Best CPU MBoard for Gaming PC

ProximityTI

Reputable
Jul 20, 2015
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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HRtJsY

This is my current build but I was wondering what CPU MBoard combo is most cost efficient, one of my friends told me i5 isn't necessary as gaming and something like an i3-4170 with ASRock H97 would work.

TLDR; Is an i5 processor necessary for Gaming and what CPU Motherboard combo would you suggest with my GTX 950 FTW ?
 
Solution
An Intel CPU is not required if you are on a budget. The AMD FX 6300 has 2 more cores than an i5 and can be overclocked. That provides you with money for a GTX 960.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($55.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card ($214.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $474.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-25 23:09 EST-0500
 


Sorry I forgot to mention I already bought a GTX 950 FTW yesterday, how would you adjust that build you have there to comply with the GTX 950 Ftw ?
Im going to be playing games like The Division, Mass Effect 4 etc. Not looking for ultra or anything but maybe medium/high settings with decent 60 fps
 
The above build isn't a bad choice, but don't be too hung up on core count. The i3 will often outperform that FX 6300 in gaming, despite having 1/3 as many cores, and going with a socket 1150 or 1151 Intel board gives you an easy upgrade path to the best gaming CPU's on the market (if for example DX12 turns out to put a much higher value on core count for gaming).
 


It's pushing it to suggest that an FX 6300 has more cores than an i5. It has 3 modules, so 6 integer cores, but each pair of integer cores share a bunch of resources making it often perform more like a 3 core CPU. There are very, very few benchmarks where a "6 core" 6300 will beat an i5 4460 and in most cases the Intel wins solidly even with a hefty OC on the FX chip.

A fairer comparison would be an i3 vs FX 6300/6350. Price wise it's pretty close once you exclude the cooler (not required for an i3).

The FX chips aren't bad for productivity but they still really struggle with gaming. Have a look at the Fallout 4 benchmarks: http://www.techspot.com/review/1089-fallout-4-benchmarks/page5.html
A (sort of) 8 core FX 9590 @ 4.7Ghz still loses to an i3 at stock. You'd be doing well to get a 6300 to 4.7Ghz with that cooler and motherboard, which would still only approach parity to an i3 using a fraction of the power.
Admittedly that's probably one of the games that puts AMD in a particularly bad light, but still, I question the merits of going FX when for the same price you can get similar performance without the hassle and potential issues associated with an overclock.

i3 + 960 would be my pick.

Back to your original question OP. An i3 is enough for most games today. There's not many games that show a big difference between an i3 & i5, at least until you have a mid-high-ish end graphics card (like GTX 970 or R9 390 or above). There is the odd game which likes a genuine quad core however, and it's not unreasonable to suspect these will become more common in future. So there's a suggestion that an i5 rig would be relevant for longer. If you're on a tight budget and care about getting the best bang-for-your-buck right now, then the i3 is a good pick. If you have a bigger budget, or prefer to keep the rig for as long as possible, you could make a case to accept slightly lower frame rates right now with an i5 + 950, and then expect that i5 to still be solid and ready for a video card upgrade in 2ish years time. You can make an argument either way... though no doubt that best bang-for-buck right now would be 960 & i3.
 
Solution


What CPU would you recommend ?