I am a first time PC builder and until a few days ago I was planning on using the Intel I3 3220 with the Gigabyte XKT-115 Z68AP-D3 motherboard. I then realised that with my lower budget it would make more sense buying a AMD processor, mainly because of the 4 cores, but as I have only done research into Intel processors I am unsure of which is best for the money.
The rest of my system is very mix and match because I have managed to pull some strings by getting a fairly cheap case, a 7200rpm HDD, a very cheap 400w PSU, a graphics card and optical drive for free. With my current budget of around $430 I was also wondering whether I should put some of that into a case, I was thinking the Fractal Design Define R4, and a better power supply. The RAM I have chosen is 8GB Corsair vengeance 1600mhz and a $15 Wifi Card.
Finally I was wondering if I would need to get a better CPU cooler, perhaps the coolermaster hyper 212 evo?
take an fractal R3, and don't cheap on PSU and dont overby, look for 600W(coolermaster, ocz, chiefteck, gigabyte) and you are safe, and better get some 8120 and some asrock motherboard! Anf other parts you can manage your self!
You might want to go with an APU (A10-5800k) if you have a budget of $430. I recommend getting fast RAM if you do though (1866), because it increases the performance of an APU by a lot.
I looked at the A10 and it seemed to have lower clock speeds and a smaller cache?
And at the moment I have chosen 1600MHz RAM, (http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-240-Pin-Platforms-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354476758&sr=8-1&keywords=corsair+vengeance+8gb) is there a large difference between that and 1866 and is it worth the money?
difference is when you need thos mhz for superoverclocking(but normal overklocks doesnt need so much adjusting ram mhz) or for integrated gpu. I even overclocked my ddr2 800mhz to 870mhz which isn't ment for that, but my system runs well, even when i screw up and make some errors. with old 1156 socket cpu's you could get good overclocks with 1333mhz memory!
So i think if your motherboard suports timing control, i think you could even overclock 1600mhz memory even higher!
6300 and 8120 is about the same price, but performance will be for 8120, and you will get the same temperatures when overcloch both, so 8 cors still are better than 6. If the nm differ, but both are 32nm, and the clock speed are not so differrent, but thats me, sorry for misleading
so when it comes down to a processor the main difference is what you're really going to be using it for. If you aren't going to be a major developer and insane number crunching on a day to day basis as I do a lot. The processor's cache and Clock Speed doesn't make much difference. When it comes to clock speeds you can always overclock easily with an after market heatsink (say they Hyper 212 evo) and keep it stable for as long as you can go.
If you aren't going to be number crunching and just gaming as I presume, the APU is a major help especially with such a smaller budget not ranging 700+. Its also helpful when you mention that APUs have CPU+GPU built in. In which will obviously help with Graphics Performance and what not.
In my opinion, you should get 1866MHz ram (It does make a difference when using the APU because it is what the APU uses to accelerate the GPU and of course the CPU Relies on it as well) and the APU. Just because of the simple fact that together, it is a lot more bang for your buck.
But you don't have to listen to me at all :P Its your money, not mine. I guess I just thought I should give you my opinion.
If you're going to be getting a graphics card I highly recommend the Radeon HD 6670 because of the fact that it will do something called crossfire with the integrated GPU in the APU itself thus making both work together. With both working together its faster and cheaper than the next graphics card and has more power than the one in which you bought. All for the price of a CPU and different motherboard.
Overall, it is very much so worth getting the APU (AMD A8) It is well made and there are constant updates in drivers making everything faster on its own. Not to mention it is open source so you can (If you want to in the near future) migrate to Linux/Ubuntu.
Yes, it does apply to almost every portion of your build.
It's slightly complicated because my uncle is giving his graphics card from hisprevious system and at the moment I have absolutely no idea what make or model it is however I will most likely be upgrading it when I have sufficient fun, if were to consider the 6670 what brand would you recommend?
Also could you recommend a motherboard compatible with the A8 for around 85 dollars?
One what? Motherboard? Yeah, You don't want to cheap out on the processor in this specific situation. The A8 is going to be good, Its $110 and on sale can be $95 in some cases. Its worth EVERY penny. Trust me.
If you're shopping off of newegg you can look into combo deals with Motherbaords+CPU or CPU+Ram and such and save some more money.
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO $35 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
Quality parts in which can play games very nicely. It should last you atleast 2 years playing at most all resolutions you can throw at it (That aren't 2560x1440 or higher)
That looks like a great system although will 430watts be enough? Especially if i ever decide to overclock anything.
Also I already have a 500GB 7200RPM HDD so maybe I should put the money would've spent on the hard drive either on a slightly higher wattage PSU or maybe instead a Fractal Design Define R3?