Need Input on New Build

[nothappy]

Dear Friends Online,

A headache just landed on my hands, in the form of my nephew wanting to buy a PS4. He has been badgered by my Brother in law to buy the console rather than hearing me to buy a PC. I wanna shove the build in my Brother in laws face as he keeps pestering him with the whole PC is waste of good money crap. But the biggest sin this idiot has dared to speak is that with the money for PS4 cannot buy a better performing PC than the PS4. The shock of this dialogue flared rage within me like the youtube videos of hitler reacts.

The main parts are the usual PROCESSOR, MOTHERBOARD, and RAM. All I want is to settle my internal debate of these parts :

AMD route :
AMD Kaveri Athlon X4-860K
ASRock FM2A88M-HD (FM2 , AMD A88X, DDR3)
Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Black PC15000 8GB (2X4GB) - CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9
HIS Radeon HD R7 260X ICEQ X2 2GB DDR5

INTEL route :
Intel Core i3-4150 3.5Ghz - Cache 3MB
ASRock H81M-VG4 (LGA1150, H81, DDR3)
V-GeN DDR3 8GB PC12800 (single channel)
HIS Radeon HD R7 260X ICEQ X2 2GB DDR5

They are both tied by budget (the price of a new PS4 here in indonesia). Don't bother with the Graphics, as the NVIDIA counter here is the GTX 750 with the Ti version will be over budget. My conflict is that the Intel route has less than stellar chipset and ram (h81 isn't glamorous and the value ram also isn't). Although the A88X is dated but its the equivalent of the Z series chipset by intel, and as this build will have no foreseeable future of being upgraded I am leaning towards AMD as I can crank it up later as it ages.

So?, what do you think?

 

[Ebo]

I would go with the AMD

 

[Caring1]

Either system would out perform a PS4.
Don't forget you will also need a case, psu, os and other extras, so the total cost will most likely be higher than the console.

 

[Random Murderer]

My HTPC is based on an Athlon 860k and an A88x board, couldn't be happier.
For the difference in price to performance ratio, go the AMD route. Your nephew won't be disappointed. Aside from GPU, our builds will be about the same, and mine games at 1080p with everything maxed(in most games) and even runs Star Citizen without an issue.
Both options will be capable systems that outperform a PS4, but my vote is the AMD system.

 

[nothappy]

Thanks to Ebo, Caring1, and Random Murderer I have decided to use the AMD route. I will also use a cheap case, a corsair vs450 (a better seasonic is available but I blew it on the Graphics), My old Seagate 7200rpm 500GB, and my old copy of windows 7 pro.

Thanks to those old stuff I can make it all on a price of a PS4. I can also throw my HIS 7970 to him but I will cry a river as he will never understand the difference and the sacrifice that gesture will cost me.

anyway, thanks again..

 

[64K]

A PC for gaming is going to cost more than a console but you also get a lot more with a PC. Upgradeability, mods, Steam/GOG/Origin sales and nothing beats a mouse and keyboard for FPS and strategy games. You can still use a controller for racing games and platform games.

 

[ne6togadno]

amd
BUT
change that 1866 corsair with something 2133~2400 even if it is with higher timings. geil, crusial, gskill will do it.
amd's apus love higher clocked ram

 

[nothappy]

True, as 64K said, but as knowledgeable as we are, these brats will never understand. And as one of my friends said "its good to use a console as we never have to fear the game not working as we all use the same console".

 

[nothappy]

Hmm, it is so for APU's as net6togadno said, but as this X4 860k is all business without graphics, and has a built in memory controller for PC1866. upgrading the RAM will be costly and will give very low gains for it. Budget is strict, and his father is a tough nut to crack (I am helping my nephew make an agree able proposal for this spending). My family believes in making proposals for expenditure to raise economically aware adults even when we are just in junior high (my nephew is at 7th grade).

 

[ne6togadno]

...And as one of my friends said "its good to use a console as we never have to fear the game not working as we all use the same console".

" Blessed are the believers for theirs is the kingdom of heaven will be"
most of the time "not working" games are cause of crappy dev's programing/porting then cause something is wrong with pc
also i'd happily will throw away few hours to get game running if i can get witcher 3 or star citizen's visuals in they full glamour then to go lazy way and play on low res with blurry textures and ridged graphics

Hmm, it is so for APU's as net6togadno said, but as this X4 860k is all business without graphics, and has a built in memory controller for PC1866. upgrading the RAM will be costly and will give very low gains for it. Budget is strict, and his father is a tough nut to crack (I am helping my nephew make an agree able proposal for this spending). My family believes in making proposals for expenditure to raise economically aware adults even when we are just in junior high (my nephew is at 7th grade).

it's an apu with defective and disabled igpu. they are made from one and the same wafer cpu part is the same.
here on tpu there was comparison test (i still cant find it in reviews) of cpus with different clocks ram and amd's apus showed performance scaling with up to 2133 ram. fx's maximum was 1866 and intel's was 1600 (intel's X platform wasnt included) so if you manage to get 2133 or 2400 ram (whatever is cheaper) you will see 3-5 fps improvement depending on game. being low end gaming pc 3-5 fps could be quite significant cause for some games they might be difference between playable and slideshow. ofc if the guy with the money says no than you cant do anything but to live with what you have.

 

[Bill_Bright]

So?, what do you think?

I think if your nephew has his heart on a PS4, let them get a PS4!

While a decent PC gaming machine has its advantages, so does a PS4 - not least of which is the catalog/genre of games available for the PS4. Also, a PS4 can easily be packed up and carted off to a friends house, there is little concern for malware, updates, or Windows problems. I know many hard core PC gamers who still like to sit down to their PlayStations, XBoxes or even Wii consoles.

IMO, you did your part by explaining the advantages of the PC. Just because a PC game system is your preferred platform, that does not mean it is the best solution for his gaming goals - especially with that budget.

 

[nothappy]

Thank you Bill, he actually liked my rig and his games are happily available in PC. But you're right, he is selling his Xbox 360 and putting up his savings to buy either the PC or The PS4, so its up to him what he wants to buy. I just made this to give him an alternative that he can use for a very long time, and as a thank you note for my Brother (his dad, not my brother in law), as I was going to college and used my brothers PC (a crappy Cyrix processor with onboard graphics which drove me crazy at the time).

I just wanted him to get the best his money can buy, and as Steam is a very good media for buying games with great discounts, he would never be pressed for cash to buy game titles in PS4. And as always, there are more things you can do on a PC, LONG LIVE PC!

As I said, as an alternative, so I will guide but never force him to pick the PC, lets see. Thank all of you, much appreciated and see you in other posts!

 

[JayCan73]

Have you thought about buying used, a little riskier but you could easily get better value for your money. Athlon kinda ties you to it's performance limits without mobo replacement.

 

[nothappy]

Have found some good deals on the internet, on the intel side is intriguing as some posted i5 4670 and an H81 which i can haggle to perfection. But as the kid still havent sold his Xbox 360 and asked his dad about it, I am staying frosty and vigilant. I just need to help him propose with new items as refference so his dad can decide. Its an experience so that he has the command while he discuss with his dad and I as consul will help, just like a working enviroment.

Please dont judge us harshly as its a rite of passage within the family, but thanks again for the assist.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Thank you Bill, he actually liked my rig and his games are happily available in PC. But you're right, he is selling his Xbox 360 and putting up his savings to buy either the PC or The PS4, so its up to him what he wants to buy. I just made this to give him an alternative that he can use for a very long time

I hear you on this but I think it is also important to note that many young folks today don't care about PCs at all! They have their smart phones that do just about everything. If they need a computer, they generally want a notebook - something they can lug back and forth to school - or the living room. And in many cases, they need a notebook for school anyway. So for them, why have a PC too? And there's a lot of sense to that.

For me, I will give up my tower PC, full size keyboard and mouse, two widescreen monitors, and my 5.1 surround sound when they haul me off to the mortuary!

 

[Random Murderer]

For me, I will give up my tower PC, full size keyboard and mouse, two widescreen monitors, and my 5.1 surround sound when they haul me off to the mortuary!

"You'll have to pry my mouse and keyboard from my cold, dead hands..."

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Personally I'd go Intel, esp if you're comparing to an older AMD chip. A dual core Intel that's HT capable will be better overall on a broad range of games, and the best thing is, you get a better upgrade platform allowing use of an i5 quad later on.