Project Reality Forums

Or just slightly over is ok.

Its that time again to get a brand new PC but to be honest I have no idea what is good and what isn't these days.

The obvious thing would be to go to a leading brand company and buy from them but I really don't want to be paying for a less powerful PC that has an alien wire sticker on it when I can get a better one for half the price.

Most in my price range seem to be from the AMD and Radion angle.I have a deep distrust of those since they always seem to have trouble with one game or another and I've never had any hardware issue's with the Intel and Geforce side of things.But they are more cost effective grrr such hard choices.

Any recommendations are very much appreciated.

This is one I got my eye on but I have no idea if that is the best I can get for the money.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/VIBOX-Retaliator-Performance-Piledriver-Multimedia/dp/B00D2YNT22/ref=sr_1_81?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1387958383&sr=1-81&keywords=gaming+desktops

Is that even good for the price?

O and also Cyberpower do you get what you pay for or do they slap a few hundred on because Cyberpower?

I know you said pre-made, but I'm going to try to convince you to go the other way. I screwed around on PCPartPicker for a couple of minutes and came up with this, which (at first glance, anyways - get some experts to look it over) will outperform that pre-made computer at a lower price. Has Intel and Nvidia processors, too.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (?155.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI H87-G43 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (?74.21 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (?59.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (?42.00 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card (?191.98 @ Dabs)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (?47.98 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (?39.92 @ Scan.co.uk)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) (?87.83 @ Amazon UK)
Total: ?699.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-25 09:57 GMT+0000)

As a non-techy guy who started out completely daunted by the prospect of building a gaming computer a couple months ago and now has a new and running self-assembled PC playing Battlefield 4 at max settings without even breaking a sweat, I really can't recommend building your own computer enough. It's actually pretty intuitive and will save you money. You'll also learn a lot.

I really have no idea about building electronics..It also requires space and time which I also don't have.The thought of breaking something or not doing something right and have alot of money (for me) go up the spout is a risk I'd rather not take tbh.

Thanx for the effort anyway though.

To be honest, if I were you and being on a budget, I would heavily reconsider going to someone else for a custom PC.

I built my current set-up with almost no previous experience concerning hardware and in the end it took me about an hour and a half to put everything together, admittedly it didn't boot when i first pressed on the 'ON' button but that's only because i never plugged the cable into the wall.

My advice would be to watch a few videos on YouTube and find a video for each component you're planning to install. The trickiest task to complete is usually the motherboard, but you will most likely be able to find an installation video for your motherboard which will show you where to connect wires etc. The rest is quite simple which is usually just screwing things into the case, power supply, graphics card etc.

However if you're really not into the whole 'build your own' thing, I would suggest that maybe a friend or relative that you know may be able to put it together for you.

My final word to you would to definitely keep in mind the option of a custom self built PC, not for only the amount of money you'll save (and its a fair bit), but also its a good learning experience. Thus in the future, when something breaks down or you need to upgrade, you'll have the experience to replace single parts, as opposed to rely on some glorified tosser at a PC mart to build you shiny hunk of junk.

All pre-build PC's are overpriced or have useless "over the top hardcore gamer extra's"
Alienware stuff comes with a great costumer service, hence the price. My friend received a next generation laptop (with 780m) because his old one broke twice.


It's not hard to build a computer, as long as it's not a mini-ITX system where cable-management is a b*tch. Although, I see some problems coming when talking about mounting the CPU-fan, applying thermal paste, etc..

Anyway, a lot of internet stores also have the service to build you a computer.
You can get an excellent gaming system for 700 pounds (if choosing for AMD, which has better support for Battlefield games).

They don't charge much for building one (from 20 pounds up to 70), some even don't charge anything at all.


pcspecialist is a good one imo.
http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers ... p-spec-pc/


Just ask for suggestions of other people for what parts to choose. I'll upload my own build for you.

This, for example, can handle BF3 and BF4 without a problem.

It comes to a price of 556,00 pounds inc VAT (delivery in my case is set to Belgium)

They build it for you: "Build time 9 to 11 days."

You still have 150 pounds for a harddrive, CPU or Graphics Card upgrade (or buying a legit Windows copy )

Processor (CPU)
AMD FX-6350 Six Core CPU (4.2/3.9GHZ - 8MB CACHE/AM3+)

Motherboard
ASUS? M5A97 LE R2.0 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s)

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ R9 270 - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX? 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE

Trooper909, the following advice is somewhat sexist and racist, but

16 year old Chinese peasant girls with less than a year 8 education can build 10 to 14 PCs PER HOUR, every hour for a 10 to 14 hour shift. 6 or 7 days a week.

And... the software to hardware interfacing issues you'd face in a build your own PC are the same problems you'll face with a prebuilt once you plug either of them into a power outlet.

That being said, you might just find a system where the 'stupid tax' for prebuilts is not prohibitive as we're in the holiday season. My suggestion would to be ready to buy a open box return in the next 2 weeks, and to find online retailers or local big box electronics stores who will be flooded with holiday returns.

And listen to Careless advice about finding a UK speciality shop which will build a semi-custom system for almost no additional cost. Those shops make their profits by buying components in bulk discounts, and the system building service is their unique selling point to compete against Dell/HP/Gateway etc.

Use this website to price out parts:

Pick Parts, Build Your PC, Compare and Share - PCPartPicker United Kingdom

Intel Core i5-4670K, EVGA GeForce GTX 660, Zalman Z5 Plus - System Build - PCPartPicker United Kingdom

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (?171.94 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (?23.90 @ Ebuyer)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver Ceramique 2 Tri-Linear 2.7g Thermal Paste (?6.66 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (?99.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (?49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (?59.98 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (?147.77 @ Dabs)
Case: Zalman Z5 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (?38.96 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (?46.59 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (?11.98 @ Ebuyer)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (?72.16 @ CCL Computers)
Total: ?729.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-25 18:33 GMT+0000)


If you have a decent hard drive, you can swap it over.
If you have a SATA DVD drive, you can swap it over.
If you have a decent power supply, tell us the make and model number, we can give advice on swapping it over.
If you have a retail copy of Windows that is not a OEM version, you can swap it over.
You can find Windows 7 online price for less than from this website, especially if buying US$ or CA$ dollars.
If you have a decent PC case, you can reuse it.

And as always, check local retailers for holiday discount, combo deals etc for components.

Tried this again - (I find monkeying around on PCPartPicker actually kind of pleasant). Got you a Radeon 280X

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (?127.49 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (?70.11 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (?60.62 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (?36.00 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card (?225.60 @ Dabs)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (?47.98 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (?46.59 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) (?86.52 @ Amazon UK)
Total: ?700.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-26 11:05 GMT+0000)

Hhmm.. never thought of putting an Intel CPU into a budget system.


The AMD graphics card should help a lot in Battlefield games though. The 660 is now an uper-mid-tier card while the 280x is a high-tier card with very good support for Battlefield.

Eitherway you could cheap out on the case and save a lot of money by following LITOralis' tips. If you already have decent hard drives and a good power supply (I would go with a new one though) you can save some money. Money that can be used for a better CPU or cooling, etc.

So 2 pages and not a single answer to the question I actually asked? wow

The question "is that Amazon pc the best value for money" is answered with "no, you can get a much better deal by going piecemeal", but since you seem intent on ignoring the fantastic advice given in this thread, you may as well just purchase it as the incremental effort involved for you or anyone else to find a pre-built box simply isn't worth it. That pic will run the games fine. Not as well as those handcrafted suggestions that people offered you, but they will run.

At this point I'd just recommend you pay someone fifty quid - or whatever the going rate is - to build a computer for you. You'll still get a better computer than you will buying a prebuilt, even if you take the fifty pounds out of your 700 pound budget.

Litoralis is gonna rage, by the way.

You will hate your PC if you spend 700 in retailer, because in the UK 15% to 35% markup for PCs is the norm I've seen, plus 27% VAT. Which will leave you with maybe 450 Pounds of meat on the bone.

my advice would be to go on to gumtree.com or similar, find a PC for 700 to 800 quid and haggle for a deal.

http://www.gumtree.com/search?current-d ... cope=title

You darn well know the cost of doing business, both brick and mortar and online retailers, plus VAT, makes it dang nigh impossible to find a good deal on electronics in most of the UK.

There is no magic bullet deal out there.

Hmm so I get the parts you guys suggested then run them to my local PC guy to whack together for me?
The local PC guys are goddamn idiots when it comes to gaming PC's trust me I know.

Thing is I don't even have any safe place to store these delicate expensive parts that's why I was asking for pre built.

The guys at my local NCIX store will design and put a computer together for you for $50 plus the costs of the parts. I'm sure you can find a similar deal in the UK.

Also, absolutely nothing is going to happen to any components if they're still in their boxes as long as you're not throwing them off your balcony or something. They are not that delicate.

Trooper909 wrote: The local PC guys are goddamn idiots when it comes to gaming PC's trust me I know.

If they are idiots then surely you can do better. Here are a few videos to help if you want to build a system on your own instead of pissing away money on a pre-built

Newegg TV: How To Build A Computer
Part 1 - Choosing your components
Part 2 - The Build
Part 3 - Installing Windows & Finishing Touches

Tek Syndicate
How to Build a PC: The Ultimate Guide from Tek Syndicate

Linus Tech Tips
Build Guides & Buyer's Guides Playlist

I have a arctic 700 power supply and a SATA 1tb hardrive..I'm guessing the harddrive can be salvaged not so sure about the power supply tho.

Trooper909 wrote:I have a arctic 700 power supply and a SATA 1tb hardrive..I'm guessing the harddrive can be salvaged not so sure about the power supply tho.

Your PSU is fine, I have a 450W and I'm running on mid/high-tier hardware

pcspecialist.co.uk is your best choice (as far as I know GB's internet shops), the contruction of your PC is already in the price (I pretty sure it's even free), you just might ask them to leave out the PSU and Harddrive (although, 1TB drives are cheap now, 50 pounds and doubling up your storage would be cool).

You might try overclockers.co.uk too