Hi,

Bit of advice from the gurus here please. I used to know my stuff with PC's back in the day, when I say that I mean 386/486DX etc! Since then I have had PC's but generally just buy pre-built stuff and the performance of them I only use for general stuff like ITunes, internet etc. As such I am completely out of date with the current gen stuff and would like to get back into gaming.

I do not need the latest bleeding edge kit, something that can run Steel Beasts well would be good. I also intend to try BMS and want this to be silky. I'm not interested in the latest FPS or GTA etc but the main reason for getting back into PC Gaming is Cold Waters so that running like a boss would be important.

The thing I am mostly rusty about is graphics cards and processors. In the past I was always an Intel guy but I am happy to go AMD if better. Likewise, I always seemed to prefer Nvidia but am completely open now.

I can build my own rig, but any advice about which graphics card, processor and memory types would be amazing help. Is SSD really necessary? (I am thinking so for speed of loading etc).

Obviously I am looking at the many guides on the internet but would be helpful to hear real world advice from guys here who know their stuff and would run the same sort of games.

Thanks so much for any advice. My budget is flexible but as stated, I don't need the latest and greatest kit and would prefer to keep the costs down where possible.

Ross

i5 Kaby Lake or Skylake should be good enough, 16GB RAM of decent speeds, and GTX 1070 or 1060. Depends on how far forward you want to push your setup (OC setups? or non-OC?) and what your budget and priorities are.

I would not hesitate to recommend getting a good 250+GB SSD for OS... it really does make a difference for boot times and also for game loading times. Depending on the game, it may help with microstutters as well. It does nothing for FPS though... that's usually all up to CPU/GPU capabilities. You can easily fit OS and a few select games in a 250+GB sized SSD, or get a bigger SSD (500+GB) to fit more games in, but I prefer having 2x SSDs, one for OS, one for games that I play often.... then just put the rest of my games on a short-stroked partition of my HDD.

So far, Intel is still king in CPU and GPU departments, although arguments can be made of "value for money" for AMD GPUs but I think unless you're absolutely penny-pinching, go Intel.

Hope that helps!

Thanks Ice, you've helped greatly, especially in regard to the SSD thing, this is new to me! I had seen the GTX 1070 and it looked enough for me. It was the processor I was confused with, was going i3 but looks like I should go higher.

Thanks again.

What Ice said, pretty much covers it.
I use a 250GB SSD for OS and a WD Black 2TB drive for games. Room on there for a backup image of the OS drive as well.

Yeah it seems the SSD option is really beneficial and was thinking bigger the better. Does it show up like another HDD on Explorer etc?

Yes,it's no different to a HDD in that respect.

Have to agree on SSD. I use a 500 GB as a main and only drive, but I only play RoF and BoS so don't need loads of storage.

After reviewing the above thread and the the advice given.

Intel I5, GTX1060/1070 and min 250 GB SSD is a sound choice.

You'd get a very respectable and capable system out of that

Honestly, I'd go Intel too. Wish I had. Just too expensive to switch over. Love my 1070.

You're most welcome, Ross. I will say that you **might** be able to get away with an i3 CPU, but IMO you are getting good value and future-proofing with an i5. Still, there have been "budget gaming builds" that go with i3 CPUs so that's not a totally wrong choice. Like I said, it depends on your budget and what you find acceptable.

Do note that Steam now allows you to install games in different drives so you can install Steam itself in a HDD, then install your "best" games on the SSD and other games on a HDD.... so no need to cram everything in a HDD.

Ice,

I think your right about the i5, and future proofing. Which leads me onto the mobo. I was thinking this as can swap out the CPU of I want.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...rd-mb-54x-gi.html?campaign=affiliate/tag

It looks to my inexperienced eyes an ok board?

Steve,

Thanks, I'll try for a 500 SSD, seems wiser.

Ross

The CPU choice will dictate the motherboard... if you go for a K-series chip which can be OC'ed, then you'll want a Z-series motherboard that can handle it. I don't see the point in a motherboard that can swap out CPUs... the performance difference between Kaby and Sky isn't anything to write home about and it's quite difficult to sell on a CPU by itself, so best buying a CPU-motherboard combo that you're happy with, even if you'd compromise the GPU for now. It's easier to eBay a GPU than it is to eBay a CPU.

I would also stay away from OcUK... I've used them before and they're okay but Scan seems to be better in customer service and in prices. Seems like the price difference between a Kaby 7600K and a Sky 6600K is only a few £££ and the 6600K is cheaper only due to a sale... A Z270 board can also be had for around £15-£20 more than the H270 board you linked, so by going for a K-chip and a Z-board, you're not exactly breaking the bank... it'll be more expensive, sure, but again, OC capability and future-proofing.

As for the SSD, 500GB is a good SSD but I just liked the idea of having OS and games on different SSDs. That way, when it goes bad, it doesn't take both games and OS down with it...

Wow, thanks Ice your really getting me back up to speed.

I'll take that on board, just going to try Scan and I think I'll follow your advice and go for the combo. Didn't know you could to be honest.

And yeah the reasoning behind the two drives is sound. Surprised that the low prices they can be brought for to be honest.

I built my box in January. It runs BMS like silk. 100+ PFS in the biggest campaigns. It isn't cutting edge, but runs everything beautifully. Witcher 3 maxxed out over 60 FPS, Elite Dangerous on Ultra at 200 FPS. Really nice without costing too much. Full disclosure, my mainboard did die and I had to replace it.

-- i7 6700K Skylake
-- Asus Z170 mainboard
-- 16 gigs o' RAM
-- EVGA 750w power supply
-- 500 GB Samsung SSD
-- 2TB Seagate mechanical
-- Asus GTX 1070 8GB
-- Win 10

What's that supposed to mean?


Yep, they're quite reasonable now... I looked at how much my Crucial M4 256GB SSD cost me back in the day... much more than a 500GB drive now!!

As for prices, spec up your system on all prospective retailers... sometimes it seems like they make up the difference in "savings" in shipping costs.

As in I didn't know you you could buy MOBO with CPU as a combo. Though having looked think it's cheaper to buy separate and think you would agree. I may have just misunderstood your meaning.

That sounds a lovely rig, though think a bit above my budget! I am just going to buy a couple of things a month. My disposable income is good, but would rather get good kit and wait than settle. I intend it to last me a while. Thanks for showing your rig, I may use what you have as a reference.

Yes, well, the CPU and the power supply are both more than I needed, but were future proofed, or at least that was my thinking. The rest I would reckon is about bog standard these days.

Including case and OS that set me back about $1400 US dollars. So you could easily get that down another $100-$200 with different CPU and power supply. It was 6 months ago as well, so prices may have moderated a bit.

Still not sure what you mean about "being honest"...

As for MB+CPU combo, it really depends on the seller. Scan does it, but from the 2x I've purchased a CPU+MB from them, they weren't offering my chosen MB as a CPU+MB combo so I bought the CPU and MB separately and didn't really do the price comparison. When asking for advice regarding Z-series boards, it's basically "they're all very good, so pick one that suits your budget or has the features you want/need or has the amount of outputs you need." Since my first MB was a Gigabyte board, I went with what I knew and picked one that could support multiple GPUs (in case I want to try it later on) and had support for two M.2 NVMe drives.

You've not really mentioned your budget or what your current setup is. For reference, my setup is:
Intel Core i5 6600K (Skylake)
Noctua NH-D15 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler
Gigabyte GA-Z170X Gaming 7
Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX Black 16GB (2x8GB) 3000MHz CAS 15-17-17-35
EVGA GTX 980Ti Classified Gaming ACX2.0+
EVGA SuperNOVA G2 850W Full Modular 80+ Gold
Corsair Carbide 500R Black Gaming Case
Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium (upgraded to Win10 Anniversary Edition)

I bought this on Dec 2015 so it's more than a year old now. Of the above, the Corsair Carbide case and OS was from the old PC. Same for SSDs, HDDs, mouse, keyboard, and monitors. It's quite a splurge but considering that my old setup was an i5 750 from 2010, well, I thought it was about time to upgrade properly but even then, the i5 750 wasn't really struggling. It also had a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo cooler which served it pretty well but getting the 6600K and a 980Ti, I thought I may as well get the best CPU air cooler available.

My current rig has the old Crucial M4 mentioned earlier which I'll be transferring back to the i5 750 setup (which is now my son's gaming PC), a Samsung 850 EVO SSD after an old 840 EVO died, and a Samsung 960 M.2 NVMe drive for OS just because I wanted to test it For bigger storage, I have an old Samsung Spinpoint F1 (purchased at the same time as my i5 750 in 2010) and a new WD Blue drive.

For your purchasing plans, I would suggest prioritizing your CPU + MB selection, as well as your RAM kit.... but the RAM would be quite cheap even at 2x 8GB kits. After CPU/MB, PSU would be the next priority, then GPU, then everything else. Depending on your case now, you may be able to continue using it but again, PC cases is one of those things I don't see the point in being too stingy about. A good case should last you many, many years and even see you through several internal upgrades, so even if a good case is an expensive initial purchase, it's value lies in how many years of service it will give you.

Ice,what do you run your CPU at on air? I have the same CPU but rather stupidly I went with the non-K,a decision I may regret further up the road.

I was able to push it up to 4.6 on air IIRC, but it was unstable so settled for 4.5, but this was shortly after I got it. I've been running it on stock since then, but re-OC'ing it is one of my To-Do things this year... once I sort out the game room upstairs and move it back there. It's currently in the living room on VR duty as I demo the Vive to friends.

I'm not sure about regretting buying a non-OC capable chip. My old i5 750 was OC-able too, but again, never really felt the need to do so. When I passed it on to my son, I was playing the latest games without having to tweak setup to get decent framerates, and that was with a AMD 7970 GPU. Your 7600 non-K may well serve you 3-5 years without you having the need to OC.