Help required: x4 860k vs fx6300 vs i5 4460, wich is enough for decent gaming?

[Szaki]

Hey guys!
After some research, thinking, and reading through dozens of threads here on the forum, I still came to the conclusion that I need your advice for my new pc build.
So here’s my dilemma:
Athlon X4 860K + ASUS A88XM-A = 150 USD
FX6300 + Gigabyte 970A-UD3P = 190 USD
I5 4460 + ASUS H81M-K = 260 USD
I would like to pair one of these up with a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960, N960G1 (235 USD) or with an R9 285, 8gigs of ram, a 750W PSU with 80+ bronze certificate ( right now 60 USD). Witch one would you guys choose? Would the i5 be worth it, even paired with a really low budget MB (I just can’t afford to spend more on the CPU+MB combo)? Would it make a difference? There’s a 100dollar gap between the cheapest and the more expensive combo here. That’s the most I can spend. Or maybe should I go with the Athlon and spend that 100 bucks on a better GPU (bearing in mind the R9 300 series release and probable price cuts of the 200 series, and that DX12 will further diminish CPU bottlenecks)? I could go with the FX and a cheaper MB but I understand that if I do so, the CPU won’t perform to well. I don’t think I will be able to upgrade soon, that’s why I didn’t chose an i3 option. All the prices listed are from my area.
So, I’m a little bit confused. My goal here is to have decent gaming fun at 900p and possibly later at 1080p, and to build a pc that could last a few years. Even if a combo option costs more a little bit (like stated above, max 100 usd) I would gladly pay that price if that way my pc will “last longer” for a year or two.
Sorry for the long post, I would be really grateful if you guys could help me with some tips.

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

Athlon is way too old already so should be left out completely.
FX-6300 is cheap and work for like 90-95% of the games.
i5 4460 is enough for all games.

So you can go with either one of those 2.
If you want to save up a bit and don't care much about slight performance loss, take the FX-6300.
If you want best possible performance, take the i5 4460.

 

[kwa-e]

The 6300 with an R9 290 will give you the best price to performance in AAA gaming.

 

[Szaki]

Will there maybe some price cuts on the GPU market in the next few weeks ?

 

[kwa-e]

Possible, But not likely.

 

[Cazzer505]

Athlon is way too old already so should be left out completely.
FX-6300 is cheap and work for like 90-95% of the games.
i5 4460 is enough for all games.

So you can go with either one of those 2.
If you want to save up a bit and don't care much about slight performance loss, take the FX-6300.
If you want best possible performance, take the i5 4460.

Um... the x4 860k is newer than the fx range of cpus by 2 years

 

[IamTimTech]

Athlon X4 860K + ASUS A88XM-A = 150 USD
FX6300 + Gigabyte 970A-UD3P = 190 USD
I5 4460 + ASUS H81M-K = 260 USD
I would like to pair one of these up with a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960, N960G1 (235 USD) or with an R9 285, 8gigs of ram, a 750W PSU with 80+ bronze certificate ( right now 60 USD).

It seems like you've done a lot of research and came prepared with all of the right questions. I am a big fan of the x4 860K, it's a very inexpensive quad core option; however unless your budget is really tight I wouldn't chose it. It is a great budget option but only delivers low to medium low performance. The above statement that it is older is false, but it is a weaker CPU.

The FX 6300 is a respectable option and you've chose to pair it with a good motherboard, but if you can afford it though you should pair it with the Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3. This will facilitate a long reliable lifespan even under heavy overclocks (done properly of course).

The i5-4460 is a boring option but it is the best performer. This is the choice I would take if I wasn't concerned with overclocking, if I wanted the option I would chose the FX because in reality both these processors are going to deliver acceptable performance at reasonable settings.

As far as GPU, it is hard for me to be unbiased because while I used to almost always recommend an AMD GPU when appropriate, I have had a string of bad luck with my Radeon R9 series cards lately. I had an Asus R9 270 that had artifacting issues, and I just got an MSI R9 270X that continues to white and black screen on me. I have just bought a new Sapphire R9 280X and I am hope I do not have issues with it. I want to believe I am having just having other hardware issues or driver problems but I have troubleshooted this problem extensively.

Without an unbiased view the R9 280X and GTX 960 are going to deliver similar performance in most titles. Some titles favor Nvidea while others will do better with the R9 280X because if its 3GB of RAM. The GTX 960 is going to draw less power and run a lot cooler for many years. Never had a problem with an Nvidea card and I wish that was the case with my AMD cards.

Speaking of power; you don't need a 750 watt power supply. You should try to find a 550 watt or 650 watt to power your system such as this one: https://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-m12ii620bronze

 

[kwa-e]

An i5 with an R290 is your best bet if you can save up for it, But at your budget an FX-6300 with an R9290 housed by a GA-78LMT-USB3 is the most economically sound choice, and performs pretty well to boot.

 

[IamTimTech]

An i5 with an R290 is your best bet if you can save up for it, But at your budget an FX-6300 with an R9290 housed by a GA-78LMT-USB3 is the most economically sound choice, and performs pretty well to boot.

The GA-78LMT-USB3 is known to have problems with the 6 and 8 core FX chips. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who wants their PC to be reliable for more than a year or two and the original poster has a maximum of around $450 USD. I recommmended the following:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($94.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $392.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-01 11:10 EDT-0400

 

[madmatt30]

The gigabyte 78lmt has no problem at all with the 6300 - I myself have had one clocked at 4.6ghz with no issues whatsoever.
Its only sata 2 though so in all honestly the full size ds3p or better the ud3p are far better options - Personally I see no point spending on a 990 chipset for a 6300.

 

[kwa-e]

Even on Sata2 SSD's are really fast, Will only make a noticeable difference if you need to transfer huge files or you compare them side to side.

 

[IamTimTech]

The gigabyte 78lmt has no problem at all with the 6300 - I myself have had one clocked at 4.6ghz with no issues whatsoever.
Its only sata 2 though so in all honestly the full size ds3p or better the ud3p are far better options - Personally I see no point spending on a 990 chipset for a 6300.

I have seen and answered more than a few cases of people with those boards with 6300 or 8350 processors who are a year or so into their builds and they are experiencing random shut downs and freezes and throttling. The culprit is the motherboard. Over time the board gets hot and cold, then hot then cold and it expires early.

I am not encouraging a 990 board, I am encouraging a 970. The board intended for the FX six core processors.