What parts are wasting money (build advice)?

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Spot_the_Samurai

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Nov 22, 2013
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Hi,

I'm planning a build with the following parts:

CASE: Antec GX700 - $73
CPU: 4670k/8320 - $264/$179
MOBO: AsRock Z87 extreme3/ASUS M5A97-EVO R2 - $149/$125
COOLER: Hyper 212 EVO - $34
GPU: HIS 270X IceQ Boost - $253
SSD: Samsung 840 Evo 120GB - $102
PSU: Antec HCG 750W - $138
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws-X 8GB - $87
DVD: random optical drive - $20

TOTAL: $1126/$1010

Prices from www.allneeds.com.au which is typical for here.

Of course these prices will all be high to Americans (as they are Australian). So comparing more the ratio of spending between components what do you think should have a greater amount of the budget?

(I was originally looking at a 280X ($369) but $110 for 20% improvement... not so sure.)

I suppose the main problem is that I don't have a set budget. Anyway, what are your opinions?
Although originally planning the build in the next couple of weeks I am now postponing it for a month or so.
 
Solution
robax91
An extreme processor with a 680, a few HDDs, an Optical drive, and a few USB plugs may pull about 500w. 750w is for SLI or hoping that in 5 years, your PSU still works (at which point the efficiency will drop because of capacitor aging) so that you can still run the same system (which you probably will upgrade by then from more power efficient parts anways). Get a 600w (which are much cheaper) because you'd be crazy to try and crossfire 270s anyways.

Put more money into the GPU and less on the CPU, it should be anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times as expensive for a GPU as a CPU. An example would be a 3570k ($200) running a single 780 ($500) just fine but with some titles needing more CPU power (which is good). A bad example would be to spend...
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techneutral

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Nov 11, 2013
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An SSD is not needed, and could save you a lot of money. Just get a normal HDD(you don't have any in your build). And you didn't mention how much ram you're getting. Getting the fx 8350 (not 8320) over the intel i5 saves a lot of money while keeping the same performance.
P.S: Next time, mention the store you are getting the parts from, and how much ram you are getting (in GB) :D
 
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robax91

robax91

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Dec 26, 2012
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An extreme processor with a 680, a few HDDs, an Optical drive, and a few USB plugs may pull about 500w. 750w is for SLI or hoping that in 5 years, your PSU still works (at which point the efficiency will drop because of capacitor aging) so that you can still run the same system (which you probably will upgrade by then from more power efficient parts anways). Get a 600w (which are much cheaper) because you'd be crazy to try and crossfire 270s anyways.

Put more money into the GPU and less on the CPU, it should be anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times as expensive for a GPU as a CPU. An example would be a 3570k ($200) running a single 780 ($500) just fine but with some titles needing more CPU power (which is good). A bad example would be to spend $500 on a 3930k extreme processor and using a $200 660. You would be wasting PCI lanes and power at that point at the cost of increasing the game-play experience and satisfaction.

Also haswell is more expensive than Ivy bridge, but only slightly better in some cases. Ivy usually OC's easier and costs less (especially the boards) so I'd suggest a 3570k and a 280x if you want a similar piece set-up but with different tiers of those products.

Also, that case is very expensive and unless you HAVE to have that look, a different case would work.
Hope this helps.

*switched to AMD after seeing AU prices on 3570k) Build with partpicker availible in AU:

http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/270eT

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($39.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($109.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($105.00 @ Scorptec)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($369.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1106.00

Maybe not this exact case or some parts can be switched, but this would work much better for gaming.

Also, AU... you have my sympathy for prices. Even more so since its almost Black Friday and we'll have deals coming from our ears...
 
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Spot_the_Samurai

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Nov 22, 2013
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It'd have an SSD and maybe two HDDs, I just have HDDs coming out of my ears at home.

Well a 8350 is $50 more than the 8320 and is essentially just a higher clock speed? From what I've heard an OCed 8320 is the same as an 8350 (albeit with lower max clock).
 
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Spot_the_Samurai

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Nov 22, 2013
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Why?




Ivy bridge are pretty much gone here. Found a couple of 3570ks on clearance but at $240 they weren't significantly cheaper than Haswell. Same applies to the 680 (and most 6xx and 7xxx cards). They're gone. Stuck with expensive new parts. That is partly to blame for postponing the build.
 
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techneutral

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Yes, but you might as well get the 8350 and use the stock cooler. The stock cooler is good enough if you are not overclocking, and a 8320 + hyper 212 evo is about the same price as an 8350 without any cooler. And by overclocking a processor you are taking a risk and voiding the warranty.
 
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robax91

robax91

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I updated that post, but for the 270, I guess you could crossfire, but from what I can gather, getting a single powerful GPU provides a better experience than two weaker GPUs, takes less energy, has less compatibility issues, and some games don't play well with 2 GPUs, especially with AMD drivers. And to the response about OC'ing a 8320, it will probably do fine, but might not OC quite as well as an 8350, usually tiered products that are tuned-down are selected because they didn't make the tier cuts (hence why 3 core CPUs from AMD ever existed). They still meet the spec for one thing, but may not hit the next tier specs.
 
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Spot_the_Samurai

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Nov 22, 2013
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@robax91

Case is possibly more than is absolutely necessary but it has some particularly nice features (I/O interface in particular 2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 is rare on cases of this price).

partspicker is useless to me, only one of the shops on it is in my state (and is hated by most) and I'd be looking at $50+ just for shipping from interstate. My state, in general, has possibly the worst prices in Aus. (Although admittedly allneeds is pretty close to the partspicker stores).

Re. 270/X crossfire, it does tend to perform disappointingly compared to a 280X but it is more to keep the option open when the 270/X doesn't cut it anymore because at the moment I really can't justify the $115 price jump. I suppose it's also a bit of do I want just enough and have it last one year or more than enough and have it last two, I don't know which is the better option.
 
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techneutral

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The 8350 is basically an overclocked version of the 8320, so buying an 8350 rather than an 8320 with cooler and overclocking is the same price. But overclocking does not always work out, and it voids the warranty.
 
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Spot_the_Samurai

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Nov 22, 2013
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Yeah, I make note of that.
 
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