Help! What PC parts should i get?

[:^)]

So i have been playing games on a laptop for 4 year and i want to get a "ok" PC,

 

I have made an list of stuff that i picked and i want you guys to help me if i'm overpricing, or i should get a cheaper one.

 

Here is the list:

 

Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 Boxed                                                                                         € 180,80

 

Motherboard: MSI H97 PC Mate                                                                                                € 80,50

 

Graphicscard: MSI GeForve GTX 960 GAMING 2G                                                                  € 213,70

 

Internal Hard Drive: Seagate Desktop HDD ST1000DM003, 1TB                                           € 48,50

 

Case: Sharkoon REX8 Value White                                                                                           € 47,90

(I really like this case, if you have a better one to show me the show it, i preffer white cases)

 

Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30                                                                                                   € 49,50

 

RAM: 2x Kingston HyperX Fury Black HX318C10FBK2/8                                                       € 49,50

 

Power Supply: Corsair CX500M                                                                                                 € 59,90        

 

Monitor: I haven't found any good once.                                                                                    €/ 

 

Total price of € 730,30, i think that this is too much, please help.

[jamesbanana]

Its not bad, the only thing i would reconsider is the cpu and maybe the Gpu, If you get something lower for the cpu then it will be pretty good, plus AMD isnt that bad either. The fx8350 is pretty good and they do good gpus to.

[BigDay]

i would have gotten the r9 380 instead with an intel z97 board and a seasonic psu. for a monitor, get this one:

 

Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor

 

solid gaming monitor

[samcool55]

Try to create your config here: pcpartpicker.com

Makes it easier for us to work. About the monitor, try to find a 1080p one with an IPS panel, prices are usually arond 150 euros. Probably cheaper.

[mata-pombos]

I think you should save money by

- switching your i5 to na i3 4150 because the difference is like 2-3 fps on games (it doesnt bottleneck) and you save like 60 bucks. In the future games will take more advantage of 4 phisical cores of the i5, but for now na i3 4150 is a great choice.

- Do you really need a 50 dollar keyboard? They all do the same thing, get a cheaper one, only buy a better keyboard when you have a bigger budget

- Try to find a cheaper 960 with an aftermaket cooler (MSI armor oc is good and you save 20 bucks)

[OAcesync]

Good balanced build but don't buy that case, get something better like a NZXT S340,Corsair Spec-01,Corsair 200R,CM Centurion 6.

Also swap out the i5 for a i3

[:^)]

Its not bad, the only thing i would reconsider is the cpu and maybe the Gpu, If you get something lower for the cpu then it will be pretty good, plus AMD isnt that bad either. The fx8350 is pretty good and they do good gpus to.

Yeah you are right about the fx8350 being better, thanks!

[:^)]

Good balanced build but don't buy that case, get something better like a NZXT S340,Corsair Spec-01,Corsair 200R,CM Centurion 6.

Also swap out the i5 for a i3

Nah im fine with the fx8350

[:^)]

i would have gotten the r9 380 instead with an intel z97 board and a seasonic psu. for a monitor, get this one:

 

Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor

 

solid gaming monitor

But the r9 380 is slower and more expensive, I'm getting an AMD instead of an Intel is this a good motherboard "MSI 970-G43"? And that monitor look good but very expensive, that goes on my list.

[BigDay]

But the r9 380 is slower and more expensive, I'm getting an AMD instead of an Intel is this a good motherboard "MSI 970-G43"? And that monitor look good but very expensive, that goes on my list.

 

the r9 380 beats the 960:

 

and no, it's not more expensive.

[OAcesync]

But the r9 380 is slower and more expensive, I'm getting an AMD instead of an Intel is this a good motherboard "MSI 970-G43"? And that monitor look good but very expensive, that goes on my list.

I would go with i3 because it will be a more cheaper safe option, I wouldn't recommend using any 8 core FX on a 970 because they are very low budget bad quality motherboards, I would only use a 990 mobo but their more expensive.

[:^)]

I would go with i3 because it will be a more cheaper safe option, I wouldn't recommend using any 8 core FX on a 970 because they are very low budget bad quality motherboards, I would only use a 990 mobo but their more expensive.

Hmm ok, so the i3 it is, if i buy it and over a year later i decide i want to upgrade to an i7, can i do it?

[OAcesync]

Hmm ok, so the i3 it is, if i buy it and over a year later i decide i want to upgrade to an i7, can i do it?

Yes you can upgrade to a i5/i7 haswell refresh or the new upcoming i5/i7 broadwell

[:^)]

the r9 380 beats the 960:

 

and no, it's not more expensive.

My website that i use to pick parts ( http://tweakers.net/ ) says that MSI R9 380 (4GB) is €246,50 and the MSI GeForce GTX 960(2Gb) is 213,70...? I don't get what have to look at, the speed? Memory speed? Please explain.

[:^)]

Yes you can upgrade to a i5/i7 haswell refresh or the new upcoming i5/i7 broadwell

Can you recommend me a good i3 processor and a motherboard for it i want a standard ATX.

[OAcesync]

Can you recommend me a good i3 processor and a motherboard for it i want a standard ATX.

Country?

[BigDay]

My website that i use to pick parts ( http://tweakers.net/ ) says that MSI R9 380 (4GB) is €246,50 and the MSI GeForce GTX 960(2Gb) is 213,70...? I don't get what have to look at, the speed? Memory speed? Please explain.

 

the reason the store is pricing the r9 380 higher than the gtx 960 is because they are offering you the 4gb memory version. look for the 2gb memory r9 380 instead, it should be cheaper and still outperforms the 960 at the same memory level.

[BigDay]

Can you recommend me a good i3 processor and a motherboard for it i want a standard ATX.

 

Intel Core i3-4160

 

i'm assuming you're on a budget so here are some ideas:

 

1. MSI Z97 PC MATE

 

2. Asus Z97-P

 

this one is good as well, but is a little more expensive:

 

Asus Z97-A

[Sam Z Man]

Its not bad, the only thing i would reconsider is the cpu and maybe the Gpu, If you get something lower for the cpu then it will be pretty good, plus AMD isnt that bad either. The fx8350 is pretty good.

 

Yeah you are right about the fx8350 being better, thanks!

 

Nah im fine with the fx8350

 

There is no single spot in this world where a 4460 and even a i3 will be beat a  FX-8350 in games, The FX-series is 4 years old and absolute shit in gaming, I don't know where were you guys got your facts from but they are so very wrong.

 

 

So many of you know Faceman's infamous quote regarding the choice of AMD FX CPUs vs respectively priced i3/i5 for gaming. Personally I thought the quote was always a bit too big to digest, and that the information seems to be getting a bit dated, so thought I'd make a "newer" version, with some newer AAA titles for gaming performance comparison, and overall less spoilers and paragraphs, and of course put it into it's own thread.

 

Also trying to use basic spoilers so it's more "break-proof" whenever they change something on the forums and spoilers go to shit.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Of course, it still all boils down to: People think they are getting a good deal when they buy an FX for gaming, and they are not.

 

Simple conclusions - Why Intel i3/i5 are better for gaming then competing AMD FX:

 

- Generally better gaming performance (see below)

- Lower power consumption

- Lower heat output, heat output that the stock cooler can actually handle, eliminating the need for an aftermarket cooler for a quiet PC

- Upgradability: Buy an i3 now and upgrade to a massively more powerful i7 later while keeping the same motherboard. Buy an FX8 now, and be stuck with it until next mobo upgrade

- Greater motherboard selection, no need for fancy VRMs (see below)

- More modern technologies: PCIe 3.0, native USB 3.0/3.1, on-die integrated graphics (in case of GPU failure, can keep using your PC), etc

 

- Better IPC: Every MHz does more with Intel.

 

More cores does not mean better, if you can't use all of them. Intel cores are not twice as powerful as FX cores (given at stock), but if you can only use half of the cores on your FX then what's the point of having so many?

 

And before people think it, there is no bias here, I am an AMD CPU user. I don't regret my purchase because I did it back in the day when AMD was still highly competitive with Intel's first-gen Core-i CPUs, but here today, I'm just giving cold hard facts.

 

Gaming performance

Grand Theft Auto V

 

 

FX6 and FX8 fall between i3 and i5

 

The Witcher 3

 

 

FX6 and FX8 fall behind respective i3 and i5

 

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

 

 

A game optimized pretty darn well for multi-threaded CPUs, still can't see the FX8 pull away from i5

 

Batman Arkham Knight

 

 

Even the top-of-the-line FX 9590 can't catch up to i3

 

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

 

 

Lowest-end i3 can compete with FX, but even a 0.4GHz higher model and Intel starts to pull away

 

Project CARS

 

 

Once again FX6 and FX8 falling behind respective i3 and i5

 

If you note in some of these benchmarks, sometimes FX4 is actually ahead of FX6, because it is running at a higher frequency on each of the cores. These are examples of poor multi-threaded optimization in games. Many AAA titles still can't use more then 4 cores, so 4 FX cores at 3.8GHz is better then 6 FX cores at 3.5GHz.

 

VRMs - what are they and why are they important:

 

When talking about AM3+ boards you'll often hear the term VRMs. These are Voltage Regulation Modules, they are what turn the PSU's 12V into the ~1.4V (FX) your CPU will take. So the higher the power draw of your CPU, the more work the VRMs have to do. On Intel boards this isn't a big deal because at stock speeds you won't see more then 88W of CPU TDP, but you can't trust these same VRMs with the 125W FX chips. Overloading motherboard VRMs can actually lead to them burning out, causing a dead motherboard and possibly a fire hazard.

 

Read more about VRMs: http://www.overclock.net/a/about-vrms-mosfets-motherboard-safety-with-high-tdp-processors

 

Price:

(This is where the text comes in so get your English and math comprehension skills ready)

 

 

People think that FX is cheaper, and therefore is better for the money, and they'd be willing to make that sacrifice in performance for a bit of sacrifice in cost, but in reality, the difference is negligible. Take a look at these comparisons. Again this continues on the fact that you'll want a board with good VRMs for reliability on AM3+, while it's pretty much whatever with locked Intel chips. For this reason we'll be comparing using probably the best "cheap" AM3+ board, the Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P, with it's 8+2 phase VRMs, compared to a budget Intel H97 board.

 

FX-6300 vs i3

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($96.88 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($79.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $176.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 19:59 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($108.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $173.84

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 20:01 EDT-0400

 

$3 cheaper for the i3, and keep in mind as we proved above, the i3s are more then capable of competing with FX8 and even FX9 chips, only in the worst case scenario being around the same as FX6. On top of that, the benefits of Intel as listed above.

 

FX-8320 vs i5

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($134.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($79.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $214.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 20:03 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $231.84

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 20:04 EDT-0400

 

 

$17 more for the i5, for much higher performance and pretty much zero bottleneck with any single GPU in any game, as opposed to the struggling FX...

 

Cooler

 

Do note that these builds are NOT with an aftermarket cooler. While the stock Intel coolers are fine for their accompanying chips, the coolers bundled with 125W FX chips aren't really up to the job, and can become VERY loud under load. If you want a quiet PC you'll want to invest in an aftermarket cooler. The cheapest one worth buying to quiet down an FX chip is the Zalman CNPS5X, which is $17. 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-cpu-cooler-cnps5xperforma

 

This eliminates the price gap between the FX8 and i5, and makes the i3 choice $20 cheaper then the FX6 choice.

 

But what if I don't live in the USA?

 

 

Canada

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($122.99 @ NCIX) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($109.75 @ Vuugo) 

Total: $232.74

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 20:12 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($136.50 @ shopRBC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($93.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Total: $230.48

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 20:12 EDT-0400

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($169.75 @ Vuugo) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($109.75 @ Vuugo) 

Total: $279.50

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 20:35 EDT-0400

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($225.00 @ Vuugo) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($66.00 @ Vuugo) 

Total: $291.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 20:14 EDT-0400

 

UK

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  (£79.19 @ Aria PC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  (£64.54 @ More Computers) 

Total: £143.73

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 01:14 BST+0100

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  (£84.53 @ Ebuyer) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£69.47 @ Amazon UK) 

Total: £154.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 01:14 BST+0100

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  (£108.13 @ CCL Computers) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  (£64.54 @ More Computers) 

Total: £172.67

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 01:15 BST+0100

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£137.36 @ Ebuyer) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£34.68 @ CCL Computers) 

Total: £172.04

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 01:15 BST+0100

 

 

Kangaroo Land

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($145.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($145.00 @ CPL Online) 

Total: $290.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 10:25 AEST+1000

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($152.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($99.00 @ IJK) 

Total: $251.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 10:26 AEST+1000

 

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($205.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($145.00 @ CPL Online) 

Total: $350.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 10:25 AEST+1000

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($246.00 @ Centre Com) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($99.00 @ IJK) 

Total: $345.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 10:26 AEST+1000

 

​Deutschland

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  (€99.90 @ Caseking) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  (€85.09 @ Amazon Deutschland) 

Total: €184.99

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 02:23 CEST+0200

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  (€119.95 @ Amazon Deutschland) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (€76.89 @ Amazon Deutschland) 

Total: €196.84

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 02:23 CEST+0200

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  (€139.90 @ Caseking) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  (€85.09 @ Amazon Deutschland) 

Total: €224.99

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 02:23 CEST+0200

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  (€189.90 @ Caseking) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (€56.18 @ Amazon Deutschland) 

Total: €246.08

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 02:23 CEST+0200

 

(more to be added)

 

Around the world the price differences do change and often the gap grows but there is never a point where the Intel option is "overpriced" compared to Intel, considering the performance you get.

 

 

 

s/o to @Faceman for the original post which can be found here: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/290735-processor-choice/page-2#entry3947895, my mom for the delicious noodles that powered me through writing this and my clock for letting me know just how much of my life I wasted.

 

And of course every informative thread needs Andy @McMurderMonkey @LukaP

 

 

[:^)]

the reason the store is pricing the r9 380 higher than the gtx 960 is because they are offering you the 4gb memory version. look for the 2gb memory r9 380 instead, it should be cheaper and still outperforms the 960 at the same memory level.

960 is still cheaper for me  What website do you use? The memory speed is 7.01 ghz on the 960 and has a base clock speed (or whatever you call it) of  1,241GHz while the 380 has a memory speed of 5.6 ghz and a base clock speed of 970 mhz AND the 960 is cheaper... so it is better? right?

[:^)]

Country?

Belgium, but i want to buy some parts from the netherlands

[:^)]

There is no single spot in this world where a 4460 and even a i3 will be beat a  FX-8350 in games, The FX-series is 4 years old and absolute shit in gaming, I don't know where were you guys got your facts from but they are so very wrong.

 

Thanks for the very informantive post dude, so i'm getting an Intel Core i3-4160 Boxed and a MSI Z97 Pc Mate motherboard, is it alright, or am i overpaying now?

[:^)]

Good balanced build but don't buy that case, get something better like a NZXT S340,Corsair Spec-01,Corsair 200R,CM Centurion 6.

Also swap out the i5 for a i3

I the case would be good to buy because it's pretty cool and open...

[OAcesync]

I the case would be good to buy because it's pretty cool and open...

The case you choose looks old and has:

Bad cable management (Making cleaning up you cables even worse)

Old HDD layout and a bad HDD layout in general because all the drives are external HDD/ODs

Limited GPU clearance

Not much clear airflow to the GPU because it's only one intake and rear and the HDD cage.

 

Really wouldn't recommend that case.

[Sam Z Man]

Thanks for the very informantive post dude, so i'm getting an Intel Core i3-4160 Boxed and a MSI Z97 Pc Mate motherboard, is it alright, or am i overpaying now?

It would be better to get a i5 and a cheaper motherboard.