Come on, guys. We're talking about 212mm coolers here—it’s complete nonsense to suggest a processor like this won't be able to handle overclocking. If we're really going down that road, then I guess an i3 is probably your best bet, since you wouldn't even need an extra heatsink and it would end up being cheaper overall.
I guess what I was trying to get at is that if you aren't planning on overclocking anything, you might be better off just grabbing an x4 5500/6500 instead. They have a lower TDP, so you probably wouldn't even need to bother with an extra heatsink.
If gaming isn't really on the table, an i3 would likely be the smartest move. You get lower power consumption, a quieter cooler, and better single-thread performance, while the multi-threaded side of things stays pretty much neck-and-neck with the AMD x4.
Regarding the case situation, you might want to check out the sale on the Fractal Arc Mini. If you ask me, it’s got a really clean, straightforward design, plus the cooling seems solid and the build quality feels top-notch
1 x AMD AMD Trinity A8-Series x4 5600 1 x Asrock FM2 FM2A88M EXTREME4 1 x MEM DDR3 4GB 1866MHz HyperX Genesis KIN 1 x 1 x Zalman mid tower case black 1 x LG GH24NS sat Bulk crn 24 x 1 x Zalman 500 w GS Series Retail 1 1 x Zalman 500W GS Series Retail 1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 1 x Toshiba 1TB,7200rpm, 32MB HDD
1 x AOC 21.5" LCD Wide, 6ms, 16:9, IPS 1 x Genius Gaming KB-G235 keyboard, USB 1 x Zalman mouse, M350 mousepad 1 x Genius SW-S2.1 355 speakers 1 x AMD Athlon II X4 760K processor 1 x 6GB (2+4GB) Kingmax DDR3 1600MHz, CL9 memory 1 x MSI AMD Chipset Desktop Motherboard (SFM2+, DDR3, SATA III, RAID, GLAN, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, VGA, HDMI, DVI) Micro ATX Box 1 x MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 2GB DDR5 1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue Desktop HDD (3.5", 1TB, 64MB, SATA III-600) 1 x LG Optical Drive GH24NS SATA Bulk Black 24x 1 x FSP350-60APN 85+ bulk power supply 1 x Zalman Case ZM-T4, USB 3.0, Micro ATX 1 x Spire Nvidia Kepler Rev.2 1150/1156/775/AM3/FM2/FM1
I guess we're looking at the Intel Core i3-3220K now. I was looking at the Zotac GTX 750 Ti, specifically that StormX OC 2GB model. ASUS A88XM-E35 motherboard I suppose we're looking at a single stick of 4GB Kingston DDR3 running at 1600MHz with CL11 latency, specifically the single-rank version. It’s a pretty standard spec for that era of hardware, though I guess whether it actually serves your purposes depends entirely on what kind of motherboard you're trying to pair it with. I suppose we’re looking at the Seagate WD10EZEX 1TB SATA 3 hard drive. It's a standard piece of hardware, nothing too flashy, but it gets the job done if you just need some basic storage space. EVGA CX Series, 430 Watt I suppose I'm looking at the Zalman micro tower case in Black, specifically the Cooler Master T4. I guess the Thermaltake Contac 16 CPU cooler is an option if you're looking at it, though I can't say much more without knowing what kind of setup you're actually trying to cool. It might work for some, but maybe not for everyone. You can probably find it over at Newegg if you decide to go that route. Newegg LG DVDRW 24x GH24NS95
1 x AMD FX-8320 1 x ASUS M5A97 R2 1 x MSI GeForce GTX 780 TF OC, 3GB DDR5 1 x XFX Pro 550W, 80+ 1 x SEAGATE HDD DESKTOP SSHD 3.5" / 1TB / 64m/ SATA/ 7200rpm 1 x 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM HyperX Genesis 1 x Zalman Mid Tower Case 1 x LG GH24NS 1 x Raijintek Themis CPU Cooler, 120mm, PWM
I suppose there might be some games out there that actually make good use of an Intel Core i7, which could potentially offer better longevity down the road.
I guess I should probably mention the AMD FX X8 8320 processor. I've been looking into the ASUS M5A97 R2. It seems like a solid enough option depending on what you're trying to pull off with your build, though I guess there are plenty of other directions one could take. It’s a decent piece of hardware if you're specifically aiming for that particular setup, but I suppose it really depends on how much you value certain features over others. Maybe it's worth considering, but I wouldn't say it's the only game in town. I was looking into some memory options recently—specifically that 8 GB kit from the G.SKILL Sniper series, the PC-12800 variety. It seems like one of those standard choices you'd find if you were just trying to get a build up to speed without overthinking things too much. I guess it's decent enough for most everyday tasks, though I'm always a bit hesitant about whether these specific series hold up as well as they claim to under heavy loads. Maybe it'll work fine, but I've learned the hard way that sticking to what's widely available is usually the safest bet. I suppose we should talk about the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. It’s one of those coolers that seems to be everywhere, and I guess there's a reason for that, though whether it's actually the best choice depends on what you're trying to achieve with your build.
1 x AOC E2250SWDAK 1 x Airlive Hi-Power B G N USB Dongle with Detachable Antena 1 x Genius KB-8000, keyboard and mouse combo, black, usb 1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler 1156/775/FM1 1 x Intel Core i3-4130 1 x ASRock FM2A75M HD+, FM2 1 x KINGSTON DDR3 (4GB,1600MHz(PC3-12800) CL11 1 x Corsair RM450 1 x Zalman ZM-T4, USB3.0, micro atx 1 x Seagate BarraCuda (3.5", 500GB, 16MB, SATA II-300)
1 x LG 22 EA53VQ-P, 21.5", 16:9 IPS, 1920x1080, 250 cd/m2, 5,000,000:1 1 x Genius KB-8000 wireless keyboard and mouse combo, 2.4GHz RF 1 x AMD Kaveri A10-Series X4 7700K Processor (3.8GHz, 4MB, 95W, FM2+) 1 x Asrock FM2A88M EXTREME4+, FM2, FM2+, AMD A88X (Bolton-D4), DDR3 motherboard 1 x Seagate HDD desktop SSHD 3.5, 1TB, Serial ATA III, 7200 rpm, ST1000DM003 1 x Zalman Z3 mid tower case, 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm, ATX standard 1 x XFX Core edition 80 450W PSU - featuring EasyRail technology 1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black DVD burner, SATA 1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X cooler, compatible with socket 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3 1 x 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 Kingston HyperX Beast, 1866MHz, CL9 1 x Asus XONAR DG PCI 5.1, 6-channel, Analog Input Jack
I guess you don't really need 16GB of RAM if you're just doing some amateur-level editing
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K, LGA 1155, 3.3GHz 1 x Asrock Z77 Extreme3 1 x Patriot Viper3 1866MHz, 8GB (2x4GB) 1 x Fortron Raider S PSU 550W, 80+ Silver 1 x Samsung SH-224DB SATA Bulk Black 1 x Western Digital HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 x Samsung 120GB 840 EVO Basic SSD 1 x MSI GeForce GTX 650 OC, 1GB DDR5, DX11 1 x Zalman CNPS10X OPTIMA, AMD/Intel
Mine is the $2867 - $367 is actually the better deal if you think about it. Not only is it cheaper, but you’re also getting a higher quality case, a more reliable power supply, a superior SSD, and a much better cooler. As for the graphics cards, well, I guess it just depends on which game you're running
Anyway, if you're just gaming, I don't think you actually need an i7; an i5 is probably just as good for what you're doing. As for the SSD, I'd say you don't really need more than 120GB, and if I were picking a graphics card, I'd probably go with the r9 290.
With just integrated graphics, there's no way it's going to handle modern titles even on medium settings. You really need a discrete card. At the very least, grab a GTX 750.
1 x Intel Core i5 3.80GHz Quad-core 1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, HyperX, KHX1600C9D3B1/ 1 x Zalman ZM-T4 micro tower case. 189(W) x 427,5(H) x 364(D)mm. MB 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX, NVIDIA GeForce, HD7770, PCIe 3.0, 1024 MB, DDR5 1 x Corsair HPA-400W, Advanced Highly HPA Series 1 x ASUS, S.FM2+, Intel B85, DDR3/2133, PCIe 1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X, socket 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3
$891 craigslist.com
It's a little bit over budget, but I suppose it might be worth it if you go for a better graphics card and a decent cooler. I'm not even sure if you actually need an optical drive; you can probably just install Windows from a USB stick anyway.