AMD FX-4170 Gaming build, Nvida GPU, Watercooling

[OliverDavis]

aint all about the Ghz you get from the CPU

A game running on the FX-8120 would only use 2-3 Cores at 3.1ghz, Running on the FX-4170 it would also use 2-3 Cores, which all happen to be clocked at 4.2ghz.

I know it isn't all about GHz, but a game running on basically the same CPU (due to it not being able to use all 8 cores but only 2-3) with a 1.1ghz slower clock will perform worse. Its fact.

 

[OliverDavis]

Ok, I give up, we showed him the benchmarks that the Intel is better for money, he doesn't budge.

Then spec him a FX-8120 build that can overclock to the same levels, and he doesn't want, even though the extra cores will greatly benefit him with his 3D modelling.

Fine, here's a FX-4170 build that still beats the one you bought:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £194.99
1 x Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard ** FREE NEXUIZ GAME ** £113.99
1 x NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 Full Tower Case - Red/White £109.99
1 x AMD Bulldozer FX-4 Quad Core 4170 Black Edition 4.20Ghz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail with FREE Dirt Showdown PC Game **£10 Cashback** £104.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £94.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) (CWCH80) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £64.99
1 x OCZ ZT 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £63.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £29.99
2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £14.98 (£29.96)
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £918.35 (includes shipping : £13.75).




Last post, I'm outa here!

Ok, that's a lot better then what you previously posted. I have Chosen Nvidia due to PhysX as well. I plain to play games like Mafia II which improve greatly with proper PhysX support as the in game detail is raised greatly with shrapnel from explosions actually landing and effecting the game play.

When overclocking the FX-8120 it draws massive amounts of power and heat as obviously you are running 8 cores at 4+ghz, rather than my 4 cores. It was my original choice due to the modelling. Just the heat and power draw is not worth it.

 

[OliverDavis]

Well, you have a point, except the turbo would put the FX8 up there, then you just overclock the turbo. Sick of knowing more about AMD than the tools who buy the CPU's.
But the 3570k would be faster

The Turbo function disables 2 cores, the higher turbo function disables 4 cores, basically giving me my own current CPU.

To others..
I have done my research for the past month on this. Don't ask why I picked AMD, I just have, so for now just try to improve my AMD Build please.

 

[OliverDavis]

If you wanted Nvidia for PhysX, should have waited for the GTX660.
BUT IT WOULD BE BOTTLENECKED.

How can you have done so much research and got it so, so wrong.

But the specs for that are only rumoured at the moment, i would have to spend months waiting just to be able to play games.

 

[OliverDavis]

Oh my. I feel sorry for the OP even more now. Did this all the wrong way round. Ask for advice first, take recommendation, then purchase (with your own money).

Taken finance, ordered, then asked for advice.

I have 14 days to cancel if I am not happy with the products. Easily enough time to do some testing.

 

[OliverDavis]

Ok... last spec for you:

YOUR BASKET
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE NVIDIA GPU Keyring £199.99
1 x Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard ** FREE NEXUIZ GAME ** £113.99
1 x NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 Full Tower Case - Red/White £109.99
1 x AMD Bulldozer FX-4 Quad Core 4170 Black Edition 4.20Ghz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail with FREE Dirt Showdown PC Game **£10 Cashback** £104.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £94.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) (CWCH80) £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £64.99
1 x OCZ ZT 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £63.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £29.99
2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £14.98 (£29.96)
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £923.35 (includes shipping : £13.75).



Another thing bugs me is that you don't have an SSD in your order, and this can greatly help with boot/loading times.

He has a 4.2Ghz FX4 he doesnt need an SSD for faster loading/bootup

If either of you would read the thread you would notice I am buying a 120gb ssd from another online store soon (as Overclockers.co.uk do not have the one i want in stock at the moment), just need an extra £20 then its getting ordered first class to be here by Tuesday for the build.

I have chosen the Intel 520 Series 120GB as reviews have shown it to be rather good.

 

[OliverDavis]

U do also know they are all the same? the diffrence that amd have overclocked for you? i.e ur wasting your money

Not just that, they are all originally designed to be 3.9ghz, the ones which were not 100% stable at this were branded as FX-4100 and clock set at 3.6ghz, as it saves them money having to do a custom overclock for each that doesnt perform 100% with their standard 3.9ghz settings. Meaning you can still overclock a 4100 to 4.2ghz, just it will be trickier. It would be easier to overclock the 4150 that runs 3.8ghz stock as it will require less fiddling.

Basically it would take less time to overclock a 4170 to 4.8ghz then the 4100, as the 4170 already performs stable at a high clock rate.

4100 = Underperformed in tests so only clocked at 3.6ghz

4120 = Performed fine at 3.9ghz but Turbo clock is unstable so lower turbo clock

4150 = Performed perfectly but would not reach 4.2ghz stable with default settings (requiring custom overclock)

4170 = Performed perfectly in tests at even 4.2ghz.


Basically you are paying to save yourself time figuring out a unique overclock method.

 

[OliverDavis]

They thought I was trolling... delivery today in approx 2 hours, I get home in 6 and a half hours from work, will post pics as proof!

 

[OliverDavis]

He could have gotten a AMD 8 core with a 7850 and a 128gb SSD...

The 4 core FX4170 is better for gaming as it is 4.2ghz stock. Games only use 2-3 cores so a 8 core clocked at 3.6ghz would be worse. If I overclock it to 4.2ghz it would get rather hot as all 8 cores would be running that speed. I could then disable 4 cores to get desired temperature but that would be rather pointless as I might as well save £60 and just get the CPU I have already bought.

SSD has already been bought, I went for the Intel 120gb 550.

I wanted an Nvidia based graphics card as i plan to SLi in a few months when I have the money, plus a few games i already have support PhysX as a bonus so they work much better on Nvidia cards as the card runs PhysX rather then the CPU.

I have had a long thought about all this

 

[OliverDavis]

I don't think that would be the case, due to the higher cache and the larger cash back As you got a good cooler you could have clocked it to 5 gHz

Well true, but I do not want to overclock yet. I want to keep the PC relatively quiet or the Gf will want it moved out of the bed room, ill have to overclock over a series of weeks/months so she doesn't notice the slight increments in noise

Either way the 4 core has almost been delivered, its 2 miles away in a truck

Has anyone got any advise on where/how i should mount the H80? as i hope not to lose the 200mm side fan. Im hoping to get a bracket to mount it in the 200mm top fan slot that is unused.

 

[OliverDavis]

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new ZZZAC.

This is not Intel fanboyism - the fact is, for anything above £400, Intel has the market utterly cornered at the moment. We simply want you to get the most 'bang for your buck' - and at the moment, Intel does this. Of course, this is your money, but we are just looking out for you.

In 2005, you'd face the same response if you tried to buy Intel; the Pentium 4 sucked massively, it was hot, it was slow (Bulldozer? ) and the clear choice was the AMD 64.

I'll put it down as inexperience. TBH, DSR it and get someone to spec you up.

The main reason the build is so expensive is because i chose other components that are a little more costly.

As shown in a previous post the fact that it is AMD isnt why its expensive, the case and graphics card are £330 together.

If i removed premium parts it would only be £450, with basic same running internals;

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
OcUK GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £185.99
(£154.99) £185.99
(£154.99)
AMD Bulldozer FX-4 Quad Core 4170 Black Edition 4.20Ghz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail with FREE Dirt Showdown PC Game **£10 Cashback** £104.99
(£87.49) £104.99
(£87.49)
Gigabyte 970A-DS3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard ** FREE NEXUIZ GAME ** £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
GeIL Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £39.95
(£33.29) £39.95
(£33.29)
OcUK Bos Midi Tower Case - Black/Red £24.98
(£20.82) £24.98
(£20.82)
OcUK Swift 550W V2 Silent Power Supply £22.99
(£19.16) £22.99
(£19.16)
OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
(£11.66) £13.99
(£11.66)
Sub Total : £377.40
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £77.83
Total : £466.98

(Skipping the HDD as i have an 120gb SSD and a slow 500gb HDD)

 

[OliverDavis]

Also can someone please tell me how you do the 'post your basket' thing?

 

[OliverDavis]

OH LAWD THAT PSU WON'T RUN THAT 560TI!

I know, look at the first page, I have picked a much better one then the one a few posts back. Just making a point, I went for quality with everything, hence the large price tag.

 

[OliverDavis]

IKR, but even putting that PSU in any system is a crime

Yeah i know it is haha, Im sure it will run a simple home pc with a few flashign LED's like little children want without exploding!

 

[OliverDavis]

So, has the OPs parts arrived in the end? Any build pics?

I do have many pics, started building at 6pm and had Windows 7 on it by 10:30pm, I will be doing a fresh install as soon as my SSD arrives.

Pictures will be uploaded at approx 6pm UK time tonight.

The build went smoothly and worked on first attempt although I seem to have knocked the Top Exhaust fan out of the fan controller when sorting cable management, so I will sort that tonight. Runs like a dream and idles at 29'C, I will be stress testing it tommorrow with Prime95 and if the max load temps are good enough i will overclock a little.

Thanks to everything coming with extra cables and then all needed cables included with the case i have many molex-6pin adapters and Sata cables remaining including many extentions.

Going to do a little more cable management tonight and make a bracket to allow me to mount the Corsair H80 in the spare NZXT 200mm (192mm) slot. The H80 is running great in push/pull with the Quiet Fans.

One thing to mention to anyone getting the ASrock Fatyl1ty Mobo is to only install essentials from the CD as you'll get bombarded with crap.

Same thing goes for the Asus GTX 560ti 2gb Software, after installing the CD uninstall everything except the NVidia Control Panel. Or you will have to close the Asus OSD each boot as there if no way arround it.

Eitherway, thanks for the 2-3 helpful posts. I could have had this build for £500 but i chose to spend more on otherparts e.g. Case being £110, £30 on Fans, Could have gotten a cheaper MoBo.

Im happy with what I have got and as far as im concerned it is easily fast enough to run anything I will throw at it.

A note to anyone ordering the same power supply as i have, It comes with an American Power Cable, I just popped the fuse into another Kettle lead and off it went!

 

[OliverDavis]

You should not be using the disk for ANYTHING, maybe the LAN drivers so you can get online but you want to go to the manufacturers website to get the up to date drivers from them.

The PC has no onboard graphics, so without the driver using it was terrible, stuck at a terrible resolution and anything graphic related was slow, installed driver, rebooted and then updated Nvidia drivers and MoBo drivers.

If it had onboard graphics I would have gone straight to the website

 

[OliverDavis]

Game performance report please. Wanna compare to equally priced 3570k, 7950 builds. Thanks

You will have to give me a little while on that one, I could test with DiRT Showdown as it came with a free copy.

I still have to test for stability and I have a few things needing doing to it before gaming

 

[OliverDavis]

OP. Why. Just why. If your friends said "Intel vs AMD no comparison lolololol" etc then they're tards. You could have simply replied "I paid decent money for a better system" and then laugh at them whilst they struggle to run any new games on highest settings where as you'd be cruising along like "u mad bro" (As I imagine that's a phrase you use, based on your stupidity).

Your choice.

"U mad bro" is a phrase I hate and is typically said by dimwitted individuals who can not actually think of a sensible comeback so they say the phrase knowing its rather hard to respond to if its just repeatedly said. People who use this phrase are typically un-educated teens who work at McDonalds and drive around in a 1ltr Citroen Saxo with a 6inch exhaust and oversized chrome alloys. They then think they are beating someone, who turns out only to be driving normally and then scream out of the window, you guessed it, "U mad bro?"

I am not one of these people, as for one I am an Administration Apprentice for a leading International Valve Servicing company.

Not only that, I cannot drive yet as insurance is way too expensive thanks to Un-educated Saxo Driving Burger Flippers...

 

[OliverDavis]

Wait WHAT!

Dim witted is you I am afraid and also you couln't afford insurance so how can you afford to blow £900 on a pile of ****?

Insurance as a named driver on a an insurance group 1 car is £1900 at my post code unfortunately, where as this PC works out £300 a year, but I will have all payments paid off in 9-10 months easily.

 

[OliverDavis]

Unfortunately I came home to my girlfriend feeling very sick so I have been looking after her, as I'm only on mobile web I have only uploaded 1 picture of all the parts, I used picasa as I have it as a mobile app, hope it works and I should be able to get the rest up tomorrow before midday, sorry for the delay guys.