Advice & Suggestions required for Desktop PC for Football Manager 2019 etc.

[JRJMcC]

Hi.
I am looking at buying a new desktop pc.
I mainly would be using it for games like Football Manager 2019, Sid Meier games and that type of turn-based simulation games.
So, I need a desktop that would work really well for those games.
However, I won't be playing any of the more graphics-intense type of games that are probably most associated with a 'gaming pc'.

So essentially I was hoping for some advice, suggestions and recommendations for what to opt for and why.
Links are very welcome.
I am always strapped for cash so really the absolute most i could afford is around £230. I know that is not very much when talking about a gaming computer but because the specifications of what i require are not as high as what most people require for gaming then hopefully there will be something in my price range?
I have seen some desktops on Amazon that seem to match the specs but they are unfamiliar brands or don't have any reviews so i am unsure of whether to buy them or not.
Any advice would be appreciated.
I know i probably am coming across as such a noob but i certainly am in terms of modern pc gaming so i don't mind admitting it, haha.

The Specs for Football Manager 2019 are -
OS: Windows 7 (SP1), 8/8.1, 10 (1803/April 2018 Update) – 64-bit or 32-bit
Processor: Intel Pentium 4, Intel Core or AMD Athlon – 2.2 GHz +
Memory: 2GB RAM
Graphics: Intel GMA X4500, Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT or AMD/ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 – 256MB VRAM
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 7GB available space

The Specs for Sid Meier's Beyond Earth are -
OS: Windows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7. Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.0 GHz. Memory: 2 GB RAM. Graphics: 256 MB ATI HD3650 or better, 256 MB nVidia 8800 GT or better, or Intel HD 3000 or better integrated graphics.

 

[SpyderTracks]

You wouldn't be able to get a new PC for that budget, especially not a custom PC from PC Specialist.

You'd be better off checking out the second hand market, or more preferably saving up more cash to afford something new.

The benefit of new is that you get a much clearer upgrade path where you can upgrade individual components rather than having to replace the whole build, so in the long term it works out a lot cheaper. You'd be looking at around £500 for a new PC.

 

[Oussebon]

Just to add to the above, Civ games can be quite demanding - or at the very least, benefit from better hardware a lot.

Civ 6 turn times for instance rely quite heavily on CPU performance. With a weak CPU, you're gonna spend a long time late game waiting for the AI turns to process.

FM is quite sensitive to CPU frequency, cores/threads, RAM frequency, and storage speed, as it's essentially a database/sim rather than a regular game.

If you're lucky you might be able to get a laptop with a decent Ryzen APU in it for a few hundred quid on sale. Or find something second hand. But if £250 is a a very, very serious amount of money to you, you should definitely look into whether saving a little more could net you something better value that will last a lot longer before you find its performance unacceptable.