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More important: CPU or GPU? Budget gaming PC.

X

Xplaced

n00b
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
41
I'll keep this as short as possible. I'm looking into building a new desktop for myself. I'm building it with the purpose of being a budget gaming PC.

I'm considering using this as the CPU: AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106009

Then this as the GPU: GeForce GTX 550 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133431

I'm wondering if I should spend slightly less on the CPU and get a faster GPU instead. Something like this:

CPU: AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103996

GPU: GeForce GTX 560 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500196

It seems like the faster CPU would benefit the system more overall. However, since it's a gaming PC, I'm not sure if I should put more into the Graphics than the CPU. I read how some games are more "cpu" intensive than others, but since this is a budget PC I can't really spend too much on it. That 4.2 Ghz AMD sounds really nice though. :cool:

Games I'll be playing (currently) are: Arma 2 DayZ mod, Skyrim, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Battefield 3, and various other games like that in the future. So, a broad spectrum really.

What are your opinions? Where should I focus the core of the money between those two components?

Thanks!
 
Skillz said:
Asking for Build Help?: ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST
Click to expand...

I didn't do that in my original post because I thought a lot the questions weren't really related to the question I asked. Here are my answers:

1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$650 for everything.
3) Which country do you live in?
US, North Carolina.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, Motherboard, RAM, Video Card, Power Supply, Case, Hard Drive, CD-ROM.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
None.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080. 22 inch.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
A week or two.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
No special features.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I already have Win 7 x64 so I don't need to purchase it.

I'm just curious about if the CPU or GPU would be the best thing to put money into. I have all the other components picked out already, so I don't need advice on the whole build. Just wondering about the CPU/GPU from a gaming perspective.

Thanks guys.
 
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I personally spent a lot more on my GPU than on my CPU. I got an i5-3570k and a GTX 670. I know, thats comparing apples to oranges, but its the best help i can give you. From what information i know, most games on todays market use more GPU than CPU.
 
Thanks. I'm leaning more towards the AMD 3.6Ghz and the Geforce 560. I would guess that the graphics would be more necessary for games, but since some folks say "such and such game is CPU intensive" then it makes me wonder. :)
 
AMD is not a good choice when it comes to a gaming rig. In all price ranges, Intel's CPU out perform AMDs when it comes to gaming. Therefore, you'll be better off with a low end i5 or high end i3 build with a better GPU.

Since you play games that are more oriented towards CPUs such as SCII and BF3, you'll be better off with a low end Intel i5 quad core. I don't have time to get you a build list together, as I have to go to work. However should no one do it by the time I get off, I'll put one together for you.

In the meantime, can you list the other parts you have selected to buy. If you've already purchased them, then we'll need to know what they are and how much is left in your budget.

Thanks.
 
Thanks Skillz. I'll look at some lower end i5 CPUs. I wasn't aware they outperformed the faster Ghz AMD chips. Funny how that works!

I'd hate for you to go through the trouble of a build list for me since I just had the CPU/GPU question. But later, I will list out what I have in mind and post it here.

Thanks!
 
Well I ended up with the day off. Vicky Lawrence cancelled her show, so I'm off Friday night. If only I had money, I'd go out. LOL

Either way, he is a build for you slightly over budget. However it provides a much better gaming experience with an Intel i5 Quad core processor and a 6870 2GB video card, so IMHO it's $69 well spent.

$256.98 Combo: Intel Core i5-2310 CPU & 1x MSI Z68A-G43 Motherboard
$39.99 - G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$229.99 - XFX FX-785A-CNFC Radeon HD 7850 Core Edition 2GB
$89.99 - Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB
$14.99 - SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner (Free shipping w/ promo code EMCNBNC39, ends 8/13)
$41.51 - Antec EarthWatts EA-380D
$39.99 - NZXT Technologies Source 210 Computer Case (Black)

Total Shipped: $719.60
 
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Skillz said:
Well I ended up with the day off. Vicky Lawrence cancelled her show, so I'm off Friday night. If only I had money, I'd go out. LOL

Either way, he is a build for you slightly over budget. However it provides a much better gaming experience with an Intel i5 Quad core processor and a 6870 2GB video card, so IMHO it's $69 well spent.

$256.98 Combo: Intel Core i5-2310 CPU & 1x MSI Z68A-G43 Motherboard
$39.99 - G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$229.99 - XFX FX-785A-CNFC Radeon HD 7850 Core Edition 2GB
$89.99 - Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB
$14.99 - SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner (Free shipping w/ promo code EMCNBNC39, ends 8/13)
$41.51 - Antec EarthWatts EA-380D
$39.99 - NZXT Technologies Source 210 Computer Case (Black)

Total Shipped: $719.60
Click to expand...

That looks like a nice budget gaming build right there, should run most games fairly well! OP id probably follow this posted build. And, yes, go with an Intel ;)
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Skillz:

Here is the build I came up with, just for comparison sake. I do have some questions about yours vs mine that if you could answer, I'd really appreciate. I'll post those at the bottom.

CD ROM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075
Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145304
Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157309
GTX 550 Ti - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133431
Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371045
RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178382
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106009

Total shipped price: $536.44.

My questions:
1) Won't the raw power of the CPU I picked (4.2ghz) be best for gaming? 4 cores with that speed seems pretty darn fast for games. Isn't it basically doing the same thing as an i5 with raw power/Ghz? In my eyes the AMD chip would be better, so I guess if you could explain why the Intel i5 is better, that would really help me.

2) Is my power supply enough juice for the rig? I'm guessing so, but I'm not 100% sure.

3) Not too familiar with ASRock, but they seem to have good ratings/reviews as a fairly new contender in the motherboard market. I would typically pick an ASUS motherboard, but with good ratings and low price, I've been picking the ASRock board for this build. If that's a bad idea, let me know.

I think that's it. I'll be out for a bit, but I'll check this when I get back. Thanks for your help so far guys!

PS - I threw this together kind of fast, so if I missed something important, let me know. ;) Hopefully I picked the right RAM speed/type, SATA speeds, etc. Ha!

PPS - I would prefer to get all my parts from Newegg. I should have mentioned that before hand, sorry. Not a necessity, but I would really prefer that since I have an account with them.
 
1. No. The Intel CPU is by far faster than that AMD processor, even though the AMD's clock speed is higher. In fact, that Intel CPU is more comparable to the 6 core AMD processors.

AMD FX-4170 Quad-Core
Intel Core i5-2310 @ 2.90GHz

2.While it's enough juice at 450W, it's not a good PSU. I wouldn't trust it to power my computer.

3. AsRock has a hit or miss history with their Motherboards. Some are good, some are everything but. With that being said, I will never recommend an AsRock motherboard, at least not until they straighten themselves out. Plus it only has a 1 year warranty. Not a good buy IMHO.

Here are the same two parts I listed on Amazon from newegg instead. Only thing cheaper if you buy now is the PSU is a bit cheaper, but you'll have to pay shipping on the case which isn't much but still raises the price.

$40.99 - Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W
$39.99 - NZXT Source 210 S210-001 Black

or the white version that's cheaper to ship.

$39.99 - NZXT Source 210 S210-002 White w/Black Front Trim

That hard drive you picked isn't as fast as the one I selected. The C version isn't even faster than the Samsung F3.

The video card you selected is very, very low end.

There is little to no difference between RAM speeds with an Intel setup, so going with DDR3 1333 RAM will be the same performance as going with DDR3 1866.

So lets recap.

You'll get a faster CPU, faster GPU, and a faster HDD going with my build that costs a little more than your budget. Not to mention you'll get better quality parts, longer warranties an you're gaming experience will be much better.
 
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I see the scores on the CPU site you sent. Is that a trusted site? They sell software that benchmarks, so I want to make sure they aren't just selling a product. :)

Can you explain why the intel is better? I don't see why it would be better than the AMD. A short explanation will do. :)

I will look into another board than the AsRock.

Why is the power supply I linked bad? It's an Antek as well. Just wondering what makes it not as good as the other Antek.

Thanks! I'm a person that requires explanation for answers. Otherwise they don't make sense. :)
 
Xplaced said:
Can you explain why the intel is better? I don't see why it would be better than the AMD. A short explanation will do. :)
Click to expand...
The Intel has better IPC (instructions per clock), architecture, design, lower nanometer process, lower power usage, etc. In other words, the Intel is a better designed CPU that allows it to be significantly faster than AMD CPUs. Remember that clock speed isn't the sole metric for performance. CPU design, architecture, IPC, process, and a whole bunch of other factors are involved in determining CPU performance. So you cannot judge a CPU's performance based on specs alone. You have to read actual reviews of CPUs in order to actually get an idea of CPU performance.
Xplaced said:
Why is the power supply I linked bad? It's an Antek as well. Just wondering what makes it not as good as the other Antek.
Click to expand...
Lack of APFC, relatively cheap capacitors, and the quality of the PSU itself makes that Antec VP450 not as good as EA380.
 
+1 to what Danny said.

Clock speed is only relevant when compared to the same family of processors. Such as the clock speed of the Sandy Bridge CPUs. Only faster clock speeds of the same family of processors are in reality faster.
 
The FX-41xx series are essentially dual-cores with HT. It takes an overclocked 8-core FX to match the i5-2500K in most applications.
 
GPU's are considerably more important to gaming than CPUs are. That being said, the CPU does matter. Especially as resolution scales. And as others have said, Intel CPUs are much more powerful gaming CPUs. Their Core i3 2100 on up tend to shame the AMD lineup from top to bottom in gaming. If you've got a Microcenter near by it's really a no brainer as the cost of the CPU will be considerably less than anywhere else.
 
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