Need graphics card for a build

GamingSet · Jul 10, 2014

Hi! I created this build but I'm not sure what graphics card to use on it.
I though maybe the Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Tri-X Toxic Video Card, but I'm not sure.
I needed sugestions for a graphics card under $240-$250 tops, I don't care about brands or anything, just the best for gaming.
I would like to overclock too, so I can get the best performance.
Build without graphics card: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bdPNyc
Thank you

P.S.: It says that the sapphire r9 toxic won't fit on the case, also wanted to know if i should worry about that or not.

TheMagicalWallaby · Jul 10, 2014

I recommend the ASUS 760 for $259 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121775

If you don't mind removing the top drive cage, this is a great option for $239 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125515&cm_re=AMD_r9_280-_-14-125-515-_-Product
If you want a smaller cooler but the same card above, get this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202099&cm_re=amd_280-_-14-202-099-_-Product

These cards are very similar in price, however, it is really up to you with what you would like in terms of features. All of these are in your budget with better performance than the 270x.

With the 280, you need a minimum of a 600w PSU. I reccomend getting a little more so you have some headroom.

May I suggest you buy a top 230mm exhaust fan for your case? These cards are going to put a lot of heat into your case especially when overclocking. Something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835345004&cm_re=230mm_fan-_-35-345-004-_-Product . However any 230mm fan would work ( you can use my suggestion or one of your choice), you can even put a 200mm fan, or dual 120/140mm fans.

Shadowblade2652 · Jul 10, 2014

If you're looking for a good budget CPU then you could buy the ASRock Z97 Pro4 ATX (or it's $10 less mATX counterpart), along with the intel Pentium G3258. It's unlocked and together the combo is around $180 - $190, which is about the same cost as yours and offers more headroom. With the 760, if you overclock it, you won't have any real gpu bottlenecking from the CPU.

TheMagicalWallaby · Jul 10, 2014

Shadowblade2652 :

The Pentium would be a bad choice as dual cores are at the end of their usefulness lives, games use more than two cores and using a dual core would subtract from the expirience. The FX-6300 is really the best you can do for the price and it will last him a lot longer than the Pentium.

Suztera · Jul 10, 2014

For $240-250 budget just for the gpu: R9 280X > GTX 760
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280xtdfd
XFX 550W is enough.

With the ram, i know you trying to make it look nice with blue ram but consider this ram as well since it is cheaper:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f317000cl11d8gbxl

Shadowblade2652 · Jul 10, 2014

TheMagicalWallaby :

Yea, but the Z97 offers upgradability past the higher end FX chips with the i5 and the i7. The Pentium isn't half bad if you look at reviews in games, since when it's OC'd it matches the i5 in CPU heavy games (or comes close) like Battlefield.

TheMagicalWallaby · Jul 10, 2014

Swap the case out for a Corsair 230t

TheMagicalWallaby · Jul 10, 2014

In response to Shadowblade and the other guy who said a 550w would just be fine (I'm on mobile and I can't remember your name). You need a 600w for the 280 as that is what AMD says on their website, and don't get a dual core because even if you get the same FPS, things are actually taken out of games in order for you to be able to play it. A dual core will not last long and the fx 6300 will be better for you. if you don't mind upgrading in the near future to a CPU, the pntium route is better, but not everyone wants to buy a CPU, use it for a bit, then get rid of it. The Pentium is cheap, but you ultimately spend more money in the end with that route when you spend the extra $230 to get an i5. I don't know how much you want to spend on this, but unless you want to get a Pentium as a place holder for an i5, get the FX-6300.

Shadowblade2652 · Jul 10, 2014

TheMagicalWallaby :

Well, ultimately you're going to have to upgrade both anyways. If he goes the pentium, upgrading will be cheaper because of the lack of a need to buy a new motherboard. If he stays AMD and decides to go i5 later on, it'll be more expensive if he wants to go with a good board. BUT, if he says AMD and decides to upgrade AMD he could also do that. I'm not sure if upgrading the processor to the AMD ones would be a good move though, as I'm not an expert on AMD vs. Intel.

TL;DR
Buy whichever one floats your boat right now.

Suztera · Jul 10, 2014

TheMagicalWallaby :

That what they said to accommodate low quality power supplies. XFX are good brands using Seasonic as their OEM. Any good quality 550W is enough for any single gpu up to a GTX Titan. The amps on the 12V rails are sufficient for a R9 280X which draws roughly 240W on its own.
Whilst going to the manufacturer's website to check the specs and recommendations is good, most of the time it is exaggerated. You should go compare actual gpu reviews that will show the true power consumption of a gpu.

stokes1790 · Jul 10, 2014

I agree that the AMD cards are superior for price/performance at the $250 price point, currently. Suztera also makes a good point about 12v rail amps. That is actually the statistic that matters for powering components, if you have a quality PSU, the wattage requirements for a given card are likely to be overstated.

Also, I'm not sure why people are trashing the Dual-Core Pentium. The unlocked multiplier gives it absurd value for under $80 (especially if your B/H series board has those firmware updates for multiplier adjustment). You also get a much better upgrade path through the 1150 socket.

"don't get a dual core because even if you get the same FPS, things are actually taken out of games in order for you to be able to play it." I have no idea where this information came from. I have never seen a game self adjust its fidelity based on the cpu being used (being "optimal" settings presets and the like).

Shadowblade2652 · Jul 10, 2014

stokes1790 :

The Z board I suggested (Z97 Pro4 from ASrock) is a good board for the $110 pricepoint. You can't go wrong with it, honestly. OC'ing the G3258 is the best way you can get performance out of a small budget. It's cheap, it's powerful, and it's unlocked.

TheMagicalWallaby · Jul 10, 2014

Shadowblade2652 :

I understand what you mean. The FX-6300 will last a while, so that is why if he won't have a lot of money availible for this PC to upgrade, it will serve him better. However, at this point in the Intel vs AMD, I reccomend going for the i5 if possible just because you get so many more options in terms of motherboards and the CPU'S along with the technologies are better. But when dealing with any budget build, the AMD side is generally better, and since this seems to be more of a budget friendly build, I would want him to pick a CPU that will last him a while since I don't know how often he will get money for the computer and it's upgrades. So if he can afford getting an i5 later, then he should go for the Pentium. If he can't afford an i5 later, then he should go for the 6300.

Shadowblade2652 · Jul 10, 2014

Just curious, what are the upgrade options for the 6300? I know there's what, the 8350 or something like that? That's the highest end AMD cpu isn't it?

Suztera · Jul 10, 2014

Shadowblade2652 :

FX 9590 but these require AIO coolers. The FX 9*** isn't worth the cost for a gamer though hence FX 8320 or 8350 is recommended. To an extent, FX 9*** are mostly FX 8350 overlocked for you.

Shadowblade2652 · Jul 10, 2014

Suztera :

But the 8350 is close to the same price if not cheaper than the i5. Why would anyone buy an i5 over the 8350 if it's an 8 core for less? Is it because of inefficiency, heat, or general power usage like that?

Suztera · Jul 10, 2014

Shadowblade2652 :

Factor in the motherboard cost. For a FX 8350, you should buy a 990FX motherboard. For a locked i5 any other chipset other than Z** will do fine. To be fair different architecture have its pro and cons. For the FX 8350 it is extremely good for streaming and multi tasking as it spread its workload across all its "cores". i5 is still superior in terms of single threads performance. If programs and games aren't coded with multi-cores support, i5 will be faster.

TheMagicalWallaby · Jul 10, 2014

Shadowblade2652 :

The 9590 is technically the highest, but it's just an overclocked 8350. AMD teased a new FX cpu with a watercooler and they are working on a new CPU. Intel has the better upgrade route, but AMD is better for budget friendly builds as their Intel counterparts are not as good when talking about the CPU's below $200 especially the $150 or less mark

TheMagicalWallaby · Jul 10, 2014

To clear this up, the 8350 is the highest end AMD CPU. the 9590 is just an overclocked version of it that only works with high end coolers. The 8350 is almost equal to the i5 in games, but in any games where the CPU really matters, the i5 will pull ahead as games don't use more than 4 cores as of now. With the i5 having stronger single core performance, games as of now favor it. In the overclocking arena, the i5 still performs better I. terms of performance in games that utilize the CPU significantly. The 8350 is starting to show its age and the motherboards along with the technologies in them are stale, nothing new has come for the AMD side for a long time. New FX CPU'S might be. coming as AMD teased a new CPU with a water cooler, and they are working on their new archetecture. I wouldn't bet on anything that may or may not come so if you want to go for the AMD side, make sure you are satisfied with what is availible. The Intel route has more options on terms of motherboards. Their are also better CPU's than the i5 such as the i7. The Intel platform is more modern and is what I would prefer over AND at this point.

When dealing with money, if you can't breach the $200 or greater mark for the CPU, and you can't or don't want to upgrade to an i5 later, the AMD side is best all the way down to the 6300. Once you get below that, it gets a bit more complicated in which I am not going to explain as it is unesscesary.

GamingSet · Jul 10, 2014

I don't have any more money to upgrade it in a near future xD So, for what I understand, I should stick with this processor (and mobo), am I right?
Another question, it may be stupid, I'm not any expert in PCs. Wouldn't it be better to combine AMD processor and AMD GPU? Or is this something that doesn't matter? I think I read that somewhere, but I'm not sure.
And, in the end, with this exact build (PSU too), would I be better with the R9 270X, the R9 280 or the 760? Don't forget, this PSU needs to be able to handle it.
Thank you for all your answers

TheMagicalWallaby · Jul 10, 2014

GamingSet :

Stick with the CPU you chose. If you HAVE to stick to this PSU, get the 760. If you can spend the extra money for a 600w (it should be that much more) get the 280. and also, having an AMD CPU and GPU gives you know bonus. It can go either way. I have an FX-8350 and an NVidia 770. Don't forget to change that case to a Corsair 230t. I have heard of some bad quality issues with the ostrog and the Corsair 230t is of much better quality. And with either of these cases, I recommend getting a second exhaust fan to help get the heat out.

Suztera · Jul 11, 2014

XFX 550 is enough for a FX 6300 with a GTX 760 or a R9 280. No you don't need a 600W. Anyone who says 600W doesn't understand the amps on the 12V rails. Like i said you can do a FX 6300 with a R9 290X with a XFX 550W.
Corsair 230T cases build quality are not strong but decent enough to be used for. The case fans which comes with the cases is already sufficient enough.

GamingSet · Jul 11, 2014

OK, so I'll change to the Corsair case (the blue windowed one). I'm confused with those two different answers xD Should I get another fan or are the stock fans enough?
So, should I get another another PSU for the R9 280, or can I stay with this one? Wallaby said I needed, but Suztera said I don't, I don't know what to do xD Can we get to a consensus guys?

)
Either way, thank you again for all your answers, thank you very, very much

Suztera · Jul 11, 2014

GamingSet :

Confirm with this person:SR-71 Blackbird
Send him a pm about your question.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/community/profile-276663.htm

GamingSet · Jul 11, 2014

OK, I asked him about all the question and here are the answers:
1-The 550W PSU is enough
2-The extra fan in the case is a great idea
I will go with this PSU, a R9 280, the Corsair case with one extra fan and this processor.
Thank you for all your answers, very obliged

P.S.: Sorry for my English, not a native

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