Motherboard and CPU combo under $350-450?

Kenneth Hayes60 said:I’ve got a Zalman Z3+ sitting here—if that's the motherboard we're talking about, hmm... is it actually worth grabbing that CPU? How long before I’m looking at another upgrade? And honestly, can it even hold its own against an i5?

With some overclocking, you can hold your own against an i5 (at least one that isn't locked to a massive OC), but upgrading the motherboard just isn't worth the money.

wiredotter14 said:Intel might actually be the better play if you're heavy into overclocking (more physical cores), though it really just depends on what kind of content you're streaming.
But honestly, dropping that much cash on a motherboard and a cooler? Not a great value. That’s likely the best processor you'll ever pair with that board, so there's no point overspending on that tier.

+1 to crimsonstag84, $633 whatever you save from that, just put it toward a new GPU instead.
Or go out for a nice dinner.
Or toss it into a 401(k).
Whatever makes you happy.

Man, I feel that—deciding which path to take is always the hard part, isn't it? Which option is truly the "best"? Though, if I'm being completely honest with myself... everything I earn seems to find its way right back into my PC setup 😁

Kenneth Hayes60 said:Man, I feel that—deciding which path to take is always the hard part, isn't it? Which option is truly the "best"? Though, if I'm being completely honest with myself... everything I earn seems to find its way right back into my PC setup 😁

Whatever crimsonstag84 told you... just wait a few months. Then go grab yourself a beast of a GPU.

wiredotter14 said:Whatever crimsonstag84 told you... just wait a few months. Then go grab yourself a beast of a GPU.

Well, alright then—I suppose I'll circle back later and let everyone know what I ended up pulling the trigger on. 😁

The 8320e is definitely the better value for you; since your motherboard supports it, you'll get much better performance when you're streaming.
You overpaid for that GPU—for what you spent, you could have picked up an RX 580 for even less money.

Kimberly Gomez34 said:The 8320e is definitely the better value for you; since your motherboard supports it, you'll get much better performance when you're streaming.
You overpaid for that GPU—for what you spent, you could have picked up an RX 580 for even less money.

I actually reached out on a few US forums asking about the 280, but everyone seemed to have some sort of grievance with it—it felt like every single thread I read was just people complaining about issues, so I decided to steer clear. Even on the big international boards, the consensus was pretty shaky regarding its reliability.

I don't see any questions about an RX 580 in your posts, so I guess you're just a clone? 😬

crimsonstag84 said:I don't see any questions about an RX 580 in your posts, so I guess you're just a clone? 😬

Does the search function actually work for you? Are you some kind of Illuminati insider or something? Does it just magically work for the mods?

He doesn't even have 22 posts yet.

Hey, so—I actually had an account before this, but I completely lost track of the login credentials—so I just went ahead and set up this 😁

Kenneth Hayes60 said:Also, I've been wondering—finally—which of these two setups would be better for gaming and streaming? Thanks!

The motherboard is a 970A-DS3P rev 1.1

Honestly, it just comes down to what you prefer! If I were in your shoes, I’d probably lean toward an Intel build. In my experience, they tend to be a bit more stable and they don't gulp down power or run nearly as hot as those Intel-rivaling chips.