SUGGESTIONS: Building/upgrading rig...

[TROOP3R]

Hello fellow forum members!

I'm planning to buy/upgrade to another AMD processor based rig..

Not too much of a higher-end, and not something cheap either... some where close to may be 400 - 450 USD.

Buying the following -

Processor, Mobo, GPU, PSU.

Now, I am aiming at a 6 or a 8 core AMD processor - maybe a FX 6350 proccy w/R7 260/265 etc..

Mobo - Undecided.

PSU - Corsair 650 W

please suggest... let me know your thoughts...

Also, I already have a DDR3 1333 RAM (8 GB) in total. Can I reuse that with the FX series processor or any other for that matter??

Thanks!

 

[LaytonJnr]

Hello,

I recently built an AMD FX-based system. An FX 6350 is exactly the same as an FX 6300 except its been factory overclocked. So you could save yourself a couple of bucks by buying an FX 6300 and overclocking it with a good cooler (i.e. CM Hyper 212 EVO), like I did. Also, if you don't overclock, you can save money on your electricity bills as the FX 6300 has a considerably lower power consumption. So its win-win. The FX 8350 is also a good choice if you have extra money going around.

Can I ask the current condition of any computer you may have? Like, what case do you have, do you already have a PSU, hardrive etc.

Layton

 

[rhino]

I did the AMD FX 6300 for the exact same reasons as above.
Statistically speaking it hits the sweet spot between performance and cost (long term and short term).
I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't have gone for the eight core though only for the sake of having eight cores and the difference in electricity cost would annoy me.
Were I to build it again I'd go for the Asus Sabretooth Mobo and DDR3 1600 RAM.
Overclocking is kind of essential with this chip however with the Asus Uefi bios and and bundled software it'll have you tuned up and OC'd to the max at the push of a button.
After-market tower cooler is essential though I don't totally understand why everyone has the hots for the Hyper 212 ( I had one before), any tower cooler will do as long as it has 4 copper heat pipes (8 in total) and you can stick a second fan on the other side so just pick the cheapest one or, if your feeling funky, put a Cooler Master Seidon 120V on it (cost 40 bucks around here).

 

[BarbaricSoul]

this thread was created on April 19th

 

[TROOP3R]

Thanks guys!!

I've finalized the rig though -

FX-8320
Noctua NH-D14
M5A97 EVO R2.0
Sapphire Dual-X R9 270X 4GB
Seasonic S12II Bronze Series 620W
Carbide 300r

 

[LaytonJnr]

Good build! Are you planning to overclock?

 

[rhino]

Like the choice of cooler.

 

[TROOP3R]

YES and thanks!!

yea, many (in other threads) had suggested i5 4440/4670k (i think) as well, but something didn't feel right about Intel though (been using AMD since their Sempron series)

I had a tight budget, and hence for OC'ing, the M5A97 EVO R2.0 and the NH-D14 - I'll be pushing the proccy some time later.

BTW, LaytonJnr, you have suggestions/advice for OC'ing??

 

[rhino]

If Layton doesn't I do.
Install the software that comes with the mobo (except the Network I control).
Make sure you switched on the Asus EPU and TPU on the mobo and use the auto tuning - extreme on the Desktop UI to automatically find the highest most stable OC.
Page 4-11 of the manual.

 

[LaytonJnr]

If Layton doesn't I do.
Install the software that comes with the mobo (except the Network I control).
Make sure you switched on the Asus EPU and TPU on the mobo and use the auto tuning - extreme on the Desktop UI to automatically find the highest most stable OC.
Page 4-11 of the manual.

So that's the safer, easier way to do it. However, if you've feeling more confident, you can do it manually for a more efficient and larger overclock. The thing about overclocking is that it's a 'chip lottery' - you can have two of the same CPU but one may be able to get a higher overclock because it happens to have internals at the higher end of the factory tolerances in testing. So advice one - each CPU will have slightly different overclocking. Don't expect to get the same overclock as someone else on the internet.

That being said, for an 8320 I'd expect a max overclock between 4.4 - 4.6GHz with a Noctua D14, more if you've lucky. Advice two - you need a lot of time to manually overclock. Firstly, you'd need quite a bit of time researching how to overclock, especially for your specific CPU. Secondly, you need to overclock in slow, gradual steps and stress test after each small jump. Once you're at the higher end of the GHz, this allows for the highest safe overclock. Personally I would dedicate a good number of hours if not a day to overclocking.

If any of this sounds too complicated, then just follow what rhino was saying.

Layton

 

[TROOP3R]

Thanks guys!!

I'll keep this thread and the instructions handy...

Another question regarding DIMMs. I've read that the mobo/system will auto-default to a particular set of RAM timings/voltage, and to gain the most from the RAM, we need to set this manually to achieve either a performance setting or a setting for stability. What's up with that? How do I go about doing this??

I'll be reusing the RAMs from my earlier system. Its a Kingston HyperX 1333 MHz. 6GB in total. 3 sticks of 2 GB. I had 4 sticks for 2 GB, but one of them was acting up, so I had to remove it.

 

[LaytonJnr]

Thanks guys!!

I'll keep this thread and the instructions handy...

Another question regarding DIMMs. I've read that the mobo/system will auto-default to a particular set of RAM timings/voltage, and to gain the most from the RAM, we need to set this manually to achieve either a performance setting or a setting for stability. What's up with that? How do I go about doing this??

I'll be reusing the RAMs from my earlier system. Its a Kingston HyperX 1333 MHz. 6GB in total. 3 sticks of 2 GB. I had 4 sticks for 2 GB, but one of them was acting up, so I had to remove it.

I wouldn't really worry - the base frequency for most RAM is normally automatically set to 1333MHz in the BIOS, which is what your RAM frequency is. The only problem I see is that you won't get the best out of your RAM if you're not using Dual-Channel - normally RAM comes in pairs, but that third stick's pair is faulty which is a tad annoying. But it shouldn't be too much of a problem in reality. Good luck with your system!

Layton

EDIT: What I mean to say in that first sentence, if a BIOS is going to for some reason set the RAM frequency to something lower, it's often to 1333MHz.

 

[TROOP3R]

I wouldn't really worry - the base frequency for most RAM is normally automatically set to 1333MHz in the BIOS, which is what your RAM frequency is. The only problem I see is that you won't get the best out of your RAM if you're not using Dual-Channel - normally RAM comes in pairs, but that third stick's pair is faulty which is a tad annoying. But it shouldn't be too much of a problem in reality. Good luck with your system!

Layton

EDIT: What I mean to say in that first sentence, if a BIOS is going to for some reason set the RAM frequency to something lower, it's often to 1333MHz.

Alrighty!