Build suggestions needed

maxpax444

Honorable
Oct 25, 2016
13
0
10,510
Hi all,

Long time since I did any kind of PC gaming and want to make my way back to it - looking to start with an entry level system that I can the upgrade slowly over time.

Currently trying to decide between AMD and Intel for starters - I know!!

I'm looking at the build below (already got a power supply, case and storage I can use for now)

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£67.55 @ BT Shop)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-HD2 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£36.98 @ Novatech)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£34.57 @ Novatech)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB NITRO+ Video Card (£184.98 @ CCL Computers)

Does this look like a good starting point - the other system I was looking at was to swap the AMD for an i3-6100 what are your opinions on this?

Thanks :)
 
Solution
Yes, intel current cpus listed above are way more powerful than current amds. But AMD is launching their next gen. Zen range of processors early next year. You can wait for that if you want.

Aeacus

Titan
Ambassador
Whenever possible, always use 2 RAM sticks. This way you can run your RAM in dual channel which is much faster than using single stick. Also when one stick dies, you're left with another one. When using only 1 stick and when it dies, your entire system is down.

How about this Intel build with DDR4 RAM at 2133 Mhz as starting out?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (£92.91 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI H110M PRO-D Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£46.81 @ More Computers)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£40.78 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB Mini Video Card (£188.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £369.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-25 22:01 BST+0100
 
This cpu is stronger...

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/2ms8HN
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/2ms8HN/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£174.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI H110M PRO-D Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£46.81 @ More Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£62.99 @ Novatech)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 4GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card (£124.99 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £409.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-25 22:26 BST+0100
 

maxpax444

Honorable
Oct 25, 2016
13
0
10,510
Just another quick one to add to this guys, the psu I currently have is this:
Seasonic S12 600W silent atx2.0
Will this still be suitable for the new setup or should I look at changing this also?

Thanks :)
 

Aeacus

Titan
Ambassador
Corsair CXM is very good unit since when?
Newer Tier four Corsair CXM series PSUs are at best Tier three PSUs. But they are far inferior to the Seasonic's build quality and reliability.
PSU Tier list: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Corsair buys all it's PSUs from PSU OEMs. Even their top-of-the-line AX series is bought in from Seasonic. CXM series is bought in from Channel Well Technology.
While Seasonic, who is OEM, makes their own PSUs and they have been doing that for over 40 years now. Seasonic is also world's 1st and oldest PC PSU OEM.

I recommend that you go with Seasonic. All Seasonic PSUs are either Tier one or Tier two.
For your build, 500W range is enough,
link: https://seasonic.com/product-category/consumer-products/?filter_wattage-range=33
E.g. S12II-520 or M12II-520 EVO
pcpp: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#m=71&sort=a9&page=1&W=500,2000
 


I was under the same impression as you were...until i came to know that corsiar has relaunched and re branded their cx m range...with better mosfet design...
u can validate the same with moderators like sr71-blackbird, who uses this in their current build...more here...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3212733/builds-4th-quarter-update-ready-build-600.html
also s12ii doesnt comply with skylake sleep states...
 

Aeacus

Titan
Ambassador

Actually, CXM series doesn't support Skylake sleep states.

Haswell-Ready Power Supplies and Sleep States

Way back when the Intel Core i7-4770K and its kin first launched, there was some concern over power supply compatibility. Specifically, these processors added additional low power sleep states that could cause trouble with some power supplies. The new processors inherit these sleep states and the complications therein.

The overwhelming majority of our power supplies support these sleep states without issue. However, users with our entry-level CX (600W and below) and VS series power supplies will need to disable them in BIOS.
source: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/blog/2015/july/skylake_primer#

That can be further confirmed when looking the CXM450 specs,
link: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/cx-series-cx450m-450-watt-80-plus-bronze-certified-modular-atx-psu-na

There is no compatibility for Skylake CPUs, while when looking RM550x, it's clearly stated that this PSU supports Skylake sleep states,
6th generation Intel® Core™ processor Ready (Intel Skylake and Z170 motherboards)
link: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/rmx-series-rm550x-550-watt-80-plus-gold-certified-fully-modular-psu

As far as SR-71 Blackbird using CXM in his build in the "Best PC Builds 4th Quarter Update", he probably picked the cheaper PSU to make it with limited budget. But still, his build base cost is over $600 and thus his entry is invalid.
But discussing his build is off topic and i'll stop here.

To test out if Tier two Seasonic PSUs really do or don't support Skylake sleep states, i tested it on my current build:
Intel i5-6600K
MSI Z170A Gaming M5
Seasonic S12II-520

My PSU is about 2 years old, took it from my old AMD build when i built my current Skylake build.
I tested C6, C7, C7s and C8 sleep states. And every singe time, my PC came out from sleep just fine. No BSoD or anything. So, the S12II series PSUs do support Skylake sleep states, despite controversial belief.

I also have a Haswell build (wife's PC):
Intel i5-4590
MSI Z97 Gaming 5
Seasonic M12II-850 EVO

And i haven't seen any BSoD on that either when PC is returnig from sleep.

In the end, it doesn't matter which Seasonic PSU you choose, they all support Skylake sleep states. I'm not so sure about Corsair though. Don't have Corsair PSU to test it out.