Kindly asking for advice

[hobbysta]

I'd like to buy something able to play most of today's games. I'm more into strategy, simulators or football games but would love to play such as Battlefield 3 etc.
My budget is 500-600 pounds but might be extended if really necessary.
There is my configuration and I would be most grateful for your opinions, please.

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB


Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER SIX CORE FX-6100 (3.30GHz/6MB CACHE/AM3)
Free Item

Free Item
FREE DIRT3 GAME with any AMD FX Processor!


Motherboard
ASUS® M5A78L-M/USB3: M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s


Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)


Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6870 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable


Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE Barracuda SATA-III 6Gb/s HDD, 32MB Cache (7200rpm)


1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM


Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)


Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

The price is 555 pounds.

 

[Mr.RKH]

500-600 not going to do much..
I am also going to buy a new pc, my budget around 1200-1300 for desktop and around 1500 for desktop & monitor..

 

[Music Guy123]

That doesn't look bad, You ought to upgrade that case though, the coolermaster elite should be fine. You can drop the RAM to the 1333mhz version to save money, you won't notice the difference speed wise. Also, could you please post the rest of your spec?

 

[hobbysta]

Well...I have never spent more than 500 pounds on a gaming computer and always been happy with those I bought. I'm not looking for an ultimate and dead silent machine.
I think that the above system with the Radeon HD6870 graphic card should be able to make me rather satisfied. I value every opinion, though.

 

[hobbysta]

I'm sorry, should have done straight away.

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB


Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER SIX CORE FX-6100 (3.30GHz/6MB CACHE/AM3)
Free Item

Free Item
FREE DIRT3 GAME with any AMD FX Processor!


Motherboard
ASUS® M5A78L-M/USB3: M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s


Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)


Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6870 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable


Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE Barracuda SATA-III 6Gb/s HDD, 32MB Cache (7200rpm)


1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM


Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)


Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER


Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)


Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs


USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD


Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED


Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE


Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE


Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)


Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)


Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days

 

[Music Guy123]

A 6870 is entry level for gaming. The thing is, if you buy from something like Currys, they will make a 6670 sound like the best GPU in the world which, well, it isn't! However, that should still be a decent spec that should do well. Do take note of my tip about the case, it really would improve cooling.

 

[Music Guy123]

Thanks for posting the spec, same tips as before but make sure you get the silver warranty, it is only a fiver.

 

[Music Guy123]

Just thought I would pop this out there. The cpu is more powerful and the mobo is better. Same case and RAM I recommended also a good cooler, have a look.

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 310 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2400 Quad Core (3.10GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6870 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE Barracuda SATA-III 6Gb/s HDD, 32MB Cache (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £645.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/

 

[hobbysta]

Thank you a lot, Music Guy! I will probably go follow your advice and change the configuration as you suggesting.

 

[Music Guy123]

Oh, also, try and get the same cooler as I specced, it really would improve the cooling and is very good value.

 

[hobbysta]

Are Intel's processors really that much better? I was always using AMDs as better value for money. However, maybe the things have changed... I was building my last system about 4 years ago.

 

[Music Guy123]

Yes, AMD are better value for money but Intel currently have the more powerful cpus so can charge more. They are more powerful but an AMD will be fine.

 

[hobbysta]

Would I really need 8Gb of RAM?
Is Samsung brand really that good or should I upgrade to Kingston?
If AMD processor, which one would be the best value for money?
Thanks again

 

[Phoenix]

RAM has never been so cheap and Battlefield 3 does seem to perform slightly better with 8GB (instead of 4 or less). Samsung is fine, there's very little difference between the two in real world applications. The AMD Phenom II X4 960T is probably the best value for money CPU.

 

[hobbysta]

Thank you a lot! Very helpful

 

[pioruns]

Your first choice, with AM3+ motherboard but supporting only SATA 3Gbps wasn't very good idea (in case if you want to buy SSD drive later). Very good build by Music Guy123, you should follow it.
I am using Samsung 8GB DDR3 1333, absolutely no problems, and working overclocked as 1600.