New PC build. Advice welcomed :)

Lighter7

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Hello everyone. So I've finally bothered to get a new computer that isn't an off the shelf laptop.
The computer I'm working on is stolen parts from around the office.
Spec is:
MotherBoard: ASUS P7P55D-E
Processor: Intel i5 660 @3.33GHz
Ram: 8GB
HardDrive: 120GB SDD / 4TB HDD.
PSU: CX500M.
GPU: Some junk that will be the first thing that needs replaced.

I'll be honest, I not the most knowledgeable when it comes to these kinds of things. I just google stuff and try to make it work haha. I'm hoping this isn't a bad place to start. Main advice I would be looking for first is a point in the right direction for a decent GPU. I'd say the Processor will greatly limit what I can get so maybe best looking into updating that also.

Cheers guys!
 

Lighter7

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Gray2233 said:
What sort of budget do you have and what is it you want to do with the computer exactly?
Click to expand...
Yeah should have probably mentioned that haha.
Gaming PC, I'm trying to get away from consoles.
Budget wise I don't want to break the bank but I'm realistic enough to know I'd need to spend the guts of £400-500 on a GPU alone.
 

Gray2233

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Lighter7 said:
Yeah should have probably mentioned that haha.
Gaming PC, I'm trying to get away from consoles.
Budget wise I don't want to break the bank but I'm realistic enough to know I'd need to spend the guts of £400-500 on a GPU alone.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you have peripherals, what monitor/resolution/refresh rate will you be gaming on?

If you're willing to spend £400 + on the GPU alone you might as well just scrap the above system entirely. What sort of budget are you considering for the full system?

Is it general gaming or do you only play specific games?

It's an iffy time to transition from console to PC imo, the specs in the new PS5 and Xbox are ridiculously good for how much they cost, but this does depend on what you intend to play.
 

Lighter7

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Gray2233 said:
I'm assuming you have peripherals, what monitor/resolution/refresh rate will you be gaming on?

If you're willing to spend £400 + on the GPU alone you might as well just scrap the above system entirely. What sort of budget are you considering for the full system?

Is it general gaming or do you only play specific games?

It's an iffy time to transition from console to PC imo, the specs in the new PS5 and Xbox are ridiculously good for how much they cost, but this does depend on what you intend to play.
Click to expand...

The monitors I have are not great, they are just DVI ones. I don't mind upgrading them at a later stage to keep costs down for now. To be honest I'd be happy enough with running games at 1080p and 2k Ultra anyway.

Well when it comes to a GPU for my current system I'd say it wouldn't be able to handle anything over a 2060 and even with that I'd probably need to upgrade the PSU.

I guess if I was to save for a few months I could have around £1200 or thereabouts for a new system. But that is probably peanuts for a new system.
 

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And yeah I agree with the timing.... just before the PS5 comes out here is me thinking about moving to PC haha. I never needed much in the way of power from a PC as the games I mostly play are Point-and-click. But when CyberPunk ever comes out I will be all over it. So I'd be aiming for a PC to run that.
 

Gray2233

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£1200 would get you a very nice rig to be honest, and it'll also give time for the new hardware prices to settle and stock to become available.

Here's an idea for that budget with current components:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £744.94 (includes shipping: £0.00)​
​

It could be worth waiting on the new Zen 3 line up, although they will be more expensive than their Zen 2 predecessors so might be outside of budget.

I've left out a GPU, but assuming you can get a 3070 for RRP there's enough left in the budget for it. We also have the new AMD cards launching soon which could be another option, but not a lot is known about them as of yet. I wouldn't bother buying anything current gen (Nvidia 20X0, or AMD 5700XT etc) right now, you're best off waiting.

This build would be best suited to 1440P and I'd recommend looking into such a monitor down the line when you have more funds.
 

Lighter7

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That does look like quite a build. Think I could save a bit of money in the sense I've already got SDD's, more PSU's laying about and I'll just reuse this case.
As for the Processor, you're right probably best waiting for the Zen 3 and GPU because they should hopefully be out next month right?
 

Gray2233

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They should be stock allowing, hopefully things will settle down in that regard in the new year if not.

I wouldn't reuse an old budget PSU though, it's the most important part of your system and the last thing you want is one going pop in your shiny new setup.

I'd also make sure your SSD is at least around the 500GB range, a lot of modern games stream assets from the drive they're installed on and an HDD could cause performance issues in that regard, couple that with games getting larger and larger and an old 60-120GB drive just wont cut it anymore.
 

Lighter7

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So here I am, back looking at getting a new gaming computer.

Below is an idea of what I am after. I know there is no PSU or GPU in the basket yet. I am trying to get my hands on a 3070.
Also I have an old case that will do the job for now. I know this build is pretty pricey but I want to future proof it as best I can.

What would you guys recommend for a PSU?
And again all advice is appreciated as it's been a while since looking at computers.
I can't help but think I'm over looking something....

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £877.51 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​

Then on the other hand.. instead of trying to build a computer why not just buy a ready built one like below.... but where is the fun in that?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...-pc-intel-core-i9-9900k-4.8ghz-fs-1d3-og.html
 
Last edited:

Gray2233

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Lighter7 said:
So here I am, back looking at getting a new gaming computer.

Below is an idea of what I am after. I know there is no PSU or GPU in the basket yet. I am trying to get my hands on a 3070.
Also I have an old case that will do the job for now. I know this build is pretty pricey but I want to future proof it as best I can.

What would you guys recommend for a PSU?
And again all advice is appreciated as it's been a while since looking at computers.
I can't help but think I'm over looking something....

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £877.51 (includes shipping: £11.10)
​

Then on the other hand.. instead of trying to build a computer why not just buy a ready built one like below.... but where is the fun in that?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...-pc-intel-core-i9-9900k-4.8ghz-fs-1d3-og.html
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be spending £430 on a 9900K as of today.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £909.91 (includes shipping: £0.00)​
​

1. Larger SSD for the same price, Samsung is grossly overpriced for what you get.
2. Cheaper and faster memory.
3. Faster CPU.
4. More modern chipset.

I'm only really listing the 5800X as it's the only Ryzen 5000 series chip currently in stock.

Intel option if you must stick with them:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £824.95 (includes shipping: £0.00)

​
PSU wise one of the following would be a good option:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £319.97 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

Pretty limited stock at the moment unfortunately.
 
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)
AC-000-AC
£8 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
HD-23W-SA
£70 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core 4.7GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
CP-3CB-AM
£230 (incl. VAT)
£200 (incl. VAT)
Find out more

Lighter7

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Gray2233 said:
I wouldn't be spending £430 on a 9900K as of today.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £909.91 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

1. Larger SSD for the same price, Samsung is grossly overpriced for what you get.
2. Cheaper and faster memory.
3. Faster CPU.
4. More modern chipset.

I'm only really listing the 5800X as it's the only Ryzen 5000 series chip currently in stock.

Intel option if you must stick with them:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £824.95 (includes shipping: £0.00)

​
PSU wise one of the following would be a good option:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £319.97 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

Pretty limited stock at the moment unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Yeah after posting that I went on the hunt for i9's and they can be picked up for a lot cheaper than the one listed above. The only reason I was going with Intel is because it's what I'm used too.
I had an AMD once and it was a nightmare but in saying that, it was 8+ years ago. I'm sure they have come on leaps and bounds since then so it is probably unfair to still look at them that way.

That Basket you have posted with the AMD looks good for the money. You said you are only listing 5800X as its the only processor currently in stock. Would there be better ones that are out of stock? As I said, I don't know much about AMD. I want to future proof this build the best I can.

Cheers in advance!
 

Gray2233

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The 10700K I listed above is basically the same as the 9900K, both are 8c16t parts which will perform similarly.

Since you only game you could probably get away with the AMD 5600X over the 5800X, but with longevity in mind the 5800X will probably be the better solution.

AMD is faster in just about everything right now, although whether you'd actually notice a difference in gaming between the 5800X and the cheaper 10700K is another matter.
 

Lighter7

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Hello guys,
So finally got round to building my PC. I went with a AMD 5800 and a MSI B500M board.
For some reason I can't get any sort of boot up screen. I've tried everything, took out the 2.0M Drive, removed the GPU, took out some RAM, moved RAM, Flashed the BIOS so that it would be updated for the CPU. Still nothing.....
The VGA LED seems to be on but the odd time it wouldn't light up, even if I haven't changed anything from the time before and it was lit up.
Only thing I can think of is that I am using a HDMI monitor as I haven't got a Display Port cable.. I've just ordered one so will try that when it arrivals but other than that..... I am completely out of ideas.. All advice welcome.

Cheers!
 

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Stick the GPU back in as that CPU has no onboard graphics, and keep troubleshooting. Use just one stick of RAM in the proper slot for one stick, then the other (maybe this is something you've done). And you should really list all the components you ended up getting.
 

VonScar

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Lighter7 said:
Hello guys,
So finally got round to building my PC. I went with a AMD 5800 and a MSI B500M board.
For some reason I can't get any sort of boot up screen. I've tried everything, took out the 2.0M Drive, removed the GPU, took out some RAM, moved RAM, Flashed the BIOS so that it would be updated for the CPU. Still nothing.....
The VGA LED seems to be on but the odd time it wouldn't light up, even if I haven't changed anything from the time before and it was lit up.
Only thing I can think of is that I am using a HDMI monitor as I haven't got a Display Port cable.. I've just ordered one so will try that when it arrivals but other than that..... I am completely out of ideas.. All advice welcome.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Try re-flashing the BIOS.

Test graphics card in another PC.

Get another cable or try another port on monitor/GPU.
 

Lighter7

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Danny75 said:
Stick the GPU back in as that CPU has no onboard graphics, and keep troubleshooting. Use just one stick of RAM in the proper slot for one stick, then the other (maybe this is something you've done). And you should really list all the components you ended up getting.
Click to expand...

Ah I kept the GPU out and just used the HDMI on the motherboard. Would that have never worked then? I will try with the GPU back in. I have tried with taking one stick of RAM out and moving it about, etc.
As for what I have it is as follows:

 

Lighter7

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VonScar said:
Try re-flashing the BIOS.

Test graphics card in another PC.

Get another cable or try another port on monitor/GPU.
Click to expand...

The GPU is brand new but you're right I should double check with another computer.
As for the cables I've used about 3 different HDMI ones but don't own any Display Port cables so ordered one yesterday and will try that when it comes.
It is very frustrating as I can't see why it wouldn't work, I have also tried re-flashing the BIOS and the LED is lighting up as it should to show it is installing.
 

mickyflinn

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Lighter7 said:
The GPU is brand new but you're right I should double check with another computer.
As for the cables I've used about 3 different HDMI ones but don't own any Display Port cables so ordered one yesterday and will try that when it comes.
It is very frustrating as I can't see why it wouldn't work, I have also tried re-flashing the BIOS and the LED is lighting up as it should to show it is installing.
Click to expand...
Check the cpu for bent pins.
 
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