~$500 build i5 4570 w/ 7870xt or athlon x4 760k w/ 7950 for BF4

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
T

taihard

Honorable
Sep 26, 2013
14
0
10,510
I'm looking to build a system for around $500 that will be good enough to play BF4 @ 1080p. I have a hard drive and cd drive already so I would just need the other components... This is what I have picked out and just don't know what would be best..

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core $77.00
Motherboard: Asus A88XM-A Micro ATX FM2+ $83.99
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $55.25
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 3GB $239.99
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower $29.99
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm $4.99
Power Supply: EVGA 500W ATX12V / EPS12V $24.99
Total: $516.20

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core $189.99
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1150 $56.97
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $55.25
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB $163.98
Case: HEC Vigilance MicroATX Mini Tower $24.99
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm $4.99
Power Supply: EVGA 500W ATX12V / EPS12V $24.99
Total: $521.16

If the 7870xt is good enough for my purposes, I can go even cheaper with this build.

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core $77.00
Motherboard: Asus A88XM-A Micro ATX FM2+ $83.99
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $55.25
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB $163.98
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower $29.99
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm $4.99
Power Supply: EVGA 500W ATX12V / EPS12V $24.99
Total: $440.19

Also as a note, I was considering an fx-6300 before, but I have since discarded that idea since it seams am3+ is dead(ish) and all the new stuff will be fm2+. With that AMD motherboard in my list, I will be able to upgrade to a future better processors so I would rather stick with fm2+ if it is sufficient for bf4 @ 1080p (hopeful for high-ultra settings... think that's possible?).

You guys are great!! Thanks for all the help you give to the community! Any other suggestions for what would be good for me are welcome!
 
Solution
ScrewySqrl
if you want to stick with FM2 for future-poofing, I'd stick with the Athlon II X and the 7870XT. which should get you t medium/high settings
Sort by date Sort by votes
Cheapest you can get away with that has decent performance for what you need and quality components that will not fail you.


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1XNTo
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1XNTo/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1XNTo/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($253.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Xion XON-570 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $570.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-05 12:28 EST-0500)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


After doing more googling, I think you are right with this.. 7870xt will be almost as good as a 7950 and I like the idea of future proofing.. even if I can't get ultra max everything at 1080p right now, it will still be playable and give me options for later on. I wish I would have bought a 7950 before the r9 series came out =/ before the r9 launch, you could get a 7950 for close to $180...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


??? Really? I was under the impression everything coming out was going to be FM2+ (which is what that motherboard is) and that nothing new was coming out on the AM3+ boards?! If that is not the case then I would totally go fx-6300... that's what I was going to get in the first place until I got that impression that AM3+ was dead... Any links you have to support what you say would be greatly appreciated.

[Edit to add link] I don't know how reliable this website is but this is what I came up with doing a quick google search to support what I was talking about in fm2+ being the go to socket:
http://wccftech.com/amd-fm2-socket-supports-entire-apu-lineup-uptill-2015-adopt-ddr4-memory-carrizo-apu/

Now even though it's talking about APUs... even if that's what I got in the future I could disable onboard graphics and just go straight dedicated right?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The FM2 and AM3+ sockets are TOTALLY different, and are designed for different platforms, the FM2 is designed for lower powered CPUs for example.

There is NO confirmed plan to get rid of AM3+ in the near future. If AM3+ was to be discontinued that means AMD has resigned from the enthusiast gaming and higher performance segment.

Hell FM2 can not even handle half the power that the AM3+ socket can.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


I'm sorry I was so quick to choose an answer then... I wish I could change it but I do give thanks to you for your help... I could get an 8320 and still be in my budget:

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core $158.98
Motherboard; MSI 760GMA-P34(FX) Micro ATX AM3+ $57.99
Memory; Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $55.25
Video Card; PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB $139.99
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower $29.99
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm $4.99
Power Supply: EVGA 600W ATX12V / EPS12V $39.99
Total: $487.18

My only question with that setup would be with the motherboard... does the 760 vs the 970 northbridge make that much of a difference (I would really like to stay MicroATX and couldn't find a 970 in MicroATX form factor)?... and as far ad GPU, for $100 less I am willing to go 7870 tahiti for almost similiar performance to a 7950.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I dont mind not getting best answer at all. :) Got enough as is. Just want to help people make informed decisions. 😀

Anyway. Coupling a 760G chipset board with an 8 core high wattage CPU is a VERY bad idea, the chipset and VRM just was not designed to run at those TDPs.
There are many cases where you find these CPUs throttling HARD when under load due to that fact.

AT THE VERY least I suggest a decent VRM heatsinked 970 chipset board like this Asus : http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97_R20/

Unfortunately the form factor is larger. For a reason too. :)

Oh and PLEAASE do not get that EVGA PSU, I would not trust it with my components. XFX 550W is a little more and made by Seasonic which is MUCH MUCH better.

Also 2 x 4GB is better for performance as then your RAM runs in dual channel, which is a sizable (+10% in performance.

Keep in mind the powercolor GPU you chose does run a little hot and loud, so don't say I didn't warn you.

2 places you NEVER cheap out is the mobo and the PSU. They can make or break a build.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
That is all really informative, thank you! And if i may ask just one more post of questions.. would it be okay to couple a fx-6300 with the 760 board? If so i coud probably upgrade gpu to the 7950... and what about corsair psu, that would be ok if i end up not getting xfx right?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote




Haha, okay, okay I understand... I think I've decided on a build and will give up my want for a MicroATX system. I believe this is what I will get:

CPU AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core $158.97
Motherboard MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ $59.99
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $63.75
Video Card PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB $139.99
Case Sentey GS-6000 ATX Mid Tower $25.00
Power Supply Rosewill 650W ATX12V / EPS12V $49.99
Total: $497.69

Now I know you said that GPU runs hot and loud but that case I chose comes with 4 fans which should help with cooling and I don't mind the noise especially for that price and performance similar to a hypothetical 7930. You also probably don't like my PSU but it is on this website in the Tier 2 category (similar to some antec, corsair, seasonic, and xfx) as well as receiving the gold award from hardwaresecrets so I think it should be pretty good for $50 650W semi modular PSU. I think it will be a pretty good 8-core system for less than $500 (less than $600 if someone wants this build but needs a HDD and CD-ROM)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote




Good catch on that motherboard, I guess I didn't do enough research on the Mobo Side... $10 isn't a deal breaker so would this Asus Board work fine?
Motherboard Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ $69.99

Also I was looking at this corsair PSU but I didn't know if 500W would be enough would it? If not maybe i'll just see if in the next couple days or next week that XFX PSU you originally pointed to goes on sale.. or Even the Antec HCG-620M as it was on sale yesterday but not today so I could see if that one drops again... If 500W is fine though I can get that today.

Thanks again for the help!!!
Power Supply Corsair 500W ATX12V $34.99

[Edit] Not trying to justify getting a bad PSU cause I'm fine getting a different one, just trying to understand why you say that rosewill Hive PSU is crap... This Review from hardware secrets says it is great... Thanks!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Don't do it , I had the athlon 750k and it wasn't even 4 months before i got a new system.
An i5 i so much better and paired with a 7870 XT will give you much better frames than athlon +7950.
the 7870XT is about 85% 7950 while the i5 is way beyond the athlons league.
if you are worried about future proofing , don't be, there is a little to no difference in games between an 4570 to an 5960X .
 
Upvote 1 Downvote


You bumped a 2year old thread. Well done. Please look at the dates. Thanks.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom