Super AMD Gaming PC Build

[markhannelly]

Hey Forum!

 

I'm building a new PC, my first PC build in fact to replace my trusty but undoubtedly antiquated Dell Dimension 8300. I've finally decided to graduate from the Xbox One to something a bit more gutsy. I've taken my inspiration on an article done by PC World for an Ultimate AMD Gaming Build, keeping to it in the places that count and changing around some components to ones I think are a bit better.

 

I've pretty much completed the build list but just wanted your thoughts on the components and if there is anything I overlooked or didn't consider. The PC will be used initially with a Single 1080p monitor (planned upgrade to an LG Ultrawide soon) for playing games such as GTA5, Company of Heroes 2, Gary's Mod, Far Cry 4, Dota 2, League of Legends and World of Warcraft. Besides from that I'll be using it for Video rendering and encoding, live streaming with Xsplit, Web Design and Photoshop, and of course web browsing with a bajillion chrome tabs open  

 

So here it is..

 

Processor: AMD FX-9590 (Already bought, got a great deal on it, great for streaming with Xsplit and Video Encoding with Handbrake. Also I picked this instead of the 8350 as it is better binned, guaranteed higher frequencies will help with IPC deficiencies, and I wanted to support AMD and buy the best processor they make. The fact that its an enthusiast grade product with a crazy TDP requiring exotic cooling makes it very interesting to me, so I sprang for it!)

 

Motherboard: Deciding between a Crosshair V Formula Z or Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 from Asus.. the Sabertooth is about €50 cheaper where I am but the crosshair definitely has the killer looks and a better LAN NIC, not a massive thing for me but a nice addition. Things like the SupremeFX audio I'm not bothered about much. The most important thing for me is that it can support the massive 220w TDP of the 9590 and have VRMs that can cope.

 

Memory: AMD/Dataram Performance Series 16GB CAS9 1866mhz 8GBx2 Modules (Already Bought, awesome deal at Amazon so snapped these up, will max out the 8GB per slot either motherboard so can easily upgrade later without throwing modules out of the build.

 

Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum Series 1000w PSU (This took a lot of research, but after reading the poor performance reviews of the RM series from Corsair at HardOCP, I've settled firmly on Seasonic, rave reviews from everywhere including jonnyguru.com, pleanty of power for upgrades down the road for an upgrade to a R9 295x2, Crossfire R9 290s or anything else worth adding in the future.

 

Graphics Card: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X or Asus DirectCU II R9 290 (haven't decided which I prefer yet, reviews say the Sapphire is cooler for VRM temps with that cooler, Asus is more compact and cooler looking. Also haven't ruled out spending €50 more on a MSI Twin Frozr R9 290x but knowing the very negligible performance difference between the 290 and 290x I'm gonna bet that the Sapphire or Asus will be just as fast. Hoping to get a R9 295x2 at some point, prices have really come down, about €750 where I am right now which for that card is phenomenal.

 

Case: Corsair Carbide Spec 01 [Temporary] (Got this free from a friends previous build, planning an upgrade to a Define R5 or H440 in White so looking for opinions between these.

 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 120xl (Was planning on going air cooling and getting the Noctua NH-D15 which is awesome, but is only compatible with the R5 and H440, not the Spec 01, so thinking of going with this instead.

 

SSD and Storage: AMD 240GB OCZ 2.5inch SSD + 2TB Seagate Momentus 7200rpm HDD (easy choice here, the SSD is very price competitive and looks fantastic, matches the rest of the build. Momentus for mass storage as I've had very good experiences with Seagate, priced well.

 

So guys what do you think?

 

I decided to go AMD on this one for a few reasons. Most of my workloads are heavily biased towards multiple threads and benefit from having more cores. The FX-9590 is very well suited for video streaming and encoding with those 8 cores, same goes for heavy multitasking. The ability to video encode, while streaming, while gaming, without slowdowns or lost frames is a big boon for me, so I'm not so bothered about the lackluster single thread performance you get from Piledriver as opposed to Haswell.

 

Also this will be my first time buying anything AMD (with the exception of my Xbox One), so anyone out there who think's I'm an AMD fanboy, I'm not. The 6 other PCs in my house of different ages are all Intel Inside, so definitely have no fanboyism here! But I was intrigued by a few reviews (Notably Logan from Tek Syndicate) who compared the FX to some Core i7 parts in streaming and gaming, and came away with good impressions so I'm willing to give it a try. Besides its about time I gave AMD some love and bought some of their products, they're the only ones giving Intel any competition in the PC processor space and I think they deserve a bit of support don't you?

 

Anyways enough of me rambling on, I'd love to hear your ideas and opinions guys, let me know in the comments, 

 

Thanks!

 

 

-Mark H

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GxYnK8

 

PC World Build Guide:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2839480/red-team-rocking-build-the-ultimate-amd-gaming-pc.html

 

 

Tek Syndicate Benchmarks:

https://teksyndicate.com/videos/crysis-3-benchmarks-amd-fx-8350-vs-intel-i7-3770k-both-overclocked

https://teksyndicate.com/videos/amd-fx-8350-vs-intel-3570k-vs-3770k-vs-3820-gaming-and-xsplit-streaming-benchmarks

 

Price List:

Processor:

AMD FX-9590 - €230

 

Motherboard:

Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 - €150

             -or-

Asus Crosshair V Formula Z  - €205

 

Video Card;

Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X      - €325

              -or-

Asus Direct CU ii R9 290  - €309

              -or-

MSI Twin Frozr R9 290x  - €355

 

Power Supply:

Seasonic Platinum 1000w - €235

I could spend €120 on a X - Series 750w but I think this could be a better investment, having more headroom if I went for additional GPU later on

 

Memory:

AMD Performance Series 16GB 8GBx2 

CAS 9 1866mhz RAM     -  €200

 

SSD and Storage:

AMD 240GB SSD by OCZ - €145

 

CPU Cooler:

Cooler Master Nepton 120xl - €80

 

Case:

Define R5 White w/Window

by Fractal Design

          -or-

NZXT H440 White 

     Both €135

[zappian]

The fact that its an enthusiast grade product with a crazy TDP requiring exotic cooling makes it very interesting to me, so I sprang for it!)

And I wanted to support AMD and buy the best processor they make. 

 

Sorry the 9590 inst "enthusiast grade" , dual cores from 2008 have more single threaded performance.

[SeanBond]

I am sorry, I had to stop reading at "bought a 9590"....  :wacko:

 

Why do people think paying triple the amount for a highly binned 8320 is reasonable when you could get an i7 and blow it away, even if you got it on a deal an i5 will still beat it in games....

[SimpleG]

you can never get a great deal on 9590, unless it's 50 bucks. So just sell it for the highest price you can get, you won't have any good gaming experiance on it

[JefferyD90]

As far as the Motherboard goes, I would go ahead and get the Crosshair IV. It will be a much better suited motherboard for gaming. Although I did previously own the Sabertooth 990FX myself and loved it.

And as far as the case goes, I'd spring for a full tower build, not a mid tower. With this kind of a system you need all the airflow you can get.

And there is nothing wrong with the FX-9590. I personally would have just got the FX-8350 and OC'ed the hell out of it, and put the extra money to a better video card. But you have not chosen unwisely. Good CPU to go with a good video card.

Since you are getting a ASUS motherboard, go ahead and get the matching video card. No need to cross up your manufactures.

[IP man]

Looks good, but i would never pick up a AMD cpu.

[david cassar]

Why did you get the 9590 ;-;

[zappian]

Why did you get the 9590 ;-;

 

230 bucks.

 

Tragedy...

He could have gotten a xeon E3

[IP man]

Dont be so hard on the OP, Youre pc is very good and it will eat games 

[salecar3]

Hey Forum!

 

I'm building a new PC, my first PC build in fact to replace my trusty but undoubtedly antiquated Dell Dimension 8300. I've finally decided to graduate from the Xbox One to something a bit more gutsy. I've taken my inspiration on an article done by PC World for an Ultimate AMD Gaming Build, keeping to it in the places that count and changing around some components to ones I think are a bit better.

 

I've pretty much completed the build list but just wanted your thoughts on the components and if there is anything I overlooked or didn't consider. The PC will be used initially with a Single 1080p monitor (planned upgrade to an LG Ultrawide soon) for playing games such as GTA5, Company of Heroes 2, Gary's Mod, Far Cry 4, Dota 2, League of Legends and World of Warcraft. Besides from that I'll be using it for Video rendering and encoding, live streaming with Xsplit, Web Design and Photoshop, and of course web browsing with a bajillion chrome tabs open  

 

So here it is..

 

Processor: AMD FX-9590 (Already bought, got a great deal on it, great for streaming with Xsplit and Video Encoding with Handbrake. Also I picked this instead of the 8350 as it is better binned, guaranteed higher frequencies will help with IPC deficiencies, and I wanted to support AMD and buy the best processor they make. The fact that its an enthusiast grade product with a crazy TDP requiring exotic cooling makes it very interesting to me, so I sprang for it!)

 

Motherboard: Deciding between a Crosshair V Formula Z or Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 from Asus.. the Sabertooth is about €50 cheaper where I am but the crosshair definitely has the killer looks and a better LAN NIC, not a massive thing for me but a nice addition. Things like the SupremeFX audio I'm not bothered about much. The most important thing for me is that it can support the massive 220w TDP of the 9590 and have VRMs that can cope.

 

Memory: AMD/Dataram Performance Series 16GB CAS9 1866mhz 8GBx2 Modules (Already Bought, awesome deal at Amazon so snapped these up, will max out the 8GB per slot either motherboard so can easily upgrade later without throwing modules out of the build.

 

Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum Series 1000w PSU (This took a lot of research, but after reading the poor performance reviews of the RM series from Corsair at HardOCP, I've settled firmly on Seasonic, rave reviews from everywhere including jonnyguru.com, pleanty of power for upgrades down the road for an upgrade to a R9 295x2, Crossfire R9 290s or anything else worth adding in the future.

 

Graphics Card: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X or Asus DirectCU II R9 290 (haven't decided which I prefer yet, reviews say the Sapphire is cooler for VRM temps with that cooler, Asus is more compact and cooler looking. Also haven't ruled out spending €50 more on a MSI Twin Frozr R9 290x but knowing the very negligible performance difference between the 290 and 290x I'm gonna bet that the Sapphire or Asus will be just as fast. Hoping to get a R9 295x2 at some point, prices have really come down, about €750 where I am right now which for that card is phenomenal.

 

Case: Corsair Carbide Spec 01 [Temporary] (Got this free from a friends previous build, planning an upgrade to a Define R5 or H440 in White so looking for opinions between these.

 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 120xl (Was planning on going air cooling and getting the Noctua NH-D15 which is awesome, but is only compatible with the R5 and H440, not the Spec 01, so thinking of going with this instead.

 

SSD and Storage: AMD 240GB OCZ 2.5inch SSD + 2TB Seagate Momentus 7200rpm HDD (easy choice here, the SSD is very price competitive and looks fantastic, matches the rest of the build. Momentus for mass storage as I've had very good experiences with Seagate, priced well.

 

So guys what do you think?

 

I decided to go AMD on this one for a few reasons. Most of my workloads are heavily biased towards multiple threads and benefit from having more cores. The FX-9590 is very well suited for video streaming and encoding with those 8 cores, same goes for heavy multitasking. The ability to video encode, while streaming, while gaming, without slowdowns or lost frames is a big boon for me, so I'm not so bothered about the lackluster single thread performance you get from Piledriver as opposed to Haswell.

 

Also this will be my first time buying anything AMD (with the exception of my Xbox One), so anyone out there who think's I'm an AMD fanboy, I'm not. The 6 other PCs in my house of different ages are all Intel Inside, so definitely have no fanboyism here! But I was intrigued by a few reviews (Notably Logan from Tek Syndicate) who compared the FX to some Core i7 parts in streaming and gaming, and came away with good impressions so I'm willing to give it a try. Besides its about time I gave AMD some love and bought some of their products, they're the only ones giving Intel any competition in the PC processor space and I think they deserve a bit of support don't you?

 

Anyways enough of me rambling on, I'd love to hear your ideas and opinions guys, let me know in the comments, 

 

Thanks!

 

 

-Mark H

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GxYnK8

 

PC World Build Guide:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2839480/red-team-rocking-build-the-ultimate-amd-gaming-pc.html

 

 

Tek Syndicate Benchmarks:

https://teksyndicate.com/videos/crysis-3-benchmarks-amd-fx-8350-vs-intel-i7-3770k-both-overclocked

https://teksyndicate.com/videos/amd-fx-8350-vs-intel-3570k-vs-3770k-vs-3820-gaming-and-xsplit-streaming-benchmarks

 

Price List:

Processor:

AMD FX-9590 - €230

 

Motherboard:

Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 - €150

             -or-

Asus Crosshair V Formula Z  - €205

 

Video Card;

Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X      - €325

              -or-

Asus Direct CU ii R9 290  - €309

              -or-

MSI Twin Frozr R9 290x  - €355

 

Power Supply:

Seasonic Platinum 1000w - €235

I could spend €120 on a X - Series 750w but I think this could be a better investment, having more headroom if I went for additional GPU later on

 

Memory:

AMD Performance Series 16GB 8GBx2 

CAS 9 1866mhz RAM     -  €200

 

SSD and Storage:

AMD 240GB SSD by OCZ - €145

 

CPU Cooler:

Cooler Master Nepton 120xl - €80

 

Case:

Define R5 White w/Window

by Fractal Design

          -or-

NZXT H440 White 

     Both €135

Go fore it if u can get formula z and 290tri x

[SeanBond]

230 bucks.

 

Tragedy...

He could have gotten a xeon E3

230 euros. That's like 350 bucks lol. I don't know the price of a 4790k over there but my gut tells me it was still a terrible decision. On top of that not sounding like a deal at all he HAS to throw in a lot more money at the motherboard and throw in more money for cooling. The 9590 should not exist. Or at least shouldn't cost more than $175

[SuperPug]

Go fore it if u can get formula z and 290tri x

 

Did you really have to quote the entire thing...?

[Guest]

FX-9590  :wacko:

 

Also don't get a 120mm AIO cooler for that cpu. You want a 240mm/280mm or a high end air cooler.

[salecar3]

Did you really have to quote the entire thing...?

yes bicuse I can

[anthonygagzz]

If I were you, I would get a different psu (a cheaper one and use the money somewhere else on the build) and a 5820k. Here is a comparison between the two (5820k and 9590) http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-5820K-vs-AMD-FX-9590/2579vs1812

 

here is a build with the 5820k and a cheaper but still good psu: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Lh8LHx

[GeekySole9354]

yes bicuse I can

No. Just no. Use spoilers, don't be an ass.

[SuperPug]

yes bicuse I can

 

GJ mate...

[salecar3]

GJ mate...

thank you m8

[markhannelly]

230 bucks.

 

Tragedy...

He could have gotten a xeon E3

Hey Guys! 

               Thanks for far for your input. @zappian I actually forgot completely about the E3 Xeon, definitely a good idea thanks.

 

I'll explain my rationale for the FX-9590, as it is definitely the most questionworthy choice of the lot. To some its crazy, foolish or downright moronic to have gone with an AMD FX, and I was expecting some replies to that, so I'll explain my reasoning behind it.

 

My main reason is the core count, having 8 cores is great when it comes to multitasking games, video encodes and streams simultaneously.

 

Also many game engines are starting to take advantage of more CPU cores, so the slight disadvantage 8 core chips have now will become a non issue between game engines leveraging the power of multiple cores better in the future and also APIs like Mantle and DX12 reducing CPU reliance in a lot of games that take advantage of them.

 

Intel are arguably better in most if not all metrics with the exception of price in a lot of areas, but I wanted an AMD for a change, to try something different. I more than likely will do this as a once off and go Intel the next time around, but this time I decided to give AMD parts a chance for once and went for the FX, and chose the 9590 as its the fastest chip they currently make. 

 

Jayztwocents weighing in on the debate, pretty sound advice imo

 

Thanks for the feedback guys, seriously anti-AMD or otherwise its all very constructive so thanks!

[anthonygagzz]

I see that you want to try something new but for about 30 more dollars if you saw my post, you could have a better computer for what you want to do I will repost it here:

 

If I were you, I would get a different psu (a cheaper one and use the money somewhere else on the build) and a 5820k. Here is a comparison between the two (5820k and 9590) http://cpu.userbench...9590/2579vs1812

 

here is a build with the 5820k and a cheaper but still good psu: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Lh8LHx

[markhannelly]

If I were you, I would get a different psu (a cheaper one and use the money somewhere else on the build) and a 5820k. Here is a comparison between the two (5820k and 9590) http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-5820K-vs-AMD-FX-9590/2579vs1812

 

here is a build with the 5820k and a cheaper but still good psu: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Lh8LHx

 

I considered the RM series from Corsair but they haven't gotten a passing grade from HardOCP, pointing to a few low quality components in the unit. 

 

The cheaper option I was considering was the X-Series from Seasonic, they have a 750w the same price as the RM Corsair which scored much higher

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002VAFDQS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AH2D50N0MK6UV

 

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/09/25/seasonic_x_series_x750_power_supply_review/9#.VOoWK_msXgw

[anthonygagzz]

Yes, I agree and with the extra money you could spend it on other components which is great!

[Megahurt]

If I were you, I would get a different psu (a cheaper one and use the money somewhere else on the build) and a 5820k. Here is a comparison between the two (5820k and 9590) http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-5820K-vs-AMD-FX-9590/2579vs1812

 

here is a build with the 5820k and a cheaper but still good psu: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Lh8LHx

X99 motherboards are a lot more expensive than 990FX ones, DDR4 is also a lot more expensive, it would perform better yes, but at a much greater price.

[anthonygagzz]

X99 motherboards are a lot more expensive than 990FX ones, DDR4 is also a lot more expensive, it would perform better yes, but at a much greater price.

No if you look at his original link, it is not that much more.

 

His build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GxYnK8

Mine:  http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Lh8LHx

[markhannelly]

I see that you want to try something new but for about 30 more dollars if you saw my post, you could have a better computer for what you want to do I will repost it here:

 

If I were you, I would get a different psu (a cheaper one and use the money somewhere else on the build) and a 5820k. Here is a comparison between the two (5820k and 9590) http://cpu.userbench...9590/2579vs1812

 

here is a build with the 5820k and a cheaper but still good psu: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Lh8LHx

 

The 5820k looks really nice, it is a lot more expensive where I am though, approximately double the price.

 

Intel 5820k

http://www.dabs.ie/products/intel-core-i7-5820k-3-30ghz-skt2011-v3-15mb-haswell-e-unlocked-9P0M.html?src=15

 

AMD FX-9590

http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-fx-8-core-black-edition-fx-9590-5-0ghz-16mb-9NSG.html?src=15