Building my first Pc. With no experience at all!

[Jimmy-]

Hello all.
So I'll quickly start with why I'm here. I needed a new pc as my Toshiba laptop has been dying for a year now.
Deciding that pre-made pc's are not good value for money, I'd build my own.

So far I have bought:
Thermaltake View 27 case
Corsair CX450 psu
Gigabyte - 990x Gaming SLI Motherboard
AMD FX-6300 six core CPU
3x Cooler master 2000 rpm fans
My budget isn't high as I only really need the pc for casual gaming and doing some standard work on. But as it has a big side view window, it'd be nice for it to look good.
My problem now is, what memory will I need thats not just a waste of money? What GPU will I need to be a casual gamer? And what OS as Microsoft want to rob me of £100 for the privilege of using windows 10.

Any help or friendly advice would be a massive help, as I feel I may be over my head with some things.
Thanks

 

[Tír na nÓg]

Forget about the FX, it's old gen and was already meh at launch 5 years ago.

If you are budget limited, go for Amd Ryzen 5 1400 ($150, cooler included), b350 motherboard Asrock pro4 ($90), 2x8 gb DDR4 Ripjaw ($150 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...m_re=gskill_ripjaw_2x8-_-20-231-977-_-Product), GPU, go with either a Nvidia 1060 6GB or an AMD Radeon 580 8GB.

 

[Jimmy-]

I have already bought the components mentioned.
Those GPU's are £200 - £270 cards. That is way way more than I need and can afford.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

a rx 470 or a gtx 1050/1050ti.

the used market could have been a possibility, but your PSU might not cut it for a 7970/280x.

Edit:

A gtx 970 used would do (150W).

Wil you overclock the CPU?

And may I ask why you went with FX and not Ryzen?

Edit 2:

For the memory, 2x8GB of the cheapest 1866MHz DDR3 memory you find will do (Gskill is my brand of choice though...).

 

[Jimmy-]

No, no need to overclock to be honest.
It is only meant to be a good looking build that functions at playing games to a reasonable level. I won't need it to be smashing out overwatch on ultra 100fps.....
The processor was on offer at the time and I didn't want to buy one 2nd hand. I may well go up if I find it being really bad. It kind of matched my budget at the time of buying a motherboard (which was also on an offer)

 

[trents]

How much can you spend (or how much do you want to spend) on the video card? Now is a terrible time to be buying mid range graphics cards because the bit coin miners have driven the prices up. When the bit coin mining market takes a down turn the prices will go back down.

Also, where do you buy from? Can you link a vendor for us?

How much can you buy a 750 Ti 4gb for where you are? I'm seeing the price of those come back down to earth more recently in the US and they have a little pop to them so as to be adequate for moderate gaming if details aren't set too high. It would be a good match for you CPU which will be the bottleneck in a lot of games.

You have chosen a CPU with no integrated GPU so you are kind of in a bind and need to get a video card of some kine real quick to be able to use the computer.

 

[Jimmy-]

I've been buying from Ebuyer.com - Maplin.co.uk - and some small local shops.
I don't know about a budget yet. The graphics card doesn't need to be amazing as I won't need to stream games or worry about higher frame rates.
So I could probably go for a low/middle range card then right?

A 750 ti 4gb would be probably ebay as it's a discontinued card. So about £130 - £170 maybe

 

[Tír na nÓg]

Have a look at those charts, they will help you on the GPU choice
https://www.techspot.com/review/1180-overwatch-benchmarks/page2.html
Found this one:
https://london.craigslist.co.uk/sop/d/evga-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050/6300464691.html

 

[trents]

I've been buying from Ebuyer.com - Maplin.co.uk - and some small local shops.
I don't know about a budget yet. The graphics card doesn't need to be amazing as I won't need to stream games or worry about higher frame rates.
So I could probably go for a low/middle range card then right?

A 750 ti 4gb would be probably ebay as it's a discontinued card. So about £130 - £170 maybe

No, the 750Ti is not a discontinued product. They are still being manufactured and sold new. Saw one the other day on NewEgg for $125 US. But ebay is another option.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

The 1050ti sells new for £130 to £150 in the UK. I think it is a much better choice than a 750ti for 100'ish Pounds.

Edit: Surpised they still manufacture the 750ti

Edit 2: 1050 ti EVGA
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/evga...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-30q-ea.html

 

[trents]

My apologies! I was thinking 1050Ti and typed 750Ti. Yes, the 1050 Ti 4gb would be a good option for you I believe.

 

[Daleon]

If the cpu\mb are still un-opened I would highly consider returning them. I know the prices slashed on that stuff recently but its bc its crap. How much was it on sale?
I'd highly recommend going with one of these:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd...ache-65w-cpu-retailplus-wraith-stealth-cooler
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/int...hread-36ghz-6mb-cache-1100mhz-gpu-65w-cpu-box

If you go Intel you can use the onboard video for a little while. It will do some casual gaming. Buying out of date stuff that wasn't any good when it was new is never a good idea. Those old AMD boards were often nightmares and if you have problems with it now your up a creek.

 

[NiHaoMike]

I suggest some Linux distro for the OS. Ubuntu/Kubuntu used to be the recommendation for beginners but now some are suggesting Linux Mint instead.

 

[trents]

You can also get OEM product keys for Windows 10 pro for around $35 US from places like this: https://www.kinguin.net/category/19429/windows-10-professional-oem-key/.

 

[Richo999]

Been looking into the same thing for a mate recently who had the same "issue". Stay away from the FX and get a ryzen instead since the AM4 socket will be supported upto 2019 so upgrading in the mean time is no problem.
Memory 8 GB is the bare mininum imo, and alot of people are now upgrading their 8 Gb to 16 Gb or more so there are options for used, same goes for a GPU a 1050 TI or 1060 used or new should suffice (a 970 used is also a option). On the psu side I would advice getting a Corsair CM550X (high quality build for a very good price) otherwise check for a used Seasonic G-series (these are great quality and could be cheap used, and semi modular). if you have windows 7 you can use this for key for upgrading to windows 10 (yes its still possible last time i check this year)

 

[caddi daddi]

the issue is weather he can return them or not, we need an answer to that first and what's the total budget, does he have a mouse, keyboard and monitor, what resolution monitor?
the fx is not total crap, it is usable, and I should know, I have a few of the around.........

 

[Tír na nÓg]

If he can't, it is no big deal either... It will work with a 1050 ti.

Best would be to return and swap, but if not an option. It is still a decent gaming platform, as soon as it is overclocked to 4.5GHz (formality with a 212...).

 

[caddi daddi]

4.5 is all he needs, and a 212 will get him there with ease, I really don't see any issues either way and I can agree on 16 gigs of ram, in gtaV I see my system ram usage well over 13 gigs, but for a budget rig 8 gigs will still do if we avoid mods, hair stuff and ultra high graphics settings and 30-60 fps is playable and nice.

 

[Nebulous]

Yup. 4.5Ghz rock steady, 16gb of ram and a 1050ti will do justice for what he needs including some late night gaming with decent framerates.

 

[Jimmy-]

Apologies for late reply.
As luck would have it, the mobo I was sent out had components missing. So both mobo and cpu went back.
I will only be playing casual games. Not too fussed about high fps or high settings.
Have picked up a GTX 750ti that should suffice.