New high value gaming build

[ts1506]

I am looking forward to build a system for low-medium gaming at a very low cost.

I found these parts on the cheap , so please tell me if this build is good. Bulldozer is out of the question because of high price , so please dont suggest.

CPU - AMD Phenom II X4-960BE - $ 115 ( $5 mail in rebate )
Mobo - Gigabyte GA-880G-D2H( AM3 ready ) - $ 90
RAM - 2x Corsair 4GB DDR3-1600 - $ 80 ( $10 mail in rebate )
GFX - Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 (GDDR5) - $ 90 ( $20 mail in rebate )

Total - $ 375 - $ 35 = $340

I already have a monitor ( Samsung B1930 ) which I wont change and I have a Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB .

I also have a case ( cooler master elite 430 ) and a PSU ( corsair 550W with 2 12V connectors )

I hope the PSU would run the above config well.

The price is $340 and I get 3 games free ( Dirt 3($25)(GPU) , Deus Ex Human Revolution($25)(CPU) and Battlefield 3($40)(Mobo) )

SO effectively , it is costing me $250.

Also will the HD6670 be powerful enough to run most games at medium-high settings at 1366x768(my monitor's native res).

Please comment and suggest other rigs. My budget for upgrading is only about $300 , and I am willing to shell the extra just because I recover it with the free games.

 

[Maxor1]

I am looking forward to build a system for low-medium gaming at a very low cost.

I found these parts on the cheap , so please tell me if this build is good. Bulldozer is out of the question because of high price , so please dont suggest.

CPU - AMD Phenom II X4-960BE - $ 115 ( $5 mail in rebate )

Mobo - Gigabyte GA-880G-D2H( AM3 ready ) - $ 90

RAM - 2x Corsair 4GB DDR3-1600 - $ 80 ( $10 mail in rebate )


GFX - Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 (GDDR5) - $ 90 ( $20 mail in rebate )


Total - $ 375 - $ 35 = $340

I already have a monitor ( Samsung B1930 ) which I wont change and I have a Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB .

I also have a case ( cooler master elite 430 ) and a PSU ( corsair 550W with 2 12V connectors )

I hope the PSU would run the above config well.

The price is $340 and I get 3 games free ( Dirt 3($25)(GPU) , Deus Ex Human Revolution($25)(CPU) and Battlefield 3($40)(Mobo) )

SO effectively , it is costing me $250.

Also will the HD6670 be powerful enough to run most games at medium-high settings at 1366x768(my monitor's native res).

Please comment and suggest other rigs. My budget for upgrading is only about $300 , and I am willing to shell the extra just because I recover it with the free games.

CPU
same cpu $99

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382790

Motherboard
ASRock 760GM-GS3 AM3 AMD 49.99 only possible lost feature is no cross fire or sli in the future. Has nice overclocking features.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157215

Memory
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226191


Video
AMD Radeon HD 6670 1024MB GDDR5 PCIe 2.1 x16 Video Card $99.99 ASUS $79.99 after rebate savings
(FREE Sonic Generations and Dirt3 digital download coupons with purchase of this product)

100+50+40+100= $290 Save another 20 after mail in rebate (maybe rebates can be a pain)
You still get 2 free games and less out of pocket.

Edit= forgot to bold my video section header fixed that.

 

[Maxor1]

A different idea.

APU
AMD A8 X4 3870K Black Edition 3GHz Quad Core Socket FM1 Boxed Processor

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382496 $129.99 FREE Sonic Generations and Dirt3 digital download coupons

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106001
$139.99 $15 promotional gift card w/ purchase, ends 3/19

Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-A75M-S2V

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128516
$74.99 however if bundled from newegg above apu you also get a $15 mail in rebate and a $20 bundle savings so would come down to a total of $40

Memory CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1866

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233240

$67.99

or

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB DDR3 1866
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455
$59.99 but $10 off w/ promo code EMCNGJE32, ends 3/21 so 49.99

Went with faster timed ram as the APU uses system ram for graphics still cheaper
overall.

140+75+60=275 base but with rebates and savings 15+15+10+20= 60
275-60=$215

for a slightly better scoring graphics core.

If you wanted to you could also drop back down your ram speed a bit and crossfire with something like
a ddr3 6670 to have a fairly high end graphics set up and still save money
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6670 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102952

 

[azeem40]

Or just get a G630 CPU as it beats almost any AMD CPU out right now.

 

[Maxor1]

Or just get a G630 CPU as it beats almost any AMD CPU out right now.

AMD A8-3850 APU passmark 5333
Intel Pentium G630 passmark 2588

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/

I like sandy bridge and the pentiums done on that architecture do have alot of value.

However to match the A8-3850 you are into mid-range of the second gen core-i5 and lower end i7. On a budget of $500 or less I'm going to push amd since we don't know if what they are going to be doing is graphics intensive or processor intensive and dollar for dollar amd can match processor power will providing slightly better graphics. From $400 to around $700 will likely have both AMD and Intel options and will vary based on sales that day and rebates. Over $700 where you are going to be buying both a high end graphics card and alot of processor AMD probably won't be making a cpu sale but there is a pretty decent chance that they are going to be selling a $175 or more graphics card.

The I5 2500K and the I5 2550K are great processors, and pretty good values. With those over clocked and a number of I7's amd doesn't really have a chip to match up. Everywhere else they do and in some cases the AMD is a better value for your money. This is especially true when you look at the price premium on mother boards.

The AMD Athlon II X3 450 benchmarks a 2810 and costs 77.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886

Intel Pentium G630 $79.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116406

Want to price out motherboards between the two?

$39.99 for the cheapest AM3 motherboard on newegg free shipping.

$49.99 for the least expensive socket 1155.

The worst part about all of this is I'm not even an AMD fanboy, I have family members that work for Intel and them doing well directly benefits me. I also see bulldozer as a bad generation of chip for AMD which hurts their rep quite a bit. I'm also just honest enough to realize that not everything intel does is awesome and better compared to the competition.