My PC build. £530 budget.

Baker2013

Baker2013

Baker2013

Associate
Joined
1 Apr 2013
Posts
24
Hey guys, just wanted to share with you my PC build for my birthday. This is what it is.


CPU: AMD Bulldozer FX-8150 Black Edition 3.60GHz 8 Core Processor
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 PCI Express ATX
RAM: GeIL Evo TWO 8GB (2x4) PC3 1866Mhz Memory
PSU: OCZ ZS Series 550W 80+ Bronze Power Supply
Case: Vantage Type R Gaming Case
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 OC 1GB

This is basically foreign to me since I'm new to actually buying PC components. I've had experience with putting a PC together with my current pc, though, like when I'm cleaning it out etc. My current specs are:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 @ 2.33GHz
Motherboard: Fujitsu Siemens MS-7504VP-PV (CPU 1)
RAM: 4GB Single Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz
PSU: Unknown, sounds stupid but I can't see it on Speccy and can't be bothered taking it out of my PC haha..
Case: Some Amilo one..
GPU: Gigabyte GTS 250 1GB

Bearing in mind I bought this PC around 3-4 years ago and the only component I've upgraded is the graphics card it has done me well over the years!



Is this decent enough? The games I usually play are:
Battlefield 3
Arma 2/3.
Tomb Raider.
Fallout 3/NV

And so on, so yeah, is this good?
 
Last edited:
Hi and welcome to the forum.

First off, can you remove the link, as it is against forum rules to link to competitors. Just a friendly warning.

Have you already bought this?
 
Baker2013 said:
CPU: AMD Bulldozer FX-8150 Black Edition 3.60GHz 8 Core Processor
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 PCI Express ATX
RAM: GeIL Evo TWO 8GB (2x4) PC3 1866Mhz Memory
PSU: OCZ ZS Series 550W 80+ Bronze Power Supply
Case: Vantage Type R Gaming Case
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 OC 1GB
Click to expand...

Many people here will suggest an i5 build due to your setup being primarily a gaming rig. I wont however since games like arma 3 and BF3 show a fair boost from 8 core fx chips. I will however recommend an fx8320 or 8350 rather than a 8150, there are a great number of reasons as to why, which is just a google away!

The motherboard is not suited for an 8 core fx chip since these CPUs draw a fair amount of power at load and with low power phasing and no VRM heatsink, you will find that it will throttle your speeds down even at stock under stress. The board was also reported to have voltage drop issues.

The RAM is fine. I would change the PSU to a more reliable manufacturer, a 500W PSU from XFX or Seasonic will be more than enough. XFX PSU's are also made by Seasonic which are pretty much accepted as undisputed top PSU manufacturers.

The GPU is a sensible choice but i would choose a 2gb model.

So this is what i would change from your list while sticking to roughly the same build:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Tomb Raider & Bioshock PC Games £161.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £143.99
1 x Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
Total : £462.95 (includes shipping : £10.00).



If you are planning to overclock, definately grab a £25-30++ air cooler as these CPU's run hot.
 
 
@Avenged7Fold Thats way over my budget mate, the specs I posted add up to 523 all together, when I replaced them with the parts you posted they added up to atleast 600 and I can't afford that

@Idleman just a standard SATA 1TB in my current computer. + I'll need a disc drive and memory in my new computer becaue I'm giving my old one to my brother so I'll need a complete new PC.
 
Last edited:
Baker2013 said:
Thats way over my budget mate, the specs I posted add up to 523 all together, when I replaced them with the parts you posted they added up to atleast 600 and I can't afford that
Click to expand...

Then you are buying from the wrong place.
Gpu is better than the one you specced. I would find out what Psu you have as it could save you money if it is a decent brand.
 
Baker2013 said:
@Avenged7Fold Thats way over my budget mate, the specs I posted add up to 523 all together, when I replaced them with the parts you posted they added up to atleast 600 and I can't afford that.
Click to expand...

You can save £40 with the b grade version of the GPU. I just adjusted your build to something that would be a lot more reliable. You will be hard pressed to find anyone that would recommend a bulldozer and OCZ PSU on this forum. Also the specs you listed wont even run the CPU at stock due to the motherboard throttling.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £143.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showd (GX-100-GI) £129.95
1 x Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x **B Grade** Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £36.98
1 x Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVI38G186C9K) £35.99
Total : £506.88 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Here is an example of the parts i listed still under your budget. Idlemans build will be better for most games but since you listed Arma3 and BF3 as games you would play, i thought i would give an AMD build rather than just reposting slightly different i5 builds. Shop around if you cant fit it all to budget, we cant quote anything outside OCuk and if you searched the site a bit you wont have problems with your budget. Skimping on your PSU and motherboard is something you definitely don't want to do, especially if your CPU is a power hungry one.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info & builds guys. But like I said I won't be re-using any of the parts from my old PC since I'm giving it to my brother. I'm gonna take your builds and shop around to find cheap hdd's & optical drives.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £143.99
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showd (GX-100-GI) £129.95
1 x Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x XFX Pro 550W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
1 x **B Grade** Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £36.98
1 x Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVI38G186C9K) £35.99
Total : £506.88 (includes shipping : £12.50).

This is my basket. I got a £13.30 optical drive from CCL (I don't use CD's often, I use steam & origin for games and stuff) and a 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 3.5" Hard Disk Drive from there too for £44. putting my total cost up to 565 which I should be able to get. Cheers!
 
To be honest, you'll be hard pressed to find better deals than the ones the other posters in this thread have specced you. Buy from OcUK - they're reliable and don't try to rip you off. And don't worry, I'm not on commission!
 
I would say it is definitely worth spending a few extra quid on OCuk if that is all that it costs. The customer service is worth more alone. You wont find many companies willing to go so far on quality assurance and product satisfaction even on B grade products.
 
Stupid question but can I just get a double check that the Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 8GB (2x4) is compatible with the Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard? cheers.
 
Baker2013 said:
Stupid question but can I just get a double check that the Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 8GB (2x4) is compatible with the Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard? cheers.
Click to expand...

You can use them, the only problem is the height. If you decide to OC the Cpu, some aftermarket coolers will not fit. It`s best to buy low profile ram, as it does`nt interfere with the cooler.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom