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How good is this budget AMD PC build for the price?

Malek Agha

Reputable
Nov 3, 2014
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4,790
The price limit I am on is $800. I would also like to know at what frame rate and settings it can run games like battlefield at. Pls list in the answers section any adjustments that you would perfer me make for the betterment of my build that doesn't exceed my budget of $800.

Here is the link: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cmkd23
 
Solution
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbcTgs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbcTgs/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($129.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98...
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbcTgs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbcTgs/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($129.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $791.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-01 23:26 EDT-0400


make sure to check your CPU temps when you get it, if they are too high then you should get an aftermarket cooler

The motherboard supports crossfire in case you want another GPU

The ram is 1866mhz CAS 9 which is better than the one in your build

You may want to consider going down to an fx 6350 and getting an r9 280x
 
Solution
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280X 3GB TurboDuo Video Card ($212.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: AOC i2267Fw 60Hz 22.0" Monitor ($119.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $815.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-01 23:35 EDT-0400

What I would get.
 
The ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 is tired junk , but there are very good boards for this processor
The Asrock extreme 4 is OK , but not great . 4 + 1 power phases run hotter than boards with better power circuitry

I would do something like this
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($129.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Performance ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $799.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-02 01:16 EDT-0400

Board has VRM's good enough for the 220 watt processors ,can SLI and crossfire , and an M.2 socket for ultra fast SSD's .

IMO the antec case is a better quality too

If I had another $30 to spend Id add a better cpu cooler
 


basically the same as mine except a more expensive motherboard and cheaper case. The motherboard has terrible reviews on newegg. It is always important to look at reviews.
 
wait, the 200r just went from 50$ to 100$, so ignore that, but for 50$ the 200r is a great case.

and the r9 280 just jumped up in price

and when there are almost as many 1 star as 5 star reviews on a motherboard then you probably shouldn't get it.
 


Thank you everybody that responded to my question but I have picked Rhezner's answer as the best one. I just have a question though: What is wrong with my case?
 


The ram is worse and the power supply is worse,

the CPU may not be a bad option as it has a better upgrade path, but it will perform worse in most games and for multitasking

and the monitor has 5ms response time and is 22 inch so it is a bit worse.

here is the final buld i would recommend
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HjGkrH
 
at 1080p, I wouldn't want anything more than 22" to maintain good pixel density.

the i3 actually beats the 6300 in many games.

also the GPU is much better and most if not all modern games are GPU dependent.
 


8320 not 6300 which is probably a bit overkill for this build. I just edited OPs build without changing it.

and the gtx 960 is about equal in performance but is a bit better than the r9 280x.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Ptcc550pQ

this is basically a comparison, yes the r9 280x gets better performance, but the gtx 960 is way more reliable. look at this gtx 960 for less than a 280x after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127844

it has 23 5 star reviews and none other.

Find a 280x that has reviews even close to this.

and ill admit, the 4160 is probably a better deal, that is why i fixed it in my revised build. Although i have heard dx12 will allow more CPU cores in videogames so it may perform better with dx12.
 
So I edited my build a little bit. I changed the moniter, the GPU, and the case. Can you guys tell me what you think? Also, PcPartPicker says that the GPU won't fit inside the case; I'm not sure if this is true or not.

Here is the link:http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qwYXzy
 


Personally, I wouldn't go with that build. I would go with the one I recommended. Your build will last but don't hope to max even current games with that. 280X will let you get close to max. 280X is just below the GTX 970.

Think about it!
 
Rheznar is right. OP, always do research on individual parts before you buy something after one of us has recommended something. Both are good cards - GTX 960 and the 280X but the decision is yours. I get the feeling that you like AMD as a brand a little more.