Planning to build a gaming PC for my cousin. When I say gaming pc. I mean just for gaming. All he does on his computer other than daily web browsing, using Microsoft Note or Excel for school etc. is gaming. At 1080p. So I'm looking for a GOOD RELIABLE CPU, preferably quad core. Not more than $150 as I'm also spending for the Mobo, GPU, ram and SSD. So I'm open to suggestions. Remember, Budget. Not extreme.
budget cpu
Intel: g3258
AMD: FX6300
G3258 vs i5 4460. Any thoughts?
For a budget CPU I'll vote for the Athlon X4 860k, why?
1) 4 proper threads
2) Overclocks well, but decent performance without OC
3) mobos available in most form factors including ITX and FM2+ not a completely EoL socket.
4) Steam roller architecture > than Piledriver,
5) Available for < £60 (about £15-£20 less than a 6300 in UK)
For a budget gaming system you want the CPU and mobo as cheap as possible so you can get the best GPU possible. Ideally you also want a minimum of four hardware threads/logical processors which means an i3 for Inetl. I know the G3258 overclocks really well but you loose out on games that can use 4 threads or any multi-tasking activity e.g. when playing online in multi-player games.
If you can get an i5 in that price range I think it's your best bet, even if it's a locked one.
Main difference between those two is that the G3258 is EXTREMELY overclockable. In gaming, I have seen some benchmarks where that Pentium (overclocked to about 4.5 Ghz) performs pretty close to an i7. The best thing about the Pentium is that you don't even need an expensive cooler to overclock it (Cooler master 840 EVO would do the job). For a budget build, I would definitely go for the G3258.
*******Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo*********
not the samsung ssd lol
yeah, you can overclock it to a high percentage of the base clock but it still has the performance of a limp dick.
YUUUUUUP. LOL
It's funny that people wanna suck Intel's dick so hard with this Pentium. Yes it's a good deal, yes it overclocks well, but it is not the messiah we were looking for lol. In anything other than a 2 threaded application this thing STINKS.
Agreed.
Although i think the pentium is a really good buy if you want to upgrade to an i5 or i7 in a few months.
But then... Why not just wait and save the extra $150-250 instead?
Really the 6300 is a good choice or save the money for a locked i5. The pentiums,i3's, and the athlons meh Might even be a waste considering it will lead you to yet another upgrade soon.
the i5-4460, no single doubt about it.
The Pentium G, is cool, as long as you play games up to 2 threads, but games that use up to 4 threads the Pentium G does not cut it.
Dont let your self miss-lead with GPU BOUND benchmarks. The Pentium G is only a dual core, and not a good cpu for gaming at all.
i5-4460 with cheap H97 board all the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFqQdrs5wEU
Just for interest (and not to start any AMD vs Intel arguments) I just carried out a couple of really quick benchmarks on the 3 systems I have.
Higher is better
In terms of combined CPU & GPU costs all three were probably not too dissimilar. The AMD build is the only one from brand new parts.
Maybe when I have time I'll swap some cards around and bench again. The intention is for the R9-290 to go into the i7 build - watching MSI afterburner it is definately held back a little by the x4 860k. The GTX 770 is pushed to the max by the i7 in valley by comparison.
Obviously for a budget build you are probably looking at cheaper graphics cards but purely for gaming unless you know you are playing an older game that is CPU bound the price difference between an X4 860k and an i5 is definitely something worth pondering over - do you really need the extra power the i5 will bring vs a better GPU?
EDIT: My table seems to have been messed up, nevermind. Just read the first score for each section for the 860k, then the i7 with the i5 last. Bioshock is not installed on the i5 system, so not tested.
Can't bring myself to recommend a dual-core to anyone these days unless they have no desire to play any new games.
the FX-6300 however is hands down the absolute best bang-for-your-buck CPU available right now.
I'm actually deciding to go for the FX-6300. Maybe. As it's cheaper, 6 cores. Unlocked and easily overclockable. Over the i5 4460 or the Pentium. Any thoughts? Or maybe the Athlon X4 860K.
In that range and for the purposes you are talking about I would make the decision on what motherboard specs you are looking for. 990FX and other AM+ boards are not exactly spoilt for choice and if you want a small form factor or SLI/Crossfire capabilities for later upgrades (not generally worth it except if you sprang for the higher tier card to begin with or an APU in the case of crossfire) You basically are out of luck with the AM3+ socket. Less so but still to some extent with the FM2.
Going Intel is going to open up your board options significantly, but at an increased cost for the chip. But look at what's out there for what you are thinking overall for the build and your budget as well as whatever deals you happen to find. You might even find a board that has what you want for cheaper and save money overall going the intel route. It has happened to me before
MicroCenter sells CPUs basically at cost or even lower "in store special" as general practice to get people in if you can take advantage. Also their replacement plans have paid off big time for a lot of people i know/built for. You can basically bring in the whole box and whatever packaging you have saved and get store credit to do a whole new build. That said it is a hassle to gets good prices or price matching there on anything but CPUs sooo... YMMV.
and I must support the previous advice to leave the Pentiums out of your shopping list.
I agree. I would not want a dual core as my daily driver, even if it is overclocked to insane levels. I do plenty of stuff at the same time, and two cores just doesn't cut it. I got my first dual core a long time ago, then went to more cores as fast as possible. Sure the dual core benches well, but try to open firefox/chrome with 50+ tabs. Or running a VM. Or doing a backup at the same time as you run a game. Etc etc. The system will tank when the anti virus program starts scanning. Those were not the good old days.
There are a couple of interesting FM2+ boards for the 860K. I would look for a deal on the Asus Crossblade Ranger.
EDIT: It is a very price-y board though. Techreport posted a review today.
Cool benchmarks.
But now put your R9-290 in your 4570 rig, and test again. ☺
But The i5-4460 is a better cpu for gaming then a FX6300. But it depends on the gpu if you realy gonne benefit from the i5.
I also depends on the games you play and how you play them offcourse.
Long story short, if you can afford an i5 without sacreficing on the gpu, then the i5 is basicly the best allround choice for gaming.
But keep in mind that you allways need to build a well balanced system arround the GPU. You need to look for the right balance between cpu and gpu.