mATX build £450

Smithy · 28 Feb 2012 at 18:20

This is partially an x-post from SFF, but it might get some more traffic in here and the questions I have are not necessarily to do with it being SFF anyway.

I'm looking at the following build;

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor (£89.87)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£87.22)
Memory: Kingston Hyper-x Genesis Grey 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£35.76)
Hard Drive: Samsung 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM 6Gb/s 16MB Cache Internal Hard Drive (£58.78)
Video Card: Asus HD 6850 1GB Video Card (£99.22)
Power Supply: Be Quiet 430W PSU, Pure Power L8 BN180, Modular, 88% Eff', 80 PLUS Bronze, Quiet Fan, ATX v2.31 (£47.82)
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E (£70.90)
Total: £489.57

I initially had an i5 in there but I decided it wasn't needed as I won't be using the PC for anything too demanding. The most resource hungry things I'll be doing are gaming and occasional hi-res photo editing. Do you think the i3 will struggle? Is the 6850 going to be OK with recently released games?

Edit: Updated the spec. Title should say £500.

stulid · 28 Feb 2012 at 18:22

What resolution is your monitor?

The gaming performance of a i3 2100 vs i5 2500K is very similar - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=288

Smithy · 28 Feb 2012 at 18:48

I haven't decided on a monitor yet, but I imagine it'll be a 22". So probably running 1680x1050. That's native res for a screen of that size isn't it?

stulid · 28 Feb 2012 at 18:50

Smithy said:
I haven't decided on a monitor yet, but I imagine it'll be a 22". So probably running 1680x1050. That's native res for a screen of that size isn't it?

All the 22" at OCUK are - 1920x1080

Smithy · 28 Feb 2012 at 19:07

Fair enough, 1920x1080 it is then. How does that change things?

beejjacobs · 28 Feb 2012 at 19:15

For that sort of price, either 6850 or a GTX460 1GB will be good, not a lot between them.

Smithy · 28 Feb 2012 at 19:16

beejjacobs said:
For that sort of price, either 6850 or a GTX460 1GB will be good, not a lot between them.

It was a toss-up between the 6850 and 460 to be honest. I settled on the 6850 as it slightly out-performs the 460.

beejjacobs · 28 Feb 2012 at 19:18

Lots of threads around that price range, the 6850 is slightly cheaper and I think more power efficient. Though the 460 overclocks well.

stulid · 28 Feb 2012 at 19:20

Smithy said:
Fair enough, 1920x1080 it is then. How does that change things?

What games do you want to play, what detail settings? (medium/high/maxed out etc)

Smithy · 28 Feb 2012 at 19:28

stulid said:
What games do you want to play, what detail settings? (medium/high/maxed out etc)

To be honest I'm not a big gamer. If and when I play games I'm not fussed about playing on the highest of settings.

stulid · 28 Feb 2012 at 19:29

Smithy said:
To be honest I'm not a big gamer. If and when I play games I'm not fussed about playing on the highest of settings.

Ok, a very similar sort of budget for a GFX was asked here - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18378846

sehcure · 28 Feb 2012 at 19:29

Hit up the 2120 for the extra processing power for a small price increase!

413x · 28 Feb 2012 at 20:45

Very similar to my htpc, except im going for a 6870 to replace my current one