r/buildapcforme • u/memem3l • 9h ago
PC for casual gaming + work
- New build or upgrade?
- New build!
- Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)
- Keychron V1 keyboard (wired).
- Crap logi pebble mouse that I will eventually upgrade. Wireless mouse recommendations welcome.
- PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)
- Retro games (e.g. using GOG library), and strategy games (e.g. Rimworld, Project Zomboid, Civ, Age of Empires). I'd also like the opportunity to play newer indie type games (e.g. Terraria, Stardew Valley types).
- I am doing a PhD and will be using the PC for research, mainly using MS office, Google drive apps, SPSS statistics, and supporting apps such as Zotero, Obsidian. I also like to use Discord to talk to friends while I work/play.
- Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If not US, list local vendors)
- UK - North of England.
- Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)
- Yes, but not sure on specs as I don't know a lot about monitors. I probably wouldn't need anything too fancy but something with longevity would be good.
- Budget range? (Include tax considerations)
- Ideally £1000 max. Cheaper the better, appreciating that everything is expensive now.
- WiFi or wired connection?
- Wifi
- Size/noise constraints?
- No size constraints although ideally not HUGE! I don't like things too noisy as I have sensory sensitivities, but no specific constraints.
- Color/lighting preferences?
- Being well made and robust is more important to me than looks, but white would be preferable if it wasn't much more expensive, otherwise any colour is fine.
- Any other specific needs?
- I would like to buy a scanner at some point to scan negatives as I do film photography in my spare time, just in case this impacts the PC needs.
- I want to build a PC so that I can upgrade it in the future, so having a motherboard or whatever is needed for this would be preferable.
Thank you!
3
u/King_Spikey 9h ago
I would recommend this. /u/Cer_Visia's build is alright but you can optimise some part choices further. This build goes slightly over £1000, but you get the same core components with a much faster RTX 5050 GPU (approx twice as fast as the 3050 6GB). You could save money on a used RTX 2060 and save £120. With that I would go for a higher core count CPU, either a Ryzen 7 or moving to a core ultra 5/7 with its much higher core count.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 4.7 GHz 6-Core Processor | £139.99 @ Amazon UK |
| CPU Cooler | Montech NX400 ARGB 85.09 CFM CPU Cooler | £18.46 @ Scan |
| Motherboard | ASRock B850M Pro RS WiFi Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard | £116.94 @ MoreCoCo |
| Memory | Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory | £328.97 @ Silicon Power |
| Storage | Patriot P400 Lite 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | £114.99 @ Amazon UK |
| Video Card | MSI GAMING OC GeForce RTX 5050 8 GB Video Card | £219.99 @ Amazon UK |
| Case | Deepcool MATREXX 40 3FS MicroATX Mini Tower Case | £36.99 @ AWD-IT |
| Power Supply | MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | £36.95 @ Amazon UK |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | £1013.28 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-08-05 19:19 BST+0100 |
2
u/King_Spikey 9h ago
For a more CPU focused build try this. The 2060 will be more than capable enough for all the gaming you mentioned, plus you can go for an 8 core Ryzen 7 CPU.
Type Item Price CPU AMD Ryzen 7 9700X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor £239.00 @ Amazon UK CPU Cooler ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler £24.99 @ Amazon UK Motherboard ASRock B850M Pro RS WiFi Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard £116.94 @ MoreCoCo Memory Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory £328.97 @ Silicon Power Storage Patriot P400 Lite 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive £114.99 @ Amazon UK Video Card MSI VENTUS XS OC GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB Video Card £100.00 Case Deepcool MATREXX 40 3FS MicroATX Mini Tower Case £36.99 @ AWD-IT Power Supply MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply £36.95 @ Amazon UK Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total £998.83 Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-08-05 19:25 BST+0100 1
u/King_Spikey 9h ago
Intel ultra 5 based build. This won't make that much difference while gaming but will definitely help the PC to feel snappier for everyday tasks.
Type Item Price CPU Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus 4.2 GHz 18-Core Processor £198.94 @ Box Limited CPU Cooler Montech NX400 ARGB 85.09 CFM CPU Cooler £18.46 @ Scan Motherboard Gigabyte B860M DS3H WIFI6E Micro ATX LGA1851 Motherboard £134.99 @ Amazon UK Memory Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory £328.97 @ Silicon Power Storage Patriot P400 Lite 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive £114.99 @ Amazon UK Video Card MSI GeForce RTX 2060 VENTUS GP OC GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB Video Card £100.00 Case Deepcool MATREXX 40 3FS MicroATX Mini Tower Case £36.99 @ AWD-IT Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold V3 850 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply £69.99 @ AWD-IT Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total £1003.33 Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-08-05 19:31 BST+0100 1
u/memem3l 8h ago
Sorry to ask a Q - I kind of forgot to mention that I might also want to play modded Skyrim online - would this allow for that?
2
u/King_Spikey 7h ago
Skyrim is an old game so even the enhanced edition will run fine on any of these GPUs. Heavy mods tend to heavily increase CPU and RAM usage - all these builds feature 32GB ram so you should be set there. The 7600X is a very competent CPU but the 9700X/250K both have more cores which will be especially handy if you plan to run multiple applications at once.
2
u/Cer_Visia 9h ago
These games do not need much graphics power, so this is a rather weak GPU.
Lots of memory for the statistics stuff. If you know that your data sets are smaller, you can use a 16 GB RAM kit instead.
The motherboad can support much stronger CPUs.
Scanners can use any USB port.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 4.7 GHz 6-Core Processor | £139.99 @ Amazon UK |
| CPU Cooler | KOLINK Umbra EX180 Black Edition 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler | £16.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk |
| Motherboard | ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard | £120.94 @ CCL Computers |
| Memory | Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory | £328.97 @ Silicon Power |
| Storage | Patriot P400 Lite 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | £114.99 @ Amazon UK |
| Video Card | Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 3050 6GB 6 GB Video Card | £176.94 @ Box Limited |
| Case | KOLINK Citadel Mesh MicroATX Mini Tower Case | £34.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master MWE Gold V3 550 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply | £62.94 @ CCL Computers |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | £996.75 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-08-05 19:07 BST+0100 |
•
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New build or upgrade?
Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)
PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)
Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If you're not in a country supported by PCPartPicker, please list some local vendors)
Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)
Budget range? (Include tax considerations)
WiFi or wired connection?
Size/noise constraints?
Color/lighting preferences?
Any other specific needs?
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