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- Nov 10, 2006
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| System Name | Rainbow |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7 8700k |
| Motherboard | MSI MPG Z390M GAMING EDGE AC |
| Cooling | Corsair H115i, 2x Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC-3000 PWM |
| Memory | G. Skill TridentZ RGB 4x8GB (F4-3600C16Q-32GTZR) |
| Video Card(s) | ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity |
| Storage | 2x Samsung 950 Pro 256GB | 2xHGST Deskstar 4TB 7.2K |
| Display(s) | Samsung C27HG70 |
| Case | Xigmatek Aquila |
| Power Supply | Seasonic 760W SS-760XP |
| Mouse | Razer Deathadder 2013 |
| Keyboard | Corsair Vengeance K95 |
| Software | Windows 10 Pro |
| Benchmark Scores | 4 trillion points in GmailMark, over 144 FPS 2K Facebook Scrolling (Extreme Quality preset) |
I know you've been going back and forth on the Pentium Anniversary vs i3 vs i5 debate, but I just thought I'd weigh in on my experiences gaming on my little rig. It's a Pentium G3258 Anniv. overclocked to 4.8 GHz on a MSI Z87I GAMING AC mITX board with a Radon HD 7870 GHz Ed. It's handled pretty much everything I've thrown at it quite admirably, in my humble opinion.
Since you're going for budget, I definitely recommend something with overclocking potential. I think you're worrying too much about overclocking your FX. Boot failures are a normal part of the overclocking experience. All it means is you've attempted to POST at an unstable clock and you either need to move your clock down (yes) or your voltage up (typically no unless you're absolutely positive you can handle the increased heat). Just take a deep breath, reset your BIOS, and try again. Hopping up to 4.5 GHz might have been ambitious.
Considering the build, I don't think a SSD will give you a good return on performance versus the money you'd spend on it. A mechanical drive will typically give you a nice bit of storage space without a huge performance decrease. The money you save could go towards other components that would net you a higher return.
I'd recommend the G3258 for a few reasons. Being a budget build, there's a lot of bang for the buck in that processor. Performance at stock speeds will probably match your FX processor, but overclocking it will take it to a whole new level. Additionally, if you ever feel the need, you can upgrade the processor at a later date and sell the old one. I like this route as it helps me spread out the investment over time. Power consumption is also lower, which means you may be able to keep your current PSU.
If overclocking isn't your thing, that's okay. The I think it'd be worth looking at the i5-4570 or i5-4590 then. If you don't mind the price bump, you could always get the unlocked i5-4670K or i5-4690K and just run at stock speeds. It should increase the resale value of the processor if you one day decide to move on and give you the option to overclock if/when you run in to this problem again with Sims 5.
As much as I like AMD, if you need strong single-threaded performance and you're not overclocking, Intel is the way to go.
As for motherboard chipsets, the Z87 is still a excellent option as long as, like you say, Broadwell and M.2 aren't a big concern. (imo, just sell old and buy new if it is.)
Since you're going for budget, I definitely recommend something with overclocking potential. I think you're worrying too much about overclocking your FX. Boot failures are a normal part of the overclocking experience. All it means is you've attempted to POST at an unstable clock and you either need to move your clock down (yes) or your voltage up (typically no unless you're absolutely positive you can handle the increased heat). Just take a deep breath, reset your BIOS, and try again. Hopping up to 4.5 GHz might have been ambitious.
Considering the build, I don't think a SSD will give you a good return on performance versus the money you'd spend on it. A mechanical drive will typically give you a nice bit of storage space without a huge performance decrease. The money you save could go towards other components that would net you a higher return.
I'd recommend the G3258 for a few reasons. Being a budget build, there's a lot of bang for the buck in that processor. Performance at stock speeds will probably match your FX processor, but overclocking it will take it to a whole new level. Additionally, if you ever feel the need, you can upgrade the processor at a later date and sell the old one. I like this route as it helps me spread out the investment over time. Power consumption is also lower, which means you may be able to keep your current PSU.
If overclocking isn't your thing, that's okay. The I think it'd be worth looking at the i5-4570 or i5-4590 then. If you don't mind the price bump, you could always get the unlocked i5-4670K or i5-4690K and just run at stock speeds. It should increase the resale value of the processor if you one day decide to move on and give you the option to overclock if/when you run in to this problem again with Sims 5.
As much as I like AMD, if you need strong single-threaded performance and you're not overclocking, Intel is the way to go.
As for motherboard chipsets, the Z87 is still a excellent option as long as, like you say, Broadwell and M.2 aren't a big concern. (imo, just sell old and buy new if it is.)
If that works for you budget wise, most certainly. I'd start with a decently good motherboard though. It's the most annoying thing to replace down the line.
My guess is most people don't over think about something like a CPU. They just buy the best one that fits their needs and move on. At any rate, if I get an unlocked CPU, I'll probably have to get another PSU as well because most boards now take an 8 pin CPU connector and mine only has one half of the original 8/4 pin connector because my dad got rid of the other 4 pin connector while he was sleeving my cables. I'd really feel safer with a bigger PSU anyway.
(in case you're wondering, my vision prohibits me from ever driving a car) I mean, crap, on their web-site they have the 4690K for $179! That's unbelievable. They say that's a savings of $80. I think that would be worth driving down there for.
