Build #2 Bulldozer $600

icracked

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So far I have these parts:

AMD Bulldozer FX-8120 ~$220
[strike]ASROCK 990FX Extreme3 AM3+ Motherboard ~$140[/strike] New: ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 ~$100
8GB Corsair 1600mhz ddr3 ram ~$50
Cooler Master RC310 Case ~$40
RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W PSU ~$45 or $35 after rebate
no dvd drive
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s ~$45

[strike]total w/o graphics card ~$540 with rebates[/strike] Now $610 including the GPU
XFX HD-679X-ZRFC Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 ~$110 (will more then suffice)


Now, without touching the Bulldozer (no intel trolls please) could somebody please give me some advice on how to squeeze the best video card into this build, I have an Apple Cinema HD display @ 1920 by 1200.

Thanks in advance!
 

vitornob

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I would suggest an AMD card. I like the idea of synergy, and I think that all AMD parts (CPU, chipset, VGA) would be very very nice.
Since I'm a nvidia guy I can't recommend any AMD card right now. But how much u can spend in a VGA? It's only 60 dollars?
 

icracked

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What I think I might do is cut the motherboard down to 970 or 990x as I'm not running crossfires or sli. that could save me 30 or so dollars and let me buy about $100 graphics card, I don't do gaming too much and when I do I play L4D2, Minecraft (intel integrated runs great lol), COD BO, SUPCOM 2, and I'm interested in battlefield 3. Is the PSU that bad?
 
Games are not that multi threaded that they can use 8 cores .
Or even 6

And gaming performance is dependent on the graphics card
http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-fx-8150--8120-6100-and-4100-performance-review/10

Farcry 2 every processor exceeds the monitors 60Hz/ 60 FPS even at 1080p

Crysis 2 the range is frame rates from the slowest to strongest cpu is 2 fps at 1080p.
This is a difference you would never notice

get an octo core for gaming ?
No



spend the money you save on the cpu on a better graphics card
 

morgoth780

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a quad core bulldozer would probably be best, cause it's cheaper, and won't really make a huge difference in gaming compared to a hex-core or octa-core
 

icracked

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I just did a build with a 955be (my first build, great processor) and you guys have the right idea but I do alot of heavy file transfers and I host a game server or 2 and I really would like a powerhouse processor like the fx-8120. The 6790 should be more then enough if I can be happy with a 6750 like my last build. I guess my last question is that if you had $110 dollars to spend on a gpu what would you get. I upgraded the psu btw to a 600w 80plus ocz.
 

morgoth780

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i'd wait until I had more cash for a gpu, or freed up some money by going for cheaper components in the rest of my build, but that's just me, personally.
 

des74

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Why are you even getting Bulldozer? Have you looked at the benchmarks? A Thuban is better than a 8xxx FX processor. Even the Phenom II outshines it. Get a 955 or a 960T and unlock it.
 

icracked

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The thubans are not better. I have seen both the early and recent benchmarks. Don't want to start an argument.
 

mershaq

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I have to be honest, I'm disappointed by the lack of advantage with gaming because in the past it's what I expected most from AMD. They did however get the APU right and i think it's a winner. Now to get them to put it together with a faster processor and a better graphics chip....
 

morgoth780

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very true, cause while llano is great for entry-level gaming, it really isn't going to cut it for the higher end gaming builds