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Daegun
By Daegun
in New Builds and Planning
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So I wanted feedback on a build I was making and any recommendations for different parts would be welcome.

Location - US

Budget - $750

Purpose - Lots of gaming

Another little hiccup is that I want it in a mini-itx case. For some reason I can't explain, I love the mini-itx form factor, so a little while ago I bought a bitfenix prodigy when it was on sale for $60 for this pet project, so that's the only part that can't change. Luckily, the case is the same price on pcpartpicker, because I want that factored in as part of the $750.

Here's my build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Amazon)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard ($85.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: OCZ ARC 100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 290 4GB DirectCU II Video Card ($249.70 @ Newegg)

Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case ($59.98 @ OutletPC)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($85.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $748.60

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-11 15:54 EST-0500

Suggestions?

You know what's easier than buying and building a brand new PC? Petty larceny!
If you're worried about getting caught, here's a trick: Only steal one part at a time. Plenty of people will call the cops because somebody stole their computer -- nobody calls the cops because they're "pretty sure the dirty-bathrobe guy from next door jacked my heat sink."

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I'm pretty sure your CPU is going to bottleneck your GPU. You should go for an i3 or a that anniversary Pentium and then overclock.  

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I'm pretty sure your CPU is going to bottleneck your GPU. You should go for an i3 or a that anniversary Pentium and then overclock.

Not really, games are so GPU bound that my phenom II x4 965 never bottlenecked me (the 860k performs a lot better). The g3258 might not be a bad idea though.

You know what's easier than buying and building a brand new PC? Petty larceny!
If you're worried about getting caught, here's a trick: Only steal one part at a time. Plenty of people will call the cops because somebody stole their computer -- nobody calls the cops because they're "pretty sure the dirty-bathrobe guy from next door jacked my heat sink."

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Not really, games are so GPU bound that my phenom II x4 965 never bottlenecked me (the 860k performs a lot better). The g3258 might not be a bad idea though.

 

Lol for this yes bottlenecks do exist and no games are not only GPU bound otherwise you could run BF4 on a old duo core on low clocks with a GTX980.

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($89.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard  ($85.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($85.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $698.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-11 16:41 EST-0500

 

Saved you a good 50 bucks.

NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER STOP LEARNING. DONT LET THE PAST HURT YOU. YOU CAN DOOOOO IT

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Not really, games are so GPU bound that my phenom II x4 965 never bottlenecked me (the 860k performs a lot better). The g3258 might not be a bad idea though.

 

Although you may be right in some scenarios but CPU-intensive games like Minecraft and most MMORPGs benefit a LOT from good CPU. Even EA recommends an i5 for the Sims 4. 

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Not really, games are so GPU bound that my phenom II x4 965 never bottlenecked me (the 860k performs a lot better). The g3258 might not be a bad idea though.

 

#nonsense

Intel Inside. Overweight guy in his 30's outside.

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Lol for this yes bottlenecks do exist and no games are not only GPU bound otherwise you could run BF4 on a old duo core on low clocks with a GTX980.

I never said CPU bottlenecks don't exist, they're just very rare in gaming because the gpu is utilized so much more. You don't need as powerful a CPU as most recommend. In almost all cases you'll run into a gpu bottleneck before a CPU bottleneck

Although you may be right in some scenarios but CPU-intensive games like Minecraft and most MMORPGs benefit a LOT from good CPU. Even EA recommends an i5 for the Sims 4.

Oh god, minecraft. That would kill this computer. But besides that the few other games that are very CPU heavy, it won't have a problem. And the only CPU intensive game I play is Starcraft, which isn't too bad.

You know what's easier than buying and building a brand new PC? Petty larceny!
If you're worried about getting caught, here's a trick: Only steal one part at a time. Plenty of people will call the cops because somebody stole their computer -- nobody calls the cops because they're "pretty sure the dirty-bathrobe guy from next door jacked my heat sink."

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#nonsense

Would you care to expand on that? It would be welcome. If not, please keep unhelpful comments to yourself. Thank you. :)

You know what's easier than buying and building a brand new PC? Petty larceny!
If you're worried about getting caught, here's a trick: Only steal one part at a time. Plenty of people will call the cops because somebody stole their computer -- nobody calls the cops because they're "pretty sure the dirty-bathrobe guy from next door jacked my heat sink."

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I'm pretty sure your CPU is going to bottleneck your GPU. You should go for an i3 or a that anniversary Pentium and then overclock.  

I was under the impression that the Pentium K and that Athlon were basically neck and neck performance wise.

Do not  as I  do, and  not  as I say. Instead do as you may..

 

HSS Revenir: CPU=i7 5960x @4.5GHz Heatsink=Corsair H100i MOBO=ROG Rampage 5 RAM=Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB @3000MHz SSD=Corsair Neutron GTX 480GB GPU=R9 295x2 PSU=Corsair AX1500i OS=Windows 7 Ultimate

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#nonsense

 

The Athlon 860K does NOT perform way better than a Phenom II X4 965. 

Intel Inside. Overweight guy in his 30's outside.

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I was under the impression that the Pentium K and that Athlon were basically neck and neck performance wise.

 

They're not. If you overclock the Pentium high enough it smokes the Athlon in most tasks, particularly gaming. Way higher IPC.

 

I would take the build in post 1 and change the board to an H97 Anniversary Edition (ASRock) and the CPU to an i5 4460. $100 extra versus the Athlon build. You'll appreciate the extra power. That Athlon will bottleneck the 970 in a lot of games.  If you ditch the SSD, which, at this price point, you really should, the price difference becomes an easily affordable $30. i5 dude. It's what you need.

 

edit: Just noticed there was no HDD in your build. That's no good. 120GB is NOT enough for a modern gamer. Swap the SSD for an equally priced 1-2TB HDD. Pay the extra $100 for the i5. Be happy. 

Intel Inside. Overweight guy in his 30's outside.

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If you can, a i3 4150 will stab that CPU (And that pentium) right in the multiplier (Or the face).

Games that are better on 4 cores, or were developed for quad-core CPUs will not be any good on the pentium, no matter what the clock speed. 

5800X3D - RTX 4070 - 2K @ 165Hz

 

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The Athlon 860K does NOT perform way better than a Phenom II X4 965. 

Wow, I feel really stupid now. I was looking at the benchmarks for the wrong cpu when I was comparing the two. I had benchmarks for the 2500k open instead of the the 860k, no wonder it was a lot better.

 

 

They're not. If you overclock the Pentium high enough it smokes the Athlon in most tasks, particularly gaming. Way higher IPC.

 

I would take the build in post 1 and change the board to an H97 Anniversary Edition (ASRock) and the CPU to an i5 4460. $100 extra versus the Athlon build. You'll appreciate the extra power. That Athlon will bottleneck the 970 in a lot of games.  If you ditch the SSD, which, at this price point, you really should, the price difference becomes an easily affordable $30. i5 dude. It's what you need.

 

edit: Just noticed there was no HDD in your build. That's no good. 120GB is NOT enough for a modern gamer. Swap the SSD for an equally priced 1-2TB HDD. Pay the extra $100 for the i5. Be happy. 

Would the pentium be a good cheaper alternative to the i5? I looked at some benchmarks and it seems like its per core performance when overclocked is almost on par with the 4770k. Are enough games optimized for 4 cores that I would notice the difference? Or is it a rare game that will have performance drops?

 

Dropping the ssd for a hdd.

You know what's easier than buying and building a brand new PC? Petty larceny!
If you're worried about getting caught, here's a trick: Only steal one part at a time. Plenty of people will call the cops because somebody stole their computer -- nobody calls the cops because they're "pretty sure the dirty-bathrobe guy from next door jacked my heat sink."

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Wow, I feel really stupid now. I was looking at the benchmarks for the wrong cpu when I was comparing the two. I had benchmarks for the 2500k open instead of the the 860k, no wonder it was a lot better.

 

 

Would the pentium be a good cheaper alternative to the i5? I looked at some benchmarks and it seems like its per core performance when overclocked is almost on par with the 4770k. Are enough games optimized for 4 cores that I would notice the difference? Or is it a rare game that will have performance drops?

 

Dropping the ssd for a hdd.

 

It is not an alternative to an i5, it is basically an "This is all I can afford so I have to get a Pentium" type option. Yes, per core, it matches an i5, but that's the problem- there are only 2 cores. Games that take advantage of 4 or more threads will suffer with the G3258. Some games, in fact, will refuse to run entirely and will flash a "Minimum 4 core CPU required" message. So, I don't recommend the Pentium G 3258 unless somebody just absolutely can't find any way to afford an i5.

I think the i5 is such a superior choice that I would whole heartedly suggest that you go in that direction instead. Again, it's a $100 difference to get an i5 4460 vs the Athlon X4 or a Pentium G. It's really worth avoiding beer for a few weeks or not eating out or otherwise scrounging the coins together to be able to get the i5. It's more future proof, and it'll give you a better exprerience across a wider range of applications. 

 

You can get a really cheap motherboard for the i5. From H81 to B85 to H97 to Z97. You can literally pick the cheapest board that supports it and you will be fine. If you want help finding a board in a specific price range that has the features you need, PM me or quote this post (I don't know how to follow posts otherwise this forum confuses me) and let me know.

 

BTW you can save some money by going with a cheaper bronze rated power supply like a Corsair CX600. They're usually $39 on sale but not usually on Newegg. Check PCpartpicker.

Intel Inside. Overweight guy in his 30's outside.

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-snip-

So saving up until Black Friday it is then. :P

You know what's easier than buying and building a brand new PC? Petty larceny!
If you're worried about getting caught, here's a trick: Only steal one part at a time. Plenty of people will call the cops because somebody stole their computer -- nobody calls the cops because they're "pretty sure the dirty-bathrobe guy from next door jacked my heat sink."

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So saving up until Black Friday it is then. :P

 

If you have a microcenter near you, you can get the i5+mobo bundle for really cheap. Sometimes they sell the unlocked i5 and a really good mobo ($380 value) for like $260 or something crazy like that. They always have some crazy deal going on.

Otherwise, if you will be buying on line, and you are ok with buying from several different sources, you can save the most money that way by looking up your parts on PCPartpicker which will give you the lowest price for the parts from major online resellers, as well as inform you of combo bundles that you can order (for example, a certain power supply may be $15 off if bought with a certain CPU, etc).

Intel Inside. Overweight guy in his 30's outside.

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If you have a microcenter near you, you can get the i5+mobo bundle for really cheap. Sometimes they sell the unlocked i5 and a really good mobo ($380 value) for like $260 or something crazy like that. They always have some crazy deal going on.

Otherwise, if you will be buying on line, and you are ok with buying from several different sources, you can save the most money that way by looking up your parts on PCPartpicker which will give you the lowest price for the parts from major online resellers, as well as inform you of combo bundles that you can order (for example, a certain power supply may be $15 off if bought with a certain CPU, etc).

I didn't know pcpartpicker did that much (I haven't used it a lot), that's awesome. On a sad note, I'm in a vacuum for PC parts stores, the closest micro center or fry's is a 5+ hour drive away. Thank you for the information. :)

You know what's easier than buying and building a brand new PC? Petty larceny!
If you're worried about getting caught, here's a trick: Only steal one part at a time. Plenty of people will call the cops because somebody stole their computer -- nobody calls the cops because they're "pretty sure the dirty-bathrobe guy from next door jacked my heat sink."

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http://pcpartpicker.com/user/mistersprinkles/saved/sMG2FT

 

(There seems to be an error, it is showing an i5 4460 but it is supposed to be a 4570. Get the 4570. 4460 requires a bios update before being installed on this board)

 

Check it out, I did it for $753 with an i5. So it'll only cost you $5 more than your Athlon build!! You can buy it now!

Still has an R9 290. Cheaper but still acceptable power supply.

 

There is no aftermarket heatsink as there is no need for it. This CPU can not overclock (it can, but only via BCLK which is not for beginners).

If you want the CPU that can overclock it'll be another $50 on the CPU side and another $50 on the motherboard side+ $30 for a heatsink.

 

 

Even got you some extremely fast 2666Mhz Cas 11 RAM that is EPIC cheap from Team.

Team is a trusted RAM seller, btw, just in case you've never heard of them. Don't pass up this great deal for the RAM.

Haswell (the codename for the i5 in my build) benefits from high speed RAM. 

 

If you wait until black friday you might shave $50+ off the price. 

 

Also, I know you want ITX but make sure you're going to be ok with that, in other words, make sure you are ok with a lower RAM ceiling and the fact that you only get 1 PCIE slot.

 

BTW if this is your first time building a computer, or even if it isn't, check this video out.

 

Intel Inside. Overweight guy in his 30's outside.

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