New gaming build.

Joshua1187

New Member
Hey Guys,

Building a PC for my brother to play FFXIV and other games. I'm a little over budget on the build below, would rather be around 700. Any change suggestions are welcome, would like to stay with AMD however. Thanks!

Also: This combo keeps coming up but the PSU dosnt look all that great and neither does the HDD at 5900 RPMs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.864937

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Item #: N82E16827135204
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
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$17.99


Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129042
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$15.00 Instant
$69.99
$54.99


Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822152181
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
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Recover Your Data(expand for options)
-$10.00 Instant
$89.99
$79.99


ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #: N82E16813131767
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
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-$5.00 Instant
$99.99
$94.99


XFX Double D HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with ...
Item #: N82E16814150521
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$189.99
1

AMD Gift - Dirt3 Game Coupon - OEM
Item #: N82E16800995114
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$49.99 Saving
$49.99
$0.00


XFX Core Edition PRO750W (P1-750S-NLB9) 750W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified ...
Item #: N82E16817207015
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$119.99
$114.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM
Item #: N82E16820231443
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$39.99


AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103727
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
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$119.99


Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116986
Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy
$99.99

Total Price $812.00
 
Drop the 750W PSU and go for a quality 600W or 650W PSU if you're only intending on one 6870, you'll save a bit of money right there. Then with the money you save on the PSU go for another 4GB of RAM to get 8GB, but get an 8GB kit which uses 2x4GB DIMMs rather than 4x2GB. Everything else looks fine. :)
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
Cheaper psu but still great^ 650 watts will be all you need, plus some.

Now you are at $790

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150561
The one you chose is stock overclocked with better cooling, but you really dont need it.

Now at $780, but a $30 mail in rebate, so $750

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231308
Than, 2x2 ripjaws for $40? You can get 2x4 ripjaws for $40, thats double!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103996
Now, I know that a fx-4100 is just slightly worse than a 965, but its newer tech and $10 cheaper and such a tiny difference.

Now at $740, remember if you change the motherboard, you need am3+ (like that asus you picked out) for the 4100.
 
Thanks guys,

I thought there were problems with 8 core and windows 7 that haven't yet been worked out?? Maybe even BIOs issues?
 
Nope Windows 7 should work fine with octa-cores, but most 'octa-core' chips are actually just quad-cores with four additional threads to make eight. :D Probably worth updating the BIOS anyway once you get the board. :)
 
Thanks guys,

I thought there were problems with 8 core and windows 7 that haven't yet been worked out?? Maybe even BIOs issues?

No, that motherboard is for 8 core, and 6, and 4, and all that. Windows 7 is said to be holding back the performance of bulldozer, (the 4100 I showed you) but they still work fine, and despite what everybody says about them, they are great for gaming, and fine for everything. The 4100 is a quad, not 8, by the way.
 
Yeah it has 8 threads, NOT 8 cores, there are no consumer 8-core CPUs yet.

To be honest, as the design/architecture of the FX-81xx chips are pretty poor, you'd be better off going for an i5 2500K for a gaming rig. It's usually cheaper and outperforms the FX-81xx chips. You don't need more than 4 cores/4 threads for gaming anyway, not for gaming at least.

I'd recommend either a 2500K or a 3570K and a good Z77 board over the FX-81xx and an AM3+ board any day of the week.
 
Yeah it has 8 threads, NOT 8 cores, there are no consumer 8-core CPUs yet.

To be honest, as the design/architecture of the FX-81xx chips are pretty poor, you'd be better off going for an i5 2500K for a gaming rig. It's usually cheaper and outperforms the FX-81xx chips. You don't need more than 4 cores/4 threads for gaming anyway, not for gaming at least.

I'd recommend either a 2500K or a 3570K and a good Z77 board over the FX-81xx and an AM3+ board any day of the week.

Its a little more than threads. There is two pipelines from one cores, making the OS see an additional core. Yes, it is not a true 8-core, but it is technically closer than hyperthreading. Windows just needs to recognize them correctly.

And the FX chips are fine for gaming. Maybe even better than phenom IIs, according to my benchmarks... (Which will be up soon.)

And OP, get a different case. Look at the antec 302, a lot better than that old case.
 
A 2500K or a 3570K would be a better choice than an FX-81xx chip for gaming, but I'd probably actually stick with the X4 965 to be honest. That, or the FX-4100 or maybe even the FX-6100.
 
For the price, I'd go with a 6100. (since I did...) For $130, its a great, great chip.

And that leaves $100 for the GPU. If the OP went with an i5, he'd have to go down in price for another component, possible the GPU, which would result in lower fps.

But yeah, while the FX series are not a "true" 8-core, it is not more threads. It has the core, and two identical pipelines from each one, so one of the pipelines is not for threading.
 
There are some good parts w/$ off here. You can take $10 off of any
FX 6100 combo's price because of the FX promo code. Like said, this means more for the video card/other components. Just keep enough for something like the Hyper 212.
 
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Yes definitely go with some sort of aftermarket cooling and then overclock the 4100 or 6100. Both are unlocked and can hit ~4.5GHz easily with good cooling. :)
 
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