Choice between different possible first time builds (On Budget)

[haris15]

Hello

I will probably be building my first PC in the summer and I need some advice. Ideally I have a £300 budget on all components and an operating system for a gaming PC. The operating system I could get 2nd hand of ebay or something, but if windows 10 is out by then I won't be able to do the windows 10 upgrade with windows 7/8 could I?

Anyway, I will be getting a used graphics card, maybe something along the lines of a 7850 1gb or something, as I have seen on ebay that the older generations are going for reasonable prices, that one in particular @£45. I have a possibility of four different builds:

1) Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 - New around £40
CPU: Athlon X4 860k - New around £50
Hyper 212 CPU cooler - used around £15 from ebay

2) Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 - New around £34
CPU: Pentium G3258 - New around £52
Hyper 212 CPU cooler - used around £15 from ebay

3) Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 - New around £34
CPU: i3 4150 - used around £60 from ebay

4) Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 - New around £40
CPU: FX 6300 - around £55 used from ebay
Hyper 212 CPU cooler - used around £15 from ebay

If I get any one of these builds they will be in a Fractal Core 1000 case, with 1TB 7200rpm Seagate hard drive, 4gb ram (all I can afford, can upgrade later) and wattage of 80+ PSU will depend on CPU and graphics card. Although it is worth noting that the i3 one will probably suffice with a 430w power supply.

At the moment to me it seems the i3 is the better option due to no need for an aftermarket cooler, a lower wattage PSU, and better performer than fx 6300 in single thread applications, including when it will be overclocked. The most the fx 6300 could be overclocked is around 4.2 ghz stable on that motherboard which I found from some reviews. How would this compare to the i3? Also bare in mind that I probably won't upgrade till around 2 years or so. Is upgrade-ability still important?

Lastly, after seeing different opinions in this forum, I came to understand that CPUs are not such a high risk to buy used, although I should take caution when they are ones that have been overclocked. Although that won't be an issue for the i3 will it as it can not be overclocked? Or would it be better to go for a new CPU and go with the Athlon or Pentium build?

I would like to do gaming on this in 1080p for a few years, although I wouldn't say I am very bothered about playing every single game on ultra. Medium - ultra in 1080p on all games would suffice, but tbh I do not know what I will do on this build as this will be one of the best performing PCs I have ever used. All advice would be appreciated.

Just to confirm, I will be overclocking builds 1, 2 and 4.

Sorry for the long thread and thanks in advance.

 

[IROCZ]

I throw in a vote for option #2.

 

[blue_smoke]

Voting for option 1 or 3. The i3 will treat you much better than the 860k, but the 860k and the a88x means you have a flagship system for platform fm2+ at the moment

 

[haris15]

Voting for option 1 or 3. The i3 will treat you much better than the 860k, but the 860k and the a88x means you have a flagship system for platform fm2+ at the moment

If the 860k is overclocked at 4.4ghz, how will it be compared to the i3? Also how will it compare with the fx 6300@4.2ghz?

I think, as much as the pentium g3258 is a great overclocker, it won't be suited to me as I won't be upgrading any time soon. I also would like to have an all round cpu. Which would be great for gaming but also multitaksing.

 

[blue_smoke]

Voting for option 1 or 3. The i3 will treat you much better than the 860k, but the 860k and the a88x means you have a flagship system for platform fm2+ at the moment

If the 860k is overclocked at 4.4ghz, how will it be compared to the i3? Also how will it compare with the fx 6300@4.2ghz?

I think, as much as the pentium g3258 is a great overclocker, it won't be suited to me as I won't be upgrading any time soon. I also would like to have an all round cpu. Which would be great for gaming but also multitaksing.

better than i3, worse than fx

 

[haris15]

Voting for option 1 or 3. The i3 will treat you much better than the 860k, but the 860k and the a88x means you have a flagship system for platform fm2+ at the moment

If the 860k is overclocked at 4.4ghz, how will it be compared to the i3? Also how will it compare with the fx 6300@4.2ghz?

I think, as much as the pentium g3258 is a great overclocker, it won't be suited to me as I won't be upgrading any time soon. I also would like to have an all round cpu. Which would be great for gaming but also multitaksing.

better than i3, worse than fx

I found that that particular MSI board supports overclock but you can only change multiplier. I found the F2A88XM-DS2 FM2+ from Gigabyte supports overclock and has the option to change voltage too. That is too around £40.

But do you think it is worth me getting a used fx 6300?

 

[blue_smoke]

Voting for option 1 or 3. The i3 will treat you much better than the 860k, but the 860k and the a88x means you have a flagship system for platform fm2+ at the moment

If the 860k is overclocked at 4.4ghz, how will it be compared to the i3? Also how will it compare with the fx 6300@4.2ghz?

I think, as much as the pentium g3258 is a great overclocker, it won't be suited to me as I won't be upgrading any time soon. I also would like to have an all round cpu. Which would be great for gaming but also multitaksing.

better than i3, worse than fx

I found that that particular MSI board supports overclock but you can only change multiplier. I found the F2A88XM-DS2 FM2+ from Gigabyte supports overclock and has the option to change voltage too. That is too around £40.

But do you think it is worth me getting a used fx 6300?

The only processor I've ever bought used is the Core 2 Duo E6850. The thermals are F***** on that thing. 60C load with a hyper 212. Leads me to think it's not genuine. Go with the new cpu and new a88x. Remember to select the best answer if I helped you at all.

 

[haris15]

Thanks for your answers. Looks like athlon 860k is a good choice then. Also if my budget doesn't allow me, I could always add a cooler and overclock later.

But I have one more question, will an XFX TS 430w be able to power an overclocked athlon 860k and offer a potential graphics card upgrade from the hd7850? If so, I could save about £10 on my build, a good power supply too, 80 plus bronze. It supplies 32A on the 12V rail.

 

[blue_smoke]

Thanks for your answers. Looks like athlon 860k is a good choice then. Also if my budget doesn't allow me, I could always add a cooler and overclock later.

But I have one more question, will an XFX TS 430w be able to power an overclocked athlon 860k and offer a potential graphics card upgrade from the hd7850? If so, I could save about £10 on my build, a good power supply too, 80 plus bronze. It supplies 32A on the 12V rail.

Saving 10 euros isn't worth the trade-off from the capability of upgrading.

 

[haris15]

Thanks for your answers. Looks like athlon 860k is a good choice then. Also if my budget doesn't allow me, I could always add a cooler and overclock later.

But I have one more question, will an XFX TS 430w be able to power an overclocked athlon 860k and offer a potential graphics card upgrade from the hd7850? If so, I could save about £10 on my build, a good power supply too, 80 plus bronze. It supplies 32A on the 12V rail.

Saving 10 euros isn't worth the trade-off from the capability of upgrading.

Ok. It is also good to have some headroom and also the PSU won't always be at full load all the time. Do you recommend EVGA 500B 80+ Bronze power supply? I have seen them used a lot in budget gaming builds and seem quite reliable. They are in tier three of power supply list. It is worth noting that the XFX TS 430w are in tier two of the list but it has a lower wattage.

 

[blue_smoke]

hmm
go with the xfx
they are made by seasonic
its likely you can exceed 430w with that psu without issues anyway

 

[haris15]

hmm
go with the xfx
they are made by seasonic
its likely you can exceed 430w with that psu without issues anyway

Hmm...
We will have to see the prices in a few months time, but I think I will go for the EVGA as others recommend a 500w PSU with the 7850.