Advice on first build

[JuanB]

So this is my first time building a pc and i have some newbie questions to ask..

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next couple of months
Budget Range: around £450
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Photo editing (i use photoshop A LOT and it's 3d features), Gaming (not like bf3 or crysis but A.V.A, Portal, Counterstrike etc..), Video editing(not much though)
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: ebuyer, maplin, amazon
Country: UK
Parts Preferences: any well know brand
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

This is the pc i have in mind:

AMD Bulldozer FX-4100 3.6 GHz (i know loads of people say it's bad but i don't care, it's work for me)
Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard
Kingston 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz
XFX 450W PSU
Asus 24x DVD+RW
SEAGATE 500GB SATAIII (i know my Mobo doesnt support sata III but it's cheaper)
Lexa S case
After i save up a bit more money i'm also getting an ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti graphics card

so far everything adds up to about £431

Is this a good build and will everything work well when assembled?
Does my psu have enough watts for the whole system including the graphics card?
Do you recommend any other build around about the same price?

Juan

 

[g-unit1111]

AMD Bulldozer FX-4100 3.6 GHz (i know loads of people say it's bad but i don't care, it's work for me)
Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard

It's not necessarily a bad CPU - but that board is vastly underpowered for it (you want at least a 970) and the BIOS won't support it out of the box. At that price range I'd be more inclined to recommend the Intel i3-2120.

SEAGATE 500GB SATAIII (i know my Mobo doesnt support sata III but it's cheaper)

That's not the way to select parts. You need to get what your motherboard will work with otherwise it could cause tons of problems down the road.

XFX 450W PSU

If you're planning to use any sort of external graphics card you want at least a 500W or 600W PSU. And while XFX isn't necessarily a bad PSU maker, you need to make sure your PSU is certified and rated at least 80+ Bronze or better. If it isn't - don't buy it.

Is this a good build and will everything work well when assembled?

The biggest problem with the FX is nearly all motherboards out right now won't support it out of the box. You will need to flash the BIOS in order for it to work properly, which will require use of an older AM3 CPU.

Do you recommend any other build around about the same price?

For around £450 this is a similar build I recommended yesterday but it doesn't have HD, OS, monitor/keyboard/etc.

Case: Cooler Master Elite 335 - £30.23
PSU: Corsair CX500V2 - £45.20
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V LX Socket 1155 Onboard graphics output 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard - £83.21
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K - £170.98
RAM: G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V - £37.26
Video card: Sapphire Radeon 6850 - £119.94

Total: £486.82

 

[JuanB]

Thank you that's cleared up a lot

 

[corroded]

good work g-unit

i5-2500k is the best bang for your buck (still) and at least a 500W PSU that is 80+ Bronze is a minimum.

 

[g4114rd0]

- said no final budget decisions had been made, ...

Preferred Website for AMD or Intel UK budget : aria.co.uk

 

[JuanB]

ok so i've come up with a new system, would this work better?

AMD Black Edition Phenom II X4 975 3.6GHz
Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard
Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz
Corsair 500W CX V2 PSU
Western Digital 500GB SATAII (this one is compatible with the motherboard)
Lexa S case

everything adds up to £387 (excluding OS and DVD Drives)
I will add the same graphics card i said later when i save up(ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti). Also how many watts would that graphics card use? and would 500w be enough?

 

[g-unit1111]

ok so i've come up with a new system, would this work better?

AMD Black Edition Phenom II X4 975 3.6GHz
Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard
Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz
Corsair 500W CX V2 PSU
Western Digital 500GB SATAII (this one is compatible with the motherboard)
Lexa S case

everything adds up to £387 (excluding OS and DVD Drives)
I will add the same graphics card i said later when i save up(ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti). Also how many watts would that graphics card use? and would 500w be enough?

500 will be plenty.

I'm still not sure that motherboard will be a good choice in the long run - this will be more future proof: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-970-EXTREME3-Extreme3-Motherboard/dp/B005POPRG8/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1325880222&sr=1-1

 

[JuanB]

but the asus has an integrated graphics card with a hdmi output, if i'm going to buy a graphics card later i need an integrated graphics card..

 

[g4114rd0]

but the asus has an integrated graphics card with a hdmi output, if i'm going to buy a graphics card later i need an integrated graphics card..

Asus M5A78L-M/USB3, Not bad for the price but, Maybe not the best choice.
USB3  is just not enough, you have to step it up! Llano or a 880G MB not easy recommend but right if you pick a brand -AMD-

 

[JuanB]

So do you think it's a good build?

 

[g-unit1111]

but the asus has an integrated graphics card with a hdmi output, if i'm going to buy a graphics card later i need an integrated graphics card..

That is true but using integrated graphics for a long period of time will actually wear down your CPU. Using integrated graphics for a short term will be OK unless you're using a CPU that's made for it like the Llano. If that's the case that would probably be more suited for what you want to do.

Maybe try this for the motherboard: http://www.ebuyer.com/272233-gigabyte-ga-a75-ud4h-a75-socket-fm1-vga-dvi-hdmi-displayport-7-1-channel-audio-ga-a75-ud4h
And this for CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/322109-amd-3870k-socket-fm1-retail-boxed-processor-ad3870wngxbox

The Llano has a built in Radeon 6670 and reduces power consumption which means you can get away with a low wattage 400W - 500W PSU. You can add a second 6670 later on for Crossfire if you desire to go that route.

 

[derek13417]

I agree with coroded the i5 2500k is the best bang for your buck and has quite a bit of kick

 

[derek13417]

oh and the gtx 550ti can play all games i do it plays modern warfare 3 like a dream

 

[JuanB]

i5 are expensive though
I like the gigabyte board, but it you can't use the phenom with it, is there a another board similar to it that can? (around the same price)

 

[g4114rd0]

 Asus M4A88T-M 880G Socket AM3 £60.05 ebuyer.com

 

[JuanB]

the two boards are basically the same?

 

[g4114rd0]

– Not really, details are the most important.

Asus M4A88T-M 880G Socket AM3  
Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H A75 Socket FM1 USB 3.0/SATA 3...

 

[JuanB]

sorry i was occidentally comparing it to another board. What are the main differences between the ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 and the M4A88T-M?

 

[g4114rd0]

...compare to  ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3   
I prefer this one MSI 870S-C45 (FX) 870+SB850 Socket AM3+ 7.1 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard £49.84inc. vat (ebuyer.com)

 

[JuanB]

mmm i think i'll stick to the ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3, thank you though I really like the MSI but it has no usb3 ports and no hdmi entry. This is what i've decided.

AMD Black Edition Phenom II X4 975 3.6GHz
Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard
Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz
Corsair 500W CX V2 PSU
Western Digital 500GB SATAII
Lexa S case

 

[Flanders_13]

What opticle drive would be compatable with that set-up, and would these be:
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-PC3-10666-240-Pin-Memory-CMX8GX3M2A1333C9/dp/B003N8GVUY