Desktop Computers

I had an AMD on a circa 2000 Sony that I never had an issue with. Have things changed?

Mist_sl said:

Like someone said earlier in the thread, I would buy a haswell i3 long before i would buy an AMD.

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Well, that was Jovec and he also mentioned another AMD proc. 860/960.

Anyway, I appreciate all the help here, and I'll have to reconsider a build on my own.

Lanx, you have an SSD on the build you showed, and I'm not convinced I 'need' one. As I understand it, they are very helpful in loading the OS quickly, which really isn't a key seller for me. What am I missing on the value of an SSD?

Again, sorry to newbTARD this thread.

Gravy_sl said:

Well, that was Jovec and he also mentioned another AMD proc. 860/960.

Click to expand...

An i3 is the best balance of IPC and cores/threads for a budget gamer.

AMD performance is lacking, but in the budget segment when every dollar is tight you still have to consider them. The 860k for $75, the 6300 for $95, and the 8320 when it drops to $120 are not bad values (especially with a little OC), but they all lack IGPs and have low single-threaded performance. Beyond that AMD CPUs become hard to justify once you get into $150+ (i5 price range). I'd also stick to sub-$120 i3 models; any higher and I'd look to stretch the budget into an i5 or put that money towards more GPU/SSD.

I personally would consider a $120 8320 over a $120 i3 knowing the pros and cons of each and willing to overclock (the 8320, the i3 can't be), but as a stock gaming box I'd go i3 if building for someone else. The old truism still holds though: GPU is still the biggest performance factor in gaming. For a fixed $350, a $100 6300 with a $250 GPU will be a better gamer than a $200 4690k with a $150 GPU.

So far, that system Joe posted (Hell yeah, Dell!) seems the most potent for the dollar. And if I can put a decent graphic card in it, and an SSD perhaps, I think I'd be good.

Thanks for all the awesome information dudes.

I just got my new pc all built ~2 days ago. Let me tell you what, having a SSD is something I will never get away from now. I was expecting fast, but good lord. Restarting in like 10 seconds, programs load instantly, I even put a couple of the games I play the most on it and wtf it's like lightning. Before it'd take me about ~3minutes to restart, then another ~2 minutes before I could actually do anything. Then it'd still take another 1-2 minutes before I could actually load into a game. Now I can do all that shit in like 30 seconds, it's insane. I use to go get on my laptop and jack off while my PC was restarting, now I can't even walk 5 feet to my refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.

[PCPartPicker part list](Intel Core i5-4460, XFX Radeon R9 280, Apevia X-SNIPER2-BL - System Build - PCPartPicker) / [Price breakdown by merchant](Intel Core i5-4460, XFX Radeon R9 280, Apevia X-SNIPER2-BL - System Build - Price Breakdown By Merchant - PCPartPicker)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor](Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (BX80646I54460) - PCPartPicker) | $179.69 @ SuperBiiz
**CPU Cooler** | [Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (H55) - PCPartPicker) | $49.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-B85M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](Gigabyte GA-B85M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (GA-B85M-HD3) - PCPartPicker) | $64.98 @ OutletPC
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL) - PCPartPicker) | $62.99 @ NCIX US
**Storage** | [Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5 Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/AM) - PCPartPicker) | $99.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (0F10452) - PCPartPicker) | $60.00 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card](XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card (R9-280A-TDBD) - PCPartPicker) | $179.99 @ NCIX US
**Case** | [Apevia X-SNIPER2-BL ATX Mid Tower Case](Apevia X-SNIPER2-BL ATX Mid Tower Case (X-SNIPER2-BL) - PCPartPicker) | $48.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Power Supply** | [Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (CX600) - PCPartPicker) | $54.75 @ OutletPC
**Optical Drive** | [Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer](Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer (SH-224DB/RSBS) - PCPartPicker) | $15.99 @ Amazon
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)](Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (GFC-02050) - PCPartPicker) | $88.98 @ OutletPC
**Sound Card** | [Asus Xonar DS 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card](Asus Xonar DS 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card (90-YAA0F0-0UAN00Z) - PCPartPicker) | $41.49 @ OutletPC
**Wired Network Adapter** | [StarTech USB31000NDS 10/100/1000 Mbps USB 3.0 Network Adapter](StarTech USB31000NDS 10/100/1000 Mbps USB 3.0 Network Adapter (USB31000NDS) - PCPartPicker) | $22.99 @ Newegg
**Wireless Network Adapter** | [Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter](Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (PCE-N15) - PCPartPicker) | $24.99 @ Micro Center
**Case Fan** | [Enermax UCEVA12T 76.0 CFM 120mm Fan](Enermax UCEVA12T 76.0 CFM 120mm Fan (UCEVA12T) - PCPartPicker) | $12.99 @ Directron
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1068.80
| Mail-in rebates | -$60.00
| **Total** | **$1008.80**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](Pick Parts, Build Your PC, Compare and Share - PCPartPicker) 2015-02-15 02:28 EST-0500 |


Alright, tell me what's wrong with this, please. I'm sure there are some things that I probably don't need.

I tried the Slickdeals code, but yeah, it was expired, Joeboo. If that's something I can upgrade if need be, I'm all over a deal like that.

DP, and not the good kind.

Gravy_sl said:

Alright, tell me what's wrong with this, please. I'm sure there are some things that I probably don't need.

Click to expand...

Personally, I'd go with Windows 8.1.

Presumably you need the WiFi adapter, but why a dedicated sound card and USB Ethernet (motherboard will have both onboard)? Since you can't OC, you could also drop down to a $20 CM Hyper 212+ or $30 CM Hyper 212 Evo. These three changes will drop the price down by about $100 with no impact on performance.

If you are going up to $180-$200 for the GPU, then the Nvidia 960 is an option. Depending on the game, it's probably ~5-10% faster than a r9 280 and will have much lower power consumption. The flip side is 2GB Vram versus 3GB on the 280 - some think 2GB is too low today but I think 2GB is still okay for sub-$200 GPUs at 1080 res (since they aren't fast enough for high res/ultra settings anyway). Keep in mind that the 280 is essentially a 3 year old design (it's a rebranded 7950 boost), while the 960 is based on Nvidia's latest Maxwell design. This may or may not matter to you. Nvidia'sGeforce Experiencesoftware is quite nice if you don't want to mess with graphic settings and probably much better thanAMD's GEA.

I'd probably lean towards the $200 960 over a $180 280, but both should serve you well and often it comes down to brand preference or sales. I know I linked you the r9 280 earlier, but I did it because I view it as the cheapest of the (excuse the term) "big boy" GPUs meant for 1080 with high settings. It launched as one step below AMDs 7970 flagship and I think I paid $330 for my 7950b.