Last decision for new build

[Burchell]

Hey folks,

 

So i'm just about ready to pull the trigger on a cpu, ram and mobo (tonight) but figured I would ask for a little advice before I do.

 

Im looking at the following

 

Pentium G3240

Asrock H97M Mobo

8gb 1600mhz ram (would run at 1333 with pentium)

 

Or

 

Fx 6300

Asus 760g Mobo

4gb 1600mhz ram

 

Unfortuantly at the time my budget is absolutely not able to be increased, otherwise I would look at an i5 and call it a day.

 

This PC will be used 75% for media, 25% for light-older gaming/photshop/office (plus the usual youtube, email, etc)

 

I figure with the 1150 h97 board I open the doors to a possible haswell/broadwell upgrade down the road. The FX build would likely not be upgraded as the only realistic upgrade would be an 8320/8350 unless AMD decides to launch another AM3 chip.

 

I'm pretty sure the pentium is the better bet, as It's likely great for media use and leaves the upgrade path open. It also allows me to squeeze an extra 4gb of ram into my build.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I should ad that I have a 240gb samsung evo ssd, 7900gs gpu (looking for a used HD 7850.. see them for $80-$100 on my local kijiji), 430 watt psu, case etc.

 

I just need the cpu ram and mobo at the moment.

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. I had an old thread that I felt was no longer relevant as my budget changed dramatically.

[EdwinX]

I would say go with Intel. That's my personal opinion.

[dragoon20005]

Intel option

 

the AMD option has a bad board

[Burchell]

Thanks,

 

Im thinking the same. Given that this is essentially an HTPC, the pentium should suffice and offers a respectible upgrade path.

 

I'd just like to make sure its the right move before I drop $275 on cpu, mobo and ram.

[Faceman]

Thanks,

 

Im thinking the same. Given that this is essentially an HTPC, the pentium should suffice and offers a respectible upgrade path.

 

I'd just like to make sure its the right move before I drop $275 on cpu, mobo and ram.

wait, before you buy let me do something, brb

[Faceman]

@Burchell

 

Ok, heres what I am going to recommend:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JkjMTW
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JkjMTW/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.98 @ SuperBiiz) <-- You have the budget for an i3.  Don't go with the Pentium when the i3 is well within sight.  The i3 is a better chip than people give it credit for.  It is much better than its AMD counterpart.
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($79.99 @ Newegg)<--Going with a Z87 allows you to be ready to upgrade.  With a quick BIOS update, you can jump right to Devil's Canyon or Broadwell(1150).  Haswell is ready to rock without update, and is overclock capable, which the H97 is not overclock capable. 
Memory: Patriot 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($55.00) <-- Use this LINK. <-- It is a $30 mail-in rebate, but I use this RAM myself in my $1,200 rig, works like a charm, and at $55, unbeatable price, especially when bargain hunting.  Rebate did take 5 weeks, but it went through and I got my $30 Visa Pre-Paid card.
Total: $244.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

You will probably be paying ~$275 from the start, but once you get your rebates back, you will be back down to ~$250, and have an upgrade ready, and overclock ready motherboard that is also SLI and Xfire capable.

 

EDIT*  Overclocking that RAM is a breeze, I set it to 9-9-9-24 easily and has been holding up ever since even with an aggressive CPU overclock.  RAM has such a minimal impact on performance, that it is not really necessary to change its stock settings, but if you are picky and need 9-9-9-24, then this RAM is capable of doing it.  Here is an article that shows how little of an impact on performance RAM actually has when used on a Haswell CPU.

[dragoon20005]

wow @Faceman

 

that mobo is really good price

 

 

actually you still can export BBCode

 

just press export select second option

[Burchell]

Faceman,

 

Thanks for the great suggestion! Sadly, I'm up in Canada, and those prices climb a fair bit out of my price range

 

I should have mentioned the Canada part. I just assume everyone lives in Canada.

 

Also, an optical audio connection is key for me, as my entire HT system is feed optical connections. A cheaper board + optical sound card seems to run more than a more expensive board with optical.

 

I'd like to save some more cash and spring for a better build, but my main rig is dead and I need it for work. Sadly this needs to happen ASAP.

[Faceman]

Faceman,

 

Thanks for the great suggestion! Sadly, I'm up in Canada, and those prices climb a fair bit out of my price range

 

I should have mentioned the Canada part. I just assume everyone lives in Canada.

 

Also, an optical audio connection is key for me, as my entire HT system is feed optical connections. A cheaper board + optical sound card seems to run more than a more expensive board with optical.

 

I'd like to save some more cash and spring for a better build, but my main rig is dead and I need it for work. Sadly this needs to happen ASAP.

Bear with me, one last attempt.

[Faceman]

@Burchell

 

Do you want to overclock your CPU in the future?  Do you want to leave open the possibility to overclock or you are not interested.

[dragoon20005]

Faceman,

 

Thanks for the great suggestion! Sadly, I'm up in Canada, and those prices climb a fair bit out of my price range

 

I should have mentioned the Canada part. I just assume everyone lives in Canada.

 

Also, an optical audio connection is key for me, as my entire HT system is feed optical connections. A cheaper board + optical sound card seems to run more than a more expensive board with optical.

 

I'd like to save some more cash and spring for a better build, but my main rig is dead and I need it for work. Sadly this needs to happen ASAP.

oh 

 

grab this

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($73.86 @ NCIX) 

Motherboard: MSI H97M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($75.00 @ Vuugo) 

Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($79.99 @ Canada Computers) 

Total: $228.85

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

[Burchell]

Overclocking is not likely a priority. I've had a few overclockable rigs in the past but didn't do much with them. Of course, if its within budget and the option is there, im certainly open to it.

 

P.S. Thanks for all the great help everyone!

[jtrier1]

Hey folks,

 

So i'm just about ready to pull the trigger on a cpu, ram and mobo (tonight) but figured I would ask for a little advice before I do.

 

Im looking at the following

 

Pentium G3240

Asrock H97M Mobo

8gb 1600mhz ram (would run at 1333 with pentium)

 

Or

 

Fx 6300

Asus 760g Mobo

4gb 1600mhz ram

 

Unfortuantly at the time my budget is absolutely not able to be increased, otherwise I would look at an i5 and call it a day.

 

This PC will be used 75% for media, 25% for light-older gaming/photshop/office (plus the usual youtube, email, etc)

 

I figure with the 1150 h97 board I open the doors to a possible haswell/broadwell upgrade down the road. The FX build would likely not be upgraded as the only realistic upgrade would be an 8320/8350 unless AMD decides to launch another AM3 chip.

 

I'm pretty sure the pentium is the better bet, as It's likely great for media use and leaves the upgrade path open. It also allows me to squeeze an extra 4gb of ram into my build.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I should ad that I have a 240gb samsung evo ssd, 7900gs gpu (looking for a used HD 7850.. see them for $80-$100 on my local kijiji), 430 watt psu, case etc.

 

I just need the cpu ram and mobo at the moment.

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. I had an old thread that I felt was no longer relevant as my budget changed dramatically.

 

6300 with 8gb of ram

[Faceman]

@Burchell

 

Here are two builds:

 

Overclock capable:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($131.00 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($99.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($42.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $273.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

Not Overclockable:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($131.00 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: MSI H97M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($75.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($79.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $285.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

I recommend going with the overclockable build, even if it is not something you are extremely interested in, it still gives you the option.  Note, you will not be able to overclock the i3, but you wont need to.  The overclock is more for a Haswell, Devil's Canyon, or Broadwell CPU in the future when/if you upgrade.

 

To make it work, you will have to make a small sacrifice, and that is going with only 4GB of RAM.  Adding RAM is easy though, and you will not need more than 4GB of RAM anyways. You can always add more RAM later, and it gives you a much more powerful CPU from day one, and a much better upgrade path, all while coming in right at budget.

[dragoon20005]

usually I will go for a silent operation so Intel Pentium and H97 should do the trick

 

when you OC, heat is generated and it draws more power

 

the board which i have listed has Optical out

 

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/h97mg43.html#hero-specification

 

spec in the link

[Faceman]

@dragoon20005

@Burchell

 

Remember, that the Pentium is being lauded as a great chip because of its high overclock capability.  At stock clocks, it is a very good CPU, but it is being recommended more prominently because of its overclocking headroom.  You will have to have a Z97 motherboard in order to overclock the Pentium and get the most out of it.  Not to mention an after market cooler to safely overclock.

 

Here is one review:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-overclocking-performance,3849.html

 

Even after overclocking the Pentium to 4.5Ghz, it is still trailing the stock i3, but by a very small margin.  At least with the Z87 + i3, you get better performance from day one without having to overclock, and with a BIOS update, you are capable of using Devil's Canyon CPUs and eventually broadwell because broadwell will use the same 1150 socket.

 

I am biased because I created this build, but I honestly believe that this gives you the best build for your money, while being highly upgradeable.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($131.00 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($99.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($42.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $273.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

EDIT*  Remember that you will have to purchase another 4GB stick of RAM when funds become available.  4GB should be plenty to start, and give you some breathing room, but 8GB is ideal.

[Burchell]

Hmm.. I could get the H97 board I linked in the origional post with an I3 4150 and only 4 gb of ram. With the rebate on the motherboard it brings it right into my price range and still offers an optical connection.

 

No ability to overclock, but Im honestly not sure I will use it. I guess my only reservation with the I3 would be the extra cost compared to the pentium, when I will (no doubt) be looking at an upgrade in the not too distant future (money will be available for this in a few months).

 

We are also looking at a PC for the bedroom, simply for netflix, videos, etc.. the pentium/i3 could go into a cheap board for this when its upgrade time.

 

I might need to sleep on this and pull the trigger in the morning lol