Suggestions on building a gaming PC

Hello Everyone,

My current PC is already a few years old (4-5). It's a bit of a pain in the *** to use it nowadays. That's why I am
looking around the internet for new hardware to buy, so I can build a gaming PC. I'm not really up to date anymore
with all the new hardware that came out, and now my question is to you guys: Do you guys have any suggestions
in which hardware is really good at the moment? My price range is around 600-800 euro.

If you need more information from me, feel free to ask.

Have a nice day,

Tim a.k.a Musky ~

i5-7600k, 8 gb of DDR4 3200 mhz RAM, 500-650 watt quality brand PSU, Z270 chipset motherboard (MSI, Asus, ASRock, Gigagbyte), AMD Rx9 480 8gb video card, Cryorig H7 CPU cooler, mid tower case , DVD burner.

800 Euros will present some limitations, especially with regard to the video card but the AMD Rx9 480 is the best bang for the buck right now.

You would need to give us some links to vendors you might use for parts purchase if you want us to be more specific. Prices and availability of brands and models vary tremendously from one part of the world to another.

Tell us about your current rig. It could be that just upgrading to a better video card would get you where you want to go. Can you share some specific specs about your current rig?

Hi trents,
First of all, really sorry for the late reply. My current rig, is as I said really old. From what I've read bout my current motherboard, is that its unusable for the current hardware that's available right now.
My current rig has 4gb of RAM, really low amount of hz, current GPU is GTX 650Ti(Which can't run the games I would like to be able play, (Battlefield1, Large MMO's such as Tera/Revelation Online, Blade and Soul)).
The only part of hardware in my current rig that I could 'maybe' use is my XFX 550W PSU. I just want to be sure with my new rig that I can play everything without any problems.
The vendor I would use is: https://www.alternate.nl. Next time u respond, ill get here quicker (got notifications on now).

Tim a.k.a Musky

Still no information about the motherboard and the CPU or the speed of the RAM. RAM amounts can generally be upgraded and so can a video card. I would be skeptical of you trying to build a PC from scratch if your knowledge of what you already have is so sketchy.

Please download and install a free program called CPU-z. Run the program and make some screen captures of the following program tabs: CPU, Motherboard, Memory and SPD. You can crop and save the images with Windows Snipping Tool. Use the built-in forum tool for attaching the images by clicking on the Go Advanced button at the lower right corner of any new post window.

I just put together a very similar setup for another thread, let me link it to you.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/781153-Looking-for-help-building-my-first-PC

Post #3 has the most information, but it is worth it to check out the whole thread for additional information.

This is based on Newegg international shipping site.

800 euros is definitely a tight budget, and we had to opt for the AMD Varient to fit everything with shipping costs considered.

That said, not knowing what you have NOW is problematic. Don't want to sidegrade you if we can avoid it. Better to re-use then buy the same product again!

The thing is, my parents bought this PC for me waaaay back. I've been on a forum before and asked if I could upgrade to 8gb of RAM, and if I can remember correctly, that wasn't possible. But here is the information you asked for.
Thanks for helping me in advance!

Thanks for the pics. Yes, your system is indeed long in the tooth as we say and not up to running modern games. It looks like and Acer mass produced motherboard so there would be no overclocking possible.

Your budget limits will make this challenging.

I would suggest for the video card going with the AMD Rx 480. It's a lot of "bang for the buck."

Then look at the Intel i5 line of CPUs. i5-7500 seems to be best bang for the buck. Stock CPU cooler will be sufficient since you are not overclocking.

Motherboard: Any socket 1151 motherboard with the H or B 2xx chipset: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...07627 600567584 600009017 601276225 601276223

8gb (4x2) DDR4 2300 RAM any brand.

You already have the PSU. Can you use the DVD burner from the existing system?

Case: Any mid tower case will work.

There, that should give you someting to start with and keep you under budget. If budget permits, move up to a 7600k i5 and a socket Z270 motherboard for overclocking. And a good Aftermarket CPU cooler such as the Cryorig H70. The "k" series Intel CPUs are overclockable.

Your turn. Take what has been suggested and make some tentative choices to get back to us with.

My current DVD burner still works fine. I'll use my 550W PSU as u said it would work. I've been checking around the hardware that u suggested and got this.

Case: https://www.alternate.nl/Cooler-Master/Force-500-Behuizing/html/product/1051490?lk=9285
GPU (I'm just not sure what all those differences really are between the same GPU, any simple explanation on what to choose?): https://www.alternate.nl/AMD/Grafische-kaarten/RX-480&utm_source=altactie&s2m_campaign=AMD+Portal
CPU (I could also wait 1/2months, and get the 7600k if that really is a big improvement): https://www.alternate.nl/Intel(R)/C...1-processor/html/product/1305337?event=search / https://www.alternate.nl/Intel(R)/C...1-processor/html/product/1305340?event=search
RAM: https://www.alternate.nl/Corsair/8-GB-DDR4-2400-Kit-Werkgeheugen/html/product/1216655?lk=13789
BOARD: https://www.alternate.nl/html/produ...tel®+H270&filter_14=Intel®+B250#listingResult

So my questions are, is it worth getting the 7600k i5. And why shouldn't I be getting a better GPU for the money that I upgrade my CPU with? The motherboard is still a mystery for me. :S

go for the CHEAPEST RX480 that has 1: an aftermarket cooler, and 2: 8 gigs of vram, "Geheugen" must be 8.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH RAM!! This is for video card access only.

You can get the video card now, slap it in your current setup, and see a significant improvement to performance, and as you said, wait two months to afford the 7600k, because it is worth it.

As for why you don't get a better video card:

In short, you don't need much more power under the video card to play 1080P titles at max settings with a static 60 fps for MOST games.

For your budget, you can't really afford a better one and fit in other parts. the price jumps from 200 euros to 350, then from there to 600. In essence, to get the very best video card, you completely use up your budget for cpu, ram, mobo, and case.

The motherboard is the feature beast under the pc hood. What components are included on the board determines the audio quality experience, Network performance, data access speed of your HDD's/SSD's, hardware compatibilty, among serveral other factors.

Your Motherboard is a direct limiter of how hard you can push components out of spec(or overclocking) and at what point things become unstable.

In short, its the veins in your body. The CPU is the brain, The GPU the heart. HDD/SSD's are the stomaches, Ram is the lungs.

You made some good choices, Musky but I would have you consider the fact that unless you get a Z270 chipset motherboard you will not be able to overclock that 7600k. The "H" and "B" motherboards do no have overclocking features in bios.

And what about storage? Will you be using your current hard drive? I assume it has Windows 10 on it. Be aware that if you change the motherboard you will likely need to contact Microsoft in order to reactivate the OS.

I would download and install Crystaldiskinfo. Run the program to check the SMART drive info to make sure the drive is okay. It's several years old now and I would not trust it without checking it. On Crystaldiskinfo, if the color is all blue you are okay.

Prices change alot depending on where you live . For some people the 1060 is a better deal ( I would buy over the 480 any way they trade blows as well win in the games I play and I prefer team green )

I would not be buying any cards my self until vega comes out to see how the market changes .
If you can't wait I would do what was suggested get the card now ( you might be suprised BF1 scales very well ) and save for the rest .

||Console|| said:

Prices change alot depending on where you live . For some people the 1060 is a better deal ( I would buy over the 480 any way they trade blows as well win in the games I play and I prefer team green )

Click to expand...

1060 has one major drawback.(for me)

NO sli capability

RX480 can be put into Crossfire.

So in that regard, if you plan to add another card down the line, a 1060 is incapable of sli, makes the rx480 a clear winner.

I plan to add a second RX480 next month; unless the rx580 is about equal to the crossfire 480

The SLI/Crossfire argument is only valid if OP goes with a motherboard that has that capability.

Thanks for all the clarification! I really don't like my current rig so by putting a new GPU in it, wouldn't really help I think. It's way too slow and I rather wait for a bit more money and build a new one instantly. I've been looking around once more and chose these 2 for my GPU and board(the rest I kept the same):
https://www.alternate.nl/MSI/Radeon-RX-480-ARMOR-8G-OC-Grafische-kaart/html/product/1320440?lk=20613
https://www.alternate.nl/MSI/Z270-SLI-PLUS-socket-1151-moederbord/html/product/1312238?lk=13657

I will download Crystaldiskinfo to check if my current HDD is still fine when I'll get home. Otherwise I would have to buy a new one, but luckily they're pretty cheap. The windows 10 scenario might be tricky,
because I think its cracked on my current hdd... Another question is, can I buy a SSD like a few months later if I would still want one? And is it easy to move windows to it?

Musky~

Musky said:

Thanks for all the clarification! I really don't like my current rig so by putting a new GPU in it, wouldn't really help I think. It's way too slow and I rather wait for a bit more money and build a new one instantly. I've been looking around once more and chose these 2 for my GPU and board(the rest I kept the same):
https://www.alternate.nl/MSI/Radeon-RX-480-ARMOR-8G-OC-Grafische-kaart/html/product/1320440?lk=20613
https://www.alternate.nl/MSI/Z270-SLI-PLUS-socket-1151-moederbord/html/product/1312238?lk=13657

I will download Crystaldiskinfo to check if my current HDD is still fine when I'll get home. Otherwise I would have to buy a new one, but luckily they're pretty cheap. The windows 10 scenario might be tricky,
because I think its cracked on my current hdd... Another question is, can I buy a SSD like a few months later if I would still want one? And is it easy to move windows to it?

Musky~

Click to expand...

You can clone it but clean install to it is recommended.

Yes, a clean install of Windows is definitely the way to go. Once Windows 10 is activated on a computer you can reinstall it without having to pay for a new license. If you don't have the install media you can make one using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15088/windows-create-installation-media. Put it on flash drive of 8gb or larger. If you suspect your current system has brokenness in Windows I would do that now.

However, there is a potential issue with reactivation when you switch motherboards. And if you are building an entirely new computer, ethically, you should purchase a new copy. You can get the "Builders Edition" of Windows 10 that are less expensive than retail versions. The builders edition is aimed at system builders who don't care about fancy packaging and owner's manuals and who just need the "Home" version of windows instead of the pro version.

Your choice of motherboard and video card look good to me. My only concern with he motherboard is that it looks like there is a tall pyramid-shaped south bridge heat sink that could interfere with a second video card should you decide to go Crossfire X. But none of the reviewers on NewEgg complain about that so maybe it's just the angle of the photograph.

And by the way, there is no reason you cannot use the new video card in your current rig if it will fit in the case. It would give you a big boost in gaming by itself.

Musky said:

Thanks for all the clarification! I really don't like my current rig so by putting a new GPU in it, wouldn't really help I think. It's way too slow and I rather wait for a bit more money and build a new one instantly. I've been looking around once more and chose these 2 for my GPU and board(the rest I kept the same):
https://www.alternate.nl/MSI/Radeon-RX-480-ARMOR-8G-OC-Grafische-kaart/html/product/1320440?lk=20613
https://www.alternate.nl/MSI/Z270-SLI-PLUS-socket-1151-moederbord/html/product/1312238?lk=13657

I will download Crystaldiskinfo to check if my current HDD is still fine when I'll get home. Otherwise I would have to buy a new one, but luckily they're pretty cheap. The windows 10 scenario might be tricky,
because I think its cracked on my current hdd... Another question is, can I buy a SSD like a few months later if I would still want one? And is it easy to move windows to it?

Musky~

Click to expand...

You really underestimate the power of the video card.

There is no reason not to use the video card you are going to buy anyways as you build out your pc.

In fact, its good to test hardware like video cards to ensure it isnt DOA. This way you can eliminate potential issues when your going though first boot.

Even with your "long in the tooth" hardware, you will see a SIGNIFICANT performance boost by slapping the new video card in. I'm willing to bet its over 100% faster than your current video card, as my old GTX 770 from 2013 was around 50% slower than it.

I'm planning on buying the GPU next week, to ensure it isn't DOA as "Suppressor1137" mentioned. Can you guys check once more, if the following components work together and are fine like this. So I
can buy whenever I have the money. (--The PSU is a 550W Silver XFX--)


Musky~

I would change that CPU cooler to the Cryorg H7 which should fit in that case and give much better cooling power. The cooler you chose is only a 92mm fan-based unit. It is smaller and lighter than the H7. It would be okay for cooling the CPU at stock frequencies and voltages but if you ever want to overclock the CPU it will be inadequate.

Other than that, the parts you have chose should all work together just fine.

"I'm planning on buying the GPU next week, to ensure it isn't DOA as "Suppressor1137" mentioned." What does that have to do with waiting until next week to purchase the video card? Please explain. Both Supressor and I were saying that is the first component we recommend purchasing because it would give an immediate performance boost to your existing system ("You underestimate the power of the GPU.). You already have a working system so the best way to test the new video card is to plug it into a system you already know is working. Most games (not all) rely more on the GPU for good frame rate than they do the CPU/memory.

One simple explanation, I get money next week lol. Only reason tbh I see other people having PSU's with 700W etc, are u guys sure a 550W PSU is enough?