$500 build or cheaper? (advice)

saudor

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Hey guys! So Im thinking of building a computer for my dad. Keep in mind, expectations are fairly low - He mostly uses it for Youtube HD/some streaming and of course email/internet. So no need for overclocking/SLI/all that jazz haha. I already have a ATI radeon 7570 lying around somewhere so I'm thinking i should be good in terms of graphics.
Resolution of his monitor is full hd (1080p) As for OS, that is covered too as I have a windows 7 license from my OS X/Bootcamp that i no longer use so i can give MS a call to activate it on the new system.

His current computer which now has a busted hard drive is a Pentium D 2.8/160 GB/ATI X1600/Win7 so anything is pretty much a mega upgrade. Plus that tower is crazy loud/hot.

What i have so far:
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/saudor/saved/3ZSb
CPU AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core $135.58
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing $22.09
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 $83.77
Memory Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $54.24
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $73.16
Case Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower $47.60
Power Supply Corsair 430W ATX12V $65.47
Optical Drive LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer $18.06


Here is the intel build i was thinking:
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/saudor/saved/3ZSZ
CPU Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core $158.18
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing $22.09
Motherboard MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 $57.61
Memory Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $54.24
Storage Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $67.78
Case Antec NSK4100 ATX Mid Tower $30.83
Power Supply Corsair 430W ATX12V $65.47


Keep in mind, these are canadian prices so things tend to be a bit more expensive here. Thoughts? Better ideas? Ive also looked into prebuilt (+updating parts i need) but as of now, can't seem to find any decent deals.

Thank you!
 
Solution


http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i3-4330-vs-AMD-FX-6300 - this ones says the i3 is best, but I don't really get why as the score shows that the fx is more "powerful" ?

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/353/AMD_FX-Series_FX-6300_vs_Intel_Core_i3_i3-4330.html
https://teksyndicate.com/forum/cpu/i3-4330-vs-fx-6300-600-build/170301

These 2 give mixed results. In the end, I think it depends on what you are going to use it for... Single thread performance of the i3 is way higher compared to the FX, but multithread wins he FX...
And...

BnG

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For regular office use, both CPU's are fine. Just go with the one with the cheapest one. You will probably get a bit more performance for your money if you go with the fx 6300 though.

To be honest, for office use a good CPU is always fun, but even on a chromebook you can watch videos in HD, e-mail, browse etc (even with Linux as operating system instead of Chrome OS).

So in your case, just go for the cheapest option.
 

BnG

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According to google, results aren't always in favor of the i3. Even though you are not going to OC, I would still purchaise the FX because of its performance in general.
 

saudor

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Hmm.. the benefit of intel is lower power (54 TDP i believe) and the fx is 95. Other than that. The 6300 is basically a 3 core with glorified hyper threading (Im just guessing here since I have the FX8350 and that CPU is basically a quad core and not truly 8 cores)

CPU aside, Would anyone know if the parts are actually decently compatible? This is actually my first time making one from scratch. (I've tweaked prebuilts a bunch of times but that's about it)
 

BnG

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http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i3-4330-vs-AMD-FX-6300 - this ones says the i3 is best, but I don't really get why as the score shows that the fx is more "powerful" ?

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/353/AMD_FX-Series_FX-6300_vs_Intel_Core_i3_i3-4330.html
https://teksyndicate.com/forum/cpu/i3-4330-vs-fx-6300-600-build/170301

These 2 give mixed results. In the end, I think it depends on what you are going to use it for... Single thread performance of the i3 is way higher compared to the FX, but multithread wins he FX...
And again, I don't know if you take this into account, the fx gives the best price/ performance ratio (this might include OCing value though).

I highly recommend buying the FX + aftermarket CPU cooler (20-40$) and OC it... it is quite easy to do + ones OCed the FX will demolish the i3 :p
The FX + aftermarket cooler equals about the price of the i3 without aftermarket cooler, take it into consideration =)
 
Solution

BnG

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Good point, but an aftermarket cooler runs normally more quiet than the stock cooler.
Also, the OC doesn't have to be huge, a simple OC and it will definately outperform the i3. You could start with a high OC, and if your dad thinks it is too noisy, you just adjust it. I don't think this will become a big problem though in the end ^^.
 

BnG

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You're right probably, I have the Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 combined with my Phenom x4 955. It will allow the fx to go to +- 4.5ghz easily.
 


The LE edition isn't that good for overclocking. I'm shocked and impressed you got a x4 955 to 4.5GHz. nice!
 

saudor

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thanks for the suggestion on the mobo. I'll definitely swap that out then. As for the OC, Im most likely going to pass on that - at least for now. Keep things simple and after all, he somehow survived on a monstrously hot/loud Pentium D chip!

Im leaning towards the i3 mainly because of the single thread performance and lower power. I just need to seriously look for a mobo since the one i have there is quite random/first glance at what was available heh
 

BnG

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Awh, I wish :$, thanks for the compliment though XD
I meant that the FX would easily be able to run at 4.5 ghz, I think it would be a lot harder with the x4 955:$
 

BnG

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Well, if you especially need that extra single thread performance, go with the i3. If you don't need the OC anyway, a cheap mobo will, just as envy described, be fine, resulting in a cheaper build.