Buy a friend's computer or build my own?

[wer_dragan]

I'm looking at two main options for my next gaming PC. On the one hand, I have a friend who's offering the following build:

Spoiler

CPU
AMD FX-8150
RAM
16.0GB DDR3 G.Skill Sniper 1866
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
Graphics
2x 2048MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7870 Direct CU_II Video Card 33 °C in CrossFire
Storage
232GB Samsung SSD 840 Series (SSD)
465GB Western Digital
Optical Drives
LG BD-RE WH14NS40
Power Supply
Corsair RM850
Cooling
Corsair H100I Water cooler system
Corsair link Fan Controller
Case
Cooler Master XB Desktop Case

On the other hand, I was considering building my own PC with these components:

Spoiler

CPU
Intel Xeon E3 1230 v3
RAM
16.0GB DDR3 G.Skill Ares 2133
Motherboard
MSI Z87-G45
Graphics
MSI GTX 770
Storage
1 TB WD 7200
Optical Drives
Generic DVD R/W
Power Supply
Corsair HX850
Cooling
Stock fans
Case
Generic full tower

I know I can build mine for at least $200 cheaper than my friend wants to sell his, and here are my thoughts/questions/concerns:

1) My friend's rig is AMD/ATI-based. My main concern with not going AMD right now is that this computer will also be where I do my Pro Tools work, and PT is definitely optimized for Intel over AMD. However, I'm hearing a lot of chatter about how future games will be designed around higher cores rather than fewer high-power cores due to AMD's presence in the next-gen gaming consoles. I'm also hearing that Mantle could be a game-changer, especially on the CPU front. Thoughts?

2) If I decide to buy my friend's computer, should I upgrade from an 8150 to an 8350? It seems to me that with the 8150 being a few years old, I might soon have an issue with CPU throttling. However, this adds an addition $175~ to the already-more-expensive build.

3) I've heard of a lot of issues with ATI driver support, especially where Crossfire is involved. Almost every thread I've read on this issue advises a single powerful card over two lesser cards. Is the GTX 770 in my build a decent contender for the XFire 7870s in my friend's? I'm leaning towards this because it also gives me the option of adding a second 770 in SLI in the future, but what are the community's thoughts?

If I think of more questions I'll toss them out. Thanks so much for your time and consideration!

 

[zeyuanfu]

You should definitely build your own, because it'll be cheaper and you won't need to upgrade parts, cough cough FX-8150. Intel is better, yes because PT is optimized for Intel but also for their 22 nm architecture over AMD's 32 nm.
For now, cores won't matter. It's FUTURE games that might need more cores, and Intel WILL make new CPUs, believe me.
Yes, nVidia will be better, not on the performance, but on the heat and the noise. It emits WAY less than one card, let alone two. You might want to consider a GTX 780 or 780 Ti if you have the money. You can also SLI, both 2-way and 3-way, possibly 4-way.

 

[anbello262]

I would certainly choose the second build. The Xeon will work better than the amd one in basically any environment, as it has 4 cores with HT, and its cores are a lot more effective than AMDs.
So, 4 intel cores+HT> "8" AMD cores, in my opinion.

Then, it is actually true that xfire is generally not ideal compared to a single card (the same goes for SLI), so if you can start with one card it would always be better. This would also give you the possibility of SLI in the future (a bit contradictory, isn't it?) when you need more GPU power. But two 7870 would be a bit better than a 770, although not much.

Still, the 770 might be a bit more expensive than the AMD counterpart, 280x. I would choose the 280x, or a 290. Noise and heat aren't really an issue anymore, with aftermarket coolers all around. The difference wouldn't be as big as the price difference.
If you still choose nVidia, then the 770 is great for 1080p, and if you want some headroom/overkill, then you might get an 780.

You shouldn't worry about mantle, also. Directx 12 is also bringing some great changes on the cpu front, so no worries about that. And it actually only helps when the CPU is not enough for the card. When you already have a high end cpu, it will have basically no effect.

It would make no sense to buy your friend's PC, as yours would be better in every sense, it would be made of NEW unused parts, it would be cheaper, and would be more upgradeable in the future.

 

[Karsten75]

If you can build a Xeon-based computer for less than your friend is charging you, he's overcharging you.

At the high-end, Intel beats AMD all the way - look at Passmark CPU benchmarks and note who owns the high-end benchmark chart.

The "games will exploit multi-cores" is pretty poorly understood by most people that use that line. if games do not exploit multi-cores, then the relevant performance benchmark is simply the single-threaded benchmarks on Passmark.

Once they exploit multiple cores, then the discussion simply shifts back to the regular benchmark performance charts. Either way, Intel wins.

 

[zeyuanfu]

Here's a good build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: EVGA Z97 FTW ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($152.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($147.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1245.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-17 14:13 EDT-0400

 

[anbello262]

I wouldn't get that last build. The Xeon is more than enough and a lot cheaper than the i7, and the only real difference is overclockability...
It is nice, though, to have a z97/h97 board in case some day you want to upgrade to broadwell, but it isn't really useful, as with a high end cpu like the xeon/i7, you wouldn't have the need to upgrade for a long time.

I don't really know about PSU pricing, so I can't comment on that.

 

[Karsten75]

Here's a good build:

I don't recall OP asking for a build, he said he already had the parts and a price. Also, I think that PSU is way over the top specification-wise and hence too expensive