Budget Light Gaming PC...

lfc123 · Feb 28, 2014

Hello,
I'm building a PC which will mainly be used just for browsing, light video encoding and occasional,mild gaming (Games such as FIFA 14 and NFS Rivals) . My budget for the CPU+GPU is approx. £160. I have come up with 3 options; which would be the best?:

1) i3 4330 (£90) and Radeon 7770 (£70)
2) i5 4440 using the intergrated Intel HD 4600. (£130)
3) AMD A10-7850K (£130)

So far, I am edging towards option 1...

My main concern is how long it takes for the PC to be usable after start up. I know that this is mainly down to the HDD, but I currently have a G1610 and it takes 20-30 seconds for the PC to be up to speed before I can open Chrome. I also have an i5 2320 pc, and this open programs as soon as I log in. Will the i3 have any problem with this?

Also, how long will the i3 last before becoming obsolete? I'm hoping for a good 3 and 1/2 years out of it...Would it be better to go with the i5 just for raw processing power? How much of a difference is there between the i3 and i5 in terms of everyday use within Windows 7 (opening programs, searching for documents etc etc)....Is the difference marginal or quite large?

Thanks.

ewok93 · Feb 28, 2014

Integrated graphics are really awful. I would go for the 7850k out of all of those, but the best would probably get a 6300 and 7770.

lfc123 · Feb 28, 2014

You mean the FX-6300 and Radeon 7770? Would the 6300 offer superior non gaming performance compared the the i3?

LordPonce · Feb 28, 2014

lfc123 :

An i3 has MUCH better single threaded performance, but the FX is great for gaming.

lfc123 · Feb 28, 2014

Hmmm...As I'll mainly be using the PC with applications, not gaming, my head is tilted towards the i3+7770...

CTurbo · Feb 28, 2014

The i3 is better than the FX6300 in some things and the FX6300 is better in other things. They really do trade blows. I recommend the i3 4130 if you go with an i3 because it is a much better value compared to the 4330. You will not notice a difference in everyday use between an i3, i5, FX4300, FX6300, or FX8320. Processors have little to nothing to do with booting up. My wife's netbook uses a dual core 1.0ghz AMD and an ssd and it boots in less than 20 seconds. My quad core i7 laptop with an ssd boots is only a couple of seconds faster.

What about a motherboard?
Define "light gaming"
What resolution?

You could consider an A10-6800k or A10 6790k
FX 4300 or Athlon x4 760k/750k

CTurbo · Feb 28, 2014

You already have a g1610 or is that a different build? If you already have a g1610, I would just look at getting an ssd and a mid-range video card like the HD 7750/7770 or GTX650ti/750ti.

A ssd would be a much better real world upgrade.

lfc123 · Feb 28, 2014

I'll probably go with the 4130 then. I think you've misunderstood me, booting time is not a problem, its how long it takes for applications to start after logging in to Windows.

If I go with the i3, I'll probably go with something low-end such as the Asus H81M-A as I don't intend to overclock.
When I say light gaming, I mean games that aren't too intensive on the GPU, such as FIFA 14. Screen resolution is 1600x900.

Don't want to go with AMD unless I really have do, due to the lack of value in AM3+ motherboards, and lack of a good upgrade path.

LordPonce · Feb 28, 2014

lfc123 :

Depends what applications. If its multithreaded, the FX is the way to go. If its more strenuous on 1-2 cores, get the i3

ewok93 · Feb 28, 2014

If you're doing a bunch of different things at once, go for the 6300. They are both great, but the 6300 will probably be better for gaming.

CTurbo · Feb 28, 2014

I really dislike the super budget motherboards. sata III and USB 3.0 are too important to me. fm2/fm2+ are a great value, and offer great features, but yeah Intel always offer the best upgrade path.

lfc123 · Feb 28, 2014

Yeah, I will be multi-tasking a lot. When I say applications, it'll probably be 10-15 tabs on chrome, with some light video encoding in the background. I'd rather get better performance on general use and worse on gaming than the other way around.

The motherboard that I mentioned (Asus H81M-A) has USB 3.0 ports and supports SATA3.

CTurbo · Feb 28, 2014

ssds are not just for booting. Everything about windows in general will be much faster. Opening and closing programs, searching, scanning, transferring files, saving, loading, sleep, hibernation, and pretty much every windows task will be noticeably quicker.

lfc123 · Feb 28, 2014

Would a 60gb SSD be good enough for Windows 7...?

CTurbo · Feb 28, 2014

Officially yes, but 120-128GB is recommended. I have had win7 on a 64GB ssd before and it worked just fine. I moved pagefile to a hdd and disabled hibernation. I think I kept it around 35-40GB under normal usage. 120-128GB is much more comfortable and you won't have to worry about space.

lfc123 · Feb 28, 2014

I think I should go for the i3 4130 +7770 route then...Will this SSD be good enough - http://bit.ly/1pFXvjc

CTurbo · Feb 28, 2014

I didn't know that there were any H81 motherboards that offered both USB 3.0 and sata III. It's usually one or the other or neither. I learned something new today. haha

I still would go for a B85 board though. Better build quality and more ports and connections. My fm2+ came with 8 sata III ports and I already have 4 used up.

CTurbo · Feb 28, 2014

Yes that is a fine ssd.

lfc123 · Feb 28, 2014

Really can't go beyond that Asus, my budget won't allow it. The SSD is pushing my budget to the max. If I could, I would go with a 60gb SSD, but the price difference between a 60gb and 120gb is only £10...

lfc123 · Feb 28, 2014

Would I be better off going with this SSD...Which one would be faster? http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BQ4F9ZA/?tag=pcp0f-21.

The Mushkin says its write speeds go up to 550 mb/s, while the Crucial only 115 mb/s? Why such a large difference?

How about this- http://bit.ly/1hrtVKs

ewok93 · Feb 28, 2014

http://www.ebuyer.com/621603-exdisplay-samsung-120gb-ssd-840-evo-ssd-only-ebr1-mz-7te120bw That's best if you can afford it, the 840s are great SSDs, a cheaper one is not worth it, spending the extra money will help a lot.

CTurbo · Feb 28, 2014

Go with the Mushkin

sora · Mar 1, 2014

lfc123 :

I'd do the AMD considering your budget.

lfc123 · Mar 1, 2014

The Samsung is really out of my budget, which is already stretched with the addition of an SSD. My 3 options are:
1) The Mushkin
2)The Crucial
3) The Kingston.

CTurbo · Mar 1, 2014

You're over thinking it. Any of them will be fine.

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