Im baaack Building a system for my gf need some advice

[Lowlyffe]

My gf wants a new rig as she recently decided she wanted to return to World of Warcraft. She was playing on a laptop with onboard graphics, which during large 25 person raids and running around main cities was a pain for her. She uses photoshop avidly, so that must be kept in mind. I'd also like to try not to "overbuild" for her needs as she needs to be a little more careful with her money, because of a impending familial obligation.
I chose the A10 because I thought it might be nice to have a serviceable GPU built in if god forbid her GPU ever crapped out on her. Please advise.

The parts I chose:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Apevia X-Cruiser2 Pink ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: CoolMax 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $766.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-18 17:00 EST-0500)

 

[djangoringo]

That cpu is no good with that card, any cpu(intel) has on die gpu, the i5-3470 is a much better cpu, also put 2x4 GB dual channel ram instead of single channel and a better psu than the coolmax, also a 7870 ghz edition much more cheaper.
My advice :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-P45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apevia X-Cruiser2 Pink ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($41.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $768.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[butremor]

Haha wtf. I don't know what's your experience with videocards, but they don't crap out just like that. But i do like your contingency plan.
For me seems like a waste buying apu with gpu, least you can do is save some $ by getting 5700 or a8 5600k.
Also your build could do a few changes.

 

[butremor]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($97.26 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Apevia X-Cruiser2 Pink ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($41.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $738.15
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-18 17:29 EST-0500)

 

[Lowlyffe]

What I mean by the built it GPU of the A10 is that it has an integrated 7670 which would be superior to Intel 3000/4000 I believe. Is there not a synergy between the Radeon card and A10 that would be advantageous?

 

[butremor]

What I mean by the built it GPU of the A10 is that it has an integrated 7670 which would be superior to Intel 3000/4000 I believe. Is there not a synergy between the Radeon card and A10 that would be advantageous?

Yes, amd igpu is superior to intels.
If by synergy you mean crossfire, then max a10 can do is crossfire with radeon 6670.

 

[djangoringo]

Who puts an a8 with a 7870 ????
Get the intel cpu, it will bottleneck the card, those apu are worse than a old x4 965 BE, they're not meant for using with such cards, only for htpc and low gaming with the apu only.
For the love of god get an i5 + 7870.
The 7870 will last for years, you won't need the igpu of the A10 or A8...
Thank me latter.

 

[Lowlyffe]

Ok thanks for the clarification on the "synergy" question.

@butremor Do you feel that A8 would be ample to run heavy photoshop work? (Also I had a GPU die on me once and the onboard GPU wasnt nearly usable for the 2 weeks I had to go without)

@djangoringo I chose the GHZ edition because of the built-in dual monitor support.

Thank you both for your help so far, giving me things to consider.

 

[djangoringo]

The i5-3470 is better for photoshop, it will use the best cpu (i5) and the AMD 7870 not the gpu on die.
As for the card, like i said the one i put in my list is also a GHZ edition, with display port, dual dvi and hdmi, and it's a good card/brand(HIS), but more cheaper

See the cpu chart here :

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

See the difference between the i5-3470 and the A10(the A8 is worse) :

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/702?vs=675

 

[Lowlyffe]

Ah that benchmark comparison clears up a lot of questions. Thanks! I just had a thought. do you know if the motherboard you chose supports Crossfire set up?
And would either of these be a better alternative?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130581&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[Wisecracker]

Asus M5A78L-M LX Plus 760G Motherboard, AMD FX-4300 Quad-Core, Mushkin Silverline 8GB Memory, Mushkin 120GB SSD, Rosewill Gaming ATX Mid Tower w/650W PSU SuperCombo

around $480

 

[djangoringo]

That's not a good combo when it comes with a more expensive budget that he needs without the case he wants(pink case for girlfriend) and with gfx card and monitor goes above the budget, when he can have a much better cpu(i5-3470) and he wants at least an on die gpu if it fails or if it comes first than the gfx card(the FX-4300 doesn't have a igpu) and build.
The good thing of the combo is the ssd.

 

[Wisecracker]

The HD7850 will easily take a 15-20% OC, and perform at stock HD7870 levels, and beyond. It also comes with a free game bundle, and a price around $175 .... before rebate.

The *pink* case is questionable. They really need to re-think that (hint).