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Started by SR90 | | 8 answers
Advice on Gaming build
Hi,

Looking to get back into pc gaming, first time build so wanted some advice. Looking for something that will be able to handle current games, some image editing. Only issue is budget is about £450 or $724

This is what I've come up with so far, any advice or views welcome. Done some research, but as having not done a build before wanted some advice from the experts.

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Pbv4P6
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Pbv4P6/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£123.44 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£39.95 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£30.96 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£56.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card (£109.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£30.25 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£43.99 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£11.79 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £447.36

I've got win 8 OS through my uni, and speakers, keyboard, monitor etc from my current PC so budget is just towards the pc itself.

Cheers

SR


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September 11, 2014 2:19:55 AM

Cin19, sora and mythos_man thanks for the help, much appreciated.
a b 4 Gaming
September 10, 2014 4:53:34 PM

SR90 said:
cin19 said:
You can run the fx8350 on the GA-78LMT-USB3, but you may have the stability problem later because the MB has only 4+1 VRMs and the 760 chipset. You should get the at least 970 chipset MB. So I change it to the 970 chipset MB.
Also change to fx8320, intel 520 SSD, the XFX 550W PSU, and add the single 8GB RAM too. Even the budget is £20 over your price, but I think it is worth it.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/qgPJBm) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/qgPJBm/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8320frhkbox) | £100.60 @ Scan.co.uk
**Motherboard** | [Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a97r...) | £63.56 @ Scan.co.uk
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls8g3d1...) | £56.83 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-internal-hard-dri...) | £48.98 @ Amazon UK
**Video Card** | [Sapphire Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-112...) | £109.99 @ Amazon UK
**Case** | [NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-s210002) | £30.25 @ Scan.co.uk
**Power Supply** | [XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550s...) | £46.93 @ CCL Computers
**Optical Drive** | [Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-optical-drive-s...) | £10.22 @ CCL Computers
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | £467.36
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-09 22:16 BST+0100 |


Thanks cin19, read the 8320 isn't as good for single core performance compared to the 8350, in real world terms is the price jump between the two worth the extra money ? Debating whether to set the build back a month until I've got a bit extra money to play with.


The 8320 can easily achieve 8350 speeds so the 8350 is definitely not worth it in my opinion.
September 10, 2014 1:17:46 AM

cin19 said:
You can run the fx8350 on the GA-78LMT-USB3, but you may have the stability problem later because the MB has only 4+1 VRMs and the 760 chipset. You should get the at least 970 chipset MB. So I change it to the 970 chipset MB.
Also change to fx8320, intel 520 SSD, the XFX 550W PSU, and add the single 8GB RAM too. Even the budget is £20 over your price, but I think it is worth it.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/qgPJBm) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/qgPJBm/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8320frhkbox) | £100.60 @ Scan.co.uk
**Motherboard** | [Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a97r...) | £63.56 @ Scan.co.uk
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls8g3d1...) | £56.83 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-internal-hard-dri...) | £48.98 @ Amazon UK
**Video Card** | [Sapphire Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-112...) | £109.99 @ Amazon UK
**Case** | [NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-s210002) | £30.25 @ Scan.co.uk
**Power Supply** | [XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550s...) | £46.93 @ CCL Computers
**Optical Drive** | [Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-optical-drive-s...) | £10.22 @ CCL Computers
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | £467.36
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-09 22:16 BST+0100 |


Thanks cin19, read the 8320 isn't as good for single core performance compared to the 8350, in real world terms is the price jump between the two worth the extra money ? Debating whether to set the build back a month until I've got a bit extra money to play with.
September 9, 2014 5:56:20 PM

SR90 said:
Mythos_Man said:
Looks pretty good to me, only thing is that the motherboard has Usb 3.0 headers, but the case does not. That means that while you would have Usb. 3.0, you would not be able to use some of the ports. Also I would recommend 8Gb of 1866Mhz ram if you are going to do heavy gaming.


Cheers for the advice Mythos_Man, was planning on sticking another 4 gig later on (month or so) down the line when I have some spare cash, just making do with 4 for the moment. Any recommendations on what would be a good alternate case ?, pretty clueless when it comes to case's.

I don't know to much about cases, but I think the Aerocool Strike X One
a b 4 Gaming
September 9, 2014 5:51:46 PM

cin19 said:
You can run the fx8350 on the GA-78LMT-USB3, but you may have the stability problem later because the MB has only 4+1 VRMs and the 760 chipset. You should get the at least 970 chipset MB. So I change it to the 970 chipset MB.
Also change to fx8320, intel 520 SSD, the XFX 550W PSU, and add the single 8GB RAM too. Even the budget is £20 over your price, but I think it is worth it.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/qgPJBm) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/qgPJBm/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8320frhkbox) | £100.60 @ Scan.co.uk
**Motherboard** | [Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a97r...) | £63.56 @ Scan.co.uk
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls8g3d1...) | £56.83 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-internal-hard-dri...) | £48.98 @ Amazon UK
**Video Card** | [Sapphire Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-112...) | £109.99 @ Amazon UK
**Case** | [NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-s210002) | £30.25 @ Scan.co.uk
**Power Supply** | [XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550s...) | £46.93 @ CCL Computers
**Optical Drive** | [Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-optical-drive-s...) | £10.22 @ CCL Computers
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | £467.36
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-09 22:16 BST+0100 |


The 20 quids is worth it considering you are getting a power supply with very good capacitors.
a b 4 Gaming
September 9, 2014 2:18:15 PM

You can run the fx8350 on the GA-78LMT-USB3, but you may have the stability problem later because the MB has only 4+1 VRMs and the 760 chipset. You should get the at least 970 chipset MB. So I change it to the 970 chipset MB.
Also change to fx8320, intel 520 SSD, the XFX 550W PSU, and add the single 8GB RAM too. Even the budget is £20 over your price, but I think it is worth it.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/qgPJBm) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/qgPJBm/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8320frhkbox) | £100.60 @ Scan.co.uk
**Motherboard** | [Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a97r...) | £63.56 @ Scan.co.uk
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls8g3d1...) | £56.83 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-internal-hard-dri...) | £48.98 @ Amazon UK
**Video Card** | [Sapphire Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-112...) | £109.99 @ Amazon UK
**Case** | [NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-s210002) | £30.25 @ Scan.co.uk
**Power Supply** | [XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550s...) | £46.93 @ CCL Computers
**Optical Drive** | [Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-optical-drive-s...) | £10.22 @ CCL Computers
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | £467.36
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-09 22:16 BST+0100 |
September 9, 2014 12:06:00 PM

Mythos_Man said:
Looks pretty good to me, only thing is that the motherboard has Usb 3.0 headers, but the case does not. That means that while you would have Usb. 3.0, you would not be able to use some of the ports. Also I would recommend 8Gb of 1866Mhz ram if you are going to do heavy gaming.


Cheers for the advice Mythos_Man, was planning on sticking another 4 gig later on (month or so) down the line when I have some spare cash, just making do with 4 for the moment. Any recommendations on what would be a good alternate case ?, pretty clueless when it comes to case's.
September 9, 2014 11:56:47 AM

Looks pretty good to me, only thing is that the motherboard has Usb 3.0 headers, but the case does not. That means that while you would have Usb. 3.0, you would not be able to use some of the ports. Also I would recommend 8Gb of 1866Mhz ram if you are going to do heavy gaming.

See all answers