Picking a processor

[waggythegeek]

I need the cheapest processor that can handle gaming and a middling amount of work in video editing, word processing, etc. With a video editor and word processor working simultaneously. I also watch a lot of YouTube. Any suggestions?

[SeanBond]

Fx 8320

[KamiKatze]

What ^he said.

 

No other option.

[JoaoPRSousa]

Do you need a whole build?

If so, don't ask for opinions on components

Give us a budget and we'll configurate a full PC for you

[Guest Philosophy]

Fx 8320

 

 

What ^he said.

 

No other option.

Could not agree more.

[Lotus]

While normally I'd take the i5-4440 due to it's better single-threaded performance, it's multi-threaded performance may pose a problem with some of what you do. Word processing is nothing, and if the video editing is just normal non-4k stuff, then I'd still take the i5-4440 if you don't try to do way too much at once, otherwise the FX-8320 would be your best bet, but that's going to be way more expensive because the motherboard it requires is more expensive, and you really want a good aftermarket CPU cooler whereas with the i5-4440 you can use the stock cooler that came with it and a cheap h81 board.

 

Just remember that these options don't exist in a vacuum. While the 8320 may be a cheaper for just the CPU, it's more expensive for the platform.

[waggythegeek]

Alrighty then, gimme a build. It needs to fit in with what I said above, cheaper is better, but I could probably go into the one thousand range. Try to avoid plz.

[SeanBond]

While normally I'd take the i5-4440 due to it's better single-threaded performance, it's multi-threaded performance may pose a problem with some of what you do. Word processing is nothing, and if the video editing is just normal non-4k stuff, then I'd still take the i5-4440 if you don't try to do way too much at once, otherwise the FX-8320 would be your best bet, but that's going to be way more expensive because the motherboard it requires is more expensive, and you really want a good aftermarket CPU cooler whereas with the i5-4440 you can use the stock cooler that came with it and a cheap h81 board.

 

Just remember that these options don't exist in a vacuum. While the 8320 may be a cheaper for just the CPU, it's more expensive for the platform.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga970ad3p

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-970ag43

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a97ler20

 

Required to be expensive? What are you talking about silly guy.

[Lotus]

#1: Cheap Intel build. This wont handle video editing as well, but will handle games better

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($31.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $639.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 12:44 EST-0500

 

#2 AMD build. This will handle video editing better, but games worse. It's also slightly more expensive.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($139.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $694.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 12:42 EST-0500

[Lotus]

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga970ad3p

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-970ag43

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a97ler20

 

Required to be expensive? What are you talking about silly guy.

compared to a $40 H81 board? Yeah, they're expensive.

 

edit: also, NONE of those boards are sufficient for FX series 8 core CPUs. You need at least a GA-970A-UD3P, which is the cheapest 8+2 VRM AM3+ MoBo I'm aware of.

Edited December 17, 2014 by Lotus

[waggythegeek]

Two things: Can I just say I love you guys? That was amazing. *hugs*

Also: If I was to go with the gaming build, what could I change later on to add video editing ability?

Thanks so much!

[Lotus]

Two things: Can I just say I love you guys? That was amazing. *hugs*

Also: If I was to go with the gaming build, what could I change later on to add video editing ability?

Thanks so much!

Unfortunately, nothing easily. If you have more money to spend, you could step up to a locked Xeon with 4 cores and hyper threading. That would probably be the cheapest intel option that can actually handle somewhat strenuous video editing, and is still great for gaming. It's more expensive, but I can put a build based on that together if you'd like. If you have even more cash, you can step up to an i7 4790k, which is basically the same as the 4core w/ HT Xeon, except it actually has an unlocked multiplier so you can overclock it.

[Recon97]

Two things: Can I just say I love you guys? That was amazing. *hugs*

Also: If I was to go with the gaming build, what could I change later on to add video editing ability?

Thanks so much!

RAM. Moar ram. Like 16GB or higher.

[SeanBond]

compared to a $40 H81 board? Yeah, they're expensive.

 

edit: also, NONE of those boards are sufficient for FX series 8 core CPUs. You need at least a GA-970A-UD3P, which is the cheapest 8+2 VRM AM3+ MoBo I'm aware of.

The boards I just listed are 60-70. Something tells me when msi gigabyte and asus make a motherboard for am3+ it's going to work fine with am3+ cpu's. 

I find it funny that not only did you skew the pricing for those builds by having a more expensive motherboard but you also gave the amd build a case that costs twice as much. Even with a more expensive board the build would be about the same price.

[i_build_nanosuits]

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga970ad3p

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-970ag43

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a97ler20

 

Required to be expensive? What are you talking about silly guy.

 

 

compared to a $40 H81 board? Yeah, they're expensive.

 

edit: also, NONE of those boards are sufficient for FX series 8 core CPUs. You need at least a GA-970A-UD3P, which is the cheapest 8+2 VRM AM3+ MoBo I'm aware of.

well...the ASUS M5A97 R2.0 is ''good enough,'' you are correct the UD3P is a better choice and the other two board are too cheap the MSI will blow up within a month and the D3P within a year...at stock..

[i_build_nanosuits]

The boards I just listed are 60-70. Something tells me when msi gigabyte and asus make a motherboard for am3+ it's going to work fine with am3+ cpu's. 

I find it funny that not only did you skew the pricing for those builds by having a more expensive motherboard but you also gave the amd build a case that costs twice as much. Even with a more expensive board the build would be about the same price.

no no no man the fact that it has an AM3+ socket doesnt mean it can run an FX-8350 or FX-8320...lotus is right about this...those CPU's have such high power requirement that you do need a motherboard with good quality digital heatsinked VRM's and mosfets and AT LEAST a 6+2 power phase design...the ASUS M5A97 R2.0 will hold because it has top of the line vrm that wont blow up but it will trottle when under heavy load if the cpu has a significant overclock to it (voltage bump)

 

I have personaly used the gigabyte 970A-UD3p and it can sustain a 1.4v overclock without any throttling but this board features an 8+2 power phase design borowed from the 990FX-UD3...otherwise it couldnt do it.

Most 970 chipset motherboards can't support an FX 8 core CPU unfortunately...or at least you can't safely overclock on them...except the M5A97 EVO, 970A-UD3p and MSI 970 GAMING.

[SeanBond]

well...the ASUS M5A97 R2.0 is ''good enough,'' you are correct the UD3P is a better choice and the other two board are too cheap the MSI will blow up within a month and the D3P within a year...at stock..

What? Boards don't just blow up from being used  :lol: if these boards were incapable of running the cpu's then they A- would have cost the companies way more to rma than they could make of selling them and B-not have solid reviews. And like I said even if a more expensive board was used it would still be the same price as the intel build because he used a s340 in that amd list and a source 210 for the intel....

[i_build_nanosuits]

What? Boards don't just blow up from being used  :lol: if these boards were incapable of running the cpu's then they A- would have cost the companies way more to rma than they could make of selling them and B-not have solid reviews. And like I said even if a more expensive board was used it would still be the same price as the intel build because he used a s340 in that amd list and a source 210 for the intel....

just type this in goolge and scan the results:

 

970A-G43 or 970A-G46 VRM Failure rate

 

Read through a couple horror stories about why you need a good motherboard to run an FX 8 core cpu and come back to me...

 

Or just read this:

http://www.overclock.net/t/943109/about-vrms-mosfets-motherboard-safety-with-125w-tdp-processors

 

and this:

http://www.overclock.net/a/database-of-motherboard-vrm-failure-incidents

 

see? that's why you don't pair such a high TDP micro-processor with a cheap motherboard with un-heatsinked vrm's made of candy.

[Lotus]

Okay, if you want an Intel build that has the best of everything for the cheapest price, this would be it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($241.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $899.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 12:58 EST-0500

 

Most importantly, it has a 4-core Xeon processor with Hyper Threading, which means it has great multi-threaded performance for your video editing and multi-tasking needs. Plus it still has great single-threaded performance so it's still good for gaming. Plus it has 16GB of RAM, which can be toned down to 8GB if you don't need it and want to save money, and it has a 3TB HDD for mass storage for all your video files, yet it's still fast enough to be used as a main drive so you don't necessarily need an SSD. Overall it's likely the best compromise for more heavy video editing (although it's overkill if you only do light video editing) and gaming for the cheapest price.

 

 

 

An AMD build that does almost everything the one above does, except for not as good for gaming and slightly worse video editing as well would be this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($139.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $800.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 13:04 EST-0500

[SeanBond]

just type this in goolge and scan the results:

 

970A-G43 or 970A-G46 VRM Failure rate

 

Read through a couple horror stories about why you need a good motherboard to run an FX 8 core cpu and come back to me...

 

Or just read this:

http://www.overclock.net/t/943109/about-vrms-mosfets-motherboard-safety-with-125w-tdp-processors

I am lazy so I will just take you word for it.

[Lotus]

well...the ASUS M5A97 R2.0 is ''good enough,'' you are correct the UD3P is a better choice and the other two board are too cheap the MSI will blow up within a month and the D3P within a year...at stock..

I don't know if gimping yourself due to throttling counts as "good enough" when it'll be under heavy loads frequently for video editing. Plus, you're going to want to overclock anyway. I'd stick to boards that are known to sufficiently handle the power demands of an 8-core CPU. Yes, you're right. He could make it work, but it wouldn't work well.

[i_build_nanosuits]

I need the cheapest processor that can handle gaming and a middling amount of work in video editing, word processing, etc. With a video editor and word processor working simultaneously. I also watch a lot of YouTube. Any suggestions?

To answer OP's question, he has two choices that cost about the same...one will be better for purely multi-threaded workloads such as video rendering (FX) and the other one will be better for gaming and everything else that use 6 threads or less...so pretty much everything (intel)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($174.88 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $241.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 13:06 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($139.99 @ Newegg)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($30.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $245.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 13:08 EST-0500

So as you can see both options cost about the same...it is indeed pretty much as cheap as it can get on both side...i highly recommend the CPU cooler for the AMD cause the stock one is really not appropriate.

So if you prioritise more gaming performance go intel...if you think it's more important to shave a few seconds on rendering time then go with the FX and learn overclocking...the FX will cost you some more money over time on power bills as well

especially with an overclock.

[i_build_nanosuits]

I don't know if gimping yourself due to throttling counts as "good enough" when it'll be under heavy loads frequently for video editing. Plus, you're going to want to overclock anyway. I'd stick to boards that are known to sufficiently handle the power demands of an 8-core CPU. Yes, you're right. He could make it work, but it wouldn't work well.

i totaly agree. the UD3P is the bare minimum to consider...and so is a 30$ hyper 212 cpu cooler...for that reason the intel i5 is cheaper and perform better in most situtations while using much less energy and won't require to master overclocking skills.

[SteveGrabowski]

#1: Cheap Intel build. This wont handle video editing as well, but will handle games better

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($169.99 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($42.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($67.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($51.85 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($239.99 @ Newegg)

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($31.98 @ OutletPC)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $639.77

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 12:44 EST-0500

 

#2 AMD build. This will handle video editing better, but games worse. It's also slightly more expensive.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($139.99 @ Newegg)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.75 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($51.85 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($239.99 @ Newegg)

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $694.54

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 12:42 EST-0500

 

Should probably throw in one or two 140mm case fans, since none come preinstalled for the front intake in the S340.

[waggythegeek]

So Lotus, I'm not sure how to quote, but you said

Okay, if you want an Intel build that has the best of everything for the cheapest price, this would be it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($241.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $899.93

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 12:58 EST-0500

Most importantly, it has a 4-core Xeon processor with Hyper Threading, which means it has great multi-threaded performance for your video editing and multi-tasking needs. Plus it still has great single-threaded performance so it's still good for gaming. Plus it has 16GB of RAM, which can be toned down to 8GB if you don't need it and want to save money, and it has a 3TB HDD for mass storage for all your video files, yet it's still fast enough to be used as a main drive so you don't necessarily need an SSD. Overall it's likely the best compromise for more heavy video editing (although it's overkill if you only do light video editing) and gaming for the cheapest price.

If I wanted to do that build but a little lighter on video editing to save money and save money to upgrade it later, what would that look like?