Advice for first build

So the FX6300 is faster. Which would be best for a HTPC, like visually? And with a good graphics card would the FX6300 be as good a gaming setup as the APU?
 
My advice is to wait until January (if you can) as you'll then be able to buy a Kaveri APU, which will give you a significant performance advantage over the current crop of APUs. Pair this with a decent FM2+ (A88X) motherboard and some of the new AMD 2400 RAM which you'll also be able to buy in the new year and this will give you a solid (and easy) base to start building your PC.

AMD's new RAM has an extra feature called AMP (AMD Memory Profile) and paired with a Kaveri APU this will automatically set the RAM up for you. Sure, if you know all about RAM timings you could probably tweak it for better performance, but I gather from reading the thread so far that you're not that au fait with PC building.
 
Venom1991 said:
I can't wait for January unfortunately, I have to buy this before Xmas.
So is this a decent FM2+ (A88X) mobo?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-464-GI

I think I'll go with that board and the APU linked above, it's cheaper anyway. but would this RAM work fine with it? What you said made me think it's not just as simple as plugging it in.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-052-TG
Click to expand...

Yes and yes. The RAM should be as simple as plugging it in, but sometimes you'll need to go into the BIOS and fiddle with a few things to make it run at its specified settings. The AMD RAM will negate that requirement, but you can't buy it in the UK yet, so the TeamGroup stuff would be an acceptable alternative.

You could always go with the cheapest APU (just to get the machine up and running) then get a Kaveri when they launch to enjoy the performance jump you'll get. If you intend to game then be aware that Kaveri can run BF4 on medium settings at 720p and perfectly good frame rates. The current batch of APUs can't.
 
Thank you, I think I've made up my mind. I'll get the FM2+ (A88X) mobo and the best current APU. I'm not planning to game so the Kaveri doesn't appeal to me.

Just one last question, what would the advantages be of the AM3+ board linked above and the FX6300 chip and either a cheap graphics card or a better one in a year or two? Besides the CPU just being more powerful?

And thanks to everyone in this thread that's helped me get his far!
 
I'm not very familiar with the AMD CPU line-up, but I think the A10-6800K and FX6300 use the same cores (Bulldozer), so the only CPU advantage of one over the other is going to be in clock-speed. You may find that the FX6300 clocks better than the APU but I'm not sure if (or how) having the GPU integrated into the CPU die impacts upon overclockability.

From a system perspective, you'd have the opportunity to upgrade the CPU & GPU independently of one another, and you could also get a much more powerful & capable GPU by going down the discrete route.

It's very much a horses for courses thing. From your explanation of what you want to do with the system an APU sounds like the perfect fit. You require neither massive CPU or GPU power, and the APU approach should help you to keep system cost and complexity to a minimum.
 
Havana_UK said:
I'm not very familiar with the AMD CPU line-up, but I think the A10-6800K and FX6300 use the same cores (Bulldozer),
Click to expand...

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD580KWOHJBOX) £99.95
2 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £89.99 (£179.98)
Total : £289.52 (includes shipping : £8.00).



The 2 Cpus, A10-5800K(Trinity) and 6300(Piledriver) are entirely different architectures, as is Bulldozer.
 
Hello again. I thought I'd just update this thread. I've made my decisions! Very excited.

So far I've bought:

For monitor, a Samsung S24C300HS. A 24 inch HDMI monitor.

For PSU, OCZ ZS Series 750W (Overclockers no longer sells this).

Optical Drive - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-156-SA&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=951

What I have yet to buy:

Case - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-647-LL&groupid=2362&catid=187

RAM - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-052-TG

SSD - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-167-SA&groupid=701&catid=2104&subcat=1427

Mobo - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-464-GI

CPU - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-353-AM&groupid=701&catid=1967&subcat=1944

As stated before, I'm also reusing my 500Gb HDD and peripherals. I also might buy a mid range graphics card in a year or so if I decide to game.

I just have to figure out how to wipe my current HDD so it's empty and able to be used as a slave drive for extra storage. And how to do little things like adjust the bios and check the PSU voltage output, and check the speed and how much RAM it's using.

Very excited. Thoughts?
 
That looks fine for casual gaming the only problem i see is your PSU is way overkill at 750w, a 450w would be more than enough but u already bought the PSU so nothing can be done about it now.

Also the case for £99 seems a bit to much, u only have a casual build nothing to serious is needed. This case for £39 on today exclusive can save u quite a fair amount of money. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-BX&groupid=2362&catid=1850

Also i'm not sure if u have windows already but it's missing from your build if u dont already have it.
 
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