i3-6100 or FX-8320E for budget gaming PC?

[superstition]

replaced it with a GTX 950 2Gb which is $150 on NewEgg.

awful

It's not worth that money. Spending $276 on a 290X 8 GB is worth spending $276. Spending $150 on a bogus card like that one is throwing money out the window.

False economy.

 

[WestX64]

Not everyone wants to spend $1000 just to play a few games at 1080p when you can build a rig for several hundred less and be perfectly happy. Especially since West is building this for his friends with his own money, he can build a decent gaming machine and not break the bank.

Thank you.

West, I think what you have planned sounds great. I think JDG1980 gave some really great advice for building a more "budget" machine that will still play everything at 1080p maxed out or nearly maxed out with smooth performance. I would not go for a 950 at this point. The difference in price is just too small. If you could have picked one up for $120 or less, I'd say sure, but you'd be spending $150 on a card that will outclassed for $35 more. I think it's a no brainer but it's up to you. The 380 will use a bit more power but the nitro series have great coolers and your psu will handle it fine.

Thank you for your suggestions and also for taking the time to post benchmarks and explain what you did about the DX12 support in the R9-380. I agree with you when it comes to the GTX 950, especially after looking into it more on my end. I was in the process of trying to decide on whether I should go with a GTX 960 (because of the lower power draw and heat output) or the R9-380 (because of the better performance) and I think I am going to go for the R9-380 after all. This puts me over budget by $50 but maybe I can write it off as this year's Christmas gift as well lol!

The EVGA should be plenty. The 500 W recommendation is done because obviously AMD can't control the quality of psu at 500W. There are many PSUs rated at 500 W or less that I would not hesitate to take over cheaper 600W+ units. The system he's putting together shouldn't use more than 350 W max and the EVGA has 40 A on a single 12V rail. Unless it's a lemon model, it should be fine.

Thank you for explaining this, I was starting to get a bit worried when it came to the power draw of the R9-380. If this power supply is adequate for $35 then that's what I'm sticking with.

You might also be able to save a few $$$ by buying a Haswell generation cpu.

Yeah, I looked into that starting out as I thought I could save some money that way. However, with the bundle deal Micro Center has for the Skylake CPUs, it actually turns out to be the same price, mostly because of how expensive the H97 and Z97 motherboards are.

The 290X 8 GB is the best value right now with the sale going on.

It probably is the best value right now but the problem is that I'm already $50 over budget with an i5 and an R9-380. If I were to swap out the R9-280 for the R9-290x then I would be $126 over budget. I think that the i5 and the R9-380 is the sweet spot for my budget right now.

 

[Head1985]

i3 6100 will be faster in games.6100 is about 10% faster than i5 2500k stock.You should buy atleast 3000Mhz DDR4 to gain even more performance.

 

[deasd]

SKL is currently overpriced. Get i5 4670k or budget FX 6350.

 

[AtenRa]

Replacing the R9 380 for the GTX950 in order to get the Core i5 in 2016 with DX-12 games releases imminent its a bad choice.

If you have an access to MicroCenter you can get the FX8320E + Mobo for $150
http://www.microcenter.com/site/products/amd_bundles.aspx

Get a nice 550W 80+ PSU like the XFX TS Series P1550SXXB9 currently at $56 AR at newegg.

Then get a R9 390 8GB starts at $280 AR at newwegg and you are set for 2-3 years of Gaming.

$486 Total.

That leaves you with $144 for the Memory, HDD and Case

 

[coercitiv]

The new parts:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2PV [$45]
Memory: PNY Anarchy 8Gb (2x4Gb) DDR4 2400Mhz

Is this still your current choice? The Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2PV uses DDR3L memory, not DDR4. Also, you might want to check maximum supported memory speed before spending extra cash on faster chips.

PS: When it comes to the Haswell alternative, why are you comparing only cpu+mobo prices? why not cpu+mobo+ram? You mention high prices for H97 mobos, yet choose H110 over H170 when it comes to Skylake. I strongly suggest you take another look at Haswell as a budget gaming platform.

 

[EliteRetard]

Just wanted to offer another possible option:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...d=inspiron-3847-desktop&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04

Use promo code: 399DESKTOP

This is a new Dell system with an i5-4460 and Win 10 Pro 64bit for $350.
You'll have to Frankenstein the thing, but it may come out cheaper.

Technically all you need is a cheap ~$20 4GB DDR3 RAM and a new PSU.
Add a 380 under $200 (like below) and the total system cost is under $600

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4131673&cm_re=AXR9_380-_-14-131-673-_-Product

 

[ShintaiDK]

Get a good I5 CPU, the GPU you will have to upgrade later on anyway. But a good CPU purchase from the start can save you an upgrade there for quite some years ahead.

All current GPUs will look hopeless after the 14/16nm release.

 

[nerp]

i3-6100 is perfectly fine for your needs. It will destroy the AMD chip, it's not that expensive and you're not going to bottleneck in the vast majority of cases.

 

[USER8000]

Either CPU will be fine although the Intel setup has a better upgrade path. Plus the OP is going to be more GPU limited in most games anyway so I would be going for the fastest GPU possibly.

To put in context for a lot of games my mate with an FX8320 and an R9 290 4GB is having better framerates than me with an Ivy Bridge Core i7 and a GTX960 4GB.

 

[LTC8K6]

I would go with the i3 now, and then you can upgrade it later on when you want a performance boost.

I would go with an R9-380X.

 

[happy medium]

i3 6100 will be faster in games.6100 is about 10% faster than i5 2500k stock.You should buy atleast 3000Mhz DDR4 to gain even more performance.

I have the same setup i3 6100 and gtx 960 . The faster system ram will help with the minimums with games.my system plays black ops 3 flawlessly at very high settings.

 

[frozentundra123456]

SKL is currently overpriced. Get i5 4670k or budget FX 6350.

Agreed with the first part at least. Like i said earlier, the 4590 is only 160.00 at microcenter. I just dont see the point of getting an i3 and upgrading. Just makes the total cost higher in the long run.

 

[TeknoBug]

i3 6100 with R9 380

PS- don't settle with H110 boards, you'll regret it.

 

[beginner99]

I would go with an i5 and then you are set for at least 5 years given current speed of CPU development. The i3 or fx will force you to upgrade sooner meaning also a new motherboard which in the long run will be more expensive.

You could also go with new or used haswell parts. For GPU right now I would buy a used 7950 class type card. Should be available fro less than a GTX950 and far more powerful. You can then upgrade to a 14/16 nm card for double to triple the performance in 1-2 years. Such a boost on CPU side is not foreseeable anytime in the next 10 years.

What will be played on this machine? I would rather save $100 on games than on the hardware. At the lower end $150 can easily mean double the FPS in game.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Yea, I dont agree with the "skimp on cpu, spend more for gpu" philosophy, especially considering a new generation of dgpus will be out in some months that should bring a huge improvement in performance and power efficiency. Better to get a solid cpu with no compromises and if you must upgrade in the future, do it for the gpu.

Also, OP, for those advocating FX, do you really want to overclock a system you are building for someone else? Quite a bit of extra work setting up the system (tweaking, stability testing) for a system for someone else, and possible stability issues down the line.

 

[LTC8K6]

The i3 or fx will force you to upgrade sooner meaning also a new motherboard which in the long run will be more expensive.

Only the FX would require a new mobo, that's why you shouldn't build with one now. The i3 will be upgradeable for many years.

If you want to go AMD, you should wait for AMD's new socket to debut.

 

[Bearmann]

The EVGA should be plenty. The 500 W recommendation is done because obviously AMD can't control the quality of psu at 500W. There are many PSUs rated at 500 W or less that I would not hesitate to take over cheaper 600W+ units. The system he's putting together shouldn't use more than 350 W max and the EVGA has 40 A on a single 12V rail. Unless it's a lemon model, it should be fine.

However, the quality of the unit is mediocre. For only $14 more dollars you can get the very good EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Semi-Modular PSU with a 5 rather than 3 year warranty if you order today. ($49 after rebate)

http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=97531&vpn=110-B2-0750-VR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1307

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/12/16/evga_500b_500w_power_supply_review/9#.VtRM99D47Ts

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&file=print&reid=384

 

[AtenRa]

With DX-12 games coming, the FX 8320E will be more than fine with the R9 390 and even with the 14/16nm GPUs.

The core i3 will need an upgrade very soon. It is already not good enough in many of the latest DX-11 AAA titles with high frametimes.

So at the end, the Core i3 path will make you upgrade both the CPU and GPU.

The Core i5 path could have to upgrade the GTX950 even this year.

The FX8320 will be fine for at least 2 years, the R9 390 will be more than fine for 2016/2017 DX-12 games at 1080p.

Also, you dont need an overkill OC, you can OC the FX-8320E to just 3.8GHz with Turbo off. It will be more than fine for at least 3 years.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Too soon to know what DX12 will bring. It *should* help FX, but early benchmarks of some games show single thread speed still a major factor. And this magical DX12 could also give a big boost to the i3 and smooth out the high frametimes that you so love to harp on. Who knows really. Given the current lack of DX12 games, and the mixed signals we have gotten so far from the preliminary "games", I would base my buying decision on current knowledge and benchmarks, not what "might" happen.

 

[Ranulf]

Heh. Upgrade an i3. Just no. Go i5 or go AMD for budget.

Upgrading intel chips rarely makes sense and has been this way since I got into this stuff over 15 years ago. The only systems that have made sense upgrading the cpu (within say 1-2 years) in my experience have been AMD systems and that has been few and far between.

GPU wise, its a crummy time to buy a vid card right now. I'd lean towards a 380 or 390 or that 290X deal. AMD cards have proven to last longer than Nvidia's stuff before needing to upgrade. A 950 at $120 is tolerable if budget is an issue.

 

[TeknoBug]

Upgrading intel chips rarely makes sense

Ever since Sandy Bridge, you can go years without upgrading, there are people still using i5 2500K today and game just fine, my i5 3550 still alive and kicking. The i3 6100 has plenty of horsepower until Kaby Lake.

 

[Sweepr]

Basically stay away from the FX if you're builing a new gaming machine. Old/dead platform, higher power consumption, awful performance per core. Core i3-6100 all the way.

It's worth repeating that clock speeds are not like-for-like, but we are seeing improvements north of 20 per cent between Skylake and Haswell here, and it's actually the case that (CryEngine apart) a Core i3 6100 with 2666MHz DDR4 is generally on par or even a little faster than an older Core i5 2500K with 1333MHz DDR3 when both systems are paired with a GTX 970. The same set-up also sees Skylake beat the AMD FX-8350 (paired with 1600MHz DDR3) in every game we tested bar Crysis 3 and The Witcher 3

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-intel-core-i3-6100-review

 

[Yuriman]

3 Options:

1. AMD system - will want to overclock (spend extra on PSU/cooling/motherboard), will still deal with low FPS in some DX11 games, count on things getting better in games that use DX12 (which will not be all new games). No real upgrade path. Leaves more budget than i5 for video card.

2. i3 - Better FPS in *most* DX11 games, shows limitations in a handful of current games (e.g. 64 player BF4). Will improve with DX12. Has an upgrade path. May save money over AMD system due to smaller PSU/cooler requirements, leaves most budget for current video card.

3. i5 - Future-proof CPU, will not likely need upgrading but has option of i7. Less money available for video card, but banks on the idea that a CPU's useful life is much longer than a video card's - spend the most on the component with the longest useful life, and least on the most quickly obsoleted component, at the expensive of some performance today.

i5 can be either Haswell or Skylake. DDR4 will likely get cheaper and DDR3 more expensive, which is in favor of Skylake, but a Haswell system will save a little bit of money today.

 

[SlowSpyder]

On strictly the basis of performance, I'd get the FX8320E, it'll often provide a better gaming experience. But, the upgradability of the i3 / i5 makes it hard to turn down, even if it costs a bit more upfront.