Upgrade to AMD for Gaming

[MOOSE]

Hi, I am planing to upgrade my PC from Intel Core 2 Duo (built in 2006) to an AMD . I am kinda noob when it comes to hardware. So, I am looking for your advice on weather I should buy the following Processor and Motherboard or something different. I don't want to spend much, following is in my mind:

1. Processor: AMD FX 8350
2. Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Motherboard (Micro-ATX)
3. 8 GB Ram (Suggest me which to buy!)
4. A Computer Chassis
5. SMPS

Thank You

[Tristan!]

For gaming, everyone will recommend to you an intel processor. However, I have the fx-8350, and I find it awesome. Especially considering its price.

Everyone will also recommend an Nvidia graphics card, and as a Linux user you should listen to them.

[Yoyo San]

Hello.

I totally agree with buying an Nvidia GFX for Linux. My recommendation would be, if you have the money, a GTX 760(I bought one from Gigabyte). If you don't, get a GTX 660. You could also wait 1-2 months for the price to drop on the GTX 760.

Regarding the CPU, you can always get an Intel i5 4570. Check this out: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-4570+%40+3.20GHz&id=1896.

Also, get a Gigabyte/Asus/ASRock Motherboard, with the H87 chipset, since they are cheaper and you don't need the Z87 chipset features. (eg: http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-LGA1150-Intel-USB3-0-Motherboard/dp/B00E0O0D7M/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1377074836&sr=8-5&keywords=asrock+h87)

For memory, just get a Corsair/Muskin/Kingston CL9 @ 1600Mhz. Don't forget to check the memory compatibility table of your motherboard.(eg: http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Technology-Modules-KHX1600C9D3K2-8GX/dp/B0037TO5C0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377075589&sr=8-1&keywords=Kingston+HyperX+Genesis+8GB+DDR3+1600MHz)

[Dusk of Oolacile]

The CPU doesn't matter as all games are console ports and run fine even on an ancient dual-core CPU. This is especially true for linux as we don't even have the exceptions. There is literally no CPU-intensive game on linux yet.

So you can buy AMD, it's much cheaper and enough for anything.

GPU: People suggest nvidia. I don't have such a card to compare, so I don't know if what they claim is true. Maybe it's better to listen, though don't forget that nvidia is evil. :) Only spend money for them if you're prepared to spend the rest of your life in hell in exchange for better linux performance.

If you use windows as well, especially if you use windows as a primary OS, buy an AMD video card. It will be outdated long before linux gaming becomes something serious. And then probably AMD drivers will be better as well.

[vipor231]

i use a amd 5770 video card and it works fine,so if your really on a budget get that. it runs fine in linux

[L'esprit Malin]

This is especially true for linux as we don't even have the exceptions. There is literally no CPU-intensive game on linux yet.

Its rare in windows now.. i think Blizzard game is perfect for this aspect
And this won't change with unity.

[Kano]

It's definitely better to use Intel CPU+Nvidia GPU instead of something from AMD. The single core performance is very bad with AMD CPUs, even the cheap Pentium ones beat the "highend" FX CPUs. Games often use only 1-2 cores, therefore AMD is not a wise choice. i5/i7 is the way to go, with a K variant you could even OC. AMD GFX is so stupid, that you can not even play Source engine games without changeing some values ingame and sometimes the drivers have got so extreme memory consumption that the whole system locks up (like 13.8 beta 1 with L4D2).

[L'esprit Malin]

hi, overclock is almost impossible with the 4th generation of intel cpu.

[mew]

You didn't mention a GPU, but I'd consider going Nvidia if I were you. My AMD 7850HD does reasonably well with the majority of games I own on Linux, but it absolutely loathes some Source Engine games.

Team Fortress 2 and Half Life 2 for instance will lock up the system. I suspect the culprit is the immaturity of the Linux Proprietary drivers.

Nvidia at this point in time would be the safer Linux gaming investment (so I hear.)

[Fibbles]

I have quite a large collection and the only CPU intensive game I own is World Of Warcraft. I can tell you it runs very smoothly under Wine on an AMD FX 6300. Paying an extra 30% for an Intel i5 processor is going to get you 2-3 extra frames maximum and won't be as good as an 8 core AMD FX processor for day to day multitasking.

Remember when buying your kit not to skimp on your power supply. You don't need some gold-plated monstrosity that costs as much as the rest of your components combined but you should definitely get one from a reputable supplier. Preferably you want at least a 450 watt PSU with '80 Plus' certification.

[intok]

由 Kano 發表：

It's definitely better to use Intel CPU+Nvidia GPU instead of something from AMD. The single core performance is very bad with AMD CPUs, even the cheap Pentium ones beat the "highend" FX CPUs. Games often use only 1-2 cores, therefore AMD is not a wise choice. i5/i7 is the way to go, with a K variant you could even OC. AMD GFX is so stupid, that you can not even play Source engine games without changeing some values ingame and sometimes the drivers have got so extreme memory consumption that the whole system locks up (like 13.8 beta 1 with L4D2).

When Nvidia's drivers take a dump you are often pretty boned. I'm currently trying to get X un broken, since even getting it to boot in the VESA driver long enough to uninstall the driver it gutted X to the point that I can't even get VESA to work on any of the 3 GPUs I have laying around, it's not a hardware problem since they all work fine on the same box when running from a live CD.

[Krunchy the Clown]

I own an HD6870, and I have had mostly stellar performance with Steam games. But a couple games like Serious Sam 3, and even Gone Home run like absolute garbage. Valve games run at a rock solid 60FPS, and so does Amnesia.

[Dusk of Oolacile]

由 JoeyJoeJoe25 發表：

I own an HD6870, and I have had mostly stellar performance with Steam games. But a couple games like Serious Sam 3, and even Gone Home run like absolute garbage. Valve games run at a rock solid 60FPS, and so does Amnesia.

The bad performance in SS3 is actually bad coding from the developers. Just install the windows version under windows, switch it to opengl mode, and you'll see the very same ugly performance loss. However, it's not that bad. It's completely playable on my 6850 at high/high/high settings, nowdays maybe even at ultra/ultra/ultra. Fps is less than under directx but still high enough. This is 1080p of course. Are you using a higher resolution?

[kwahoo]

由 LOLCAT 發表：

The bad performance in SS3 is actually bad coding from the developers. Just install the windows version under windows, switch it to opengl mode, and you'll see the very same ugly performance loss.

Are you talking about guys who are hacking OpenGL for over decade (SS1 was the most optimized OpenGL game in 2001)?
The reason (AFAIK) is different. Shaders. Shader compiler. Direct3D HLSL shaders are precompiled to bytecode via FXC tool. GLSL (OpenGL) shaders cannot be precompiled, so a compiler (in drivers) optimizations cannot be so strong.
Check other shader demanding apps in DX11 and OpenGL modes eg. Unigine Heaven 4.0 or Valley 1.0.

Source games are different, they use some weird HLSL bytecode to asm-like GLSL shader converter.

[Krunchy the Clown]

由 LOLCAT 發表：

由 JoeyJoeJoe25 發表：

I own an HD6870, and I have had mostly stellar performance with Steam games. But a couple games like Serious Sam 3, and even Gone Home run like absolute garbage. Valve games run at a rock solid 60FPS, and so does Amnesia.

The bad performance in SS3 is actually bad coding from the developers. Just install the windows version under windows, switch it to opengl mode, and you'll see the very same ugly performance loss. However, it's not that bad. It's completely playable on my 6850 at high/high/high settings, nowdays maybe even at ultra/ultra/ultra. Fps is less than under directx but still high enough. This is 1080p of course. Are you using a higher resolution?

1080p also.

[rei]

Currently running an 8-core AMD-FX cpu with nvidia graphics, and everything works very well.
You don't need an Intel CPU for excellent performance in Linux.
You can get a decent deal on an AMD FX-6300 or FX-8320, and then spend the savings on better video card and better CPU cooling.