new low budget build

[kilz]

could use some advice. let me know if there is any flaws to this set up and also if it will run aces high ok

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Sentey Black Box Series BX1-4237 v2.2 Black SECC 0.7mm / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

ASRock FM2A75M-DGS R2.0 FM2 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

EVGA 600 B 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified 600W Active PFC ATX12V v2.31/EPS 12V v2.91 3 Year Warranty 100-B1-0600-KR Power Supply

Rosewill RCX-TC001 Thermal Grease

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

AMD A6-5400K Trinity 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 65W Dual-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon ...

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Rosewill ROCC-12001 AIOLOS 120mm Long Life Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Core i7

thanks in advance for any advice

[Bizman]

If you haven't heard it before, AMD more often than not uses only one core for Aces High while every multicore Intel uses two. Plus the APU isn't a real gaming video system albeit presumably better than the Intel equivalent. Although the data might travel fast from the CPU to the GPU and back, it will be using regular system memory which is both far away and slow compared to a real GPU. The rest looks good enough for a serious long time gaming rig.

[kilz]

What do you recomend in place of the amd? 


I have my old video card to run graphics. Gts 250

[Bizman]

A two cored one with relatively high clock into Socket LGA1155: Intel Core i3-3250 BX80637I33250 $140
Four cored: Intel Core i5-3570K +$80
A cheap full size ATX LGA1155 motherboard with z77 circuitry: ECS Z77H2-A3(1.2) for $80, or ECS Z77H2-A4 v1.1 for $85

The gts 250 is a decent start for a budget gamer, it can be replaced when necessary.

[gyrene81]

ah is running on 2 of my amd 965 phenom2 black edition cores. no idea what it would do with an "apu" series amd though.

have to agree with bizman, even an i3 processor is far better than any "apu" series amd...

[kilz]

What about the mobo? Is it ok to run that Intel?

Thanks again for yalls help

[gyrene81]

no, you need to find an intel chipset mobo. Bizman posted 2 possibles for you. i wouldn't touch the ecs brand with a 10 foot pole even if they were giving them away for free but, if price is the main point, they can be used.

otherwise asus and asrock have some good intel z77 chipset atx mobos for decent price.

[Bizman]

If you're wondering about the brand, ECS, they are a long time OEM manufacturer, so they certainly know how to make mobos. Some reviews claim they are better equipped than many of their competitors in the same price range. Reviews don't tell about their longevity, though. OTOH, every brand has had and will have weak versions. Other factors such as cooling and dust also play a significant role in how long electrical components last.

You made me think, though, and I started to look why the Z77 chipset would be recommendable. Well, it is indeed aimed for the gamer market, but: If you aren't into overclocking or other excessive tweaking, other versions might perform equally well! Source: http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/952-chipset-naming-conventions

That said, there's no difference in the full ATX size, but there's a bunch of alternatives in the micro-ATX form, Foxconn H77MXV-D for $52 being the cheapest. (Another long time OEM manufacturer with their own brand). For longevity, the MSI ZH77A-G43 for $82 seems interesting in terms of long lasting: It claims to have military class components...

http://pcpartpicker.com is a good tool with a multitude of searching filters.

[gyrene81]

   come on Bizman, you have been in this business long enough to be able to put 2 and 2 together...think of all the craptastic issues people have had with retail box systems over the years. there is a reason ECS, Foxconn, Jetway and Zotac have such low priced hardware...and it has nothing to do with "good quality".

[Brooke]

This would be my pick for a low-budget machine (which is better than the one I play AH on at 60 fps with most but not all things maxed out):

For $530:

i5-3340
Windows 8
8 GB RAM
1 TB HD
DVD +/- RW drive
keyboard and mouse

That's a Dell Insprion 660.  Then I would add a Thermaltake 500W ATX12V power supply for $50 from newegg.

If you need a new video card, I would pick whatever is best card for the money on Tom's Hardware recommendations:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

[Bizman]

 come on Bizman, you have been in this business long enough to be able to put 2 and 2 together...think of all the craptastic issues people have had with retail box systems over the years. there is a reason ECS, Foxconn, Jetway and Zotac have such low priced hardware...and it has nothing to do with "good quality".

Well... IIRC the first time I recall seeing the name Foxconn was in some business PC being in use for about a decade and still fully intact, the reason for dumping simply being outdated. Right now I'm doing routine maintenance on a PC equipped with a PC-Chips mobo from late 2004 - it may be built before they merged with ECS, though... Anyway, it seems like the some of the cheap crap have lasted longer than their more expensive rivals. You really can't tell until afterwards...

Also, the mobos in retail systems often aren't identical to those sold by the manufacturer. The retail system builders will get what they order and pay for, stripping everything they possibly can.

But, as I said in my previous post, the mil-spec MSI is only a couple of bucks more than the cheapest full size ATX.

BTW, kilz and others whom it may concern: I prefer the larger mobos simply because there's more space for placing all the components and also more slots to put expansion cards in. A micro-ATX may be equally well built, only lacking the extra slots, so for a basic budget rig one is a good choice. Common sense is a good but seldom used tool also in choosing a motherboard. If you think about it, you don't want to get something which doesn't have the space required for a bigger cooler unless one ram stick is left out etc.

[kilz]

BTW, kilz and others whom it may concern: I prefer the larger mobos simply because there's more space for placing all the components and also more slots to put expansion cards in. A micro-ATX may be equally well built, only lacking the extra slots, so for a basic budget rig one is a good choice. Common sense is a good but seldom used tool also in choosing a motherboard. If you think about it, you don't want to get something which doesn't have the space required for a bigger cooler unless one ram stick is left out etc.

makes sense.

sorry for the ignorance but its my first custom build with out having someone else build it.

thanks for your help

i will post the specs when i get home later

[Bizman]

Ignorance is not stupidity. Not asking despite your ignorance would be. 

[ariansworld]

I am running an A8-3870 APU , HD7700 series card, 8 gigs of ram. Plays at 50-60 FPS at max settings.

[SirNuke]

+1 on the core i3