# Componet selections help



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

Hey Guys

I ned some help with a few componets for a buld I'm working on for a friend. So here is what I have to work with, a thousand dollar budget. The pc must be 3 ghz or faster with 16 gigs of ram and a video card with 1 gig of ram and the board has to support xfire and sli. I prefer one video card over two cause of the cost but it's my friends choice.Yes I saw the suggested build thread and I'm just needing to get help with the last few items. My choices are for quality over cheap componets for the build since it will last longer. So here is what I have so far.

CPU- AMD FX-6200 Zambezi 3.8GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor. 134.99
This seems like a good choice since it's 3+ghz and has six cores so it will handle his games and other programs he runs.

Motherboard- ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 89.99
This seems to have what my friend is looking for, xfire support and can handle 32 gigs of ram with 4 ram slots.

Ram- CORSAIR XMS 16GB (2 x 8GB) 84.99
This seems good to me and falls with in the stipulations I was told, he wants corsair for the ram and has to be 16 gigs.

Well that is what I have so far since I'm looking for a good video card that will work for games and can be used in xfire mode. I haven't picked a psu yet because I haven't found the gpu and I have to know what I'm working with. When I do select a psu I have to make sure it will handle upgrades since my friend doesn't check thing before he upgrades his pc.
So will the componets I have so far work? What is a good amd video card with xfire support? What would you suggest if you have any?


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

What will be the primary use of the PC?
A 6-core CPU has little, if any advantage over a 4-Core.
Why 16GB of RAM?
Most games/apps can't utilize much over 3GB. We suggest 2x4GB because RAM is so cheap but 32GB is a waste of money.
To your friend, two GPU's cost more, require consume more power, generate more unneeded heat inside the case and you get a small performance increase in the few games/apps that can even utilize two GPU's.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

> What will be the primary use of the PC?


Gaming and video/photo editing and playing media.



> A 6-core CPU has little, if any advantage over a 4-Core.


For the price a 6 core would be best because I know my friend will be doing several things at once like playing Liniage and photo edidting or video editing work at the same time. I doubt my friend will upgrade the cpu for a long while so just to keep up with future software a 6 core would be best. In a few more years we will see software that will use multi cores better.



> Why 16GB of RAM?


I don't know why my friend wants that much but it's his choice, even though software can't use more than 3 gigs now doesn't mean new software won't use more. Any ways it's his choice so I'll let him have it.

I know xfire and sli isn't that great compared to the cost and I'm working on teaching my friend that. I won't build the pc with two video cards cause of that so I need suggestions for a good video card for the build.


----------



## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

I highly recommend you take a look at our recommended build list here:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...ams-recommended-new-builds-2012-a-668661.html


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

As I stated in post #1 I already look at that post stickied in this section of the forum. What would be a good video card for this build? Would you recomend a better motherboard? I'd prefer to have 2 pci-e x16 slots, yes I'll talk my friend into the one better video card over two lesser cards but a second pci-e x16 slot would help for add on cards. I don't need a psu option because I'm going to use a good psu for the build from either xfx or seasonic unless corsair has some good models. Which models of corsair psu's should I avoid? I ask because if I find a good deal on one I'd like to know if it's worth it or not.
I'll look over the build thing again and see what you guys have for your gaming biulds and see if any would work for this build.
Any suggestions or recomendations?


----------



## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

> Which models of corsair psu's should I avoid?


All of them. Just use XFX or Seasonic for the PSU.

As for your GPU a 560 Ti either EVGA or Asus will do just fine. You'll need a 650W PSU.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

Ok I talked to my friend and he now wants one video card so xfire is out and I talked him into a 750 watt xfx psu so I need a good amd based card for the build. I rechecked the recomended builds again and the cards listed wouldn't work with his wants. So wha's a good ati card with a minimum of 2 gig of ram?


----------



## Hyburnate (Jan 31, 2013)

Hello,


Couple of things, what are the components you are currently looking at? Why AMD over Intel? If you are building this, he should trust your opinion.

Personally I would say for what your friend needs, a quad core will suffice and so will 8GB of RAM, if he wastes the money on buying more RAM he is wasting what he could use on a decent graphics card which can't be added to very easily like RAM can.

Oh and why avoid Corsair PSUs, the latest ones are Seasonic and come with all the warranty you could want and with the RMA centre in the states, what more could you need?

A Quad Core i5 
A standard Gigabyte Mobo
Corsair 600W or 750W PSU
8GB RAM
7850

It's hard for me to know if you will get that in budget as I'm currently living in England so work in GBP.


----------



## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

This will work:

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100355OCL Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card OC Version



> Oh and why avoid Corsair PSUs, the latest ones are Seasonic and come with all the warranty you could want and with the RMA centre in the states, what more could you need?


Corsair uses a company called CWT. Its a low quality company and we don't recommend them anymore for that reason.

Stick with XFX or Seasonic only.


----------



## Hyburnate (Jan 31, 2013)

Masterchiefxx17 said:


> This will work:
> 
> Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100355OCL Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card OC Version
> 
> ...


7850 is a solid card I'd go with this.

About Corsair, I've been out the market for a little while, and am quite shocked at this, I personally own an older model of PSU from corsair which is Seasonic and thought that they'd stick with them, my mistake.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

Ok so I checked the card out and I have one question, is there a mb with pci-e 16 3.0 ? Do they make an am3+ board with pci-e x16 3.0 slots? Also I had a question about cases, are cases now being made with usb 3.0?

Hyburnate - My friend wants 16 gigs of ram for his pc and ram is cheap, well ddr3 ram is cheap so why not? I have stipulations for this build and I must abide by them like making sure the mb is made by asus and so forth. I've got my friend talked out of the xfire and he wants a 750 watt xfx psu.


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

The case has nothing to do with usb 3.0 as the board dictates that though the one place it might matter is in the front ports where many do have usb 3.0 capability now, so you have to look at each one. 

Most of us like and use Cooler Master cases which are usually well priced and sturdy.

Corsair has gone back to Seasonic in certain models but usually the warranties are not as good even if Seasonic made the psu as theirs are usually 3 years as opposed to 5 years.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

The only SeaSonic made Corsair, that I am aware of, are the AX series and one unit in the HX series.
Stay with SeaSonic & XFX for assured quality and 650W is more than plenty for a7850 as well as most all upper tier GPU's.
16 GB of RAM is a waste of money regardless of the price and no gains will be made.....very few games/apps can utilize over 3GB.


----------



## CubicleCowboy (Dec 4, 2012)

dannpp2012 said:


> Ok so I checked the card out and I have one question, is there a mb with pci-e 16 3.0 ? Do they make an am3+ board with pci-e x16 3.0 slots? Also I had a question about cases, are cases now being made with usb 3.0?


Not as far as I know. Still, you don't really need PCIe 3.0 slots. 2.0 will work and you probably won't notice the difference. 

Yes, most newer cases come with USB 3.0 front panel ports. Of course, you'll need a connector on the mobo or a controller card for the header.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

I checked the mother boards and none of the am3+ boards support pci-e x16 3.0, I know the card will work on a pci-e x16 2.0 slot but it would be nice if amd boards supported it. 
Rich-m, yes usb does matter since newer boards have the header for usb 3.0 and I wanted to know if cases were providing those ports on the cases. I see most cases have usb 3.0 so I'm good with that. As for the video card posted, how big is this thing? I'm concerned about it fitting into a case, what size would be good? To be honest I was looking at a full size atx case from cooler master for 140 bucks, would that be good? What case would you suggest?


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Cases are a personal choice but a Mid-Tower case will usually have sufficient room.


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

I like this case a lot:
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case

but if you want full size then:
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Blue LED Fans-1x 230mm front fan, 1x 230mm top fan, 1x 230mm side fan, and 1x 140mm rear fan
The ATi cards usually fit in mid size cases, Nvidias I have a lot of issues with for size myself.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

I know cases are a personal prefrence but making sure everything fits and can be kept cool is a conondrum. I had to put my own projects on the side till I get the stuff to build it. But any ways I was talking to my friend and we were contiplating which would be better, Intel or AMD? My friend wants a cpu with four actual cores and from what I'm seeing in the AMD cpu's they are two , three, and four cores with hyperthreading, is this true? I know I have a lot of questions but there is a lot that I have to consider with todays pc tech.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

A good mid-tower case will have good airflow(cooling).
Intel or AMD is also a personal choice.
All Intel 4-Core CPU have four cores. AMD has a rather odd ways of about their cores.
You can save a lot of time and contemplating by simply following our suggested build list.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

Well I kinda am but my friend has a few stipulations like using asus for the motherboard, having 16 gigs of ram, and a 2 gig video card. I know you guys say 4 gigs is plenty but a few more years that won't be enough and ram prices are cheap. Yeah amd does, they are using a triple core with hypertreading and calling it a six core cpu ad so fourth. I talked to my friend and we decided to come up with two builds and weigh out the options so I'll be going back to your suggested builds. We are looking for the most future proof builds possibleWe have a psu in mind already which is a 750 watt xfx psu. My friend decided not to do xfire and so far he is wanting quality componets..


----------



## Fjandr (Sep 26, 2012)

Intel CPUs are the ones that use hyperthreading in order to have more logical cores than physical cores. Their marketed core count is the number of physical cores in the CPU. With hyperthreading enabled, that count is doubled as far as the operating system is concerned.

AMD CPU core counts are 100% physical, though in the case of some CPUs the number used is less than the number that actually exist on the die. AMD turns off cores that do not meet their testing standards and sells them as lower-count processors.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

dannpp2012 said:


> Well I kinda am but my friend has a few stipulations like using asus for the motherboard, having 16 gigs of ram, and a 2 gig video card. I know you guys say 4 gigs is plenty but a few more years that won't be enough and ram prices are cheap. Yeah amd does, they are using a triple core with hypertreading and calling it a six core cpu ad so fourth. I talked to my friend and we decided to come up with two builds and weigh out the options so I'll be going back to your suggested builds. We are looking for the most future proof builds possibleWe have a psu in mind already which is a 750 watt xfx psu. My friend decided not to do xfire and so far he is wanting quality componets..


Asus & Gigabyte Mobo's are the better brands and that's why we recommend them.
4GB of RAM is fine but we recommend 8GB for new builds. 16GB is a waste and will not bu utilized now or by the time the PC is obsolete.
Following our suggested build list is the bet way to insure the quality your friend is seeking.


----------



## Vadigor (Apr 19, 2009)

Fjandr said:


> Intel CPUs are the ones that use hyperthreading in order to have more logical cores than physical cores. Their marketed core count is the number of physical cores in the CPU. With hyperthreading enabled, that count is doubled as far as the operating system is concerned.


I should note that Hyper Threading is only enabled on the i7 for desktops and on their mobile product line. Amazon still advertises i5 processors with it which is incorrect.



dannpp2012 said:


> But any ways I was talking to my friend and we were contiplating which would be better, Intel or AMD? My friend wants a cpu with four actual cores and from what I'm seeing in the AMD cpu's they are two , three, and four cores with hyperthreading, is this true? I know I have a lot of questions but there is a lot that I have to consider with todays pc tech.


I've been looking into this myself so allow me to impart my findings. 

AMD has fallen behind Intel in terms of performance and technology. AMD's latest product is the Piledriver Vishera which replaced the Bulldozer Zambezi, which was by all accounts abysmal. The flagship Vishera is the FX-8350 which runs eight cores at 4.0GHz. Meanwhile Intel has the Ivy Bridge 22nm line which replaced the Sandy Bridge. High-end Intel CPUs are found in the i7 line which runs 4 to 6 cores at ~3.4 GHz. For that you pay double to triple the price of the FX-8350, which has a pricepoint that seems to fall between Intel's i5 3470 and 3570K, their mid-end range.

However, while AMD pushes high clock rates and more cores, its per-core performance is much, much lower due to a much weaker per-clock performance. So while Intel's 3.4 GHz has .6 GHz less cycles to perform its work in, it can do a lot more in them.

At the end of the day, you're almost certainly better off with an i5, simply because they trounce the FX-8350 in single-threaded applications. Only when the AMD chip is able to run fully parrallel and use all the cores at its disposal does it really shine. It will in fact come close to the performance of an i7. If you're looking to build a server dedicated to encoding media, rendering in 3D from AutoCAD or Blender or other parrallel computing, the FX-8350 is a very good investment at a third of the cost of the i7.

For all other scenarios, including all current and soon-to-be-released videogames, the i5 will give you better performance with less heat and less power usage.

There, I hope that helped, I tried to keep it as clear as I could. Note that I have not mentioned Intel's i3 or any other processor in AMD's lineup. By all accounts, they're all buried by the i5 line, though they may be of interest to low-budget builds. My post also does not consider overclocking, which is something the FX-8350 apparently lends itself rather well to. All the same, it'll require an after-market CPU cooler which will drive up the combined price closer to that of an i7. Opinions on overclocking the new Ivy Bridge seem mixed, though they run hotter than their Sandy Bridge predecessors.

EDIT: This article reviewing the FX-8350 was very useful to me and it also contains benchmarks for Intel's current i5 and i7 product line so you can draw your own conclusion if you like.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

Tyree, I don't think you read all the post because of what you replied with. The build is being done with an asus mb, xfx psu, corsair ram and the video card posted on the first page of this thread. The only issue is that my friend wants a cpu with four pysical cores but from some reviews on new egg say the fx cpu's has a version of hyper threading. I have yet to find anything that conferms it or denies it. So far I can't find any detailed specs that state what the actual physical core count of the fx cpu's. Where can I find this info? The link in the last post doesn't have it.


----------



## CubicleCowboy (Dec 4, 2012)

dannpp2012 said:


> Tyree, I don't think you read all the post because of what you replied with. The build is being done with an asus mb, xfx psu, corsair ram and the video card posted on the first page of this thread. The only issue is that my friend wants a cpu with four pysical cores but from some reviews on new egg say the fx cpu's has a version of hyper threading. I have yet to find anything that conferms it or denies it. So far I can't find any detailed specs that state what the actual physical core count of the fx cpu's. Where can I find this info? The link in the last post doesn't have it.


Here's one link:

AMD Bulldozer - What?s a Module, what's a Core? | bit-tech.net

Basically, the AMD Bulldozer FX chips have modules which aren't really cores, but AMD calls them cores.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

Ok I need as much info on these fx cpu's and how these modules work, my friend wants to know as much as possible.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

dannpp2012 said:


> Ok I need as much info on these fx cpu's and how these modules work, my friend wants to know as much as possible.


Google is your friend.


----------



## Vadigor (Apr 19, 2009)

The only way for you to learn how these things work is to actually research them yourself.


----------



## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

dannpp2012 said:


> Ok I need as much info on these fx cpu's and how these modules work, my friend wants to know as much as possible.


If photo and video editing are important, and he won't necessarily be trying to "max out" every game, an FX-6300 is a really good choice. An 8350, maybe even, if he expects to frequently encode across multiple programs simultaneously.

The Visheras aren't abysmal at all; they're priced pretty appropriately as per their performances compared to Zambezi. The 4300 is slightly superior to the 4170, has better overclocking headroom, and is even $5 cheaper on Newegg right now. The FX-6300 is a great choice for anyone who can actually use the extra cores but doesn't need all the raw single-threaded power of an i5. The 8350 would only be smart for really heavy encoders. The Visheras are built differently from the Zabezis, which is why 3.8Ghz on a Vishera can be better than 4.2Ghz on a Zambezi.

Essentially, gaming performance for the FX lineup does not change when you add more cores. You can get the 4300 for $120 and the 8350, even though it's $80 more, is hardly going to give a single additional frame. You're not paying for more gaming power, you're paying for more cores. Which has different usages. The reason for the disappointment in the gaming community is that AMD never explained this in order to avoid losing sales, and a lot of people were disappointed when they realized they'd get the same Skyrim performance for over $100 less. They're not bad chips, they're just misunderstood. Anyone who bought an i7 instead of an i5 for gaming should feel the same disappointment.


From what I've seen in this thread it seems his best choice is the 6300 (seems like I'm seeing that in a lot of threads these days - usually my opinion is quad-cores only, no i7s).


BTW Hyperthreading is an Intel-only feature that gives single cores the ability to run two threads instead of one (normally it's a thread per core, and common multitasking while gaming doesn't come very close to maxing out four threads). An i7 is essentially just an i5 with HT and slightly higher clock speeds, and i3s are dual-core CPUs of the same kind with HT and lower clock speeds. All AMD CPUs are one thread per core.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

Sorry for all the questions but I can't find the exact info just yet but I'm still searching. I know this site is run by those who ask for no money and you guys have jobs and lives. Sorry for all the questions guys, I sent my friend the link to this topic and told him to check out the Suggested builds thread so hopefully the next post is a complete list of what he wants. But any ways I'd like to thank you all for the info and help you guys have given.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Good idea. If the friend reads the thread, they may come to the realization that you can overdo with no benefits.


----------



## dannpp2012 (Aug 5, 2012)

Ok final update on this thread, the pc has been built and is working great right now. Some parts I didn't agree with but it was my friends choice despite my suggestions. The specs
CPU 3.6 ghz AMD quad core fx
Mobo- Gigibyte socket am3+
Ram - 16 gig ddr3
Video - ATI Radeon hd 7750 2 gig Pci-e x16
PSU - 700 watt coolermaster
hdd- 320 gig sata2
hdd - 3 terabyte seagate
dvd - LG Blueray burner
OS - Win 7 pro 64bit

Well that is the gist of what I remember about the system, I don't like the choice he made for the psu but it went together easily even through my nephew thought the 1000 buck worth of pc parts on my door step was a laptop. That is one big laptop to come in two boxes, I'm still giving my nephew crap about that. The parts came fast, my friend and I ordered the parts on a monday and the arrived at my place on wednesday that same week. I called my friend up and he came over on his lunch break to see the parts and witness a bench test of his system.

My first look at a system with a uefi bios and it wasn't that bad untill it came time to install the os on a reused drive. I deleted both partitions off the drive and installed windows and the drivers. 
I made 40 bucks off my friend for that job and I had a laptop I was repairing at the time too so with both jobs I ended up making 100 bucks from both pc jobs. The pc I biult works great and my friend hasn't been able to make the pc cringe with the stuff he does on it. Just a quick question though, how do I get the sata drivers installed?
Right now the bios has the sata controlers are set to ide mode and I tried to install the drivers and set the sata to achi mode but windows went through start up repair after I installed the drivers and windows wouldn't load so I set it back to ide mode and restored windows back to normal by doing a system restore. What are the steps to install the sata drivers so I can set bios to achi instead of ide?


----------



## drosera01 (Nov 7, 2006)

I dont think u need to knstall sata driver. To go IDE to ACHI after windows installation, you have to do small registry hack/modification. I am on cell phone to give you a link but google search will take you threre.
Modify registry, restart to go to BIOS and change to ACHI save and exit. Windows will automatically do thr thinvs and restart one more time and you are done.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Sorry to hear the friend ignored the advice offered and wasted money on the RAM and the low quality PSU.

If you want to go to AHCI: Guide Change from IDE to AHCI after Installation


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Yeah I agree Tyree.


----------

