£1500 PC budget, advice needed on best spec

O

Origin800

Member
Hi all,

I posted here a few months prior and was advised to check back at the time for the best build to go for as prices vary quite drastically.

I have an MSI G24C 1080p monitor, looking to upgrade to 1440p next year.

My budget is £1500 realistically. I understand that overall AMD is better currently and doesn't seem to have the same overheating issues either!

Please may I share your wisdom on the best £1500 max gaming PC build I could achieve?

My only caveat is I really want to use the Fractal North Black case. Also I can install Windows 11 myself if that is of help to the price!
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I think for £1500 you have to compromise somewhere. One option is to go for a lower-tier graphics card than is ideal (if you're looking at 1440p, I'd want the 7800XT). Another is to drop down lower than I'd ideally choose on storage. And the final one is to spend an extra £60 and compromise on neither!

It's worth saying that this is an appalling waste of resources if you're sticking with a 1080p display. It would be thoroughly wasted.

This is the "compromise on storage" option as I think that's the easiest upgrade to make, but personally I'd pay an extra £60 to get a 2TB gaming drive.

Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB XFX RADEON™ RX 7800 XT QICK 319 - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,529.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/Tqvz22Vt8n/
 
O

Origin800

Member
Thank you for your detailed breakdown and parts list. It is greatly appreciated and provided a lot of guidance for me.

I have a couple of questions if that's OK:

  • Would the PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler be enough cooling for the CPU or would you recommend I spend more if possible and go for a higher performance cooler?
  • Do you recommend I hold out for £1600-1650 and go for a stronger CPU? Or is this CPU a good balance with the GPU?

Thanks!
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I realise one thing I missed out above was the fact that I've omitted a Windows licence presuming you can transfer it from your old system. If you can't do that you'll have to pay for a new one, adding £100ish.

The CPU will not limit the graphics card in pretty much any modern game except the most CPU intensive ones. It would cost quite a bit more to get a higher tier chip: you'd want one of the X3D ones and that would add £150ish plus also requiring more cooling. Personally I'd be happy with the 7700 and have it in mind that I might do an upgrade in, say, four years time if needed.

The cooler would be fine. Not amazing, but for gaming and with the very efficient 7700 chip, it wouldn't hold you back at all. An upgrade would cost £80ish and I don't think that's really worth it. But if you're doing lots of long, multi-core stuff like video rendering, I'd look at an upgrade.

Hope that all makes sense!
 
PaulKellett620

PaulKellett620

New member
Have you looked at the Black Friday deals? May not be the case you want but PC Spec have a great system for just over £1400 at the mo.
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
PaulKellett620 said:
Have you looked at the Black Friday deals? May not be the case you want but PC Spec have a great system for just over £1400 at the mo.
Click to expand...
Link, please? I'd be sceptical of that: most of the pre-configured systems would work fine, but be limited in terms of longevity and upgradability.
 
O

Origin800

Member
This is my concern also, I had waited until Black Friday to check out the deals but their £1300-£1600 deals seem to lack good hard drives or mobo upgradability
 
T

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
PaulKellett620 said:

PCSPECIALIST - Custom Computers and Laptops Built to Order

PCSpecialist is a manufacturer of high quality custom computers and laptops. Configure your ideal computer in just a few simple steps with a broad range available.
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk
Click to expand...
Thought so.

A DOA CPU on a dead-end platform, with an underpowered & unreliable cooler, on an base-spec motherboard, low-level & underpowered PSU with no suitability/room for upgrades, with a single point of failure large, relatively slow gen3 SSD.

This is why we'd never recommend pre-builts.

We'd rather someone saved a bit longer and put another £200 into their build so that the only upgrade they'd need would be a GPU in 2-3 years time, more storage as they buy more games, or maybe a CPU in 5 years time if they've bought a lower-end of the current generation of CPUs (e.g. swapping a 7600 for a 9800X3D for a 100% FPS boost at 1080p). The pre-built route tends to have you buying a whole new PC every 2-3 years as you realise the PSU is too weak or the motherboard doesn't support a new processor, or only has 2 m.2 slots, etc.
 
Last edited:
Ekans2011

Ekans2011

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Ekans2011

Ekans2011

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
PaulKellett620 said:
Don't shoot the messenger! I'm only going by your £1500 budget :)
Click to expand...
That is the point: with a £1500 budget, you cannot get a well-designed custom gaming PC at current rates.

Purchasing a prebuilt like that is a waste of money because, as @TonyCarter properly stated, it is not upgradeable and will require a complete rebuild within a few years.
 
T

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
stegor said:
This one looks reasonably balanced albeit on an older CPU and slightly over budget.

PCSPECIALIST - Configure the Vector Pro to your ideal requirements.

PCSpecialist is an award-winning manufacturer of high quality custom PCs & Laptops. Configure the Vector Pro to your ideal requirements.
www.pcspecialist.co.uk www.pcspecialist.co.uk
Click to expand...
Better in some ways (case, PSU, platform), but worse in others (RAM speed, smaller SSD, HDD).

Overall: poor cooler for that level of CPU, non-gaming CPU, low-level motherboard, slow RAM, gen 3 SSD, slow HDD for games storage (any recent AAA game requires an SSD).
 
Ekans2011

Ekans2011

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
TonyCarter said:
Better in some ways (case, PSU, platform), but worse in others (RAM speed, smaller SSD, HDD).

Overall: poor cooler for that level of CPU, non-gaming CPU, low-level motherboard, slow RAM, gen 3 SSD, slow HDD for games storage (any recent AAA game requires an SSD).
Click to expand...
I would also mention that it is not cheap: £1649 ;)
 
Ekans2011

Ekans2011

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
stegor said:
There are no cheap systems anymore. A decent build is £2000+ but the OPs budget doesn't run to that.
Click to expand...
I know, I'd never buy a prebuilt like that, especially at that price.

For a similar price (£16 more), this is a better 1080p ''gaming'' interim solution: much better MB, better RAM, better SSD, better cooler (even overkill for the 7700), better warranty. :)

Case
CORSAIR 3500X ARGB TEMPERED GLASS MID-TOWER (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB XFX RADEON™ RX 7700 XT SWFT - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,665.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/NjMRCFEw29/
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
sck451 said:
I think for £1500 you have to compromise somewhere. One option is to go for a lower-tier graphics card than is ideal (if you're looking at 1440p, I'd want the 7800XT). Another is to drop down lower than I'd ideally choose on storage. And the final one is to spend an extra £60 and compromise on neither!

It's worth saying that this is an appalling waste of resources if you're sticking with a 1080p display. It would be thoroughly wasted.

This is the "compromise on storage" option as I think that's the easiest upgrade to make, but personally I'd pay an extra £60 to get a 2TB gaming drive.

Case
FRACTAL NORTH TG GAMING CASE (BLACK)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-5.3GHz/40MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
16GB XFX RADEON™ RX 7800 XT QICK 319 - HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,529.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/Tqvz22Vt8n/
Click to expand...
I'd still recommend this as the best you can do for the budget.
 
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