is my first budget PC build good to go? or is there any bottlenecking?

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Goyim

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Title says it all. I was wondering If I will be able to play titles such as BF4 smoothly on max settings using Mantle. and other titles like ESO and Watch dogs with max settings on 1080p 60FPS. Here are the specs

Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 Motherboard
AMD FM2 A6 6400K 3.9ghz - 4.1ghz turbo Dual Core CPU
8gb crucial DDR3 1600mhz (2x4) Performance RAM
1tb Seagate Barracuda Sata 6Gb/s 64mb Cache 7200rpm
AMD Radeon R9 280X 3gb GDDR5 GPU
Corsair CX600 80 Plus Bronze 600w Power Supply
Samsung 24x SH-224DB/BEBE Sata DVD Writer

am I right to be concerned about that PSU? I really am skinning my budget with this one because I was planning to overclock the GPU aswell
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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The CPU/Motherboard comboniation is a bad choice. The AMD A6 will do terribly in Watch Dogs.

This will perform a lot better, at least on the CPU side. I downgraded the graphics a bit.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $528.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

What is your exact budget? You should be able to overclock that GPU.
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

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Dec 17, 2012
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yeah... this is a messy build... why get an apu + gpu... the value isn't there... here is a nice alternative.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($112.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $726.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

now there are three parts in there you don't have...
1) a case (not sure if you forgot it)
2) a cpu cooler (not necessary, but good for overclocking)
3) a ssd. (I simply don't suggest builds without them.)

without the case and cpu cooler, this build is 661.92... if you take away the ssd it's $581.93

However, as i said, i don't suggest computer builds without an SSD. And anyone who suggests otherwise doesn't have one.
 
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G

Goyim

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I forgot to mention my budget amount. all of this costs under £500 including the gaming case Galaxy 3 with around £20 to spare on a gaming mouse

I heard components in the US are priced differently to the UK

EDIT: forgot to mention it includes the 20% VAT
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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Very true, but with the OP not likely to overclock, the Intel CPU's advantages in upgrade-ability, performance, and power consumption make it a better option for the OP.

An Intel CPU + dedicated GPU is the best option for just about everyone on a budget above $400.
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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UK:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor (£76.79 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£39.38 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£52.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card (£158.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£60.06 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer (£12.76 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £436.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/DESKTOP-COMPUTER-Galaxy-Bubble-Windows/dp/B005IDO352/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403931995&sr=8-1&keywords=galaxy+3+gaming+case

That's a pretty ugly case, and you'd be throwing out the power supply anyway. How about this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Compact-Computer/dp/B009GXZ8MM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1403932099&sr=8-4&keywords=atx+computer+case
 
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G

Goyim

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that is £482 in total, and that 3.4ghz doesn't look as appealing.
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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GHz means NOTHING. A dual core Intel CPU (3.4GHz) performs very close with an eight core AMD CPU at 4.0 GHz:

CPU_01.png


It's all about architecture, and I can guarantee that an Intel i3 will destroy a higher clocked dual core AMD CPU.

Isn't 500 your budget?
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

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Dec 17, 2012
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sorry didn't realize you were in england.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£70.20 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.25 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£64.76 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£58.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£55.49 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card (£158.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Cooler Master N300 ATX Mid Tower Case (£30.36 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£44.11 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £543.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

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Dec 17, 2012
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you don't own an I3... and i doubt you've used one. I do... today alone i handled 7 of them (had to count)... i will never suggest a dual cored cpu... hyperthreaded or not to someone with a new pc build. I spend all day working with top of the line systems and chips. You can certainly tell 2 things.

1) you always can tell if a system has a dual core or not. simply put, dual core from any manufacturer is painful. Those i3s do great in gaming because games are remarkably single or dual threaded endeavors... Just do 2 or 3 things in windows at the same time, and you'll spot the difference between a dual core and a quad core in a heartbeat.

2) without an ssd, outside of games, you might as well be on a single cored p4. as there is almost no difference in experience from windows 7 on a p4 (with 4gb of ram) and windows 7 on a i7... it's the hard drive that's the bottleneck... not the cpu.

I'm not saying those benches are "fake" what i'm saying is from an end user's perspective, unless all he does is game single and dual threaded games 24/7 and never once multitasks or uses his pc for anything else... he'll be much happier on a quad core or more cpu.

furthermore, with a quad core (anything, intel or amd) + a r9-280, he'll never be less then 60fps in pretty much any title at 1080p. so unless he's buying 300£ worth of monitors to go with his budget system, it doesn't really matter at all which chip maker he goes with.

 
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G

Goyim

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How about FPS and racing games in general? How will it do in BF4 and NFS Rivals?
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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I have an i3 in my house, and I use it every day. It is a very old i3-550 from 4 or 5 years ago and it does Chrome, Spotify, iTunes, Firefox, and tons of background crap all at the same time, great. Windows recognizes it as a quad core.

Sure, if you are trying to use a dual core to edit HD video and do professional stuff that you likely do, forget it. But for gaming and day to day tasks, it is an excellent option.
 
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damric

damric

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I'll be installing games tomorrow on my i3 rig. I'll report back my findings for games like Far Cry 3 (the Athlon handles very well, hopefully the i3 will), Everquest 2 (thinking the i3 will brute force this one), Battlefield 3 (probably favors Athlon, but we'll see), and the new XCOM (probably favors i3?).

The i3 is in my wife's rig intentionally so I don't have to tweak it and just let it run at stock and sip power :D
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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Both CPUs are good CPUs and both hold advantages and disadvantages.

Damric holds an excellent point about the Athlon 760K. It is an excellent CPU. Though my profile picture implies Intel fanboy-ism, I use an AMD CPU and I love it, and on a low budget, AMD provides excellent options.

Either an A8-6600K or A10-5800K/6800K or 760K paired with an FM2+ motherboard would do great for your build, (or even an FX-6300) but I just naturally lean towards Intel because of the upgrade path and power efficiency, both of which are terrible on the AMD side.

 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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Sure, I was using a tricky method there, but the truth is this - an i3 can hold it's own in gaming.

A hard drive or SSD won't make any difference after the game is loaded up.
 
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damric

damric

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There are very few instances when I recommend AMD. Intel is better in most instances, particularly when you start comparing stock i5 vs FX price range (when intel can use $50 mobo and stock cooler).

Even though my i3 results are meh...it's still 55W TDP compared to 100W + whatever OC adds on my Athlon 760K. Most of the Haswell i3s are priced much lower than mine too. I paid more for the highest binned one because I wanted it.

Ugh I forgot to add my FAQ (ever noticed I have a FAQ for everything?)
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

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true enough, however i still stand by what i was saying. I see it far too often. I'll be replacing a client's OLD core2duo with a top end i5, and the frank disappointment on their face just says it all. A hard drive is a hard drive... and in 90% of what you're doing in windows is hard drive bottlenecked. If i can't tell the difference in windows thanks to those hard drive bottlenecks how will some casual user tell?

The simple fact of the matter is an SSD should be mandatory equipment. Will it help you game better? nope. but everything else you do with the pc will work and play MUCH better.
 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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Sure, boot times, and program loading and file saving, it will work better, but not "everything else you do."

Once a program is loaded into the memory, it won't make any difference. Web browsing, gaming, and everyday stuff, the only thing that improves is a 1/2 of a second difference in the speed a program initially loads.

 
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Zircoben

Zircoben

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On a CPU budget below $100, it is pretty clear cut for AMD. For modern multi-core gaming, AMD is a better option. The Pentiums are great for... uh...?

Once you get to $100-150 it honestly depends on the games, and the user (if they will upgrade later, overclocking, etc.)

Above $150, Intel's i5 series takes the cake for nearly every use case.
 
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