Catalyst Gaming
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Officialjake on November 18, 2013, 02:50:46 AM
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I am looking to build a PC so I can actually play the new games like BF4 and arma 3 instead of being limited to inde and source games on my laptop which is a POS for gaming. Also then I can quit being a console peasant and join the PC Master Race. So how do these two builds from /r/PCMasterRace sound? Which one should I do or what changes do you recommend?
The "Value build" it is the recommended build:
Last Updated on October 25th, 2013 - Upgraded motherboard
The following build is a sleek black powerbox that will reduce even the dirtiest of peasants to tears. The CPU and GPU are both powerful enough to comfortably run any modern title on High. It may be smart to replace it with an 8320 or 8350 if you feel you will need the boost. Edit: Added 7950 instead. Yay!
CPU AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard ASRock 970 PRO3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card
Power Supply Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply
Case Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window
Then the "next gen crusher" which is cheaper than the value but less powerful.
Last Updated on October 21st, 2013
This build will be sufficient for any fresh convert who is looking to outperform the "next-gen" consoles like the PS4 and XBO. For the most bang-for-buck, I'd recommend you look at the value build. The value build will probably be about 25-30% faster in 1080p games on average. This one will be roughly the same or slightly better when compared to a PS4 or XBO when run at 1080p. EDIT: Swapped the 7790 with a 7850 for... like $5 more. It's gonna destroy any next-gen now. Absolutely destroy.
CPU AMD Athlon II X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard MSI FM2-A75MA-P33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard
Memory Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory
Storage Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card
Case Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case
Power Supply EVGA 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Here is the URL for all the builds: http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1no3e5/the_peasants_jerkfree_guide_to_converting_to_the/ccmxvet
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I was going to say pros and cons of each item on each build, but I'll make it easier:
Value Build: It's a pretty good build. My issues with it are the CPU, as I would always choose a CPU (and ram for that matter) with a number of cores/memory that keeps to the proper binary system (1, 2, 4, 8, 16). For this I'd go with the CPU from the Crusher build instead.
My only other concern with it (neither a pro nor a con) is that I've never heard anything about ASRock as a MB manufacturer. To me this is more a detractant as I work with a lot of people who have their own builds and none of them use ASRock.
Crusher Build: Also a good build. My issue with this build is the hard drive. I do not like Seagate as a HDD maker. I've never had a good Seagate drive (the ones I've had have all died within months.) I'd take the drive from the value build over that.
My only other issue is with the RAM module. I personally prefer having 2x4GB instead of 1x8GB as it provides redundancy in case one of the memory modules is bad.
Overall assessment: If you don't care to have the greatest graphics (I'm still running a 6950) then I'd go with the Crusher build with the WD drive. Otherwise I'd go the value build with the quad core from crusher. Either way I'd say to use 2x4gb RAM but that's just me.
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The "Value Build" is the good option, as said from the reddit post:
Change the CPU from FX 6300 to a 8350. The 6300 isn't much better than the Phenom series chips, I previously had a Phenom and an 6300.
No noticeable difference except the price. The 8350 is still the best AMD cpu on the bang for buck scale, great for threaded applications and also great for gaming due to the sheer GHZ (4GHZ per core [Take into consideration that there is really only 4 cores and AMD lie about it having 8, it's 4 Cores, 4 Threads giving a logical number of 8 cores])
As for that PSU, get atleast a 750w. it's running dangerously close with a 8350 and that GPU. you want to have your PSU running at a maximum of 80% constantly. Also make sure it's a "Real" 750w and not a cheap shitass PSU which has a rating of 750w.
I suggest getting a PSU from OCZ, prefferably a 80Plus Gold rating.
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8 core FX cpu is 8 thread 4 cores but it is still a really nice CPU, i have the 8150
change your GPU from XFX to MSI for the 7850, XFX is a piece of shit compared to MSI