Last Christmas (this is not the song) I build my 6-core computer as a gift to myself. I was on budget and I am on a city that has not that much to offer when it comes to the latest computer hardware, so my build may seem to be not the best for a six-core budget gaming build. However, if you have the same situation like me, this guide might help you. By the way, I enjoyed this build in real-life work and gaming, so I still have the confidence to share it.
Great PCs are from great parts built to work as one. Let us look on the parts of my build:
Processor
I started with the processor because my target is building a 6-core computer. Because I am in budget, I will not dream of the 3rd generation i7s or Xeons. The best choice is a Phenom II X6 processor from AMD, which is much cheaper and powerful. The shop handed me the 1075T, which runs at 3.00 GHz at stock speed and 3.5 GHz at Turbo. I do not really have much choice in the shop and decided to overclock this CPU to 3.6 using all 6-cores all the time in order to add more power.
Motherboard
The shop has only one motherboard that could support the processor (that time). It is the Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H, which could support AMD six core Phenoms, SATA 3, and USB 3. It could also support up to 16 GB of RAM. This motherboard is the best for this budget build.
Memory
It is always nice to stay on the safe side with the 1333 MHz RAM though the board supports up to 2000 MHz. I will not go up to 16 GB yet but maybe on the next upgrade. I will just settle with 8 GB of RAM as of now from Kingston. 8 GB is enough for gaming and my work.
Storage
Sadly, most of the computer shops in the city do not have SATA 3 hard disks or even SDDs yet. Perhaps, I will also include an SSD on the next upgrade to make my build much more powerful. As of now, I will just use a 500 GB SATA 2 hard drive from Western Digital. This means my build may boot slower than with an SSD but I believe this build is still powerful, and the 500 GB space is just enough for my game files. The only large files that I saved frequently are my movies but after watching them, I just delete them right away.
Graphics
The PCI Express x16 slot in this board is in the PCI Express 2.0 standard, which means it is not that fast compared to the latest version but it is still powerful. Anyway, my budget will only allow me to buy a low-range gaming card. I resorted to have the PowerColor Radeon HD 5750 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. It is not that powerful but I could run any games with it in the low or medium settings. Perhaps, I will upgrade to the HD 7000 series later. This card only needs an extra 6-pin PCI.E power connector and less space inside in the casing.
Power Supply
I manage to have the Cougar CMX 700 with 700 watts of power. It is a certified 80+ Gold PSU, which means it is energy efficient. This is a big plus for me because I am not just in budget with the buying of the parts. I am also in budget when it comes to paying electric bills.
Casing
Luckily, I secured a Cooler Master CM 690 mid-tower case, which has enough space for the parts. I also like the design of this case when it comes to maximizing airflow. It has also a vibration-absorber for the hard disk locks and silent 120mm fans in order to provide a cool environment and a silent PC as well.
CPU Cooler
Since I will overclock the CPU above from its Turbo speed, I bought the Antec Kuhler H20 620 water-cooling unit. It is easy to install and maintenance-free which is a big plus for my build. The design of this cooler gives enough space for air to flow inside the casing giving me enough assurance that my parts well live longer and function as expected.
This build is not really the final build but a preliminary build due to budget and availability issues. However, I believe this build is still powerful to handle the latest games and multi-tasking activities. Let us go to benchmarking to prove that I have a point.
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