AMD based 800$ Beast

TNT27

Distinguished
Building for a friend 800$ budget, all he needs is the computer, he has display, peripherals and and optical drive.

He will not overclock, but i threw on an aftermarket cooler just to keep it quiet and cooler.

Would like to know what you think, and what I could change to get more for his money?:)

I was thinking of going Intel, but he's the kinda gamer to have multiple things running at once, and an i7 is just out of his budget.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.94 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Directron)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($327.85 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $801.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-20 17:39 EST-0500
 
Solution
Rockie_ has specified a build that is absolutely fit for purpose. It will multitask as well as an AMD build, if not better. There are a few specific exceptions, so please specify if there are well-threaded professional applications he uses that are known to run better on AMD.
Current deals may lower the price back under his $800 budget. I've seen DDR3-1600 under $70, and iirc there was a Seagate 1TB drive on Newegg for $49.
The stock Intel cooler is quiet, and should be sufficient.
 

TNT27

Distinguished
He just has multiple browser windows, games, and video crap running at the same time. I thought an 8 core amd would do better for so much stuff running at once compared to an i5? Also is that ASrock mobo that rockie_ mentioned any good?
 


i did the rig as i would do it for me . The only thing that i would change is getting ATX mobo-- Asrock H97 Pro4 but it adds $9 .
 


No no !, i5 4590 is better . i saw benchmarks . i5 4460 boosts only to 3.4GHz but i5 4590 to 3.7GHz ! Better mATX mobo .

i5 4590 is a little faster than Xeon E3-1225 V3
1225 V3 doesnt have Hyperthreading

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
http://ark.intel.com/products/75461/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1225-v3-8M-Cache-3_20-GHz
 

modernwar99

Reputable
Jul 9, 2014
1,166
0
5,960
The better Xeons have i7 performance but are much cheaper. One disadvantage is they can't be OC'ed (locked core multiplier) and the ones that don't end in a 5 (Xeon E3-xxx5) don't have integrated GPUs. Won't matter since you will be getting a dedicated GPU.
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
There is no noticeable difference in performance for any of the i5 4xxx or the E3 1220/1225. Do not even consider any Xeon below a 1230v3. Made some changes to rockie's build, but mine do not include any mail in rebates.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Zeus Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Directron)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($327.85 @ B&H)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $804.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-20 19:08 EST-0500