£800 First Build

[teppic]

The 8350 has 2 cores extra and a higher clock rate, otherwise it's basically identical to the 6300. A 6300 clocked to the same speed as an 8350 will be roughly the same speed in most things, because not much can use 8 cores with full efficiency. There are plenty of reports and reviews to show the 6300 can go as high as 5GHz, e.g the very first Google result of 'fx-6300' (techradar)

"We've even managed to push the FX-6300 over 5GHz and had it stably posting benchmark scores. I did have it booting at 5.1GHz, but we couldn't stop it falling over under the rigours of x264."

and the second result (anandtech):

"In my case the FX-4300 hit 5GHz with minimal effort, while the FX-8350 topped out at 4.8GHz (I could hit 5GHz but it wasn't stable through all of our tests). Both of these overclocks were achieved with no more than 10% additional core voltage and by simple multiplier adjustments (hooray for unlocked everything)"

It's not very helpful to blindly say other people know nothing.

[Morgan314]

I'm sticking with the 8350 based on what you are saying, aswell as the high stock clock and overclock headroom. Any opinions on PSU? I'm looking to order tonight

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The 8350 has 2 cores extra and a higher clock rate, otherwise it's basically identical to the 6300. A 6300 clocked to the same speed as an 8350 will be roughly the same speed in most things, because not much can use 8 cores with full efficiency. There are plenty of reports and reviews to show the 6300 can go as high as 5GHz, e.g the very first Google result of 'fx-6300' (techradar)

"We've even managed to push the FX-6300 over 5GHz and had it stably posting benchmark scores. I did have it booting at 5.1GHz, but we couldn't stop it falling over under the rigours of x264."

and the second result (anandtech):

"In my case the FX-4300 hit 5GHz with minimal effort, while the FX-8350 topped out at 4.8GHz (I could hit 5GHz but it wasn't stable through all of our tests). Both of these overclocks were achieved with no more than 10% additional core voltage and by simple multiplier adjustments (hooray for unlocked everything)"

It's not very helpful to blindly say other people know nothing.

The FX8350 and FX8320 will be harder to overclock and cool unless you are using a higher end motherboard and cooling setup. They consume much more power and produce more heat than the FX6300 series CPUs when overclocked.

5GHZ FX8350 CPUs are not that common,and TBH is not worth another £75 over an FX6300,ie, nearly double the price. If you want an eight thread CPU and want to overclock,get the FX8320. You can get an FX8320 and the H100 for around the same price as the FX8350 only.

Put the rest of the money into the graphics card - this is going to be a bigger limiting factor in many games.

Okay, RE PSUs, what is recommended? I'm a little specific due to the way discount codes are falling so it needs to be in stock from Dabs, around £50-£60. here's what I've found. What's best?
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair...CDC.html?src=2 Cheap price
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair...758.html?src=2 More power
http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-550...94963789&src=3 XFX but lower watts
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair...94963789&src=3 'gaming' and looks awesome

Avoid the CX series. Most of the reviews are done in the US where they get massive rebates unlike in the UK.

Edit!!

This case should be compatible with the H100:

http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair...200&origin=pla

[teppic]

I'd agree with everything CAT-THE-FIFTH just said.

As for PSU, total system draw shouldn't be more than 300W even when at load and overclocked, and a decent graphics card will be under 250W, so 550W minimum, 600W to give a bit more room.

The Be Quiet! models get seriously good reviews, though they can be a bit pricey.

With the cash saved you could up the card to a GTX 760, or HD7950. They perform the same, but the latter has 3-4 games included.

EDIT:

I'd also recommend getting 1866MHz memory. You get a little bump in performance for no real extra cost.

[Domestic_Ginger]

Cat posted this review database a while ago for PSUs: http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page541.htm

I would get the XFX 550W out of those; plenty of juice.

[Morgan314]

Okay awesome, after doing some more research I keep finding myself at the 8320, which I can then use with an new GTX760, offering better performance for graphics, similar CPU over clock and no issues with AMD Eyefinity!

[teppic]

Since you're set on the 8 core/higher clocks, the 8320 is the better choice for sure.

[Morgan314]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£117.65 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£35.99 @ Scan)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£124.97 @ Dabs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£69.96 @ Dabs)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (£208.59 @ Dabs)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£12.99 @ Dabs)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) (£69.99 @ Dabs)
Case Sharkoon T28 ATX Midi Tower (£44.60)
Motherboard Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 Motherboard (£77.64)
Memory Crucial Ballistix 2x4GB 1866mhz (£40.98)
Power Supply Corsair GS600 (£66.98)
Total: £870.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-27 16:16 BST+0100)

Here's what I've come up with, and provided I can get £20 discount from DABS using PAYPAL20 over three transactions, this is what I'm looking at. Don't think the codes would work as the XFX PSU came just under £200, so it's either the more expensive Corsair PSU or the XFX with an overpriced anti static strap to increase the price.

ThenI think I'm ready to order.

[Morgan314]

If this works I'll order like so:
Order 1 Dabs:
Sandisk 256gb ultra Plus 123.99
2TB Baracuda 68.98
Samsung 24x 12.99

205.96
-£20
Total 185.96

Order 2 Dabs:
PSU GS600 66.98
Win8 Home 69.99
Mobo Asus M5a97 Evo r2 76.66
= 213.63
-£20
£193.63

Order 3 Dabs:
GPU GTX760 208.59

-£20
£188.59

+ Cooler SCAN H80 £35.99
+ Case Sharkoon T28 Amazon £44.60
+ RAM Ballistix 1866mhz 4gb Amazon £20.50 x2
+CPU FX8320 Amazon £123

= ***Grand Total £812.75***

[teppic]

Looks like a good set up. I'm jealous now.

It's probably too much for the budget, but the Asus Sabertooth AM3+ is incredibly popular, and seen as the best board at the moment. It'd really suit the 8320. I'd try to stretch to that if it were me.

[Willzzz]

The discount is one use only.

You can create several accounts I suppose but they might spot that, maybe..

[Morgan314]

I did read somewhere that it has worked over different orders, if not I can still get £25 off £400 using FLASH25 so thats a total of £45 off over 2 orders rather than £60 over three.

[Morgan314]

And for the Sabretooth, It's stretching my budget a little... and the gold won't match

[Willzzz]

It doesn't I just checked it, but the FLASH25 code does work fine.

Mind you I do have 2 accounts, customer support told me it was OK to get around an erroneous limitation on their May mega deals.

[Morgan314]

Out of interest do you know if the PAYPAL20 code is linked to Dabs account or to paypal account?

[Morgan314]

Glad I didn't order last night, FX 8320 has dropped to £104 on amazon, should come in almost at my budget!