Advice needed, £500 / 800$ gaming stationary

Alpehue · Oct 24, 2014

Hi people

I think my other post got removed somehow, appologies if i double post.

Im building a gaming stationary, and need some advice and suggestions. Im especially unsure about.

G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory vs G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory, The price is almost the same? i would assume 1866 is better, but i might be wrong?

And GIGABYTE Radeon R9 280X - 3GB GDDR5 vs MSI RADEON R9 290 GAMING G4 PCI-E TWINFROZR 2X DVI HDMI DP CTLR, the price is close to the same, is the 290 really much better then the 280x ?

The build in general, as it looks now is

AMD AMD Athlon X4 860K 4MB_ 95W_ FM2_
MSI A88X-G45 GAMING A88X RG SA
G.SKILL G.skill Ares Low Profile - DDR3 1866 MHz - 2 x 4GB
MSI RADEON R9 290 GAMING G4 PCI-E TWINFROZR 2X DVI HDMI DP CTLR
SEAGATE Barracuda 7200 1TB HDD SATA
CORSAIR Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-01 RED LED
XFX 550W 80+ BRONZE CERTIFIED WIRE

Suggestions and advice is much appreciated.

gskill support · Oct 24, 2014

Yes, DDR3-1866 is the better buy.

If both GPU are 3GB, def 290 is better.

tiny voices · Oct 24, 2014

The 1866 RAM is better, but will not give any significant boost in performance, or even anything that you can actually see. Only get it if it is the same cost as the 1600mhz RAM.

Your build has problems. The CPU will bottleneck the GPU. YOu need to be looking at an i5 4460 build at this point.

Eli Little · Oct 24, 2014

Here are my suggestions. When it comes to the RAM, 1600 and 1866 are the speeds, so 1866 is better, but just barely, so just go ahead and pick up the 1866 if it doesn't cost a lot more, because it won't make much difference. Also, if you are going for a gaming build, you should put the GPU first, but you still need a good CPU to go with it. You don't want to bottleneck your system, so get a better CPU. Overall, this is what I recommend-

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($126.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($254.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $874.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 14:36 EDT-0400

Also, keep in mind I am only keeping this case because you most likely want it for the aesthetics. If you don't care if I change the case, then I definitely will, because it is too small and cheap.

tiny voices · Oct 24, 2014

^ PSU is low quality. Only buy a B2,G2, P2 unit form eVGA. The rest are not good.

That case is also quite small and cheap for those components.

I would REALLY recommend an i5 over an 8350.

Eli Little · Oct 24, 2014

tiny voices :

Here is the issue with picking up an i5, the price. If I bought an i5, than I would have to spend less on the GPU to avoid going way over budget. If his budget was $1000, then I would stick an i5 in there instantly. The #1 rule about building a gaming PC, NEVER skip out on the GPU to get a better CPU. Also, the 8350 is still a great CPU, and won't bottleneck any GPU on the market today.

tiny voices · Oct 24, 2014

IT will certainly bottleneck high end GPUs in some games. There are plenty of games where even an i3 beats an overclock 8350.

You do not have top spend ANYMORE to get an i5 4460 and an h97 board. It WILL game better.

tiny voices · Oct 24, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.93 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $818.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 15:12 EDT-0400

WAY WAY WAY better build for less money. OP, this is what you want.

gskill support · Oct 24, 2014

I would REALLY recommend a G.Skill DDR3-1866 CL8 ($73) over a CVP DDR3-1866 CL9 ($99).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231538&cm_re=gskill_8gb_1866-_-20-231-538-_-Product

The price.

That difference alone pays for an i5.

Eli Little · Oct 24, 2014

tiny voices :

Dang, nice job. While I don't approve of the cheaper mobo and RAM, I will definitely agree that is a good build.

Alpehue · Oct 25, 2014

Hmm, i really like the Tiny voices, i got access to cost prices on most of the products, the reason im avoiding Intel processors is that the cost price is more then twice then that of a AMD ones.

I will consider the GTX 970, and the other motherboard though.

tiny voices · Oct 25, 2014

Eli Little :

The motherboard is NOT cheap at all. It is the newest chipset and is VERY good quality. Don't know what you are talking about there.

The RAM is fine. All RAM chips comes from only a few different factories. Quality difference between brands is VERY slim. Any brand is fine really.

Alpehue · Oct 27, 2014

The bottleneck thing sounds like something i deffinetly want to avoid, what would be a "cheaper" alternative to a better cpu?

Im considering getting a INNO3D GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 OC instead of the R9 R290, im assuming its a upgrade, but is the INNO3D card decent? (Remember its a budget computer, and dosent need to be the very best)

Alpehue · Oct 27, 2014

Alright, I read up on a lot of the things you guys mentioned, and loads of reviews. How does the following computer look for you guys?

AMD  AMD Athlon X4 860K 4MB_ 95W_ FM2_
MSI  A88X-G45 GAMING A88X RG SA
G.SKILL  G.skill Ares Low Profile - DDR3 1866 MHz - 2 x 4GB
INNO3D  GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 OC
SEAGATE  Barracuda 7200 1TB HDD SATA
CORSAIR  Carbide 200R Compact ATX, Miditower, No PSU
XFX  550W 80+ BRONZE CERTIFIED WIRE

Total price: £539

tiny voices · Oct 27, 2014

BAD. The CPU will bottleneck the GPU badly in CPU intensive games. You went with a very low end CPU. Why?

Alpehue · Oct 27, 2014

Its very very cheap, i was thinking about starting with that, and then later on replace it with something more powerful if its needed.

What graphic card would be more suitable for the system then??, i ordered everything except the graphic card now.

I got access to quite cheap R9 290 as well, but the GTX 970 is only £10 more, so seemed logical to choose that one.

tiny voices · Oct 27, 2014

You can't upgrade the CPU in that build without changing the motherboard which will require reinstalling Windows.

Instead, you should have gotten an i3 build, where you could slot in an i5 at a later date with ZERO headaches.

You already ordered that stuff?! You took none of the advice the experts here gave you.

Just get the 970. It is a great card and will be excellent in MOST games for now and GREAT for when you rebuild half your computer to put in an i5.

Alpehue · Oct 27, 2014

Well, i got direct access to the producers through work, so i ordered depending on low cost on some products.

I can cancel the mobo and processor, what cheaper i3 would you suggest then?

tiny voices · Oct 27, 2014

An i3 4160 and the cheapest Z97 motherboard you can get. This will perform better in games and allow for easy upgrade to an i5 later on.

Alpehue · Oct 27, 2014

what about ASROCK Mod 1150 H97 Killer?

Remember this computer is for my girlfriend, that dosent even play games now, im hoping to get her to play. i feel like im going for a overkill here

ah.. just realised i never wrote it was for my girlfriend, who plays bubbleshooter and facebook games as it is now.

tiny voices · Oct 27, 2014

What? in that case just get an i5 4460, that ASRock motherboard, and a lower end GPU. I thought this was a hardcore gaming build.

Get something like an r9 270x for the GPU.

logainofhades · Oct 27, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£130.92 @ More Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£75.54 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£59.79 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270X 2GB TurboDuo Video Card (£119.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case (£26.87 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£46.09 @ Aria PC)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£10.09 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £505.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-27 14:26 GMT+0000

Alpehue · Oct 27, 2014

Alright, changed to the ASROCK Mod 1150 H97 Killer and a i3 4160 now, will decide on the graphic card later.

Thank you for the help

tiny voices · Oct 27, 2014

Get an i5 4460 and an r9 270x.

Advice needed, £500 / 800$ gaming stationary

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