Trying to Finish AMD Gaming build

brpeden82 · Apr 20, 2013

Approximate Purchase Date: next week

Budget Range: 300-500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet

Are you buying a monitor: Maybe

Parts to Upgrade:Add Graphics, CPU Cooler, OS, DVD-RW and maybe Monitor

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com

Location: Wesson, Mississippi USA 39191
Parts Preferences: by brand or type AMD/Radeon

Overclocking: Maybe if Need to Get Enough Perfomance

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution:1600x900 maybe upgrade to 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Please Select Cost Effective and not the most expensive

This is the parts i Have and Ordered

AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor FD6300WMHKBOX
139.99

ASUS M5A97 R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
94.99

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
69.99

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
59.99

CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
59.99

Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - OEM
59.99

This the Monitor i Currently Own
Acer G206HLBbd (UM.DG6AA.B01) Black 20" 5ms Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor 200 cd/m2 ACM 100,000,000:1 (600:1)

I currently leased a graphics card from CuttingEdgeGamer.com but when i got it in it too long with the top hard cage in on the HAF 912. AMD Recommneds a minumum of 500 watt power supply for the HD 7970 but the Sapphire Vapor-X Gigahertz Edition 7970 says on the box requires 750 watt power supply. Couple with it costing 459.99 and alot of 7970 are cheaper on Newegg i Currently can send the card back and cancel the lease. I am worried that my power supply is not big enough and the AMD FX-6300 will bottleneck the 7970. I think it be better to get something lower to be more balanced and fit my power supply and monitor. I can buy the card outright for 459.99 from them a brand new card. box was sealed when i got it.

The big question is what graphics will you suggest for 1600x900 20" monitor if i dont upgrade the monitor as i dont have any graphics card now. The games i have and play are Crysis 1,2,3 , Battlefield 3, Bioshock Infine, Tomb Raider, Metro 2033

I just trying to build a balanced gaming pc that cost effective but dont have loads of money to blow.

Currently thinking a somewhere along the lines like either 7850 2GB,7870, 7870 LE or 7950 $150-300 Range

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DVDE818A7T/BLK/B/GEN CD Reader, DVD Writer ($18.32 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VH232H 23.0" Monitor ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $438.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

The 7850 is more than enough for 1600x900 gaming. It is a shame that you already purchased BioShock and Tomb Raider as the 7850 comes with these games currently(could have used these funds to invest towards better gpu and monitor).

Also, is it possible to return or refuse delivery on any of the purchased components?

brpeden82 · Apr 20, 2013

I have not purchased Bioshock or tomb raider they come with a 7850 1GB i had before i got t he 7970. i did buy crysis 3

brpeden82 · Apr 20, 2013

Yes it is possible to refuse for memory, motherboard already have case and hdd and psu not return on them. what your thoughts on my parts. cant return CPU

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

Return the motherboard and pickup up a MSI 990FXA-GD65V2 from Newegg. It current comes with Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600. Will result in same quality ram and a better motherboard and will save you $34

With these saving maybe even pickup a Galaxy 66NPH7DV6VXZ GeForce GTX 660 Ti which is currently $255 AR and comes with Metro Last Light (if you are interested in the game since you were playing Metro 2033).

brpeden82 · Apr 20, 2013

yeah i see that a better deal. would a buy a better card if upgrade to monitor,. the budget just a example i could spend 100-200 more

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

brpeden82 :

There isn't any real need to surpass the $500 budget you set unless you want a larger screen with 1440P resolution.

brpeden82 · Apr 20, 2013

the problem with the free games they download from and i have satellite internet. i havent downloaded bioshock or tomb raider becuase of limited data. and why a 660ti for AMD build

ksham · Apr 20, 2013

It's still a good card even if you can't get the bonus package.

slomo4sho · Apr 20, 2013

brpeden82 :

nVidia GPUs work just as well with AMD CPUs. The Galaxy card is a great value if you use plan on playing the game and sits comfortably between the 7870 and 7950 in performance.

If you want to stick with a pure AMD build then the SAPPHIRE 100354XTL Radeon HD 7870 XT is a good choice.

Also, if you have a USB HD(can even work with large enough flash drive), download the contents at a location with a better internet connection and then transport them to your machine. BioShock and Tomb Raider don't require internet connection past the Steam validation.

brpeden82 · Apr 20, 2013

I am currently up in the air about keeping the HD 7970 and buying from cuttingedgegamer.com.
My question will the fx-6300 bottleneck the hd 7970 and the 2013 best configs reccomends this configuration.
Is this overkilk for 1080P?

slomo4sho · Apr 21, 2013

Unless you got a killer deal on that 7970, its better to drop down to a HD 7950 or 7870XT/LE and investing the difference in upgrading other components like the CPU.

ksham · Apr 21, 2013

slomo4sho :

You are contradicting yourself.

slomo4sho · Apr 21, 2013

ksham :

Meant CPU

The 7970 is overkill for 1080P, there are plenty of other upgrade options available where the funds could be better utilized. OP can easily go up to a FX 8350 if he funneled the cost difference between a 7950 and 7970 (typically a $100 difference in price between the two cards) into just the CPU. But since he can't return the current CPU, adding a SSD to the build would be a good choice.

brpeden82 · Apr 21, 2013

The deal is i have 5 days from today to decide if i wanna buy the card or send it back. i lleased the card the 12 i have 14 daays to cancel the lease.

brpeden82 · Apr 21, 2013

i cant fit a 7950 and ssd. hell with 500 with and shipping before rebates i cant fit a 7870. i am not sending the motherboard back 84.98 was a good deal for a ASUS board. i dont plan on crossfirin. so the MSI 990FX board be a waste of money i understand the free ram but it off brand too.

slomo4sho · Apr 21, 2013

brpeden82 :

Not sure how you are fitting a monitor, SSD, cooler, OS, DVD-RW in your budget when you currently are in the air about keeping the 7970 which probably ran you $375-450

As mentioned earlier, if you returned the motherboard and ram and picked up the MSI board, you should be able to pickup the other components listed in the originally suggested parts and replace the 7850 with a HD 7870 XT/LE and still be within the $500 budget.

Alternatively, this SAPPHIRE 100354OC-2L Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB would be a good choice as well for your budget.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DVDE818A7T/BLK/B/GEN CD Reader, DVD Writer ($18.32 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VH232H 23.0" Monitor ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $488.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Total is $518.25 before rebates. Which is within your $500+$34(the saving from switching motherboard/ram).

brpeden82 :

Lastly, you said your $300-500 budget was just an example and that you could add in another $100-200 more. I can only go off what you say.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($289.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DVDE818A7T/BLK/B/GEN CD Reader, DVD Writer ($18.32 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VH232H 23.0" Monitor ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $663.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

The total is $698.25 before rebates. This is how the SSD would have fit with a 7950 if you had expanded your budget as mentioned.

brpeden82 · Apr 21, 2013

i am not returning the ram and motherboard. because in my eye the ASUS is a better board than MSI. i can couldnt care less about the 990FX chipset. I do not plan on crossfiring in the future. Team RAM is not a brand i do not know about. i bought the Corsair RAM because it on the ASUS QVL list. the exact model i bought. i k now about the tall heat sinks. i bought the motheroboard because it was $10 off. i have bad dealings with rebates. and my budget is set to exactly $500.

slomo4sho · Apr 21, 2013

brpeden82 :

I gave you my suggestions, do with them what you may. I am not going to argue the merits between the 990FX and the 970 or whether brand X is better than brand Y or Z. Nonetheless, you seem to have a difficult time making up your mind so I would encourage you do to more research before making your final decision. Good luck with your build.

brpeden82 · Apr 21, 2013

Is the performace difference that great between 7870 2GB and 7950 that great. i had a ssd and not sure it worth the cost. i am sorry yes i having trouble making up mind. i have done my research i know at 1080P the standard 7870 get 63FPS on medium in crysis 3. which is what i am the building the PC for. i appreciate your help. i need a graphics beause i dont have one. anything above a 7850 with 1600x900 resolution would be a waste in my opinon. so if upgrade my monitor to 1080P which i want to really. i know i bought it a month ago but i have had 23" monitor and 22" 1680x1050. and the differnce to me is night and day. i all honest i would want Intel core i5 build but it is what it is.and OEM windows 7 is not for induviduals. that why i got Windows 8 in my cart it is for personal use where windows 7 oem is not. windows 7 full is for individuals. i have been screwed by the activation and had to buy another copy.

brpeden82 · Apr 21, 2013

here is my total build on pcpartpicker

PCPartPicker

Trying to Finish AMD Gaming build

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