New desktop pc

[tomtree]

Basically I want a new desktop for £500 or less. Prefferably I want it to be smallish for uni (don't want laptop). I want it to use it mainly for gaming, got someone to put it together for me or I will try myself. I really dot have a clue what I'm looking for but want the best I can for <£500 with the focus on gaming.

Any help would be brilliant!

Cheers

 

[Weeble]

Off the top of my head you'd be looking at something liiiiiiike...
Either an AMD II X2 or Intel i5, can get 4GB Corsair DDR3 RAM, GeForce GTX 460ish... I'd recommend an additional CPU cooler as well (like an Akasa or Arctic) as the stock ones are fairly crap.

Could get an Antec 300 as well I guess. Fairly cheap, not tiny but easily manageable. Top it off with a 500GB HDD (or a 1TB for an extra £30). That should roughly cost just under £500.

Can give a much more detailed breakdown if you require..!

 

[tomtree]

cheers weeble.

what's happening atm is that im off to uni in september (hence why i wanted it to be a managable size), i already have a laptop but it's graphics card is barely up to running games... so all i really need it for is gaming (which i know is unfortunately quite expensive), particulary starcraft 2.

i have a mate who is in a similar postition and he is willing to put them together but wanted advice to the best parts; for <£500 as i mentioned. i really have no idea about the parts but a detailed list of what i would need and what it does would be great.

(lol, that was basically a long winded way of saying yes please weeble to more detailed info if you have the time to spare. )

 

[CFalcon]

The big question is do you already have a monitor? Because if you don't that's ~£100 of your £500 instantly gone, which means you'll have to skimp somewhere else. Won't make it bad, but somethings gotta give. Making a decent all-round gaming machine *with* monitor for less than £500 will be very difficult.

Same applies to operating system. If you already have one spare or you're fine with getting an illegal one then fair enough, but buying a new one will put you back ~£50-100 as well.

 

[tomtree]

i have a mouse or two... lol, yeh so i pretty much have nothing so it will all have to be included. though depending on how much it will effect the performance my budget can be slightly flexable.

 

[Weeble]

If you're looking for a rig that can handle Starcraft then you're looking at 450-500 minimum for the tower and guts. Peripherals will set you back another £200 roughly (£120 monitor, 80 on keyboard + speakers/headphones). So realistically, £700 for the full set up...

 

[CFalcon]

HDD - £30-50
Memory - £40-50 for 2gb, £80-100 for 4gb
Case and PSU - £60-80
Motherboard - £40-60
CPU - £60-80
Optical Drive - ~£20

So thats about £300-350 for the basic innards for a system that won't go up in smoke when playing new games.

Then you're going to have to make some tougher decisions. Windows 7 or Vista will cost £80-100 new. Might be worth looking into finding someone with a spare copy or even considering an illegal copy if you're *really* pushed for money.
Then for a monitor you can spend pretty much whatever you want, especially if you're willing to get something second-hand. You can get a 19" monitor new for £80-100, and you don't really make any savings by going down to 17". But I daresay you can find something much cheaper on ebay.

And finally, pretty essential for a gaming machine; a graphics card. Basically, you get what you pay for. If you're really pushed you can get something acceptable for £50, but you'll be running the latest games on their lower graphics settings. If you go up to £100 you'll be running most current new games on their higher graphics settings, although probably still lagging a little on the highest demanding games and settings. If you go up to £150-200 you'll likely be able to run highest graphics settings on new games for the next few years. So that's really up to you. Can always update at a later date if really necessary.


I went through the same process a month ago, initially trying to keep everything under £500. But I decided the difference between a £500 and a £700 system was significant enough to be worth hunting around for that extra £200. Better to spend a bit more now than to be disappointed or having to buy a new system in a couple of years. But that's just me... If you can find a cheap 2nd hand monitor and swing a free OS then it's certainly possible to build something that will play the latest games adequately for £500.