Mid range AMD build

hudson · 11 Feb 2014 at 15:50

Hello fellow OCUKers

I'm currently in the process of building a mid range (I use that term loosely) pc for the missus.

It needs to be capable of play Warcraft and browsing the internet.

I already have a crucial SSD, it will have a MSI AMD R7770 1GB DDR5 PCI-E gfx card and I have a cooler master k350 case - but this can be changed if its not going to meet requirements.

AMD FX 6300 Black Edition, Vishera, Six Core, S AM3+, 3.5GHz, 14MB Total Cache, 95W, Retail

500W Corsair CXM Builder series, Hybrid Modular, 85% Eff', 80 PLUS Bronze, SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, Fan, ATX

Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P, AMD 970, S AM3/AM3+, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, PCIe 2.0 (x16), ATX

8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Jet Black Low Profile, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC, CAS 9-9-9-24, X

I need to see about a CPU cooler, I have the Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler in my i5 setup but not sure if this is over kill or whether its "too big".

I'm looking to spend no more than 400 quid on the components I need but budget can be stretched if its a decent reason for it.

As always thanks in advance.

H

Fulax · 11 Feb 2014 at 16:17

So you want CPU, PSU, motherboard, RAM, and CPU cooler for £400?

WoW is all about single-core CPU performance, so you'd be better off with Intel than AMD (AMD CPUs these days have more cores than Intel's but lower performance-per-core).

hudson · 11 Feb 2014 at 16:38

Would you suggest an i5, and if so what motherboard should I go with?

the 400 quid mark is cpu mobo memory and a psu.

As mentioned I have a case but im not sure whether the case will hold everything I need.

If i'm setting unrealistic targets then let me know and I can re-asses my options.

Thanks

Fulax · 11 Feb 2014 at 16:50

The NH-D14 is too big for the case, so you will need a cooler too. Fortunately, this motherboard comes with a free one:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £169.99
1 x MSI Z87-G43 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard - FREE Alpenfohn Civetta Cooler!! £86.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 450W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £53.99
Total : £386.56 (includes shipping : £8.00).

hudson · 11 Feb 2014 at 20:15

i've not had many dealings with MSI kit, big Gigabyte fan boy - whats your opinion of them. I'm looking more towards stability than anything else. also not heard of that cooler, is it an old gen matterhorn?

Thanks

Fulax · 11 Feb 2014 at 20:32

MSI's Z87 motherboards have a very good reputation. The G43 is obviously a value motherboard, but as long as it has the features you want it will do you proud. Here's a review: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...motherboard-review-conclusion-and-rating.html

Good value for money, even without the free cooler. The Civetta, again, is entry-level. It won't blow you away, but it will do the job and it's small enough to fit in your case.

Considering the cheapest Gigabyte board is an extra £10, isn't as good as the MSI board, and doesn't come with a free cooler, I'd stick with the MSI. You could get a Gigabye H87 board and a lower clocked, locked i5 CPU to keep things under £400. Or for an extra £50 you could get one of Gigabyte's better boards - the UD4H - which also comes with a free cooler.

Will you be overclocking this?

hudson · 11 Feb 2014 at 21:03

I hadnt considered whether i would or would not.

My i5 has clocked a treat to 4.2 and runs error free - this is an added bonus i suppose. I'm not always there to fix problems so ideal want something trouble free.

I'm not too fussed 50 quid here or there, would another option be to purchase a better case?

Fulax · 11 Feb 2014 at 21:43

There's nothing particularly wrong with your case, apart from the somewhat restrictive maximum heatsink compatibility. But that doesn't really matter if you won't be going for big overclocks.

This is what an extra £50 would get you. It is an excellent motherboard, but rather more than you need for a WoW and web browsing build.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard with *FREE COOLERMASTER SEIDON 120V COOLER £157.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 450W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £53.99
Total : £447.96 (includes shipping : FREE).

This is what I'd go for if you want a Gigabyte motherboard:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £98.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G2400HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 450W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £53.99
1 x Deepcool GAMMAXX S40 CPU-Cooler - 120mm £19.99
Total : £408.95 (includes shipping : FREE).

hudson · 11 Feb 2014 at 21:57

Yeah when you stack it up that way the Gbyte setup is "less" feature wise than the MSI.

I think you've help make my mind up.

Thanks you for the help.

H