[AlienVibes]

Past few months I've been on and off of here trying to figure everything out for a gaming PC. I'm now at the stage of figuring out the CHEAPEST rout to go. Was originally going Intel I5. Now, I'm looking at AMD. As some of the CPU's are clocked faster, and have more cores. I'm pleased with the cheaper prices. Although I may still do an EVGA video card. Unless the one I'm looking at now will support crossfire. But, I'm looking at the AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0 GHz (4.2 GHz Turbo) as this is faster at a stock speed than the Intel I was looking at, while also being cheaper. But, I've never built a PC before. Don't know much about motherboards. So, whats a good CHEAP motherboard that'll run this? Doesn't have to be anything fancy and special. Just as long as I can run that CPU, I think it'll be good.

Link to the CPU: AMD Processor FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W D8350FRHKBOX - Newegg.com

 

[Amd_Man]

Something like this would work well. The second link for a price.

MSI Canada

MSI MSI Gaming 970 Gaming AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - Newegg.com

 

[Jeremy.D]

Hi. I am running the same processor. Its really good. I have an MSI 970 Gaming Motherboard. The price may be a bit steep though....You could use any board that supports AM3+ sockets.

Just a note about Cross-Fire: It doesn't give you double the power of a single card. It gives you about 2/3 extra. You would be better off saving the money and buying 1 better card.

 

[AlienVibes]

$80 isn't bad. Although with all the parts from new egg it is over $600. Which, I'm aiming for $600 or less. I'll have to look at ebay for a PSU and HDD.

But, what about this motherboard? It's an AM3+ socket, but which will be an overall better board? This is just cheaper. MSI 970A-G46 AM3+/AM3 AMD 970 + SB950 6 x SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - Newegg.com

Also, if that's all crossfire does, then I'll defiantly stick with an EVGA card. Only a few more dollars anyways.

 

[Rich-M]

Nothing wrong with $50 board either they both look good to me but please I am not opposed to eBay for purchases just opposed to cheap psus in general and that could be the most important part you are buying so try to look at it that way especially for a gaming unit. I recommend any Seasonic or XFX, Antec HCG, Enermax over $50 and same for Thermaltake.

 

[Amd_Man]

That board will also work. As mentioned, don't buy a cheap power supply as I know you'll regret it.

 

[AlienVibes]

I know a cheaper PSU isn't good. Won't last long. But, if I do go that way, it'll only be a temporary thing until I get some money to upgrade. As it is, due to the budget I'm re-using some DDR3 ram. Two 8GB sticks, although one is Samsung, one is Crucial. And I have to re-use a 160Gb HDD until I have money for a 1tb-2tb. If I look on ebay, I'll look for higher quality brands first.

As for the motherboard, I'm happy to hear that the $50 board will work. The cheaper the price, the better

 

[AlienVibes]

Better yet, I actually looked at specs on the video card. It needs a minimum of 500W for the PSU. I have an XFX TS550 in my closet from an old PC that I can use. I looked at the CPU, I can't find the wattage needed for that.

 

[Rich-M]

The 550 would be fine unless its real old or worn out.

 

[AlienVibes]

That's great. In september the PSU would have marked a year since I got it. So, it's practically new.

 

[Rich-M]

Oh then that will be fine.

 

[Jeremy.D]

Sorry, the prices go over my head since I'm South African. That cheaper board doesn't look much different from the Gaming version. It should do the job just fine. Your PSU should work, but its probably best to go with something a little more powerful when you have the cash for it. I would suggest also getting a small SSD mainly for your OS, again- only when you have the budget for it. It will give you better speeds. Other than that, I think you system looks good.:thumb:

 

[AlienVibes]

I've looked at stuff on an SSD I'd love to get one eventually. It'd just be figuring out how to hook everything up. The cheaper board is most likely what I'll end up going with, unless when the time comes to buy everything I have more money. Then I'll go to the gaming one. It's probably not accurate but for a gaming computer I feel as if the "Gaming" parts would be the best.

 

[Jeremy.D]

The gaming board would probably give you slightly better performance. ...but the normal one will be just fine. Rather put the money in a Graphics card or RAM. Let me know how it goes.

 

[AlienVibes]

The video card has already been decided. EVGA GeForce GTX 970 04G-P4-2974-KR. The ram I have some 8GB DDR3 sticks from my old PC. Total of 16GB. Should work just fine. Over time if I choose, along with a better PSU, I'll upgrade to some Corsair ram. "Slightly" better is good enough for me. Also, the look will make things better. Never know if in a few years I decide to sell it. But, the gaming board, would the BIOS be any different for the better? Easier to over clock maybe?

 

[Jeremy.D]

Not sure what over clocking is like on the other board. But the gaming board has "Click Bios" with mouse interface. It also has OC Genie which is basically one click over clocking. Easy as pie. You can also do your own over clocking, it's pretty easy with the interface...... Just something I remembered- the fx 8350 stock cooler is pretty loud, so it might be nice to get an aftermarket one if that type of thing bothers you.

 

[AlienVibes]

I've already looked at aftermarket coolers. Think I've decided on one.. But, if the bios on the gaming one are like that, then I'll defiantly go for that one

 

[Frost_Byte]

The BIOS on the MSI 970A G46 and the gaming 970 mobo are identical other than the color scheme. The G46 also has OC Genie inside the BIOS. Alternatively if you download and use some of the MSI utilities it also has OC Genie that you can use from within Windows but I myself never use those. I always use the BIOS as it's more reliable. So really between the 970A G46 and the 970 gaming the real difference would be that the Gaming 970 has better onboard sound with Realtek ALC 1150 (amplified) where as the G46 uses the more popular Realtel ALC 892. Bother boards should perform the same but since the MSI 970 Gaming is the newer one you may want to pick that one unless cost is a factor.