Advice for buying a gaming PC!

Check out this shop on Craigslist
FX-6300 95W
If you aren't planning on overclocking, the Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
and the Corsair LC-CC-95 cooler
would bring the total to about $350.00 or $467

You can find some shops carrying the Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 (rev. 5.0)—it’s a perfectly decent board if you're looking to save some cash.

Timothy Kim60 said:You can find the Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 (rev. 5.0) in several local shops—it's a decent board if you're looking to save some cash.

The price here in the US 81 miles is roughly $173. It won't overheat since it has a 4+1 phase design, yet it still supports up to 125W.

Alexander Moore67 said:it's about 81 miles in the US $173 and there's no issue since the 4+1 phase handles up to 125W

you can OC without bumping the voltage

Alexander Moore67 said:Check out this shop on Craigslist and look at this:
FX-6300 95W
if you aren't planning on overclocking, the Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3
and the Corsair LC-CC-95 cooler
would be about 350 USD total, or $467

I'm not sure! Maybe down the road if I need more FPS for gaming, but for now, I won't be overclocking!
That seems pretty cheap, just for the cooler $40, and here in the US$27.

Alexander Moore67 said:In the US, the price is roughly 81 miles around $173 and you don't need to worry because it features a 4+1 phase design that supports up to 125W.

Honestly, you can even overclock it—just keep it reasonable, of course. Having a 4+1 setup isn't a dealbreaker, especially since this one actually includes a VRM cooler. There is a massive difference between various 4+1 configurations. Even a DS3P uses a 4+1 layout, and I've seen several people on this forum hit about 4.6 GHz with an FX-8320 or 8350 completely stably (provided they have top-tier cooling, obviously). That might be an extreme case, but the point stands: it's doable. An FX-6300 is even less demanding on the motherboard.

The reason I don't recommend budget boards for AMD CPUs isn't because they aren't built for overclocking, but rather because those cheap models are just too poor for them (usually 3+1 phases with no VRM cooling).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/pc-build-example
Is this build actually worth anything? It seems way too cheap to me! 🤔

Seriously? That's way overpriced. Just hop online and check the actual retail sites if you want to see what things cost

1 x AMD Kaveri Athlon II X4 860K Processor 3.70GHz 4cores,cache : 4MB
1 x Asrok FM2A78M-HD+, Socket FM2+ 95W / FM2 100W processors
2 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 ,hladnjak, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm
1 x XFX R7-265A-CNF4, Core Radeon R7 265 925M Boost 2GB DDR5 Display
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x FORTRON 400W Power Supply, HEXA Plus 400, 12cm ventilator
1 x Spire Ridge 6601, ATX/ Micro ATX

$1297 - adm

If you build a rig in this same style but swap in a slightly better, newer CPU, a higher-tier graphics card, a 1TB HDD, and an aftermarket cooler (which this build is missing), you’d end up with a setup that's newer and more powerful for the exact same price—the only downside would be a slightly weaker power supply, though the motherboard and case would remain the same

Timothy Kim60 said:What on earth? That's way too expensive. You have internet access—just check some retailer websites and you'll see what things actually cost.

1 x AMD Kaveri Athlon II X4 860K Processor 3.70GHz 4cores,cache : 4MB
1 x Asrock FM2A78M-HD+, Socket FM2+ 95W / FM2 100W processors
2 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 ,hladnjak, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm
1 x XFX R7-265A-CNF4, Core Radeon R7 265 925M Boost 2GB DDR5 Display
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x FORTRON 400W Power Supply, HEXA Plus 400, 12cm ventilator
1 x Spire Ridge 6601, ATX/ Micro ATX

$1297 - admin

With a build like this, you just get a slightly better and newer CPU, a higher-tier graphics card, a 1TB HDD, and an aftermarket cooler (which this build lacks). The only downsides would be a weaker power supply, while the motherboard and case remain the same. It's brand new and better for the exact same price!

And you even get a monitor included, if you ask me!

There’s absolutely nothing mentioned about a monitor, and there's no way it comes with that setup. Honestly, the guy is just talking nonsense and exaggerating half the stuff he says. He posts a screenshot of his idle temps, but you can bet he was running Prime95 for two days straight on a 760K using a stock cooler inside a case like that with the turbo cranked up—I mean, 99% of the time those things hit over 70C while the fan is screaming. I've put together enough of these FM2 builds, dealing with all sorts of APA and Athlon setups, to know exactly what I'm talking about.

graniteharbor85 said:There’s absolutely nothing mentioned about a monitor, and there's no way it's included in that setup. Honestly, this guy is totally exaggerating and talking nonsense. He posts a screenshot of idle temperatures, but you can bet he ran Prime95 for two days straight using just the stock cooler on a 760K in a case like that with the fan on max—99% of the time those temps will soar past 70°C while the fan screams! I've built plenty of these FM2 builds with an AMD APU or an Athlon, so I know exactly how they behave.

He really padded the price. I actually thought it was $1,050.00 including the monitor, but nope. 😉

Roger Mitchell4 said:I honestly think the monitor is included too!

If the monitor were part of the deal, they would have explicitly stated that in the description. Don't let the photos fool you—read the actual text.

Timothy Kim60 said:Even if the monitor itself said it, I’d believe it! Don't let the photos fool you—just stick to what the specs actually say.

Got it 😉

Back again.😁 I've settled on the GPU and CPU combo (i5 4460 + R9 280), but I'm still stuck on the motherboard, so I figured I'd ask for some advice.

Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H $195

ASUS B85M-G $190

Asrock H97 ANNIVERSARY $220

ASUS H97M-E, 1150 $249

Everything is from AMD.

Would the last two give me enough room to upgrade to the upcoming Broadwell later? Maybe it's worth shelling out an extra 100-$67 for that.

gentlesailor43 said:Back again.😁 I've settled on the GPU and CPU combo (i5 4460 + R9 280), but I'm still stuck on the motherboard. Looking for some input.

Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H $195

ASUS B85M-G $190

Asrock H97 ANNIVERSARY $220

ASUS H97M-E, 1150 $249

Everything is from Micro Center.

Would the last two give me enough room to upgrade to Broadwell later? Is it worth dropping an extra 100-$67 USD just for that?

Not in my book. The jump from Haswell to Broadwell is basically like going from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge.
The main improvement is just the integrated graphics, which you won't even use.

Just grab a cheaper B85 board with 4 RAM slots and call it a day.😉

Robert Rodriguez2 said:I don't think so. I guess the jump from Haswell to Broadwell should be similar to what we saw between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge.
The biggest improvement is just the integrated graphics, which you probably won't even use.

Maybe just grab a cheaper B85 board with 4 RAM slots and call it a day. 😉

👍

If your choice is between the Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H 586 USD or the ASUS B85M-G 570 $195/ASUS B85M-G $190, which one would you pick?

I’d probably lean toward the Gigabyte—it seems like a better bet since you get more upgrade options with those slots (2x PCI and PCI-e x4), plus it has some decent cooling on the VRMs

fadedorca66 said:I'd go with the Gigabyte. You get better expansion options with those slots (2x PCI and PCI-e x4), plus it actually has a decent heatsink on the VRMs.

Spot on. That's exactly what I was thinking.😬

Robert Rodriguez2 said:You hit the nail on the head. That’s exactly what I was thinking. 😬

Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 599,99 USD $200 So, should I go for this one if it's only about 10 bucks more, or just stick with that mATX option?

Also, any case recommendations? I was thinking about going with the K280, but I see they've got the Zalman Z1, Z3, and Z3+ in stock at AMD. Which one would you pick? This is aside from the fact that if I go with the K280, I'd probably need an extra fan.

With a Micro-ATX motherboard, you're looking at just two RAM slots, whereas this one gives you four. As for cases, just grab a Z3 or Z3 Plus from Zalman—you really can't go wrong there.