Help new build... AMD or INTEL

vxxs · Apr 5, 2012

Ok I'm building 2 PCs for me and my wife to play skyrim and looking at diablo 3 or starwars old republic.. I have look at so many boards and chips on new egg.. I like the price and ghz of the fx-4170 with saber tooth or formula 1 but at frys they say I5 2500k is the way to go with any asus board.. I thought about going with the 4170 for now and get the piledriver later when its out and use the same board. We will overclock what ever we get..

We where going to get
64gb ssd and use our old 1tb for videos/pictures
8 or 16 gb ram
7750 or 6850 radion

Any ideas?

I would like to spend around 500-600 for each since we have the ps/case

Aldakoopa · Apr 5, 2012

While I'm not an Intel fan, I will admit the i5 2500K is a pretty good gaming CPU.

However, I'm completely happy with my FX-4100. It's still a good gaming CPU, in Battlefield 3 (which I know you didn't mention) it performs the same as a 2500K. Now, the FX-4170 has made my processor jealous with it's 4.2GHz stock speed.

Oh well. My 2 cents worth: Save a few bucks and go with the FX-4170.

On a side note, out of the two graphics cards you have listed, I would go with the 6850. The prices have dropped on them since the 7xxx series is "replacing" them. Mine is overclocked, but I'm able to play Skyrim on Ultra settings without a problem. :thup:

Good luck!

vxxs · Apr 5, 2012

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL Item #: N82E16820231314Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy

Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Item #: N82E16820148441Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

• GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
IS H775F1GD Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card Item #: N82E16814161403Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy

AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4170FRGUBOX Item #: N82E16819106009Return Policy: CPU Replacement

SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity Item #: N82E16814102908Return Policy:

CarlJohnson · Apr 5, 2012

What resolution are you playing? That makes a big difference in what to choose

Aldakoopa · Apr 5, 2012

CarlJohnson said:
What resolution are you playing? That makes a big difference in what to choose

At lower resolutions, Intel outperforms AMD, at higher resolutions and with multiple monitors, the gap closes and AMD will even outperform Intel in some cases. The AMD FX processors keep steady framerates no matter what resolution, it seems, where as the Intels drop framerates as the resolution/number of monitors increases. Either way, both Intel and AMD can provide playable framerates.

ssjwizard · Apr 5, 2012

So I would probably go with something along these lines for a 600 build with no PSU on the AMD platform. The 2GB vRam will help you get a bit of extra life out of the cards. Plus you could add a 2nd card for crossfire later on when you need more power.

Knufire · Apr 5, 2012

I'd still go for a 1GB 6870 over a 2GB 6850, but other than that, I'd go with the above build.

Metlcub · Apr 6, 2012

I think Microcenter still has the mobo+cpu deal with the set up I got.
FX-8120 $179
Asus Croshair V Formula 990FX $179
$360+tax

other wise they are both like $220 each. Was a great combo deal. most games are more GPU then CPU. But yes CPU still plays a big part.

pwnmachine · Apr 6, 2012

SSJWizard strikes again.

Aldakoopa · Apr 6, 2012

Knufire said:
I'd still go for a 1GB 6870 over a 2GB 6850, but other than that, I'd go with the above build.

I second this. But also, I wouldn't spend $50 extra just for 1 more GB of VRAM. The 6850 is still a decently powerful mid-range card though, but it really all depends on what the OP wants.

pwnmachine · Apr 6, 2012

^ You are right, the card selection truly depends on the usage. I would definitely favor vram since OP will be playing games like Skrim and with full mods that game is a vram hog.

Thb the price difference is not very large, so I would suggest going with higher vram just so yo arent switching gpus 9mos down the road

Aldakoopa · Apr 6, 2012

pwnmachine said:
^ You are right, the card selection truly depends on the usage. I would definitely favor vram since OP will be playing games like Skrim and with full mods that game is a vram hog.

Thb the price difference is not very large, so I would suggest going with higher vram just so yo arent switching gpus 9mos down the road

True. I can't run any high resolution texture mods or anything. But the game works fine stock with a few mods, as long as they're not graphic related mods.

I was thinking there was a cheaper alternative when it came to getting 2GB GDDR5 but I couldn't find anything. It just seems to me that $50 is a little much for 1 more GB, but then your other options are just more expensive GPUs with more VRAM. =/

ssjwizard · Apr 6, 2012

I run SLI 1GB 460s which is pretty much equivalent performance wise to the 6850. I max out my vRam while at ~ 65-70% GPU load with the texture mods and resolution(1900:1200) I game at. Bigger prettier textures is where stuff is headed so at this point I say the more vRam you can invest in the better if you dont want to be upgrading all the time. I wish I had.

SkyChotik · Apr 6, 2012

Right now I run the build in my signature. With a slightly older mobo cheaper case, and smaller hard drives it could be cheap.

vxxs · Apr 6, 2012

CarlJohnson said:
What resolution are you playing? That makes a big difference in what to choose

I'm not sure.. My resolution now is 1920 x 1080

ssjwizard · Apr 6, 2012

SkyChotik said:
Right now I run the build in my signature. With a slightly older mobo cheaper case, and smaller hard drives it could be cheap.

You currently do not have a signature...

vxxs · Apr 6, 2012

Is this AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black better than the 4170?

Wow Micro Center has some good deals..

vxxs · Apr 6, 2012

ssjwizard said:
So I would probably go with something along these lines for a 600 build with no PSU on the AMD platform. The 2GB vRam will help you get a bit of extra life out of the cards. Plus you could add a 2nd card for crossfire later on when you need more power.

View attachment 108157

Thanks, that looks like a good build. So you would all stick with the 4170 then?

ssjwizard · Apr 6, 2012

I would personally probably just get the 4100 since you are going to be overclocking anyway but thats a personal preference.

SkyChotik · Apr 6, 2012

ssjwizard said:
You currently do not have a signature...

Mybad. I'm on my phone. I have an FX-4100, radeon hd 6850, and an ocz zt 750

Help new build... AMD or INTEL

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