Will 1600 MHz ram be adaquate for this build, instead of the 2133 MHz? What shall I use my saving on?

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Adammac365

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Jan 26, 2014
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I'm thinking of building a system within the next 2 months, and I am wondering whether it is good enough to run games at high to max for 2-3 years and then at medium for the next 2. I would also like to know if 1600 MHz ram would be good enough for gaming and light video editing? I was thinking of using the saving for an upgrade to an fx-8320/8350? Any help is appreciated! this is my spec at the moment
CPU: Fx-6300 w/ Hyper evo 212
Mobo: asus m5a99x evo r2.0
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon r9 280x
Ram: G.skill ares 8gb 2133 MHz (2x4gb)
Storage: Seagate barracuda 1tb and a Kingston ssd now 120gb ssd
Case: Corsair carbide 300r w/ 1 extra arctic cooling f14 fan
PSU: Corsair RM750 modular
Peripherals: Aoc i2367fh 23.0" monitor
Edimax PCI-e wireless adaptor
Samsung DVD rewriter
Cooler master CM storm QuickFire tk keyboard
Cooler master CM storm xornet mouse.

 
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Rammy
You don't mention the possibility of adding a second graphics card, but both the motherboard and PSU imply that you are keeping this as an option. If you aren't (and frankly a single 280X is pretty comfortable for 1080P gaming for the foreseeable future) then there is quite a bit of scope to save money here.

For memory, 1600Mhz is absolutely fine. If you can get an 1866Mhz kit at a similar price when you come to buy, then you might as well go for it, but the performance delta in games between 1600mhz and 2400mhz is pretty small right now, it's not really a place to spend excessively.

Where any extra funds should go is really up to you. Stepping up to at least an 8320 is definitely a good idea, as it's not a massive cost. The 8350 is...
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Rammy

Rammy

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You don't mention the possibility of adding a second graphics card, but both the motherboard and PSU imply that you are keeping this as an option. If you aren't (and frankly a single 280X is pretty comfortable for 1080P gaming for the foreseeable future) then there is quite a bit of scope to save money here.

For memory, 1600Mhz is absolutely fine. If you can get an 1866Mhz kit at a similar price when you come to buy, then you might as well go for it, but the performance delta in games between 1600mhz and 2400mhz is pretty small right now, it's not really a place to spend excessively.

Where any extra funds should go is really up to you. Stepping up to at least an 8320 is definitely a good idea, as it's not a massive cost. The 8350 is an option, but it's not necessarily great value for money over the 8320 as they are essentially the same basic design at different clock speeds - an 8320 at 4Ghz is the same as a stock 8350.
If it were me, I'd consider upgrading the SSD to a better quality design like the 840 EVO too.
Depending on how much cash you have to spare, it might also be worth looking at the graphics card. As I said earlier a single 280X is plenty sufficient for 1080P gaming right now, but if you want to try and increase the lifespan, you might be better to push more resources into this area. The tricky thing is that it's a big leap between the base GTX770/R9 280X and a GTX780/R9 290 - at least £100. There are things that fill the middle ground, namely highly overclocked cards like the 280X Toxic, but whether or not they represent good value is pretty subjective.
 
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Adammac365

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Jan 26, 2014
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Thanks for the detailed answer! I am thinking of crossfirimg 2 280x's in the future as I don't think it'll be adequate in three years! Crossfire another one and it should last 5 and by then I'll be looking for an upgrade! The 2133 memory costs £65 which is cheaper than 1866, but I can find 1600 for cheaper so shall I do that? I can then use the extra £17 on a fx-8xxx! What do you think? And I'm keeping the mobo also as the pro doesn't have a PCI-E slot that isn't blocked by the graphics card, and I need it for my wireless adapter! It can also run 2 cards at x16 so that should future proof it! The RM750 psu is £1 more than the rm650 so I thought that would help for crossfiring later also! What do you think?
 
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Rammy

Rammy

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Well if you aren't buying today then specific prices aren't really all that helpful, as they will bounce around quite a lot on a weekly or even daily basis.

On a good day you can get a 1600Mhz, CAS8/9, 1.5V kit for near to £50. 1866Mhz is nearer to £60. You'd be hard pushed to notice any difference at all in gaming, it really is such a small factor. In some tasks, faster memory can actually be slower. 1600Mhz is safe for price/compatibility (it'll work in every modern system) and 1866Mhz makes sense if you feel like spending a few extra pounds. There isn't really a bad pick though.

Crossfire is a bit of a poor solution for you, imo. The 280X is effectively a HD7970, a card which is now over 2 years old. There is nothing wrong with this, it's still a great card, but I'm sceptical as to how long they will continue to use the Tahiti chip. If you were talking about adding another card in the next year, or even two, then it'd make sense, but I think from what you are saying that you are basically looking to add one whenever performance becomes an issue, which is probably beyond two years. At that point, it's quite likely the 280X will have been discontinued entirely, meaning you'll be looking for a card with low availability, and poor pricing relative to the performance gain.
Now, that's a lot of speculation, but it's not entirely fiction. If it were me, I'd spend less on the PSU and motherboard and force more into graphics, OR just make those savings, put it in the bank, and then use it in 3years time to buy yourself a new graphics card. In both cases your total spend over 5 years would be lower.

Totally unrelated thought - Wifi adaptors come in both PCIe and legacy PCI flavours. Given a lot of motherboards have a PCI at the bottom, you might be better off with one of these, as it means you can install it far away from your graphics card(s).

Related but fairly unhelpful thought - The 99X EVO can run two graphics cards at x8/x8, not x16/x16 which is pretty standard and by no means a problem. Just a minor correction.
 
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Adammac365

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Jan 26, 2014
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Okay thanks for all of that! I'll probably go for 1600 MHz cas 9 kit when it comes to the actual buying! I'm probably going to go for a cheaper mobo but the same PSU as that one seems like a good choice that will last a long time! Thanks for all the help! Much appreciated!
 
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Rammy

Rammy

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You only need 550W or so for a single 280X, so you can half your PSU budget if you like.
As for the motherboard, if you decide that a single card solution is best, then a 970 series motherboard like the Asus M5A97 R2.0 will save you a decent chunk of cash.
 
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Adammac365

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Jan 26, 2014
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I need the mobo and at least a 650w psu because in going to be overclocking the CPU by 1 Ghz, and apparently the 970 limits that capability, I may look at getting a sea sonic 620w psu though! Thanks for the help!
 
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