So I'm finally looking to get a PC, mainly for gaming and streaming, but I do a lot of Photoshop work as well. Vegas is something I'm learning so that'd be awesome too, I mean I currently have a laptop that does it all so why not my new PC right?

Absolutely no idea in terms of specs or anything, I just know I want to be able to play as many games as possible. Ranging back to games like Dark Souls 2, Arkham series etc to the newer releases like Metal Gear Solid V etc etc

Streaming is also important as is Photoshop

Here is what I got

I've been suggested the above so I'm just looking on feedback before I make the (admittedly quite intimidating plunge) and spend the money which is £900. Value for money? Over spending on some parts?

That's probably the best you can get given your restrictive budget. You don't need an aftermarket fan unless you are planning on overclocking though which that CPU is incapable of doing.

If you are serious about video production I recommend getting 16GB of RAM instead of 8. It'll help a lot (though won't make a difference in games).

I have the same processor and it's fantastic.

Had the specs built for me as Im a total novice at PCs, what is the aftermarket fan? Is it the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler?

Im still new to video production but its definitely something Im interested in and would love to get seriously in to. Is the 8GB much of a draw back at the early stages of learning it?

@bleedingstarx: Yeah that. The CPU will come with a fan. It won't be as good but it will be fine for stock speeds.

If you're just learning probably not.

I find it hard to recommend a PC build without an SSD in it these days. Just 2 Gigglebytes of storage seems quite low regardless. I say get a good SSD and a slower big mechanical drive for mass storage.

I would go Windows 8.1 at this point as well, but get whatever is a good price since the objective will be to upgrade to Win 10 when it comes out anyway.

As Corevi said, I would go with more RAM as well. 8 is really the minimum for PCs these days. At least for DDR3. I recommend going at least 12 or 16 depending on the motherboard. Fill dem slots.

But of course with 900 pounds to spend you'll either have to cut a few corners or spread out the costs with a few future upgrades.

Ahh ok, so I've adjusted the i5 to an i7 and dropped the fan on it to the standard one and it still falls within an amount Im willing to spend, comes in now at £950

@bleedingstarx: With a stock CPU cooler I don't think you will need extra thermal paste. Even most standalone coolers come with thermal paste pre-applied or at least packaged with the cooler. Check the CPU for more info on that in any case.

@bleedingstarx: That seems great. If you ever want to upgrade it later you can get an SSD and another 8GB of RAM. The 960 probably won't run new games on ultra (except for MGS5) but it will hit high.

You could definitely get either a better graphics card or a better processor with that budget. Probably both. If you want better gaming performance, get a better graphics card (probably either a GTX 970 or a R9 290X) or if you're more concerned about the photoshop/video editing aspects, you'll probably want an i7 processor. But as I said, you should even be able to get both with a £900 budget, I think.

I'm currently planning on building my first gaming PC with a budget of around £800 and this is what my current plan looks like. I still need to do more research on some of the parts to make sure I'm getting the best price and performance, but I'm pretty sure it's a decent build.

Cheers for that, I'll adjust that to the standard then

Honestly, MGS5 has been my most anticipated game since its announcement, so as long as I can get the most out of that Im more than fine with High on most things.

So as it stands (with the CPU cooler adjustment) does it seem like a worthwhile gaming PC? My fear is spending the money and then it being outdated on under par in a relatively quick time

@bleedingstarx: With the i7 the only part that will need upgrading relatively soon is the 960,and you can probably get 2 years out of that.

If you're spending that much, I recommend putting in for at least a 970 if you're thinking about a 960

I can definitely deal with sticking a 970 in instead if its worth that bit extra.

Looking at it, I could stretch to a 980 too but its a decent leap up in price, much a difference performance wise?

@bleedingstarx: It definitely is worth the upgrade if you can afford it. The 970 is the best power/cost value on the market right now.

So you'd actually recommend that OVER a 980 right now then?

@bleedingstarx: The setup you've listed should be good for several years, the 960 is compatible with the upcoming direct x12 & because it's already a lot more powerful than the new consoles it should be able to play any game that's coming out for those & pc for the foreseeable future.

If you really want better graphics & are thinking about getting a rift you might want to consider a 970. Like other people have mentioned you'll probably want to get a SSD at some point. Also you'll definitely want to upgrade the mouse & keyboard to gaming ones eventually, they really do make a world of difference. If you can get away with not having a dvd drive I'd look into that also, I haven't had one in my last two computers, so for about 8 years or so.

@bleedingstarx: If money is a factor in your decision yes. The 980 is more powerful but has a lower power/cost value.

@bleedingstarx: When it comes to value/performance the 980 won't beat the 970.

You need 2 memory dimms. You can run with one but you will loose half your systems memory bandwidth. You can save some money by dropping back from the 4790K to the 4690K then use that cash to get a faster GPU (not that I would discourage buying the 4790K, that thing is great).

Definitely get a 970 over a 960 if you can swing it. Not to say the 960 is a bad card, but compared to the 760 it was such an underwhelming "successor." Even with the Vram scandal the 970 is still probably the best value for a graphics card right now.

Alternatively, AMD's new cards are supposed to be coming out like, really soon so you could wait to see how those do.

Edit: Oh, and you'll probably want a slightly higher capacity PSU. As power efficient as Nvidia and Intel parts are, 450 watts is cutting it really close. 970's recommended minimum is like 500w or something.

970 it is then. I would solely be using digital means for gaming. As for Photoshop etc I can probably just find an external disc reader for that. Honestly couldnt tell you last time I used a disc on my laptop so I can probably drop that off

Didn't notice that but yeah. You want 2 sticks of 4GB not 1 8. RAM works better in pairs.

for some reason the site only lets me add 1x8GB, I cant add 2x4GB

@bleedingstarx: That's... really shitty. Maybe buy it without RAM and then buy it seperately yourself? It's pretty cheap.

You definitely do not want an odd number of RAM sticks.

Find a proper dual channel kit and add that instead, you straight up should not be building a PC with a single stick.

No RAM isn't an option either. How much does the RAM sell for. Is it better to buy it with an 8GB and upgrade to 2x8GBS as it was suggested I get 16gb for video editing. Or buy it with 4GB and just upgrade it to 2x4GB?

@bleedingstarx: Either is fine. They need to be the same though. You can't have two different types.

Is there any reason that the site wouldnt just let me put 2 in from the beginning? Case limitation or something?

This might help give you an idea of the specs you can expect for that kind of money: http://techbuyersguru.com/2000build.php

I would recomend spending just a little more though to ensure longetivity, or maybe waiting a few months until this stuff gets cheaper. As DDR5 and solid state drives are relatively new they cost a lot at the moment but have already seen big pricefalls so a few more months could make a big difference.

@bleedingstarx: No, I bet it's just a limitation of the site.

@bleedingstarx Not sure if anyone mentioned but did you check the power supply requirements for that graphics card?
If you ever want to upgrade and get a top of the line GPU you'll need more power.
I think my 290X requires a 600w PSU if memory serves me.
Edit: Damn, scratch that, asks for a 750w minimum, 850w recommended.
Edit 2 (hah): I checked the first 970 I saw and it asks for a 500w PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487088

@franstone: The 970 has a minimum of 500w. Good catch!

@corevi: Thanks mang, I do what I can. ; )
@bleedingstarx: So you'd prob want a 550w or 600w power supply at least.
I checked what the 980 required and it was also 500w.
So I guess stay away from AMD if you aren't buying an 850w or higher.

If you were to spend £1050, you could get an i7-4790k (which is significantly more powerful than the locked variant, 4.0Ghz vs 3.6), 16Gb of RAM, a 970, and an SSD.

Also, with a maxwell GPU and haswell CPU, the PSU requirements are pretty low (see here for confirmation, this build came to 344W max). A 450W PSU would be more than enough, and superflower is pretty much the best name in power supplies.

And the Arc Mini R2 in this build is a micro ATX case, and will have a much smaller footprint than the 200R, if that matters to you. I personally think it looks better too.

@pcorb: Maybe it's just personal preference but I would never cut it that close with a power supply.
I held back from asking if he planned on using crossfire/sli at any point because that would obviously never happen with a 450w PSU.
I'd have to recommend at least going to a 500w which Nvidia themselves recommend.

Like Corevi has said, 970 has the best cost/performance ratio. The 980 isn't that big of a jump from the last higher end video card so the best thing to do is stick with a 970 and maybe upgrade to the higher end video card that comes out in the year or two which is expected to have the larger generational jump

@franstone: Nvidia purposefully overstate requirements significantly due to the fact that they don't know what the rest of your setup is, and don't want to be liable if it breaks. If you have a 970 in a rig with an FX-9590 running off a 450W Raidmax PSU, they can turn around and say that they recommended against that when your neighbourhood is inevitably incinerated.

A 450W Superflower GoldenGreenHX, on the other hand, is more than enough for a 970 with a Haswell i7.

If you're going for a 970 and an i7, you'll need a bigger power supply as well. You might get by on a 500W but consider a 600W even. Make sure it has the power supply has two 6-pin connectors for the 970.

Edit: Actually, you might need 6-pin and 8(6+2)-pin connectors, as some 970s have 6-pin and 8-pin connectors. Specifically the MSi GTX 970 Gaming that I'm thinking about replacing my Radeon HD7950 with, has this setup.