Any improvements without a price increase?

[h3rm3s]

Hello everyone!

 

I'm planning to assemble a PC. I already chose my parts here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZjT8D3

I'm not buying a case, I have my own solution for that. And currently, I didn't choose a graphics card yet.

 

Which graphics card do you recommend?

Are there better parts I could buy without spending more money?

Imagine I wouldn't buy the GPU, what could this PC handle (CS:GO, Cities Skylines, Kerbal Space Program, ...)?

What if I would buy the GPU?

 

I'm going to use my PC to play the games mentioned before, and some programming.

 

Thanks!

[Mjvdk]

If you don't want to spend an awful amount, a GTX 750ti wouldn't be a bad choice

[79wjd]

What's your total budget (including the gpu)? 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fRgVsY
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fRgVsY/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($74.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.05 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A68M-DG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($47.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($30.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($50.35 @ NCIX US) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card  ($143.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $421.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-09 18:01 EST-0500

[KazuMae]

I would recommend GTX970 or if you can wait for pascal. for AMD side, go with R9 380 or 390.

 

please be aware that Cities Skylines needs lots of CPU power.

[h3rm3s]

2 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

What's your total budget (including the gpu)? 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($74.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A68M-DG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($47.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($30.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($50.35 @ NCIX US) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card  ($143.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $393.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-09 17:59 EST-0500

Well I'd say 400€ is kinda my budget. I can spend a bit more, but I'm really going for a budget PC. I'm a 15 year old kid, so my income is not huge.

[h3rm3s]

3 minutes ago, KazuMae said:

I would recommend GTX970 or if you can wait for pascal. for AMD side, go with R9 380 or 390.

 

please be aware that Cities Skylines needs lots of CPU power.

Does it matter if I go with an AMD product, or a GTX970? I really don't know anything about hardware.

[KazuMae]

1 minute ago, h3rm3s said:

Does it matter if I go with an AMD product, or a GTX970? I really don't know anything about hardware.

if you go with AMD product, you would get a performance increase(sometimes decrease) through crossfire because crossfire activates right away if it detects any other compactible partner

[h3rm3s]

Just now, KazuMae said:

if you go with AMD product, you would get a performance increase(sometimes decrease) through crossfire because crossfire activates right away if it detects any other compactible partner

I see! So it would be smart for me to buy an AMD product. Another question: The CPU  I chose, is it good? What should I expect from it?

[KazuMae]

1 minute ago, h3rm3s said:

I see! So it would be smart for me to buy an AMD product. Another question: The CPU  I chose, is it good? What should I expect from it?

Well as I said. its a good thing for AMD to do this but this crossfire is a double edge sword. Last time i saw people were complaining that it decreases the performance but I really hope that this is not the case for you. for your CPU i wouldnt say its the greatest but i would think you can do better with the FX series. please check in passmark for the cpu benchmarks. see if any of those catches your eye

[VoyexTech]

Here you go I edited the build a bit and got it working the 260x is an ok card and I can get the cpu bcuz you don't need a A series when you will have a gpu in build I also changed the motherboardso it works with your cpu finally I changed your psu to a more powerful and reliable one. 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VzhCf7

 

Also I'm assuming you have a case because you didn't put one in the build

[h3rm3s]

1 minute ago, VoyexTech said:

Here you go I edited the build a bit and got it working the 260x is an ok card and I can get the cpu bcuz you don't need a A series when you will have a gpu in build I also changed the motherboardso it works with your cpu finally I changed your psu to a more powerful and reliable one. 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VzhCf7

Thanks! If I'd use this configuration, how do you expect Cities Skylines (or something similar) to run?

[VoyexTech]

1 minute ago, h3rm3s said:

Thanks! If I'd use this configuration, how do you expect Cities Skylines (or something similar) to run?

I actual am running all those games mentioned above on highest settings with the 250x (a graphics card even worse than the one I suggested)

[KazuMae]

Just now, h3rm3s said:

Thanks! If I'd use this configuration, how do you expect Cities Skylines (or something similar) to run?

yes it would run. I have a GTX980M with i7 4720HQ i can get 60fps but it will drop to 30 fps as my city grows bigger.

[Lotus]

First, $300 is not a good price point. I highly recommendd at least stepping up to the x4 860k and a discrete GPU like a gtx 950. That being said, if you absolutely cannot spend more money, then these tweaks to your build will help:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7870K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($132.69 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($52.38 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($38.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($23.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $297.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-09 18:11 EST-0500

 

The cooler does nothing for your first build as the motherboard prevented you from overclocking. You're better off with the stock cooler and a mild overclock than the aftermarket cooler but unable to overclock. The better board also lets us use faster memory, which is very important for an APU build like this one. Normally with a dedicated gpu it wouldnt matter, but since the APU shares system memory, we need the memory as fast as we can get it.

[h3rm3s]

4 minutes ago, KazuMae said:

Well as I said. its a good thing for AMD to do this but this crossfire is a double edge sword. Last time i saw people were complaining that it decreases the performance but I really hope that this is not the case for you. for your CPU i wouldnt say its the greatest but i would think you can do better with the FX series. please check in passmark for the cpu benchmarks. see if any of those catches your eye

Oh, I hope it doesn't cause any trouble, I'll see I guess. VoyexTech advised me to use the

AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor   I guess it's better.

[h3rm3s]

Just now, KazuMae said:

yes it would run. I have a GTX980M with i7 4720HQ i can get 60fps but it will drop to 30 fps as my city grows bigger.

Great!!! I'm currently used to 15fps on lowest settings, so any improvement feels like heaven!

[KazuMae]

1 minute ago, h3rm3s said:

Oh, I hope it doesn't cause any trouble, I'll see I guess. VoyexTech advised me to use the

AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor   I guess it's better.

yes it would definitly increase your PC performance !

[h3rm3s]

2 minutes ago, Lotus said:

First, $300 is not a good price point. I highly recommendd at least stepping up to the x4 860k and a discrete GPU like a gtx 950./that being said, if you absolutely cannot spend more money, then these tweaks to your build will help:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7870K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($132.69 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($52.38 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($38.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($23.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $297.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-09 18:11 EST-0500

 

The cooler does nothing for your first build as the motherboard prevented you from overclocking. You're better off with tye stock cooler and a mild overclock and an aftermarket cooler but unable to overclock. The better board also lets us use faster memory, which is very important for an APU build like this one. Normally with a dedicated gpu it wouldnt matter, but since the APU shares system memory, we need the memory as fast as we can get it.

Thanks!!! I'll definitely look at these tweaks!!!

[h3rm3s]

1 minute ago, KazuMae said:

yes it would definitly increase your PC performance !

Great!!! I assume it will also compile code faster (since that's what faster processors do), so that means, more productivity!!!

[KazuMae]

Just now, h3rm3s said:

Great!!! I assume it will also compile code faster (since that's what faster processors do), so that means, more productivity!!!

yes but please be in mind that GPU plays a major part too if you can save some money and get like r9 270 or 280 that would be great!

[h3rm3s]

1 minute ago, KazuMae said:

yes but please be in mind that GPU plays a major part too if you can save some money and get like r9 270 or 280 that would be great!

I understand! When I'm 16 (few months) I can finally work, so maybe that will enable me to buy a better GPU than planned! Thanks for the help!

[VoyexTech]

1 minute ago, KazuMae said:

yes but please be in mind that GPU plays a major part too if you can save some money and get like r9 270 or 280 that would be great!

Yup. But h3rm3s probably doesn't have the money for something better but I would definitely recommend trying to save for a little bit and get a better graphics card.

[KazuMae]

Just now, h3rm3s said:

I understand! When I'm 16 (few months) I can finally work, so maybe that will enable me to buy a better GPU than planned! Thanks for the help!

Ok cool! Owh since that I read that you are coding. It would help if you learn about benchmarks and stuff. It would help to ratio out what kind of pc you need and what is the best bang of the buck. I hope you have a good pc and have a nice day!

[KazuMae]

Just now, VoyexTech said:

Yup. But h3rm3s probably doesn't have the money for something better but I would definitely recommend trying to save for a little bit and get a better graphics card.

well @h3rm3s  mention he will be working

[h3rm3s]

Just now, KazuMae said:

Ok cool! Owh since that I read that you are coding. It would help if you learn about benchmarks and stuff. It would help to ratio out what kind of pc you need and what is the best bang of the buck. I hope you have a good pc and have a nice day!

Thanks!!! I should really look into benchmarks I guess! Thanks for the help!