Advice Needed: Need A Less Expensive GPU But Best Match For My Build!

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Pure Michigan

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Hello! I was planning on purchasing this build last week but caught very caught up in work/life and pushed it back until today. I originally had an SSD which I removed to save a little money and realized that I need to downgrade the GPU to save a bit more money as well. This is my current build:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/WiggyWigster/saved/xM6ypg


CPU Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core $169.99
Motherboard ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 $81.00
Memory Team Zeus Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $61.98
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $51.85
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 $349.99
Case Antec GX500 ATX Mid Tower $57.98
Power Supply SeaSonic 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $78.99
Optical Drive Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer $13.99
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.98
Wireless Network Adapter Rosewill N600PCE 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 $16.99

As much as I would love that GTX970 I need to downgrade for a GPU that is at least $100+ less expensive. I am looking to run most games at high-ultra settings, my monitor is a 1920x1080p and as close to 60FPS is what I'm aiming for. I have seen alot of chatter about the r9 280 and found this sapphire one for about $175, http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100373l. But there are a fair number of negative reviews for it on newegg so I'm unsure whether this is a great option?

Also, is it overkill to have a quad core CPU while having a downgraded GPU? Please let me know your thoughts and suggestions! I am planning to order today so that I can order quick delivery and get my rig built asap. Thank you!
 
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zeyuanfu

zeyuanfu

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This would have WAY more bang for your buck:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ Directron)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.99 @ Directron)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.11 @ Newegg)
Total: $800.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 09:02 EST-0500

Also, anything below a quad-core CPU is NEVER overkill for today`s GPUs.
 
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beetlejuicegr

beetlejuicegr

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https://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9285acdbc XFX r9 285 way better to fit this cpu of yours. (so you go 90 down )

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-hx650 psu 650 corsair! (best peripheral company on terms of warranty, trust me) (some more bucks lower too)

operating system. Just try and use your old one! unless its windows XP of course.

AND

with the bucks you earnt, buy a

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct256v4ssd2 256gb SSD!. and you will have an insanely
good and balanced PC, that will play all games on max details on single monitor (unless your monitor is 27 inch 4k resolution :p )


 
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zeyuanfu

zeyuanfu

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There are problems with your reasoning:
1, The 290 DESTROYS the 285
2, You're not going anywhere with the HX650, especially not with a 285. It doesn't support two GPUs
3, Unless OP's OS is not OEM, it cannot be transferred
4, I wouldn't get Kingston as they have some NAND switching problems (read that on a review)
 
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Pure Michigan

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hey guys thanks for the responses! In regards to your original build zenyu, I know I SAID I would not be counting windows in the budget, but I would much prefer it to be included in the $800 budget if possible. I do not have a windows OS at this time as I only have a MAC laptop and that $90 Windows fee isn't insignificant. Would the SSD reallllllly make that huge of a difference? I understand it may make the games run a bit quicker but perhaps I will spend money in a few months on an upgrade like that.
 
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beetlejuicegr

beetlejuicegr

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Yes guys i edited my reply and suggest a crucial ssd, having both my kids on my legs watching cartoon on my 2nd monitor doesnt help haha. It is just that having a 250gb ssd is always better and i regret buying a very good 128gb some months ago instead of an average-good 250.

You're not going anywhere with the HX650, especially not with a 285. It doesn't support two GPUs
Click to expand...

Who said this guy wants 2 gpus? he is trying to go low budget, not add more cards. Not everyone is a hobbyist to add 2 gpu. What is the point for price performance if you do that, by having to buy an extremely expensive psu for few fps more? And even then, his cpu will bottleneck him after 2-3 years with 2 gpus....

unless you wanna put 2x r9 290, he will have to pay, just to be sure, 1000watt psu..Let's get down to the ground and be humble :p

Yes SSD is a catalyst for windows, you can't imagine the difference in speed in everything with an SSD. Consider that all games, no matter how much ram you have will use the virtual memory of windows. That's where SSDs really shine compared to hard disks.

Imagine i have most casual games on my typical 1tb hard disk and i see increased loading speeds no matter what between levels etc. I can type for hours about ssds..
 
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Pure Michigan

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So I guess I could have added a bit more in the background, but I am more of a casual gamer not looking to overclock/double GPU/etc. and my computer monitor is only 60Hz so it can't handle more than 60 fps right? I guess I'm looking for the most economical way to maximize the build. Would dropping to an R9 280 still provide good resolution/FPS? I know the R9290 would be really awesome but if it's going to cost $70 less and still provide great value I would stick with the R9 280. And would anyone have suggestions fora good 280? Is Sapphire a good brand to buy from? Thanks for all your help!
 
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zeyuanfu

zeyuanfu

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I doubt 60 Hz monitors are capped at 60 FPS. If you want a 280, then this is the one to get:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($173.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $173.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 11:04 EST-0500

If you`re going with the 280, then stick with the SuperNOVA 750 B2 as it`ll allow you to add another 280 in he future, when prices will drop.
 
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beetlejuicegr

beetlejuicegr

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So I guess I could have added a bit more in the background, but I am more of a casual gamer not looking to overclock/double GPU/etc. and my computer monitor is only 60Hz so it can't handle more than 60 fps right? I guess I'm looking for the most economical way to maximize the build. Would dropping to an R9 280 still provide good resolution/FPS? I know the R9290 would be really awesome but if it's going to cost $70 less and still provide great value I would stick with the R9 280. And would anyone have suggestions fora good 280? Is Sapphire a good brand to buy from? Thanks for all your help!
Click to expand...
That's what i understood m8. You are a casual gamer who wouldnt put 2 gpus on or overclock or go 3 monitors.

Now, r9 280 vs r9 290? Significant difference in fps would be only on 3monitor gaming, on single monitors on very demanding games you will see a 15-20fps difference (with good cpu). But still an r9 280 would be way more than 35 fps anyway. Sure games do become more demanding on hardware every year, but that doesnt mean r9 280 wont play over 25fps for the next years. I personally swaped from HD5870 to R9 290 and the differences in fps were significant only at the latest heaviest games. Anyway take a look on this article from toms.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-285-tonga,3925-6.html

this is for the best graphic cards for the money, the latest info from toms. You see , if you wanna pay around 200, get the r9 280, if you wanna pay more , get the r9 290.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.html

However performance per dollar gives R9 290 the winner. This is the reason i bought r9 290 instead of r9 280x in the end.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-8.html

Now i dont want to blame some graphic card makers but be carefull what you buy now. I would choose an ASUS or an XFX but thats just me. I did have to return a saphire r9 280x two times and then i got an vtx3d r9 290 x-edition v2, who all said would suck. Guess what, its awesome, no crashes etc, but the sapphires were bad where all said were good. My personal experience was bad with sapphires, someone else's was good. I think it is also a shipment thing. Graphic cards of one shipment to one shop mayhad many deffects (production date same etc) and the same cards from another production date were awesome. My advice, if you have any friend who bought lately an r9 280 from a certain shop and is very happy about the card, go buy from there. Check even the serials if they are close lol. Anyway good luck there!

PS Of course monitors get more frames than 60 per second on many games and on many scenes inside a 3d game. This is a whole another story, but just for your information, dont worry about it. Most lcd monitors are at 60hz and the games are handled in 2 ways, either they cap at 60fps or they throw more frames than 60 and you see a small tearing in the image, nothing terrible though, most lcds dont even show it clearly anymore.
 
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zeyuanfu

zeyuanfu

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Well, ''NAND switching'' isn't a real term, but it implies switching NAND types or manufacturers. In Kingston's case, they switched from Toshiba's 19 nm NAND to Micron's slower 20 nm asynchronous NAND. If you read the Anandtech article, there's a link to some testing done by a Swedish site that clearly shows the decrease in performance.
 
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