Help finalizing another budget build AMD FX-6350

antimagiclotion · May 4, 2013

I just love the arma 2 mod, DayZ; however, my current set up fails to provide an enjoyable gaming experience. Since this game is extremely CPU intensive, my old 6600 2.4GHz duo core has got to go. I will eventually replace my 2x 9800 gt's(SLI) and my hard drive.

I just need help finalizing my purchase.
I have around $280 to spend on a new mbo, CPU, and ram.
I've decided to get the AMD FX-6350.
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Now aside from the stock core speed and the slight increase in power consumption, is there any significant difference between the AMD FX-6300 and the 6350? Considering they're the same price, wouldn't it be logical to go with the 6350?(assuming the increased power consumption doesn't bother me) Eventually I will be overclocking my CPU, but I plan on waiting a couple months.

As for the motherboard, the MSI 970A-G46 looks promising.

For the memory, I was thinking on going with the G.Skill brand as they have a lot of positive reviews.
G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
Timing 9-10-9-28
Cas Latency 9
Voltage 1.5V
Will be running all this on Win 7 OS. Is there anything wrong with this set up? Also, if you have any other suggestions or ideas please let me know. I want to get this set up cleared so I can go ahead and make the purchase.

slomo4sho · May 4, 2013

The 6300 is currently $20 cheaper than the 6350. If you plan on overclocking, it would likely be better to go with the 6300. The 6350 is just a refresh of the 6300 with higher base clock speed and higher TDP.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($59.40 @ NCIX US)
Total: $274.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($118.98 @ SuperBiiz)

antimagiclotion · May 4, 2013

I really appreciate the fast reply.
I've had impeccable service ordering from Newegg and I want to stick with what's familiar. Plus I want to keep everything together.
The price of the both the 6300 and the 6350 are the same at newegg. Also, I don't plan on overclocking until the warranty expires. With that said, would you still recommend the 6300?
As for the mobo and ram. The ASRock 970 that you suggested looks awesome, and I will get that instead of the MSI. (thanks btw)
That me with $65 to spend on ram. I'm sure a difference of $5-$10 won't hurt me too badly. With that in mind, what would you suggest from new egg?
Thank you so much btw slomo4sho.

antimagiclotion · May 4, 2013

One more thing to add, does the ASRock 970 EXTREME3 support SLI? I see that it is crossfire friendly, but I don't see anything about SLI. Thanks

slomo4sho · May 5, 2013

antimagiclotion :

It doesn't. However, the MSI 970A-G46 does so stick with that if you want to keep the option of SLI open in the future.

Here is a list of SLI compatible boards. The ASRock 990FX Extreme3 is a great choice if you can fit it into your budget.

cmi86 · May 5, 2013

I heard you say you plan on overclocking at some point. Stay away from the cheap 4+1 970 boards especially that MSI. @ 1.42 V core the VRM's were so hot they bled so much heat into my CPU/socket that caused it to thermal throttle under load. I tried an Extreme4, 970A-G46 and the 970 U3S3 and they were all junk. None of them could hold their beans together at anything above 4.2Ghz. The reaon for this is that the FX's are thirsty chips and they need a solid power supply system. The cheap 4+1 systems found in about 99% of 970 boards just cant hack it with a decent OC. I finally got tired of playing the cheap board game and picked up an Asus M5A99FX Pro 2.0 and wua-la, I had 4.5Ghz @ 1.38v temps @ 45c max on 212 Evo. I am only saying this because I personally had the misfortune of finding this out the hard way and I'm trying to save you the trouble. Consider buying this board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519 It has 8+2 phase power which is much better suited for FX's and it is also a gigabyte "ultra durable" series board which are excellent and I have never had problems with. Pus it's only $100.00

slomo4sho · May 5, 2013

cmi86 :

This board doesn't support SLI. The 990FX is the best solution for both his overclocking needs and desire to have the capacity to SLI.

antimagiclotion · May 5, 2013

cmi86 and slomo4sho thanks for your informative replies. You guys have saved me from what would've been quite the headache. Now I'm definitely glad I waited 2 days to make this purchase. So 8+2 means better less voltage fluctuations and better CPU stability when overclocking? Isn't the 990FX still 4+1? Is it still good for over clocking? I know I mentioned I wanted SLI but that's only to hold me off for another 2 months until I get the cash for a better card. however, if having SLI means I can't overclock as much I think I might go with the GIGABYTE GA-970A. What do you guys think? Thank you both for the prompt and helpful replies.

cmi86 · May 5, 2013

Yes the extreme 3 990FX is a 4+1 board. I guess if you have any intention on overclocking at all whether you want SLI at some point of not do not buy a 4+1 board, they just don't overclock. Unfortunately the only boars that are going to offer 8+2 and do SLI are around the $140 price range. The 2 best choices I could suggest are the Asus M5A99FX Pro 2.0 or the Gigabyte 990 FXA-UD3. I personally can attest to the asus board as a wonderful piece of thec, im sure the gigabyte is very nice too as I have never had issues with their boards. here are links.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514 Gigabyte

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851 Asus

antimagiclotion · May 6, 2013

Alright cool.Thanks for clearing that up. How do you like your 6300? What games are you into? So what about the FX-6300 vs the FX-6350? They're the same price at newegg. Also, is the RAM I mentioned above good?

cmi86 · May 6, 2013

antimagiclotion :

I am extremely happy with the 6300. I have mine clocked to 4.5 and it just rips through everything i throw at it. I am often quite blown away at how quick this thing is for the money you spend. Sure it's no i7 but it's damn fast for $130, especially clocked high which is no problem on a good board. The 6350 is still somewhat new but as far as I can tell it is basically a factory overclocked 6300 that pulls more watts. You could always buy the lower wattage 6300 and clock it higher than the 6350 is anyways, all the same if they are the same price I don't really see a down side to picking up the 6350. The RAM you have selected is perfect. I play basically all the shooter, BF3, MW3, B.O.2, Dead Space, Devil May Cry 5, Skyrim, Dishonored, Assasins Creed, heck even some minecraft lol. I play all these titles on max settings and rarely ever fall below 60 FPS, granted I have a lot of graphics horsepower but still the CPU has gotta keep up with all that power.. and it does !

antimagiclotion · May 6, 2013

It looks like I won't be able to afford the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3
What about this board ASRock 970 EXTREME4? I know it's still 4+1, but it seems to be a lot better then the MSI.

cmi86 · May 6, 2013

antimagiclotion :

It is much better than the MSI as far as build quality but the problem still persists that it is a 4+1 board. If you can manage to save another $50 you would be in great shape but if you cant you might have to drop SLI capability to get an 8+2 board, or the other way around you will have to sacrifice overclocking potential to keep SLI. I would rather wait a bit and get a board that does all the things I want instead of settling for a board that only does half the things I want.

antimagiclotion · May 6, 2013

I managed to come up with the extra cash; however, instead of going with the 6300, What if I went for the AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz ($20 discount on newegg), and waited to overclock. What would be the best board for this chip that also supports SLI? Keep in mind I wouldn't be overclocking.

cmi86 · May 6, 2013

antimagiclotion :

The thing is with that is that there are hardly any softwares that take advantage of the 8350's core count in it's self. What I am saying is that with how much FX scales in performance as you clock up you will see much higher average performance across different usage scenarios out of a 4.5 Ghz 6300 than a 4 Ghz 8350. However if you really want to buy an unlocked processor and never overclock it lol than the Extreme4 should be fine.

antimagiclotion · May 6, 2013

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I'm thinking about long term. In the future won't more games be able to take advantage of all 8 cores? I would eventually overclock it, but it wouldn't be for a while. By then, perhaps I'll have a job and I'll be able to get a new mobo. I've never overclocked before and a part of me is rather nervous about it. So, even with the 6300, I wouldn't be overclocking for 6 months or so. So the asrock 970 extreme4 would be a good mobo for the 8350? I really value your input and thank you for putting up with my indecisiveness.

cmi86 · May 6, 2013

antimagiclotion :

The extreme 4 will support the 8350 just fine as long as you don't overclock it. The only downside to it besides the obvious overclocking limitations is that when in SLI or CFX the 970 chipset will split the X16 pci-e bandwidth by 2 to an 8X per slot bus speed in order to run both cards. This may result in a performance draw back when gaming. SLI is more of a high end thing even though your cards are not so high end in themselves, it still takes a high end board to run multi GPU set ups properly. My suggestion would be to grab the 6300, a good 990FX board that will run your SLI properly (like the asus or gigabyte i suggested) and be able to OC when you are ready to learn it and try it then Wait for steamroller (next gen of FX cpu's) to come out and then upgrade to a bigger better faster CPU that will run on to the quality motherboard you already own. Upgrading the CPU will be a FAR easier upgrade than the motherboard as it will not require re installing the OS, all your software and preferences and all the drivers as the motherboard will.

antimagiclotion · May 6, 2013

Will I run into this problem with the ASRock 990FX Extreme3(using the 8350)? Or would the gigabyte be better? There is a $10 rebate for the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 and a $20 discount for the 8350. The offer ends today. I really appreciate your input.

antimagiclotion · May 6, 2013

Thanks for all your input. I'm going to listen to reason and get the fx6300 with the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3. Your logic is too impeccable to ignore. Now for the ram, is there anything a little cheaper?

cmi86 · May 6, 2013

antimagiclotion :

Just trying to help ya build a good system man, glad I could help.
This is the least expensive dual channel 8 GB kit I could recommend
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
it's not much of a savings over your current selection but it's something.

antimagiclotion · May 6, 2013

So with the fx6350, the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3, and the ram you just recommended, I shouldn't run into any incompatibility issues?

cmi86 · May 6, 2013

antimagiclotion :

Nope they are all 100% compatible with each other.
Glad I could be of assistance, if there is anything else you need to know feel free to ask otherwise please select a best answer and good luck with your new build and happy computing !

antimagiclotion · May 6, 2013

On the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 website under ram I didn't see the gskill listed as being compatible.

cmi86 · May 6, 2013

antimagiclotion :

RAM manufacturers are so abundant with so many different part numbers it makes it basically impossible for a motherboard vendor to keep up with everything that is out there and continually update their support page. Motherboard manufacturers will generally list all the compatible RAM at the time when the board is released and then rarely if at all update the memory support page. One of the guys I game with runs a 990FXA with the Gskill Ripjaw X's and it runs just fine. I wouldn't worry man.

antimagiclotion · May 6, 2013

Alright sweet. Once again you're awesome. I've decided to go with the 6300 instead of the 6350 as people report better overclocking results with air alone. Although, this is enticing
http://

Help finalizing another budget build AMD FX-6350

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