Gaming PC - Build? Buy New? Buy Used?

[RichieBarkerOut!]

I've promised a new gaming PC for my Fortnite obsessed kid. I don't particularly want to build it myself (I last did one about 15 years ago), but if it will save me £30+ I might consider it.

So what is The Oatcake's wisdom for a gaming PC with a budget that does not want to go more than £400 for the tower?

I don't mind getting a used computer if I get more bang for my buck.

On another note, does DDR4 matter? Is 8gb DDR as good as 16gb DD3? etc...

[Deleted]

The RAM is linked to the motherboard you pick, which is linked to the CPU you choose. The latest AMD chips (Ryzen) use DDR4 as do Intels i series.

AMD will be your best bet on a budget.

My tip is to use what you can from your old rig if you have one, as it stretches your budget further.

If you can't then go as cheap as you can on the tower, get a mid range power supply and a mid range motherboard. Gigabyte and MSI are decent mid range brands. Gigabyte have a good RMA system in the UK which is good if you have any faults.

I'd recommend 8GB Ram as a minimum. Fortnite recommended specs are reasonably low, so something like a 1050 card would be good. If you can pick one up second hand, even better

Overclockers is a local shop over where Lucas used to be in Milehouse. Their forum is very good for advice. Pop over, sign up and put your budget up and what you want from your system and there are some in there that will give some sound advice, a good second opinion.

forums.overclockers.co.uk/forums/new-to-pc-gaming-upgrade-advice.172/

[chigstoke]

Any kind of Fortnite and e-Sports titles don't need heavy specs for any sort of 1080p 60FPS gameplay (though the higher the better for shooters).

As Onlooker said, Ryzen is the way to go now for the budget conscious gamer. You can get a Ryzen 1600x CPU for £129 now, that's for 6 Cores, 12 Threads. It's a hyperthreading beast and will be fine for anything up to 1440p. Intel can't compete with Ryzen on a price/perf ratio with the drops in price now.

RAM again depends on the game. Fortnite recommends about 8GB Ram for the rec specs. So a GPU like the 1050Ti should do it, though the RX 570 and 580 by AMD are undergoing price drops and are more powerful. I'd go 580 < 1060 < 570 < 1050Ti I think.

I use an MSI motherboard which works fine. The Gaming Plus lineup is going to be more than adequate. ASUS are decent as well from past experience.

Don't skimp on PSU, I always go for one where I have a little left over wattage on what I need.

I do recommend building in all honesty, it's way cheaper and no pre-built markup, or at least get a system builder to put your parts together.

Try this as an example - PCPartPicker part list: uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/mtTzRJ

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£120.97 @ Laptops Direct)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC - Freezer 13 36.4 CFM CPU Cooler (£23.22 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£61.97 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£62.72 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU650 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£16.79 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£34.79 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Phoenix Video Card (£148.79 @ Aria PC)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£39.98 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: XFX - XT 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£35.93 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £545.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-05 10:07 GMT+0000

[RichieBarkerOut!]

Dec 5, 2018 10:08:37 GMT chigstoke said:

Any kind of Fortnite and e-Sports titles don't need heavy specs for any sort of 1080p 60FPS gameplay (though the higher the better for shooters).

As Onlooker said, Ryzen is the way to go now for the budget conscious gamer. You can get a Ryzen 1600x CPU for £129 now, that's for 6 Cores, 12 Threads. It's a hyperthreading beast and will be fine for anything up to 1440p. Intel can't compete with Ryzen on a price/perf ratio with the drops in price now.

RAM again depends on the game. Fortnite recommends about 8GB Ram for the rec specs. So a GPU like the 1050Ti should do it, though the RX 570 and 580 by AMD are undergoing price drops and are more powerful. I'd go 580 < 1060 < 570 < 1050Ti I think.

I use an MSI motherboard which works fine. The Gaming Plus lineup is going to be more than adequate. ASUS are decent as well from past experience.

Don't skimp on PSU, I always go for one where I have a little left over wattage on what I need.

I do recommend building in all honesty, it's way cheaper and no pre-built markup, or at least get a system builder to put your parts together.

Try this as an example - PCPartPicker part list: uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/mtTzRJ

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£120.97 @ Laptops Direct)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC - Freezer 13 36.4 CFM CPU Cooler (£23.22 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£61.97 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£62.72 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU650 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£16.79 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£34.79 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Phoenix Video Card (£148.79 @ Aria PC)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£39.98 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: XFX - XT 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£35.93 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £545.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-05 10:07 GMT+0000

Thanks Onlooker.

Chig, I was hoping you would drop a sample PC in here as you've done it before when similar questions have been asked, but I could not work out the site you used.

I need to add Windows 10 into the cost, so the rig above is going to be too much for me, I'm probably at £550 all in, this is why I'm thinking that going down the used PC route might be a good option.

[Widget123]

If you have an older unused win7 or win8 licence then you can still use that serial to install Windows 10. You'll need to install it from usb or DVD but it'll work and activate fine.

Also if you want to take a look at prebuilt PCs the Aria machines are usually a good starting point to benchmark spec and pricing from:

www.aria.co.uk/Products/Next+Day+Systems

CCL are another good supplier:

www.cclonline.com/pc/gaming-pcs/

Both are long term, well established and knowledgeable companies with good customer support. I've used them both to supply clients with work station pcs for over a decade.

[chigstoke]

Dec 5, 2018 10:25:35 GMT RichieBarkerOut! said:

Dec 5, 2018 10:08:37 GMT chigstoke said:

Any kind of Fortnite and e-Sports titles don't need heavy specs for any sort of 1080p 60FPS gameplay (though the higher the better for shooters).

As Onlooker said, Ryzen is the way to go now for the budget conscious gamer. You can get a Ryzen 1600x CPU for £129 now, that's for 6 Cores, 12 Threads. It's a hyperthreading beast and will be fine for anything up to 1440p. Intel can't compete with Ryzen on a price/perf ratio with the drops in price now.

RAM again depends on the game. Fortnite recommends about 8GB Ram for the rec specs. So a GPU like the 1050Ti should do it, though the RX 570 and 580 by AMD are undergoing price drops and are more powerful. I'd go 580 < 1060 < 570 < 1050Ti I think.

I use an MSI motherboard which works fine. The Gaming Plus lineup is going to be more than adequate. ASUS are decent as well from past experience.

Don't skimp on PSU, I always go for one where I have a little left over wattage on what I need.

I do recommend building in all honesty, it's way cheaper and no pre-built markup, or at least get a system builder to put your parts together.

Try this as an example - PCPartPicker part list: uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/mtTzRJ

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£120.97 @ Laptops Direct)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC - Freezer 13 36.4 CFM CPU Cooler (£23.22 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£61.97 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£62.72 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU650 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£16.79 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£34.79 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Phoenix Video Card (£148.79 @ Aria PC)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£39.98 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: XFX - XT 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£35.93 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £545.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-05 10:07 GMT+0000

Thanks Onlooker.

Chig, I was hoping you would drop a sample PC in here as you've done it before when similar questions have been asked, but I could not work out the site you used.

I need to add Windows 10 into the cost, so the rig above is going to be too much for me, I'm probably at £550 all in, this is why I'm thinking that going down the used PC route might be a good option.

You don't have to get the full £40 disc, RBO, if you desire. You can for example, download a Windows 10 ISO, install and rearm the trial every 180 days or use fake activate tool. But it's better to go for a key reseller with PayPal. Give this one a go. Pretty much hits your £550 limit 

EDIT: As user above says, you can use a spare Win 7/8 key, assuming it's not OEM as that would be tied to another PC's motherboard.

[RichieBarkerOut!]

Dec 5, 2018 15:19:09 GMT chigstoke said:

Dec 5, 2018 10:25:35 GMT RichieBarkerOut! said:

Thanks Onlooker.

Chig, I was hoping you would drop a sample PC in here as you've done it before when similar questions have been asked, but I could not work out the site you used.

I need to add Windows 10 into the cost, so the rig above is going to be too much for me, I'm probably at £550 all in, this is why I'm thinking that going down the used PC route might be a good option.

You don't have to get the full £40 disc, RBO, if you desire. You can for example, download a Windows 10 ISO, install and rearm the trial every 180 days or use fake activate tool. But it's better to go for a key reseller with PayPal. Give this one a go. Pretty much hits your £550 limit 

EDIT: As user above says, you can use a spare Win 7/8 key, assuming it's not OEM as that would be tied to another PC's motherboard.

I thought W10 was £110! I need to look harder...

[chigstoke]

Dec 5, 2018 15:22:13 GMT RichieBarkerOut! said:

Dec 5, 2018 15:19:09 GMT chigstoke said:

You don't have to get the full £40 disc, RBO, if you desire. You can for example, download a Windows 10 ISO, install and rearm the trial every 180 days or use fake activate tool. But it's better to go for a key reseller with PayPal. Give this one a go. Pretty much hits your £550 limit 

EDIT: As user above says, you can use a spare Win 7/8 key, assuming it's not OEM as that would be tied to another PC's motherboard.

I thought W10 was £110! I need to look harder...

There is always a way!

[RichieBarkerOut!]

Dec 5, 2018 15:29:34 GMT chigstoke said:

Dec 5, 2018 15:22:13 GMT RichieBarkerOut! said:

I thought W10 was £110! I need to look harder...

There is always a way!

Wow, I can get a W10 Pro key for £4.50 on eBay!

[chigstoke]

Dec 5, 2018 15:48:09 GMT RichieBarkerOut! said:

Dec 5, 2018 15:29:34 GMT chigstoke said:

There is always a way!

Wow, I can get a W10 Pro key for £4.50 on eBay!

Yep! Dirt cheap on the bay. And if the key ends up invalidating after a while, you can just claim on PayPal and say you were sold an illegitimate key.

[Deleted]

Been thinking about this today. You could always split your problem into two parts.

The main PC and the graphics card.

You could always buy a cheaper PC with a decent CPU, RAM etc then shop around for a used Graphics Card, or the other way round depending on what is cheaper.

The one danger of a used Graphics Card, especially good ones, are people that have thrashed them for bitcoin mining.

You can pick up an old R9 290 for buttons these days and they will play Fortnite no problems.
Those probably wouldn't be used for mining also.

Just a thought.

[chigstoke]

Dec 5, 2018 20:30:53 GMT theonlooker said:

Been thinking about this today. You could always split your problem into two parts.

The main PC and the graphics card.

You could always buy a cheaper PC with a decent CPU, RAM etc then shop around for a used Graphics Card, or the other way round depending on what is cheaper.

The one danger of a used Graphics Card, especially good ones, are people that have thrashed them for bitcoin mining.

You can pick up an old R9 290 for buttons these days and they will play Fortnite no problems.
Those probably wouldn't be used for mining also.

Just a thought.

Tbf, if RBO needs an extra few quid and only games like Fortnite are being played, the 1600x even at £120 could be dropped, go to a Ryzen 1300x @ £60 odd pound, quad core powerhouse. The means then being able to buy something like the R9 Fury and get a good GPU upgrade without the CPU being a major bottleneck. I always buy new ram though incase the 2nd hand seller doesn't declare any Memtest errors.

[Deleted]

I got my lad’s from awd-it.co.uk

They do Gaming spec PCs for all budgets

My lads chuffed with his and does some heavier gaming



And they’re based on Fezzy Pk so ideal for support etc