Need Advice($400 budget)

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/301?vs=292 2 X 6870 have good results.
You can buy one 6970 and add another in the future http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Bottleneck   if you want to run 6870x2. You can spend 6950 which is not going to be bottlenecked and you can save money and get an FX-8150.

no need to change your cpu just overclock it over 4.0ghz and you will be fine with 2 hd 6870 fx chips are very good in overclocking so you should also get 4.5ghz but no need to go there just overclock it over 4.0ghz.

Sell the FX-4100 as it's going to bottleneck you. There's a reason it's only $100... Get the 970BE or 980BE. Then get 2 of any of the following: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

Farcical people keep recommending bad advice... FX just flat out sucks! Go Intel of Phenom II NOT Zambezi otherwise known as FX.

Agreed.
coming from someone who had the fx 4100 and then got rid of it; it will bottleneck a single enthusiast card let alone an xfire setup even when overclocked to extremes. It is slow per clock and the new architecture has compatibility issues with certain games and programs.
A Pii 965 and above are a better choice as far as amd goes. You could get a Pii and still squeeze an enthusiast card in your budget

More credibility from someone who has actually owned the chip personally.

OP can keep the heatsink and sell the 4100... Newegg has the OEM 970BE for $129. Micro Center has the i3-2100 for $99.99 and the 960T BE for $109.99; in these cases he can get rid of the heatsink and sell the 4100 in it's entirety. Then get a top-notch GPU or 2 mid-market cards.

Well, I'm trying to save money for college and a car, and I plan to drag this computer through college with me. With X-Fire would it really bottleneck me that much since the motherboard has x16,x16 for dual-gpu?

Yes it will.
The cpu isnt fast enough for xfire. The i3 21xx are better budget gaming than the 4100 by a long shot

So scrap the dual 6870 idea and get a 6970 instead? Or should I get the dual 6870 and save up for an FX-8150?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

or dual

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Buy dual gtx 560 non ti's it will run almost anygame at max settings

I dont think you guys are getting it.... The 4100 will also bottleneck a single high end gpu and fx is not " future proof".... It is merely a new series that runs slower then the older phenom II

but its more future proof then a fx 4100.

well fx chips are good for overclocking and not for gaming so you should get an phenom ii x6 1090t,1100t or phenom ii x 4 980be this chips are good in both overclocking and gaming this chips will be cheaper and better then fx 8150 in some cases just make sure your mobo support that chips.better to go with cheaper with high performance.

here you can see the differences in gaming performance between fx and phenom chips phenom does the job really well then the fx chips.

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/amd_fx_815...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
whats wrong with 2 of these, and hows the SSD workin out for you(big improvement over standard HD?

I like my AMD Products.

&& The SSD is amazing, windows boots in just a tiny amount of time, and I just have my main programs on it.


To everyone else: I don't buy Processors with more than 4 cores due to compatibility issues with programs.

Best answer selected by SkyChotik.

I'm going to buy two 6870's and go research the best processor that won't "Bottleneck" my CFX setup.

Problem solved  

BA has bad info fyi.

man you have the best answer info first of all in my mind was that he had an amd am3+ mobo and he cannot buy another one will cost him more i thought thats why i have given that info. 

At the price of the 8150 op could have an i5 2500k.
Best would be to get an i3 21xx and upgrade to 2500k later on.
The fx series doesnt support sli or xfire very well at all

well man you are telling him to change his mobo and processer it will be more better if he get an phenom ii x 4 980be or ii x6 1100t,1090t.

My motherboard supports both 3-Way CFX and Quad SLI.
I've never liked intel products due to heat issues. (I'm on the top floor of my house, summer comes around and they burn up.)

and so far I like my CPU. I came here for some GPU help, not CPU.
I did my research, and I don't use CPU intensive work.

Sandy bridge doesnt have " heat issues"
Your motherboard might support multi gpu but the 4100 bottlenecks a single enthusiast card let alone a multi gpu setup. So that fancy schmancy mobo you have is a waste with the 4100 in there. If youre wanting to xfire you will need a 965be or above and overclocked. The 4100 might be well able to overclock but is slow even still. Ive had one and got rid of it.
This does pertain to your situation as if you want to do a single high end gpu or multiple gpu setup then that would be wasted money on framerates you wouldnt see due to the bottlenecking.
So you see you might not have wanted cpu talk but it directly affects your gpu so it is necessary to take into consideration when making a decision.
Just because someone tells you what you want.to hear doesnt mean its correct or the best advice out there
if you plan on gaming the cpu comes into factor and the 4100 will choke what we have already talked about. Im trying to save you money based on what gpu would be a good balance for a budget cpu such as the 4100

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey