New pc build £500

[DairTheWiki]

Hello,
I've decided to build my self a gaming pc on a budget of around £500 ($800). The parts that i do not need are: the os, monitor (1920 x 1080), keyboard and mouse. This is what i came up with (if you want to make any changes my preferred websites are scan and amazon):

Cpu : Amd Phenom ll x4 965 black edition (£73.99)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002SRQ214/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Mobo : Asus M5A99X EVO (£89.94)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0053GR7Q6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Gpu : Sapphire HD 7850 2Gb (£156.00)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008HV63NM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Psu : OCZ-CXS500w (£32.15)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007SU2QRK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Ram : Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 XMS3 8GB (29.51)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003N8GVUY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Case : Thermaltake Commander USB 3.0 Snow Edition (£46.65)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006JQZ8MY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

DVDRW : Pioneer DVR-S19LBK 24x Internal DVDRW Retail SATA (19.22)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004FJG8R6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

HDD : Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm (59.50)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004HBAGSO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&smid=A1D873RMPMIV2C


So, what do you thinks? I am open to any suggestions and changes.

 

[malbluff]

Even if you overclock the Phenom (and you would need to add aftermarket cooler, to do so), you would not have greater performance, than you would get from an Intel Core i3-3220 processor, and H77 motherboard, and the Intel version would possibly be cheaper.
For power supply, I would recommend Corsair, rather than that OCZ. Would prefer GSKill Ripjaws, for RAM, and you could use 1600 MHz, with Intel Ivybridge processor.

 

[Deemo13]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMPSU-500CXV2UK-Builder-Series-CX500V2/dp/B005851O16/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1350430321&sr=1-1

I would recommend that power supply instead.

 

[DairTheWiki]

is the i3 worth the extra £20, and if so, what would be a good mobo?

is this one good : ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP Motherboard (£66.84)?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007NOYCZ0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A1NEQ9S19J85FC

 

[malbluff]

That board is OK. The thing you need to bear in mind, with H77, is support for a 2nd graphics card. The more expensive boards give better crossfire support. If, on the other hand, you don't plan on adding a 2nd GPU, there is no great practical benefit in using more than the ASRock H77M. If you do want to add 2nd GPU, then you really would benefit from a board better than the Pro4.
Obviously it varies a bit, depending on which boards you're using, but if you add it all up, then i3-3220 + H77, usually works out cheaper than 965BE + AM3+mobo + CPU cooler.

 

[DairTheWiki]

would getting a 550ti for £100 and getting instead an i5-2400 for £144 be an idea?

 

[malbluff]

The i5-2400 isn't a bad chip, but I'm not sure it gives you that much above i3-3220, in terms of gaming, and the GTX550Ti is c**p.

 

[DairTheWiki]

okay, my new build looks like this:
(every thing the same apart from)
mobo : Asus P8H77-M (75.59)
Ram : G-skill 8Gb Ripjaws X (£31.50)
Psu : Corsair 500w builder series (£46.49)
Cpu : Intel i3 3220 (£95.98)

 

[malbluff]

Looking good now. One thing, worth considering. I note you selected the Sapphire version of the HD7850. Currently, the Gigabyte Twinfan OC version, is on sale, from Scan UK, at the same price. It has the edge, in terms of performance/cooling/noise, so certainly worth a look.

 

[DairTheWiki]

thanks for your help, i'm going to pick up the parts as i this week, keeping an eye on Scans' deals

 

[lighter17]

You might want to consider this power supply:

XFX P1-550S-XXB9 PRO550W Core Edition Power Supply £49.99

It's better built and more efficient than the Corsair CX.

 

[malbluff]

Didn't realise prices were that close (perhaps one's changed recently). Definitely worth getting XFX, if only £3 price difference.

 

[DairTheWiki]

Okay, i'll go with the xfx.

I just saw the AMD Phenom II X6 1045T (£83), how does this compare to the i3

 

[lighter17]

Still slower for gaming. It's per core performance is in line with the 965 BE so it would perform roughly the same as the 965 BE in games (which tend to be single threaded). It would however be faster in applications that can use all the cores (such as graphics/rendering/video type apps).

 

[DairTheWiki]

thanks, and one final question - at what price point is an i5 2500k worth it?

 

[Deemo13]

When you want to overclock.

 

[lighter17]

thanks, and one final question - at what price point is an i5 2500k worth it?

You would get more of an improvement in gaming performance by putting additional money in to the graphics card until you get to at least Radeon 7950 level performance. After that upgrading the CPU to an overclockable model would make sense. That would be around a £750 budget.

 

[DairTheWiki]

thanks

 

[DairTheWiki]

would the i3 dual core prevent me playing bf3 online

 

[Deemo13]

No it would not.