Confirm build before buying

uksoldierboy

uksoldierboy

uksoldierboy

Soldato
Joined
6 Aug 2009
Posts
4,504
Location
Wales
Right guys i've been torn between three builds after some great points raised in my older thread regarding getting either 3570k or 8320.
After talking to the other half and adding a little extra to the budget..
I've narrowed it down and i'm all set to get ONE of these builds, the only catch being with the intel build, i'll be forced to use my 6950 and an old case untill funds allow buy and new card etc.

So reusable items are:
AMD 6950 2gb
Tagan 900w psu
Old budget case

BUILD 1

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX

3GB MSI Radeon HD 7950 Overclocked

AMD FX 8320 Black Edition

2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Low Profile Jet Black PC3-12800 (1600MHz)

NZXT Source 210 Elite White Mid Tower Gaming Case with USB 3.0 w/o PSU

500GB Seagate ST500DM002 Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s

BUILD 2

Intel Core i7 4770K, 1150, Haswell

Asus MAXIMUS VI HERO, Intel Z87, S 1150

DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Pro Series Red, PC3-14900

500GB Seagate ST500DM002 Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s

(AMD 6950 2GB)

(Old case)

BUILD 3
2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 Barracuda 7200

530W be quiet! Pure Power

8GB Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Low Profile Jet Black PC3-12800

Fractal Design Define R3 USB 3.0 Black Pearl, Mid Tower Performance Case

Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3, Intel Z87

Intel Core i5 4670K, S 1150, Haswell

Any help deciding between these two would be amazing!
My head tells me to go for one of the Intel systems and just use my 6950.
But i keep going back to the AMD build because it's complete.
Thanks guys
David
 
If I remember you were looking at BF3/BF4 performance, which would limit you a lot on the 6950 compared to the 7950. In these games the processors will all perform basically the same. I wouldn't bother with the 4770K though even on a high budget for gaming purposes.
 
Can the 6950 play bf3 decently? it'll only be for a month or two max before i upgrade.
It's just i'd rather get by if possible and get a 9xxx series if the 6950 can cope.
 
uksoldierboy said:
Can the 6950 play bf3 decently? it'll only be for a month or two max before i upgrade.
It's just i'd rather get by if possible and get a 9xxx series if the 6950 can cope.
Click to expand...

With lowered settings, yes. Looking at a recent benchmark at high settings 1080p on the 6950 gives about 35fps, on the 7950 OC approx 65fps.
 
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Cheers guys, there's been a dramatic revelation in the last 20 mins...
My loving girlfriend has "allowed" me to enter our savings account as an early christmas/birthday present:eek:
Thus... i'm now looking at getting the I7 4770k and a few 7970s :p
 
Here's a go then. High power PSU included in case you want to add a second graphics card later.

£1021 with free shipping.

Comes with 5 games but only until tomorrow.

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ X² BOOST 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795QMC3G2M) £269.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £191.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £131.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black £113.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £71.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G240C0K) £65.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £48.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
Total : £1,035.91 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
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uksoldierboy said:
Looks good!
I've got until 3 pm tomorrow to order so going to have a good think all tonight.
Is it not worth getting the 4770k over the 4670k then?
Click to expand...

Not at all for gaming, especially if it'd mean cutting back on other things.

Not everybody wants watercooling, and there are very good air coolers around £25-£35 as well. The case is a brand new model and a bit quirky, you can pick whichever one you want really as long as it's ATX.

I just saw you have a 900W PSU already, so you could take that out of the spec.
 
Yeah the psu, although old, should be more than up to the task, i've tested it in a friends rig and all seemed fine.
I'm quite into benchmarking too but i know i should base a purchase on that fact.
I think i'd like to say air cooled for now at least, and possibly change in the future, on the topic of that, how future proof would the 4670k or 4770k be?
I suppose that should be morethan enough CPU grunt for a few years?
 
Not much in it at all then!,
So that's the cpu sorted :), now onto gpu/s, my previous card was a gigabyte 7970 ghz edition, great card but voltage locked which was a disappointment.
Are the msi cards still unlocked?
 
The MSI and HIS 7950s are voltage unlocked. It seems like the HIS cards tend to overclock a bit better. They both come with the games deal.

At the moment I'd personally only go for a 7970 on a bigger budget because the 7950 overclocked will just about outperform a stock 7970 GE, and will give you over 60fps in almost all games at 1080p.
 
I agree, i'd prefer to get a 7970 tbh now that my budget allows it.
I did fancy a change to the green team but the prices for the 780 is just too much for me which is a shame.
 
If you want to get a 7970 then be sure to overclock it or you may as well get a 7950 :)

Don't go for one of the hugely expensive ones, something like the HIS 7970.
 
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