first build need advice

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artygrains

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Sep 4, 2014
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hey guys ive been reading some of these forums and threads on mobo, graphics cards, cpu's and im torn between what i want to buy. id like to buy an amd based cpu unless im convinced intel would be better for my needs, id like to spend as little as 500 to 700$ for my build but my idea is to have an upgradable good mobo and decent cpu with other parts being about average. i plan on running LOL, as well as some digital media programs such as Z brush as well as some 3D design programs. im basicly trying to get a bang for my buck while getting quality and upgradable parts,
 
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artygrains

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Sep 4, 2014
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Wow nice ill definetly consider this build but i have a couple questions about it.
1. Did you choose the mini itx case rather than a full size to keep cost down? I assumed compact case would sacrifice performance.
2. Do you prefer intel over amd? While shopping ive found i can find amd cheaper for more power.
Thanks for the build it does look like a good option, i tend to see a slightly better part and feel the need to buy it simply because its a little more money
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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I would go with this, save up, and upgrade the CPU to a broadwell i5/i7/E3 Xeon next year.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($116.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Xtreem Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($144.50 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.50 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: BUFFALO AirStation N150 Wireless USB Adapter - WLI-UC-GNM ($19.99)
Total: $697.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-05 15:31 EDT-0400
 
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James Mason

James Mason

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Jan 2, 2014
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The case size is actually due my need to save physical space, performance wise there is no difference, I just can't put 2 graphics cards in there, but that's not really necessary anyways.

AMD might seem cheaper and more powerful, but that's only because you don't know that the numbers they tell you (3.4 ghz vs 4.2 ghz) don't translate into actual better performance. Benchmarks show that Intel is far ahead of AMD in performance, and even stock i3s compete and do better usually than fx8300s.

AMD also usually have more expensive motherboards, and also high power draw, so you spend more on the motherboard and PSU compared to intel where you might spend more on the cpu, but less on the motherboard and psu.

You can build mine in a M-atx format like what Logain put, I just posted my real build as an example of what the core performance of the parts would give you.
 
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artygrains

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Sep 4, 2014
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So learning more and more ive come up with this and my price has gone up a bit, i was goig to go with a xenon cpu but switched to change to the z97 mother board, but any advice for this build? Am i wasting or not spending money somewhere important?
 
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mdocod

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For an amateur workstation machine with some light gaming, it's hard to beat an E3-1231V3 + GTX750Ti on an H97 or B85 motherboard with 16GB RAM. However, if you want something a bit more "professional" then you'll want to install that same E3 Xeon on a C226 chipset motherboard with ECC memory and pick something like a K2200 video card. Depends on how critical it is that you have the workstation drivers for the programs you use, and how sensitive you are to the premise of compute accuracy.

To put things in perspective, the E3-1231V3 performs anywhere from on par up to ~30% faster than an FX-9590 depending on the workload. The E3 achieves performance matching or exceeding the flagship AMD product, while (often) costing less to implement than a flagship AMD chip, and while dissipating about 1/3rd the power.

If you prefer to stay on a tighter budget, i5's and FX-83XX parts are pretty interchangeable in workstation performance, and many AM3+ motherboards support ECC memory (all FX chips do, so it just needs BIOS support), so if you wanted a system with error corrected memory you could accomplish this with an FX-8320/8350 at a lower cost than on the Intel E3.
 
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