Newb with questions on first build

[FieldBlazer]

I'm working with the ASUS M5A99FX PRO mobo and the ASUS Radeon R9 380. I was planning on going with the AMD FX 8350 but I've been advised against it by two different people without giving me any reason why. It seems to have pretty good reviews. I'll be using the pc mainly for gaming and video editing.

 

[PP Mguire]

The answer is in the sticky at the top of this sub-forum I wrote and all over the internet.

To put it quite simply, you get way more single threaded performance from a low end i5 than you do with an FX 8350 even overclocked. Not only that, but you lose out on modern native features like USB3.1, M.2, ect and PCI-E 3. AMD uses 3rd party controllers to add some of these features to their newer boards. An i5 4460 can be had for usually 20 dollars more or the same price as an FX8350 while the motherboards that can support it and anything you want are cheaper than AMD boards with the same amount of features. To make matters worse, Oculus doesn't even officially recommend AMD processors due to significantly lower single threaded performance. All of this just so AMD could try to win the core race and are now being sued because they aren't really 4, 6, and 8 core chips.

That being said, if you already purchased that Asus 990FX board you're a bit screwed and the best CPU you can get is the 8350 because the 9*** variants are simply overclocked versions of the 8350 Vishera.

To be clear, I'm not saying you can't game or video edit with an AMD platform, just if you were buying new parts it makes no sense to go AMD.

 

[FieldBlazer]

Sorry for the lack of research before the post. I'm sure it's annoying. Thank you for your help.

 

[PP Mguire]

No big, it's what I'm here for.

 

[FieldBlazer]

I canceled the order on that AMD board.

I'm on new egg and I see they have an open box ASUS Sabertooth Z97 for $137. Is it worth it being an open box item?

Also I went back and read your sticky. Very informative.

 

[PP Mguire]

Are you ever going to do SLI later? If not, get a cheaper board that's new for around the same price. There are a ton of good Z97 boards in that ballpark. Here is one another, and another.

You can also get H97 and H81 boards that are less than 100 bucks so you can put the extra 20ish towards a 4690k if you desire.

DId you already purchase the 380? All it is, is an R9 285. Kind of a really meh chip. The 960 gives similar numbers, is around the same price (4GB is cheap too), and if you use Premier Pro will help with timeline scrubbing. You can also use NVC to stream instead of making the CPU do the work. On top of that, it will be much cooler.

 

[FieldBlazer]

I've posted 2 replies but they keep disappearing?

 

[PP Mguire]

If you have links they'll need to be moderated first since you have a low post count.

 

[FieldBlazer]

I'm currently working with sub-par parts so SLI isn't something I have been able to utilize. I like the idea of having a board SLI ready.

I actually spent the evening comparing those exact boards you listed. The MSI Z97 was my pick, but it didn't support SLI so I kept browsing and came across the Sabertooth. What I don't like about the Sabertooth is it's an open box and may not come with all the accessories and it's not ddr4 ( I don't have to have DDR4, but I would want it if I were buying that particular board).

The R9 380 I got from a good friend for 180.

 

[PP Mguire]

There is no Z97 board that supports DDR4, and there isn't a performance advantage to going Skylake or DDR4.

The first motherboard I linked supports SLI, the MSI Gaming 5, but doesn't matter if you're using an AMD card.