Balanced Config?

[gb199]

Hi all,

Looking to build my first PC & would appreciate if people can give me some feedback on my set-up & tell me if it's a good balance. If not, I'd appreciate if you could advise why not? I'm trying to aviod bottlenecks and ensure all the parts I buy are compatible. Thanks. All prices are in GBP I'm afraid



Approximate Purchase Date: New Year

Budget Range: £500ish

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
Main reason is to rip all my movies & music to the hard-drive for easy access.
Also casual gaming. I'm not fussed about reaching the highest graphic specs though. Mid-range is fine. Games will be Skyrim/Portal/Star Citizen types, plus lots of old games
Watching/Recording TV through a TV card
Working from home
Surfing the net

Are you buying a monitor: Not yet. Looking to get a projector long-term


Parts to Upgrade: ALL

Do you need to buy OS: No - Windows 7


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I've used Amazon & Novatech for the below, but not fussed really.

Location: Southampton - UK

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: Looking at AMD for easier overclock & price

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Additional Comments: Must be quiet! However I am anticipating putting the PC in a case that will have sound muffling

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: To save space by ripping all DVDs/CDs etc... Plus the challenge of building it!



My thinking:
Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 965 - 3.4 Ghz AM3 £70 http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-HDZ965FBGMBOX-Phenom-II-965/dp/B002SRQ214/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1354466938&sr=1-1
Motherboard - Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 (overclocked to 1866) £50 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-M5A78L-M-USB3-Motherboard-Socket/dp/B0054U7HIO/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1354467198&sr=1-1
Video Card - Asus AMD Radeon HD 6450 Silent Graphics Card (1GB, PCI-E, Low Profile, DDR3) £30 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Radeon-Graphics-Profile-Warranty/dp/B004XANP0U/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1354465678&sr=1-3
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1866MHz £40 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CML8GX3M2A1866C9R-Vengeance-1866MHz-Memory/dp/tech-data/B006E065O0/ref=de_a_smtd
Case - Novatech Vulcan Midi Case V2 - £20 http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/cases/nov-vulca2.html
PSU - Novatech PowerStation Gaming 400W Silent ATX2 Modular Power Supply £35 http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupplies/nov-psg400.html
Hard Disk - 2 x Seagate 2TB 7200RPN 64MB Cache £145 total http://www.ebuyer.com/319641-seagate-2tb-barracuda-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001
Sound Card - Going to try the memory card sound card & see how it is. I have a 5.1 system already set-up
Optical Drive - LiteOn 4x Blu-Ray and DVD Reader £30 http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/opticaldrives/bluray/ihos104-06.html
TV Card - Compro S350 digital satellite TV Tuner Card £25 http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/tvtunercards/s350.html

Total around £450.

Any comments greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time

 

[twelve25]

Radeon 6450 isn't even as good as the newer built in graphics on Intel chips. If you are fine with a low end card (and gaming at 720p) then you might as well just get a a10-5800K and use the built in graphics. That chip is as fast as the 965 and has 2-3x better graphics performance than the 6450. A10-5800K would be about like buying a Phenom X4 955 and Radeon 6570 in one chip.

So I might look at a similar build with a A10-5800K and an FM2 socket motherboard. You will also have lower power and cooling requirements because you don't need a seperate video card.

 

[gb199]

Thanks for your input. I initially dismissed that processing range due to the lack of feedback from other users on it, but what you say makes sense so I'll check out the reviews.