What components should I get for serious programming and gaming?

ausybee

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Jun 4, 2015
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I am wanting to build a computer that can handle a lot of coding projects in MATLAB, C++ and Fortran. I also want to play games on this computer, specifically ARK: Survival Evolved at 60FPS.

Ultimately I think the gaming ability comes down to how good the GPU is, and I'm thinking an R9 280 will work. It is one tier above an HD 7870, which is the recommended requirement for ARK. What I'm unsure of is if that card is good enough to keep the game running at 60FPS, and how well it will hold up on future games.

As for the CPU, I think the primary focus should be on how well it handles building/running code. The FX 8350 is good at multi-threading, but I'm not sure if that makes it a better choice than the i5 or other Intel cards, which are better for gaming (secondary focus).

So I guess these are my questions: Is an R9 280 capable of running ARK at 60FPS? Which CPU would be best for programming AND gaming? Are there other components I should consider for this build?

All help is greatly appreciated.
 
Solution
I have a 7870 and was just playing ark in my own local server, 1080p, low graphics, 15-40fps depending on area. Not the most optimized game, and what is optimized, seems to favor Nvidia and Gameworks.
First of all i have a fx8320 which is pretty good for what you pay but intel is better at older DX9 games since it has better Single-Thread Performance, but if you say that you wont play old DX9 games then fine and dont expect 60fps from ark since it has an awful optimization but i got used to 30 with my old gpu (which was like 5-10 percent worse than r9 380 while overclocked), now i have a GTX980 and it can run it good but dont expect it to run it at 60 if you are not ready to lower some settings while sacrificing HUGE eye candy :)

PS: Ark is gonna get DX12 soon which if you just wanna play ark and dont care about old games then i suggest buying FX since with DX12, it's low SingleThreaded Perfomance wont matter and it will be on the same level as intels :)

Oww and forgot to mention that FX8320 is same as FX8350, just lowered clock speed and if you have a decent psu and cooler get the fx8320 and oc it as far as you can.
 


IF you have the money ofc go for intel (as much as that i favor AMD this is a fact but AMD is great when you are on budget :) )
 


As i had i low budget at first so thats why i still have the fx8320 and i recommend intel for high budget gaming as well :)

And no need for 6700, go buy a 4790k and overclock it since non-k 6700 and 4790k are at the same price afaik and 4790k is better than non-k 6700 if overclocked
 
For short if you are on budget go for AMD, if not go for Intel but dont expect A LOT of difference like 2 times better or so. Still Intel is about 10-20 percent better (Depending on comparing which models) so its all up to your budget in the end :)