# Gaming PC Components List



## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

Me and my friend have put together this list of components for a gaming PC, and we think it would work, but want to check before we buy anything, so here's the list, do you think that there are any problems with building a pc from these components?

-Corsair H40 Hydro water cooling 
-AMD A8-3870K FM1 3.0GHz 4MB 100W Quad Core APU 
-Asus F1A75-V Pro Motherboard(AMD FM1 Socket, DDR3, ATX, Auto Tuning)
-Kingston 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1866MHz Dual Channel kit 
-Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB HDD 
-Corsair Gaming Series GS500 PSU 
-Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T Mid-Tower Case 
-Samsung SH-B123L - DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM / BD-ROM drive 
-Asus ATI 1GB Radeon HD 6670 PCI-E Graphics Card (adding to the APU, not sure about crossfire? is it necessary for the setup? if so, is this card good for crossfire?)

So yeah, if you think there are any problems with this setup, or you're want more details on a particular part of the setup, then your feedback would be appreciated.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Using mid settings, it should play most games at acceptable frame rates. High settings and/or high resolutions will probably drag it down on newer 3D games. As spec'd, the AMD Dual Graphics should approximate an HD6700 series

I'ld drop the Hydro cooler; a decent air cooler will give you the same performance at lower cost.
Swap out the FM1/A8 for an AM3+ board and FX-4100; cost about the same or less for better performance.
As spec'd, the power supply should carry the system, but it's on the low side of where I'ld like to be. Also, I'm not a fan of the Corsair GS series.
Save up a few more $$ and get an HD 6800 series.


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## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

Thanks for the suggestions, I shall probably follow them, except for the last one: I can't really "save up a few more $$" as I'm already getting over budget as it is, it's at the upper edge of manageable, hence why the psu is at the lower end of what will manage.


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## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

Also, my friend asks: Is there a faster option than using a AMD A8-3870K processor and an Asus ATI 1GB Radeon HD 6670 graphics card, in crossfire for the same price?
(Considering the price of the motherboard that needs to be changed too)


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

the corsair gs series are not made by seasonic they are the low end versions of their good power supplies. You should go for a corsair TX or TH model and make it 650w

crossfire and sli doesn't make a lot of difference apart from creating more heat and needing and even more powerful power supply. You are always best to go for the fastest single card you can afford. I would not go for two 6670s for a possible 20% increase in some games

Not alot of games can take advantage of more than one card.


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## A1tecice (Jun 1, 2010)

Could you let us know your total budget so we can make changes within the limit ..

Might i also sugggest you take a read over our builds thread:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...evised-2012-and-updated-regularly-448272.html

Also drop the two cards, i am current running it. but its rare to find a game that can use it fully :nonono:


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## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

Total budget: £760


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Your list will work but you could do better.
Liquid cooling is a waste of money and of no benefit for the normal user. Air cooling is fine and no concerns about leakage. If no OC'ing will be done, the OEM cooler will be fine.
G'Skill or Corsair would be a better choice for the RAM as would 1600MHz.
The CX & GS Series Corsair are lower quality and not recommended. 500W is also underpowered for the 6670 GPU. You need to be at 550W minimum.
As for Crossfire, one better GPU is almost always the better option for increased graphics quality.
I would also suggest you use our suggested build list as a guide to insure you get top quality components.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

simonturner34 said:


> Also, my friend asks: Is there a faster option than using a AMD A8-3870K processor and an Asus ATI 1GB Radeon HD 6670 graphics card, in crossfire for the same price?
> (Considering the price of the motherboard that needs to be changed too)


An FX-4100 and a 550 Ti will outperform that setup and run into fewer compatibility issues. Install it onto an ASUS M5A97 and you're good to go. Total cost for the three is about $330.

Newegg.com - AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4100WMGUSBX
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-N550D5-1GI GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Newegg.com - ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

IMO the APU dual graphics setup is only worthwhile if your budget is too tight to buy a video card with the initial build, then want to upgrade cost-effectively down the road. If you want a gaming computer now, go with a more traditional setup.

EDIT: If you do choose the APU dual graphics route, save some money and get a GDDR3 6670 instead of the GDDR5 version. Your comp will normalize all the RAM used by your GPU, so the GDDR5 on the 6670 would be ran at the same speed as your DDR3 system RAM.


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## DBCooper (Jun 11, 2010)

Hi simonturner34,

Looks like a good system you got there. Get rid of the water cooling, definitely not needed. Overall, great system.


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## EliteTK (Mar 20, 2012)

I am "the friend" I've accidentally the technical language, I meant dual graphics mode not crossfire (previously called Hybrid Crossfire). Meaning I meant 1 discrete graphics card with the AMD APU.


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## A1tecice (Jun 1, 2010)

EliteTK said:


> I am "the friend" I've accidentally the technical language, I meant dual graphics mode not crossfire (previously called Hybrid Crossfire). Meaning I meant 1 discrete graphics card with the AMD APU.


I would still ditch it just for a single card, just to be on the safe side. Sound advice already been given. I have nothing else to add.

Thanks,
Altie


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## Azeem40 (Jan 28, 2012)

Yeah, no point in getting two weaker cards. If you really want SLI/CF, get a stronger card and CF it later.


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## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

Right, taking into account comments from here, and from another forum, this is the new setup we've come up with:

-ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
-AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor 
-GIGABYTE GV-N550D5-1GI GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
-Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T Mid-Tower Case
-Samsung SH-B123L - DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM / BD-ROM drive
-Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM
-ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler
-XMS3 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Kit (2x4GB)
-Western Digital WD10EARS 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 5400rpm 64MB Cache - OEM Caviar Green
-XFX Core Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Anybody any comments, problems with this new setup?


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

Definitely drop the CPU cooler and spend the $$ on a better video card. The stock cooler will be fine until you feel like overclocking. And if you already feel like overclocking, a better video card will affect gaming more so than overclocking the CPU.


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## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

Ok then - do you have any suggestions? I was going off your last suggestion with this video card, so what's your new suggestion?


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

Dropping the HSF should put the 6850 right into your budget. I'd recommend this one:
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series GV-R685OC-1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Great cooling and a factory overclock.

The 550 Ti is great bang-for-buck, it's just that the 6850 is an even better deal if you can get it.


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## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

Anybody got any ideas how much overclocking the cooling that comes with the AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz processor (see components list for more details) will take? (i.e. how much can it be overclocked without needing extra cooling? Can it be overclocked at all without the extra cooling?)


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

Not much if at all. You'd have to monitor temps and stress test with each overclock attempt. But the FX-4100 is a very capable gamer right out of the box on stock settings.

The role of the processor in gaming is much smaller than the video card. For the most part, all it really needs to do is bring your video card "its homework" quickly enough for the video card to process it. That processor won't slow you down until you're playing at extremely high settings on a very demanding game. Problem is, you'd have to spend $250 or more on a video card that would be capable of needing a faster processor!

So while I'm a fan of overclocking (got +1Ghz myself), you're much better off spending more on the video card than processor. I would recommend getting a cooler later down the road.


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## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

Thanks for clearing that up, was trying to weigh up options etc.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

No problem. For some reason, companies seem to be stressing the processors more than video cards for gaming these days. I guess it just sells better for lay-customers.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

overclocking isn't an exact science. Someone with the exact same rig as you could get beter results than you or worse.

You should never overclock with the stock cooler they are not designed for it.


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## A1tecice (Jun 1, 2010)

greenbrucelee said:


> overclocking isn't an exact science. Someone with the exact same rig as you could get beter results than you or worse.
> 
> You should never overclock with the stock cooler they are not designed for it.


Sound advice, Two chips can overclock differently it all depends on how your processor was binned. No two chips are the same.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

toothman said:


> No problem. For some reason, companies seem to be stressing the processors more than video cards for gaming these days. I guess it just sells better for lay-customers.


That's marketing convincing the consumer that more is always better. :grin:


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## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

toothman said:


> Dropping the HSF should put the 6850 right into your budget. I'd recommend this one:
> Newegg.com - GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series GV-R685OC-1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
> Great cooling and a factory overclock.
> 
> The 550 Ti is great bang-for-buck, it's just that the 6850 is an even better deal if you can get it.


How does that card compare with this one?
Newegg.com - ECS NGTX560-1GPI-F1 GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card


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## A1tecice (Jun 1, 2010)

I would stick with known companys for your graphics card. I have never heard of ECS. 

I would still go with the 6850 linked by toothman.


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

The 6850 is generally better than the 560, but that can depend on which game you'll be playing and the resolution of your monitor. There should be plenty of benchmarks for whichever game(s) you play the most.

The 6850 is also cheaper :smile:


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

ECS, OEM PC's use a lot of their Mobo's, is a lower tier manufacturer. 
EVGA-Asus-Gigabyte for Nvidia chipped GPU's.
Your Mobo uses AMD chipsets so using an ATI/AMD chipped GPU avoids any issues.


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## simonturner34 (Mar 19, 2012)

Thanks for clearing that up, I think I'm going to start buying stuff soon, and then get the thing built.


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## A1tecice (Jun 1, 2010)

simonturner34 said:


> Thanks for clearing that up, I think I'm going to start buying stuff soon, and then get the thing built.


Remember to bechtest first :wink:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f255/how-to-bench-test-troubleshoot-your-system-171424.html


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