[teachery]

First of hi from a first time poster.

As the title suggests im looking to build my first system aimed at gaming and media streaming but as always budget is an issue so looking at spending around the £600 mark (or $1000) for a decent furure proof set up with some quality components.
Though I used to be fairly into my hardware 4 years travelling and military service has left me massivly out the loop and so any and all advice welcome.

This is what i had in mind so far:

ASUS AMD 880G AM3 Motherboard (DDR3 1066/1333/1866(​OC), SATA 3Gb/s, RAID, Micro ATX, VGA)
£60

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Six-core Processor - 3.20 GHz, 9 MB Cache, Socket AM3, 125W, 45 nm
£145

Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1600C​9 DDR3 XMS3 8GB
£70

Cooler Master Silent PRO 600W Modular PSU
£70

Sapphire 11163-02-20R HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 PCIE Graphics Card
£110

THERMALTAKE ELEMENT V ATX/microATX Case
£100

Western Digital Caviar 1.5TB SATAII 64MB Cache 3.5-inch Green Internal Hard Drive
£55

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
£13


Total £625
Still need to source monitor so I'm already over budget but can make use of my current screen for now.
Would also look to add wifi card and tv card in the future as well so need the upgrade room.

As I metioned any advice welcome and please correct any glaring conflicts/poor choices as I'm still playing catch up here.

Thanks in advance

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I am not a pro builder but if you are only looking at gaming and streaming, the suggestions below might help. And I assume you prefer AMD.

MB: Get an ATX board. I dunno, I like more PCI express slots lol.

CPU: 6-cores does not help much in games, you would do fine in a X4 965 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103894 or 970 http://www.newegg.co...82E16819103894. Great to OC too.

PSU: Just a personal preference, I prefer Corsairs http://www.newegg.co...1&name=Corsair. You may want to get a 650W-750W non-modular PSU. It makes you a little bit future-proof and non-modulars are a little cheaper than modular PSUs (zip ties fixes everything!)

Video: Whatever you have saved from suggestions above, use it on a good GPU like a 6850 or a 6870. Both can run a lot of games at max settings.

Case: I think your case is a full-size tower. If it is, then it is overkill with regards to the components that you have posted. Mid-towers should be fine with a lot of room. I have a Cooler Master HAF 922 and I could easily fit 2 6870s easily and still a lot of space.

Edited by RESBAK, 09 May 2011 - 12:17 PM.

[RESBAK]

I am not a pro builder but if you are only looking at gaming and streaming, the suggestions below might help. And I assume you prefer AMD.

MB: Get an ATX board. I dunno, I like more PCI express slots lol.

CPU: 6-cores does not help much in games, you would do fine in a X4 965 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103894 or 970 http://www.newegg.co...82E16819103894. Great to OC too.

PSU: Just a personal preference, I prefer Corsairs http://www.newegg.co...1&name=Corsair. You may want to get a 650W-750W non-modular PSU. It makes you a little bit future-proof and non-modulars are a little cheaper than modular PSUs (zip ties fixes everything!)

Video: Whatever you have saved from suggestions above, use it on a good GPU like a 6850 or a 6870. Both can run a lot of games at max settings.

Case: I think your case is a full-size tower. If it is, then it is overkill with regards to the components that you have posted. Mid-towers should be fine with a lot of room. I have a Cooler Master HAF 922 and I could easily fit 2 6870s easily and still a lot of space.

Edited by RESBAK, 09 May 2011 - 12:17 PM.

[teachery]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Having done a bit more research I'd come to some similar conclusions.
My shopping list now looks like this

Gigabyte GA880GAUD3H rev 20 motherboard ATX AMD 880G
AMD Black Edition AMD Phenom II X4 955 32 GHz processor
Gigabyte GVR577UD1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB ATX HDMI Graphics Card
Corsair Dominator 8192MB 2x4096MB Memory Module Kit 1600MHz PC312800 DDR3 DIMM 240pin 99924
Antec 902 v3 Midi

All other components the same though I will look into the alternative PSU.
Also interested on feeback on GPU as still playing catch up here and after a more balanced opinion than I can get from manufactorers or paid reporters.

And AMD prefrence is purely power per pound (or buck) prefrence really.


Thanks again

Edited by teachery, 09 May 2011 - 12:41 PM.

[RESBAK]

For CPU, check the price for the 955 and 965, for some reason their price difference in the US isn't that much. I'd rather get 965 for an extra 0.2 ghz. If the price difference is too much, then ignore this comment lol.

The dominator's heatspreaders are a bit high, you may want to make sure it will not interfere with your aftermarket heatsink.

I am not sure how good 5770s are since I have only used a Radeon 5750 -- it is good for most games that I have played at mid to mid-high settings, then jumped to 6870. So far I am loving it, running everything on max. But yes, a tad too expensive for a budget rig. Here is a nice website for checking out good GPUs for your money http://www.tomshardw...6670,2935.html. They give the 5770 some good marks.

Edited by RESBAK, 09 May 2011 - 02:44 PM.

[iammykyl]

Before buying your Mobo, check out the following.

Press release, > http://www.xbitlabs....ries_Chips.html
MSI BIOS updated boards. I have read opinions that despite claims of full support for Bulldozer CPUs, the Mobos will not be as good as they have an earlier chipset.
> http://event.msi.com/mb/am3+/

Asrock AM3+ Mobo, check there site as well, > http://news.softpedi...an-188977.shtml

This one is a MUST read as it picks up on most points. > http://motherboardne...3-motherboards/

Check out the Gigabyte site.

Edited by iammykyl, 09 May 2011 - 04:05 PM.

[teachery]

Big thanks for the heads up there could have made a costly mistake.

That said i may move the goal posts a little here and make an intel move plus raise the budget by a few hundered.

Now looking at something like

Antec 902 v3 Midi
Intel Desktop Board DP67BG Extreme Series - Motherboard - ATX - LGA1155 Socket
Intel Sandybridge i5-2500K Unlocked Core i5 Quad-Core Processor 3.30GHz
Corsair CMZ4GX3M2A1600C​9 4GB 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Memory Two Module Kit
SAPPHIRE toxic HD 6870 1GB GDDR5
WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 1 TB 7200 RPM Internal Hard Disk Drive
Corsair CMPSU-600GUK Gaming Series GS600 High Performance 600W Power Supply
Windows 7 ultimate

plus the usual dvd rw and
Eclipse Litetouch Keyboard
Logitech MX518 Optical Gaming Mouse

This comes in at about £950 all in so open to some pointers and possible fat trimming and a massive thanks for the advice so far.

[iammykyl]

Get ready,

New Intel Motherboards, Z68. Still be able to use the SB Ks and now get access to the integrated graphics.
Here is some info to start you off.

> http://www.tcmagazin...d-supporting-it
> http://www.asrock.co...odel=Z68+Pro3-M

It needs some research as some boards may not have native video outlets.

[iammykyl]

How are you going with your selection for a Mobo?

Asus Z68, > http://benchmarkrevi...d=741&Itemid=69

> http://www.tomshardw.../brands/asrock/