Best Gaming PC 2018
Welcome to Palicomp's guide to the best gaming PC of 2018, here we will advise you on what will be best for you and what you will need to get the best performance for your budget.
The We will go from the cases that will house your new system to the minor details like where to store your games.
Best Budget Gaming PC
Firstly we will look at a budget system, ideal for the teenager gamer, Battling in Fortnite, Creating in Minecraft or Funtime in Roblox in mind.
Best Budget Gaming Case
So first things to be looking for when it comes to a budget gaming case, firstly the price, anything under £50 is ideal on the basis that majority of cases on the market will be suitable for the entry level gaming nowadays offering reasonable cooling, maybe some LED fans with see through side panel and a selection of USB ports.
CIT Dragon
For a budget gaming system, the CIT dragon comes stacked with 3 x 120mm LED fans, so airflow a plenty. With the options of Black or White chassis with a choice of colour LED fans then this case struggles to not fit in your environment. For a budget case this will allow the likes of a GTX 1080 to be included which is why we have given this the case to have for a budget build. Available on all AMD & Intel Custom PC configurators.
♦ 3 x 120mm LED fans included ♦ Colour choice to meet all needs ♦ Good airflow - Lots of room for Graphics Card
Best Budget Gaming CPU
Let’s face it, even the best PCs are powerless without the best processors. Your CPU makes it possible to get from point A to point B, whether you’re working, or trying to be the last person standing in Fortnite. Even if you don’t plan on jumping into PC gaming, there are benefits to having the best CPU, but then we have to look at your budget, if it is for gaming a graphics card is where the money needs to be. So ideally having something that will do what you need to do now, but having the option to simply add a graphics card in the future.
AMD 2400G
Due to the recent price increases due to the Intel CPU shortages in the 2nd half of 2018, we have opted for the AMD Ryzen 2400G, few reasons for this, if you have a tight budget that you look to expand on,then the performance from the 2400G with the RX Vega 11 Graphics is pretty reasonable. Claimed as the best Gaming Graphics you can get on a Desktop Processor with 4 Cores/8 Processing Threads, along with powerful Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics onboard you get a steady FPS in the likes of Fortnite which is one of the most prominent games of 2018 for teenagers.
♦ Powerful RADEON Vega 11 Graphics ♦ Price to Performance Value ♦ Good Starter To Add Graphics Card Later
While they’re not as exciting as the best processors or graphics cards, the best motherboards are probably the most important part of your new PC build. With all the latest PC technology, the best motherboards are the backbone of the best PCs. The best motherboards will help your PC hardware reach its full potential by fully utilizing and optimizing it. With a budget build in mind then we have to think expansion, what do you want to do in the future? Will I ever need this? What happens if I want add that?
ASUS PRIME B350-PLUS
This board’s lower price means it has one of AMD’s more affordable chipsets. Don’t think that Asus has used the cheapest bit of silicon it can find, though – the B350 sits in the middle of the range, below the X370 but above products that are designed for budget boards and small-form-factor slates.It supports dual-graphics, albeit only for AMD Radeon hardware, and it caters for all of the usual RAID levels and CPU overclocking. The Asus board doesn’t have high-end features and it’s not the quickest performer, but it has enough to prove suitable for mid-range rigs and it comes with a keen price – so that’s enough to earn a recommendation from us as our favourite AMD budget board. If you need to cut corners the ASUS A320M-K is a good option also saving you even more for the entry level budget gaming system.
♦ Full ATX board with room to expand ♦ M.2 Options - Crossfire Support ♦ Good Option To Add Graphics Card Later
Best Budget RAM
RAM can breathe all new life into your computer, and make heavy tasks like gaming and multi-tasking a breeze. With enough RAM, you won’t need to worry about leaving a couple extra browser tabs open. With the idea of this being a budget gaming build we have to go with 8GB for the price point, yet again with the parts we have included then you can easily upgrade to 16GB if it is that you feel you need the extra performance.
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB 3000Mhz LPX
There's a reason why world-champion overclockers, extreme gaming enthusiasts and high-end system builders all trust CORSAIR for high-performance memory that they can install with confidence and pride. Whether you're breaking your own records or you're simply building a dream gaming rig, you can count on CORSAIR memory. Going with 8GB will be enough RAM for entry level gaming, most games, even triple A titles will still run, if not you will be prepared to upgrade to a 16GB system with ease.
Best Storage
Although consumer-based SSD units top out at 4TB, those are still rare and expensive. You're more likely to find 500GB to 1TB units as primary drives in systems. While 500GB is considered a "base" hard drive capacity in 2018, pricing concerns can push that down to 128GB for lower-priced SSD-based systems. Multimedia users will require even more, with 1TB to 4TB drives common in high-end systems. Basically, the more storage capacity, the more stuff you can keep on your PC. Cloud-based (Internet) storage may be good for housing files you plan to share among your phone, tablets and PC, but local storage is less expensive, and you only have to buy it once.
1TB Sata3 HDD - 2TB Sata3 HDD
It is hard to advise on this one, only you know what you need, budget in mind and gaming the aim, a standard 1TB or 2TB will be sufficient. Enough room to house your favourite games and speed will not be a worry for a entry level gaming system. Looking to the future, SSD prices have dramatically dropped in the latter half of 2018, so I nice little upgrade for Christmas.
Best Budget Gaming PSU
What PSU do you need? How much wattage?, why is there a such a price difference? - As time has moved on we have seen a more efficient range of components available, generally power consumption is lower which is a good thing. With regards to the wattage needed it can be reasonable low now, but when you have a grapphics card included then you will need to ensure that the ampage the graphics card is needed. Feel free to checkout Coolermaster's PSU Calculator, this should give you a rough idea of what you need ~ POWER-SUPPLY-CALCULATOR - or to make it easier for you, just call us: 01270 898 104
Coolermaster Masterwatt Lite 500W
We have gone for this for a few reasons, it is a relaible option we have found with good efficiency ratings, it gives ample power for the above spec but also gives headroom to allow the addition of a reasonable graphics card like the nVidia GTX1050 Ti 4GB. So it covers you for this possible upgrade in the future.
Budget Gaming Summary
So for the above you can get an up and running basic gaming system, we are not by any means saying this will max out performance in any games but it's a starter budget system, ideal for entry level Fortnite/Minecraft gaming system with a view to improve on.
| Budget Gaming Case | CIT Dragon ATX |
| Budget Gaming CPU | AMD RYZEN 5 2400G |
| Budget Gaming Motherboard | ASUS B350-Plus |
| Budget Gaming RAM | CORSAIR 8GB 3000Mhz Lpx |
| Budget Gaming Storage | 1TB/2TB Sata3 HDD |
| Budget Gaming PSU | Coolermaster Masterwatt Lite 500W |
Create your own Budget Gaming System Now
Best Gaming PC
Moving on from that budget nonsense...... now we will be looking at the true best Gaming PC for the money........An Advanced Streaming and Gaming System in mind.
Best Gaming Case
So with the budget being more generous you can expand on the case, adding a few features and expansion in mind. So the price upto the £100 price mark is what we would class as an advanced option. So cooling a plenty, options for water-cooling as standard, then the standard features of USB3.0 etc as default. Within this price point we can get a branded, better quality case also.
Fractal Design R6/GameMax Silent Gaming
For an advanced gaming system, the FRACTAL DESIGN R6 comes stacked with 3 x 140mm fans, so airflow will be good for this fully enclosed case. With the options of Black as standard we do have other colours available contact us, also Windowed versions. One of the main reasons would be the case is optimised for silence with high-density industrial dampening on side, top and front panels. If budget is an option consider the GameMax Silent Gaming as it is literally the same case. Available on all AMD & Intel Custom PC configurators.
♦ 3 x 140mm fans included ♦ Colour/Window choice to meet all needs ♦ Good airflow - Lots of room for expansion
Best Gaming CPU
So we need a CPU that will be capable of all the latest games - for the latest titles like GTA V - Farcry 5 the CPU can be under quite a bit of demand. So Quad-Core is a necessity (but is standard really) - extra threads and cores may come into play with future titles.
INTEL i5 9600K
So with the realease of the new 9 series Intel now released and prices steadying then we have opted for the Intel i5 9600K, it is definetely debatable whether to opt for the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X - this is just as good option for alot less and with extra threads.
♦ Extreme Single Threaded Performance ♦ 6 Cores - 6 Threads - Turbo upto 4.6Ghz ♦ Play all the latest Games
The motherboard just makes the CPU and Graphics work?............in a way yes, but you need to consider what features you will need and you want to maximise the perfromance of your CPU and Graphics, we don't want to hold them back. Do I need RGB? Will I have use optane?
ASUS TUF Z390-PLUS GAMING
This mediocre option from the ASUS Z390 range is good option to meet majority of gamers needs, an ATX gaming motherboard with OptiMem II, Aura Sync RGB LED lighting, DDR4 4266+ MHz support, 32Gbps M.2, Intel Optane memory ready, and native USB 3.1 Gen 2. With GPU Temperature Sensing & Fan Xpert 4: Ensures every fan achieves the best balance of cooling performance and acoustics for your geeky needs.
♦ Full ATX board with room to expand ♦ M.2 / Optane Ready / Aura Sync RGB
Best RAM
RAM can breathe all new life into your computer, and make heavy tasks like gaming and multi-tasking a breeze. With enough RAM, you won’t need to worry about leaving a couple extra browser tabs open. With the idea of this being a budget gaming build we have to go with 8GB for the price point, yet again with the parts we have included then you can easily upgrade to 16GB if it is that you feel you need the extra performance.
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB 3000Mhz LPX
There's a reason why world-champion overclockers, extreme gaming enthusiasts and high-end system builders all trust CORSAIR for high-performance memory that they can install with confidence and pride. Whether you're breaking your own records or you're simply building a dream gaming rig, you can count on CORSAIR memory. Going with 16GB will be enough RAM for the most intensive games around.
Best Storage
The best storage option would to be have an M.2 drive for your Operating system, An M.2 drive for your games, then a conventional HDD for boring stuff like work and backups. Obviously this may not be viable budget wise for most, so we are suggesting an M.2 along with a HDD is the best option for price and performance.
Samsung 250GB Evo 970 M.2 + 2TB Sata3 HDD
Everyone has their own needs, some people have 20 games that they all play 50GB plus in size, then there are the loyal gamers playing the classics like CS:Go and nothing else. But the combination of an M.2 and a mechanical HDD will be best, you could install the more important games to the M.2 for faster loading times, then use the mechanical option for games that you only launch once in a blue moon. As pricing in Q4 2018 shows there is no need to not go for a 250GB M.2 along with a 2TB HDD, the M.2 is best being a PCI-E Nvme to get speeds of upto 3400Mb/s Read and 1500Mb/s Write.
Best Gaming Graphics Card
The main player in PC Gaming, majority of games are more graphically hungry than anything else, so investing as much money as possible on the graphics card is essesntial when high-end gaming is the intention.
Nvidia GTX1070 or RTX2070
We believe when 1080p gaming is the desired resolution then the GTX1070 is a good option for all the latest games. As we now know the next generation of Nvidia technologies is the new RTX series which will revolutionise gaming in the future with it's behaviour of lighting and the visions through the virtual 3D scene for you the gamer. While the GTX 1070 isn’t the top-end current-gen graphics card that Nvidia offers, it still packs quite a punch for gaming and media tasks. Based on the Pascal architecture, this GPU offers a smooth experience at 1440p resolution for all recent titles – although the GTX 1070 Ti boasts a boost in frame rate, if your budget can stretch a little further. When games are able to utilise Ray Tracing then the RTX2070 would be a good investment, this allows your GPU to produce far more realistic lighting effects, rendering environments with startling contrast. The difference is seriously impressive, with the upgrade to real-time shading making a serious impact on what you see. Pricing is the question? if the 1070 drops then it is hard to upgrade at the moment (Q4 2018)
Best Gaming PSU
Ctrl + V .......What PSU do you need? How much wattage?, why is there a such a price difference? - As time has moved on we have seen a more efficient range of components available, generally power consumption is lower which is a good thing. With regards to the wattage needed it can be reasonable low now, but when you have a grapphics card included then you will need to ensure that the ampage the graphics card is needed. Feel free to checkout Coolermaster's PSU Calculator, this should give you a rough idea of what you need ~ POWER-SUPPLY-CALCULATOR - or to make it easier for you, just call us: 01270 898 104
Corsair 750W Gold CX750M
Best PSU option for a good gaming Build. With the inclusion of the graphics card we have added then this option will give the system ensough power with efficiency and quality also in mind. 80 PLUS Gold efficiency and modular design gives a nice looking interior. Flat, sleeved black modular cables with clearly-marked connectors make installation fast and straightforward, with good-looking results
Advanced Gaming PC Summary
So for the above you can get an up and running basic gaming system, we are not by any means saying this will max out performance in any games but it's a starter budget system, ideal for entry level Fortnite/Minecraft gaming system with a view to improve on.
| Advanced Gaming Case | Fractal Design R6 (Alternative - GameMax Silent) |
| Advanced Gaming CPU | Intel i5 9600K (Alternative - AMD Ryzen 5 2600X) |
| Advanced Gaming Motherboard | ASUS TUF Z390-Plus Gaming (Alternative - ASUS X470-Plus Gaming) |
| Advanced Gaming RAM | CORSAIR 16GB 3000Mhz Lpx |
| Advanced Gaming Storage | 250GB Samsung M.2 970 Evo/2TB Sata3 HDD |
| Advanced Gaming PSU | Corsair CX750M - 750W Gold Modular |
Create your own Advanced Gaming System Now
