Help with ideas for build.

Graal

Graal

New member
So, my motherboard decided that it felt like dying recently, and now I'm stuck in quite a pickle. Replacing the mobo means replacing the CPU, RAM and harddrives with it, seeing as my CPU was still dual-core and it's time to go to quad, my RAM was DDR2 and the two internal HDDs were still IDE. As you can see, I've pretty much got a choice between doing a decent upgrade, or getting an ancient mobo that still fits everything, but being forced into another total upgrade in a year or two.

So far, I've got this build from Wesley over at the NAG forums, but I'd like some more opinions and/or options if anyone wouldn't mind? Always a good idea to have a variety, even though this seems a really good build.

Wesley said:
Best Intel Build for R6000: (1080p and high settings + 2x AA, 2560 x 1440 and medium settings + no AA)

AMD A6-3670K @ R1197
MSI A75MA-G55 @ R796
TEAM Elite DDR3-1600 8GB @ R394 - Only going to get 4gb at first.
Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB @ R546
Cooler Master Elite 311 @ R321
Click to expand...

So, I'll be sticking with my 550w CPU, HD6870 and DVD Rom. The rest needs to be replaced. The total of this build comes down to R3629, which is a bit higher than I was bargaining for. Might take a while to scratch all the cash together. Would have preferred a build that's under R3000, but I don't want to compromise performance too much.

Anyone got any other suggestions, perhaps? I'm not quite so tech-savvy, so I can't really work out builds for myself. :p
 
AMD FX-4100 - R1305 http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=4204
MSI 760G - R467 http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=5685
2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 - R374 http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=5405
COOLER MASTER ELITE 240 - R254 http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=5544
WD Caviar Blue - R546 http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26&products_id=1273

~R2950

That's probably the cheapest quad system you can get at the moment. FX is not as bad as people make it out to be, made a Hex core system for a friend just as fast as my LGA1156 i5 760.

You could also get some some these: http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69&products_id=4410 to use on your old IDE's Hard Drives to use them as extra space.
 
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I am a little confused if thats an intel build?Rather pick up a few second hand parts from forums like this, and carbonite because that cpu and mobo isnt the greatest.im sure a phenom II x4 would be better for overclocking and it allows for easier upgrading in the future..maybe try sticking with your current case since it probably has about the same features as that CM elite 311.and just go for a cpu/mobo/ram/hdd upgrade this should give you a few extra hundred to play with..by getting some 2nd hand parts you will end up with a much faster pc for the same price
 
Sorry Graal I am trying to understand why it is that you want a new hard drive at the moment. If your hard drives still work and there is a way to get them to be usable in the new build then why not scratch the idea of going for a hdd and go for i5 range, then buy a hdd towards end of year or when you have some more cash. That way it is far more future proof rather then trying to get something you don't particularly need right at the moment? Or I am completely mistaken.
Speak to Venom about maybe buying a case from him since he just won the one today so he might be looking to offload his at a steal. I would have given you mine for a six pack and box of cigs if I had won but you can shout at James for not letting me win lol
 
Hehe, the problem is, I don't actually have money for much right now. I was still spending like crazy, and next moment, my mobo breaks. :(

I'm going to have to start saving for an upgrade, and if I'm lucky I might have enough saved up by the end of December. Got a well-paying holiday job for December, but how much I'm going to get out of that all depends on when I finish my exams so I can go start working.

I could skimp out on buying a new HDD, but the two I've got is really, really old. Both are about 6 years old and only 80gb. If worst comes to worst, I'll skip out on the HDD at first, though. It's not the most essential part. As long as I can get a running PC again, I'm happy. Going to be a long few months without it.

I've also got a recommendation for the following build, which is even more expensive, but which should be more economic in the long run as it leaves room open for further upgrades.

Intel Core i5 3450 @ R1880
GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3H @ R837
TEAM Elite DDR3-1600 4GB @ R197
Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB @ R546
Cooler Master K280 USB 3.0 @ R357
Total: R3817

Its a quad-core i5 with a board that doesn't support overclocking but will run an i7 chip if you upgrade in the future (unlikely) and will properly support USB 3.0 and SSDs. To match the Core i5's performance, you'd need to overclock the FX-4100 to at least 4.5GHz to see it draw up in games and benchmarks.
Click to expand...
 
The above build is decent, although that is a God Awful motherboard.
The ram's 1 GB modules so I would skip that as well and just go for a 2x4GB kit. 4GB of ram is now pretty much the bare minimum.
Games like BF3 love ram and end up using a lot of it. You can get a set of Patriot G2 DDRIII 1600 2x4GB for around R500.

I would say:

i5 3450
ASRock Z77 PRO3
Patriot G2 DDRIII 1600 2x4GB
WD 500GB Sata 6G 7200
Cooler Master K280

That'll set you back around R4300 and it'll be a much better machine. Future proofing yourself while keeping the cost as low as possible.
 
Graal said:
Hehe, the problem is, I don't actually have money for much right now. I was still spending like crazy, and next moment, my mobo breaks. :(

I'm going to have to start saving for an upgrade, and if I'm lucky I might have enough saved up by the end of December. Got a well-paying holiday job for December, but how much I'm going to get out of that all depends on when I finish my exams so I can go start working.

I could skimp out on buying a new HDD, but the two I've got is really, really old. Both are about 6 years old and only 80gb. If worst comes to worst, I'll skip out on the HDD at first, though. It's not the most essential part. As long as I can get a running PC again, I'm happy. Going to be a long few months without it.

I've also got a recommendation for the following build, which is even more expensive, but which should be more economic in the long run as it leaves room open for further upgrades.
Click to expand...

While it is somewhat true, regarding the Intel vs the AMD, that will only be really noticeable in video encoding and benchmarking.
stalker.jpg


Picture does not feature the CPU you where quoted on but does show there is not much of a massive difference between the FX-4100 and a i7. They both broke the 60fps mark easily at a low resolution and all cap at 50~ at 1080p.

The Joker said:
The above build is decent, although that is a God Awful motherboard.
The ram's 1 GB modules so I would skip that as well and just go for a 2x4GB kit. 4GB of ram is now pretty much the bare minimum.
Games like BF3 love ram and end up using a lot of it. You can get a set of Patriot G2 DDRIII 1600 2x4GB for around R500.

I would say:

i5 3450
ASRock Z77 PRO3
Patriot G2 DDRIII 1600 2x4GB
WD 500GB Sata 6G 7200
Cooler Master K280

That'll set you back around R4300 and it'll be a much better machine. Future proofing yourself while keeping the cost as low as possible.
Click to expand...

That. Mobo. Is. So. Ugly. O_o

Good build as well there Joker.
 
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Cpu's aren't the game breaker in gaming machines.
Graphics cards are.

A FX4100 + 7870 will run better than a i7 3770K + a GTX560ti.

The only time cpu's come into play is when you start benching and encoding.

Be aware though that the FX4100 is not a True Quad core, its a 2 Module, 4 core cpu.
That said its a bargain at its price and they offer insane overclocking potential.

Edit: I still have a Phenom II 965 BE in my one rig. Recently upgraded the motherboard and added more ram. Its running a 7850 which is overclocked to 1050 on the core and it plays any and eveything on high settings, it even runs BF3 on high to ultra settings, yes some of the eye candy is cut out but you can't get better bang for buck anywhere else.
 
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The Joker said:
Cpu's aren't the game breaker in gaming machines.
Graphics cards are.

A FX4100 + 7870 will run better than a i7 3770K + a GTX560ti.

The only time cpu's come into play is when you start benching and encoding.

Be aware though that the FX4100 is not a True Quad core, its a 2 Module, 4 core cpu.
That said its a bargain at its price and they offer insane overclocking potential.

Edit: I still have a Phenom II 965 BE in my one rig. Recently upgraded the motherboard and added more ram. Its running a 7850 which is overclocked to 1050 on the core and it plays any and eveything on high settings, it even runs BF3 on high to ultra settings, yes some of the eye candy is cut out but you can't get better bang for buck anywhere else.
Click to expand...

To put Jokers, words into a picture (who does not love a good bar chart) ;)

Scaling.png


At double the speed you see double the FPS increase, this is not always true for any game however.

Edit: This is a "not always true for any game however case"
CPU%20Cores.png


We see the FX-4000 loosing to a Pentium.

Edit 2: http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/za4ca/amd_cpu_performance_will_it_be_improved/
Comments on reddit lead me to believe that benchmarks are not always true. Then again...
Seriously. I run most games on max settings, and get 60 fps no problem. This game, in WvW on the lowest possible settings, where the game looks like a PS2 game, I get 12 fps in big sieges. I'm sorry that's not AMD being bad, that is horrible optimization.
Click to expand...
 
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Argh, I really, really hope I win one of those 8gb RAM sticks in the comp. It'll open up just the tiniest bit of leeway on my budget.
 
Hey guys, I just got a new computer was wandering if you all thought it was decent. A bit late to ask this now but work bought it for me so had no choice.
MSI 970A-G46 970GX MB
AMD FX 8150 Eight Core CPU
Corsair 8GB 1600MHz RAM
750GB SATA3 HDD
Radeon HD 7850 2GB OC
 
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