How will this do?

[markdienekes]

Hello, I'm trying to build a pc for my brother - his budget isn't much, but was hoping I could select something that will last a couple of years at least before he can start looking to upgrade. He wants it to mainly play strategy games (such as Total War Warhammer 2), and the budget is around £650.

I have this so far:

Case
AVP MAMBA BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 580 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 80 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)

Thanks for your time.

 

[Scott]

Hi there,

I wouldn't really recommend purchasing such a system unfortunately. The problem is that there isn't really a platform to upgrade from.

For a gaming system you want a decent case, the minimum selection for me right now would be the iCue.
For the CPU the 2600X is fine, but it limits your RAM options unfortunately.
The B450 motherboard is an ideal starting point and should hopefully be used for next gen

I would change the case over to the iCue, drop the CPU cooler (not required).

I would also have a look at off the shelf laptops as you can often get a better base spec for similar money. There won't be an upgrade path but you're very limited at this point anyway.

 

[markdienekes]

Thanks for your suggestions. Would the CIT DARK SOUL BLACK CASE be adequate and a better option? The iCue takes it above what he can budget, and he can only afford building one from here as it offers an excellent finance feature with zero interest and the laptops here are above budget. Haven't been able to find cheaper laptops for gaming elsewhere, they all seem to be above £700. This setup should still run current Total War games though, right, at 1080p60 with at least medium settings? He'll be happy with that. He currently uses a rubbish laptop that keeps crashing and shouldn't be playing games in the first place!

Might change the HDD to a SSD at 420GB.

 

[Scott]

Does dropping the CPU cooler not allow the budget for the iCue? I honestly wouldn't recommend any cases lower down the list.

 

[markdienekes]

Hmm, good point, let me see

 

[markdienekes]

I've fitted it in - the spec is a little closer to £700, but he can manage it. He should enjoy games like Rome 2 and the Warhammer Total Wars on this, and even Three Kingdoms I hope!

Talking building computers, I feel I may need to upgrade from my trusty i5 4590, gtx 970, 8 gb ram pc soon, starting to feel its age, but has lasted me well these last five years! I always avoided AMD but feel like going that route this time and not going intel!