Im currently working on my first complete PC build and i chose the AMD Phenon II x4 965 black edition for my cpu, but then i noticed that everyone who's selling it either has it out of stock or they are selling it for $200 or so, which is $100 more than i thought i was going to pay, so now i need to find a comparable cpu for around the $100 price range, although i can fudge around $30, any suggestions? and no 6 cores please, this rig is for gaming and i have no need for 6 cores. Or if someone could point me to where i could get the x4 965 for less than $150, that would be fantastic.
Uhhh... we're on the verge on next-gen gaming (introduced by the new console generation), and it is probable that games will utilise more cores. Console will run on an 8-core AMD chip, PC comparable hardware. They will be running on the x86 instruction set, which has better optimisations for multi-threading (forgive my crap explanation). That's the reason why I am going to suggest the FX6300, a 6 core! :o
It is appropriately priced, slightly above the Phenom 965. It is a little more overclockable, has more up-to-date instruction sets. VERY appropriate for gaming.
I think you would be stuck trying to find anything else. Unless you went with an Athlon, which is older than the Phenom.
That's a good point, so how about the AMD fx-8120 or 8320? they're both on sale from newegg. 8 cores for only a little bit more than the 6300, and a bit more future-proof according to what you say with the multicore platforms.
Yeah, it is very possible that games will utilise as much as 8 cores. Some already do, I believe. I'm a little green when it comes to explaining much about hardware. We simply don't know how next-gen consoles will shape the PC market, not until we see real world console performance and cross-plat games. If you're building your PC later in the year, it will be easier to judge at that time. It might be in your interest to wait. Though, an octa-core isn't going to hurt. Not only that, but AMD are rumoured to release new GPUs before the end of the year.
I know that an octa-core will serve other purposes like editing and streaming. Very handy to have in a PC gaming experience, allowing you to share that experience with other people.
I would grab the 8320, it shouldn't stretch your budget much further. I would pick an appropriate motherboard with appropriate power phases to overclock a 8xxx chip.
Do you have a microcenter near you? They usually have good deals on CPUs. 189 for an unlocked i5 3570K. AMD quad core 4130 for 99, 6800K, and 6350 for 130ish
I wish i could wait until later this year, but my current desktop died and i need this one fairly soon. and can you reccomend a motherboard that has said power phases? preferrably no more than $70 since im spending more on the CPU.
No microcenter unfortunately, i'v already looked. :/
Well, $70 is lower than the motherboards I recommend. However, you could grab the FX6300 and an appropriate motherboard. This would enable you to upgrade at a later time?
E.g
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mbnV
The FX6300 happens to be a good gaming chip at this time, and with it, the better motherboards become affordable. It's cheaper than the 8-core processors which may or may not be utilised in next-gen gaming. So all things considered, it is pretty balanced, with the potential to upgrade. You can always sell the FX6300 if you decide to switch.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1xGLS here's my build as of right now, obviously the cpu can't be used since no one has it, 10 more for the processor and then and close to $60 more for the motherboard is out of my budget, :/ i honestly was trying to keep it under $750 but that didn't happen.
You can definitely build a $750 rig that accommodates all. Do you have any of these parts currently? A HDD?
You should spend on the important things before trying to include SSDs or case fans. Those can be added later!
Lemme try.
I have one case fan that's about to die, and those 12 bucks or whatever are no biggie, and the ssd was on sale for $105 at the time i put this together, im going to swtich that to a $100 ssd. while technically i already have a HDD, it's having some problems right now and it's my only HDD so i can't try and fix it on another system, plus i can always get a $50 HDD in the future if it doesn't work. so i would like a 128gb ssd, the ram i have in there is the best i could find for that price range, so stick with that, and im fairly set on the video card but that can change. And technically im going for a $700 rig with OS included, the other $70 is for the mouse, my current microsoft one is on it's last legs.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1xOp7
Only thing missing is a decent CPU heatsink. It comes with a stock heatsink, but it does need to be replaced if you wish to overclock. A cheap CM Hyper Evo will do the trick. Roughly $30 or less for that heatsink. Like the SSD, it can be added later.
The 7950 is just a placeholder, but it definitely kicks the crap out of the 660 and 660ti. In fact, I have seen the 7950 beat an overclocked 770. Here:
http://youtu.be/7Z6e0UtPZY0?t=2m30s
Here is a better 7950 for a cheap price. Comes with 3 free games, you can choose from a list of 12 games:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127734
The only problem is i need the SSD, i mean yeah i could get another HDD but it's time i upgrade and if i don't do it now it'll be 6 years. And i don't plan on doing much overclocking if any, im not too big into trying to run all of the latest games on 1440p on high, so im going to stick with the stock cooler and plenty of case fans.
Honestly, I have an 256GB 840 pro SSD with Win8 on it. My mum has Win8 installed on a 7200RPM HDD that I put together for her. Her system boots almost as fast as mine. SSDs are not totally worth it. Nice to have if you can spare the cash.
If you really want the SSD, go with a 970 chipset motherboard. The FX6300 and 970 are a good match. You're going to have to sacrifice the superior performance of the GPU, too. And to be honest, the GPU is far more important than anything else in this build. Don't let the video confuse you. Though the 7950 can be used on a 1440p monitor, it is geared towards 1080p gaming. It runs Crysis3 multiplayer, ultra 1080p at about 40+ FPS.
The GPU and CPU might be needed for all those resource hungry next-gen games.
Current games only utilise 4GB of RAM. It isn't totally necessary to have 8GB, again, it is nice to have for background tasks. You can save money there, if you need to.
This is the alternative:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1xOJO
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1xP1r here's the build again, put in a seagate barracuda 7200RPM 500gb drive, i left the 660 in there just because it's about the same price as the 7950 you linked to, which i'll put in the build because, you're right, i don't want to skimp on the GPU. anything you would change? i kept the case i originally had because it's a bit cheaper.
That is a balanced build. However, I would swap the case fans for a cheap heatsink. It will serve you better, even if you're not overclocking. The AMD stock fan is not the quietest, most reliable piece of hardware you will own.
The case comes with a rear 120mm exhaust, I believe. That will be sufficient, until you populate all your fan mounts. You might pick up an alternative case with 2 premounted fans. I think Zalman offer some cases with additional fans at that particular price point.
And the 7950 slaughters the 660. Plus, you get those free games. Am I right in thinking the 660 was just a place holder? The 7950 MSI TF is actually one of the best 7950s available. Good cooler if you decide to overclock the card. Easy enough to do!
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1xP88
So yeah, I think it is more important to replace the stock heatsink. Most people would tell you to do so, even without overclocking.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1xPoc well allrightey! here's the final build, with that video card being the placeholder. it's about as far away from where i started without going intel but hey, what should have i expected? Haha. thank you so much for taking your time to put together some options for me, i COULD have built my own system but i wouldn't have gotten such a bang for my buck. any last suggestions?
No, that's fine as far as component selection goes. Overclock the GPU! The 7950 is massively overclockable.
Also, the 970 is pretty appropriate for overclocking the 6300, should you choose to overclock it later.
Finally, enjoy those free games, and do any mail in rebates.
I need to go bed, it is 4am :/
Oh and since the msi has the twin frozr cooler it emits the gpu's exhaust into the case, not out the back, so im still getting 2 case fans so if i do overclock it, i can do something with all that extra heat. Thanks again! And goodnight.