Would this build be a ridiculous (or horrible) idea? Or worth considering?

qwertyqwerty9 · Apr 8, 2014

So I started this build as a joke. I wanted to see if it was possible to get just about the highest end graphics card for $1k and this is what I came up with. (For the record I have a legal copy of windows already.)
But looking at it more and more it doesn't seem that unreasonable. The motherboard may only support 8gbs but would I really need more?
Idk about that ram brand but does brand really matter when it comes to ram?
Sure it doesn't have an SSD but seems like tons of people don't. And I could always upgrade parts later, perhaps buy a new motherboard down the road. Having "wasted" $50 on a motherboard that will need to be upgraded probably within a 1.5 years sure beats "wasting" $300 on a graphics card that will probably need to be to be upgraded in 3 years correct?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($180.18 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M LX PLUS Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($53.83 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290X 4GB Video Card ($569.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1021.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-08 21:37 EDT-0400)

Now this below was my serious build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.53 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($68.76 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($77.50 @ B&H)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($344.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Enermax ECA3290A-G ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $970.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-08 21:40 EDT-0400)

At first glance it seemed like a very bad idea, but its growing on me fast.
So would the first one be a mistake? Or really not such a bad idea? I mean the first one is only $50 more.

As always thanks.

Blaise170 · Apr 8, 2014

How about this?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($124.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card ($469.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $995.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-08 22:05 EDT-0400)

qwertyqwerty9 · Apr 8, 2014

Blaise170 :

Definitely an interesting build. I like it. But looking at micro center looks like I could get that i5 i had can be bought for $190. Would that be worth the extra $20 over the fx 8350? I can't find any real life benchmarks comparing these two processors for some reason but everyone but one person I know says the i5 is better.
I found this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26UKz42uQ1Y but it turns out he used an 8320 and said it was equivalent to an 8350.

Also is it really worth spending that much on a motherboard?

Blaise170 · Apr 8, 2014

qwertyqwerty9 :

The i5-4670k is a great processor - it's currently better than the 8350 in most applications. That may change in the future however, since many programs are beginning to utilize more cores. The important thing - especially when gaming - is the GPU anyways, not the CPU.

qwertyqwerty9 · Apr 8, 2014

Blaise170 :

Hmm I still don't know. Does anyone know of any real world benchmarks?

Also is it really worth spending that much on a motherboard? Seems like overkill to me.
Also is an sdd for os really worth it? Seems like the general consensus is yes but I noticed that you didn't pick one.

Thanks again.

Blaise170 · Apr 8, 2014

qwertyqwerty9 :

One of the only real benchmarks you can find is for the BF4 alpha awhile back. This has to be taken with a grain of salt however since BF4 actually uses all cores. Most games are single threaded which is what the i5 excels at.

http--www.gamegpu.ru-images-stories-Test_GPU-Action-Battlefield_4-test-bf4_proz_2.jpg

That's really not expensive for a motherboard. That's one of the cheapest 990FX chipset motherboards you will find. Expensive is on the line of Asus' Crosshair series, which retails at $250-300. I've always been a fan of SSDs, and I could never go back to HDD boot. The OS also feels faster to me, but you won't notice much of a difference with most games.

firesoul453 · Apr 8, 2014

Blaise170 :

qwertyqwerty9 :

One of the only real benchmarks you can find is for the BF4 alpha awhile back. This has to be taken with a grain of salt however since BF4 actually uses all cores. Most games are single threaded which is what the i5 excels at.

That's really not expensive for a motherboard. That's one of the cheapest 990FX chipset motherboards you will find. Expensive is on the line of Asus' Crosshair series, which retails at $250-300. I've always been a fan of SSDs, and I could never go back to HDD boot. The OS also feels faster to me, but you won't notice much of a difference with most games.

Thanks so much! Was just looking for this!

qwertyqwerty9 · Apr 9, 2014

Blaise170 :

qwertyqwerty9 :

One of the only real benchmarks you can find is for the BF4 alpha awhile back. This has to be taken with a grain of salt however since BF4 actually uses all cores. Most games are single threaded which is what the i5 excels at.

That's really not expensive for a motherboard. That's one of the cheapest 990FX chipset motherboards you will find. Expensive is on the line of Asus' Crosshair series, which retails at $250-300. I've always been a fan of SSDs, and I could never go back to HDD boot. The OS also feels faster to me, but you won't notice much of a difference with most games.

Hmm ok.

THanks. Idk what I am going to do but this helps I think.

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