Advice on PC build (Bottlenecking?)

[Jiniix]

I'm building a PC for a friend, and here's what I've come up with.

You can't trust prices in Denmark to follow websites like Newegg or Amazon. Example: P8B75-M LX/LE/Standard cost exactly the same.

But I was more worried about bottlenecking on the CPU (It's for gaming, BF3 primarily)

• AMD Phenom X4 965 (Overclocked to maximum reasonable stable frequency)
• NVIDIA Zotac GTX 660 2GB
• ASRock 970 Pro3
• Kingston 8GB 2x4GB 1600MHz HyperX

If there indeed is no bottleneck, this setup is a great value

 

[spirit]

Don't think you'll be bottlenecked. Should all be fine.

 

[Virssagòn]

If you could, get an i5 2500k and an hd7850 or hd6950. With a phenom you can't upgrade the cpu. Either cards will do there job really well since I play bf3 at maximum on my hd6870... (@1920 x 1080(

 

[Jiniix]

The platform is AM3+, so shouldn't it be compatible with newer AMD CPUs as well?
And as I wrote, prices are weird in Denmark. A 6950 costs $10-20 less than the 660, and the 660 supposedly is exactly the same performance as a GTX 580 only with FXAA etc. A 7850 costs exactly the same as the 660, too.
While I agree the i5-2500K would be a substantial upgrade, it costs more than twice the AMD, and I read the AMD should do fine for BF3 since it's quad core. Also, expecting high OC (Already have a Phenom X2 555 BE running at 4.0GHz)
And the focus in this build is a budget PC that'll run BF3 well on 1080p.
Thanks for the inputs

i5-2500K @ Newegg: $220 w/o any rebates or savings.
i5-2500K @ Denmark: $280 w/o any savings as well (used a precise currency calculator)
I often envy our Neweggian friends. If I could buy with Newegg prices here in Denmark, I'd be the king pin of PCs!

 

[StrangleHold]

The platform is AM3+, so shouldn't it be compatible with newer AMD CPUs as well?

While I agree the i5-2500K would be a substantial upgrade, it costs more than twice the AMD,

Also, expecting high OC (Already have a Phenom X2 555 BE running at 4.0GHz)

Yes the board will run Zambezi too and probably Vishera. Dont know what the prices difference is there. But if your going to overclock I would get a FX 6100 over a 965.

 

[FuryRosewood]

actually my phenom ii 955 at 3.6ghz was bottlenecking my 460...so ymmv. id go with intel to avoid all chances of that but thats my 0.02.

 

[Jiniix]

Yes the board will run Zambezi too and probably Vishera. Dont know what the prices difference is there. But if your going to overclock I would get a FX 6100 over a 965.

Phenom 965 = ~$131
FX-6100 = ~$157

Still think it's worth it?

 

[kdfresh09]

^yes it is worth it. 6 cores, and better overclockability

 

[Jiniix]

Allright, I'll take that into consideration. How high a clockspeed would you assume I could get? I assume the ASRock board is a good-really good OC board

 

[kdfresh09]

i really couldnt say for certain, since each board/cpu are not equal. one may go further compared to the next, but for the most part, it looks like you should be able to accomplish 4.2Ghz, with the right cooling. just be sure not to exceed 60-65c on temps since the max temp for the fx-6100 is 70c, and keep the voltage under 1.5v, since the max for that is 1.55v

 

[Jiniix]

I know each chip is different My i7-2600K needs 1.36v for 4.4GHz, while I have another 2600K that only needs 1.3v
But you can generally say that each i7-2600K should reach 4.4-4.6 without stability issues

 

[spirit]

For an FX-6100 I'd say anywhere in the 4.0-4.5GHz region on air (depending on the CPU, board and cooler) would be great.

 

[StrangleHold]

Most 6100 will do 4.3/4.5 pretty easy. Anything over 4.2/4.3 I would get a good aftermarket cooler. A 6100 I had could get to 4.5 with 1.425V, another one would take 1.475 to get 4.5 Depends on how good of a yield processor you get.

 

[Jiniix]

I'm definitely buying him a CM Hyper 212 Evo