Looking to buy or build a new rig.

[vodkabfc]

So im looking at building a new gaming PC in the near future, I have not even attempted to build a PC for over 9 years so im not 100% on what to get.

Any way im probably looking to save around £600 to £800, I just want some thing that's going to last me a few years playing the newer games as my current system is outdated and really starting to p*** me off now.

These are my current specs

Processor: Intel Core 2 6600 @ 2.4ghz
Gfx: Nvidia Geforce GTX 550 Ti
Ram: 4GB

Pile of crap basically, Id like to get a SSD in the new rig and im using a Samsung TV as a monitor at the moment so if any one could suggest a decent monitor too that would be great.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Luke.

**EDIT**
Forgot to mention this is completely from scratch like new Case etc.

[prowler707]

heres a build for ya http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2mdwpg which sits at just under your max saving of 800 pounds that is if google didnt lie to me (again) but not sure if that includes shipping taxes or any of that other crap for shipping out in your area however there are a few extras in there that i wasnt sure weather or not you needed/wanted them and can do without: wireless networking, sound card, operating system, headphones/speakers, keyboard/mouse, etc. the monitor i picked here is a 16:9 22" 1080p display not sure how big you wanted the display but im sitting here with a 20" which does me fine. also i cant say whether or not any cables are included i didn't see an option to add any.

otherwise here are some tips for todays necessary requirements AS I SPECULATE THEM (as in MY opinion) :
CPU: a quad core clocked at 3 GHz is nice but try for something greater such as a 6 core 3.5 GHz or better that should last at least 3-5 years i find that amd CPUs do very well especially in the backwards compatibility area with the motherboards that support them however thats up to you
RAM: its not all about size anymore but your gonna need at the very least 8GB for the next couple years clocked at about 1666 MHz or better fast ram helps for a fast system get in get out and get done
SSD: these are still VERY expensive still in comparison to a HDD @ 10k RPM but because there are no moving parts you dont have to wait the nano seconds it takes to write to each sector and is worth the pricewhen looking for that extra edge in performance unfortunately i couldn't find one any bigger than 256GB for under 66 pounds (google conversion from 100 USD)
Operating System: i tried windows 8 for a little while and was dissapointed, its backwards compatibility issues are terrible(to put it EXTREMELY nicely) but it supports directx 12 for the latest games
GPU: this is always a tough one, you want performance but why spend 250 pounds(about 380 USD) on a card whenever you can take a small hit for half the price and still do very well plus i've had both ati and nvidia cards and i personally prefer nvidia but then again thats up to you
Display: i didnt think you wanted to spend over 1000 pounds on a display with ultra crazy resolution but then that means 1080p displays are a dime a dozen in comparison enjoy full HD for cheap XD
Case: unfortunately the case i chose was for the better card that needed a better power supply however the bigger case allows for more case fans ( though i only put one up there) cooling is important also i made sure to pick out fans that have high RPMs/CFMs for both the case and cpu fan to ensure excellent cooling should you be interested in a little OC (be careful i have been lucky so far)
Optical Drive: these are more or less going obsolete outside of the operating system or retail copies of games the one i picked out reads and writes cd/dvd/br
Sound Card: not 100% necessary but nice to have for excellent sound and taking off a little bit of the load on your CPU along with some sound features you may not get otherwise more of a finishing touch than anything else
Motherboard: you may want to see if the bios is up to date BEFORE installing this particular CPU on this particular board mainly because it may not be a high enough revision to recognize the CPU theres no way of telling till you try WARNING: flashing the bios is a RISK it may fail and cause your board to no longer work and its true for ALL motherboards only about 10% fail or so (broadly speaking that is) make sure you have a smaller CPU that will fit that board to check it out and see if you need to update the bios (let me know if you need help with that)
Power Supply: i prefer choosing a power supply thats about 100W greater than what is needed (typically determined by your video card's and cpu's requirement) the latest videocards are asking for about 400-500W so about a 650W or better should work (considering the CPU) they also have an efficiency rating scored as 80+(bronze, silver, gold, platinum, titanium) which are more expensive

if you got any more questions dont be afraid to ask and btw i have that same exact video card and a similar AMD processor i know your pain XD

[AOD_BritishBob]

I'm assuming thats the Q6600. Your CPU/motherboard should be ok to swap over to a new build. I have a Q6600 in my backup rig and while it's not the most up to date CPU it's still relatively competitive for gaming.
PC tower is personal choice.
You can get a decent 120GB SSD for £60. Well worth it. You can use your older hard drives in the new machine for mass storage. Install your OS(windows) on the small SSD and then install games/programs/documents onto your old hard drive.
GPU. An AMD 280x is under £200. The Nvidia 960 is £170 ish. Nvidia 970 is £260+.
But you'd probably need a new power supply for that. If you have a 550W-600W psu or greater you might be ok. It would then depend on the connectors you old psu has. Corsair always a good shout for PSUs.
Most of your other stuff can be recycled from your old PC. Thing like CD drives ect, as long as they work, will always work.

A new build doesn't always have to mean starting from scratch. If your willing to use eBay you can get some really, really good stuff on there. I'll watch this thread, or you can pm me if, you want any more info.

[EpicBlob]

Eh I dunno, Getting a solid motherboard/CPU will be the hardest components to swap out and tend to last the longest. It'll cost a bit more but I'd recommend getting something newer.

In terms of pricing I'm not sure how the conversion is but heres the total price for my setup in US.

Intel 2500k + Asus Z77 Motherboard (USED from Ebay) - $200
MSI GTX 970 GPU - $350
8GB HyperX memory - $50
600w Thermaltake PSU - $30
Raidmax Case - $30
1TB Drive - $50
Raidmax CPU Cooler - $20
Asus 23inch 1080p IPS Monitor - $130

~Total price - $880

I saved the most money from buying the used cpu and motherboard from Ebay. It's a hit or miss but for the performance I am getting, the price is a complete steal for what you get. CPU and Motherboard are also the components that tend to last the longest so are less likely to have problems.

I started off with a system that got me through day to day but ended up upgrading to future-proof it. I would personally spend the money now and lay back for several years without worrying :)

[WaR_2G]

Personally, at this point you may want to wait until Intel releases Skylake in 2H 2015. That is is you are willing to wait that long.

[ModJPB]

Personally, at this point you may want to wait until Intel releases Skylake in 2H 2015. That is is you are willing to wait that long.

+1 this idea. Then you can choose the latest and greatest or buy the last years cpu when prices drop. For now I would suggest buying just a new GPU, SSD and monitor. You will be surprised how different your system will feel with an SSD drive. It is like night and day makes an old system feel like new. A new gpu, especially upgrading from a gtx550, will perform vastly better. For gaming I would suggest one of the 120hz monitors by ASUS. The 120hz is butter smooth in windows and while gaming there is little to no screen tearing with vsync off. This should allow you to hold off awhile for a new cpu and motherboard until ddr4 and directx12 matures.