Which is the better system?

[Xairen]

Hi there! This is my first post to the forum but I've been here for quite a while reading tutorials and articles.

I've been building computers when I was young (my mom owned a local computer store) until my last build, which was 2007/2008. That gaming rig has been wonderful to me but new games are taking its toll on it and my younger brother has gotten into gaming and I want to hand it down to him while I build my new one.

Thing is, I've been out of the loop for about 8 years now and I'd like to get input from those who look out for the latest and greatest tech.

Narrowing my choices down, I got to 2 builds. An AMD & Radeon build and an Intel & Nvidia build.
Which would be the best bang for my buck (I think they're quite close after reading some reviews on each component)?

AMD & Radeon Setup $1,479.22 + tax
Processor: AMD FX-8370 8 Core 4.0/4.3GHZ Processor AM3+ 16MB Cache 125W Retail Box
Mobo: ASUS M5A99X Evo R2.0 ATX AM3+ DDR3 AMD 990X 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 1PCI USB3.0 SATA3 GBLAN Motherboard
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit
PSU: Enermax Revolution XT ERX730AWT 730W ATX12V 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
GFX Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 1000MHZ 4GB DDR5 DP HDMI 2xDVI Double Dissipation Video Card R9-290X-EDFD
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM 64MB SATA 6Gbps 3.5in Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Network Card: Intel Gigabit CT 10/100/1000 PCI-E Ethernet Network Adapter

Intel & Nvidia Setup $1,426.09 + tax
Processor: Intel Core i5 I5-4460 Haswell 3.2GHZ Processor LGA1150 6MB Cache Retail
Mobo: ASUS Z97M-PLUS mATX LGA1150 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SLI SATA3 USB3.0 DVI HDMI Motherboard
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit
PSU: Enermax Revolution XT ERX730AWT 730W ATX12V 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
GFX Card: ASUS GeForce GTX 970 Strix OC 1253MHZ 4GB 7.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM
Network Card: Intel PRO/1000 CT Desktop Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter PCI Express NIC OEM

Both builds will have a give-or-take of a few hundred dollars to add a case and a cooling system and also mouse + keyboard. I already have a Monitor, desk and SDD for it.

To put things into perspective, I'll be using this mostly for playing games especially the up and coming EVOLVE, The Order and a few games that have been released.

Thanks for your input!

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

The second one is better for gaming. For that price you should get better hardware. Where do you live?

 

[Xairen]

I live in Vancouver, where everything is expensive. XD
What would you recommend replacing? My budget is around $1,500 + tax BTW.

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

I live in Vancouver, where everything is expensive. XD
What would you recommend replacing? My budget is around $1,500 + tax BTW.

Ah that explains it. I thought you were in the US.

This is slightly over but its better. If you can get the reference 980 I prefer that. http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/wjf3jX
or this with a 620w PSU http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/LnZtHx

Although if it is too much, this is what I would get http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/76T8yc
This one has a better motherboard, an SSD, and but a 970 instead of a 980.

 

[synphul]

Out of those two builds the op listed I'd opt for the intel build. Better all the way around, gaming and otherwise. Although if budget has a little room, I might opt for an unlocked i5 and decent cpu cooler.

 

[Xairen]

@TheMagicalWallaby - I can stretch the budget by a few hundred. Grabbing the first link you provided and replacing the mobo with the one from the third link.

@synphul - I'm not really a fan of overclocking but given that systems last around 5 years before you would want to upgrade, an overclocked processor might be a good idea. I'm just not sure if the extra $$$ I add will be worth the oomph it'll give me. And if I do get an unlocked processor, what cooling system would you recommend?

I forgot to add that for future prospects, I'm considering adding a second gfx card to sli then when the newer games call for it. Is that a better choice in 5 years time or should I just get the latest and greatest card by then? If the sli is a good idea, will the PSU handle two of the cards?

Thanks again!

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

@TheMagicalWallaby - I can stretch the budget by a few hundred. Grabbing the first link you provided and replacing the mobo with the one from the third link.

@synphul - I'm not really a fan of overclocking but given that systems last around 5 years before you would want to upgrade, an overclocked processor might be a good idea. I'm just not sure if the extra $$$ I add will be worth the oomph it'll give me. And if I do get an unlocked processor, what cooling system would you recommend?

I forgot to add that for future prospects, I'm considering adding a second gfx card to sli then when the newer games call for it. Is that a better choice in 5 years time or should I just get the latest and greatest card by then? If the sli is a good idea, will the PSU handle two of the cards?

Thanks again!

A 750w is fine. If you want to, an 850w PSU gives you more room for CPU overclocking. SLI by the end of the generation (of the 900's) so you can make sure you get the card while its commonly sold.

 

[Xairen]

Thanks a lot! You have been very helpful!

 

[CTurbo]

Those prices seem high even for Canada


PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/hXFcVn
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/hXFcVn/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($310.48 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($381.95 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $1085.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-07 01:05 EST-0500