AMD fx 6300 gaming (skyrim mostly)

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Misfitzx14

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Ok I have pouring over reviews and forum threads for weeks. I am trying to build a decent gaming PC just to play skyrim (modded but not heavily) and my budget is tight tight tight. (650 usd, BUT I already have a hdd, and monitor 1080p@60hz as well as a legit copy of windows 8.1 (thanks dreamspark!!). My thinking is that I plan on getting a gtx 660 3gb because the price is reasonable and I can sli in the future. But I'm torn on the CPU - I know intel is better but I'd have to skimp on other components. Will the fx6300 + gtx 660sli be sufficient for playing skyrim at 1080 at max settings @ 60fps?? Does anyone have this processor and can tell me how it performs? Also I have read a ton about this fx 6300 processor bottlenecking with sli and see conflicting answers. Some say it will be fine and I won't notice and others say its worthless.
 
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Dude you definately don;t need sli for skyrim. I am a skyrim fiend and i run an fx-6300/hd 7850 2gb comb0 (weaker than a 660 non ti!) and i get constant 60fps on ultra 1080p vanilla. I am running like 150 mods, 2k textures, realistic lighting and enb mods and still get like 40fps.

An i3 will get you more stable frames though. One thing i have noticed with the fx compared to my i3 with the same card was stutter as cells purge and ugrids load in skyrim. I have small stutters consatntly with the fx-6300. If it is a skyrim based cpu better off going something like an i5 and single 660ti. There is no need for sli with skyrim!

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-benchmark-review,3279-9.html

Check out here for some...
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VincezioVonHook

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Dude you definately don;t need sli for skyrim. I am a skyrim fiend and i run an fx-6300/hd 7850 2gb comb0 (weaker than a 660 non ti!) and i get constant 60fps on ultra 1080p vanilla. I am running like 150 mods, 2k textures, realistic lighting and enb mods and still get like 40fps.

An i3 will get you more stable frames though. One thing i have noticed with the fx compared to my i3 with the same card was stutter as cells purge and ugrids load in skyrim. I have small stutters consatntly with the fx-6300. If it is a skyrim based cpu better off going something like an i5 and single 660ti. There is no need for sli with skyrim!

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-ti-benchmark-review,3279-9.html

Check out here for some numbers. Avg framerate of 74fps with single 660ti at ultra 1080p.
 
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DonQuixoteMC

DonQuixoteMC

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I agree with ewok that you should go with one card, like the 770 or 760 if you're on a budget. However, I don't think you should get an 8320. I personally have never seen the benefits of an 8320 over a 6300. They have the same core clocks, the same core architecture. The only difference is the number of cores, which is a moot point because Skyrim uses nowhere near even the 6 of the 6300. The 8320 is a waste of money, I think you should get an Intel. Not because I'm an Intel fanboy, but because Intel CPUs just run Skyrim better than AMD.

So go with one GPU (as said before), and get something like the i5 3350P.

Now, I'm sure ewok knows a LOT more about this than I do, but the way I see it, the 8320 would be a waste of your money. I'm curious to hear his input.
 
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ewok93

ewok93

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The 8320 is quite a bit better than the 6300.
AyvCp9k.png

There is more to a CPU than cores and clock speed.
 
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DonQuixoteMC

DonQuixoteMC

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That's a good point, but
1) Crysis 3 is coded to take advantage of all those cores.
2) Skyrim isn't.
So, maybe he will want to get an 8320, for "future proofing" or whatever, but if he JUST wants to play Skyrim (or most every game out today), I think he would be better served with an i5.

Now, considering recent trends, the 8320 might be a very good investment. BF4 and Crysis 3 are perfect examples.

It really comes down to what you plan to do.
 
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DonQuixoteMC

DonQuixoteMC

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Oh, I just added a link to that in my post. That's funny timing.

Now, I'm not arguing for the 6300 anymore. You have proved to me that the 8320 is a superior CPU in probably every application. That said, I have been trying to make the case for an intel i5.
 
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Misfitzx14

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I like the input so far guys! And yes all I mainly am concerned with right now is skyrim @max settings 1080p @60fps, I won't be playing any FPS because I'm not a huge fan of that genre - they are all the same to me. I would like to play GTA 5 when it comes to PC though. (I play diablo 3 a little too but that doesn't matter as it doesn't take much to max that game). I should also note that when I say my budget is tight, I mean it. 650$ is literally all I have to spend. So the previous post with the part picker link is even out of the question because I'd still need RAM which would put me at least 65$ over budget. And honestly looking at some of the skyrim benchmarks it looks like I can get away with an i3, which would give me a higher ceiling than the AMD route for upgrading the processor in the future. So I'm thinking core i3, stick with the gtx 660 3gb, get a psu and MoBo that will accommodate another 660 3gb in the future. Does that sound reasonable? (I know many are against SLI, but from what I've read if you already own one card it's a pretty viable upgrade path especially with the 3gb of vram)
 
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Misfitzx14

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Ok guys, how does this sound?
Asrock z77 extreme 3
Core i5 3470
Gskill ripjaws 4gb 1866 (only 4gb for now but ram is the easiest thing in the world to upgrade)
Topower 600w psu
NZXT source 220 case
And a gtx 660 3gb

This puts me just at 650$ and with the i5 should give me a pretty strong foundation for future graphics card upgrade whether it be a second 660 or a new card. Sound like a good plan?
 
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Misfitzx14

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Also, if I go with the 2gb 660 over the 3gb I can fit 8 gigs of ram into my budget. Should I stick with the 3gb graphics card or go with 2gb. I assume if I do go the sli route in the future the 3gb one would be the better choice?
 
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FloppyNacho

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I wouldn't go for an i3. You wouldn't have caught me dead saying that sort of thing before these past consoles were released but... they do have an impact on the gaming industry. The high budget titles will all now be optimized for Quad core and up because the Xbox One and PS4 use 8 total cores which is actually two Quads joined.

That said.

I actually know someone with an FX 6300 that can kill Skyrim full settings with High-res texture mods. His graphics card is a 2GB 7850.

Do keep in mind SLi only uses the first graphics card's VRAM. The second card's VRAM is added towards a total.

---
Newegg:

FX 6300 : 110 (coupon -10$)
MSi 970A-G43 : 70
ADATA XPG V2 8GB 2DIMMs : 70
NZXT Source 210 : 45
WD Blue 1TB : 60
Rosewill Stallion 700W : 60
EVGA GTX 660 3GB

+shipping=650 :D

And you can sell Assassin's Creed Black Flag on a trading website like cheapassgamer.com for some game-spendin money. (which comes free with the graphics card)

---

The thing is... In order to power two 660's in SLi, you would need a very strong power supply to sustain that amount wattage for more than a couple of years. In addition to this more expensive PSU, you would need a better processor so as not to bottleneck the setup too much. This would be an i5 4670K or high-end FX-8xxx chip. The FX chip requires really good cooler so thats even more cash.

In the end. It's just best to use parts around the same "power level" and ride out your PC as long as it serves its intended purpose.

:) But you have the right idea on this whole thing and can easily achieve your goals within 650 bucks.
 
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VincezioVonHook

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Yea i can back you up there. I have a 6300/7850 running skyrim with full 2k/some 4k textures, full enb and like 150 mods. Still getting 40min/50avg fps! they can definately do the job. The only problem is frame latency issues with the fx 6300.
 
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DonQuixoteMC

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Wow. If you can get an 8320 for those prices, screw the i5. That's incredible.

For a $650 dollar budget, if you can get an 8320 for even $130, go for it. Even comparing it to the 3350P, that's $40 saved that you can spend to get a 760 over a 660. (Which would in all likelyhood be a bigger performance upgrade than an i5 over the 8320, especially for Skyrim).

If you are getting an AMD processor though, absolutely think about overclocking. They're perfect for it. If you got the Asus M5A97, it would keep the overclocking option on the table without breaking your budget. You would also need to pick up a Hyper 212 Evo at some point (if you were going to overclock).

Just some food for thought!

Floppy Nacho has listed a pretty nice build. I would only suggest a few changes.
For the powersupply, take a look at this guy. It's more efficient, cheaper, has a longer warranty, and supplies a more suitable Wattage for your build than the Rosewill.
Also, try to get the 760 over the 660 if you can get the 8320 for cheap.
And of course, go for the M5A97. Regardless of overclocking preference, I've heard a lot of negative things about the MSI 970A-G43 and FX processors.

other than that,

The RAM he suggested is great. It's one of the best deals on Newegg right now. And the HDD is a solid choice!

 
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ewok93

ewok93

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VRAM doesn't have much of a performance at 1080p, and 1gb is usually sufficient, 2 is more than enough. 3gb would help skyrim with modded textures, but I don't think it would be worth it on your budget. I'd go for a better card with less memory.
 
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AshyCFC

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I'd just like to add a few things.

1. The fx-8320 sounds perfect for the OP due to it's mix of performance/price.
2. You can't OC it very good on an M5A97 LE edition and not much greater on an M5A97 regular.

This is cheapest mobo for an AMD OC build I could see any actually recommend: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-970AUD3&c=CJ

It's got better VRMs(8+2phase compared to 4+2) and not much more cost than the regular M5A97(which everyone on here promotes like it's gods gift to AM3+)
 
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