I'm about to build my first PC in about 2 months, and have decided to go with either an 8320 or an 8350 paired with a 7970 or a 7950. I do plan to overclock both my processor (getting a corsair H60 from a friend) and the graphics card.
I'll mostly play BF3 and then BF4 whenever it comes out, as well as any other interesting titles that are released.
The build apart from the CPU/GPU combo is most likely going to look like what I post down below, or at least very similar to it. I live in Sweden so don't compare prices or anything.
Case: Fractal Design Core 3000 (USB 3.0 version)
PSU: XFX 550W
Motherboard: ASUS M5A99X EVO
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 CL9
Storage: Samsung SSD EVO 128GB 530/410 (or whatever the speeds are)
Basically I'm not sure whether I should go for an 8350 paired with a Sapphire 7950 VaporX or an 8320 paired with a Sapphire 7970 DualX. I'm leaning towards the 7970, but feel like an 8350 would last me longer and run cooler/on lower wattage at the same clockspeed. I'm also a bit worried that my PSU wattage (yes, wattage, 12rails etc are fine) is not enough for an overclocked 8320 and an overclocked 7970 (assuming close to full system load).
A third option would be going with an 8320 paired with a 7950, using the leftover money to get the Pro version of the motherboard (2x PCIe x16) as well as an XFX 750W Pro Series PSU for future upgradeability.
So to sum it all up. I've got to choose between the following CPU/GPU setups. Which one will be better?
8320 + Sapphire 7970 DualX
8350 + Sapphire 7950 VaporX
8320 + Sapphire 7950 VaporX + ability to CF in a year or so.
Well the 8320 is just a 8350 with its voltage brought down by a bit, you can overclock a 8320 to 8350 clocks and up, no problem. I would probably spend the cash and put your money into the GPU and grab a 7970 or go with a 7950 crossfire. It may be more future proof to crossfire the cards with the 9*** series cards coming out soon, to keep it more competitive.
The 8320 is a great deal. It should be more than enough for future games. But with the new AMD series of gpus coming out, I would advise holding off on that purchase. They might drop the prices of the 7xxx even more after they come out, or the new series might have a much better price/performance ratio. I am pretty hopeful. If you want to get something now though, the 7950 should be plenty for pretty much all games on the highest settings with a 1080p monitor.
Holy smoke, those were some quick eplies! And since I buy in november I shouldn't "miss" the 9xxx series release, since they were supposed to be announced in a few weeks, right?
Then what will be cheapest (bang for buck-ratio that is) and run on the best settings in the long run - another 7950 in a year or a brand new high-end card in 2 years? I'll probably get an entirely new system in 4 years or something, depending on my student economy then.
Also wondering if the 550W PSU will be enough for OC 8320 + OC 7970. I've heard both of them get REALLY power hungry when overclocked.
550W should be alright, but I would want to be on the safe side and grab a 650W if at all possible. The thing is that a 650W with ample amps should be able to power any single card configuration now or (most likely) at any time in the future. People around here tend to advise not going overboard with the psu (to save some cash). I guess that I am the minority in that since.
As far as bang/buck after the next series is released, there is no way of telling without some benchmarks. The step up could be something amazing, or it could be very little. There is just no way of knowing yet.
450W power supply would be enough at stock. So I would just go with the 550. A good 650W will power a crossfire configuration.
There is a good chance that the 9xxx cards will be mostly rebrands, but good things can come from waiting. I think you'll be impressed with the performance of a single 7950, you could probably get one very cheap in November.
I'd like to go for 650W as well. However the XFX 650W is almost 120$ (750W is 125$) while the 550W version (of the same series, mind you!) is only around 80$. I guess I could always go for the Corsair CX600 for 95$, but I don't really trust their CX line.
But I guess 550W SHOULD be enough for 1 7970 if I don't do any massive overclocking.
750W should be enough for (mildly OC'd) CF 7950 though?
EDIT: For some reason, the XFX core edition and pro series (650/750W) are equally prized in Sweden. Dumb retailers.
EDIT: This is the psu that I have. I grabbed it for $75 on sale. Anyway, if you want something more efficient than Bronze, this would be a nice choice.
Seasonic PSUs are super expensive in Sweden, but the XFX PSUs are supposed to be Seasonic built so they should suffice. At least the Pro Series are, which I will get anyway if I go for a future CF.
