Exploring ways to set up a PC within a £500 budget in the UK
Exploring ways to set up a PC within a £500 budget in the UK
Your budget is too low. Add another 200 or you wont have a chance of building a decent PC.
Intel build:
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU:
Intel Core i3-12100 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor
(£108.99 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard:
ASRock Z690 Extreme ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
(£158.61 @ Amazon UK)
Memory:
G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
(£46.91 @ Amazon UK)
Storage:
Western Digital Green SN350 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
(£53.95 @ AWD-IT)
Video Card:
Zotac GAMING SOLO GeForce RTX 3050 6GB 6 GB Video Card
(£170.99 @ MoreCoCo)
Case:
Phanteks XT PRO ATX Mid Tower Case
(£50.99 @ AWD-IT)
Power Supply:
SeaSonic G12 GC 650 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply
(£71.28 @ CCL Computers)
Total:
£661.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by
PCPartPicker
2024-04-21 22:53 BST+0100
If you buy this motherboard you can upgrade to a 14th gen intel CPU in the future. You can upgrade the graphics card too. There is power.
Don't expect to find a 2070 easily or for a good price. Better take a 3050 or 4060 if buying nvidia. AMD's 6600 is probably the best pick out there.
I wouldn't invest that much in a 3050. The A750 for £180 offers better value than the 3050.
That phanteks case includes just one 120mm fan. You'll likely need more fans, so opting for the RGB version might be wise.
It's accurate to say that spending 700 pounds could yield a well-balanced gaming PC.
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU:
Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor
(£113.97 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard:
ASRock B660M Pro RS Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
(£106.27 @ Amazon UK)
Memory:
Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
(£34.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage:
Silicon Power XS70 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
(£71.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card:
XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Core Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card
(£223.25 @ Amazon UK)
Case:
Deepcool CC560 V2 ATX Mid Tower Case
(£49.99 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply:
SeaSonic FOCUS GX 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
(£86.99 @ AWD-IT)
Overall Cost:
£687.44
Includes shipping, taxes, and available discounts
Created by
PCPartPicker
2024-04-23 08:51 BST+0100
Consensus reached on the worth of the 3050. With a limited budget (ツ)_/¯
I don’t know much about the A750. Does it need special support components like re-bar?
It’s a really solid build.
I’d aim to get the AsRock Extreme—it’s a z690 board and it can handle a 14th gen i9 without any issues, which is great for future upgrades.
A Gen 4 NVMe won’t show much improvement, so I’d skip the extra one there.
I appreciate the power supply; I wasn’t aware FOCUS was so close in price.
Rtx 2070 super (GPU)
MSI B450 Gaming Plus (Motherboard)
Montech X3 mesh (case)
Ryzen 5 3600X (CPU)
Id cooling se-214-XT (CPU cooler)
Kingston NV2 (SSD)
Corsair vengeance LPX (memory)
MSI mag a550bn (power supply)
TP-Link AC600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter (for connecting WiFi to motherboard)
As someone who’s relied on and owned Intel for years, especially on a budget, you’re better off choosing Intel now. I’ve been using AMD PCs since the late 90s.
Don’t misunderstand, their performance is solid—I’ve had a socket AM4 system for years and it worked well.
But AM4 is outdated.
If you opt for a Zen 2 CPU, you’ll be three generations behind as the 5th generation is expected soon. With AM4 you’re limited to Zen 3.
Even if you choose a 12th generation i3, you could later upgrade to a 14th gen i7 or i9 with the right board.
In any case, it’s your decision.
But following some of those who shared their builds would give you better results.
If you stick with the AMD box, go for the Ryzen 3600 (non-X). It comes with a built-in cooler and you won’t have to buy another one separately.