Gaming Rig

There isn't much point in going with the A8 if you are going to use a graphics card, you lose out on it's main benefit, the integrated graphics. I'd swap it out for an i3-2120 build instead.

In order for me and others to help you the maximum potential that we can a few things would be nice to know. If you go to the posting sticky on New Build forum area posting you question in that manner will allow me and others to give you the best advice. But to save you time post the budget youre trying to stay in and also the costs of each part and where you are buying it from. This will help because then I and others can share our experiences with products and possible cheaper avenues to take to get the same product and where you can save money to spend a bit more. Overall though the AMD A8 is a fusion chip with a cpu and gpu combined that you cannot crossfire or sli meaning that it is being wasted. If this is just for gaming as stated in the first line of the posting a dual core cpu will be great atm as thats what games are running on. If you are trying to be future ready quad core++ will be great as well. With that being said I would suggest an AMD Phenom IIx4 BE 960T or higher they are averaging around $110.00-$130 dependent on sales from websites etc. Reply back if you need any further assistance in a more detailed manner than I have already stated. Hope everything works out for you.

My advice is to do a Phenom II build with a Radeon 6870 or better video card. Maybe a 6850, but you really need to fill out the form here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advic...

As far as the llano APUs they're great for low budget computers, but not appropriate to seriously call a computer a "gamer". No I never recommend i3s over Phenom II x4s. i3s technically have stronger individual core performance, but its minimal and they're still half the CPU a Phenom II is (since i3s are dual cores, and Phenom IIs are quads)

An i3 is in no way half of what a Phenom II is. The number of cores and the frequency isn't all that relevant for gaming, the architecture is more important and Sandy Bridge is simply better for gaming. Recent benchmarks showed that the Pentium G630 performs about the same as the Phenom II x4 955 in games and the Pentium is far cheaper and consumes a lot less power.

Those extra cores will make the Phenom a bit better than the i3 for rendering/productivity stuff though.

I suggest you buy a cheeper case case like this one.(Its cheep but also very good)
http://www.amazon.com/GAMMA-Classic-Interior-Chassis-Bl...

Downgrade the PSU to an Antec VP-450.It has enough to power even for an Nvidia GTX 560 Ti.
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-VP-450-Energy-Certified-Sup...


Also switch to an intel platform.(i3 2120 + H61 based Mobo)

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-2120-Processor-Socket-LG...

with an H61 based mobo like this one
http://www.amazon.com/P8H61-M-LX-PLUS-REV-3-0/dp/B005WU...


With all the saved money you can afford to upgrade the Graphics card to an HD6850.Maybe even a cheap HD6870 like that one.
http://www.amazon.com/HIS-Radeon-DisplayPort-Express-H6...

About the Phenom vs the Core i3.Its true that the Phenom outperforms the I3 in heavily threaded applications but it also loses in most games.The i3's power consumption is also a lot lower than the Phenom.Although you can say that the Phenom is more future proof because it has more cores and is overclockable.And that really is true.

I've seen plenty of benches, the i3 games as well as the PII, I don't consider 1-6FPS differences to really be that compelling. As far as less power, its not really that substantial either I did the math on it awhile back on these forums, it turns out to be something like 5-15 dollars a year on an electric bill.

That being said, it doesn't really matter what CPU the OP goes with, as long as they have enough information to make an informed decision, my opinion is the P-2 is a better buy than an i3, as this is 2012, dual cores will lose their usefulness in the long run. One thing we can both agree on is the Llano is not really the right choice for the OP, and its him/her who has to be happy with the finished product.

Edit:



Ah but what happens when you overclock the 955? (which you can't do with the G630), lets say overclocked to 3.7GHZ which effectively makes it a 980 model.

Anatech doesn't have a bench of the G620, but, since a G630 is only 100mhz faster, I'll acknowledge a small margin of error, but then again, a P-2 955 could go higher than 3.7GHZ anyway.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/406?vs=362

Yes, I know, I mentioned I don't consider petty FPS differences to be serious. And I wont throttle the Pentium for such small differences either, but amuse me, I'm trapped in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere, strictly for discussion purposes since the OP hasnt gotten back to us.

The lower power helps keep the heat and noise lower too. The Phenom is still fine for gaming but personally I'd always prefer the i3.

Yeah you can overclock the Phenom but that means spending extra on cooling, the motherboard and maybe even the PSU. By the time you do that, it becomes in a different price bracket, you could probably get an i5 by that point.

Eh, I'll acknowledge the stock fan on the Phenoms are loud, however they're good for 3.6-3.7GHZ. A CM 212 evo runs about 34 bucks, plus a $120 Phenom II puts you at about $155, cheapest i5 is still $180 I think for the i5-23xx.

As far as heat, my CPU at 4.0GHZ with my cooler idles about 40c, under heavy load it will throttle itself at 62c with the cooler I have. By heavy load I mean Prime95 for more than 20 minutes. Anyone with a modern homebuild should be buying a case with proper airflow beyond that.

As far as the PSU, and mobo, not really. These are pretty decent boards to overclock on, and Phenom IIs aren't as bad at being powerhogs like Bulldozers. The Asrock 970s are only 4+2 power phases, but sufficient enough for 4.0GHZ I should think. Back to the PSU don't forget that CompTIA recommends getting a PSU with a 30 percent wattage cushion anyway.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Thanks for giving me something to do for 5 minutes lol. I think the OP might be MIA, should we rally a search party?

Either way, I think he's looking at:

Phenom II/FX-4 or i3-2120
8GB 1333Mhz RAM
That AMD ASRock board or H61/H77 board
HD 6850/HD 7770/GTX 460
500/550W PSU