Accepting suggestions for an inexpensive but powerful gaming rig (around 550 GBP, 800 USD)

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errantchef

Honorable
Feb 17, 2012
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Spent the last week surfing and looking for nice compats and quality/price.

Please note the lack of optical and hard drives, already got loads of them from previous systems (SSDs included)

What do you think?

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZU1y
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZU1y/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZU1y/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£146.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£61.80 @ Dabs)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£44.29 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card (Purchased For £144.30)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£48.99 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: Be Quiet Pure Power L8 530W (Purchased For £63.95)
Total: £534.81
 
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ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
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1. Omit cooler.

2. Omit thermal compound.

3. Get a better PSU.


Here are a few takes. With a Nvidia GPU:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£143.59 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£67.92 @ Dabs)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£38.91 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (£228.95 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£48.99 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£69.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £598.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)



With an AMD GPU:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£143.59 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£67.92 @ Dabs)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£38.91 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (£249.07 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£48.99 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£69.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £618.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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Oct 30, 2008
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£146.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI 990FXA-GD65 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£84.50 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£41.45 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (£219.99 @ Dabs)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.94 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£52.41 @ Dabs)
Total: £617.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 
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ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
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29,960
Why? I stuck within the budget. I don't understand why you want a gaming rig but want to cheap out on the graphics card.

And even though games do not use eight cores, it doesn't make the FX-8350 bad at gaming. It is very good at gaming. You don't have to use all cores of a CPU for it to be good at a particular task.
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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Not sure where you are getting that impression...

CPU_03.png


54503.png


Here is some recommended reading:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6934/choosing-a-gaming-cpu-single-multigpu-at-1440p
 
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errantchef

Honorable
Feb 17, 2012
70
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10,630
I've been studying your responses and came up with a new list.

Not extremely happy of having a 125W CPU, but if it gets the job done...
Also was ATI+AMD or Intel+nVidia, not a combination of both, to minimize compat issues.

Please note that I don't do multi screen and don't go over 1080p, so really don't need a 3gb VRAM

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£146.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£61.80 @ Dabs)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£44.29 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card (£169.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£48.99 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£69.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £566.54
 
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Marcopolo123

Marcopolo123

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Jan 31, 2013
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Get the fx 8320 for 120£, performance is the same , its just clocked at 3,5ghz instead of 4,0ghz. You can oc it urself.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-FX8320-Edition-4-0GHz-Socket/dp/B009O7YU56/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369481857&sr=8-1&keywords=Fx+8320
Well a fx 6300 is also very near of the performance of the 8-cores..., also can be achieved very easily by overclocking.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-FX6300-Edition-4-1GHz-Socket/dp/B009O7YORK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369481857&sr=8-2&keywords=Fx+8320

For gpu the sapphire hd 7870 XT for 200£ is highly recommended.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11199-20-20G-CrossFireX-Multi-GPU-Technology/dp/B00AX2ONI0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1369482123&sr=8-7&keywords=Hd+7870
The performance is about the same as a hd 7950

The power supply. Be quiet e9-series . Very very very good, silent, perfect
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Be-Quiet-E9-CM-580W-Straight-Power/dp/B005LUXLUU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369482437&sr=8-2&keywords=Be+quiet+e9
German brand, e9-series is highly recommended, very often recommended in german forums...

 
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errantchef

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Feb 17, 2012
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@marcopolo: based on your suggestion, changed CPU and PSU
@x79: i prefer to go above the needed, just in case

new list:

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£146.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£61.80 @ Dabs)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£44.29 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card (Purchased For £144.30)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£48.99 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 10 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (Purchased For £83.46)
Total: £554.32
 
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X79

X79

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Apr 17, 2013
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True it's nice to have some leeway. However if you go too overboard, you'll reduce the

efficiency of the PSU and also risk damaging it and the other components.
 
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errantchef

Honorable
Feb 17, 2012
70
0
10,630
Understandable.

What about the mobo? ASRock isn't too cheap/inefficient for gaming?
After that I think the rig is ready

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZU1y
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZU1y/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZU1y/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£146.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.49 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£61.80 @ Dabs)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£44.29 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card (Purchased For £144.30)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£48.99 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: Be Quiet Pure Power L8 530W (Purchased For £63.95)
Total: £534.81
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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Oct 30, 2008
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The XFX unit I recommended isn't modular but provides plenty of juice for OPs need and is a high quality PSU. Paying extra for gold certification is not worth the extra $$ since the average lifespan electric savings would not equal the price premium one would pay for gold certification.
 
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