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Gaming PC - £700 Budget, what should i get?

Pyroman

By Pyroman
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tmcd35

tmcd35

Posted
Posted
Just buy a PS4! ;D

 

Funnily enough I was just thinking the same. For pure gaming use I not convinced the spec is far enough above PS4 to make the price and build hassle worth while. Suppose it depends on what type of games the OP wants to play...

sonofsanta

sonofsanta

Posted
Posted
Just buy a PS4! ;D

 

Funnily enough I was just thinking the same. For pure gaming use I not convinced the spec is far enough above PS4 to make the price and build hassle worth while. Suppose it depends on what type of games the OP wants to play...

 

To quote: "Also it'll be used for general internet stuff and bits of photoshop / video editing"

 

PLus, y'know, master race and all that jazz ;)

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L3OUGH

L3OUGH

Posted
Posted
Funnily enough I was just thinking the same. For pure gaming use I not convinced the spec is far enough above PS4 to make the price and build hassle worth while. Suppose it depends on what type of games the OP wants to play...

 

Considering the PS4 has a custom APU which combines an 8 Core CPU and Radeon's HD 7850 GPU and 8GB of RAM. That isn't far off the specs you've been discussing.... So if it was for just gaming, get a PS4.

 

I'll just leave this here:

 

Can you build a gaming PC better than the PS4 for $400? | ExtremeTech

tmcd35

tmcd35

Posted
Posted
Considering the PS4 has a custom APU which combines an 8 Core CPU and Radeon's HD 7850 GPU and 8GB of RAM. That isn't far off the specs you've been discussing.... So if it was for just gaming, get a PS4.

 

Lol, which is all I was saying.

 

I'd be tempted with a PS4+£350 laptop. Either that or save/beg/steal/borrow £3-400 more for the PC and do the job properly (again - depending on games wanting to be played) ;)

 

 

Aw, bless. At least he tried. Even with the epic disclaimer at the start it couldn't save him from the fail. Celeron, really? God, if it wouldn't totally derail this thread I'd happily pick his $400 dollar machine to shreds...

L3OUGH

L3OUGH

Posted
Posted
Lol, which is all I was saying.

 

I'd be tempted with a PS4+£350 laptop. Either that or save/beg/steal/borrow £3-400 more for the PC and do the job properly (again - depending on games wanting to be played) ;)

 

Aw, bless. At least he tried. Even with the epic disclaimer at the start it couldn't save him from the fail. Celeron, really? God, if it wouldn't totally derail this thread I'd happily pick his $400 dollar machine to shreds...

 

 

Definitely an interesting read I thought. I'd do the same, PS4 and a laptop. :)

chazzy2501

chazzy2501

Posted
Posted (edited)

errr, you save on the purchase on the PS4 but by the time you've bought 4 £60 games that'll disappear.

 

I just bought Bioshock3, deadislandriptide,400 days and maxpayne3 for lessthan £20 this weekend!

 

steammmmmm

Edited by chazzy2501
Pyroman

Pyroman

Posted
  • Author
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I'd debated the PS4 option but i want ot be able to play newer games as well as revisit the classics so i'll be getting steam, also i want to use it for general computer usage, for an IT bloke i know this is a weird concept but i don't actually own a computer. There's a bit more left in the budget but that may well be spent on a laptop next year.
tmcd35

tmcd35

Posted
Posted
Well, if you don't already have a PC then don't forget to factor in Windows, optical drive, keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers and gamepad. A good £200 on top of the price there.
tmcd35

tmcd35

Posted
Posted

 

Fine if you don't want any games to play;)

 

Seriously I'm very interested in Steam, might even be my next console, but Valve have a lot to prove (AAA) first. Not a contender for a good 2-3 years yet IMHO.

 

That's so last decade! ;)

 

Until you want to install that OEM Windows disc you bought for your new self build - very this decade ;)

Arthur

Arthur

Posted
Posted
Not a contender for a good 2-3 years yet IMHO.

You're probably right. I doubt I'll be an early adopter either.

 

Until you want to install that OEM Windows disc you bought for your new self build

My Windows license was downloaded digitally and then installed using a USB flash drive. Very futuristic! :D

3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted

FM2 wise, I've used Gigabyte boards with solid caps, very impressed. On FM2+ there's a decent looking A88X Gigabyte model here that I plan to use, but I haven't tested that particular model yet.

 

As for PS4 vs PC - hmmm. It's a powerful console no doubt, and a lovely piece of kit. I'd like one at some point, but a PC is such a different beast. Remember that the APU on board the PS4 is a heavily customised design - low clocked CPU, very fast RAM, decent graphics cores. You can totally eat it spec wise with a mid range PC though - just look at how a 7850 squares up against the newest range of cards from Nvidia and AMD to see that. Plus, the price of games on PC makes a massive difference (I just bought Dishonored, Bioshock Infinite and CS:GO for £12.79) and some genres don't work so well on consoles. The gaming PC has its place alongside a console IMO.

tmcd35

tmcd35

Posted
Posted
My Windows license was downloaded digitally and then installed using a USB flash drive. Very futuristic! :D

 

I've got to ask (and am going to regret this, but), If I don't already own a PC, how am I meant to download Windows onto a USB flash drive?

 

Chicken and egg...

tmcd35

tmcd35

Posted
Posted
So now i've just confused myself by looking at threads on overclockers uk. =S

 

What you go and do that for? aren't we doing a good enough job of confusing you here?

Arthur

Arthur

Posted
Posted
If I don't already own a PC, how am I meant to download Windows onto a USB flash drive?

I find it difficult to believe that someone who is building their own PC would not have easy access to another computer at work or a friends/relatives house. PCs are everywhere.

 

If you own an Android smartphone or tablet, you could even boot your Windows ISO from that using an app called DriveDroid (although this would require some forward-planning).

 

So now i've just confused myself by looking at threads on overclockers uk.

One thing I think we can all agree on is that Overclockers is quite expensive. ;)

Pyroman

Pyroman

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What you go and do that for? aren't we doing a good enough job of confusing you here?

 

Haha! =D I can't make up my mind betweenthe AMD and Intel options, i think it's a case of "oh but if i just spend a bit more" and also i know as far as gaming rigs go £700 isn't a masiive ammount of money but in real life it's a fair whack of money and i want something that'll do me for a good few years.

flyinghaggis

flyinghaggis

Posted
Posted
Haha! =D I can't make up my mind betweenthe AMD and Intel options, i think it's a case of "oh but if i just spend a bit more" and also i know as far as gaming rigs go £700 isn't a masiive ammount of money but in real life it's a fair whack of money and i want something that'll do me for a good few years.

 

This is always the problem with 'gaming rigs'! You're never done spending money tweaking and upgrading them. At least with a PS4/XB1 you know you spend £400 buying the thing then you're set for the next 5 years. If you buy a gaming PC now for £700 it'll almost certainly need a new video card to keep up in another 2-3 years time!

 

Intel CPU's FTW by the way!

SHimmer45

SHimmer45

Posted
Posted
In the budget your spending Intel is going to be the way to go, as others have said the FX line is dead in the water, the FM2 platform was never intended to compete with in anything more than the budget to mid range. Unless AMD completely change their thinking they are leaving Intel to making the uber performance x86 chips.
sonofsanta

sonofsanta

Posted
Posted

Saying "get i5 because the FM2 platform has no upgrade path" is a bit disingenous though, because Intel chips are very rarely drop-in upgrades for older boards. A new gen of CPUs is almost always a new socket.

 

Honestly, for gaming my preference is to put massive emphasis on the GPU, as that's the key component for performance; CPU helps, yes, but not as much as bumping up a tier on the GPU. Unless you're Photoshopping all day every day, I'm not sure the seconds an i5 would save you on running heavy filters will make a big difference to your life.

 

Don't get me wrong, in an ideal build it'd be i5 all the way, but at £700 you have to make compromises and decisions, and for a build-once-never-upgrade I'd rather spend on the GPU. That said, if you do want to be able to upgrade in 4-5 years, it's a lot easier getting a new GPU than a new CPU, so in that regard a solid foundation of i5 will stand you in better stead. You gotta make your choice :) (and I gotta do some work at some point, seriously)

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