help finishing off my build

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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
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www.mfenn.com
I think we're still having a communication problem. I don't want you to tell me what CPUs and GPUs cost $50. I want to you tell me what CPUs and GPUs are available within a +/- $50 range of your current one.

For example, let's say that the 7790 costs you $150. That means that you should post (or direct me to a link where I can see) all GPUs available to you that costs between $100 and $200. Same for the CPU. Does that make sense to you?
 
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builder-inator

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Jul 2, 2013
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1. AMD Sempron 145 - Boxed CPU - 2.80GHz Socket AM3

2. AMD Sempron (145) 2.8GHz Processor L2 Cache 1024KB Socket AM3 (Boxed) SDX145HBGMBOX

This is what I found between $40 and $60 AM3+ CPUS. You can look for yourself here:http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/jsp/tradesearch/TradeSearch.jsp
The rand to dollar rate is 10.17 now so anything you see in rands multiply by 10.17 to get the dollar value but obviously you know that
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
We're still not communicating here. I'm not interested in $50 CPUs or GPUs. I'm interested in CPUs and GPUs that are WITHIN $50 in either direction (plus or minus) of the 4170 and 7790. I'm not sure how I can make this any clearer. Please let me know what you're not understanding about this.

For example, the FX-4170 costs 1476 rand, or roughly $147. That means that we should look at CPUs between $97 and $197 or 970 and 1970 rand.

I see that you can get an i3 3220 for 1350 rand. That's going to be a way better gaming processor than the FX-4170 for less. You can get a Biostar B76MU3B for 657 rand to go with it. Those two free up 500 rand for the GPU.

The 7790 costs about 1900 rand, so with that extra 500, you can go to 2400 rand. That gets you up to the 7850, which is much better than the 7790.
 
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builder-inator

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Jul 2, 2013
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OK now I understand.

CPU:*AMD FX 4170 Bulldozer Series CPU - 4.2GHz Quad(4) Core, AM3+ Socket,12MB, HyperTran - R1503

Motherboard: MSI AMD 970A-G46 970 Chipset - R1025

Memory:*CORSAIR XMS3 4GB - 1X4G DDR3-1600 CL9 - R419

Video Card:*Sapphire AMD HD 7790 1024MB Graphics Card - PCI-E 3.0 - R1745

Power Supply: Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2 430W Power Supply - 80PLUS Certified - R438

These are the current parts with the prices that I found. I'm getting all these parts near where I live so that's great for me as I don't pay shipping.

I'll be looking for that CPU and motherboard here
 
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builder-inator

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Jul 2, 2013
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I'm not going to go crazy with gaming, generally I'll play a little Minecraft but now that I think of it I'm going to be using apps more.
Also I don't want a dual core, I only want a Quad core. That's something I'm not changing
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
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Here's a comparison between i3-3220 and FX-4300: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/677?vs=700

FX-4170 is a few percent faster than FX-4300, but the general message is the same: i3-3220 is faster in single or dual threaded tasks, and the same speed in multithreaded tasks. Yes, it's a dual core, but it is faster per core, it is hyperthreaded (software treats it as a quad core), and it's half as power hungry as FX-4170. However it is also more expensive, similar to FX-6300. But the point is that a quad core isn't automatically better than a dual core.

You picked a 970 chipset motherboard, but as I understand it, you're not going to overclock and have fairly basic needs, so I would recommend the cheaper 760 chipset instead. That should free up enough money that you could buy an FX-6300.

Also, if minecraft is all you're going to play... you could consider an AMD APU with fairly decent integrated graphics. The amount you're spending on CPU, motherboard, RAM and GPU above is R4700... so this is what an APU setup would look like:

A10-5800K (FX-4300 CPU, Radeon 7660D graphics) R1703
ASrock FM2A75M-DGS R968
Patriot Viper 3 2x4GB 2133MHz R1125

= R3796. Save R900, get more & faster RAM, save a ton of energy (uses less than half of the watts of FX4170+7790). Gaming performance is nowhere near as good, but easily good enough for Minecraft.
 
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builder-inator

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Jul 2, 2013
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I couldn't find a 760. And I've read people saying am3+ is better than fm2 also wouldn't the FX 4170 have better performance and the HD 7790 be better? Power isn't a huge problem
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
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The only advantages AM3+ has is compatibility with a wider range of processors. You can upgrade to FX-8320, for example, and next generation AMD processors may also be compatible with the same socket. FM2, however, is probably a dead end. But if your upgrade cycle is long, there's a decent chance you'll upgrade the socket along with your next CPU upgrade anyway. If you decide to upgrade to Intel, you'll definitely use a different socket.

Feature-wise, budget AM3+ and FM2 boards are very similar.

FX-4170 and A10-5800K are equally fast, while 7790 is significantly faster than the 7660D but also significantly more expensive. Which socket to go with depends on how much gaming performance you really need, although if going AM3+ I would get FX-4300 or FX-6300 instead of FX-4170. As I said, if you only play Minecraft, the 7790 makes no sense. But if you play modern, demanding titles, 7790 (or 7850 even) is definitely the way to go.

Here's a basic 760 chipset board: http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/1114...et_AM3_AMD_760G_SB710_Micro_ATX_RAID_Gig.html
It lacks USB 3.0 and SATA 6gb/s, but it's only R662, or about R300 less than the cheapest 970 boards. That's the difference between FX-4170 and FX-6300.
 
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builder-inator

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USB 3.0 is one of the things I want. And thing is when I upgrade I might have a limited amount so I'd like to only upgrade the CPU in the future. So I might just take the am3+
 
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builder-inator

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Jul 2, 2013
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I'm not only going to be playing Minecraft, I was thinking of getting Skyrim or Crysis 3 and maybe more games in the future
 
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builder-inator

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Jul 2, 2013
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I know but the thing is I'm able to use money to upgrade or save money and if something goes wrong like if it dies I don't have to pay to ship it back.
Also I know someone who had a computer store and they might have access to wholesalers so I'm waiting for him. But you're right I probably won't be able to buy just one of each
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
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71
www.mfenn.com
builder-inator said:
I know but the thing is I'm able to use money to upgrade or save money and if something goes wrong like if it dies I don't have to pay to ship it back.
Click to expand...

You have to look at the overall net cost. Saving money by not having to pay shipping doesn't matter if you end up paying more money for the base parts locally.
 
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builder-inator

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Jul 2, 2013
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Oh my bad, sorry. But I've already said why I don't want the I3. The FX is faster and the I3 is a dual core. Also the benchmarks aren't a huge difference for me. Remember I'm not going to go crazy gaming
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
builder-inator said:
Oh my bad, sorry. But I've already said why I don't want the I3. The FX is faster and the I3 is a dual core. Also the benchmarks aren't a huge difference for me. Remember I'm not going to go crazy gaming
Click to expand...

Clock speed alone and cores alone don't mean anything. It's how much the CPU can get done using its clock speed and cores. With that in mind, benchmarks are the only way to determine what CPU is faster (which the i3 is for gaming).
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
builder-inator said:
What about for multi threaded stuff?
Click to expand...

The fact of the matter is that each core in the i3 is so much faster than a core in the FX that the FX doesn't have a huge advantage even in multithreaded application. The i3 of course wins single-threaded benchmarks handily. The average desktop application or game isn't going to come close to being as well threaded as those benchmarks, thus giving the i3 an advantage overall.
 
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