Computer Shopper - UK (2020-05)

52 MAY2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE387

BUDGET PCs

01

Building your own PC is oftencheaper

than buying apre-made system, and

gives full control over the components. You

don’t need any special computer knowledge:

just afew spare hours, ascrewdriver and

your choice of parts. Even things such as

liquid-cooling systems can be found in

user-friendly,easy-to-install packages, and

forthe most part it’s as simple as inserting

each component intoaparticular slot.

02

Arguably the most important

component is the CPU. These days

you can get aquad-core chip even on atight

budget, which should provide more than

enough brainpower forsimple tasks such as

web browsing, but hexa-core and octa-core

chips are better fortougher jobs such as

media editing, gaming and content creation.

The CPU will also determine which

motherboards you can choose from.

Intel CPUs will only work with boards that

use an Intel chipset, like Z390, Z370 and

B360, while AMD processors need AMD

chipsets, such as X470 and B450.

03

When choosing amotherboard, think

about both the size of the PC’s

chassis (smaller cases won’t fit larger ATXor

EATX boards, forinstance) and how many

Choosinga... CustomPCspec

additional components you’ll want to install.

Forsystems with alot of expansion cards

(such as graphics cards, sound cards or Wi-Fi

cards), it’s best to go with ATXmotherboards

and larger.For simpler builds, microATX or

Mini-ITX boards could well provide all the

connectivity you need. Keep in mind, too,

that if you want to try overclocking, only

certain Intel chipsets will support it, such as

Z370 and Z390. AMD is more relaxed,

enabling overclocking on all its Ryzen-

compatible chipsets, except A320 and A300.

04

While CPU integrated graphics will

suffice foreverydaybrowsing, a

dedicated graphics card is essential for

high-quality gaming. These can be installed in

aPCI-E x16 slot on your motherboard, and

have the bonus of adding more display

outputs to use–just make sure the card

will fit inside your chosen case.

05

On the subject of cases, personal

tastewill factor highly here: nobody

wants an ugly PC. That said, picking achassis

with adequatespace forcomponents is vital.

As already mentioned, an ATXmotherboard

likely won’t fit in amini-tower case,and if

you want to install alot of hard disks, you’ll

need acase with sufficient drive bays.

06

Every PC requires RAM and aPSU.

Performance doesn’t vary much

between specific models, but generally you

should aim for8GB of RAM forabasic build

and 16GB forhigher-end systems, and at least

a550W,Bronze-certified PSU. It’s better to

buy ahigher-wattage PSU than you strictly

need, as it will allow you to add more

components in the future.Also, check which

RAM is compatible with your motherboard

before buying, although forall current

models it’s probably going to be DDR4.

07

Our recommended storage setup

comprises both an SSD and alarger

mechanical hard disk. By installing Windows

(and afew choice applications) on the SSD,

you can ensure fast booting and loading

times, while the HDD is acost-effective way

of storing lots of files. Alternatively,you

could buy ahard disk, and then install an

Intel Optane Memory module to accelerate

its writespeeds to SSD levels, although since

SSDs are barely more expensive than Optane

drives, this is perhaps better forsituations

when you want to upgrade from an existing

hard disk, rather than when you’re building a

whole new system. In the latter case,anSSD/

HDD combo is better all round. See page 58

forour recommended storage drives.

ASROCK Fatal1tyAB350

Gaming-ITX/ac

★★★★★

£99•www.cclonline.com

AMDAthlon3000G

★★★★★

£44•www.scan.co.uk

Tiny itmaybe,but theAB350makes the

most of what space it has available.Multiple display

outputs, arear-mounted M.2 port and onboard Wi-Fi

mean it almost has the specs of arespectable ATXmodel.

All eyes have been on

Ryzen recently,but the

Athlon 3000G is anifty

little dual-core chip: it has integrated

graphics, ideal forbasic builds, and unlike most

budget CPUs, it’s unlocked foroverclocking. It’s not tremendously

fast, relatively speaking, but forthis little cash, it’s aterrific deal.

PROCESSORSOCKETAM4•DIMENSIONS170x170mm•CHIPSETAMDB350•MEMORY

SLOTS (^2) • PCI-EX16SLOTS (^1) • PCI-EX1SLOTS (^0) • PCISLOTS (^0) • USBPORTS2x USB2, 2x USB3,
1x USB Type-C•VIDEOOUTPUTS2x HDMI•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.asrock.
com•PARTCODE90-MXB5P0-A0UAYZ•FULLREVIEWJul2018
SOCKETAM4•CORES (^2) • FREQUENCY3.5GHz•INTEGRATEDGRAPHICSAMDRadeon RX
Vega 3•WARRANTYTwoyears RTB•DETAILSwww.amd.com•PARTCODEYD3000C6FHBOX•
FULLREVIEWMar2020
ASUSROGStrixRX570OC
★★★★★
£120•www.ebuyer.com

SILVERSTONE

PrecisionSeriesPS15

★★★★★

£40•www.scan.co.uk Although this is

an older GPU, it’s

cheaper than a

lot of the more recent ‘budget’

cards and, crucially,more powerful,

too. It therefore comes highly

recommended if you want to take astepupfrom

integrated graphics without having to spend much.

Aslong as you work within its limit as

amicroATX chassis, the PS15 is a

great fit forbudget builds. Despitecosting apittance,

it’s well designed and can take amultitude of fans and radiators, so

all-in-one watercooling is apossibilityfor future upgrades.

GPUAMDRadeon RX 570•MEMORY4GBGDDR5•GRAPHICSCARDLENGTH240mm•

WARRANTYTwoyears repairand replace•DETAILSwww.asus.com•

PARTCODEROG-STRIX-RX570-O4G-GAMING•FULLREVIEWJan2020

CASETYPEMini tower•MOTHERBOARDTYPEMicroATX,Mini-ITX•SUPPLIEDFANS1x 120mm

• MAXIMUMDRIVEBAYS1x 3.5in, 3x 2.5in•DIMENSIONS381x192x351mm•WEIGHT3.5kg•
  WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.silverstonetk.com•PARTCODESST-PS15B-G•
  FULLREVIEWAug2019

350

50 k th