Which build is better for gaming? (Sorry for no formatting, I'm ne

[isaacdevil]

Hey guys, I compiled these 2 builds on pcpartpicker.com, the builds are below

 

1.

CPU: AMD FX-4130 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.00 @ CPL Online)

Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($87.00 @ CPL Online)

Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($95.00 @ CPL Online)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.00 @ Centre Com)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 250 1GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($95.00 @ CPL Online)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 250 1GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($95.00 @ CPL Online)

Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.00 @ PCCaseGear)

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Essential 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.00 @ CPL Online)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($20.00 @ Mwave Australia)

Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($20.00 @ CPL Online)

Total: $688.00

 

2.

CPU: AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.00 @ CPL Online)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M EXTREME4+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($87.00 @ CPL Online)

Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.00 @ CPL Online)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.00 @ Centre Com)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 250 1GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($95.00 @ CPL Online)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 250 1GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($95.00 @ CPL Online)

Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($45.00 @ CPL Online)

Power Supply: Cougar 500W ATX Power Supply ($49.00 @ Mwave Australia)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.00 @ CPL Online)

Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($20.00 @ CPL Online)

Total: $666.00

[Waco]

I'd suggest going with a single more powerful card over a pair of R7 250s. Aside from that, both are solid builds minus the Cougar PSU in the second one. I'm not a fan of skimping on power supplies and Cougar hasn't really made a name for themselves in the PSU field quite yet.

 

If your budget is just south of $700 AU perhaps you wouldn't mind us taking a stab at spec'ing out a similarly priced rig for gaming?

[Waco]

If I were buying:

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($127.00 @ Centre Com)

Motherboard: Asus H81M-E Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.00 @ CPL Online)

Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.00 @ CPL Online)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.00 @ Centre Com)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($245.00 @ CPL Online)

Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.00 @ CPL Online)

Power Supply: Corsair VS 450W ATX Power Supply ($55.00 @ CPL Online)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($20.00 @ Mwave Australia)

Total: $702.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-29 11:09 EST+1000

 

 

This costs slightly more but for pure gaming it will be far superior (faster CPU and GPU).

[isaacdevil]

Not bad build! If you were wondering why I'm doing the crossfire thing is so that a gpu doesn't get overloaded - a bit like cores on a cpu. Anyways the budget 4 everything except (case, case fan etc.) is around $600 and thanks 4 the suggestion! I might consider your pc compilation and one of those amd graphics cards can run battlefield pretty well I saw a review of it on YouTube.

[isaacdevil]

I'd also like 2 add I'll change psu in the second build 2 the pcu in the first build

Edited September 29, 2014 by isaacdevil

[Waco]

Crossfire tends to be slower than a single faster card - there's no such thing as "overloading" a GPU. In fact, running Crossfire actually puts more of a load on each card. Two cards that are half as fast as a larger GPU will perform slower EVERY time when running together.

 

At best, a pair of R7 250s will be roughly similar to an R9 270X. The R9 280 is a MUCH faster card than a 270X.

[isaacdevil]

Oh ok thanks 4 letting me know that, I also stumbled across a few others on some forums saying the same thing.

[l1il]

R7 crossfire cards are mostly neglected in drivers, as you will probably hit a wall where crossfire doesn't work at all, then you will be stuck with one 250. A 280 will wash, rinse and spin what two 250's can do, for less issues and better price / performance. I would recommend a 280 for 1080p gaming, not so much for 250's (even in crossfire)

 

Also, a 280 has 3 GB for one card and a 250 is 1 GB per card (2GB cards would be a waste actually, as the GPU has limited performances). Memory doesn't add up in Crossfire, it is instead split for each cpu. No, a GPU doesn't work like a CPU where having more cores is beneficial even if each core's output is slower, as GPU already have thousand of small cores that are instruction specific.

 

Plus, two cards always increase the burden on the power supply, where idle power is higher, more heat problems and so on. Somebody looking for crossfire would actually wants something faster than the best single card available.

[ccokeman]

I would suggest going 2x4GB over 1x8GB on the memory so you run in dual channel mode..  $99 for the GSkill Ares 1600Mhz 2x4GB kit.

 

Or even this Patriot Signature kit  http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/patriot-memory-psd38g1600kh

[Waco]

R7 crossfire cards are mostly neglected in drivers, as you will probably hit a wall where crossfire doesn't work at all

Well, to be fair, AMD has moved towards their unified architecture where bonuses for GCN cards tend to span the entire product range to various effect. Crossfire tends to work, or not, on a per-game basis no matter what cards are being used.

[isaacdevil]

I think I made a good $600 gaming rig, I got 2 4G 2400 RAM cards with heat spreading and a good EVO 2GB GDDR5 1.23Ghz which ran Battlefield 4 pretty good according to a Youtube review.

 

SPECS

CPU: AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.00 @ CPL Online)

CPU Cooler: Thermaltake CLP0598 45.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($20.00 @ CPL Online)

Thermal Compound: Zalman ZM-STG2 3.5g Thermal Paste ($8.03 @ Mwave Australia)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M EXTREME4+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($87.00 @ CPL Online)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($105.00 @ PCCaseGear)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.00 @ Centre Com)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 2GB FTW ACX Video Card ($159.00 @ PCCaseGear)

Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($45.00 @ CPL Online)

Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply ($42.00 @ Mwave Australia)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.00 @ CPL Online)

Total: $655.03

Edited September 29, 2014 by isaacdevil

[isaacdevil]

R7 crossfire cards are mostly neglected in drivers, as you will probably hit a wall where crossfire doesn't work at all, then you will be stuck with one 250. A 280 will wash, rinse and spin what two 250's can do, for less issues and better price / performance. I would recommend a 280 for 1080p gaming, not so much for 250's (even in crossfire)

 

Also, a 280 has 3 GB for one card and a 250 is 1 GB per card (2GB cards would be a waste actually, as the GPU has limited performances). Memory doesn't add up in Crossfire, it is instead split for each cpu. No, a GPU doesn't work like a CPU where having more cores is beneficial even if each core's output is slower, as GPU already have thousand of small cores that are instruction specific.

 

Plus, two cards always increase the burden on the power supply, where idle power is higher, more heat problems and so on. Somebody looking for crossfire would actually wants something faster than the best single card available.

I couldn't use the 280 gpu since it was 2 much mmoney 2 retain some other part's performance as well and good suggestion though I could buy that card for an upgrade in the future!