CPU/Motherboard/Graphics Card Advice Please

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Kat404

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May 26, 2014
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I have all the parts to my first gaming pc except the last big 3: motherboard, CPU, and graphics card but I'm hesitant to buy them because I'm not sure if I should go for a slightly more expensive piece and which one(s) I should focus on getting a more powerful/better version of to play next gen games on max/high settings. I'm willing to go maybe up to $60 more on each piece (if that would even make a significant/noticeable improvement, I don't know to be honest), but preferably less if possible depending on how many pieces should be replaced.

This is my current build:

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+
Memory: A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower
Power Supply: XFX 550W ATX12V / EPS12V
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer

(http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Kat404/saved/4WXnTW)

Would it benefit me to upgrade one or more of the parts (CPU/motherboard/video card) or would it not make much of a difference?
If I should upgrade, which of the 3 parts should I consider trading up for and can anyone suggest compatible pieces? I'm new to this so I don't really know what I'm doing.

(If my build is fine as is, some reassurance would be nice, this whole building my own gaming pc thing is a little intimidating, lol.)

Thanks in advance~. :)
 
Solution
mamasan2000
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/699?vs=698

Fx-6300 might be an option as well, for games. Not much difference with 8320. But 6300 can be overclocked like crazy.
2nd, I would switch motherboard to something with 990 chipset, not 970 like above.
3rd, if you might use SLI/CF, the motherboard above is crap at it. One 16x, one 4x. AFAIK, that won't even work with SLI, only with AMD Crossfire and even then at low speed (4x, lowest denominator decides speed). At least PCI-E 16x+8x recommended for SLI/CF.

And lastly, Intel seems to be the way to go in games, stronger at singlecore stuff, which many games still are (Arma, Dayz etc).
Crysis 3, Far Cry 3 and couple others really like multicores.

Who knows what it will look like in a...
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mamasan2000

mamasan2000

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Jan 13, 2014
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http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/699?vs=698

Fx-6300 might be an option as well, for games. Not much difference with 8320. But 6300 can be overclocked like crazy.
2nd, I would switch motherboard to something with 990 chipset, not 970 like above.
3rd, if you might use SLI/CF, the motherboard above is crap at it. One 16x, one 4x. AFAIK, that won't even work with SLI, only with AMD Crossfire and even then at low speed (4x, lowest denominator decides speed). At least PCI-E 16x+8x recommended for SLI/CF.

And lastly, Intel seems to be the way to go in games, stronger at singlecore stuff, which many games still are (Arma, Dayz etc).
Crysis 3, Far Cry 3 and couple others really like multicores.

Who knows what it will look like in a year or two, maybe it's the other way around and AMD will be much better choice.
 
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CommanderTutlez

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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zqyrYJ.
Slightly better gpu for price and more wattage gpu. The case is really personal pref to me.
You could also save some money and get a 6300 as stated above and get a better cooled gpu and i put in a new mobo
 
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Kat404

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May 26, 2014
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Sorry if I sound dumb.. but are you saying http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Y7FK8 is a good build then?
Can you suggest a motherboard that's compatible with that CPU or is that one good?
Thanks for the help by the way, I'm just not familiar with what anything means lol
 
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Samsamproducts

Samsamproducts

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Jan 8, 2014
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lol it's ok. sli/crossfire (amd is crossfire, nvidia is sli) is running two graphics cards together to achieve better performance. That cpu is the best on the market for gaming without paying a lot more money for very little performance increase (i7). That motherboard will work fine with one gpu, but if you want crossfire you will need something like this http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-fatal1tyz97killer
 
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Kat404

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May 26, 2014
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How's this?

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Kat404/saved/Ykprxr

Thanks for all the help btw
 
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Kat404

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Noted. Thanks again :)
 
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