[LaBestiaHumana]

So Far I have this list from Micro Center with prices.

AMD FX 8320 - Price 119.99
Gigabyte 78LMT - 4.99 with CPU purchase
Crucial Ballistix Sport 8gb 1600 - 77.99
EVGA GTX 750ti - 149.99
Kingston V300 120gb SSD - 49.99
Seagate Barracuda 1tb 7200 - 54.99
EVGA 430w - 42.99
Inwin Dragon Slayer mATX case - 49.99

about 600 bucks with tax included. What u guys think?

 

[Depauville Kid]

I would toss in a cpu cooler... nothing too fancy. A cooler master unit for $20 or $30. I might also consider the Corsair Carbide Spec 03 case. It's only $10 more than the Inwin case you chose, but has a side window and he may appreciate the red glow coming from the front. That's just personal preference though.

One thing you do have to be careful of is with two drives, the ssd and the hdd, he will need some training as to how to install his games. Otherwise, he will have the ssd maxed out and not understand what's going on.

 

[LaBestiaHumana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Depauville Kid

I would toss in a cpu cooler... nothing too fancy. A cooler master unit for $20 or $30. I might also consider the Corsair Carbide Spec 03 case. It's only $10 more than the Inwin case you chose, but has a side window and he may appreciate the red glow coming from the front. That's just personal preference though.

One thing you do have to be careful of is with two drives, the ssd and the hdd, he will need some training as to how to install his games. Otherwise, he will have the ssd maxed out and not understand what's going on.

Not a bad idea to get him a cooler, and better case, however I was thinking getting a cheaper case and scratch the ssd and get a better GPU. not sure yet.

 

[p4inkill3r]

An alternative build using the 860k and a R9 280.
Remove the 212 EVO to add a SSD if needed.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI A88XM GAMING Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $576.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 01:53 EST-0500

 

[LaBestiaHumana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by p4inkill3r

An alternative build using the 860k and a R9 280.
Remove the 212 EVO to add a SSD if needed.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI A88XM GAMING Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $576.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 01:53 EST-0500

MIcro Center has some good CPU/MoBo combos. The 8320 at 120usd comes with a 5 dollar Gigabyte motherboard. The real question is which CPU games better, the 8320 or the 860k. Also, that 280X is a great deal at 175.

The A10 7850K is also 120 with a Gigabyte board.
http://www.microcenter.com/site/products/amd_bundles.aspx

 

[Depauville Kid]

The FX 8320 is much more powerful than the 860k. The 860k is a 4 core CPU, the 8320 is a 8 core part.

The 8320 for $120 with a Gigabyte board for $5 is an incredible deal. You are going to be really hard pressed to beat that deal. I still think your original parts list is the best. You could omit the ssd and get a more powerful GPU, but I would keep the build as you had it. You made some great choices.

 

[mattliston]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Depauville Kid

The FX 8320 is much more powerful than the 860k. The 860k is a 4 core CPU, the 8320 is a 8 core part.

Means ZERO difference if the game doesnt understand the difference.

Even the newest games still run fine with 4 seperate cores.

I have my 6 core phenom running as a quad right now, and aside from the MASSIVE temperature drop, I see or feel zero differences in anything I try so far.

 

[Depauville Kid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattliston

Means ZERO difference if the game doesnt understand the difference.

Even the newest games still run fine with 4 seperate cores.

I have my 6 core phenom running as a quad right now, and aside from the MASSIVE temperature drop, I see or feel zero differences in anything I try so far.

You are correct, their single core performance is close. So, in some games it will not make a difference. However, there are games that will. If the 13 year old would like to Stream to Twitch while they game, the 8 core will certainly show its worth. 13 year olds are also incredibly into YouTube. Doing some amatuer video rendering will also make that 8 core a huge benefit.

In my opinion, the 8 core would be better for gaming as well as anything else the young man would like to do down the road.

 

[mattliston]

No need for the kid to have the expensive processor. Get the quad, and make him learn how to upgrade in the future. builds character lol

 

[jsc1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Depauville Kid

The FX 8320 is much more powerful than the 860k. The 860k is a 4 core CPU, the 8320 is a 8 core part.

It's not that simple. Unless you're running software that can make use of more than four cores, the 860K is faster. And very few games can do that.

The FX-8320 provides a lot of superfluous cores that the kid will rarely if ever use, it's on an older platform (and that motherboard that comes with the deal runs on what was a Phenom platform, for crying out loud), and it has no upgrade path to speak of. If there's not a lot of difference in the cost, the 860K is a better choice for a mid-level gaming rig running something like a 750Ti or a 280.

 

[Depauville Kid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsc1973

It's not that simple. Unless you're running software that can make use of more than four cores, the 860K is faster. And very few games can do that.

The FX-8320 provides a lot of superfluous cores that the kid will rarely if ever use, it's on an older platform (and that motherboard that comes with the deal runs on what was a Phenom platform, for crying out loud), and it has no upgrade path to speak of. If there's not a lot of difference in the cost, the 860K is a better choice for a mid-level gaming rig running something like a 750Ti or a 280.

I will have to politely disagree with you on this one. I have been on the fm2 platform with the A10 5800k, which is about equivalent to the 860k CPU wise. When paired with an HD 7870, it really struggled keeping up. Using Freemake to convert movies to put on my phone and tablet was just frustrating. As far as motherboards go, they all offer the same performance at stock speeds. They really only differ in features and overclocking ability. Most 13 year olds will not be dabbling in overclocking. I have an 8 core part and I use programs quite frequently that utilize all of the cores. Gaming rigs can do so much more than play games. The 8320 offers so much more flexibility in whatever he decides to use his machine for.

 

[jsc1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Depauville Kid

I will have to politely disagree with you on this one. I have been on the fm2 platform with the A10 5800k, which is about equivalent to the 860k CPU wise. When paired with an HD 7870, it really struggled keeping up. Using Freemake to convert movies to put on my phone and tablet was just frustrating. As far as motherboards go, they all offer the same performance at stock speeds. They really only differ in features and overclocking ability. Most 13 year olds will not be dabbling in overclocking. I have an 8 core part and I use programs quite frequently that utilize all of the cores. Gaming rigs can do so much more than play games. The 8320 offers so much more flexibility in whatever he decides to use his machine for.

I do believe I said "unless you are running software that can make use of more than four cores." Just about anything that converts movies does that.

It sounds like the OP intends this as a gaming rig. On a gaming rig, there's no difference, because only a handful of games can ever use more than four cores. Hell, most of them barely use two. There are a ton of people on OCN who are rocking G3258's on gaming rigs and doing just fine.

I had an FX-8350 running at 4.85 for a long time, when I was doing a lot of workloads that involved rendering and multimedia. I sold it when I no longer did a lot of those workloads, because it was unnecessary.

And there are significant differences between any AM3+ board and an A88X board. The old 9-series chipsets don't support the current USB, PCIe and SATA standards. In most cases, it doesn't matter much, but it is worth considering.

 

[TheGRig]

How about this instead? This is also around $600

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($96.69 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($131.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill HIVE 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $609.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 21:10 EST-0500

 

[PontiacGTX]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/m2wQMp
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/m2wQMp/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($96.69 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($85.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $607.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 21:12 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/W77jsY
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/W77jsY/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $608.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 21:13 EST-0500

 

[Depauville Kid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsc1973

I do believe I said "unless you are running software that can make use of more than four cores." Just about anything that converts movies does that.

It sounds like the OP intends this as a gaming rig. On a gaming rig, there's no difference, because only a handful of games can ever use more than four cores. Hell, most of them barely use two. There are a ton of people on OCN who are rocking G3258's on gaming rigs and doing just fine.

I had an FX-8350 running at 4.85 for a long time, when I was doing a lot of workloads that involved rendering and multimedia. I sold it when I no longer did a lot of those workloads, because it was unnecessary.

And there are significant differences between any AM3+ board and an A88X board. The old 9-series chipsets don't support the current USB, PCIe and SATA standards. In most cases, it doesn't matter much, but it is worth considering.

I know that you said "unless you are using software that uses more than four cores.". I got you very clear. I was pointing out that... Yes, a 13 year old may actually use such software.

I am also very aware of the differences between the am3 and fm2 platforms... Those would be the " features" I mentioned. None of which affect performance. USB 3.0 and pcie 3.0 will not add any fps on that level of machine.

I'm glad to hear you downgraded your PC because you didn't need the CPU power for those workloads you did and are much happier. The 860k is a fine part, especially if you're on a budget. I've recommended it several times. However, if your budget allows, the FX 8 core CPUs offer the same or better gaming performance and the flexibility to do more with machine beyond gaming.

Glad to see you are so passionate on the subject. I think the OP has all the info they need to make a decision.

 

[jsc1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Depauville Kid

I'm glad to hear you downgraded your PC because you didn't need the CPU power for those workloads you did and are much happier.

Never said I was unhappy with the 8350. The person who bought it from me is quite happy with it now, running at a stable 5.12 GHz on a custom loop, as I was running it at 4.85 on air. It was a pretty good chip for someone who was an early adopter of Piledriver.

FWIW, I'm basically a tinkerer when it comes to my own machines. I buy and later flip stuff all of the time, just to kick the tires on it and see how it works in real-world use, and a lot of what I learn gets shared here, or when people I know come to me for advice on computers. This rig started out as basically an HTPC with a 6400K in it. I added the 6800K later on, so I could drop in a 6670 and see for myself if Hybrid Crossfire was worth bothering with (not really). Then the 6670 went into a rig I built for someone else and I installed a 6970 instead. And I've got an 860K on the way now that I'm going to kick the tires on, and flip the 6800K.

As far as the OP goes, if he believes his nephew will do any significant amount of multimedia work, then yes, he'd benefit from going AM3+. If he just plays games, he probably won't.

 

[Depauville Kid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsc1973

As far as the OP goes, if he believes his nephew will do any significant amount of multimedia work, then yes, he'd benefit from going AM3+. If he just plays games, he probably won't.

Agreed.

 

[LaBestiaHumana]

Yeah, the kid definitely does more than gaming. I couldn't get him off my rig last week.

I'll probably stick with the 8320 and maybe buy a used GPU. I'm gonna have him build it and install all of his software.

 

[PontiacGTX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaBestiaHumana

Yeah, the kid definitely does more than gaming. I couldn't get him off my rig last week.

I'll probably stick with the 8320 and maybe buy a used GPU. I'm gonna have him build it and install all of his software.

if the games need singlethread performance that fx will need an oc to 4.7ghz to match an i3 4150. But in multithread support it would be as good as the i7 SB

 

[Depauville Kid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaBestiaHumana

Yeah, the kid definitely does more than gaming. I couldn't get him off my rig last week.

I'll probably stick with the 8320 and maybe buy a used GPU. I'm gonna have him build it and install all of his software.

What a great learning experience. If he's anything like my niece and nephew, ages 11 and 14, he might like Freemake. Its a video convertor and has some easy video editing tools on it. My niece and nephew make videos on their cell phones and a cheap video camera. The older one is also into anime, she really likes My Little Pony, Pokemon, and such. She has USB pen and touchpad to draw with. She has tried Inkscape, but has been begging her mom for Adobe. If your nephew is into things like that too, he might like some of those programs. The younger one plays Minecraft more than anything.

Good luck and be sure to report back how everything goes.