This seems great value for money...is it?

[ccshopland]

I'm looking to start building an affordable gaming rig, with the emphasis being on affordable. I have the monitor, the OS, and hard drives along with the DVD drives etc, and came across this. I know Intel have the advantage so many say in the CPU stakes, but this does seem excellent value for money -

£250 -

This bundle includes the NA-750D ATX Case with 500W PSU, the ASROCK 960GM-US3S FX Motherboard with Integrated HD Channel Audio, Graphics, GIGABIT LAN, USB2, USB 3.

MOTHERBOARD KEY FEATURES:

Chipset
North Bridge: AMD 760G
South Bridge: AMD SB710

2 x DIMM, Max. 16GB, DDR3 1866(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066/800 non-ECC, un-buffered memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Integrated AMD Radeon 3000 graphics
DX10 class iGPU, Pixel Shader 4.0
Max. shared memory 512MB
Dual VGA Output: support DVI-D and D-Sub ports by independent display controllers
Realtek ALC662 HD Audio
Realtek RTL8111E chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) LAN
1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (blue @ x16 mode)
1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot
1 x PCI slot
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s)
4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s)
1 x ATA133 IDE connector (supports 2 x IDE devices)
Up to 8 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
2 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue)
Back I/O Ports
1 x PS/2 Mouse Port
1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port
1 x D-Sub Port
1 x DVI-D Port
4 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports
2 x Ready-to-Use USB 3.0 Ports
1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
HD Audio Jack: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone


THIS BUNDLE INCLUDES:

The AMD Bulldozer FX-8120 3.10GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 8-Core Processor UNLOCKED BLACK EDITION Including Heatsink & Fan Fitted to the Motherboard

PLUS!

8Gb (2 X 4Gb Module) DDR3 1333MHz Memory (Click to add more)

What do you guys think? I'd add the Saphire 7750 GPU and then I'm almost home for quite a low cost. Is this a good deal?

 

[malbluff]

Nothing, as such, wrong with CPU and mobo. It's a good deal IF, and I stress IF, the CASE, RAM and most importantly PSU are good.
If they give you MAKE and MODEL of each of those, so you can check that they're not a heap of c**p, and they are ok, THEN it's a decent deal.
If they can't, or won't give that info, I wouldn't touch it with the proverbial "ten foot barge pole"

 

[Onus]

The mobo is real old tech. Bulldozer doesn't perform well as it is, and that mobo will hold it back still further. It's ok as a foundation for a home/office PC, but not a gamer.
As malbluff pointed out, the identity of the other parts, especially the PSU, is important. If the PSU is actually a 300W piece of Chinese junk, it's not worth it.

 

[geofelt]

For a balanced gaming pc, My rule of thumb is to budget twice the price of the cpu for the graphics card.

In this case you have matched the cpu, which is not very effective as a gamer with a graphics card that is also not very strong.
Not knowing your costs for individual parts in pounds, I would guess that something like a stronger 7850 graphics card combined with a cheaper i3-3220 would give you a much better gaming experience for your budget. And,... I would expect the i3-3220 to outperform the FX-8120 to boot.

 

[malbluff]

It looks like OP only intends fairly basic graphics card. An i3 Ivybridge, H77 mobo, 8GB decent RAM, basic Coolermaster case, and 450w XFX power supply, comes to about £270. If it were me, knowing exactly what I was getting, I know which I'd prefer.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

My X3 435 rig would perform on par with that deal, I think you are better off posting a sheet outlining budget, preferences etc and see what we can build to your wallet
Moto

 

[Onus]

^Agreed.

 

[ccshopland]

Is this any better guys?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMD-FX8120-3-1GHz-Eight-Core-CPU-8GB-DDR3-Motherboard-Bundle-/300674312043?pt=UK_Motherboards_CPUs&hash=item460195e76b&_uhb=1#ht_3026wt_1141

I have a 500W PSU, and this comes in at under £200 quid. Good package or not?

I really am stressing that I want to play the new games on decent settings, but I'm not out to smash the game at uber resolutions and I'm not someone who cares about the difference in 10 fps.

Any advice?

 

[ccshopland]

I couldn't edit the message so had to post again -

I'm getting confused, would you guys say this -

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/30099056/Intel-Core-I5-2380P-3-1Ghz-4GB-DDR3-1333mhz-Gigabyte-H61M-Motherboard-Bundle/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518%7Ccat:30099056%7Cprd:30099056

is better than the FX 8120 for gaming?!?

 

[Onus]

The first deal is pairing an AM3+ CPU with a real old-tech AM3 motherboard. While they say they test it, I suspect that's either an outright lie, or has extremely suboptimal results. The second one is all compatible, but the included CPU has no integrated video on it, making the comments on included video another lie. Of course, Intel integrated video is unsuitable for games, so you'd have to buy a video card anyway.
Since you don't require max settings and are on a budget, adding a HD7750 to the Intel system would work.
What brand and model is your "500W" PSU?

 

[malbluff]

I couldn't edit the message so had to post again -

I'm getting confused, would you guys say this -

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/30099056/Intel-Core-I5-2380P-3-1Ghz-4GB-DDR3-1333mhz-Gigabyte-H61M-Motherboard-Bundle/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518%7Ccat:30099056%7Cprd:30099056

is better than the FX 8120 for gaming?!?

That is certainly much better than our AMD option, but still a bit "old hat". I'm not sure, for your uses, you wouldn't be better off with an Ivybridge i3, H77 mobo (or possibly B75), and 1600 MHz RAM. That would be close to equal, maybe better in some respects, and certainly more "up to date", for the same price, or even less.