Trying to find the best CPU/GPU combo for $500 max

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Soupcup

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Sep 2, 2013
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Title says it all, I've been looking at many various threads, and find many different preferences, but nothing really definitive, I guess. I have 500 at most, maybe a little more if it's not too much more, to spend towards a CPU/GPU, and have thought about many different combinations (such as i5-3570k/gtx 760, fx 8320/radeon 7970, etc) but I basically just want to get the most out of my money, and am not sure what that might be. The computer will pretty much be used solely for gaming. Thanks in advance, everyone.
 
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Doesn't add up... A cpu and gpu aren't going to do you any good without a system around it. Do you already have a case, hard drive, ram, etc?

Since you are open to either amd or intel, that tells me that you don't already have a motherboard. That's $100-150. You can get a radeon hd 7950 for $220. That would leave you with about $170 for a cpu. Just so happens that an fx 8350 is that price.

You would still need ram, hard drive and case. You really need to tell us what you already have.
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intikhab

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Apr 24, 2012
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You should get haswell i5-4670k with 760gtx for 1920X1080 gaming. but you need haswell motherboard for i5-4670k too. Haswell is better in single threaded processing with more pipeline hardware too
 
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DarylEPerez

DarylEPerez

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Apr 30, 2013
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For 500$ I would highly suggest you to go with GTX 760 and FX 8350.

GPU: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperClocked-Dual-Link-Graphics-02G-P4-2765-KR/dp/B00DHW4HXY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378308010&sr=8-1&keywords=gtx+760

CPU: http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FD8350FRHKBOX-FX-8350-FX-Series-Edition/dp/B009O7YUF6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378308073&sr=8-1&keywords=8350

GTX 760 it's a performance per value so should get HIGHER performance than Radeon's 7870-7950 and ALMOST same performance as 7970 at a lowered price. Paired up with 8350 to make sure you won't be bottleneck any time soon or even if you decide to upgrade near in the future.

Take a look at them :)
 
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flexxar

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Doesn't add up... A cpu and gpu aren't going to do you any good without a system around it. Do you already have a case, hard drive, ram, etc?

Since you are open to either amd or intel, that tells me that you don't already have a motherboard. That's $100-150. You can get a radeon hd 7950 for $220. That would leave you with about $170 for a cpu. Just so happens that an fx 8350 is that price.

You would still need ram, hard drive and case. You really need to tell us what you already have.
 
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maddogfargo

maddogfargo

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You really can't go wrong with the 2 options you mention in the OP. Both are very good.

I'd recommend $200 on the CPU and $300 on the GPU. Neither the i5 nor the FX 8300 series CPUs will have any trouble performing well. So I'd focus on getting the best single GPU you can for the money.
 
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intikhab

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his graphics cards deal is good but personally I don't have any good experience with amd drivers in long run(5+ years) though compared with NVidia which still gives driver improvements which eventually trickle to older models too unlike AMD
EDIT: I am talking about past don't know present drivers of AMD
 
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DarylEPerez

DarylEPerez

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Just what I recommended, GTX 760 which is a performance per value card, performance better than 7950 and gets close to 7970. Paired up with FX 8350.
 
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flexxar

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7950 comes with free games. If you hold the coupon, you can probably pick up BF4 for free. The 7950 is also around $220 while the 760 is up around $250. The 7950 kills the 760 in value.

 
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DarylEPerez

DarylEPerez

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I wasn't into games or whatever it brings for free. I'am talking about performance, which is what the guy is looking for. Now, if he mentioned he needed free games, of course I would go with AMD. Let's not look at what it brings for free, but what you get for what you pay in terms of it's chip. as much as 35% clock speed and better effective memory clock speed. Up to 35%% better FPS in games such as Battlefield 3, far cry 3 etc. All that power at a lowered power consumption than what the 7950 can offer.

Not disrespecting your opinion man, but basically I would go with GTX 760 for it's performance over 7950 and not for free stuff 7950 brings.
 
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DarylEPerez

DarylEPerez

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7970 it's 350 itself.. lol, I doubt you will find a 4670k for 150$, not even used.
 
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flexxar

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Sources please?...

Your claim about the 760 being faster than the 7950 is bogus. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.html

When they did that review, both cards were $250 and it was a tie. Now the 7950 is $220 while the 760 is still $250. 7950 is a better value.

The three free games are just one hell of a bonus. It saved me over $100. I was going to buy BF4 for $60, but now I should be able to get it for free.
 
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DarylEPerez

DarylEPerez

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Well, besides personal experience into gaming since my cousin own it lol.. Here are the specs for EVGA GTX 760 and Radeon 7950.

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/8611/dmvu.png

Just took a screenshot of it.
 
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flexxar

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Specs don't matter. Benchmarks do.

Saying a card is faster because it has a higher clockrate is like saying your car is faster because it has higher rpm's. It doesn't mean anything until you see what else is under the hood.

Either way, I'm sure your specs will mention how the 7950 has 1792 shader units while the 760 only has 1152 and the 7950 has a 384 bit memory bus while the 760 only has 256. And how the 7950 has 112 texture units while the 760 only has 96. Right?
 
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