrade options open. Cheaper (and less hassle) to spend £5 extra on the PSU now than find you need to replace down the line...

 

[LuckyRabbit]

Would this be a good monitor? https://www.box.co.uk/Acer-Nitro-VG220Q-21.5-Full-HD-IPS-Free_2299003.html

 

[Oussebon]

Personally I find 24" to be the sweet spot for 1080p.

That Acer is alright as far as the spec goes - IPS panel, 48-75hz Freesync range for £100. It's just a bit small.

And you could get the G2460VQ6 for £120 on another site, which is 24" and has a 35-75hz Freesync range. Which means it supports Low Framerate Compensation (which is genuinely outstanding for a monitor at this budget level).

 

[LuckyRabbit]

Do I need a HDMI cable for the desktop and monitor? (I ended up going with the 24" version of the Acer)

 

[Oussebon]

Monitors usually come with requisite cables. Most manufacturer sites tell you specifically what's in the box for a given product.
For instance the 21.5" one says:

Package Contents
Nitro VG220Q Widescreen LCD Monitor
Power Cord
1 x VGA Cable

Nitro VG220Q

Discover more about Acer Nitro VG220Q. 1 ms MPRT - In-plane Switching (IPS) Technology - Screen: 54.6 cm (21.5") Full HD (1920 x 1080) 75 Hz - Panel Technology: IPS (178°x178°) FreeSync - Inputs: HDMI, VGA - Response Time: 1 ms MPRT - Brightness: 250 cd/m² - (Full HD)1920 x 1080@75 Hz - 16:9 -...

www.acer.com

I imagine the 24" one has an HDMI cable, not just VGA. Acer has so many models with slight variations in the names that I won't guess which you have But if you say the specific model I'll try to look it up

 

[LuckyRabbit]

This one: Acer Nitro VG240Y 23.8" Full HD IPS FreeSync 75Hz Gaming Monitor

 

[Oussebon]

Package Contents

VG240Y Widescreen LCD Monitor
1 x Displayport Cable
Power Cord
1 x VGA Cable
1 x USB 2.0 Cable

Acer Laptops, Desktops, Chromebooks, Monitors & Projectors | Acer United Kingdom

Shop the latest Acer products, from Chromebooks, laptops, monitors, desktop PCs, and projectors for office, home, and entertainment use.

www.acer.com

Has a DP cable, so you're fine to connect the PC to it.

 

[LuckyRabbit]

Quick question:

Order has been 10/11 days in pre-production and I saw about amendments. I doubt I'll do anything but was wondering based on our prior convo about graphics cards if you changed the card (to say a 590 or 1660) would you need to change anything else to match it or keep up?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Quick question:

Order has been 10/11 days in pre-production and I saw about amendments. I doubt I'll do anything but was wondering based on our prior convo about graphics cards if you changed the card (to say a 590 or 1660) would you need to change anything else to match it or keep up?

The only relevant component really when it comes to graphics cards is the PSU to make sure it can handle the added load, but 550W will handle either of those cards happily.

 

[Oussebon]

Agreed.

At current pricing the 1660 makes more sense than the 590, being only £9 more and a bit more powerful overall. And the power consumption is significantly lower such that you could conceivably more than make back the initial cost difference in energy savings.