Need a cheap reliable mid-grade gaming box.

[fornoob]

The TDP of the 7850 is about 130W, so you should run around 400W with everything under load (95W+2*130W=355W on the 12V rail + ~40W on the other rails).
The CX500's 12V rail is 34A rated so that's 12*34=408W.
So as long as you don't OC, you're still fine

 

[TechJunky]

Hmm, I know I won't OC anytime soon. As turbo mode on that proc goes to 4.1ghz correct? Ideally just looking for 4.0ghz stable.

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[fornoob]

Yes, turbo mode goes sometimes up to 4.1 GHz. Since there is always some room to OC without increasing the voltages, you should be able to reach that 4.0GHz stable without a too big voltage increase

 

[TechJunky]

If I don't plan on OC'ing should I go with a different MB and proc?

I ordered everything besides the mobo/proc/video card because I'm not sure what to get.

I'm not an extreme gamer... I just need something that will play BF3 on medium settings.

 

[Knufire]

3350P, cheapest B75 motherboard you can find. Still stick with the 7850, maybe even step the video card up a bit with the saved money from not OCing.

OCing the CPU doesn't give immediate performance benefits. The difference in gaming performance between a 3.2GHz Ivy Bridge CPU and a 4.5GHz Ivy Bridge CPU is really little in the present. However, the performance difference between these two three years from now is going to be MUCH larger. It's a future proofing sort of thing.

Your video card is what directly affects gaming performance. Sadly, its also the part that's probably the most expensive and outdates the fastest. You generally just want to get the best one you can afford and stick with it for as long as possible.

To put it another way, your build hasn't reached the point of diminishing returns yet. If you want to save money cause you're pushing the budget, that's fine. If you're questioning whether your money that you have is well spent, it is with the OCable setup.

 

[TechJunky]

3350P is actually more expensive than the Fx-6300. $179 vs $129.

Basically looking for the best bang for my buck.

I need FireWire for the motherboard due to an older camcorder. That's why I went with the Gigabyte MB. If I'm beating this to death, then I will just go with my original build sheet.

Just simply looking for guidance.

 

[Knufire]

Factor in motherboard prices...the advantage is that you can get away with a $60 motherboard with the 3350P since you can't overclock it, and it's a superior CPU.

Simply an alternative if you don't care about overclocking.

 

[TechJunky]

So a 3350P is a better proc than a FX-6300? Stock form mind you.

 

[Knufire]

Stock, significantly better.

Differences between a 3570K and a 3350P is no OCing, 200Mhz, and no integrated GPU.

 

[TechJunky]

Ok, now I'm torn...

I have a $240 budget for CPU and mobo. Mobo needs 1 IEEE1394 port.

Any intel combo that fits this bill ?

 

[fornoob]

The cheapest Intel MOBO I've found on newegg with an IEEE1394 is with a P67 chipset (the MSI P67 GD80... lol!)

You can't go cheaper than the i5 3350P that knufire did recommend you, as long as you need quad core.
BF3 loves cores, so a quad core seems pretty important there.

With a 30$ rebate card, you can have it for under 250$... I can't find an Intel quad core combo cheaper than that (with an IEEE1394).
AFAIK B75 don't support IEEE1394

 

[TechJunky]

Hmm, my other option would to be going with a cheap LGA1155 board and add a PCI-Express Firewire card?

Im open to options... Just trying to stretch my cash as I wont be building another box for a while.

If you think an Oc'd FX-6300 would do better than the i5-3350p in stock form im down with OC'ing on air.

Basically, just looking for best bang for buck.

 

[fornoob]

If you really want a rig you won't have to change for years, with a ~600$ budget, I suggest you this (40$ rebate card, so you can get it for ~610$). The MOBO has an IEEE1394, you can OC the CPU, which is equivalent to the Intel i5 in games and to the i7 in other multithreaded applications.

I didn't include any HDD or SSD since you already have a Vertex 4, you can upgrade it when you want if you need more storage space (I personally don't use more than 240GB...)

The PSU is rock solid and 430W are more than enough and you got free games with the GPU

EDIT:
If you take the CX430, then you won't be able to add an other 7850 later and OC will be slightly limited ( but already good )
The 12V rail of the CX430 is rated for 336W.
The TDP of your GPU and CPU (on 12V rail) are 130+125=255W. I would recommend not to go over 300W on the 12V rail (even if TDP is almost never reached), so don't go too high in OC or go for the CX500 and you will be perfectly safe

 

[TechJunky]

Thanks for everyone's help. I managed to grab the setup that is in my signature. Hopefully it performs well.

 

[TechJunky]

Well, managed to get all my parts in tonight. My first question is what two slots do I put the ram in? It looks like the white ones, but the manual isn't very clear.

Thanks!

 

[RGone]

The manual on page #16 describes which slots to put the ram in for two sticks dual channel mode. Same color slots for two sticks.
RGone...

 

[TechJunky]

Thanks. So the CPU fan spins, the case fan spins, but the video card spins up when i first push the power button, but then the fans stop on the video card. I tried an HDMI cable and got no video. I will have to grab a DVI cable tomorrow... The power button powers on the system, but neither the power or the reset button do anything. Only way I can turn off the system is by turning off the power switch of the Power Supply. I have tried swapping the polarity of the power and reset switch on the motherboard, but no dice.

No audible beeps for posting or anything...

Think I need a bigger Power supply?

*edit*
It was power related, the 8pin connector wasn't plugged in all the way. I was zip tying things and it must have pulled it out of the connector.

 

[C7C]

Best to test everything out before you tie things down.

Good luck with the build and let us know how things run after you get things set-up.