New Build

[kmelaza]

I'm building a new cheap gaming rig on a budget of about 550-580$ (This not including S&H)

I have the OS, Monitor (1080p), RAM, Keyboard, Mouse & DVD-ROM. I have picked up the other parts il need and il be using a Radeon HD 7850 2 Gigs for my GPU, but i come to halt as i cannot decide between the FX 4300 or the i3 3220.

The build will be mostly used for gaming and surfing the web. Also i live in Puerto Rico so the place i order the parts from needs to be able to do shipping here, mostly Amazon and New Egg.

So which of these procesors would be better for my needs?

Note: Note i dont plan to overclock

 

[butremor]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/700?vs=677

no gaming bench on the link though.
i think either is fine for you. whichever setup is cheaper would be my choice.

 

[zared619]

For budget builds, AMD is a fine choice, and the quad core gives you more capability on multi-threaded apps.

Here is the build. It is on the higher end of your budget, but it is worth it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-4300 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($184.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Blackbone ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($65.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $572.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-30 14:23 EST-0500)

 

[kmelaza]

That looks like a nice build thanks. I was thinking of changin the PSU for a modular 1 to avoid cable clutter and a higer wattage incase i want to do crossfire in the future, also thiking of picking up a dif motherboard for crossfire reasons.

-MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS.
-Rosewill HIVE-650 650W 80 Plus Bronze ATX12V Certified Power Supply.

For some odd reason Amazon wont let me ship the Motherboards and CPU listed to my adress, so il buy those from Newegg.

Any other suggestions?

 

[zared619]

MSI aren't know for their reliability, but if you have an issue, you can always send it back. Chances are you will be okay though.

The Rosewill HIVE series is a good line, and should be okay. Be mindful that if you do crossfire, limit how much you overclock anything.

Other than that, you should be okay.

 

[Kamen_BG]

Between the Core i3 and the FX 4300. it's a pretty easy choice.
Go for the Core i3.
However if you could spend 10 more dolars, definetly go for the FX 6300 instead.

 

[zared619]

The 4300 actually does better in games like Skyrim and Diablo. Everything else is basically a trivial difference between the two.

Additionally, from an upgrade standpoint, the AM3+ socket will be used for at least the next two gens, where Intel is phasing out its current socket.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/700?vs=677

 

[djangoringo]

The i3-3220 is better overall and for gaming, it's much better, it allows for a better card like the 660 gtx, also the hive 550W is more than enough for it.
My suggestion :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($67.04 @ Amazon)
Total: $543.79
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


You can also throw in a 7870 instead of the 660 gtx, : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/his-video-card-h787q2g2m

 

[kmelaza]

My build so far:

PSU: Rosewill HIVE Series 550W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified (Modular)
MOBO: ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 or ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 (Same Price)
GPU: Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7850 2 GB GDDR5 GV-R785OC-2GD
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 200R Compact ATX Case CC-9011023-WW
CPU: AMD FX-4300

This puts me at about 608.28 USD Shipping included.

Prices are quiet diferent for me and shipping kills my budget as im already over it, and i dont plan on spending more then the current amount. Shipping from Amazon is free for me, but like i said all the mobos i looked at were not avaliable to be shipped outside of the U.S nor the CPU's, so i need to order those from Newegg which cost me a pretty penny on shipping.

I was wondering should i go with a Mobo from ASRock 20$ cheaper and use those 20$ to upgrade to a FX-6300, or stay with my current set up?

Replacement MOBO: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 AM3+ AMD 770

Right now im leaning towards a AMD build.

 

[djangoringo]

Why not get the i3 ?
It's better, has a lower power consumption, it allows for a 660 GTX, which is better than a 7850 2GB, for gaming what counts more is the gpu.

This is all from amazon :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks




CPU:  Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($123.79 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard:  MSI B75MA-P45 Micro ATX  LGA1155 Motherboard  ($66.24 @ Amazon) 
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card:  PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card  ($214.99 @ Amazon) 
Case:  Rosewill REDBONE ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply:  Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($67.04 @ Amazon) 
Total: $577.04
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


All parts have free shipping.


If you want an amd build, get the FX-6300 :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($133.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($214.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($67.04 @ Amazon)
Total: $590.79
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


If you want to lower the price down of the two builds get this modular psu : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ALYORA4/?tag=pcpapi-20

It will do for both systems.

 

[kmelaza]

None of those GTX 660 cards are avaliable for shipping outside of the U.S D:

 

[kmelaza]

I found 3 GTX 660 on Amazon that were avaliable for shipping to my country, the 7870 on amazon are more expensive for me.

-MSI N660 TF 2GD5: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, 2GB GDDR5
-Galaxy GeForce GTX 660 GC 2 GB GDDR5 66NPH7DN6ZVZ
-ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB GDDR5 ZT-60901-10M

The ZOTAC card is 15$ cheaper then both the MSI & the Galaxy, but it's quiet smaller than the other 2, does that have any significant impact on heating?

 

[djangoringo]

No, get the cheapest one.

 

[kmelaza]

Ok i decided to go with the AMD build and the ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 AM3+ AMD 770 Motherboard. I went to the website and checked the list of supported RAM but the RAM im re-using from my old desktop is not listed there, will i have an issue with the ram? I posted a link of the RAM i have down below, im just about ready to order the part's i need, i want to know if il need to shell out some cash for some new RAM before i order."

http://www.memory4less.net/m378b5673fho-ch9.html

Also will this motherboard work with windows 8?

 

[djangoringo]

Get new ram as well, 2GB of ram is really low.
But it will work just fine with it.

My updated suggestion all from amazon, including new ram :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-P45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($66.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.17 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($38.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $574.17
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


or amd :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($133.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.17 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($38.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $587.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[kmelaza]

I have 4 dimms of that type of ram so it makes 8 gigs total

 

[djangoringo]

Alright then, just ditch the ram and get the 660 gtx.
That ram will work fine in either build.

 

[kmelaza]

Final Build:

CPU: AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo)
RAM: 4x2GB Samsung 2GB PC3-10600 DDR3-1333MHz
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 AM3+ AMD 770
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 200R Compact ATX Case CC-9011023-WW
Power Supply: Rosewill HIVE Series 550W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply Hive-550
GPU: ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB GDDR5 ZT-60901-10M
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003 (Have the cables from previous Desktop)
DVD-Drive: Re-using from previous Desktop

Went with the Corsair Carbide case it, has a decent size for air flow and it's pretty thick, i can mount a few extra fans in there and buy a new fan & heatsink for the CPU later on, since sometimes it get's pretty hot where i live and in my room.

Well il go ahead and order the parts in a few, thanks for all of your suggestions guyz and helping me out with the build.

 

[butremor]

i'd get faster 1600mhz ram

 

[djangoringo]

Yes, it's good, i listed the redbone case in order to fit the new ram, but since you have a dual channel kit of 8GB, no need to lower down the case or psu.

 

[kmelaza]

Best answer selected by kmelaza.