Please, spec me a rig... £1200 budget (Hard cap, excl peripherals)

Boom-Toon · 19 Dec 2017 at 17:26

Hi guys,

My PSU has decided to die, i'm not currently in a position to check if my PSU kicking the bucket has killed off anything else but this is just a precaution as i'm very much out of touch with new hardware and would like to spend my money wisely if i have to... as stated i allready have a mouse keyboard monitor etc and a case.

Thanks in advance!

Danny75 · 19 Dec 2017 at 17:34

Welcome to the forum.

Boom-Toon said:
as stated i allready have a mouse keyboard monitor

Which monitor (resolution, refresh rate and whether any Gsync or Freesync). Also state if you intend to upgrade to a higher resolution monitor soon (say within 6 months or so) as this has impact on which video card is best for your needs just now.

Boom-Toon said:
etc and a case.

Which case, as components (motherboard, CPU cooler etc) need to fit it.

Also, how much storage do you require to begin with? SSD only, or SSD + HDD, and what size/s at minimum.

What will be the main purpose and any other purposes you care to mention, of the system?

lee32uk · 19 Dec 2017 at 17:50

So are you replacing the system because the psu died ? Or were you looking for a new system regardless ?

What make/model psu is it that failed ?

Boom-Toon · 19 Dec 2017 at 21:19

Apologies for not being specific, I was just heading out the door to brave Xmas shopping and was pushed for time.

The case is a Bitfenix Ronin, I'd ideally want a 2TB HDD and a 250GB SSD.
The monitor I have currently is 1080p with a 60hz refresh rate (Samsung S24E390HL) I don't really see myself upgrading it until I really need to.
The psu was a superflower leadex gold 550w.

I was thinking about getting myself a new graphics card for xmas initially, and then my psu died. I haven't been able to test if any of my other components are still working, and won't be able to until January. I've came into a fair chunk of money, so i may as well treat myself, regardless.

It's going to be used heavily for gaming (Latest AAA titles) and for uni work also.

Specs for my current system are:
intel I5 4670k cpu
MSI Z97 GAMING 3 mobo
MSI AMD R9 290 gpu
2gb WD green storage drive
250gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD
Can't remember the cooler I have for my cpu but I guess that isn't of huge importance

Hope this aids in helping, ha.

DavidS14 · 20 Dec 2017 at 03:28

I it was me I'd get the spec for a new rig but then just buy the PSU first and try that in the old rig to see if it was just a dead PSU.

This would give you more options on the upgrade as you'll know what works and what doesn't and you've lost nothing as the you would have bought the new PSU anyway.

orbitalwalsh · 20 Dec 2017 at 07:37

As above ^^^^ get PSU and try but here's a list keeping all your gear like case and storage and cooling . Kept it MSI since you've got an all MSI rig - personally Gigabyte fan but think you'll be happy with following MSI list if needs be

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Team Group Dark Pro 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDPGD416G3= £199.99
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 1070Ti Gaming 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £479.99
1 x MSI Z370-A Pro Intel Z370 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £109.99
1 x Intel Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - OEM= £349.99
1 x Antec EarthWatts Gold Pro 550W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £73.99

Total: £1,225.05 (includes shipping: £11.10)

nzaptx · 20 Dec 2017 at 10:21

As above but you can probably settle for the i5 8600k to have it £60-70 cheaper, as it is to be used mostly for gaming.

Danny75 · 20 Dec 2017 at 10:49

I agree with spending a bit less. Hopefully won't be the case but the drives could be damaged and end up needing replacing as well. Given some processors can save you from having to upgrade for "x" years beyond some other processors, and no plans to upgrade monitor soon, I'd try spend less on the GPU before having a look at the CPU. £350-400 on a GPU would already be a bit of a luxury for 1080p 60Hz.

Boom-Toon · 20 Dec 2017 at 11:12

Is it worth looking at Ryzen at all or should I just be sticking to an intel based cpu? (i'm thinking bang for buck here.)

Thanks for all the help, guys!

Boom-Toon · 20 Dec 2017 at 12:54

Also, can anyone tell me why RAM prices seem so high? I've got currently got 8gb (2 x 4) of team group black ddr 3 memory and i'm pretty sure that I paid less than £50 for it. Sorry, i'm just rather confused by this.