What's the best cheapest 8 core gaming PC build?

[Aztec]

Hey guys I'd love to build my own custom 8 core PC for gaming. I'm a College student so I don't have loads of money however I'd say the most I'd spend is about £1000 ($1591.68) If I'd I need to spend a little more than the amount then I will haha. I was thinking about water cooling but I'm not sure tbh. I'm currently a Mac user (don't hate me lol I like Windows as well) so I've never really built my own PC before but I know since Linus has his tutorials that are simple on YouTube. This is going to be a AMD build since a 8 core CPU from AMD is like £125 and Intel 8 core CPU is like £1200. I'm thinking about using the NZXT H440 Mid Tower Case. I'm not sure what other components to use and I'd love to be able to run my game across 3 monitors. Could you please come up with the hardware that match my needs please? Thanks guys  

[TheSLSAMG]

Screw the 8-core, the FX 8350 is as good as a quad-core i5 3570K. Core count means nothing if the platform behind it can't back it up. You would be better off with an i5 or an i7 at that price point.

[Laputacake]

Do you want the monitors included in the build and peripherals?

[Hyttech]

I don't see why you would need an 8 core, just because there is more cores doesn't mean that it means more performance. Your build doesn't mention any use for the extra cores besides gaming where cores don't matter all that much

[Mush Brain]

5960x, because well.... once you add in all the headaches and all the medication from the FX, you would have spent less going X99 with a 5960x.

[79wjd]

This is going to be a AMD build since a 8 core CPU from AMD is like £125 and Intel 8 core CPU is like £1200.

That fact alone should tell you something.....

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£167.50 @ Amazon UK)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.82 @ CCL Computers)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£82.76 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£68.99 @ Aria PC)

Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£51.68 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.99 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£275.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe ATX Full Tower Case (£117.13 @ Scan.co.uk)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£77.38 @ Amazon UK)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£69.99 @ Ebuyer)

Total: £975.20

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-11 23:27 GMT+0000

Or if you need to save some money, then a Sapphire Tri-X R9 290, although I would then go with the 850 version of the EVGA G2 psu that way you can just drop in a second GPU should you want more power. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003622sr

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20850xr

[thekeemo]

8 cores will NOT help with gaming only editing

[ImBleu]

I don't see why you would need an 8 core, just because there is more cores doesn't mean it means more performance. Your build doesn't mention any use for the extra cores besides gaming where cores don't matter all that much

 

This is the way computers are portrayed in the media. More Cores = better.

 

I'd go i5-4690k.

[Mush Brain]

Funny £1200....

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i7-5960x-extreme-unlocked-s-2011-3-haswell-e-8-core-30ghz-35ghz-turbo-40pci-e-lane-20mb-c

[TheKDub]

Games currently don't use more than 4 cores (there are a few exceptions, but thats only 1-4 games), so you might as well get a more powerful quad core like the i5 4690K.

[s3ns3]

what 8 core build a rig with an i5

[LemonSpice]

Screw the 8-core, the FX 8350 is as good as a quad-core i5 3570K. Core count means nothing if the platform behind it can't back it up. You would be better off with an i5 or an i7 at that price point.

This a 8core intel is about 2.5-2.9 times as fast as a 8350 overclocked both of them

[Aztec]

Do you want the monitors included in the build and peripherals?

I'm just focusing on the cost of the PC atm but good question.

[Aztec]

That fact alone should tell you something.....

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£167.50 @ Amazon UK)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.82 @ CCL Computers)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£82.76 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£68.99 @ Aria PC)

Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£51.68 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.99 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£275.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe ATX Full Tower Case (£117.13 @ Scan.co.uk)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£77.38 @ Amazon UK)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£69.99 @ Ebuyer)

Total: £975.20

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-11 23:27 GMT+0000

Or if you need to save some money, then a Sapphire Tri-X R9 290, although I would then go with the 850 version of the EVGA G2 psu that way you can just drop in a second GPU should you want more power. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003622sr

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20850xr

Thanks, very much appreciated

[Aztec]

Games currently don't use more than 4 cores (there are a few exceptions, but thats only 1-4 games), so you might as well get a more powerful quad core like the i5 4690K.

Just 8 core would make it a bit future proff (yes I know I'd need a good graphics card as well)

[Aztec]

Funny £1200....

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i7-5960x-extreme-unlocked-s-2011-3-haswell-e-8-core-30ghz-35ghz-turbo-40pci-e-lane-20mb-c

Hah I may have over exaggerated but you get what I mean lol

[Mush Brain]

Hah I may have over exaggerated but you get what I mean lol

No... not really.

 

It's expensive, but the FX comes NO WHERE NEAR TO IT.

[Aztec]

8 cores will NOT help with gaming only editing

I see what you mean, just future proof mainly haha

[Aztec]

Thanks for all the comments guys I really do appreciate it!

[Mush Brain]

I see what you mean, just future proof mainly haha

Not even future proof.

[Aztec]

No... not really.

It's expensive, but the FX comes NO WHERE NEAR TO IT.

Well, I've seen one for £1200 online, think it was on Amazon not sure

[Aztec]

Not even future proof.

What if I wanted to do video editing tho?

[Aztec]

I don't see why you would need an 8 core, just because there is more cores doesn't mean that it means more performance. Your build doesn't mention any use for the extra cores besides gaming where cores don't matter all that much

I thought more cores = better. Also just would like my PC to be future proof

[Aztec]

Screw the 8-core, the FX 8350 is as good as a quad-core i5 3570K. Core count means nothing if the platform behind it can't back it up. You would be better off with an i5 or an i7 at that price point.

Thanks I'll consider that.

[79wjd]

I thought more cores = better. Also just would like my PC to be future proof

The number of cores and the clock speed of those cores is irrelevant when comparing two different architectures. 

 

With that said, for gaming purposes, there are only a handful of current games which use more than four threads, and as such anything more than four doesn't really help unless you also intend to stream/record while gaming. If you really wanted to "future proof" then a 4790k would be the best bet since you then will have access to 8 threads should games begin to utilize more. Although, at the moment I'd say a 4690k is more worthwhile as by the time more than 4 threads become important the 4790k will already start to be a slow cpu.