7870 and phenom ii x4 965 (stock speeds) or i5 3330 and gtx 560?

[CrypticBox]

Looking to build a gaming pc capable of smoothly recording (with fraps) Battlefield 3 multiplayer on high/ultra settings.

Which of these should I get?

My budget is 600 dollars preferred, 650 dollar absolute maximum. I'd prefer the final price to be before rebates, but that's not super important. I need an OS, which will leave a max of 550 for parts. I do not, however, need a case.

I'll probably order the parts by the end of this month. So I should get to take advantage of rebates that last up till the 31st

 

[Rockdpm]

What's your budget and the people at toms will put together a parts list. We save people money so it might would be a good idea

 

[CrypticBox]

What's your budget and the people at toms will put together a parts list. We save people money so it might would be a good idea

Alright, edited my original post

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section Graphics & Displays to section Systems by MouseMonkey

 

[CrypticBox]

Any thoughts?

 

[tinnitus]

AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103962&Tpk=fx%206100

BIOSTAR A880GZ AM3+ AMD 880G $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138345

Kingston 4GB DDR3 1600 $15.99
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239302

Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X 17.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244

Antec BP550 Plus 550W $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

578.93

 

[swat1820]

Generally speaking games are gpu up bound vs cpu bound. I would go with the rig with the strongest gpu. I have phenom 965 oc to 4ghz with stock heatsink you should be able to get 3.8 with k10stat easily with no voltage bump. In benchmarks my 965 scores close to an i5-2200. I can play most games at high to max settings and I have a 7770 gpu.

 

[tinnitus]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200

 

[Rockdpm]

So but I wouldn't recommend a Rosewill PSU... even if its 60$ there is more that is same but better quality

 

[tinnitus]

So but I wouldn't recommend a Rosewill PSU... even if its 60$ there is more that is same but better quality

it's an 80 plus certified, i think it will do the job.

 

[Rockdpm]

yea but just cuz something is 80 plus... doesn't mean much. I tneeds to be at least 80 plus bronze

 

[hapkido]

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 $129.99
Mobo: ASRock B75M-DGS $54.99 (before $6.98 shipping)
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 $38.99
GPU: HIS Radeon HD 7850 1GB $164.99
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 320GB 7200 RPM $49.99
DVD: SAMSUNG DVD Burner $17.99 (before $4.99 shipping)
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W 80 PLUS BRONZE $44.99 (before $10 mail-in-rebate)

Subtotal: $501.93
Shipping: $11.97
Total: $513.90 (before $10 mail-in-rebate)

That leaves you enough for an OS to stay within budget. The hard-drive is small, but you'd have to spend another ~$30 to get something larger, and it's easy to add storage to your PC later on. Expecting ultra settings in BF3 on a $550 parts budget is unreasonable, but you should be able to get +60fps on medium/high at 1080p, and it should handle most other games on highest settings.

 

[CrypticBox]

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 $129.99
Mobo: ASRock B75M-DGS $54.99 (before $6.98 shipping)
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 $38.99
GPU: HIS Radeon HD 7850 1GB $164.99
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 320GB 7200 RPM $49.99
DVD: SAMSUNG DVD Burner $17.99 (before $4.99 shipping)
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W 80 PLUS BRONZE $44.99 (before $10 mail-in-rebate)

Subtotal: $501.93
Shipping: $11.97
Total: $513.90 (before $10 mail-in-rebate)

That leaves you enough for an OS to stay within budget. The hard-drive is small, but you'd have to spend another ~$30 to get something larger, and it's easy to add storage to your PC later on. Expecting ultra settings in BF3 on a $550 parts budget is unreasonable, but you should be able to get +60fps on medium/high at 1080p, and it should handle most other games on highest settings.

Looks solid, but is an i3 really capable of recording BF3? Also, wouldn't a true quadcore phenom 965 be better for BF3 in general? The low price of the phenom would allow me to get a 2 gb Powercolor radeon 7870 clocked at 1.1 ghz that's currently 200 dollars with the rebate....

 

[proffet]

AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103962&Tpk=fx%206100

BIOSTAR A880GZ AM3+ AMD 880G $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138345

Kingston 4GB DDR3 1600 $15.99
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239302

Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X 17.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244

Antec BP550 Plus 550W $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

578.93

not to start anything but I'm laughing so hard at you right now... :lol:

 

[hapkido]

Looks solid, but is an i3 really capable of recording BF3? Also, wouldn't a true quadcore phenom 965 be better for BF3 in general? The low price of the phenom would allow me to get a 2 gb Powercolor radeon 7870 clocked at 1.1 ghz that's currently 200 dollars with the rebate....

Depending on your settings, you may struggle recording on the same PC regardless of what CPU you have -- I can peg my i5-2500k at 4.4GHz. Another thing to keep in mind, is if you're recording gameplay, you'll need two separate hard drives to avoid stuttering.

According to Tom's, the i3-3220 is better for gaming than any current AMD CPU. Also, Phenom II 965 is two die-shrinks ago -- I can't really recommend a CPU that old. Regardless, I think you'd have to step up to an i5 to see any significant performance increase.

 

[tinnitus]

not to start anything but I'm laughing so hard at you right now... :lol:

not the best combo but it have to do the job for bf3 mp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuI5s_UfT_I

 

[Rockdpm]

Yea the I3 with hyper threading is pretty much a Phenom II X4... not directly but performance to performance.. yea.

 

[CrypticBox]

Yea the I3 with hyper threading is pretty much a Phenom II X4... not directly but performance to performance.. yea.

Will virtual cores handle something like fraps as well as real cores? As in, could I devote 2 cores to whatever game I'm playing, and two hyperthreaded cores to fraps? I'm kind of ignorant when it comes to hyperthreading/virtual cores.....

 

[Rockdpm]

No, hyperthreading only works when its needed. Its always turned on but may not be utilized unless that application supports it. Its basically like 2 extra cores except they arent cores they're "Hyper threaded" cores. And no u can't devote hyperthreading to a specific app while running another. But it does boost performance in Bf3 if thats a game your gonna play

 

[tinnitus]

isn't better an amd x6-x4 for bf3 mp?
doesn't intel's ht cause stutters on bf3?

 

[Rockdpm]

No actually Battlefield 3 loves Intels Hyper threading..