This a good gaming build? Any major issues?

[jobieadobe]

What do you think of this combination of parts?

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/ProducT/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.911070

Graphics:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130664

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.911070

Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146746

Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.912745

I figure it will be a pretty balanced system for the money. Does anyone notice any major problems?

 

[nekulturny]

Howdy.. I think you could get the same, if not better performance by making a couple changes.

The power supply is okay, normally CoolerMaster is not known for their quality PSUs, but Hardware Secrets seems to think its okay.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-GX-450-W-Power-Supply-Review/1234/9

Now lets talk about your other choices.

The Llano APUs are great for builds that aren't going to use a stand alone graphics card. These would be computers that you just browse the web with, watch movies, play facebook games, light games like MineCraft, Runescape, League of Legends, etc, but they aren't really ideal for serious games like BF3, Metro 2033, etc. The onboard graphics is more powerful than anything Intel offers in their Sandy and Ivy bridge but at their price, there are better performing CPUs. A llano in terms of the CPU is basically an Athlon II, an Athlon II is basically a Phenom II without an L3 cache.

Now, an L3 cache is semi-important when you're talking games. The lack of this cache can affect performance anywhere from 5 to 20 percent depending on the game.

Long story short, for the price you're paying you could get this CPU and motherboard and have better performance:

Phenom II 965 $120

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727


Motherboard- Asrock 970 $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280


Now lets talk about your video card:

The 560 is a decent gaming card, (The TI model is more expensive but better) however, the cheaper Radeon 6870 would be a better choice, the 6870 can almost hack it with the better 560 TI model, and will very likely out-perform the non-TI model you have chosen.


Video Card- Radeon 6870 $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

 

[jobieadobe]

Thanks so much for the reply!

 

[firedice]

I'd honestly get an i3-2120 (or 2100) and a cheap intel motherboard for gaming.

 

[nekulturny]

You could go that route, my biggest objection to the i3 is that its a dual core. A Phenom II is a quad core, yes its true on paper the i3s perform better in dual core games, but every benchmarked application that calls more than 2 cores into use, the Phenom II performs better. Also the difference one sees in benchmarks in actual gameplay experience is zero (5 FPS difference when both CPUs put out over 40FPS for example is not noticeable)

This would include multitasking, and as future games are released, you may find that it becomes more commonplace for games to utilize more than 2 cores.

If one were to ask me what the Hierarchy is for CPUs (yes mine differs from Tom's) it would be as follows:

Intel i5 2500K> AMD FX-8120> AMD Phenom II Black Edition>Intel i3


Intel has too big of a price gap between their dual-core CPUs and quads IMHO.

 

[jim45682]

At the very least I would change the PSU 450W is the minimum required for the reference card, this is an OC card

 

[nekulturny]

^ well, the PSU is bundled with the case, so that would involve picking another. Although you're right the wattage is cutting it a little close, although I'm somewhat impressed that for once somebody made a PSU bundled with a case that isn't terrible. Heck, I'm just amazed CoolerMaster made a decent PSU :lol:

 

[jim45682]

Even with a good review floating around the web, I wouldnt trust a CM PSU any farther than I would trust a Diablotek one.

But I am biased I guess, imo the PSU is the most important part of the rig, and (this is just my opinion) any good rig should be built from the PSU out. My reasoning for this is because the PSU is the one component that can be responsible for wiping out an entire system, Mobo craps out and you replace the mobo, your fine, in a rare case the mobo will take out something else but its rare and never will take out a full system. Psu craps the bed it can fry every component in that system. This is why my suggestions usually deal with getting a quality PSU to work from.

 

[nekulturny]

No argument here, you can tell what brand I trust to power my system by my sig.

 

[jim45682]

No argument here, you can tell what brand I trust to power my system by my sig.

Yup got a CX 600 myself, and a CX 500 on the way for the wife's build. Corsair makes solid performing PSU's, not pretty, not flashy, but reliable.

 

[jobieadobe]

I actually bought a corsair 450 last time and have had no complaints. Thanks for the constructive criticism. I might drop the bundle and just get both separate. I know I will never buy a Western Digital hard drive again or an IBM (if they even make them anymore) after having so many crash on me, but Seagates never let me down!

You would recommend a bit higher than 450 watt?

 

[jobieadobe]

Also what do you think about Antec Thermaltake OCZ Zalman and Rosewell?

 

[jim45682]

Antec is solid, I have heard some good things about OCZ but have no experience, Rosewell and Thermaltake are a crap shoot, you might get a good one you might not, I havent had much experience with Zalman PSU's, nor heard much on them.

As for size, I always suggest 500W or higher with single 12v rail with at least 34 amps on it, not that you need 500W but it provides some cushion for future upgrades without buying another PSU.

 

[jobieadobe]

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