Budget gaming rig

[theProbe]

Hello TH community!
I'm building a gaming rig for my friend. His budget is 600e. I'm asking for your opinions and suggestions for the components:
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H
CPU: i3-3210
GPU: AMD Radeon 7850 MSI OC 2GB
HDD: SATA3 7200 500GB WD Caviar Black WD5003AZEX
RAM: 1600MHz Kingston HyperX
dvdrw Samsung
Case: Thermaltake Versa II Black Edition
PSU: 500W ThermalTake

Cheers!

 

[Onus]

The only thing not to like in there is the Thermaltake PSU. I do not trust them to provide consistent, quality units. I would choose something built by Seasonic (their own, XFX, some Antec, high-end Corsair), FSP (their own, some Antec), Delta (some Antec), Enermax/LEPA (their own) or Super Flower (their own, some Rosewill, some Kingwin). For that rig, 500W is enough.

 

[theProbe]

I just now had the time to look into the AMD choices. I can get the FX6100 for exact same money. And the fx6100 trashes the 3210 if benchmarks are to be trusted. Also, with the AM3+ cpu i decided on Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 MOBO. Do what do you guys think on this change?
Also, should i get some mid range HDD and use the money for a better PSU? I might need it because the fx6100 could be OC'd.
PS. We are buying tomorrow so fast input would be appreciated.

 

[Onus]

Check benchmarks yourself, but unless it's something very well threaded, a FX-6100 "trashing" an i3 seems unlikely; most games are not well-threaded, although that is finally changing. Personally, I might choose a FX-6300 over an i3, but I'm not sure about the FX-6100. Also, if any future upgrades are possible, an i5 or i7 would outgame any AMD offering.
I'd keep the WD Black HDD. It's a fast drive, and has a five year warranty.

If you do go AMD, the GB mobo looks like a good choice.

 

[theProbe]

Im really stuck on this i3 vs fx6100. Don't know which is better. Very much negative feedback for the fx6100 and people saying that its bad for gaming.

 

[Onus]

Tom's used it in the 1K SBM build a few cycles back, and it was really dismal. I might consider the FX-6300, but not the FX-6100.

 

[Outlander_04]

There are plenty of benchmarks showing a stock clocked FX 6300 being neck and neck with the best intel i3's in single player gaming . The intel tends to do better in older DX9 games and the FX is more competitive when the game can use all the cores .
In more recent game engines like crysis 3 the FX 6300 will demolish the i3 . This is the future .
http://www.overclock.net/t/1362591/gamegpu-crysis-3-final-gpu-cpu-scaling
Its also true the FX will out game the i3 in online gaming . As a bonus it encodes videos almost as fast as the top end i5 intels.
And then you can OC it and have much better performance , while the intel is stuck at stock clocks .

So the FX 6300 is the best budget gming cpu IMO

Fx 6300
Mb with a970 series chip set . The ASUS M5A97 R2.0 is a great overclocker , but there are others
2 x4 gig of 1600 MHz RAM , rated fr 1.5 volts or less

should be the core of a budget gamer............. if you still want it to be performing in a couple of years

 

[theProbe]

The fx6300 is 150$ and the fx6100 is 125$. Is it worth the extra 20% in price?
Also, is this asus better than the gigabyte? The price is practically the same.