FX 8370 vs i3-6100

[gochaking]

I'm building a 2nd rig. Have a few friends selling their old parts to me.

The computer will be mainly used for home entertainment / light gaming / light casual youtube video editing.

Now I have 2 options to choose from:

PRICE: USD$520 (most of the parts are old except for PSU , Case and HDD)
CPU: FX 8370 (used)
Mobo: Asus 970 Pro Gaming (used)
RAM: 16GB DDR3 (used)
GPU: GTX 970 4GB wind froz (used)
PSU: Rosewill ARC 80+ Bronze 550W (NEW)
<(NEW)Case & (NEW) 1TB drive included>

Price : USD$365 (ALL parts are used)
CPU: i3 6100 3.70 ghz (used)
Mother Board: MSI B250m Bazooka (used)
Ram: 8gb ddr4 (used)
GPU: GTX 1050 2B EVGA SSC Edition (used)
PSU: CSX 80+Bronze 500W (used)
<Case & 1TB drive included (used)>

1) Which build is a better buy econmically? Assuming minimal upgrade for the next 4 years

2) if both builds use GTX 970 4GB wind froz , while keeping the cost the same, which is a better buy?

Appreciate your feedback! to help me analyze... I'm having analysis paralysis

 

[animemangamer]

I'm building a 2nd rig. Have a few friends selling their old parts to me.

The computer will be mainly used for home entertainment / light gaming / light casual youtube video editing.

Now I have 2 options to choose from:

PRICE: USD$670 (most of the parts are old except for PSU , Case and HDD)
CPU: FX 8370 (used)
Mobo: Asus 970 Pro Gaming (used)
RAM: 16GB DDR3 (used)
GPU: GTX 970 4GB wind froz (used)
PSU: 550W (NEW)
<(NEW)Case & (NEW) 1TB drive included>

Price : USD$365 (ALL parts are used)
CPU: i3 6100 3.70 ghz (used)
Mother Board: MSI B250m Bazooka (used)
Ram: 8gb ddr4 (used)
GPU: GTX 1050 2B EVGA SSC Edition (used)
PSU: 500W (used)
<Case & 1TB drive included (used)>

1) Which build is a better buy econmically? Assuming minimal upgrade for the next 4 years

2) if both builds use GTX 970 4GB wind froz , while keeping the cost the same, which is a better buy?

Appreciate your feedback! to help me analyze... I'm having analysis paralysis

Sorry to your friends but, none of the above.

I'd rather build from scatch with new gen parts like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($118.90 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212X 82.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI - H370M BAZOOKA Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($78.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Kingston - A400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX 580 4GB Dual Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Lite 3.1 TG MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $682.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-26 15:59 EDT-0400

 

[yeti_yeti]

Second build with a 970. Get another stick of ram, an SSD and a new PSU down the line and you have a fairly solid gaming build. When you feel that the i3 is not getting the job done anymore, you could flash the BIOS and treat yourself to a kaby lake i7. As far as fx processors go, unless you get one for free don't even bother with it. They were quite terrible when they came out and have not aged well. Only thing that 8370 will be good at is heating up your room.

 

[Darkbreeze]

With both builds using the 970, then the i3 is the better option in my opinion, however, I agree with the idea that NEITHER of them is is a good as building from scratch using an entirely new system. Those parts are not worth the cost AND they've already seen about half of their useful life which makes them even less worth the cost.

I wouldn't pay more than 250 bucks for the entire build, on BOTH of those systems. Well, actually, "I" wouldn't even pay that, but I also wouldn't recommend anybody to do so either unless it was the only available set of options.

 

[dontlistentome]

There's no way, NO WAY, I'd ever suggest someone spend $600 on a DDR3 based system in 2018.

So, of the two, that leaves the i3 based system as the one I'd buy. You do not need to add a 970 for 'light' gaming. Ideally you'd want at least a quad core if you intend to play games that could use a 970. If that's the case, then you shouldn't buy either of these systems.

 

[sizzling]

The i3 option also have some good upgrade options unlike the FX.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Additionally, it would be inherently impossible to even begin to make any kind of judgement on the merits of either of those systems when there is absolutely NO information regarding the power supply model included. Since that's the most important part in that, or any build, it kind of matters what unit is being included.

 

[gochaking]

There's no way, NO WAY, I'd ever suggest someone spend $600 on a DDR3 based system in 2018.

Thank you everyone's feedback.

made some edits (price adjustments and PSU details)

Price of 1st build should be around $515

PSU for 1st build Rosewill ARC 80+ Bronze 550W
PSU for 2nd build CSX 80+ bronze 500W
[/i]

I suppose the updated information won't make a difference?
Meaning that both builds are not a good buy... If I were to pick one, 2nd build is the better one?

Trying to limit my budget under $550 to $600

 

[animemangamer]

There's no way, NO WAY, I'd ever suggest someone spend $600 on a DDR3 based system in 2018.

Thank you everyone's feedback.

made some edits (price adjustments and PSU details)

Price of 1st build should be around $515

PSU for 1st build Rosewill ARC 80+ Bronze 550W
PSU for 2nd build CSX 80+ bronze 500W
[/i]

I suppose the updated information won't make a difference?
Meaning that both builds are not a good buy... If I were to pick one, 2nd build is the better one?

Trying to limit my budget under $550 to $600

Absolutely not worth. Build from scratch.

 

[gochaking]

Part of the reason for me to consider the FX build is due to 16gb ram included given the high price of ram.

 

[animemangamer]

Part of the reason for me to consider the FX build is due to 16gb ram included given the high price of ram.

What country or market is this?

 

[gochaking]

Canada.

The prices are covertrd to USD from CAD

 

[animemangamer]

Canada.

The prices are covertrd to USD from CAD

Here is a PC part picker list based on Canada prices:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($152.99 @ PC-Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock - B360M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($84.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($87.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Kingston - A400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($48.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: MSI - Radeon RX 570 8GB ARMOR OC Video Card ($249.97 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Rosewill - FBM-X1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Corsair)
Total: $709.42

 

[gochaking]

Thanks for coming up with a build for me .
But, I'm actually looking for a build under $550, so that exceeds my budget

 

[animemangamer]

How bout $500?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($79.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($87.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Kingston - A400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($48.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Azza - Photios250 ATX Mid Tower Case ($35.00 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Corsair)
Total: $501.46

This uses 4 core/8 thread AMD Ryzen 5 with Vega 11 iGPU

The iGPU is comparable in performance to the GT 1030 or RX 550 and you should be able to game around medium to high settings.

This is only a temporary solution until you can afford a better dedicated graphics card later on. At least now, you're ready and on a DDR4 system.

I would highly suggest this build over buying those you mentioned.

Here is a couple benchmarks of Ryzen 5 2400G + Vega 11 iGPU:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5iEWUqP4c0

 

[gochaking]

I never would've thought a recent build without GPU is better than a 2generation old build with GPU.

I thought CPU and RAM arent usually the bottleneck of a system... that's why I opt for older parts with a better GPU

 

[animemangamer]

I never would've thought a recent build without GPU is better than a 2generation old build with GPU.

I thought CPU and RAM arent usually the bottleneck of a system... that's why I opt for older parts with a better GPU

The GTX 970 is actually pretty good compared to Vega 11 iGPU but the entire system is too outdated to make it worth it. Tech has gone a long way since that generation.

This suggestion opens up a better upgrade path later down the road. By adding an RX580 or GTX 1060 it will play anything at a decently high fps with high/ultra settings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7lepo4WEX0

 

[Darkbreeze]

I never would've thought a recent build without GPU is better than a 2generation old build with GPU.

I thought CPU and RAM arent usually the bottleneck of a system... that's why I opt for older parts with a better GPU

EVERYTHING that isn't balanced with the rest of the hardware, CAN be the bottleneck. Weak CPU but fast RAM and GPU card, bottleneck. Fast CPU and GPU card, but only 8GB of memory or very low speed memory, COULD be a bottleneck, depending on the game and settings. Also, it could be compounded by an old slow hard drive if the system is offloading to the page file because you've run out of RAM.

Fast CPU and 16GB of fast RAM, but a weak GPU card, or NO GPU card (NOT sure what that was all about), and you'll definitely not be having any fun gaming.

You are right, the Skylake i3 WITH that GTX 970 is better than a newer system with no GPU card. At least then, there is some kind of upgrade path even if it's only to an outdated i5 or i7, but anything from Haswell to the present, including Ryzen, is miles better than ANY configuration using an FX processor and old DDR3 memory.

Could it work? Sure. There are still lots of people using them. But if you're going to spend good money on a build, NOW, it seems like a tremendous waste of your investment to spend it on a platform that is three to seven years old. And in the case of FX, wasn't very good to begin with.

Although it's not the preferred way to do things, at least with the Skylake build you COULD add more RAM later. And you COULD upgrade the CPU later. But it's an awful lot of could's and it's an additional expense, on top of the initial expense, and you STILL won't have a system that can compete with a current generation Ryzen 3 or Intel i3.

Plus, that's without even factoring in the fact that both those power supplies are garbage. Rosewill Arc and CX500w, both are worthless and not fit to be paired with any gaming card or system. So in reality, neither of those systems is any kind of deal at all.

You certainly can't assume minimal upgrade for the next 4 years when both platforms are already outdated by 4 years. Unfortunately, there is no way to put together a quality build with a decent graphics cards within the budget you have outlined. How much can you get ONLY the GTX 970 for? If you can get that cheap enough it might make doing an entirely new, albeit entry level build, doable.

 

[gochaking]

Here in Canada, I'm paying 12% sales tax. So it's quite impossible to find a build with a decent GPU card

Therefore, I was looking of used parts to save on 12% tax instantly, although I'm going to be stuck with 2 generations old build


GTX 960 = USD 237 Equilvalent (incl tax)
GTX 1050 Ti = USD 200 Equilvalent (incl tax)

Summarizing on everyone's feedback, if I were to buy any used parts, I should at least stick with Skylake / Kabylake / Ryzen , so a few years down the road, I can at least upgrade my DDR4 rams or better processors. This system won't be primarily used for playing games on ultra high settings. I'm fine with mid settings for the next 3-4 years, as it will mainly be used for youtube / casual video editing.

 

[Darkbreeze]

2 generations of AMD maybe. For Intel there has been five generations of Core-I cpu since AMD Piledriver based CPUs were released. Haswell, Haswell Refresh, Skylake, Kaby Lake and Coffee lake. Six if you count Broadwell, which never really saw mass production or adoption.

Anyhow, a long time. April of 2012 saw the first wide scale sale of Piledriver based AMD SKUs. So, six years ago.

A lot has happened in six years. Heck, we were still on Windows 7 then.

What resolution are you planning to game at? Do you already have a monitor?

Again I'll ask as well, since you were featuring the GTX 970 in those builds, can you get that card by itself and if so for how much?

I understand your problems with outrageous pricing and taxes, really. I help people from Canada pretty often. Also Australia, which is far worse than Canada. And India, northern Europe, Africa, South America. All places where quality hardware is expensive and usually requires extensive shipping fees if you don't want to settle for junk hardware. It is what it is I guess. If you have to make due with an older system that's understandable.

I just think MAYBE you should consider whether or not you'd ultimately be a lot happier if you simply waited, saved for a while longer and spent your money on a system that is going to take you a bit further both in the short and long term. Just a thought.

 

[gochaking]

Yes, I have a 23inch monitor. Will use that for games.

I can a used GTX 970 for $153 by itself.
I don't have to use GTX 970. My budget for GPU card is $150'ish and I just happened to came across with that card.


What do you think of this for $470?

Intel i5-6400
Gigabyte G1.Sniper B7-CF
8GB DDR4 -2400
GTX970 4gb ($200; but can replace with something else)
OCZ - ZT 550W
1TB HDD

 

[Darkbreeze]

Is that PSU new or old? That unit, while still sold today, could be very old as the ZT models began seeing sales in 2011 or thereabouts. So potentially, it could be as much as 7 years old.

That's not terrible though. Much better than the other builds.

Does that 470 dollar budget include the 200 dollars for the graphics card, or is the graphics card budget separate from that?

 

[gochaking]

The PSU and HDD are new
Would this PSU be better? EVGA - BQ 500W 80+ Bronze

The budget includes the graphics card (the amount indicated means it will be purchased from another person, not part of the bundle)
If you can assess if the price of the GTX970, it will be much appreciated

 

[Darkbreeze]

No, that BQ is not better than the OCZ ZT550w, if it is new. The BQ are poor quality. When it comes to EVGA you ONLY want to look at B2, B3 650w (Not other capacities of this series), G2, G3, P2, T2 and GQ series units. The rest are all much lower quality.

Personally, I'd prefer just about any modern Seasonic unit, or a Corsair TX, RM, HX or AX unit. Antec High current gamer, True power classic and Earthwatts Gold Pro series are also pretty good.

That OCZ ZT unit scored very well in JonnyGuru testing, although that was a different capacity. There are no solid reviews of the 550w unit but I suspect it will be similar, so I wouldn't be terribly worried. If you can get one of these others for the same price though, it's probably a surer bet.

I'll have to look into some possible options for you later today.

 

[gochaking]

Thanks for advice.

Should I ask the owner whether the parts were used for mining? I didn't really get a definite answer on this one...

What's your take on it?