Building comp. advice

[newcomputer20]

Hi guys,
I was thinking of (for the first time) putting together a computer from scratch.
I've done a bit of research but new advice is always useful.

The idea was go for the fastest, cheatest I could get. So I went to http://www.cpubenchmark.net/ found out the AMD A8-3850/AMD FX-8120 are some of the best perforing chips for the price which im going to put with a Biostar TA75M. If it's possible maybe 2 of these chips. Is the intel i5 really that much better?
4gigs of ram standard ddr3.
Thinking maybe GeForce GT440 maybe 460. maybe something like Radeon HD 6790... the thing is i've heard these require extra power and I'm hoping that just needs a better PSU and not a special motherboard.

Any tips for improving performance but especially price are most welcome.

1) What is your budget? 350 british pounds = 557.27 U.S. dollars

2) What size desktop would you prefer? the cheaper one

a. Compact (Think Mac Mini)
b. Mainstream (Think average Dell)
c. Large (Think gamer's desktop)
d. All-In-One (Think iMac)

3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in. (Since Flags do not appear to be working right now, just state what country.) Uk

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like? No

5) What tasks will you be performing with the desktop? Everyday computing like email + gaming

6) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games? yes, sc2, crisis, Metro 2033

7) Do you mind buying online without seeing the desktop in person? I don't mind buying online

8) What OS do you prefer? Os not an issue


Build Quality and Design

9) Are the desktop's looks and stylishness important to you? Not a big factor, but I like simple, sleek, and modern style

10) When are you buying this desktop and how long do you want this desktop to last? I'm buying soon and mininmum 2 years.
Desktop Components

11) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 2TB? Aleast 250GB

12) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, a DVD Burner, a Blu-Ray-R drive or a Blu-Ray burner? Do not care about Blu-Ray

13) Have you entertained the idea of building your own? Yes

 

[Gary1]

"Is the intel i5 really that much better?" ...Yes but consider i3 as well. I understand you can't buy from newegg.

"I'm hoping that just needs a better PSU and not a special motherboard"...you would be correct. 650W should be fine.

 

[newcomputer20]

I could and get shipping but I found pricechecker had better prices for the uk. What shocks me is the AMD FX-8120 is $200 on newegg (the same price as a 4 core i5). I mean i've heard the bulldozer architecture wasn't that good but for literally double the cores it has to be better right ?

 

[Gary1]

No its not. The FX-8120 is basically a 4 core with hyper threading AMD hoped it would out perform the i7 but it did not. AMD is OK but, $200 spent on Intel will get you much more than what AMD would provide.

 

[fire r a g e]

I could and get shipping but I found pricechecker had better prices for the uk. What shocks me is the AMD FX-8120 is $200 on newegg (the same price as a 4 core i5). I mean i've heard the bulldozer architecture wasn't that good but for literally double the cores it has to be better right ?

What's the point of extra cores if they don't add any benefit for gaming? Intel kicks the hell out of AMD at almost every turn.

 

[claptonman]

In gaming, the i5 will win. In other heavily-multicore/multithreaded apps, the bulldozer will beat the i5 for the price.