PC Build instead of a PS4 - need help with components please

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TheMagicPirate

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I am currently looking into replacing my PS3 with a PS4, but I'm toying with the idea of building a gaming PC instead.

Having recently gotten married and bought our first house my main restriction is budget, I'll have £349 (PS4 price) minimum but can maybe stretch to about £600. Ideally cheaper is better.

The 'good' news is that the PC will only ever be plugged into my living room TV so will never need to go above 1080p, and being an ex-console gamer, running on Ultra settings would be nice, but is not essential, as long as it can keep up with the console game equivalents.

I've done a bit of research and come up with this build;

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£132.79 @ CCL Computers)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock Topflow SR1 66.8 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler (£35.87 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£48.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston Predator Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£77.99 @ Dabs)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 4GB Dual-X Video Card (£157.96 @ Amazon UK)
Case: BitFenix Neos Black/Blue ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Kustom PCs)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Thunder 600W ATX Power Supply (£45.44 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£74.43 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £603.42

There is no HDD as I plan to rip out the 500GB drive from an old TiVo box I have for now as the build is currently the top end of my budget

I'm hoping people can offer some advice on the quality of this build or any advice on replacing any parts? Fingers crossed it a bit overkill for the max 1080 res I'm capped at.

Thanks Very Much!

EDIT: I've just noticed that the CPU comes with the cooler in the box. Are the included coolers any good, or is it still recommended to get a 3rd party one?


 
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Bossyfins
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WhiteSnake91

WhiteSnake91

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That's good for the price, I think you'll be happy with the performance. I'm a long time console gamer too and even being able to play stuff period on PC made me happy lol. Your GPU will be fine for ultra 1080p, at the very worst having to turn the taxing MSAA off and maybe going to high, but it's a good gpu. And since both consoles use 8 core cpu your 8350 will age very well.
 
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Bossyfins

Bossyfins

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Its a good build, but you might want to fix something
Your PSU isnt that great in quality. I recommend an EVGA, Antec, SeaSonic, or XFX psu.

Also, for AMD, it is HIGHLY recommended that you get a 3rd party one. AMD cpus produce more heat, but it doesnt mean AMD is a bad company.
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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Cheaper ,far better (you can't run an 8 core on that little Asus board-it will throttle)
8320+ the themis cooler will hit 8350 speeds easily on the GB board.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£109.36 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK THEMIS 65.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£19.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£65.86 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£57.97 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£140.01 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£26.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£49.76 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£74.43 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £544.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-22 11:01 GMT+0000

Edit - with the money saved buy an ssd ,even a cheap 120gb model like this

HyperX FURY 120GB SSD SATA 3 2.5-inch (7mm Height) with Adapter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KW3MTBS/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_iLB6ub0FW3FS0

Worth every penny - its fine using your old TiVo HD for general stuff & games etc but an hard drive upgrade in the future will necessitate an is reinstall.

Installing on a new decent ssd when building will mean you can add extra storage as & when budget allows with no messing about/reinstalling etc.
 
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TheMagicPirate

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Thats for the responses guys.

I'm glad the Ultra options will work WhiteSnake91, as long as I don't find that the console versions look massively better in the near future I'll be happy.


The PSU was the one area where I didn't really recognise any names and plumped for the mid priced one that was higher than the estimated wattage on partspicker. I'll take your advice Bossyfins and change the PSU for one of the brands you recommended and keep the 3rd party cooler.\

Cheaper and better is always welcome madmatt, thanks! Probably a daft question but how do I know which parts of my build will throttle based on other bits of hardware?
 
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madmatt30

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nothign will throttle on your build above apart from the board,its fine for the 6300 but it struggles with the high power draw of the 8 cores (I know this because I own one & ive tried it) - its now sitting in my lounge gaming setup under the tv paired with an overclocked 6300 & a gtx 970.
your build is well balanced (apart from the board) but there is absolutely no reason in the uk to buy a 270x now when the 280 (which is a far better card) is pretty much the same price or cheaper.
if you wanted to go matx for the living room ( & I probably would personally over a full size/mid tower) then I would do this personally,an overclocked 6300@4ghz performs pretty much the same as an 8350 in gaming.
This is a very similar build I built someone before xmas & was an absolutely great performer & was also for a lounge tv setup

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£75.00 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler (£13.65 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£39.59 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£54.00 @ Kustom PCs)
Storage: Kingston Fury 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£140.01 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case (£32.86 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£49.76 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£74.43 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £559.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-22 11:48 GMT+0000

the gigabye board above is the only matx board I would consider for an amd am3+ matx build - its the best matx board by a long long stretch,you could just about get away with an 8 core on it but when the 6300 performs as well once overclocked there is very little need imo.
 
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WhiteSnake91

WhiteSnake91

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yeah, the fx 6300 6 core is really nice for the money and games pretty much as well as the 8 core while running cooler and consuming alot less power. The 6300 has never had a throttling problem even on cheap boards from what I've read, due to being 95w TDP too.

the build above is actually really nice for the money and it'll still play stuff on ultra, maybe turning off the taxing msaa but I can't tell a difference, I turn it off for BF4 multiplayer on my pc's too.

I recommend getting that SSD too, it's a night and day difference with how snappy and fast it makes your pc. And Windows 8.1 is already pretty snappy even on a regular HDD. I haven't personally tried 8.1 on an SSD yet but if it's even faster than 7 that's amazing.
 
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