Gaming build questions

[rik220]

Hi all,

I'm considering doing a semi budget gaming build. Does amd give you the best performance for the money?

Also is AM3+ platform a dying platform or is it best to go down the fm2 apu route?

I will need a motherboard and cpu. Don't want to spend more than £100 on cpu really and I don't want to spend any more than needed on a motherboard. I currently have an asus Radeon hd 7750 graphics card and 8gb hyper x ram which I intend to use in this build. What's your recommendations? I will be playing P3D and x-plane.

Thanks
Rik.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

I wouldn't buy an AMD processor now, as their upcoming models will more than likely use a new socket. If the AM3+ socket isn't dead now, it will be within the next couple of years.

For £100 you can buy a Haswell Core i3, but that said, if you can wait and save a little more, I would recommend you go straight to an i5. What's your overall budget?

 

[rik220]

I know what your saying, my current athlon ii x3 was out of date very soon after I bought it. Is there any particular version of the i5 to go for? I would like to be built for £250 at the most. Going for an i5 could consume that budget and more.

Thanks
Rik

 

[Archgaull]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£143.98 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI H97M-E35 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£59.98 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £203.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-02 13:45 GMT+0000

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

An i5 4460 and ASRock H97 PRO4 would be my recommendation:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/KxfVD3

 

[rik220]

Ok I'm convinced on an i5!

I'll need a case, psu and hard drive.

Any budget recommendations for these?

Thanks
Rik

 

[boostorm99]

I5-4690k. I have it and she runs like a dream. Never dips below 100fps in Far Cry 4 on high settings (1920x1080). Hard drive I would go with a 60gb ssd for operating system and drivers only. And i would get a 1 tb western digital hdd for everything else. That way the os is snappy and quick and you will have fast boot times. For a decent psu I would go with Evga 650w 80+ gold. Not to expensive, and ive always been a big fan of Evga's power supplies. As for a case, thats more of a personal prefrence. I have the NZXT H440 and I love it, but it does not come with any 5.25" drive bays for fan controlers or internal dvd reader/writer. So the case all depends on how much you're willing to spend and what you want from it.

 

[madmatt30]

Zalman Z3 Plus ATX/M-ATX Tower Case - Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DDC214K/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_eBC9ub0PPYXNJeBC9ub0PPYXNJ

EVGA 500W PC Power Supply https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GP5Y6J0/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_3BC9ub0NGTDPM


+ Whatever size hard drive you can budget for

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

OK, so you need a processor, motherboard, PSU, storage and case; how much is your total budget?

 

[rik220]

My budget has to increase now because I'm going i5. £300 give or take a few quid. I could spend less on a motherboard since you can't really overclock a 4460? I don't really want a full on gaming case as I don't really like the look of them. Any suggestions on a sort of OEM look case? I've been looking on ebuyer but there is no cases with good reviews that look kind of OEM.

Thanks
Rik

 

[Archgaull]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£143.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£60.34 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£42.97 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£33.85 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply (£25.87 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £306.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-09 12:25 GMT+0000

 

[sora]

I know what your saying, my current athlon ii x3 was out of date very soon after I bought it. Is there any particular version of the i5 to go for? I would like to be built for £250 at the most. Going for an i5 could consume that budget and more.

Thanks
Rik

An i5-4560 or an i5-4690k are both great decisions.

 

[rik220]

Thanks for your help.

Finally settled on -
i5 4460
MSI H97 M E35 motherboard
Corsair Cx430 PSU
Zalman T3 case
1tb Western digital cavier blue HDD.

All I have to do now is await delivery and find my windows 7 cd, although I have used this cd twice on the same product key. Do you think it will work again?

Thanks
Rik.

 

[Archgaull]

If it's OEM, no. However, if it's just Windows 7, it should work as long as it isn't currently active

 

[rik220]

I just found the cd. Its an HP upgrade cd. The product key has been used twice, one on a family members computer and again on the computer I am using at the moment. So this must be one of the "family" products keys that can be used three times? Both computers have been using this product key with no issues for 2+ years.