Help with first time pc build

ofootitt

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Hey people

I'm looking to build my first pc and I just need some tips on what parts to use.

But, here's the catch: it has to cost under £320 and still perform reasonably well with games.

Here's the spec list I have planned at the moment:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 631 (Socket FM1) £66.22
CPU COOLER: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2 £15.98
MOBO: Asrock A75M-HVS mATX (Socket FM1) £49.29
PSU: Corsair CX430 V2 £34.23
RAM: Corsair 2X4GB DDR3 1333MHz £20
CASE: Fractal Design Core 1000 £28.98
GPU: Sapphire HD 6670 £77.03

Other stuff:
92mm Fan: £5.09
Optical Drive: £13.98
Wireless Card: £9.99

= £320.79

I only play a few different MMORPGs and Sims 3 and stuff so are these specs over the top, or are they not enough? I need to spend as little as possible.

Thanks in advance
 
One change I think you should definitely make. The graphics card - you can get a 6770/5770 for the price you have quoted on that 6670. The performance difference is huge between the two, and the CX430 PSU will have no problems running it.
You don't need the aftermarket CPU cooler, the CPU will come with one

I would probably do intel pentium rather than AMD for potential upgrade path - but that is just personal preference, and there is probably nothing in it performance wise
 
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The reason I have chosen an aftermarket CPU cooler is because I have read reviews on this processor and they all say that the supplied one is very poor.

I will look out for a 6770 if the difference is that big, thanks for the info.

I personally would rather not choose the pentium as the athlon seems to pack more punch for the price. I may be wrong but it seems these days games use more cores.

Edit: I found this 6770 for about the same price, happy days! http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-...u-800mhz-800-cores-hdmi-d-sub-dual-link-dvi-i
 
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Not bad but as LJx says the 6770 is a decent card, much better than the 6670. The stock AMD coolers are a bit loud but nothing much to worry about. I wouldn't bother wasting £15-20 of your budget with an aftermarket cooler.

I persoanally would go along the lines of an Intel build, hows this one, (spec'd up from ebuyer).

Intel Core i3 2100 3.10GHz Socket 1155 3MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor £90.18

MSI H61MA-E35 (B3) Intel H61 Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio mATX Motherboard £51.10

Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz HyperX Blu Memory Kit CL9 1.5V Non-ECC Unbuffered £17.29

Corsair 430W V2 CX Series PSU £34.23

Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Case £28.98

Asus HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 Direct CU DVI VGA HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card £81.03

Total £302.81 with free 5-day delivery.

The Intel i3 2100 is much quicker, especially in games like WoW where the Athlons are very slow and has better power consumption. As LJx says, it will also give you a much better upgrade path.

The lack of L3 Cache makes quite a bit of difference when compared to the Phenoms for example, especially in games. If you really don't want Intel then I'd recommend a basic AM3/AM3+ motherboard with a Phenom II X4 960T (basically a hex-core but with two cores disabled). It'll be faster than the Athlon II X4 631 and if your luck you may be able to unlock the two extra cores.
 
Thanks for the help! That i3 build fits right in my budget. I'm a bit of a noob with this stuff..

Its not that I specifically dont want an Intel build, its just that AMD processors seem to pack more punch especially if you are on a budget. I will look at the AMD Phenoms but in the mean time i will save that list...
 
i3 is definately the way to go. The only place where AMD is better is with their APU's with Llano who are very casual gamers and want a system with an acclerated processing unit which has a very slow integrated graphics card and with AMD Zacate. Intel pretty much has every other segment of the market wrapped up very nicely.

Intel Core i3 V Athlon II X4 645

The i3 beats it comprehensively in most tests and the ones where lags behind it's not too far (ie tests where the extra two cores of the Athlon help).

If your interested in overclocking then the 960T is a good option. You could put an aftermarket cooler on there and try to push it to 3.8GHz or 4GHz if your lucky. Again the two extra cores could be unlocked. At stock settings even the Phenom is slower than the i3, although the gap has now narrowed.

Intel Core i3 2100 Vs Phenom II X4 965BE

Good recent review here pitting the i3-2105 against AMD's second fastest Phenom II. Although the focus is on hyper-threading, still shows how good the i3 is.
 

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