minimum cpu required for 2x R9 280?

[k0enf0rNL]

I need a solid cpu that wont bottleneck when combined with 2x r9 280. If an amd cpu can handle it and is costs less than the intel cpu i will go for amd. But then i need to find a micro atx board with crossfire and a socket for the cpu.

Please recommend a cpu below and things i need to look out for when buying a cpu. I really dont know which cpu will bottleneck and which won't.

I've been looking at the i3 4330 and the new pentium G3258 Anniversary Edition. For the amd side i've been looking at the kaveri apu's and the x4 760k.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Shd0w2]

Something like a 4670k will be fine.

And why two 280s? Why not just one 290(X)

[Guest]

I need a solid cpu that wont bottleneck when combined with 2x r9 280. If an amd cpu can handle it and is costs less than the intel cpu i will go for amd. But then i need to find a micro atx board with crossfire and a socket for the cpu.

Please recommend a cpu below and things i need to look out for when buying a cpu. I really dont know which cpu will bottleneck and which won't.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Do you have to have micro-ATX? If that's a requirement then unfortunately AMD is not for you because 760G doesn't support Crossfire.

 

I would recommend you not to go FM2+ because 760K really isn't all that suitable for multi-GPU setups

 

i5-4690K/4690 will probably be your best bet with a Z97 board that's capable of x8/x8 CFX on this one, do you already have 2 x R9 280s?

[k0enf0rNL]

Something like a 4670k will be fine.

And why two 280s? Why not just one 290(X)

 

 

Do you have to have micro-ATX? If that's a requirement then unfortunately AMD is not for you because 760G doesn't support Crossfire.

 

I would recommend you not to go FM2+ because 760K really isn't all that suitable for multi-GPU setups

 

i5-4690K/4690 will probably be your best bet with a Z97 board that's capable of x8/x8 CFX on this one, do you already have 2 x R9 280s?

sorry guys i should have mentioned my budget. i need a cpu that is capable of handling 2x R9 280's in the future. just a single one for now. and the cpu must be less than the price of a i5 4440. and yes i need micro-atx or smaller to fit it inside a very small case(steam box). also suggest a cpu for a single R9 280. 

thx!

[Guest]

sorry guys i should have mentioned my budget. i need a cpu that is capable of handling 2x R9 280's in the future. just a single one for now. and the cpu must be less than the price of a i5 4440. and yes i need micro-atx or smaller to fit it inside a very small case(steam box). also suggest a cpu for a single R9 280. 

thx!

 

It seems that you need to rethink your priorities.

 

I would go with a i3-4330 and GTX 760/770/780 blower. Anything above a single R9 280X is going to output massive heat into your case. On the CPU side of things, the 4330 handily beats all of the above CPUs. Unless you want to use the iGPU alone, there's no point in overspending on the 7850K. The 760K and G3258 are ridiculous choices considering that either requires a large overclock and plenty of voltage on hand to maximise their value, and there's absolutely no point in overclocking a small form factor steam box.

 

If you can, step it up to a i5. I would go with a single R9 280 maximum on the AMD side of things.

[k0enf0rNL]

It seems that you need to rethink your priorities.

 

I would go with a i3-4330 and GTX 760/770/780 blower. Anything above a single R9 280X is going to output massive heat into your case. On the CPU side of things, the 4330 handily beats all of the above CPUs. Unless you want to use the iGPU alone, there's no point in overspending on the 7850K. The 760K and G3258 are ridiculous choices considering that either requires a large overclock and plenty of voltage on hand to maximise their value, and there's absolutely no point in overclocking a small form factor steam box.

 

If you can, step it up to a i5. I would go with a single R9 280 maximum on the AMD side of things.

Thx! I will see if i have the budget for a i5.

Will the cheapest i5 do the job better than a i3 4330?

And is the performance increase so big that it is worth it to spend that extra $50,-?

Is a R9 280X worth it over a R9 280 when using a i3 4330? 

[Guest]

Thx! I will see if i have the budget for a i5.

Will the cheapest i5 do the job better than a i3 4330?

And is the performance increase so big that it is worth it to spend that extra $50,-?

Is a R9 280X worth it over a R9 280 when using a i3 4330? 

 

Depends on what you're using it for. Just gaming and web browsing, the i3-4330 will be fine and may outpace the i5-4430/4440/4460 in some games because it's higher clocked. If you need the extra 2 cores driving 2 threads, then get the i5. Simple as that.

 

Your choice really, you trade performance for heat. I would go for a R9 280, but don't take my word for it; just choose whatever card seems right for you.

[k0enf0rNL]

Depends on what you're using it for. Just gaming and web browsing, the i3-4330 will be fine and may outpace the i5-4430/4440/4460 in some games because it's higher clocked. If you need the extra 2 cores driving 2 threads, then get the i5. Simple as that.

 

Your choice really, you trade performance for heat. I would go for a R9 280, but don't take my word for it; just choose whatever card seems right for you.

I just do gaming and some music/movies. I really dont know much about cpu's and thats why I don't know if i need the 2 extra cores. In which cases do I need the 2 extra cores?

I thought about in-home streaming from my main rig so I will go for the R9 280.

[Faceman]

I just do gaming and some music/movies. I really dont know much about cpu's and thats why I don't know if i need the 2 extra cores. In which cases do I need the 2 extra cores?

I thought about in-home streaming from my main rig so I will go for the R9 280.

What games specifically do you play?  Can you send me the link to a website that you use in your home country so I can look at prices please.

[k0enf0rNL]

What games specifically do you play?  Can you send me the link to a website that you use in your home country so I can look at prices please.

http://nl.hardware.info/ or http://tweakers.net

i play all sorts of games. will be playing some rpg's, sports, racing and some action/adventure. i will be using some emulators to play some games from ps2 and ps3 like ratchet and clank. 

[k0enf0rNL]

What games specifically do you play?  Can you send me the link to a website that you use in your home country so I can look at prices please.

I play diablo 3, Fifa 14, Grid Autosport(many more racing games), hearthstone, assassins creed and batman arkham origins but many more will come but i wont be playing strategy/turn based and fps games on this pc. this pc is meant to be used with controller but can also be used with keyboard and mouse for games like diablo 3 and hearthstone.

[Faceman]

http://nl.hardware.info/ or http://tweakers.net

i play all sorts of games. will be playing some rpg's, sports, racing and some action/adventure. i will be using some emulators to play some games from ps2 and ps3 like ratchet and clank. 

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/206393/asrock-h81m-dgs-r20#tab:overzicht

+

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/197364/intel-core-i5-4440

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/197362/intel-core-i3-4330

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/197361/intel-core-i3-4130

 

There is not a very good upgrade path with this, but it will give you very powerful performance.

[k0enf0rNL]

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/206393/asrock-h81m-dgs-r20#tab:overzicht

+

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/197364/intel-core-i5-4440

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/197362/intel-core-i3-4330

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/197361/intel-core-i3-4130

 

There is not a very good upgrade path with this, but it will give you very powerful performance.

if i go for the mini itx version i want wifi on it because it is less expansive and it can be usefull when going to lan party's or to friends.

i selected the folowing 3 builds:

http://nl.hardware.info/wensenlijst/719676/k0enf0rnl/console-killer

http://nl.hardware.info/wensenlijst/723261/k0enf0rnl/console-killer-raven

http://nl.hardware.info/wensenlijst/658388/k0enf0rnl/console-killer-sff

 

which of these 3 is the best? btw my father doesn't like the height of the prodigy thats why i went with the low profile cases on the other builds. 

[Faceman]

snip

IMO:

http://nl.hardware.info/wensenlijst/719676/k0enf0rnl/console-killer

[k0enf0rNL]

IMO:

http://nl.hardware.info/wensenlijst/719676/k0enf0rnl/console-killer

mine opinion too but as i said before my father doesn't like it. and which one is better from the other 2 builds? keep in mind the micro atx one hasn't got wifi.

[Faceman]

mine opinion too but as i said before my father doesn't like it. and which one is better from the other 2 builds? keep in mind the micro atx one hasn't got wifi.

http://nl.hardware.info/wensenlijst/723261/k0enf0rnl/console-killer-raven

Get an H87/81 motherboard to save some money, no need for the H97 with a Haswell chip.

 

This would work:

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/206393/asrock-h81m-dgs-r20#tab:overzicht

[Guest]

http://nl.hardware.info/wensenlijst/723261/k0enf0rnl/console-killer-raven

Get an H87/81 motherboard to save some money, no need for the H97 with a Haswell chip.

 

This would work:

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/206393/asrock-h81m-dgs-r20#tab:overzicht

 

B85 might work better in the long run; I think Intel plans to make B85 stay through the 9-series lifespan unlike H87 which is being phased out really soon because H97 is a direct successor to it.

 

I heard Club3D's dual-fan Royalqueen and Royalking are really, really loud and don't cool all that well. Better than reference but still quite loud. For an HTPC that might not be a great idea.

 

At over 60% load the ST45SF-G is pretty loud, so I'd assume the less efficient ST45SF would suffer from the same symptoms.

[k0enf0rNL]

http://nl.hardware.info/wensenlijst/723261/k0enf0rnl/console-killer-raven

Get an H87/81 motherboard to save some money, no need for the H97 with a Haswell chip.

 

This would work:

http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/206393/asrock-h81m-dgs-r20#tab:overzicht

i want to be able to upgrade to haswell refresh. and i need 7.1 surround.

[k0enf0rNL]

B85 might work better in the long run; I think Intel plans to make B85 stay through the 9-series lifespan unlike H87 which is being phased out really soon because H97 is a direct successor to it.

 

I heard Club3D's dual-fan Royalqueen and Royalking are really, really loud and don't cool all that well. Better than reference but still quite loud. For an HTPC that might not be a great idea.

 

At over 60% load the ST45SF-G is pretty loud, so I'd assume the less efficient ST45SF would suffer from the same symptoms.

i picked it because of this page:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-280x-third-party-round-up,3655-6.html

i heard there were some problems with the DCU 2 TOP from asus and the royalking is the next one that sounds not that loud on 100% load. i dont have any other option in that form factor. i need atleast 450W.