Looking for opinions on a £400 build

[WachaWan]

My friend is wanting a new build for £400 so I've been lurking around reading threads and have come up with the following:

CPU: i3 3225 3.3ghz Dual Core £105
GPU: XFX AMD HD7850 2GB £135
RAM: Kingston Hyper X 4GB 1600mhz
Hard Drive Barracuda Seagate 500gb 7200rpm

These are just random components which I'm still unsure about
Motherboard Some random compatible Gigabyte one i found
PSU corsair builder 430W
Case Cheapest case with 2 fans and 3 USB ports

For the CD drive, I'll just take out my one just to install the OS and then use a USB drive we already have to install anything else

Any help would be much appreciated so thanks

 

[juanpe966]

For that budget I would definitely go with an AMD CPU. An FX-6300 would be perfect.

 

[WachaWan]

For that budget I would definitely go with an AMD CPU. An FX-6300 would be perfect.

Could you explain why?
Looking at benchmarks and frame rates from various websites, the i3 and the fx 6300 perform around the same frame rates in most games.
I'm also not looking to overclock and buying the FX 6300 means that I would have to upgrade the PSU as a result, making it around £10 more expensive.

 

[pcgamer4life]

Could you explain why?
Looking at benchmarks and frame rates from various websites, the i3 and the fx 6300 perform around the same frame rates in most games.
I'm also not looking to overclock and buying the FX 6300 means that I would have to upgrade the PSU as a result, making it around £10 more expensive.

AMD often wins out for a budget build for light or medium use. In this case, the 6300 is about 15% cheaper than the i3 you linked. Motherboards are probably a bit cheaper, too, because the AM3 socket isn't going away, and 1155 is already on its way out the door.

I'm not sure about the benchmarks for these particular CPUs, but the 6300 is a hex core, and the i3 is only a dual core with HT.

 

[juanpe966]

First off, you should overclock if it is a possibility, it is basically free performance. But yes you are right, that PSU is not enough to OC. From my personal experience, the fx 6300 has performed better than the I3. The 6 cores help a lot. It gives u more OCing opportunities in the future. But given that tight budget, those £10 are already a big difference, so maybe keep the I3.

May I know what games you want to play and at what resolution?

 

[juanpe966]

AMD often wins out for a budget build for light or medium use. In this case, the 6300 is about 15% cheaper than the i3 you linked. Motherboards are probably a bit cheaper, too, because the AM3 socket isn't going away, and 1155 is already on its way out the door.

I'm not sure about the benchmarks for these particular CPUs, but the 6300 is a hex core, and the i3 is only a dual core with HT.

+1

 

[||Console||]

AMD often wins out for a budget build for light or medium use. In this case, the 6300 is about 15% cheaper than the i3 you linked. Motherboards are probably a bit cheaper, too, because the AM3 socket isn't going away, and 1155 is already on its way out the door.

I'm not sure about the benchmarks for these particular CPUs, but the 6300 is a hex core, and the i3 is only a dual core with HT.

you can not cheep out on a AMD mb with a fx chip unless you like watching fire works ( as in your mosfets blowing up ) , where as the intels can all oc to a reasonable lvl (4.5).
So it ends up costing more for a chip that does less...

It might only be a dual core with ht but it still beats all the AMD chips untill you oc the amds to ~4.5ghz ...

@ OP I would look for used gear in your area , like a used 2500k with a mb . that will walk over any of the other options . If thats not a option the parts you listed look good to me . And btw you can install windows from usb now so no need for a cd rom any more =)

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool

here is the list of the legit windows isos from Microsoft to use with the tool
http://www.w7forums.com/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-image-downloads-t12325.html

 

[pcgamer4life]

you can not cheep out on a AMD mb with a fx chip unless you like watching fire works ( as in your mosfets blowing up ) , where as the intels can all oc to a reasonable lvl (4.5).
So it ends up costing more for a chip that does less...

Shows how long I've been out of the loop, I had no idea. Thanks for the tip.

here is the list of the legit windows isos from Microsoft to use with the tool
http://www.w7forums.com/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-image-downloads-t12325.html

It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that you obviously need a valid license to activate Windows.


By the way, if your friend isn't too savvy (which I assume he's not since you're building the rig for him), then OC'ing might not be for you/him.