amd fx6300 & hd7970 build

BillHones · Mar 18, 2013

i would like to build my first pc. i narrowed down my cpu and gpu to those. im a bit lost as to what mobo to pick. im going to stick a ssd in it, $ will determine size. 8gb ram but lost as to which specs really perform better. ill get most popular filler type optical drive. which case? i dont plan on running more than one optical drive, or dual cpus or gpus. so what size should i aim for? i may put a custom cooling loop in, as i could see needing to oc it as some point, and they look dope. in lieu of the 8000 series coming out and some other mobo i keep reading about, should i wait until they do? will i see significant price drops? any help is appreciated.

vrumor · Mar 18, 2013

Post this in the right place and you might get help on a build if you post it in the proper template. Thats basically 1 long drawn out sentence with no info.

rdc85 · Mar 18, 2013

There a news that amd will not realease 8xxx series this year. I think they wanna focus on current 7xxx series (that still selling very well) and their console APU...
I also heard nvidia will also not releasing their new series....

please state the budget and fill up the tom' form....

BillHones · Mar 19, 2013

vrumor :

the side panel has a "Ask the community" section. if you go through the motions, create an account, yada yada, it just posts your thread here without even getting a preview. or knowing where it goes... look! you learned something even though you wanted to be rude and waste time!

as far as my budget goes, its more shaped around those pieces of hardware thus far. if twenty bucks more here or there is worth it, great! if not, fine too. i will also re format this into the proper manor, and or repost in the proper section. perhaps this could get moved?

rdc85 · Mar 19, 2013

U will need to fill the tom's building form (i'm forget the name or the link)

It will help us to know better... basically...

your budget...
part needed?
part already had ?
build main purpose (gaming, surfing, htcp or etc) ?
os needed or not?
online shop preference?
etc..

something like that...

BillHones · Mar 19, 2013

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: custom liquid loop down the road, or whenever i decide to overclock.
Motherboard: ???
Memory: 8g best deal. 1600 or 1333, which ever would work better
Storage: want to run a ssd. crucial 128 perhaps? or just get wd black 7200rpm "x"gb
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card
Case: form and functionality do matter.
Power Supply:???
Optical Drive: standard inexpensive piece.
Operating System: windows 7 64bit

gaming only. possible photo editing.
i do not have any parts!

as far as overall size goes, if i do not need a full size machine that would be nice. i would not need more than one optical drive. i wont run dual gpu's. i understand a liquid cooling system will take up some room, so two dvd bays would be optimal. i may run a hdd for extra stuff in conjunction with the ssd.

i know everyone wants to know budget. cheaper is always better as long as the margin of performance gained is slim to none. if its amazing performance for twenty bucks i would consider. i would like to be optimal for the current cpu and gpu selection. it is also ok that certain games will do better or worse. if someone disagrees with cpu and or gpu, a budget to aim for would be 900 to 1500 usd.

lloydloo · Mar 19, 2013

Your cpu is bottlenecking your graphics card. I'd recommend an i5 3570k or i5 3550(if you don't want to overclock) to replace the fx 6300 and an asus p8z77.

ASHISH65 · Mar 19, 2013

yes fx 6300 will not hold up hd 7970.best would be i5

mohit9206 · Mar 19, 2013

yes i5+7950 is the best combination

BillHones · Mar 19, 2013

so aside from actual benchmarking, are there physical numbers to look for to determine a bottleneck? or are they entirely to complex to understand...

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/356300-28-will-6300-bottleneck-7950
i found this before selecting that cpu. summary was, its ok but i5 is better, but maybe not 100 bills better. how about for future use? would get more performance down the road with a gpu card from the i5? that would be the reason id like to hear.

i threw some of the parts in pcpartpicker. the i5 is hidden when toggling the compatibility button?

i also plan to run at 1920x1080 at minimum with a 2ms response time monitor. not sure if plugs determine hardware selection for this stuff?

as far as mobo goes. what determines a proper card? i understand compatible ram selection, cpu and gpu plug compatibility, and future expandability. is there a speed thing too? or something else to look for?

i understand these q's get asked many times. i appreciate everyones input.

Isaiah4110 · Mar 19, 2013

BillHones :

In a benchmark, if modifying resolution settings does not affect FPS numbers then it typically indicates a CPU bottleneck. Outside of that there is no way I know of the test for a CPU bottleneck.

The only way I know of to make pcpartpicker.com hide i5 CPUs when you check the compatibility checkbox is by already having an incompatible motherboard selected in your build.

Do you plan or want to overclock?

Isaiah4110 · Mar 19, 2013

Here is an Intel option with overclocking priced at $1232 with all parts being purchased through either Newegg or Amazon:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.17 @ Amazon)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1232.08
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-19 15:00 EDT-0400)

And here is a similar AMD FX-Series CPU build coming in at $1170:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1170.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-19 15:14 EDT-0400)

I bumped up the RAM speed on the AMD build because that is known to affect AMD CPU performance.

I also included an SSD on each build because of the boot and application load time improvements it will give you.

I personally would feel more comfortable with and prefer the Intel build. It will give you better performance at stock settings and is more energy efficient. The AMD build will give you a bit more overclockability and can then come closer to meeting the performance of the Intel build, but I don't know if it would surpass it. The greatest downside I notice is that (and I somehow didn't know this before) none of the AMD motherboards come with PCIe x16 3.0. They are all limited to 2.0 slots.

Those are my basic thoughts. Feel free to ask for more detailed thoughts if you like.

BillHones · Mar 21, 2013

Isaiah4110:

yes i plan to overclock. maybe not right away since its new to me. seems easy enough though. is that 750w ps good enough for future use also? ie 2 years down the road with more power hungry hardware?

so pc size. anyone have thoughts or sugggestions based on thought parts? i do not think ill fill up a huge full size. mid or mini?

Isaiah4110 · Mar 21, 2013

BillHones :

Looking at the Intel build specifically: 750 Watts will definitely be good for you right now under the Intel build with plenty of room to overclock. That specific 750W PSU should still be able to handle two of those graphics without any overclocking. If you are talking two Radeon 7970's with an overclock on both the CPU and the GPUs then you might be pushing the limits and I would probably consider bumping up to an 850W power supply.

Comparing the power requirements of the AMD build: 750W should still be enough for overclocking with that exact setup. Simply adding a second graphics card without any overclock is already pushing close to the limits of that power supply though. With that build, looking at the potential of a second graphics card and an overclock, I think I would actually recommend a minimum 950W PSU.

How likely are you to add a second GPU to either of these builds? Keep in mind that a single Radeon 7970 will handle pretty much any modern game at maximum graphics settings on a single HD (1920x1080) monitor. You won't really start to see a bottleneck until you start going to higher resolutions (multi-monitor setups) where you are running the game at 5760x1080.

If you believe there is a really good chance that you will add a second GPU to this build there here are my modified recommendations:

Intel Build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.17 @ Amazon)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1282.08
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-21 12:23 EDT-0400)

AMD Build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 1050W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1260.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-21 12:15 EDT-0400)

Now, speaking specifically regarding cases, I don't particularly like giving specific case recommendations on a whim. I personally feel that a case, being that you are the one dealing with its appearance and size every day, should come down to personal preference. That said, I'll give you a bit of information based on my experience:

My first three builds were done in Mid-Tower ATX cases that cost only $50 and came with an included power supply. Two of them were the same model case from Raidmax and the other was an Enermax case. While none of these three cases felt completely cheap or flimsy to me, I did notice that the side panels would occasionally flex and warp when they were off the case and on one of the cases the side panel was difficult to get back in place. The tabs didn't want to engage the chassis in the proper slots and once the side panel was properly installed it still didn't line up flush against all the edges.

In my fourth build, done for a friend, I reused the case from his existing HP computer. It was a Micro-ATX Mid-Tower case and the internal space difference was very noticeable. I was extremely grateful that I was using a modular PSU in this build because I have no idea how I would have managed to keep all the extra cables clear in such a small case with a standard PSU.

All four of the cases I used had zero cable routing features. I had to shove any extra, unused cabling into the vacant internal HDD bays as best as I could to get the out of the way. They all had top mounting PSUs as well, which made this more difficult.

I'm currently prepping for my fourth build, and have already made my case selection and purchased a non-windowed Thermaltake Level 10 GTS. I have not actually assembled the PC yet as I am waiting until Haswell comes out to purchase the majority of my parts, but I did pull this case out of the box and give it a thorough inspection. Immediately after taking the case out of the box I was extremely impressed its quality of workmanship. I could feel the difference in the quality before even taking it apart. In taking the case apart and inspecting it, I was impressed with how roomy it was and loved the ventilation and cable management options. The side panels still had a little bit of give to them, but no more than you would expect from any thin sheet of metal and certainly less than the previous cases I had worked with. I also had no difficulties getting the panels back in place and they lined up flush in all the places where they met the chassis. After experiencing a "real case", I can confidently say I will never build with anything cheaper again.

Anyway, all this to say I highly recommend getting a good quality case with some decent cable management features. I definitely recommend not going smaller than an ATX Mid Tower case on your first build, unless space is a big consideration for you. I also recommend getting a case in which the PSU mounts on the bottom. Beyond that you simply need to decide what features are more important to you: ventilation, noise levels, size, appearance, etc. I obviously also recommend sticking with a good quality brand. In general I would probably classify (in no particular order) Thermaltake, Corsair, Lian-Li, Antec, Cooler Master, Fractal Design, and NZXT as good quality case manufacturers. Pick out a case you like the general look and features of and I'd be happy to tell you what I think of it. If you have a large PC parts store like Fry's or MicroCenter in your area then I also definitely recommend seeing if they carry any cases that you are interested in and taking a trip down to check them out in person before ordering them online. This can really help to give you a feel for the quality of the case.

P.S. If you still feel completely lost on where to begin in selecting a case, I highly recommend skimming some of the Tom's Hardware Case Review Articles. If you see a specific case in one of those reviews that wins your heart then go for it (unless you don't like the price). If none of those specific cases blows you away then start looking through some of the cases on Newegg (they have great pictures so you can get a feel for the look and include the dimensions as well so you get an idea of the size) and pick out a few that you like. Post them here and I will try to help you sort through them.

BillHones · Mar 23, 2013

wow! thanks for that. i appreciate the help rather than the, search for this thread... threads always taper off and can be misleading. after searching more than i can count in my history, there comes a point where that amount of info is a bad thing, and you just need to ask for help.

i can understand your point about cases, but pointing out the simple key items to look for really helps. i would not have initially thought about them.

having some perfectionist attributes, i really want to make the best possible decisions.

thanks again!

Isaiah4110 · Mar 25, 2013

No problem. I'm glad I could help.

I'll keep monitoring this thread, so if you throw out any other questions I should see them and be able to respond as well.

BillHones · Mar 31, 2013

hello to all. with a bit more hw, i have refined some parts on isaiahs intel build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NAvZ

i went with a better mobo, and ditched the second hdd. the price of a ssd and hdd equals the price of that ssd. i never ever came close to having that much data any way.

i picked that case over the antec 300 illusion , one because the antec is out of stock, and two because the antec is out of stock lol. plus i like it.

i was going to to do a msi lightning 7970 but they are out a bit more pricey. i think for the price, the performance gain is not great enough. at least from the content i have read. the community seems split on gigabyte and sapphire.

i will be buying the first components this week, and finish buying the parts after getting paid come weeks end.

i read many many topics on the power supply. seems like a personal opinion matter. seems like you want a ps that runs at 50 to 80 percent. from others i talked to and builds i stalked, 850w should be good even with an over clocking/potential water cooling/2 gpu.

9mm · Apr 1, 2013

Great build and part selection! Best of luck.

Isaiah4110 · Apr 3, 2013

Good list. Enjoy the new build!

BillHones · Apr 14, 2013

so the build is complete! i started last night and finished this morning. only error came from the idle speed issue with the evo 212 not running at the 600rpm at start up that the stock intel fan runs at, and bios is set to. i then hit F1, went into bios and configured the cpu fan minimum to 500 rpm. the evo 212 runs at about 580rpm in bios. first times the charm! lol. pretty easy i thought. much fun

no windows 7 as of yet. should be here tomorrow. i was waiting on someone to get a college discount on a copy, but the school store only offered 8 at 65 dollars. they took two weeks to find out that info. a bit disappointing.

so some notes about the build. the 500r was a little disappointing. for the price point i thought the screws and other "hardware" would have been more precise. they have a similar to the feel to sheet metal screws. cheap and you hope you dont strip it. not precise tight snug nuts and bolts. one side panel thumb screw was stripped on arrival and two inside on the pci slots. another con was i actually had to grind rivets down to get the power supply to rest on the pads as it was supposed too. they were mis shaped it seemed. my next case will mount the gpu vertically and have handles on the top.

the cables routed very easily and i was able to run every cable behind the mobo side for a super clean look.

only other thing is the evo 212 can twist and slide if you hold it help mount the mobo. i did some reading, seems like a common problem. should be fine as all pins are aligned and screws tight. bios cpu temp is 22c to 27c.

asus VH236H is a little wobbly.

thats about it. ill let you all know how the os installs and if everything else is peachy.

thanks

amd fx6300 & hd7970 build

Honorable

Judicious

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Splendid

Distinguished

Honorable

Distinguished

Distinguished

Honorable

Distinguished

Honorable

Distinguished

Honorable

Distinguished

Distinguished

Honorable

Share this page