Total novice wanting to build gaming pc

[Coldlandlord]

As title, I am a total novice when it comes to everything within a computer. I am a nut, bolt and spanner kind of guy but I've always wanted to understand the workings of a pc and have a go at building one. I have rebuilt engines and am a practical person so I'm confident I can plug some stuff together properly. My main problem is that i don't really know what all the numbers and codes mean or what is compatible with what so when choosing what to use i am going by price and relying on youtube advice.

With FS19 fast approaching and the cost of an off the shelf, ready to go pc being in the thousands, I think now is the time to do it.

I don't want anything too fancy and i don't want it to look like a space ship but i do want it to be able to run fs19 on max settings. I'm not really a big gamer and FS19 would probably be 1 of 2 games that i will play and care about the quality of the graphics etc. I can make do with other games being inferior in quality.

So I have been reading up on the subject for a few weeks now and I have watched lots of Youtube vids on building a gaming PC. The one that stands out to me is this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AVTmoU ... e=youtu.be


The spec for those that don't want to view the video:

CPU - Intel 8th gen quad core I3 8100 (coffee lake?)
Motherboard - MSI Z370A pro
RAM - G Skills Ripjaws V 8mb
HDD - 1TB WD Blue. I might upgrade to 2 TB and add in a SSD (around 240GB?)
GPU - Zotac GTX 1060 6GB
Power - EVGA 500w unit
A cheap case with built in fans that works well for the above components.

I will prob overclock as in the linked youtube guide once i understand what that means and how to do it safely.

I have a budget of sub £700 and the above comes in at around £650.

My questions to you guys who know what they are talking about:

Can i get better hardware for the same/similar money or is this possibly the best bang for the buck?

Is there anything that stands out as being a stupid choice for the sake of, literally a few quid that i might regret later.

Will this setup run FS19 on max settings comfortably or will be wasting my money and be disappointed?

Do i need the upgraded HDD and add in an SSD or should i stick with the 1TB HDD only

Should i upgrade the CPU cooling or will the supplied one be ok if i get a case with 3 built in fans?

I'm going to wait for black friday sales to see if i can get that down a bit or better still, see if i can get a level above each component for the same price as the listed components. Recommendations welcome!

Thanks for any help in advance!

[Sandhill]

I would not buy the I3...for the money, I5 is a better value for gaming I think...

[Goose66]

I’d also go for at least an i5. Everything else is ok though.

[DirectCedar]

I would second the suggestion to look for an i5 or even an i7 processor as the cost increase likely won't be that big.

My only other observation is that the 1060 GPU comes in a 3MBand a 6 MB version. I did not know this when I bought mine and I got the 3MB and now wish I'd bought the 6. The 3 is fine (I run 17 on Custom Very High) but for a small upgrade the 6 has that much more reserve capacity.

[DirectCedar]

Oops I meant GB not MB

[Coldlandlord]

Thanks for this guys. Yep I'm going for the 1060 6gb gpu.

There is quite a big jump in cost from the i3 to the i5.. more than double at normal price. I'll watch out for one on sale day and see if I can get one at a bargain. Will an I5 be compatible with the rest of the hardware, power pack In particular and will it require extra cooling?

[Rbk_3]

Thanks for this guys. Yep I'm going for the 1060 6gb gpu.

There is quite a big jump in cost from the i3 to the i5.. more than double at normal price. I'll watch out for one on sale day and see if I can get one at a bargain. Will an I5 be compatible with the rest of the hardware, power pack In particular and will it require extra cooling?

Yes. And you won't be able to overclock that processor. You need the K versions to overclock. Your money will also go a lot further with AMD when it comes to processors. But I would personally go for the i5 8600. It will last you much longer than the i3 and is almost 40% faster.

I would also get an SSD. You want your operating system on an SSD for sure. You can always add the bigger HDD later. 256GB SSD will be more than enough to start with.

[Sid1701d]

Ok leave the I3 to the phones they can have the I3. Most smart phones use i3 processors.

It is really easy once you know what your main goal is. First off what type of computer do you have right now, because if its a i5 gen 3/4 computer and a tower or desktop they are interchangeable terms, the tower desktop as long as it has at least a Nvidia GTX 660 or equilent card is still current in the gaming market and can play most old games and new games. You should learn the terminology for different stuff before you build a computer, I get more expensive motherboards and cheaper components to start out with, that is just simply so I know the motherboard will outlast the components in my build. I would first try to upgrade an old one before you buy a new one, that way it gives you experience you can put to the new one. Except don't try to upgrade Dell I hate them, they are made so cheap they make IBM look good.

Also make sure the proccessor has at least 4 cores enabled that helps keep games more stable as graphic commands will be on one core and game code will be on other core, with one core processors graphic card and game being on same core can cause game to lag a little bit.

[Coldlandlord]

Ok so I5 it is and I can't see myself needing 2tb plus an SSD right now so I'll just go with the SSD and a 1Tb hdd.

There's no way to upgrade current pc as I have a 3 year old HP laptop that was sold as a semi-gaming laptop but it seems pretty obsolete now. Great for work stuf but it's only got a 2.4ghz 2 core processor and a low spec nvidia gpu.

[Procobator]

There isn't a lot of options out for the new i3's yet and definitely not proven. Good choice to go with an i5. Make sure to use a k model cpu and a z model mobo if you want to overclock. Standard fan cooler should work until you start overclocking. Make sure to get a nice large case to help with air movement.

[Guil]

Moved to off topic.

[nstout83]

The first time I built a PC I did a lot of research. I already have the knowledge on where and how things are suppose to go but picking the right hardware budget wise was the difficult part. If youre looking for the best hardware to use on your PC, you should check out this website.