Solid base for future expansion

I

iSticks

Member
Looking at the below as a decent build for under £1000 with the intention of future upgrades if/when the GPU price ever comes down. 1650 should be enough for me now, I'm just a casual gamer and mostly play simulation and strategy types.

Not too clued up on hardware, does this mesh and is there anything that will prevent easy future changes?

Thanks in advance :)

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-10600KF (4.1 GHz) 12 MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B560 HD3 (rev. 1.0) : LGA1200, DDR4, USB 3.2, PCIe 4.0
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
1TB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 470MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W CV SERIES™ CV-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 120 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 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
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £987.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-home-office-pc-III/b4dn3EG!ja/
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Give this a good read, especially AMD v intel.

As for the above build, it has slow memory, low wattage PSU, out of date Wi-Fi card & is definitely NOT a solid base fore future expansion
 
JUNI0R

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Martinr36 said:
has slow memory
Click to expand...
This actually has much less of an effect on Intel than AMD. But I agree in essence, lot of areas that could be improved.

@iSticks The only other bit of info we need is the monitor you're currently using (either make and model or resolution and refresh rate would be ideal). Then we'd be able to sort you out with a nice spec
 
I

iSticks

Member
Apologies, jumped straight in with two feet before I read the advisory post.

I currently just use two cheap iiyama monitors as they are primarily for work.

IIYAMA PROLITE XU2294HSU-B1 22' FULL HD LCD MONITORS.​


Just looking for a PC that can play games with half decent graphics. I’m not a perfectionist and don’t need the best, just better than my current system:

Processor: Intel Core i3-6100 Skylake CPU, 2 Cores, 3.7GHz
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 - Black
CPU Cooler: Intel Stock CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASUS H110M-A/M.2 Motherboard
Memory: 8GB DDR4 2133MHz Memory (2 x 4GB Sticks)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Graphics Card
OS Drive: 2TB Seagate 7200rpm Hard Disk
Power Supply: Aerocool 80 PLUS 500W PSU
Sound Card: Onboard High Definition Audio
Wireless Networking: ASUS 802.11 WiFi card
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
 
JUNI0R

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
iSticks said:
Apologies, jumped straight in with two feet before I read the advisory post.

I currently just use two cheap iiyama monitors as they are primarily for work.

IIYAMA PROLITE XU2294HSU-B1 22' FULL HD LCD MONITORS.​


Just looking for a PC that can play games with half decent graphics. I’m not a perfectionist and don’t need the best, just better than my current system:

Processor: Intel Core i3-6100 Skylake CPU, 2 Cores, 3.7GHz
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 - Black
CPU Cooler: Intel Stock CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASUS H110M-A/M.2 Motherboard
Memory: 8GB DDR4 2133MHz Memory (2 x 4GB Sticks)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Graphics Card
OS Drive: 2TB Seagate 7200rpm Hard Disk
Power Supply: Aerocool 80 PLUS 500W PSU
Sound Card: Onboard High Definition Audio
Wireless Networking: ASUS 802.11 WiFi card
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Click to expand...
If you can make the extra stretch, this would be a very solid base. The other option is to go for an integrated graphics build which won't perform as well but would only cost about £850-900

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE Fantastic budget airflow case, also has RGB if that's your thing
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4) Solid gaming CPU
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready! Great mid tier motherboard- good pairing with the 5600X and would allow a CPU upgrade
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB) For a gaming only build 16GB will be more than enough and AMD loves fast RAM
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI An old card, but should be enough to handle some less demanding games at 1080p 60fps
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW) Single super fast storage drive to get you going. You could add a 500GB SSD boot drive or your 2TB HDD if you're lacking space
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Overspecced for this spec but will happily allow for future upgrades (all the way to a 3070 happily or 80 if you wanted to push it)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER Stock cooler will be fine
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0 No brainer if you need WiFi
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002] I'd stick to Windows 10 for now
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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) Well worth the £5
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £1,076.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/MHY7yPgveF/
 
JUNI0R

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Oh, and remove Bullguard Anti-Virus 😂 it's known to cause system instability and reductions in performance when Windows Defender is just as good and doesn't do any of that
 
I

iSticks

Member
Thanks.

I had read that Intel was currently the better option but I guess that is with the latest gen rather than 10th. As for the memory I had selected, it was the best option available on the selector for some reason.

The above looks good, guess I'll have to fork up the extra £100 haha. I started looking with a £600-£700 budget to begin with, it escalates quickly...

Edit: if AMD loves fast memory so much, would it be work the extra £11 to get the 3600MHz instead?
 
JUNI0R

JUNI0R

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
iSticks said:
Thanks.

I had read that Intel was currently the better option but I guess that is with the latest gen rather than 10th. As for the memory I had selected, it was the best option available on the selector for some reason.

The above looks good, guess I'll have to fork up the extra £100 haha. I started looking with a £600-£700 budget to begin with, it escalates quickly...
Click to expand...
Performance wise 12th gen has re-taken the lead although it's more expensive than Ryzen 5000 so I don't think it would fit in your budget unless you went with an APU build.

I'd imagine you were using the home/office configurator which only allows for 2666mhz RAM.

It always does 😂 can always spend a bit here and a bit there all of a sudden you're double the budget ;)
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
iSticks said:
Edit: if AMD loves fast memory so much, would it be work the extra £11 to get the 3600MHz instead?
Click to expand...
Due to the latency of the 3600Hz that PCS supply then no it isn't worth it for gaming

Latency of the 3200 is 16 and 18 for the 3600
 
I

iSticks

Member
Sorry to post a link to another supplier but I saw this tonight, how is this so cheap? Am I missing something?

*Link removed - AgentCooper*
 
Last edited by a moderator:
S

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
iSticks said:
Sorry to post a link to another supplier but I saw this tonight, how is this so cheap? Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
We can't really talk about competitor builds but look closer at the specs, this isn't cheap for what your getting
 
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