Buying this TONIGHT; PLEASE HELP

[Boomer Jetson]

I am about to buy this build: 1st Build

My questions are...

1 - I am NOT going to overclock whatsoever, so is AMD still a good choice considering the upgradability and price per performance?

2 - I am going to be using this build to play games like StarCraft 2 and Total War: Rome II on my 40" 1080p Plasma TV; will it play these games and possibly future games at high frame rates?

3 - I have made this build on pcpartpicker.com; is this a safe site to purchase my parts through? And how reliable is it?

4 - Am I missing any details, parts, or anything in my build?

Thank you all for your help and feedback.

 

[refllect]

I figured the extra cores would be better for gaming... no? So, I would only use 4, tops?

The build I posted is better for gaming now and in the future compared to a pricier i5.

This is simply not true. Most games these days utilize 2 threads. Very few utilize 4 or even more. However of those that utilize many threads, most of the work is put onto 2 main processing threads. Thus the extra cores will make a marginal difference in your gaming performance even for the few multithreaded games. I doubt there would be any difference really.

Looking into the relevant future for your processor (2-3 years), games will continue to run off 2 threads and possible expand to 4. There is no need for a 8 core processor. This is especially true since games rely more on single core performance rather than number of cores.

This is why I say either get a $115 FX-6300 or a $190 i5. Getting a $160 FX-8320 makes no sense at all.

It does make sense actually, because you can't just assume he's only going to be playing a game when he's playing games.
If he decides to alt-tab and multitask and do something else while he's playing, maybe if he decides to record his gameplay with fraps, stream his gameplay on Twitch, etc. Then his PC will start to take a performance hit when he starts to do those things. His GPU will be waiting for the main threads on his CPU to clear up, which can lead to performance issues.

Why waste a marginal amount of cash on two whole physical cores? Cmon, why wouldn't you?

Even though I am in favor of adopting an i5 base for any gaming build over the FX 6k/8k series, because he does not want to overclock and wishes to keep a relatively low budget and get the bang for his buck, the 8350 would be the ideal way to go.

Yeah if you're gonna record with fraps or stream, I'd say go with the FX-8320.
I don't really consider it losing 2 whole cores since they share l2 cache.

Also, if you would consider overclocking your GPU, you can buy a Radeon 7950 for $80 less and just overclock it to a 7970. A lot of 7950s are sold with a 7970 PCB. That saves you enough to go for an i5 build

 

[Boomer Jetson]

I figured the extra cores would be better for gaming... no? So, I would only use 4, tops?

The build I posted is better for gaming now and in the future compared to a pricier i5.

This is simply not true. Most games these days utilize 2 threads. Very few utilize 4 or even more. However of those that utilize many threads, most of the work is put onto 2 main processing threads. Thus the extra cores will make a marginal difference in your gaming performance even for the few multithreaded games. I doubt there would be any difference really.

Looking into the relevant future for your processor (2-3 years), games will continue to run off 2 threads and possible expand to 4. There is no need for a 8 core processor. This is especially true since games rely more on single core performance rather than number of cores.

This is why I say either get a $115 FX-6300 or a $190 i5. Getting a $160 FX-8320 makes no sense at all.

It does make sense actually, because you can't just assume he's only going to be playing a game when he's playing games.
If he decides to alt-tab and multitask and do something else while he's playing, maybe if he decides to record his gameplay with fraps, stream his gameplay on Twitch, etc. Then his PC will start to take a performance hit when he starts to do those things. His GPU will be waiting for the main threads on his CPU to clear up, which can lead to performance issues.

Why waste a marginal amount of cash on two whole physical cores? Cmon, why wouldn't you?

Even though I am in favor of adopting an i5 base for any gaming build over the FX 6k/8k series, because he does not want to overclock and wishes to keep a relatively low budget and get the bang for his buck, the 8350 would be the ideal way to go.

Yeah if you're gonna record with fraps or stream, I'd say go with the FX-8320.
I don't really consider it losing 2 whole cores since they share l2 cache.

Also, if you would consider overclocking your GPU, you can buy a Radeon 7950 for $80 less and just overclock it to a 7970. A lot of 7950s are sold with a 7970 PCB. That saves you enough to go for an i5 build

Overclock a GPU? I am choosing not to overclock because I don't want to ruin my system. I don't want to risk that.

And no I'm not going to be doing any multitasking if I'm playing a game.

 

[refllect]

I figured the extra cores would be better for gaming... no? So, I would only use 4, tops?

The build I posted is better for gaming now and in the future compared to a pricier i5.

This is simply not true. Most games these days utilize 2 threads. Very few utilize 4 or even more. However of those that utilize many threads, most of the work is put onto 2 main processing threads. Thus the extra cores will make a marginal difference in your gaming performance even for the few multithreaded games. I doubt there would be any difference really.

Looking into the relevant future for your processor (2-3 years), games will continue to run off 2 threads and possible expand to 4. There is no need for a 8 core processor. This is especially true since games rely more on single core performance rather than number of cores.

This is why I say either get a $115 FX-6300 or a $190 i5. Getting a $160 FX-8320 makes no sense at all.

It does make sense actually, because you can't just assume he's only going to be playing a game when he's playing games.
If he decides to alt-tab and multitask and do something else while he's playing, maybe if he decides to record his gameplay with fraps, stream his gameplay on Twitch, etc. Then his PC will start to take a performance hit when he starts to do those things. His GPU will be waiting for the main threads on his CPU to clear up, which can lead to performance issues.

Why waste a marginal amount of cash on two whole physical cores? Cmon, why wouldn't you?

Even though I am in favor of adopting an i5 base for any gaming build over the FX 6k/8k series, because he does not want to overclock and wishes to keep a relatively low budget and get the bang for his buck, the 8350 would be the ideal way to go.

Yeah if you're gonna record with fraps or stream, I'd say go with the FX-8320.
I don't really consider it losing 2 whole cores since they share l2 cache.

Also, if you would consider overclocking your GPU, you can buy a Radeon 7950 for $80 less and just overclock it to a 7970. A lot of 7950s are sold with a 7970 PCB. That saves you enough to go for an i5 build

Overclock a GPU? I am choosing not to overclock because I don't want to ruin my system. I don't want to risk that.

And no I'm not going to be doing any multitasking if I'm playing a game.

If you're not gonna multitask, then a FX-6300 is fine.

There is no risk to overclocking. Even if you overclock it doesn't void your warranty and all you have to do is watch the voltage and temperature. But if you don't want to, a 7970 is great anyways.

 

[Boomer Jetson]

Thank you everyone for all the input. I have another question: would my motherboard support my pre-installed fans in my case?

 

[refllect]

Thank you everyone for all the input. I have another question: would my motherboard support my pre-installed fans in my case?

Most motherboards have a case fan power connector. If you need more, you can always buy a converter from molex power on the PSU.

 

[Boomer Jetson]

So would I have to plug the fans into the PSU? And does that mean that the fans will be on all the time unless I unplug the tower?

 

[refllect]

So would I have to plug the fans into the PSU? And does that mean that the fans will be on all the time unless I unplug the tower?

You can also buy a fan speed control unit

 

[Boomer Jetson]

How much is that? What's a good one?

 

[RazerZ]

How much is that? What's a good one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992005

$25

 

[cjkupers]

If you want to control the speeds of your case fans, you can get a control unit like refllect stated. Normally you wouldn't need to because you always want positive airflow through your case, so if you need to use Molex connectors off your PSU or connect them to a case fan pin on your mobo, you can usually just let them run.

Or you could be special and buy a mineral oil tank and submerge all your parts in mineral oil...
Just kidding. That wasn't a serious contribution to this thread.

 

[cjkupers]

Fan controllers are the quickest way to earn cool points with your friends.

 

[Boomer Jetson]

I don't care about controlling the fan speeds, I just want good airflow and I don't care about impressing my friends. My main question to this is: will I have to unplug my entire tower (or flip the switch) in order to turn off the fans if I chose to plug them into the PSU?

 

[RazerZ]

I don't care about controlling the fan speeds, I just want good airflow and I don't care about impressing my friends. My main question to this is: will I have to unplug my entire tower (or flip the switch) in order to turn off the fans if I chose to plug them into the PSU?

Lol no, just use a fan control program and you'll be fine

 

[cjkupers]

There are so many doo hickie fan control plugin spots on mobos these days. You'll surely be able to find the right colorful pin to attach the suckers to and make them obey your every demand.

 

[Boomer Jetson]

There are so many doo hickie fan control plugin spots on mobos these days. You'll surely be able to find the right colorful pin to attach the suckers to and make them obey your every demand.

But will there be enough spots on my MOBO for my fans on my case?

 

[Boomer Jetson]

I don't care about controlling the fan speeds, I just want good airflow and I don't care about impressing my friends. My main question to this is: will I have to unplug my entire tower (or flip the switch) in order to turn off the fans if I chose to plug them into the PSU?

Lol no, just use a fan control program and you'll be fine

Do I actually need one is the question?

 

[Boomer Jetson]

What I'm saying is... will all my fans be able to plug into my MOBO or will I have to plug them into my PSU?

 

[refllect]

What I'm saying is... will all my fans be able to plug into my MOBO or will I have to plug them into my PSU?

I looked up the manual of your specific motherboard from the manufacturer website for you.

ftp://66.226.78.21/manual/990FX%20Extreme4.pdf

The board has 2 CPU fan connectors and 1 Case fan connector. You can use one of the CPU fan connectors for a Case fan as well. So you can power 2 fans. Above that you'll need to connect to your PSU

 

[Boomer Jetson]

What I'm saying is... will all my fans be able to plug into my MOBO or will I have to plug them into my PSU?

I looked up the manual of your specific motherboard from the manufacturer website for you.

ftp://66.226.78.21/manual/990FX%20Extreme4.pdf

The board has 2 CPU fan connectors and 1 Case fan connector. You can use one of the CPU fan connectors for a Case fan as well. So you can power 2 fans. Above that you'll need to connect to your PSU

Thank you so much! Do you know how many fans my PSU will be able to power?

 

[Boomer Jetson]

Anyone? Will my PSU be able to power all of the fans in my case?

 

[cjkupers]

they should. never heard of someone runing out of molex pigtails.

 

[cjkupers]

they should. never heard of someone running out of molex pigtails.

 

[Boomer Jetson]

Thank you cjkupers