AMD Gaming.

[oistead]

Case
InWIN WHITE DRAGON RIDER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD BULLDOZER SIX CORE FX-6100 (3.30GHz/6MB CACHE/AM3)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A78L-M/USB3: M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6870 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor
24" Widescreen TFT 1920 x1080 5MS, DVI, 23.6" Panel (£119)
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE DVI-D CABLE (£5)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® K200 USB MEDIA KEYBOARD (£10)
Mouse
LOGITECH® G500 LASER GAMING MOUSE (£48)
Speakers
LOGITECH S120 2.0 BLACK SPEAKER SYSTEM (£9)​

Wondered your opinions on this, I don't know an awful lot about building a computer, but will mostly be using for gaming, such as WoW, SWTOR and alot of steam games.
I hear alot of people telling me that intel is better, but I couldnt really see a big difference (other than the price.) Maybe you could tell me otherwise?

Anyhow, is this a good system for gaming, will I have any problems with it etc?

Thanks,

Ben.

 

[mantadog]

an intel CPU will preform better vs the AMD competitor in general, but you do have to pay for that performance. The colck speed is pretty meaningless these days, but for gaming an AMD will do just fine.

The six core CPU is probably overkill for gaming, the 4 core fx-4100 would be ample and the GPU is a solf mid range card. So providing you are happy with mid level settings you will be fine. If you could squeeze in a 560ti or a 6950 you would really have a nice gaming PC.

Last i would suggest getting a caviar black HDD, loads the OS faster as well as games and apps.

 

[Tom DWC]

Yeah, if you have the budget get an Intel rig but for gaming it won't matter too much as mantadog has said, because the graphics card is usually the more significant factor.

The only exception I can think of in terms of current gen games is Skyrim, which needs an Intel i5 (current gen preferably) or above to get a stable frame rate (on ultra) from what I've seen. It's very reliant on the CPU which is unusual and will only use 2 cores. AMD chips just don't have enough instructions per clock.

 

[oistead]

Thanks guys, so it's fine as running games are concerned?
Ben.

 

[NMEBowen]

hmm id buy skyrim to test that theory out surely a amd chip wouldnt matter so much if i had sli`d 580`s.

 

[TheKeir]

To put some perspective to it, you'll be able to run WoW on ultra settings. Don't know about the other games though; maybe you can figure that out by considering what your current computer can handle in WoW and what it can handle in other games.

 

[NMEBowen]

but wow will run on a pocket calculator, low settings ofc.

 

[TheKeir]

Actually you'd be surprised at how demanding it is on Ultra settings.

Also, whilst it may be able to run on a pocket calculator on low, that would only be in a deserted area. Once you've got yourself into a Raid (a dungeon of 25 people) and you're running addons, the framerate can drop significantly.

 

[Tom DWC]

hmm id buy skyrim to test that theory out surely a amd chip wouldnt matter so much if i had sli`d 580`s.

Hmm, well I've tried it at a friends (X4 965 @ stock 3.4 and OC at 4 and GTX 570) and it was a bit choppy on ultra, fine on high. The overclock made a huge difference but it still wasn't quite playable* on ultra, wheras the card wasn't being pushed all that hard. That's why I reckon it's CPU related given it's a bit of a console port and they tend to be more CPU oriented. That and the lack of multithreading. Could be wrong though, and not had a chance to try it on this PC but I would imagine the results would be the same.

* I don't consider 25fps at times playable for Skyrim, I guess some people would though.

 

[Tom DWC]

Thanks guys, so it's fine as running games are concerned?
Ben.

Overall it will be a great gaming rig yeah, but if you can afford an Intel rig then go for it. But you definitely won't be disappointed with the AMD spec you've put togeather.

 

[oistead]

Overall it will be a great gaming rig yeah, but if you can afford an Intel rig then go for it. But you definitely won't be disappointed with the AMD spec you've put togeather.

Thanks dude, I'll be finding out if the girlfriend will let me have it on finance when she gets home. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Haha. :turned:
Ben.

 

[TheKeir]

* I don't consider 25fps at times playable for Skyrim, I guess some people would though.

I play Skyrim on the PS3 so I've had to!

Bethesda have announced they are going to patch the awful ps3 framerates that Skyrim has, some time soon...

 

[TheKeir]

Thanks dude, I'll be finding out if the girlfriend will let me have it on finance when she gets home. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Haha. :turned:
Ben.

Hmm, I would personally recommend that, if you don't have the money, don't get it on finance and wait until you can buy it at once. It's a lot more expensive on finance, and I'm sure your girlfriend will prefer you paying less money!

 

[mantadog]

Hmm, I would personally recommend that, if you don't have the money, don't get it on finance and wait until you can buy it at once. It's a lot more expensive on finance, and I'm sure your girlfriend will prefer you paying less money!

You can buy it on finance but pay it off in one go before the finance starts and that way you dont pay any extra

 

[oistead]

You can buy it on finance but pay it off in one go before the finance starts and that way you dont pay any extra

You can?!

 

[Phoenix]

Skyrim is notorious for being a crappy port over to the PC, like GTA IV it uses incredibly un-optimised coding.