Gaming PC at 1080p

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aydterracer2005

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It's been 6 years since my last build and I now have the itch to build another gaming rig. I want this to run all new games (bf4, titanfall, eventually half life 3) at max settings and to last several years before I need to upgrade. I will be using this to game in my living room on a 58 in 1080p plasma tv and surround system.

My questions for you:

My budget is $800 ish (for compenents / case only) will this be able to meet my expectations to play on max settings at 1080p? Please help me with the build as I am not sure if it's better to go with AMD or Intel i5 or i7. Please note I am unfamiliar with over clocking so not planning on that. Sorry to sound like a new but I haven't been keeping up with PC tech for quiet sometime now.

What do I need to be concerned about if I case this in a small form factor? Or will it be more cost effective to stick with a ATX mid tower like I currently have?

How important is it to have a smaller SSD along with a regular 1TB drive? If it's not that big of a deal should I consider getting a single Solid state hybrid 1TB for about $110?

Should I get 16 Gb or RAM or will 8 be good enough?


I truly appreciate the help! Please let me know if you need more information.
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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Do you need to buy an OS?

On $800, it's not possible to build a system that will max all games (to max Crysis 3 @1920x1080 requires at least double that budget), but you can build a powerful system that can max most games, and still run games like crysis 3 at high settings.

I'd suggest at least a microATX build in order to get the most performance for you money.

An SSD will improve overall system responsiveness, but has little impact on gaming performance.
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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If you don't need an OS or other components; my humble suggestion:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($85.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master RC-430-KWN6 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ Outlet PC)

Total: $767.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 
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aydterracer2005

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Thanks for the response. my budget is for the tower and inside parts only. I already have a copy of windows 7 64 bit and might consider trying out steamos once released.

If complete max settings are not attainable I do want to be able to run games on high/ultra on my plasma

Any other thoughts anyone? I am open to all suggestions as I haven't been keeping up with tech like I use to.

If I stretch my budget a bit say make it $900 would I get a pretty big step up?
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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For a pure gaming machine, I would use the extra $100 to accommodate future upgrades, in the form of a motherboard that supports SLI/xfire and a higher wattage PSU, or, if you'd rather not open the case much, I'd use it for a SLI build right now.
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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Right now SLI build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master RC-430-KWN6 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ Outlet PC)

Total: $861.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 
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aydterracer2005

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Sorry for so many questions but I do have another important one for you. I know numbers aren't everything but would an AMD 8 core processor perform better than an intel quad core?

Any thoughts in a hybrid hard drive or are they junk
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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In gaming, the I5 is superior right now. The 8-core FX series may catch up when more games are actually coded to use 8 cores if available. The only title to do that right now is Crysis 3. The 8350 does outperform the i5 slightly in that title. No other games use more than 4 cores yet, and even the 4-core games are somewhat few in number.
 
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aydterracer2005

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With that said, would you suggests the AMD route if I am wanting to be more "future proof". Am I going to notice a significant difference in most games based on the AMD vs intel processors you mentioned? Can I use the 660 in SLI with a AMD processor?
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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No, I still recommend the I5. Like I already said, in Crysis 3, the 8350 only slightly outperforms the i5. That means that even if future games can use all 8 cores, the 8350 is only slightly better than the i5. The vast majority of games use 4 or fewer, and the i5 wins by a large margin.

Both AMD and Nvidia cards work with both Intel and AMD CPU's.
 
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aydterracer2005

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Sounds like I will be basing my build around the i5 then. I certainly appreciate the help!
 
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SgtStiffler

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With next-gen consoles both using 8 cores, it's more likely that most games coming out now will make use of all 8 cores. I'd go with the 8350 based off price-performance. This is what AMD is better at than Intel.
 
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aydterracer2005

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That's what I was trying to ask in one of my earlier comments. If I go AMD do you have any other suggestions for my Build in the $800 - $900 range
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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The Xbox 360 has a triple core CPU which was also made by AMD, and each core can handle two threads (for 6 threads total). The PS3 actually has 9 (8 available to developers) asymmetrical cores that make up its CPU. Based on your logic, that means current PC games ported from consoles should already be using 6-8 threads, as those consoles have been around for nearly a decade now. They don't.

Having x86 CPU's in the new generation will make PC ports easier for developers, but does not mean that games will be quickly adopted to highly threaded logic. Game engines are not something that lend themselves easily to concurrent processing. Speaking from experience, parallel programming is hard. Graphics loads, on the other hand can be easily split into simultaneous sub-processes, which is why video cards have huge counts of relatively weak cores.
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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Examine the numbers, don't just repeat the rhetoric.

AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($153.61 @ Amazon)
AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.98 @ Outlet PC)

Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Amazon)

The upper end of the FX series is poor value for a gaming machine. You need to heavily overclock an 8350 to meet the stock gaming performance of a lower end i5 in 99.99% of games. This means you need to buy an aftermarket cooler (+$30) and a motherboard with a high phase# voltage regulator (+$20). At that point you've already spent as much or more than it would have cost to buy an upper end I5.

Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.98 @ Outlet PC)
Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ Outlet PC)

Don't get me wrong, I think the 4300 and 6300 are great processors, and I recommend those on lower budgets (like in the $500 build in my sig). In the lower-mid range, AMD CPU's are better value, but not here.

NTM the 8 core FX chips haven't been TH's recommended gaming CPU's for a long time, if they ever were.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-3.html
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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Since you don't plan to overclock, an 8-core AMD chip is a waste in a gaming system.

 
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