First custom build, mostly for gaming, opinions?

[Fractured]

Hello. I am looking to upgrade my current system, and I have put some potential parts in a Newegg wishlist: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=27619908

I already own a (1GB) Nvidia Geforce GTX 550 Ti, optical drive, wireless network card, monitor, mouse, and keyboard, so I don't need those. I also do not need to buy an OS. I've already talked with a few people and they say that all the parts will work together fine, but I wanted a few more opinions.

Feel free to suggest other parts, but I'd prefer not to spend more than $400, $500 being the absolute maximum. I won't be doing a whole lot of high-end gaming, so keep that in mind. I have some concerns about the quality of the PSU and the case, considering the lower price.

 

[Guest]

yeah that PSU is "suspect" to say the least:
CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W $59.99
$49.99 after mail-in rebate card $1.99 Shipping

 

[Fractured]

Is that one more reliable? The reviews aren't the best.

 

[hunter315]

Fun fact, the average user is not remotely qualified to review a PSU, all newegg reviews are good for with PSUs is noting specific issues with specific cases and for letting you know there is a high rate of DOA units. Angry people are also much more likely to give negative feed back so you tend to see a review from every DOA unit.

The corsair unit is a much more modern design(the lack of a red voltage switch indicates this), it also has more power capacity on the 12 V rail where most of the system draws power from, and the CX V2 series has been reviewed by qualified reviews with the appropriate testing equipment and found to be a good series of budget units. I would take that over the e-power PSU, cheap PSUs seem like a great idea until they arent.

 

[Dupontrocks11]

Yea corsair makes very good power supplies. And really, it's hard to find cheap power supplies with 5 star reviews, because not many companies make them right. It's very hard to come by a reliable and cheap PSU.

 

[Fractured]

Alright, good to know, thanks. I've modified the wishlist. Anyone have any thoughts on the rest of the build?

 

[Guest]

most any suggestion would require knowing what games and resolution you anticipated playing.

 

[Fractured]

Good point, should've mentioned that. Here's some of the higher-end games I'll be playing that I have trouble playing now:

Tribes: Ascend
APB Reloaded
Super Monday Night Combat
Batman Arkham City
Left 4 Dead 2

I'll probably be running at a resolution around 1600x1200. Doesn't have to be lag-free on maximum settings, but should be able to get decent FPS on at least medium.

 

[Guest]

Good point, should've mentioned that. Here's some of the higher-end games I'll be playing that I have trouble playing now:

Tribes: Ascend
APB Reloaded
Super Monday Night Combat
Batman Arkham City
Left 4 Dead 2

I'll probably be running at a resolution around 1600x1200. Doesn't have to be lag-free on maximum settings, but should be able to get decent FPS on at least medium.

fyi, what limitations you face will be from your 550 ti not a cpu/mobo you upgrade to.
i would like to suggest an intel platform:
Intel Pentium G860 $89.99
Free Shipping
ASRock Z75 Pro3 $84.99
$7.56 Shipping

$182.54 your CPU/mobo cost: $194.98 (-12.42) also for what games you spec'd a pentium will generally beat a fx-4100 in gaming:

now people can say you can overclock the 4100 to match the performance, but why have to bother?
also with the Z75 mobo you can upgrade to a i5 "K" processor later and be able to overclock with a aftermarket heatsink.

 

[Fractured]

Interesting that you suggest a Pentium Dual Core that has a slower speed than the FX-4100. I almost find it hard to believe that it performs better. I'll keep those parts in mind.

I've been thinking about the airflow in the case though. That case doesn't come with a fan. Are the fans on the CPU and GPU enough, or should I try something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154094 that has a fan built in?

 

[azeem40]

The FX 4100 has badly optimized cores.

 

[Dupontrocks11]

If you want to get maximum settings, I would highly suggest upgrading your graphics card before anything else. The 550 Ti is adequate, but will not reach maximum setting on anything but TF2. You could always buy another 550 Ti and crossfire it

 

[Guest]

Interesting that you suggest a Pentium Dual Core that has a slower speed than the FX-4100. I almost find it hard to believe that it performs better. I'll keep those parts in mind.

don't get thrown off by clock speed. the designe of the architecture in a sandy bridge cpu is more efficient than a bulldozer; it can execute more instructions during a clock cycle. an article that my be slightly dated but still extremely relevant.
Picking A Sub-$200 Gaming CPU: FX, An APU, Or A Pentium?

if you prefer an AMD gaming solution than get a P II x4 965BE.

 

[Fractured]

Honestly I don't really prefer one or the other when it comes to AMD or Intel, I just went with the FX-4100 because my friend uses it and he can run a lot of the games I want to with the same graphics card just fine. I'm not going to be upgrading my graphics card, at least not anytime soon.

This friend that owns the FX-4100 thinks that because he has twice as many cores and a higher speed than the Pentium makes it better and there's no argument. "Just please don't get a Pentium" he says. His argument is that since all of the numbers on his are higher, it makes it better. Sounds pretty convincing to me, but I'm certainly no expert.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
How does that Phenom compare to the other CPUs that we've brought up so far?

 

[asinausk]

Honestly I don't really prefer one or the other when it comes to AMD or Intel, I just went with the FX-4100 because my friend uses it and he can run a lot of the games I want to with the same graphics card just fine. I'm not going to be upgrading my graphics card, at least not anytime soon.

This friend that owns the FX-4100 thinks that because he has twice as many cores and a higher speed than the Pentium makes it better and there's no argument. "Just please don't get a Pentium" he says. His argument is that since all of the numbers on his are higher, it makes it better. Sounds pretty convincing to me, but I'm certainly no expert.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
How does that Phenom compare to the other CPUs that we've brought up so far?

*shakes head*

I personally would never consider buying an FX-4100.

Here is a neat little tool that will help you compare performance of various components:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2

 

[Guest]

please get a pentium and blow his FX-4100 out of the water! his arguement is full of all the flaw that a typical AMD fanboy has and has been dis-proven time and time again. really he ought to get more up to date on that and stated the differences in performance is due to software not being fully optimized for the bulldozer architecture; hence when all developers recode all their software, AMD will once again rule the day.

if you are going for an AMD platform a P II x4 is better. but is this about making your friend happy or you getting a good gaming rig?

 

[Fractured]

The reason I bring up my friend is he can play all of those games I mentioned on high settings without lag. He has the 550 Ti and the Mobo and CPU that I listed. Would getting this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 be a much better investment for only $10 more?

Also, my friend still thinks that you haven't given a reason why the FX-4100 isn't good. If you want to continue to argue with him, feel free, but don't feel obligated.

 

[asinausk]

The reason I bring up my friend is he can play all of those games I mentioned on high settings without lag. He has the 550 Ti and the Mobo and CPU that I listed. Would getting this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 be a much better investment for only $10 more?

Also, my friend still thinks that you haven't given a reason why the FX-4100 isn't good. If you want to continue to argue with him, feel free, but don't feel obligated.

FX cpus use modules instead of cores. A four module fx cpu is more like a 3 core cpu. The architecture itself is very inefficient, it also performs very poorly in single threaded tasks. The old phenoms on the whole perform better than the fx cpus. clock for clock the fx line is pretty bad.

For gaming, I would go with the Pentium G860. It's much more efficient, cheaper and performs better. The phenom II X4 965 is not a bad choice either, but it's power hungry and runs kinda hot.

just my 2 cents.

 

[Guest]

i take it your friend isn't a big fan of reading?
AMD Or Intel: Which Offers Better Gaming Performance?

With the sub-$100 Pentiums performing so well, Intel's $125 Core i3-2100 easily beats more expensive Phenom II and FX models. And the $190 Core i5-2400 dominates the sub-$200 landscape without challenge, really. As such, we're almost-shockingly left without an AMD CPU to recommend at any price point.

so your friend can't read the benchmark i posted before?
also the whole review:
AMD FX-8120, AMD FX-6100 and AMD FX-4100 CPUs Review
and since your friend know so much ask him how a lower clocked intel pentium can beat a higher clocked FX-8150 on the gaming benchmarks at the bottom:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/404?vs=434
also there are monthly articles on the best cpus for gaming look at what is recommended:
Best Gaming CPU for $100:
Pentium G860
Best Gaming CPU for $110: None
Honorable Mention:
FX-4100
Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: June 2012

but if he cares to dispute the truth when its staring him in the face . .you are going to let him do your thinking for you?

if so, i don't see why i should waste my time helping you make an objective decision.

good luck with that.

 

[Dupontrocks11]

I dont know if your friend thinks of himself as a computer expert, but perhaps he is thinking of the old generation pentium's such as the pentium III and IV... For someone who doesnt do alot of computer stuff it's easy to get confused. But you have to take the facts to heart! Every single site you look on will report better numbers on the pentium G860 than the Fx-4100, it's not just opinion! It's proven fact!

Intel is far superior to AMD. Intel has more efficient architecture than AMD, meaning that time and time again Intel beats AMD out as the top CPU. Cores really dont mean much when 2 Intel cores beats 4 AMD modules. You can trust your friend, as he has the AMD, which performs well enough to play the games you want, or you can trust the multiple computer addicts populating this site and the various benchmarking review sites, and choose the CPU that is ACTUALLY better.

Either way, enjoy your setup, and if you have any money (really any money) you should update your graphics card. I don't to be objective and pushy, but it really does make a word of difference!

 

[bgrt]

To the OP, on the resolution you play at, the FX 4100 will be fine. You can get a few more FPS by going with a G860, but most of the time it's really not going to make a difference between playable and unplayable. The extra cores on the 4100 can also help if you ever do anything else other than gaming on that rig. I think that's worth a few bucks more. However I would prefer a 95W Phenom II X4/X6 over both of these CPUs.

 

[Fractured]

I am still debating on what CPU to go with personally. I probably should mention that I also run a YouTube channel based around gaming, and I do all the editing and rendering. Would the FX 4100 or Phenom II be better than the Pentium for that?

 

[bgrt]

PII X6 would be the best for video processing among all these CPUs. Typical video compressors uses as many cores as you give it. Next best would be an PII X4, then FX 4100, then lastly that Pentium.

 

[asinausk]

In that case, I'd opt for the X4 965.

 

[Guest]

I am still debating on what CPU to go with personally. I probably should mention that I also run a YouTube channel based around gaming, and I do all the editing and rendering. Would the FX 4100 or Phenom II be better than the Pentium for that?

you would off load that work on to the 550ti and use the cuda cores . .