13 replies to this topic

[Chiron]

I've purchased this rig for my son, specifically to play MWO at 1080p, using black Friday Sales. Now with the xmas wrappings all gone, I wanted to make sure I didnt miss anything big.

Any big mistakes? Any easy upgrades to swap for?

AMD FX-6300, stock cooler (was $80)
MSI 970A-G43 Mobo
GSkill GripJaw Series 8gb DDR-1600 9-9-9-24

PNY Optima 240GB SSD (was $75)

ASUS Radeon 270 D2COC (factory 50mhz overclock) (was $100!!)

Rosewill Blackhawk ATX Mid-Tower
4x Xigamatek Xtreme Silent 120mm case fans
Rosewill 80plus Bronze 630W (single 12V rail)

Carryover monitor & Razer Peripherals


EDIT: It's only after seeing this in writing that I realized that I'm an idiot & forgot a CPU cooler! It's been years since I've built a rig, but I love to OC from BIOS, so can anyone recommend a good sub $50 cooler?

Edited by chiron, 25 December 2014 - 12:47 PM.

[Lordred]

if you want peak performance, and if it is within your budget, I would get in intel i5 if possible. If not however with a little bit of tweaking and some overclocking you will find it quite playable with your selection.

[Lord Letto]

if "specifically to play MWO" then you done goofed IMO, that CPU Would Suck for MWO I think unless Low-Medium is ok, Even then though I would have gone G3258 and if on budget, H81 although a cheap Z97 would be alright also for possible Future Upgrades to a i5 or i7. as for Sub $50 cooler, CM Hyper 212 is Really Good.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($63.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $142.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-25 16:19 EST-0500



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($63.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $178.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-25 16:20 EST-0500



if you wanted to keep that 6300 though, I'd say upgrade to the 990FX Chipset, would likely be better @ OCing than the 970A, I'd also say upgrade to the 8350:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($113.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $140.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-25 16:26 EST-0500



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($169.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($113.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $303.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-25 16:26 EST-0500

Edited by Lord Letto, 25 December 2014 - 01:30 PM.

[Chiron]

Lordred, of all the people in the community, you're the one I'm happiest to see reading my post! It was your research onto the core utilization of MWO on 8 (err, 6) cores that lead me to buy the 6300 as opposed to an 8350. (and put the extra $ into the GPU)

Of course, all of that is for naught, if I'm plugging a stock cooler on the FX-6300, as overclocking seems the only way to eek more fps out of that cpu...Any cooler suggestions?

Edited by chiron, 25 December 2014 - 01:30 PM.

[Lordred]

chiron, on 25 December 2014 - 01:28 PM, said:

Lordred, of all the people in the community, you're the one I'm happiest to see reading my post! It was your research onto the core utilization of MWO on 8 (err, 6) cores that lead me to buy the 6300 as opposed to an 8350. (and put the extra $ into the GPU)

Of course, all of that is for naught, if I'm plugging a stock cooler on the FX-6300, as overclocking seems the only way to eek more fps out of that cpu...Any cooler suggestions?

The best bang for the $ would have to be the Cooler Master Hyper 212+, that is possibly the best CPU cooler money can buy below 40$

I have personally used that cooler on a FX-4100 that I pushed well into 5ghz with. It should be more then apt to keep your 6300 cool, and happy up to 1.4v / ~4600mhz if that is the selection you have already made.

That said, the downside is the board you picked it a bargain board, it is only equipped with a 4+1 phase VRM using the older style analogue Mosfts, further more it has no additional cooling for said VRM, I would keep your overclocking below 1.37v with that board.


The key to getting the most out of your setup will be to keep it cool, and keep it happy. If you can, setup a 80mm fan to blow air directly over the voltage regulation on your board.

[Summon3r]

this is a MWO specific rig with an AMD cpu? strongly recommend going i5... as for your question regarding a cooler a decent budget cooler for 30ish bucks hyper evo 212 http://ca.pcpartpick...er-rr212e20pkr2 , would recommend going with a phanteks but they are around 60-70$

Edited by Summon3r, 25 December 2014 - 02:39 PM.

[Pet Dude]

You can get a Cooler Master All in one water cooler for cheap after rebate. check www.newegg.com.

[Bill Lumbar]

Lordred, on 25 December 2014 - 02:26 PM, said:

The best bang for the $ would have to be the Cooler Master Hyper 212+, that is possibly the best CPU cooler money can buy below 40$

I have personally used that cooler on a FX-4100 that I pushed well into 5ghz with. It should be more then apt to keep your 6300 cool, and happy up to 1.4v / ~4600mhz if that is the selection you have already made.

That said, the downside is the board you picked it a bargain board, it is only equipped with a 4+1 phase VRM using the older style analogue Mosfts, further more it has no additional cooling for said VRM, I would keep your overclocking below 1.37v with that board.


The key to getting the most out of your setup will be to keep it cool, and keep it happy. If you can, setup a 80mm fan to blow air directly over the voltage regulation on your board.

Agreed, and the mother board is going to hold you back. Is this a carry over or are you buying it? If you are in the market for a new board I would recommend the Gigabyte 990 ud 3 If you are going to stick with Amd, I have it paired with my FX-8350 and its a solid mother board. If you are looking for a new board and buying, you might want to consider Intel options also.

[Chiron]

Lordred, on 25 December 2014 - 02:26 PM, said:

The best bang for the $ would have to be the Cooler Master Hyper 212+, that is possibly the best CPU cooler money can buy below 40$

That said, the downside is the board you picked it a bargain board, it is only equipped with a 4+1 phase VRM using the older style analogue Mosfts, further more it has no additional cooling for said VRM, I would keep your overclocking below 1.37v with that board.

Thanks for the 212+ recommendation, it's close to the EVO, but 2/3 the price!

As to cooling, I can easily adhere copper heatsinks to them, and I can salvage 2 Noctua's from an old rig...the question is: Spend a few more bucks to mod this mobo, or just return it and wait a week + $50 to get a 6+2+2 990X?

Pet Dude, on 25 December 2014 - 02:50 PM, said:

You can get a Cooler Master All in one water cooler for cheap after rebate. check www.newegg.com.

I can get a Hyper 212 EVO or a Cooler Master Seidon 120V AOI cooler, both for ~$50...So is an entry lvl water cooler better than one of the best air coolers?

[Bill Lumbar]

chiron, on 25 December 2014 - 04:47 PM, said:

Thanks for the 212+ recommendation, it's close to the EVO, but 2/3 the price!

As to cooling, I can easily adhere copper heatsinks to them, and I can salvage 2 Noctua's from an old rig...the question is: Spend a few more bucks to mod this mobo, or just return it and wait a week + $50 to get a 6+2+2 990X?



I can get a Hyper 212 EVO or a Cooler Master Seidon 120V AOI cooler, both for ~$50...So is an entry lvl water cooler better than one of the best air coolers?

No, I do not believe it will be. Stick with a decent air cooler if you have to cut cost and buy a entry level water cooler. Some of the higher end ones surpass good air coolers, IMO, the cheaper ones do not.

[Lordred]

chiron, on 25 December 2014 - 04:47 PM, said:

Spend a few more bucks to mod this mobo, or just return it and wait a week + $50 to get a 6+2+2 990X?

There are plenty of 8+2 boards out there, if it is still available the GA-970-UD3 is a good choice.

Still I recomend finding the $ to go intel.

[Pet Dude]

Entry AIO water is good and solid. Saves space too. There's no reason to go air anymore now that liquid is cheap and most cases can fit it.

Entry AIO water is good and solid. Saves space too. There's no reason to go air anymore now that liquid is cheap and most cases can fit it.

[Chiron]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. While I do not have the $ to replace this system with an intel one, I definetly will keep that on the upgrade list (cmon, tax rebates!)

RMA'ing the MSI mobo, and getting the GA-970A-UD3P instead. $40 increase in price, but 8+2 VRM and I trust you guys.

CM Hyper 212+ for the CPU, and keeping the FX-6300 as the CPU.

Total = $65 for better OC and more stable MWO machine...worth it! Thanks!

[Lordred]

you will be much happier with the 970A-UD3P, it is the most solid non 990FX chipset based board out there, I rock the short lived ASRock 990FX Professional which has a 12+2 VRM setup with digital Mosfts. If you wanted the best out there for the AMD platform, that is the board to find, second only to the equally rare GA-990FX-UD7.