http://www.tkot.co.uk/Guild%20News/20130306-MBG.shtml
The March 2013 mid range build guide!With the PS4 recently announced and the next Xbox announcement surely lurking in the shadows, now is a great time to get into PC gaming. With the next gen console specifications essentially locked down, the minimum required specifications for another 5-6 years of gaming have been set. Thankfully (for your wallet, at least), it seems that the bar has been set quite low. Although a vast improvement over the ancient PS3/360, the PS4 sports a very weak 8 core x86-64 CPU (processor) based off AMDs netbook and ultra-mobile 'jaguar' core. This runs alongside a GPU (the graphics chip) roughly equivalent to the AMD radeon HD7850/ HD7870, all tied together in an APU format (i.e. both the CPU and GPU are on one chip).  Less of this.
The PS4 also comes with 8GB of GDDR5. That sounds impressive at first glance, as GDDR5 is currently only used in graphics cards. However, as the PS4 is running in an APU form the memory simply has to be GDDR5 to not horribly cripple the GPU with memory far too slow for it to stretch its legs. In a normal PC the GPU has it's own dedicated 2-3GB of GDDR5 to work with (usually with much more bandwidth than the entire PS4 has available to it) while the processor has another set of 6-8GB of RAM that it can work with independently. Although the main system RAM is slower and has less bandwidth than GDDR5, an x86-64 simply does not need very fast memory to run optimally. The net result of this is that the PS4 has much less available bandwidth across the board, but could in theory allocate a lot more memory to the graphics portion of the APU than the 2GB a HD7850/70 would have access to in a PC. Regardless, as we know from the past, cards very rarely benefit from more memory than what is provided with the card, since they don't have the graphical oomph behind them to utilise all that memory. So as it stands, it's very likely the PS4 will use a roughly 6GB 'system memory' and 2GB 'graphics memory' set up in many games. Of course, there is the potential for the PS4 to be ‘optimised’ but this statement is usually grossly blown out of proportion. As I’ll be covering in a future article, the optimisation myth that a console will far outstrip a comparable PC is just that: a myth. A more likely scenario is that the PS4 in 2017, after years of working directly with the chip, will perform more like it has a HD7970 under the hood. However, since this optimisation will be centred around how AMD GCN based graphics cards (such as the HD7850/70 HD7950/70) run the game; this benefit will also be carried across, at least in part, to the PC.  More of this.
What all this means is that a mid range PC, built today, will outperform the PS4 whilst allowing for full backwards compatibility with decades of games (including old consoles via emulators). Which is something the PS4 lacks. Along with this the games are cheaper, normally undercutting console version by ￡10 or so at launch. Not only this, but sales from various digital distributors such as Steam and GreenManGaming provide even more opportunity for cheap gaming. Then, finally, a PC has multimedia abilities well beyond what either next gen console can provide. Oh, and there won’t be a damn built in share button! So, without further ado, here is the mid range gaming build recommendation for March 2013! As always, this guide is not the be all and end all of builds. These components represent what i feel produces the best bang for your buck in the ~￡600 price bracket right now. I also actively encourage you to challenge the recommendations before deciding on each component, since it will improve your knowledge of the component market too! Click on the component name for a link to scan.co.uk. The Processor (CPU)
Although lacking in single thread performance of the ivy bridge i5’s, the AMD Piledriver CPUs provide great value when you can’t stretch to the overclockable i5-3570K (which is still the de facto ‘best’ overall gaming CPU when it is overclocked heavily). The fact that future consoles will be based on 8 core CPUs (even if they’re much weaker per core) will also massively benefit the AMD CPUs as future games will be coded to take advantage of 8 cores. This will allow these 8 core CPUs to pull ahead of their quad core Intel counterparts in games. Also, unlike competing i5s, which are also roughly ￡20 more, the FX8320 can be overclocked. I recommend looking into a custom CPU cooling to get the most out of it though if you do choose to go down the overclocking route.
Since we’re looking into the budget end of the spectrum for motherboards there’s not a lot of exciting things I can say about this Gigabyte motherboard. However, it is reliable, stable, allows for some overclocking (although serious overclockers should look into more expensive 990X based motherboards). It provides a good backbone for the system and as such deserved a place in the build. Well, there always has to be one game you can't absolutely max out.
The graphics card (GPU)
The HD7850/70 provide the best value graphics cards in the mid range at the moment by a significant margin. More than enough to run any game* on the market at full settings at 1920x1080, the HD7870 will be a reliable graphical workhorse for a good few years. Oh, and to sweeten the deal it currently comes with Tomb raider and Bioshock: infinite for free.* Crysis 3 may require you to turn down tessellation or shaders a notch to maintain ~60fps Memory (RAM)
There’s nothing too exciting that can be said about RAM either nowadays. 8GB is the standard amount for a new gaming PC and Corsair XMS3 is extremely reliable memory that comes with a lifetime warranty.
HDD prices vary a fair bit over time, with 1TB hard drives sneaking up from their ￡35-40 price tag a few months back. Considering that 500GB HDDs cost ￡40, 1TB is definitely the sweet spot right now.
Once again I'm going with corsair for this build with the CX500. Corsair provide very reliable, stable power supplies, reliability being a crucial factor with a component with the potential to destroy the rest of the PC if something goes horribly wrong! So make sure, if any cuts to any components are made in the name of the budget, that the PSU is always up to scratch.
Case choices are based primarily on two factors: aesthetic and cooling. In this price range I’ve found this case to be easy to work with, providing great cooling, bundled up in a pleasing design. However, style is subjective and I have to say I am a sucker for red/blue LEDS. There are plenty of choices out there though, so I recommend looking around to see what catches your eye.
It’s … well, a DVD drive. It can run DVDs. If you’re feeling fancy it can even write them.
Not as offensive, by a long shot, as the internet ragers would have you think. Windows 8 is a decent, if not exactly amazing, successor to windows 7. It’s not worth upgrading from windows 7 if you already have a product key lying around, but for a new build it’s worth buying over its older counterpart. It is especially useful in this case as the FX-8320 runs a little better under windows 8 than windows 7.￡617.40 So there we have it, the March 2013 build guide. Do you have any suggestions or want to talk about your future build? Post in the comments! - Kai Moseley
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