Improving a build from $850 to ~$1000 - $1100

iTesseract

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Feb 4, 2016
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Hi everyone. This is the build that was recommended to me about a month and a half ago:



At the thread I made here. Since then I've acquired the case, but I've also upped my budget from 850 to about $1000 (could push it to $1100). I wanted to know what improvements I could make to this build given that knowledge.

The next part I'm going to acquire is the PSU, so I would like to know if I can purchase the same one or if an upgrade is recommendable. I decided to purchase the GPU last so I haven't gotten that yet, contrary to what my previous thread suggests.

Thanks in advance for everyone's help and kindness!

Tack the price of Windows on top of your build recommendations as I think I have a disc floating around here.
 
Solution
Crossfire X is just putting two AMD GPUs together and making them work as one. While SLI is the exact same thing, just for Nvidia GPUs.
It produces more heat, requires more power, but can be more cost-efficient and also provide even more performance than a single card.
Sometimes for instance, a card is so expensive, that it's both cheaper and gives better performance to combine two lower tier GPUs.
I actually got a Corsair 200R case already, which BadActor suggested as the one he uses himself later on in that thread.

So this would be a superior motherboard and this would be a superior GPU? Thanks for the advice!

Considering the 6500 is barely more expensive than the 6400, is it really worth downgrading? Am I not going to be able to take advantage of the extra processing power or something? Again, thanks everyone for the helping hand.

EDIT: Appreciate the time, Virtual Singularity. But the general consensus is that the other PSU is fine for the time being? Or is it a little underpowered for this build?
 


Might be able to overclock it higher, but you'll overclock the i5-6400 past 4.0 Ghz normally. All the difference between the two are the clock speeds, and you can just up the one of the i5-6400. It is recommended to speed up the 6400 to 4.0 Ghz on turbo mode and like 3.5 Ghz base clock with the stock cooler. Past those speeds you're certainly going to need a CPU Cooler.

The EVGA B2 750w is solid and doesn't need change.

About the Corsair 200R, I always thought it was bad for airflow (potential). There are better options.

The chosen GTX 980 Ti is very good, Gigabyte Windforce.
 


Your choice of psu is fine, I listed it in the build I suggested actually, My suggestion for a better psu was simply that, assuming that you wish to upgrade to a 2nd gpu in the future. If you don't plan to get a second gpu, you could easily go with a 500-550w psu and it'd get the job done. However, if crossfire or sli is what you plan for the future, then 750w-850w would also do nicely for either card.

Note that for less than the price of a 980 ti, though, you could get 2 of the cards you'd originally listed, which would offer better performance overall, especially with the latest drivers. I hate to take sides in any nvidia vs amd choice tbh, and its not because I myself own a sapphire nitro r9 390 that I recommend the 390. either. It is genuinely an excellent, value-oriented card for the money, especially if you consider current sales. Even playing very demanding games at ultra settings at 1440p, I've never had any temp issues with it so far, its a beast of a card in its own right that rarely breaks a sweat. I originally wanted a Fury or Fury X, but went with the 390 specifically because its an excellent card with the right price.

I guess you could say I'm partial to AMD a bit at the moment because they offer open source development, and are far more transparent in their strategy than nVidia, who relies on the opposite type of strategy, regardless how that may temporarily affect game development and in some cases performance, to the detriment of all in some cases. Alas, I'm merely stating what I'd choose were it my choice. Either way, you've got yourself a good system, and fwiw I agree you should stick with your original choice of cpu. Cheers.
 


Hi again!

I'm ignorant of the advantages to crossfiring (and don't even know what sli is). I can appreciate your AMD preference: I'm not deep enough into the hardware scene, and I'm selfish enough that I'm willing to side with whoever can offer me the better machine at the moment. Maybe in the near future I'll be more willing to purchase from a moral standpoint. Please, explain what crossfiring 2 gpus is about to me. You could very well convince me it's a better idea.

Are you using one r9 390 or are you crossfiring them?

EDIT: Oh, and to pick your brain a bit if I may, what do you think about the motherboard I was suggested versus the one in my original post?
 
Crossfire X is just putting two AMD GPUs together and making them work as one. While SLI is the exact same thing, just for Nvidia GPUs.
It produces more heat, requires more power, but can be more cost-efficient and also provide even more performance than a single card.
Sometimes for instance, a card is so expensive, that it's both cheaper and gives better performance to combine two lower tier GPUs.
 
Solution
"Are you using one r9 390 or are you crossfiring them?

EDIT: Oh, and to pick your brain a bit if I may, what do you think about the motherboard I was suggested versus the one in my original post?"


Currently am using one R9 nitro 390. I built my sys with the intention of crossfiring the card in the near future, though presently am holding off on doing so, as I've no particular need to do so yet.

RCFProd suggests an excellent alternative, especially if you'd like to OC your non-K 6500.