From console to PC my first build advice please!

[Exquisite]

Hi all,

just a little intro, I gamed a PC years ago back in the day playing MOHAA and the original COD so around 2002/03. Since then I’ve just played consoles (Xbox)
I’m looking to get back to gaming a PC to play mainly FPS games not just AAA’s I’ve seen in the past few weeks games like hell let loose / Squad.

My knowledge isn’t great although I’ve been researching for the past week to get up to speed with the modern tech etc and try and work out what is and isn't really required.

I’m on a budget (Like most people) so I’m trying to get the most bang for my buck getting the best speed/graphics and would like something that’s pretty future proof.

I’ve listed some bits below which I think should be sufficient but would like to try and get the cost down slightly if possible? I’m also not sure where the best place is to buy parts or even one pre built to my spec?

Case: Corsair crystal series 680x
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
CPU cooling: Corsair Hydro H100i RGB
Motherboard: MSI 450 tomahawk max
RAM: 16gb Corsair vengeance pro rgb
Graphics: GeForce RTX 2070 super
PSU: Corsair CV650 650w
SSD: WD black SN750 500gb
HDD: Barracuda 2TB
+ Windows 10

Monitor: AOC CQ32G1 144hz 1ms QHD 1440p

And I’m looking at either a Corsair or Razer mouse/keyboard

Any help or input would be much appreciated to get me on the right path before I fork out on my first proper gaming PC

TIA

 

[The_Arbiter]

Firstly, have you seen the next gen consoles? £30 a month for 100s of games and a 4k console, no further costs.

AMD are due to announce news Oct 8th. Current prices are inflated, the news releases may help, but should help moreso with performance to £ hopefully.
You don't need a CPU cooler unless overclocking on 3600, it'll by all means, but you mention cost saving.
PSU is not a cost saving area, aim for 7yr+ warranty if you want to save money in the long term.
Ditch those drives and just get a 1tb SSD. WD blue 500 is good enough, you won't see a speed decrease. Or smaller SSD.
KB/M are £50 investments together imo. No need for excessive setups for me.
The MB i'd get a b550 for better future proofing, i don't think cost difference is that much.
I have no opinion on other parts due to no knowledge on them.

 

[Exquisite]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, yes Ive been debating just getting an Xbox x When they release as for consoles it’s a massive step ahead....and I think with a 4K monitor they will be awesome. The performance for the cost is amazing.....but I would like to get back to a keyboard and mouse, play some games that aren’t released on console and I’d get the bonus of being able to use it for doing some work bits etc.

So are you saying to ditch the HDD drives totally and just get a 1TB SSD? I mean my Xbox now is 1TB and is constantly full with the likes of COD War zone etc......

And I also don’t require a CPU cooler? On the sites I’ve been using to help build/spec a pc they come with a basic one as standard I just upgraded to the Corsair after reading endless reviews on all the equipment above.

And you also recommend getting a 550 MB, I did do some research on the MB’s and the differences..... TBH it confused me and didn’t really clarify what the Benefits are of a 550 or 570 over a 450

Thanks for you input though I can do some more research and hopefully some more people may be able to help out and point me in the right direction

 

[mickyflinn]

B 550 and x570 offer guaranteed support for zen 3 and come with pcie 4. Although it has been reported b450 motherboards will support zen 3 msi is the only one to confirm this.

Get a 1tb m2 drive and ditch the h100 a decent £30 Cooler will do the job well.

They are some lovely cases half the price of the 680x the difference could be spent to improve your spec.

Windows 10 key can be had for £10.

 

[Jed78]

I think he means unless you plan to overclock your CPU then stick with the stock cooler as you won't benefit from it. SSD are normally a lot quicker than your standard HDD and you would notice the difference

 

[mickyflinn]

I think he means unless you plan to overclock your CPU then stick with the stock cooler as you won't benefit from it. SSD are normally a lot quicker than your standard HDD and you would notice the difference

You can benefit from a better cpu cooler other than overclocking purpose, lower overall temps and less noise which is a big factor to some.

 

[Exquisite]

Thanks,

So ditch the Corsair H100i for a standard fan as I won’t be over clocking. I just see a H100 in someone’s build and it looked pretty cool with the RGB’s i just assumed better fans would be better but now I know they are obviously not necessary

Yes I did look around online for other cases just really liked the 680x maybe cut costs with a cheaper case.

And you all seem to be saying a 1TB SSD so I will change to that.

when you say a Windows 10 key.....do I not need to buy windows 10 (around £100) I can just buy a key??

Anything else to change out.......

Is this build going in the right direction for longevity shouldn’t have to be upgrading stuff anytime soon? And will it give me decent results....the reason I choose the 2070s is because reviews say it can run at 1440 pretty well and it’s the most cost effective some of the bigger cards are £££. Please excuse my lack of knowledge as I said this is all new to me and I’ve learned everything in the past week just reading reviews you tube etc

 

[mickyflinn]

You can just buy a key google it which is basically a number to activate Windows.

You can download a windows 10 put onto a usb drive, then install Windows and use the key you bought t.

If you change your case you could get a 3700x.

2070s is good but there are new gpu com8ng out but it's trying to get one.

 

[Exquisite]

Thanks Micky for all the advice, yes I see the new 3000 series is releasing.....I’m sure for a basic 3070 it’s around £550 minimum, the 2070s is around £400 at the moment so it’s just weighing up the pros and cons.

At the start of the week I walked in PC world and nearly purchased a pre built ************ pc there and then. I thought I better do a little research before I splash out....... A week later I’ve done endless research learned quite a lot and now looking like I’m going to be building my own!

 

[Jed78]

Have fun building. Its great!!

 

[mickyflinn]

Watch videos read up on windows10 install and read the motherboard manual thourally it will walk you threw building your pc.

 

[Exquisite]

Yes just looking online, think I will wait for the 3070....reviews are saying it outperforms the 2080ti and retail should be around £470 which isn’t that much more....I’m also in no mad rush for the PC, I’d rather wait and it be right.

I will deffo look into Windows 10 as that saves me £90 odd quid

My budget is £1800 that’s for PC, monitor, mouse and keyboard as I’m starting from scratch the only thing I already have is a decent desk and gaming chair.

If anybody can recommend a build that is better than what I have done for the budget £1800 please go ahead, any input is greatly appreciated

 

[Jed78]

I reckon that's a great card if you can nab one. If sales from the 3080/3090 are anything to go by, your gonna have to be quick to nab one unless you don't mind waiting a little while. Also don't forget AMD are releasing a card in October which might get you even more value for your cash

 

[The_Arbiter]

Defo wait for AMD's offering and then choose, seeing as you're talking about £1.8k.Sorry my first post was a bit hard to read, i wasn't awake i think

1440p monitors are an expensive area, so budget can be tweaked a lot depending on preferences. 4k is even more costly, but the likes of 5700xt and 2070 can do 4k. Hard to future proof without big monies here. 1080p is value gaming for PC right now, it's why consoles are looking insanely good value.

Equally, an 8 core processor as mentioned will help future proof a lot. Also the B550 as mentioned will have other features helping future proofing also.

The WD Blue 550 SSD is what i meant, you could just get an M2 NVMe one too. Fit and forget.
And again don't cheap out on the PSU. ~£110 should get you something nice/adequate/long lasting.

In regards to filling up a 1tb drive, just buy a new one when that time comes, or delete games. The quality of life improvement on SSD is great. I bought a 3tb HDD for photos etc but no way near filling it and already thinking about retiring it in maybe a year. But you can get a 1tb HDD for pennies anyway if you're desperate later on

 

[Exquisite]

Brilliant thank you,

I think I’m going to hold out see what AMD release and also the 3070 looks good when it releases next month.

Will deffo get a B550 now as well so that will be changed from the 450.

Think I may start buying bits over the next month or so if I see anything for a good price whilst waiting for the releases.

Thanks everybody for your input

 

[The_Arbiter]

The 3080 release was far from not good for people, so you'll want to be on the clock to have any chance of getting one if the 3080 is anything to by. However it is the top dog gaming card, so demand might be tad less for 3070, but i'm purely speculating and most expect a sell out on day one. Have fun with the build

 

[Exquisite]

Hi All,

so I waited for the AMD release info....but I’m still thinking the ryzen 5 3600x for £200 is still worth getting over the Ryzen 5 5600x.....?
Also I will be waiting online eagerly for the 3700 release to snap that up, without that I have no build to get going!
Getting the B550 Tomahawk MB now I think after more time reviewing....unless somebody can recommend a b550 around the £150-170 mark.
And I’ve swapped out the £200 Corsair case for the Corsair icue 4000x or 465x to save £100 to put towards better components.
Also getting the Corsair RM850x PS for longevity

I’ve also already purchased my monitor I actually pre ordered the Samsung Odyssey G5 but it got delayed and I didn’t want to wait so I now have the AOC CQ32G1 which is a 31.5” display 1440p 1ms monitor in preparation for the new pc hopefully if I can a GPU!

Any thoughts mainly on the Ryzen processor?

TIA

 

[The_Arbiter]

You can get a 3600 with Mortar or Tomahawk B550s with MSI cashback. Both boards are decent.
Imo the jump from 6 to 8 core is costly and un needed right away, but will benefit at sub 1440p gaming. Take the cashback and motherboard sales, then upgrade in a year when the 5700x CPU is out and cheap.

 

[Exquisite]

Thanks Arbiter,

that’s pretty much what is thinking, I’ll go with the 3600x just have to get my hands on a GPU or I’m stuffed!

think I will start buying all my components next week, don’t think the are going to reduce or go on sale any time soon and then hopefully the GPU as my last purchase

 

[strocky]

Firstly, have you seen the next gen consoles? £30 a month for 100s of games and a 4k console, no further costs.

AMD are due to announce news Oct 8th. Current prices are inflated, the news releases may help, but should help moreso with performance to £ hopefully.
You don't need a CPU cooler unless overclocking on 3600, it'll by all means, but you mention cost saving.
PSU is not a cost saving area, aim for 7yr+ warranty if you want to save money in the long term.
Ditch those drives and just get a 1tb SSD. WD blue 500 is good enough, you won't see a speed decrease. Or smaller SSD.
KB/M are £50 investments together imo. No need for excessive setups for me.
The MB i'd get a b550 for better future proofing, i don't think cost difference is that much.
I have no opinion on other parts due to no knowledge on them.

£360 a year? Eff that