Another pc build thread

Chase

Just wanting to know if these parts will be a comparable upgrade or if I should aim a little higher being on a $600 budget.

CURRENT SPECS

Processor - AMD AM2+ Phenom 9750 Quad Core
Motherboard - ASUS M3A
RAM - 4gigs
Video Card - EVGA 9800 GTX w/ 512MB
PSU - 600 WAT


POSSIBLE UPGRADES

Processor: I don't know if I'll see much of an upgrade between 4.2GHz and 3.4GHz so that's why I posted both as an option.

1. AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8350FRHKBOX

2. AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8120FRGUBOX

Motherboard:

ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

RAM: I know there's not really a noticeable difference between RAM in general, but I can't tell if there'd be a difference between these specific ones for $5.

1. CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10

2. CORSAIR XMS3 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M1A1333C9

Video Card: I've had Nvidia for as long as I can remember so maybe I just stick with the EVGA. Either way it's between ASUS and EVGA. I'll want to eventually buy another monitor, but I assume we're advanced enough where that doesn't need to be a factor.

1. EVGA 02G-P4-2643-KR GeForce GT 640 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

2. EVGA 02G-P3-2639-KR GeForce GT 630 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

3. ASUS GT630-2GD3 GeForce GT 630 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

ZacD

The GT 640 would be more of a side-step than an upgrade, they are pretty similar spec wise, http://www.hwcompare.com/12941/geforce-9800-gt-1gb-vs-geforce-gt-640-ddr3/

I would at least get a 660ti or 760 if you are going to upgrade your video card.

If you want an idea of what you could get for $600, here's a good starting place http://www.logicalincrements.com/

Chase

Thanks for the reply Zac! I actually checked that website out. I looked at the 660ti vs the gtx 760 and the only real difference was in pixel rate. That was about a 40% difference which seems like a lot but even after reading the definition of pixel rate I'm still not sure if that's a big difference. There's a $55 difference I know for sure haha. The gtx 640 wasn't much of an upgrade over my current card except in terms of memory. It has quadruple the memory but every other category is about the same. That card is about $130 so Id just be throwing money away really. Now, I didn't see my exact card on that site but I saw a gforce 9800 gt w/ 512mb where mine is a gtx. I figure their mostly the same.

I'm also looking at intel processors now. I went from the Good category on that website to Superb :O I'm sure you're aware of what I'm using it for, but this will be for 3ds max, photoshop, udk, etc. I'm hoping to be set for 6 years but I'm prepared for it only to be 5. Upgrades never last sadly.

tynew

If you want to see the most accurate depictions of how GPUs perform, don't look at the specifications. Look at game benchmarks.

Chase

Thanks for the reply Zac! I actually checked that website out. I looked at the 660ti vs the gtx 760 and the only real difference was in pixel rate. That was about a 40% difference which seems like a lot but even after reading the definition of pixel rate I'm still not sure if that's a big difference. There's a $55 difference I know for sure haha. The gtx 640 wasn't much of an upgrade over my current card except in terms of memory. It has quadruple the memory but every other category is about the same. That card is about $130 so Id just be throwing money away really. Now, I didn't see my exact card on that site but I saw a gforce 9800 gt w/ 512mb where mine is a gtx. I figure their mostly the same.

I'm also looking at intel processors now. I went from the Good category on that website to Superb :O I'm sure you're aware of what I'm using it for, but this will be for 3ds max, photoshop, udk, etc. I'm hoping to be set for 6 years but I'm prepared for it only to be 5. Upgrades never last sadly.

ZacD

Going off bench marks, 9800GTX scores 928 on PassMark - G3D Mark, the GT 640 scores 1,283, about a 30% improvement, but still not much of an upgrade. http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

660ti on the other hand, 4,690.

Chase

You learn something new everyday haha. What do the bar graph's numbers represent?

ZacD

Just a benchmark number from a benchmark tool that is supposed to represent video game performance.

Chase

Is 500 difference in benchmark between the 660ti and 760 much of a difference? Or shoukd I just save the $50 and put it towards something else? Again I look at that 40% pixel rate difference as well as the 500 benchmark difference but not knowing if that is worth $50

ZacD

It's really up to you. The only difference in features is the GPU Boost 2.0, which is their automatic temperate based overclocking. Otherwise they both have pretty much the same feature set. I was lucky and got a 760 for $220