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I was recently looking for some info on the "steambox" and came across a youtube video by a chap called JackFrags who showed that you could pretty much build a gaming PC for under £300.
My PC is around 6 years old and I've never updated it. It does everything a PC should do but is no good for gaming. I used to put PCs together 10 - 20 years ago , the problem then is they were pretty much out of date and in need of an upgrade virtually every year and Consoles were easier to play games on, cheaper to buy and better to play games on.
My gaming time is a lot less than it used to be and I don't really play as much online as I used to. I seem to be playing more single player games now, so dont think i'll miss out too much on multiplayer games, infact I reckon I could well find more people to play with during the day time than I currently do on the PS 3 as most of my console friends come online when I go to bed.
The games I play on or am thinking of buying this year will probably be better on a PC , such as Crysis 3 , Grid 2 and Bioshock infinite. I've also been looking at getting into games like Planetside 2, Day Z and perhaps some flight sims . I used to love playing Appache gunship and all the Microprose games, I'm sure theres some good games like that waiting to be discovered by me.
My concerns are that I might have problems playing FPS games with a mouse and keyboard. However with the steam box on its way I reckon that future PC games might be aimed at people with PCs using control pads rather than Mouse/ keyboard. I also doubt that I can download much as I;ve a slow connection to the internet and it would take ages, Boxed games are so much cheaper on PC though that I'l always get a better game on PC for a lower price . Grid 2 for example will be £38 on PS3, £25 on PC.
I've already tested my Logitec PS3 steering wheel and it should work well with racing games. I also have PC joysticks and a Logitec wingman that would work with sims. My sony USB suround sound headset will also probably work with it.
My Budget.
I don't really have a spare £300 floating around, but this month (and next) i have no council tax or water rates to pay as I pay in 10 monthly instalments and pay nothing in Jan and Feb. That's over £300 a month that I'll save this month and the same next.
I dont have card bills to pay off as I didn't overspend at christmas, infact I've still got £100 off Mother and Aunty to spend. So I think I can afford it this month, I also have 3 weeks holiday due so will have some time on my hands.
So lets get started.
I watched this video and will be pretty much following the recommendations from jackfrags with a couple of exceptions.
The CPU will be an Intel Pentium G850 Dual core around £56. I've no idea about CPU speeds and stff like that but the FPS rate seemed excellent on jacks PC so I'll stick with that recomendation
The Motherboard will be the one listed or similar around £31as will the hard drive . a decent make with 500 GB is around £40.
4 Mb of RAM, again i'll not get the very cheapest but not by rubbish from some chinese guy on eBay, not sure if to get 1 x 4 gb or 2 x 2 Gb currently about £17 -£20 . A standard DVD/Rw is around £13.
A PSU of atleast 500 watts is needed. I might get a higher priced one with more wattage, so might be anything from £17 - £35
I found that the recommended graphics card, an" HD 7770" can be bought from Dabs.co.uk this month for £86. thats a fiver more than Scan UK, BUT it comes with 3 games. Far cry 3 , Dirt Showdown and Sleeping dogs (all downloadable) Absolute bargain by tye sound of things .
I'll also be looking for a more stylish case. I saw one with 4 fans in and a bit of a nice graphic on the front, and had card readers and stuff on the front for £28.
I will also be adding a new Wireless mouse and Keyboard. You often get these in the cheap shops like Aldi or B & M bargains for a tenner, If not Argos have them for £15. Seems daft making a new PC and sticking a scruffy old mouse and keyboard on it.
So first job is to get the bits together which will mean comparing prices on the various online sellers. Will probably get some from Scan uk and others from dabs UK, but going to check the other recommended dealers out over the weekend
Looking forward to getting this started, I know there's a few around here that will help me out if I come up with any problems. I'll keep you posted.
My PC is around 6 years old and I've never updated it. It does everything a PC should do but is no good for gaming. I used to put PCs together 10 - 20 years ago , the problem then is they were pretty much out of date and in need of an upgrade virtually every year and Consoles were easier to play games on, cheaper to buy and better to play games on.
My gaming time is a lot less than it used to be and I don't really play as much online as I used to. I seem to be playing more single player games now, so dont think i'll miss out too much on multiplayer games, infact I reckon I could well find more people to play with during the day time than I currently do on the PS 3 as most of my console friends come online when I go to bed.
The games I play on or am thinking of buying this year will probably be better on a PC , such as Crysis 3 , Grid 2 and Bioshock infinite. I've also been looking at getting into games like Planetside 2, Day Z and perhaps some flight sims . I used to love playing Appache gunship and all the Microprose games, I'm sure theres some good games like that waiting to be discovered by me.
My concerns are that I might have problems playing FPS games with a mouse and keyboard. However with the steam box on its way I reckon that future PC games might be aimed at people with PCs using control pads rather than Mouse/ keyboard. I also doubt that I can download much as I;ve a slow connection to the internet and it would take ages, Boxed games are so much cheaper on PC though that I'l always get a better game on PC for a lower price . Grid 2 for example will be £38 on PS3, £25 on PC.
I've already tested my Logitec PS3 steering wheel and it should work well with racing games. I also have PC joysticks and a Logitec wingman that would work with sims. My sony USB suround sound headset will also probably work with it.
My Budget.
I don't really have a spare £300 floating around, but this month (and next) i have no council tax or water rates to pay as I pay in 10 monthly instalments and pay nothing in Jan and Feb. That's over £300 a month that I'll save this month and the same next.
I dont have card bills to pay off as I didn't overspend at christmas, infact I've still got £100 off Mother and Aunty to spend. So I think I can afford it this month, I also have 3 weeks holiday due so will have some time on my hands.
So lets get started.
I watched this video and will be pretty much following the recommendations from jackfrags with a couple of exceptions.
The CPU will be an Intel Pentium G850 Dual core around £56. I've no idea about CPU speeds and stff like that but the FPS rate seemed excellent on jacks PC so I'll stick with that recomendation
The Motherboard will be the one listed or similar around £31as will the hard drive . a decent make with 500 GB is around £40.
4 Mb of RAM, again i'll not get the very cheapest but not by rubbish from some chinese guy on eBay, not sure if to get 1 x 4 gb or 2 x 2 Gb currently about £17 -£20 . A standard DVD/Rw is around £13.
A PSU of atleast 500 watts is needed. I might get a higher priced one with more wattage, so might be anything from £17 - £35
I found that the recommended graphics card, an" HD 7770" can be bought from Dabs.co.uk this month for £86. thats a fiver more than Scan UK, BUT it comes with 3 games. Far cry 3 , Dirt Showdown and Sleeping dogs (all downloadable) Absolute bargain by tye sound of things .
I'll also be looking for a more stylish case. I saw one with 4 fans in and a bit of a nice graphic on the front, and had card readers and stuff on the front for £28.
I will also be adding a new Wireless mouse and Keyboard. You often get these in the cheap shops like Aldi or B & M bargains for a tenner, If not Argos have them for £15. Seems daft making a new PC and sticking a scruffy old mouse and keyboard on it.
So first job is to get the bits together which will mean comparing prices on the various online sellers. Will probably get some from Scan uk and others from dabs UK, but going to check the other recommended dealers out over the weekend
Looking forward to getting this started, I know there's a few around here that will help me out if I come up with any problems. I'll keep you posted.
most sites will do free shipping over a certain amount. The cheaper you get it the better 
