Hey everyone,
So I've completed my budget gaming build and would like the communities input! I've been hearing a lot about getting a better GPU and less ram but realistically, I'll be doing more heavy load on the RAM then I would be doing on the GPU anyway.
I'm going to OC my GPU more than the original factory OC settings (1075MHz). I'm unsure if I should OC my CPU and if I should use the OC Genie II provided with my MSI MOBO or use that then adjust accordingly. I'm trying to stay away from playing with the voltage as I really want to avoid frying anything. Your inputs will be much appreciated!
EDIT 10/16 _1: So I ran PCMark 7 (http://www.3dmark.com/pcm7/727759) and it looks like my CPU didn't quite fluctuate too much in terms of temperature. I used three monitoring software's while running the test; MSI Control Center, GPU Monitor, and CPUID HWMonitor. Where I really noticed a peak in temperature difference was my GPU. Idle time is great or even while just using the computer for basic things (browsing, watching videos, etc) and fluctuates between 45-50. Now the interesting part was when it went under load while playing 3D Videos from the PCMark 7 software. The temperature spiked to 80 and as soon as the video is finished drops immediately back down to 60. Aside from that, saw no major red flags while doing the PCMark 7 benchmarks. Next to do is a 3DMark 11 benchmark, will update once finished.
EDIT 10/16 _2: I just ran 3DMark 11 (http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7325317) using the Benchmark Test Only option. Very surprisingly during the test, my temperatures didn't fluctuate as much as I thought it would. CPU temp reached 48C as expected. My GPU temp MAX was 63C and is now 41C after the test. This is testing with default settings. During the 3DMark 11 benchmark tests, my CPU and GPU performed much better than I thought they would have. Cheers to that!
EDIT 10/16 _3: My GPU is originally factory OC. I am now playing with it to find it's maximum potential, slowly raising the MHz (currently at 1085). New 3DMark 11 score http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7325443 .
EDIT 10/16 _4: Maxed out my core to 1200MHz which resulted in a decent boost without increasing my temperatures of my GPU. ( http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7325575 ) My current memory clock is also maxed out at 6400MHz. I do not want to play with voltage so I believe this is the best it will get.
EDIT 10/16 _5 : Did more benchmark tests with Unigine Heaven 4.0 with different settings during each tests. Here are the following results: (score will be in format of [FPS, Score, Min FPS, Max FPS]
Quality: High | Tessellation: Disabled | Anti-Alias: Disabled ---> 55.8, 1405, 23.2, 119.4
Quality: Ultra| Tessellation: Disabled| Anti-Alias: x2 ------------> 49.3, 1242, 21.5, 97.2
Quality: Ultra| Tessellation: Extreme | Anti-Alias: Disabled ----> 33.2, 836, 17.7, 78.1
Quality: Ultra | Tessellation: Extreme | Anti-Alias: x8 -----------> 26.6, 671, 7.0, 61.1
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ ($74.99 @ Amazon)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 ($79.98 @ Amazon)
GPU: ASUS Radeon 7790 OC 2GB ($142.99 @ Fry's Electronics)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower ($29.00 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan x3($8.51 @ Amazon)
Fan Controller: NZXT SENTRY 2 Accessories 5.25-Inch Touch Screen Fan Controller (Black)($24.75@ Amazon)
PSU: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($66@ Amazon)
So I've completed my budget gaming build and would like the communities input! I've been hearing a lot about getting a better GPU and less ram but realistically, I'll be doing more heavy load on the RAM then I would be doing on the GPU anyway.
I'm going to OC my GPU more than the original factory OC settings (1075MHz). I'm unsure if I should OC my CPU and if I should use the OC Genie II provided with my MSI MOBO or use that then adjust accordingly. I'm trying to stay away from playing with the voltage as I really want to avoid frying anything. Your inputs will be much appreciated!
EDIT 10/16 _1: So I ran PCMark 7 (http://www.3dmark.com/pcm7/727759) and it looks like my CPU didn't quite fluctuate too much in terms of temperature. I used three monitoring software's while running the test; MSI Control Center, GPU Monitor, and CPUID HWMonitor. Where I really noticed a peak in temperature difference was my GPU. Idle time is great or even while just using the computer for basic things (browsing, watching videos, etc) and fluctuates between 45-50. Now the interesting part was when it went under load while playing 3D Videos from the PCMark 7 software. The temperature spiked to 80 and as soon as the video is finished drops immediately back down to 60. Aside from that, saw no major red flags while doing the PCMark 7 benchmarks. Next to do is a 3DMark 11 benchmark, will update once finished.
EDIT 10/16 _2: I just ran 3DMark 11 (http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7325317) using the Benchmark Test Only option. Very surprisingly during the test, my temperatures didn't fluctuate as much as I thought it would. CPU temp reached 48C as expected. My GPU temp MAX was 63C and is now 41C after the test. This is testing with default settings. During the 3DMark 11 benchmark tests, my CPU and GPU performed much better than I thought they would have. Cheers to that!
EDIT 10/16 _3: My GPU is originally factory OC. I am now playing with it to find it's maximum potential, slowly raising the MHz (currently at 1085). New 3DMark 11 score http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7325443 .
EDIT 10/16 _4: Maxed out my core to 1200MHz which resulted in a decent boost without increasing my temperatures of my GPU. ( http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7325575 ) My current memory clock is also maxed out at 6400MHz. I do not want to play with voltage so I believe this is the best it will get.
EDIT 10/16 _5 : Did more benchmark tests with Unigine Heaven 4.0 with different settings during each tests. Here are the following results: (score will be in format of [FPS, Score, Min FPS, Max FPS]
Quality: High | Tessellation: Disabled | Anti-Alias: Disabled ---> 55.8, 1405, 23.2, 119.4
Quality: Ultra| Tessellation: Disabled| Anti-Alias: x2 ------------> 49.3, 1242, 21.5, 97.2
Quality: Ultra| Tessellation: Extreme | Anti-Alias: Disabled ----> 33.2, 836, 17.7, 78.1
Quality: Ultra | Tessellation: Extreme | Anti-Alias: x8 -----------> 26.6, 671, 7.0, 61.1
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ ($74.99 @ Amazon)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 ($79.98 @ Amazon)
GPU: ASUS Radeon 7790 OC 2GB ($142.99 @ Fry's Electronics)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower ($29.00 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan x3($8.51 @ Amazon)
Fan Controller: NZXT SENTRY 2 Accessories 5.25-Inch Touch Screen Fan Controller (Black)($24.75@ Amazon)
PSU: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($66@ Amazon)
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