Comments and/or changes to first budget build

altwebid

altwebid

altwebid

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10 Nov 2013
Posts
11
Hi

I'll shortly be attempting my first build and would appreciate any pointers on what I've got so far (budget is £450).

Fingers crossed, Father Christmas will be delivering the following for my son:

RAM/Mobo/CPU: AMD A6-5400k Black Edition 3.6GHz Dual Core, Asrock FM2A75M-ITX DDR3 Motherboard, Patriot 8GB 1600MHz C11, Stock AMD CPU Cooler

PSU: Corsair Builder Series CXM 500W Modular 80

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATAIII 6Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5 inch

Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 RC-130-KKN1 Mini ITX Case

GPU: Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon R9 270X OC 2GB GDDR5
HIS Radeon R9 270X IceQ X2 Boost 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
Sapphire 11199-19-20G AMD Radeon HD 7870 Dual-X OC 2GB GDDR5
HIS HD 7870 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
XFX AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB Core DD Edition
Club 3D AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB 13Series

Keyboard/mouse etc are being delivered on Xmas morning to Grandma's house.

Initially it will just be a general web/media/Minecraft machine, but I'm building it so it can handle future Steam downloads.

Output is to via HDMI to a HD TV.

Many thanks
 
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Don't bother with the CPU... it wont play many games.. go for the piledriver cpus if possible... quad core fx 4 will do...

gpu i would go for the 7870, but the cheapest one will do
 
CinderzFTW said:
Don't bother with the CPU... it wont play many games.. go for the piledriver cpus if possible... quad core fx 4 will do...
Click to expand...

He can't and stay ITX, Piledriver doesn't have any ITX board or any decent mATX board.. Also, the FX 4***'s are a bit of a joke, the 6300 is the minimum id suggest...

Are you set on ITX OP?
 
The A6-5400k handled Minecraft quite well, I built a PC for my brother recently and it does the trick. Game aren't too bad either, GTA IV wasn't too unplayable with the settings down slightly. I would recommend wiggling the budget to get a dedicated GPU in there.
 
ThaReaperGuy said:
The A6-5400k handled Minecraft quite well, I built a PC for my brother recently and it does the trick. Game aren't too bad either, GTA IV wasn't too unplayable with the settings down slightly. I would recommend wiggling the budget to get a dedicated GPU in there.
Click to expand...

altwebid said:
Hi

I'll shortly be attempting my first build and would appreciate any pointers on what I've got so far (budget is £450).

Fingers crossed, Father Christmas will be delivering the following for my son:

RAM/Mobo/CPU: AMD A6-5400k Black Edition 3.6GHz Dual Core, Asrock FM2A75M-ITX DDR3 Motherboard, Patriot 8GB 1600MHz C11, Stock AMD CPU Cooler

PSU: Corsair Builder Series CXM 500W Modular 80

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATAIII 6Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5 inch

Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 RC-130-KKN1 Mini ITX Case

GPU: Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon R9 270X OC 2GB GDDR5
HIS Radeon R9 270X IceQ X2 Boost 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
Sapphire 11199-19-20G AMD Radeon HD 7870 Dual-X OC 2GB GDDR5
HIS HD 7870 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
XFX AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB Core DD Edition
Club 3D AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB 13Series
Keyboard/mouse etc are being delivered on Xmas morning to Grandma's house.

Initially it will just be a general web/media/Minecraft machine, but I'm building it so it can handle future Steam downloads.

Output is to via HDMI to a HD TV.

Many thanks
Click to expand...
 
There were many threads of the Asrock FM2 mobos literally burning out boss. I'd rather have the MSI A75 over the Asrock, infact I have used the MSI a few times.

The A6K is ok as a office machine and HTPC duties. The A8K has a better IGP (integrated GFX) for gaming and the A10K is better still with these two APUs being Quadcores too. The APUs love fast RAM to help out the IGP for gaming.

I've used the CM120 case which is very similar to the 130. It's short but very long, you have used a modular PSU which is very wise for that case. I won't lie not really an ideal case for beginners but it's not a bad case however there are always alternatives......

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD580KWOHJBOX) £99.95
1 x Gigabyte F2A85XN-WIFI AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £86.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Case - Caseking Anniversary Edt. Window £74.99
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-16000C9 2000MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AX3U2000GC4G9B-2G) £59.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L8 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in £53.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £446.88 (includes shipping : £10.00).



Trendy case (the Mrs might prefer the look of it lol), has a window so he can show it off to his mates too ;) You can drop in a dedicated GPU later on as another gift, if you will do this sooner rather than later then opting for the A8K to save some spondoolies isn't a bad compromise.

Best of luck with the build bud, we look forward to seeing what you choose. I'm sure your boy will love it!
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 128GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH128GCST) £79.99
1 x AMD A8-5600K Black Edition 3.60GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD560KWOHJBOX) £71.99
1 x MSI A75IA-E53 AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £69.95
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-16000C9 2000MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AX3U2000GC4G9B-2G) £59.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L8 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in £53.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 130 RC-130-KKN1 Mini ITX Case - Black £45.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £452.83 (includes shipping : £10.00).



The Corsair CX500M isn't listed here anymore :( the Bequiet isn't modular it's just there as a place holder for the pricing, I strongly recommend a modular PSU in this chassis. The MSI mobo is a slightly lower chipset but still a good mobo and saves some cash, used the A8K too which saved some pennies so now I've squeezed in a good SSD to help the rig boot rapid.

Thought you might want to see an option with the case you chose. Once again all the best, any questions or god forbid problems come build day you know where to find us :)
 
Many thanks.
Hmm. No GPU?
I've always had high end workstations ready made so thought a GPU was essential for gaming.

Thinking about it, he's not of an age where he'll be playing the latest and greatest games as they all seem to be rated 15 or above and I'm almost certain this will be for Minecraft and the like for at least a year, so maybe no GPU for now makes sense.

Certainly food for thought.
 
Taking into account a GPU upgrade later in the year:

Gigabyte F2A85XN-WIFI Motherboard

AMD APU A10 6800K Black Edition Quad Core Processor (Socket FM2, 4.1GHz, 4MB, 100W, AD680KWOHLBOX)

Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-16000C9 2000MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AX3U2000GC4G9B-2G)
or
G-Skill 8GB Ripjaws X DDR3 2133

Corsair CW-9060007-WW Hydro Series H60 High Performance 120mm Rad All-In-One Liquid CPU Cooler

Corsair Builder Series CXM 600W Modular 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX/EPS PSU

Cooler Master Elite 130

Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache

How's that?
Changed to 600W for power considering addition of GPU at a later date.
Oh, and something has to come from elsewhere - got vouchers.
 
The 5800K is very nearly the same speed as the 6800K but a bit cheaper.

You should aim for 2400MHz RAM when you're running the APU for graphics.

A decent air cooler is fine, no need for AIO watercooling.
 
altwebid said:
Taking into account a GPU upgrade later in the year:

How's that?
Changed to 600W for power considering addition of GPU at a later date.
Oh, and something has to come from elsewhere - got vouchers.
Click to expand...

You've picked the newer Richland A10K APU. The mobo might well need a BIOS update before it can use the APU, it's also not really worth the extra cash (or hassle)....stick with the Trinity APUs dude.

If you are rocking the APU's IGP for a while then get RAM as fast as you can afford within the budget to help gaming performance. As you are looking at adding a cooler you can OC the IGP and the APU, I wouldn't bother with the H60, OCuk do the refurb'd H80 for £40 which is a much better cooler for the case.

500W or there abouts is ample even with a GPU, that semi-modular PSU will make life soooo much easier in that case :) Hopefully you are all set to source your bits now :)
 
honosuseri said:
You've picked the newer Richland A10K APU. The mobo might well need a BIOS update before it can use the APU, it's also not really worth the extra cash (or hassle)....stick with the Trinity APUs dude.

If you are rocking the APU's IGP for a while then get RAM as fast as you can afford within the budget to help gaming performance. As you are looking at adding a cooler you can OC the IGP and the APU, I wouldn't bother with the H60, OCuk do the refurb'd H80 for £40 which is a much better cooler for the case.

500W or there abouts is ample even with a GPU, that semi-modular PSU will make life soooo much easier in that case :) Hopefully you are all set to source your bits now :)
Click to expand...

Hi,

I'm ready to go for it!

Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee
AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD580KWOHJBOX)
Gigabyte F2A85XN-WIFI AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard

How about this RAM?

TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2400HC11CDC01)

or like I mentioned I have some vouchers to spend elsewhere (which has to be spent) so...

G.Skill F3-2400C11D-8GXM Ripjaws X 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3 2400 MHz Dual Channel


Thanks
 
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honosuseri said:
You've picked the newer Richland A10K APU. The mobo might well need a BIOS update before it can use the APU, it's also not really worth the extra cash (or hassle)....stick with the Trinity APUs dude.

If you are rocking the APU's IGP for a while then get RAM as fast as you can afford within the budget to help gaming performance. As you are looking at adding a cooler you can OC the IGP and the APU, I wouldn't bother with the H60, OCuk do the refurb'd H80 for £40 which is a much better cooler for the case.

500W or there abouts is ample even with a GPU, that semi-modular PSU will make life soooo much easier in that case :) Hopefully you are all set to source your bits now :)
Click to expand...

A very quick update...

All built and all running fine! There were a few minor errors on my part along the way but I suppose it's to be expected the first time around.

A very big thanks for the info, particularly the Corsair Hydro H80.

Cheers and merry Xmas.

Final Build:

Gigabyte F2A85XN-WIFI Motherboard

AMD APU A10 5800K Black Edition

TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 2400MHz

Corsair Hydro Series H80

Corsair Builder Series CXM 600W Modular

Cooler Master Elite 130

Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA

Some DVD drive or other.

FINAL COST: £449.85 in shipping (15p under budget!)

Plus the benefit of someone else providing Win8 and wireless keyboard, mouse, webcam and headset.
 
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