FM1 or AM3+?

Vinnie · **FM1 or AM3+? -** 05-26-2012, 12:54 | posts: 7,291 | Location: The Netherlands

My question is really simple. A friend of mine is putting together a new PC. Should he definitely go with the new FM1 socket if he want to upgrade his PC in the future?

thatguy91 · 05-26-2012, 13:22 | posts: 2,771 | Location: Australia

FM1 socket is soon to be dead! FM2 is the new socket coming with the new fusion processors.

The A10-5800K looks like a pretty sweet APU (for an APU that is).

XBEAST · 05-26-2012, 13:22 | posts: 1,444 | Location: Unknown

AM3+ CPUs suck and FM1 has no future, since Trinity comes with brand new FM2.

How much is he going to spend on PC? And what will this PC be used for? (gaming/net browsing/video encoding/ etc.). Can't he go with LGA 1155?

Vinnie · 05-26-2012, 13:28 | posts: 7,291 | Location: The Netherlands

Quote:

Originally Posted by XBEAST

AM3+ CPUs suck and FM1 has no future, since Trinity comes with brand new FM2.

How much is he going to spend on PC? And what will this PC be used for? (gaming/net browsing/video encoding/ etc.). Can't he go with LGA 1155?

He has a €800,- budget and will use the PC for gaming. I'll see what I can do with an Intel.

Vinnie · *Last edited by Vinnie; 05-26-2012 at 13:34.*

Is an simple Core i5 really better than a FX-6100?

EDIT - Found already. It's worth the price difference.

thatguy91 · 05-26-2012, 13:35 | posts: 2,771 | Location: Australia

Well, the A10-5800K and a HD7670 video card (which crossfires together) would be a good budget combination.

Vinnie · 05-26-2012, 13:39 | posts: 7,291 | Location: The Netherlands

Quote:

Originally Posted by thatguy91

Well, the A10-5800K and a HD7670 video card (which crossfires together) would be a good budget combination.

Supported by all games?

XBEAST · 05-26-2012, 13:42 | posts: 1,444 | Location: Unknown

You can do much better than that for 800 euros. HD 7670 is just a rebranded HD 6670, which is for low end gaming.

thatguy91 · 05-26-2012, 14:41 | posts: 2,771 | Location: Australia

Quote:

Originally Posted by XBEAST

You can do much better than that for 800 euros. HD 7670 is just a rebranded HD 6670, which is for low end gaming.

It looks like it would be more precisely called 'Hybrid graphics' than crossfiring. Still, Hybrid is only available up to HD7670. I guess it depends on how much money is left after all the other components. (8GB DDR3-2133 at least, since thats what it is designed for, a good SSD, etc). At least AMD provide 8 SATA3 ports on the A85x chipset, not a paltry 2 (Z77).

lehtv · 05-26-2012, 14:56 | posts: 3,088

For a budget of 800 eur, either i3 + powerful GPU or i5 + midrange GPU. AMD isn't competitive at the moment. Do you buy from online shops and if so which ones?

XBEAST · *Last edited by XBEAST; 05-26-2012 at 15:56.*

More SATA3 ports on AMD chipsets is a nice feature. I do have a A75 board with 5x SATA3 and 1x eSATA ports myself. But I don't see how this feature is going to contribute to gaming performance.

Anyway, for 800-850 euros it's possible to assemble PC with i5 3450/3550 and GTX 670. IMO, that's the best way to go for gaming PC.

Vinnie · 05-26-2012, 16:03 | posts: 7,291 | Location: The Netherlands

I currently have selected this setup:

- Intel i5 2450P
- 8GB DDR3 Corsair
- AMD HD7850 2GB
- Cooler master GX750 PSU
- Antec 900 two v3
- Asrock P67 Pro3 SE motherboard
- 1TB Wester Digital 7200RPM

€837,30 total.

I am using the online shop Alternate.

XBEAST · 05-26-2012, 16:22 | posts: 1,444 | Location: Unknown

Komplett.nl:

CPU: i5 3450
VGA: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 SuperClocked
MB: MSI B75MA-P45
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LP 2x2GB 1600MHz/CL9/1.5V
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
PSU: Corsair CX600 V2
CASE: Antec One Hundred

Totaal (incl. verzendkosten): € 835,65

More RAM can be added later. Also, if your friend has a spare HDD, he could take a SSD instead of a new HDD. Crucial M4 128GB costs 111€, while Barracuda 1TB is 83€.

Vinnie · 05-26-2012, 16:33 | posts: 7,291 | Location: The Netherlands

Quote:

Originally Posted by XBEAST

Komplett.nl:

CPU: i5 3450
VGA: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 SuperClocked
MB: MSI B75MA-P45
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LP 2x2GB 1600MHz/CL9/1.5V
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
PSU: Corsair CX600 V2
CASE: Antec One Hundred

Totaal (incl. verzendkosten): € 835,65

More RAM can be added later. Also, if your friend has a spare HDD, he could take a SSD instead of a new HDD. Crucial M4 128GB costs 111€, while Barracuda 1TB is 83€.

Isn't the one hundred case way too small for a gaming PC?

thatguy91 · *Last edited by thatguy91; 05-26-2012 at 16:41.*

Isn't the Corsair CX power supplies a bit crappy? Wouldn't a HX be better? (of course still not as good as a TX or AX).

Also I wouldn't go less than 8GB of RAM. 4GB isn't really enough these days.

XBEAST · *Last edited by XBEAST; 05-26-2012 at 16:41.*

It seems to be of a normal size. Can fit video cards of up to 295mm. Anyway, your friend can choose any case he wants

. I'm just trying to stay close to his budget without compromising performance or quality.

^ CX is an entry-level PSU. No modular cables, high efficiency or fancy looks, but its performance is good enough for its price. This system is very power efficient too, so there's no problem. Then again, if budget can be extended a little more, better PSU wouldn't hurt.

lehtv · 05-26-2012, 16:49 | posts: 3,088

Quote:

Originally Posted by thatguy91

Isn't the Corsair CX power supplies a bit crappy?

No, they're decent budget units. Read the reviews.

Quote:

Wouldn't a HX be better?

Of course, and a whole lot more expensive.

Quote:

(of course still not as good as a TX or AX).

I'd say HX > TX. Longer warranty, modular, higher efficiency.

lehtv · 05-26-2012, 16:55 | posts: 3,088

The problems I see in your proposed PC are the P67 chipset, overkill PSU, and case with a bit outdated design. I'll put something together at that Alternate.nl site, but before that I need you to answer a couple of questions:

- would your friend like to have an overclockable CPU (it's good for longevity)?
- what is his monitor resolution?

Vinnie · 05-26-2012, 19:25 | posts: 7,291 | Location: The Netherlands

Quote:

Originally Posted by lehtv

The problems I see in your proposed PC are the P67 chipset, overkill PSU, and case with a bit outdated design. I'll put something together at that Alternate.nl site, but before that I need you to answer a couple of questions:

- would your friend like to have an overclockable CPU (it's good for longevity)?
- what is his monitor resolution?

He is not going to overclock the CPU and his monitor has a quite low resolution. But he just wants a PC that lasts for long, so a good GPU like the HD7850 is usefull.

EDIT - Oh and he wants the option to add another GPU in the future. So a motherboard with two PCI-E slots is required (plus a decent PSU).

lehtv · 05-26-2012, 20:54 | posts: 3,088

CPU i5-3450 190e
Mobo Asus P8B75-V 88e (single-GPU or x16/x4)
RAM Crucial 8GB 1333 40e or G.Skill 8GB 1600 50e (the faster RAM has no practical significance but some people insist on it, so I put it here for completeness)
GPU Sapphire 7850 213e
DVD Samsung burner 16e
HDD Seagate 1TB 87e
PSU XFX 550W 59e (far superior to CX600; also supports 7850 crossfire)
Case Antec ONE 57e (Antec One Hundred doesn't have USB3.0)

= 750e

Save the remaining euros towards a 1080p monitor upgrade.

Personally I don't think x8/x8 CF compatibility is worth it. You can still do x16/x4, the performance of the second GPU would suffer somewhat but that's hardly an issue on 1080p. 7850 CF would probably be slightly bottlenecked by a non-overclocked CPU anyway.

It's just so exceedingly unlikely you're ever gonna go SLI/CF. That's for high end setups, 99% mid range gamers like us stick to one GPU and upgrade it to a faster single GPU when the time is right.

Vinnie · 05-27-2012, 00:32 | posts: 7,291 | Location: The Netherlands

Quote:

Originally Posted by lehtv

CPU i5-3450 190e
Mobo Asus P8B75-V 88e (single-GPU or x16/x4)
RAM Crucial 8GB 1333 40e or G.Skill 8GB 1600 50e (the faster RAM has no practical significance but some people insist on it, so I put it here for completeness)
GPU Sapphire 7850 213e
DVD Samsung burner 16e
HDD Seagate 1TB 87e
PSU XFX 550W 59e (far superior to CX600; also supports 7850 crossfire)
Case Antec ONE 57e (Antec One Hundred doesn't have USB3.0)

= 750e

Save the remaining euros towards a 1080p monitor upgrade.

Personally I don't think x8/x8 CF compatibility is worth it. You can still do x16/x4, the performance of the second GPU would suffer somewhat but that's hardly an issue on 1080p. 7850 CF would probably be slightly bottlenecked by a non-overclocked CPU anyway.

It's just so exceedingly unlikely you're ever gonna go SLI/CF. That's for high end setups, 99% mid range gamers like us stick to one GPU and upgrade it to a faster single GPU when the time is right.

Thank you!

I will forward this to my mate.

---TK--- · 05-27-2012, 00:41 | posts: 14,724 | Location: New Jersey, USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by XBEAST

Komplett.nl:

CPU: i5 3450
VGA: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 SuperClocked
MB: MSI B75MA-P45
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LP 2x2GB 1600MHz/CL9/1.5V
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
PSU: Corsair CX600 V2
CASE: Antec One Hundred

Totaal (incl. verzendkosten): € 835,65

More RAM can be added later. Also, if your friend has a spare HDD, he could take a SSD instead of a new HDD. Crucial M4 128GB costs 111€, while Barracuda 1TB is 83€.

I like this setup, just look for a case your friend likes. The 670 is a much better gpu than a 7850.

Vinnie · 05-27-2012, 13:32 | posts: 7,291 | Location: The Netherlands

Quote:

Originally Posted by XBEAST

Komplett.nl:

CPU: i5 3450
VGA: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 SuperClocked
MB: MSI B75MA-P45
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LP 2x2GB 1600MHz/CL9/1.5V
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
PSU: Corsair CX600 V2
CASE: Antec One Hundred

Totaal (incl. verzendkosten): € 835,65

More RAM can be added later. Also, if your friend has a spare HDD, he could take a SSD instead of a new HDD. Crucial M4 128GB costs 111€, while Barracuda 1TB is 83€.

I think we will go with this setup! Only changed the RAM to 8GB and the PSU to a 700 watt Cooler master.

It costs about €60,- more, but it's almost his birthday.

lehtv · 05-27-2012, 13:57 | posts: 3,088

Quote:

I think we will go with this setup! Only changed the RAM to 8GB and the PSU to a 700 watt Cooler master.

I assume you're referring to the Silent Pro 700W, that's a decent unit. But 700W is waaaay overkill for this setup which consumes less than 300 watts at full system load. You'd be fine with Corsair CX500 V2 which is 40 eur cheaper.

Vinnie · 05-27-2012, 14:13 | posts: 7,291 | Location: The Netherlands

Quote:

Originally Posted by lehtv

I assume you're referring to the Silent Pro 700W, that's a decent unit. But 700W is waaaay overkill for this setup which consumes less than 300 watts at full system load. You'd be fine with Corsair CX500 V2 which is 40 eur cheaper.

The Guru3D review of the GTX670 says that it needs a 550+ watt PSU. I really want to go save on this one.