33 replies to this topic

[HeroNemisis]

Probably should have asked for feedback first, but just ordered all the parts for my first PC build!

AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor

ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard

Kingston HyperX Grey 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (taheti LE)
I know the 2E version is better fan wise but its out of stock

CoolMax 700W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

Total price when I ordered it was ~545 (I caught a sale on several items) about 600 with tax.

I'll be using an old raidmax smilodon case (the one with the green lights) along with the hard drives I have in there. I'll be adding a ssd in a couple months and maybe a cooler if I find there's a big advantage to overclocking it more than the stock cooler will allow safely.

I know an i5 would be better, but I didn't want to spend the extra money.

How do you think it will perform on MWO? I'll likely overclock the cpu to about 4 Ghz and the ram and gpu as well.

I'm currently running it on a A8-3500m laptop (1.5Ghz stock OC'd to 2.2 Ghz) with a radeon 6750M on very high 720p resolution with average fps of 30 on a 32". I originally OC'd it to 2.4 Ghz but as the game has been patched CPU utilization has improved so I've reduced it to stay under 85 C. I've had it shut down a couple times from overheating but if I reduce the OC it runs the game like crap. Definitely time for an upgrade before I kill this laptop!

Edited by HeroNemisis, 24 March 2013 - 01:38 PM.

[Catamount]

You definitely should have sought advice before hand.

For the most part, you did everything right. The FX-6300 and the Tahiti 7870 are two of the best deals in computer hardware you'll find, and you absolutely picked the right motherboard (in fact, I run the Z77 version of the Asrock Extreme 4). The problem is that PSU.

It's bad. It's not Diablotek PhD series bad, or POWMAX bad (at least it has active PFC), but it's bad, from the looks of it. It's efficiency looks like it's barely scraping by to get the lowest 80 plus certification, it wasn't sent in for review (when companies don't send copies of PSUs to reviewers, that's usually a very bad sign), and it's frankly just far too cheap for a 700W PSU. Those don't happen at the $50 pricepoint, period. Sans really good sales or rebate offers, even a decent 500W PSU is hard to get at that price. There's no way it delivers 700W, and whatever it does deliver will be noisy (lots of ripple) and with poor voltage regulation, both of which can damage components, to say nothing for what happens if the unit blows. (That one of the negative Newegg reviews contains the line "started a fire in my case" inspires me even less )

Seriously, return that item if you can, get something else. Everything else you got is fantastic.

[jrgong]

^^ what he said ; also if your returning things, the old phenoms do better than any AMD chip save the 8320/8350. I get a phenom and wait for steamroller, or spend a full dollars more and get a 8320, slap an EVO 212 on with an extra fan for push/pull and overclock it like a boss.

[jrgong]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LWCa
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker....Ca/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker....WCa/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Grey 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($244.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $640.92

8350 is on sale; if there is anyway you make this happen go for it.

[HeroNemisis]

jrgong, on 24 March 2013 - 02:15 PM, said:

^^ what he said ; also if your returning things, the old phenoms do better than any AMD chip save the 8320/8350. I get a phenom and wait for steamroller, or spend a full dollars more and get a 8320, slap an EVO 212 on with an extra fan for push/pull and overclock it like a boss.

Dam! I spent so much time researching cpu, mb and gpu I kinda just glanced at the powersupply, verified compatability and added it to the build. Thanks for the feedback. I have a 500w PS now (raidmax rs-500x) that I presume came with the case (the case was a gift). It looks terrible as well from reviews and forums. Guess I'll be calling newegg! Order hasn't shipped yet and they might still be open. I am planning in the next year or two adding another 6870 and will be overclocking pretty aggressively as well as running 2 hdd and a cdrom drive. Will I need a 700watt? I want a to do a portrait eyefinity setup eventually.

Edited by HeroNemisis, 24 March 2013 - 02:32 PM.

[Catamount]

Newegg is really great about this kind of thing; they shouldn't give you any problems about returns if they've shipped it.

If you want something in the same price range that will still power your system (reliably), the go-to cheap power supply is the Corsair CX430, which just has a ridiculous deal going on right now. If you wanted something with a little more punch for moderate overclocking the CX500 is on sale right now, and above that Seasonic's S12II seems to be the cheapest decent unit I can find in the 600-700W range (but your system shouldn't need that unless you're planning on using Crossfire down the road and/or doing ridiculous overclocking).

[HeroNemisis]

I can't change the order so I'll have to rma it once I receive it.

Jrgong: In regards to the 8350, I vascillated on that instead. I thought I remembered reading something that the efficiency in terms of calculations per frequency dropped as the number of cores went up on the FX processors, but that was probably an intel/amd comparison. Im not certain but I dont think MWO will use much more than 4 cores at most so can't see much advantage to spending an extra 50$ for 2 more cores at the same frequency when I already have 2 more than it's likely to ever use. Sure the CPUmark looks better, but that uses the same number of threads as the processor, so it fully utilizes them unlike nearly any game out now. That cooler you suggested plus a 6300 would allow better performance OCd than the 8350 and still be 20$ cheaper. In any case, 180 is more than I wanted to spend right now. Any upgrades will wait for the next generation of AMDs or when I graduate in june and get a decent job, I might jsut go for the evil intel so I can get PCIx 3.0 for an eyefinity setup. Cooler looks nice though! Might order that later after I check performance on the new build with the stock cooler.

[Egomane]

Great, I come back from Newegg and Cata already posted all the things I wanted to say and even posted the same lower end PSUs I had come up with.

But the Seasonic has one problem: Not enough native power connectors for crossfiring 7870s.

If you want to Crossfire two cards and/or overclock, you might want to take a look at the Thermaltake Toughpower TP-650P. It looks pretty good on paper, but I can only find one review for it, which isn't to bad either.

[HeroNemisis]

I don't keep my system now ridiculously overclocked, but with it sitting on a box fan with a custom push pull cooler on the intake and exhaust I pushed it to 3 Ghz, which is insane lol! So I'd like the headroom for some ill advised limit testing and I am planning on a crossfire setup in the next year or two, so I'll definately spend the extra for a higher wattage PSU.

[HeroNemisis]

That thermaltake looks like a really nice PS. I'll have to dig for some more reviews but not sure I wanna spend quite that much! BTW, Thanks for all your help and suggestions guys!

[Egomane]

Don't just look at the purchase price. A higher efficency PSU will save you money in the long run, because it consumes less waste energy.

The PSU is the one component in your system you absolutly shouldn't be penny-pinching.

[HeroNemisis]

I just went through and added all my other stuff to the part picker build with a second 7870 and its estimating 575 watts. For good margin and OC I think I definately need a 700W or even a 750w if 575 is a good estimate. What do you think?

edit: forgot the case and the cdrom and power needed didnt change... the estimate just lost credibility!

Edited by HeroNemisis, 24 March 2013 - 03:53 PM.

[HeroNemisis]

Egomane, on 24 March 2013 - 03:41 PM, said:

Don't just look at the purchase price. A higher efficency PSU will save you money in the long run, because it consumes less waste energy.

The PSU is the one component in your system you absolutly shouldn't be penny-pinching.

^ good point. My power bills usually pretty cheap but I noticed a big increase once I got this current pc running from 40 to 60$ a month! I guess I will go for a gold rated one. I like the thermaltake but I might try to find one with more reviews to back up its quality more. Its hard to find reviews on it because there is an antec with the same part number.

Edited by HeroNemisis, 24 March 2013 - 03:56 PM.

[Egomane]

Don't trust an online calculator.

I have run a crossfire system with a Phenom II X4, two 5850, several hard drives, over half a dozen LED fans and various USB peripherals on a 625W PSU without ever having problems. Under extrem load (Furmark plus prime95) I never got it beyond 530W input power, which would put it at aproximatly 475W output for the components. Even with overclocking there would have been enough room to play with.

Edited by Egomane, 24 March 2013 - 03:59 PM.

[HeroNemisis]

How about this? Is rosewill a decent brand?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182083&IsVirtualParent=1

Edited by HeroNemisis, 24 March 2013 - 04:05 PM.

[Egomane]

HeroNemisis, on 24 March 2013 - 03:56 PM, said:

I like the thermaltake but I might try to find one with more reviews to back up its quality more. Its hard to find reviews on it because there is an antec with the same part number.

The TT is an unchanged FSP (name of the original manufacturer) unit. Found this info on a german website. Could be this is the reason there are no further reviews for it. I'll look further if I can find out which FSP it is and look for reviews of that.


Edit:
Found an identical Zalman PSU (at least going by the UL File Number), but again without reviews.


[Edit: disregard the information that once has been written here]

Edited by Egomane, 24 March 2013 - 04:35 PM.

[Catamount]

HeroNemisis, on 24 March 2013 - 04:02 PM, said:

How about this? Is rosewill a decent brand?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182083&IsVirtualParent=1

Rosewill is Newegg's house brand, and yes, their PSUs are generally very good. There are still a couple older series floating around, and a couple I don't know that I trust yet, but the Green series, Hive series, Capstone series, Tachyon series and Fortress series are all good to excellent, for generally unbeatable prices (Corsair only won out on my recommendations this time because they're on sale).

As far as power requirements, an FX6300 has a 95W TDP and the Tahiti LE 7870 has a TDP of 185W. So at stock clocks, even an artificial stress test won't draw 500W (gaming you might draw 400). If you're running that setup and you plan on doing serious overclocking, then plan on a pretty damn beefy power supply, and you need a high quality unit for OCing, not for efficiency, but because they'll deliver the kind of clean power you need for a stable OC.

Edited by Catamount, 24 March 2013 - 04:44 PM.

[HeroNemisis]

That fortress is the same price as the thermal tech, has ultra quiet fan, and a higher efficiency rating. I like the fortress logo too... shouldn't factor in... but it does lol! I'm going to check for reviews and probably pull the trigger on that one. It looks a bit big in the video overview, but itll fit in my raidmax smilodon right? Maybe the women in the video has small hands?

Edited by HeroNemisis, 24 March 2013 - 04:32 PM.

[Egomane]

Catamount, on 24 March 2013 - 04:19 PM, said:

Rosewill is Newegg's house brand, and yes, their PSUs are generally very good. There are still a couple older series floating around, and a couple I don't know that I trust yet, but the Green series, Hive series, Capstone series, Tachyon series and Fortress series are all good to excellent, for generally unbeatable prices (Corsair only won out on my recommendations this time because they're on sale)

If you say so. I haven't found many good words about the brand or the manufacturer. But as I don't have acces to the brand or a comparable unit to check it out in germany, I might be willing to trust your word on it, If I were in need to buy one.

Edit while still writing this post... my info seems to be outdated. The Fortress looks fine!

HeroNemisis, on 24 March 2013 - 04:32 PM, said:

It looks a bit big in the video overview, but itll fit in my raidmax smilodon right? Maybe the women in the video has small hands?

It's normal sized. The women might be a bit on the smaller end though.

Edited by Egomane, 24 March 2013 - 04:40 PM.

[HeroNemisis]

Here's a very detailed review:
http://www.hardwares...y-Review/1597/1

I think I'm sold. Might be a bit overkill for my setup but it's one less thing to worry about having to upgrade later. Apparently it uses higher end capacitors than antec? and more filtering components.