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geekl33tgamer
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New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:19 am

Hey all, I started a thread here earlier this year for a proposed new build. I was waiting for Ivybridge-E to arrive, but budget constraints mean I am unlikely to be able to go ahead when the parts are available. I've trimmed the budget right down to about £1k, and as I'm only gaming and video encoding for the most part, I was looking at the FX-8350 as my CPU of choice. It's cheap at the moment here, and so is it's platform. I have one immediate question tho regarding the Motherboard I want, the CPU and the RAM's.

My proposed build is at the end, but my concern is memory support with the FX-8350. The CPU says it supports DDR3 up to 2400Mhz, but the Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 says it only supports DDR3 1866Mhz (or 2Ghz with O.C.). Will the board take RAM's as fast as the CPU can support, or am I stuck with nothing faster than about 2Ghz? Advice would be appreciated, otherwise I will rock on with the below:

- AMD FX-8350 CPU - £99.99
- Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 - £124.99
- Kingston HyperX Fury DDR3 1866Mhz, 4 x 4GB - £132.99
- PowerColor R9 280X TurboDUO 3GB, 3 x CrossfireX - £550
- Coolermaster Nepton 140XL - £79.99
- SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 1300W Fully Modular PSU - £139.99
- Seagate SSHD 7200RPM 3.5" 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB, x2 RAID - £117.98

I'm keeping my M550 SSD from the current PC in sig, and using it in this. I already have my case (Zalman Z7 Plus) from 2010 that I like too much to give up, and my 3 x Asus 1080P screens.

Thoughts and feedback please - That CPU is also faster than a C2Q QX9770 right, despite it's low cost?

Thanks in advance all...

Edit: Revised/added parts are in bold.
Last edited by geekl33tgamer on Mon Aug 18, 2014 12:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:35 am

Where are you seeing that 2400 is officially supported by the CPU? AMD's site says 1866. (http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/processors/desktop/fx, click the "Features" tab.)

Regardless, you're only *guaranteed* to be able to go as fast as the slowest component. You *might* be able to hit 2400 if the BIOS settings allow it, but YMMV. I should also point out that running the RAM subsystem above spec gets a little dicey if you fill all of the memory slots; don't count on being able to use the other 2 memory slots in the future unless you drop all RAM-related settings to stock.
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geekl33tgamer
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:42 am

TY for the speedy reply, It's on Overclockers UK store page in the description:

- Multiplier Unlocked
- Eight Core Technology
- 4.00GHz Clock Speed
- 4.20GHz Turbo Clock Speed
- 5.2 GT/s System Bus
- AM3+ Socket
- 8MB L2 Cache
- 8MB L3 Cache
- 64-Bit Technology
- TDP: 125W
- Voltage: 0.9375v - 1.4125v
- 32nm technology
- Support upto 2400MHz DDR3
- HyperTransport 3.0 Technology
- AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) Technology
- 3 Year Warranty
- Heatsink & Fan Included
- Upto 7% faster than previous FX-8150


I will assume it's incorrect then, as I thought it odd I couldn't find a single AM3+ board supporting anything faster than 1866Mhz. I'll buy some RAM's at that speed then.

Thanks again. :-)
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:06 am

I've been running 32 Gig of Gskill 2133 Ram at full speed for quite a while without issue on my Asus Sabertooth board with my 8350.
 
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:27 am

That board is out of stock here, but that's interesting that it works then? I prefer the expansion slot layout of the Gigabyte board tho, and as JAE said it may not run far past stock speeds owing to every processor behaving differently.

Edit: Gigabyte do have GA-990FXA-UD7 listed on their site, and it says 2133Mhz is supported via OC. That board is not listed anywhere, so may no longer be available?
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:32 am

I'm guessing that the Overclockers UK site is referring to the fact that AMD's FX series of CPUs (both Bulldozder and Piledriver based) support memory clock multipliers up to 1200MHz (6:1 ratio) for an effective DDR3 speed of 2400MHz. So you won't need to increase the HyperTransport clock to use memory that fast. As just brew it! points out though AMD officially only supports up to 1866MHz DDR3 speeds (14:3 ratio) so YMMV.

As the OP mentions the choice of an AM3+ based system being the result of necessary budget trims, I'd say it's best to stick with DDR3-1866 memory both to save costs and because going higher is of questionable benefit with AM3+ systems. Check tom's coverage of whether high speed DDR3 gives any performance benefit here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bulldozer-ddr3-overclocking,3209.html
(this is from the bulldozer series / first generation of FX chips but the move from Zambezi to Vishera didn't seem to involve any drastic changes to the memory controller so they're probably still relevant)

As for whether the FX-8350 will be faster than your QX9770, it really depends on your workload. It looks like you're running at 4.2GHz which is going to be hard for the FX to beat in terms of single threaded performance. As a very rough guideline single threaded performance for Piledriver seems to lag behind Phenom II by ~ 10% (although as usual this will vary by what exactly your workload is doing too...), and from memory Phenom II was still a little behind Core 2 clock for clock. Heavily multithreaded workloads like encoding are excellent candidates for the FX series thanks to their high integer core count, so your potential upgrade will probably pull ahead there.

Hope that helps!
 
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:36 am

Anything higher than the official DDR3-1866 spec is technically overclocking. Here's an article you might wanna check out to see if buying anything faster than DDR3-1866 is worth the extra cost. If I were you, if the price difference between DDR3-1866 and faster modules is big enough, I'd go for DDR3-1866 and use the savings to get a faster graphics card, or just pocket it and have a good dinner out with the wife.
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 10:24 am

Great article over at Toms, thanks both. Faster memory over 1600Mhz doesn't make any difference other than a 6% speed up at 2400Mhz in WinZip. That was underwhelming then, and seeing how 1600Mhz and 1866Mhz RAM's are about £1.50 difference I will just stick to 1866.

I plan on overclocking the hell out the CPU, so I assume as the CPU is unlocked, increases to core speed are independent of the memory speed (much like my current CPU?). Is that cooler I chose any good if anyone knows (to handle say 4.5+ Ghz), as my case only has a mounting point for up to a 140mm rad/fan. :-(
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:36 am

If you plan to 'overclock the hell' out of this CPU I suggest liquid cooling. The stock cooler is barely adequate unless you live in a cold region, so an aftermarket air cooler such as the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is just 'normal' to cool a CPU running at stock speeds with this sort of power dissipation. Oh, and as many folks have said, the stock cooler sounds like a leaf blower. Really bad unless I have air conditioning on, but even so it's barely adequate. AMD really had to cut corners to bring the price down so low for such a nice albeit relatively power-hungry CPU.

For reference, I live in a temperate region where ambient temps without air conditioning is about 30C to 35C during the day. With A/C it's around 22C.

Good luck with your new build. I can vouch for the FX-8350. It really isn't as bad as they say. In fact, I'm sure you'll be very happy with your purchase, as someone who switched from an FX-8350 to a 3770K would attest.
Last edited by ronch on Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:41 am

I've added a Coolermaster Nepton 140XL into the mix. Seems to offer a decent size radiator and a 140mm fan on each side, is it enough?

All of Corsair's solutions at 120/140mm only use one fan but cost the same, and larger 240mm ones won't fit into my case. :-(
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:42 am

He's got a Cooler Master AIO liquid cooler listed in the first post. I have no idea how good it is, as I've never used it.
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geekl33tgamer
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 2:41 pm

I'm ordering this tomorrow before some of the deals change, so as it stands then (Please let us know final thoughts).

I already have these:
Zalman Z7 Plus Full ATX Case
Crucial M550 512GB
Windows 8.1 Pro (64-Bit/OEM)
3 x Asus VN247H 24" 1080P Screens

Proposed parts:
AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8350 Black Edition 4.00GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor
Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard
3 x CrossfireX Powercolor Radeon R9 280X TurboDUO 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
2 x Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Red (HX18C9BRK2/8-OC)
SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 1300W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black
2 x RAID0 Seagate SSHD 7200RPM 3.5" 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DX001) SSHD Hybrid Drive
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD
LG BH16NS40 16x SATA Internal Blu-Ray R/RW - Retail

To fill all the ventilation slots:
BitFenix Spectre PWM 120mm Fan - Black (Rear)
2 x Aerocool Dark Force Fan - Black - 140mm (Front Case & HDD Rack)
2 x Aerocool Dark Force Fan - Black - 120mm (Side, GPU Cooling Rack)

I've dropped the closed loop CPU cooler and will run with the stock part for now. I wanted to add a Blu-Ray drive, and budget goes over if I get both (Cooler and Blu-Ray drive are about the same price). If I need to OC it, then I will re-visit that idea - Unless there's thermal issues with this, and the cooler has a better immediate value over Blu-Ray?

Thoughts before I hit purchase? You got about 12 hours!
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 2:47 pm

My main concern with the stock cooler is noise. AMD's stock coolers aren't exactly quiet, especially when the CPU is loaded. Aside from that, it should be OK at stock settings.
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geekl33tgamer
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 2:53 pm

Does it keep it cool enough (without throttling) at stock speeds? The most common task I do that will load the processor is gaming. I have a feeling that my graphics card array will drown out the processor's whiney little cooler under load.

I also won't need to heat this room if the reviews are anything to go by also. More excuse to game harder in the winter. Mrs geekl33tgamer will understand*... :lol:

*Or I'll be divorced by 2015 if I play with my new toy too much
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:01 pm

Yeah, should cool OK at stock. Just might get a little loud!
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geekl33tgamer
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:05 pm

If it's loud at idle, that will irritate me pretty quickly. I've googled the cooler for one, the fan looks weedy - Is it only 80mm?
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:31 pm

Subjectively I don't find them particularly objectionable at idle; but under load they get really whiny. Because of this, my SOP with AMD CPUs is to chuck the stock cooler in a drawer and install an inexpensive Cooler Master heatpipe cooler (92mm or 120mm). AMD's stock coolers have been annoyingly loud under load since the Phenom II days.

I don't recall the size of the stock fan. I can measure it for you when I get home tonight if you want...
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:11 pm

Why buying 2xSSHDs? Why not just get another SSD?
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:19 pm

Fair enough, I'll take advice on the cooler because I need one that FITS if I replace it. My case is my trusty Zalman Z7 Plus, and I can't bare to change it (It's great for heat heavy graphics array's).

I'll take immediate advice on any water cooler, or lower profile air cooler that is decent and won't fall victim to my case. In this pic below, this is the ONLY place a AIO watercooler for the CPU can go:
http://www.geekl33tgamer.co.uk/images/W ... 31_Pro.jpg

Note the limited depth clearance, as any bulky AIO heatsink and fan system will move too far inwards off that fan area towards the CPU socket. It will then cause a clearance issue with:
http://www.geekl33tgamer.co.uk/images/W ... 40_Pro.jpg

This cases side panel is well vented, but it's fan depth on the lid encroach on the CPU socket area when it's closed by 15-18mm. That also reduces the max height of any air cooler I put under there. It can't be any taller than about 100-110mm tops. If an AIO cooler like the one shown in the last pic here, looks like that inside my case, the lid won't shut.

It's um, tight. I'm not sure my originally planned AIO would fit tbh. The 2 fans are 18mm deep and the rad was 32mm - almost 7CM depth intrusion means I wont get the side panel back on. Make sense & suggestions?

Flying Fox wrote:
Why buying 2xSSHDs? Why not just get another SSD?

Need the large space for video transcoding / storage. The SSHD's will be RAID 0 (and quick enough for that job I think), with the other 2TB mechanical backing them up periodically if one dies. I can't afford more large enough SSD's sadly to fit it all in. :-(

My SSD will have Windows, programs and games installed to it. Everything else I currently have is sat on a USB 2.0 external drive, and will be bumped over to the RAID array with lots of new space to spare and a dam site faster than I have now.
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:29 pm

Honestly, with a complete system rebuild like you are doing, you would be better off going intel. The AM3+ / FX 8350 is a dead end product and most AM3+ boards don't even have regular BIOS updates to fix issues with them. If you do go the AM3+ route, I would consider what you get being "as is".
 
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:38 pm

I hold onto my PC's until they literally give up - I've been using this one since 2008, but it feels it's age in newer stuff now. I know AM3+ is at a dead end, but the equivalent Intel CPU and Mobo goes to much over my price range. A quick scan shows the CPU and mobo I have combined cost less than just a single decent mid-to high end Intel.

Graphics get the lions share of my budget, as they have the biggest influence on games performance. The 8350 is about as quick as the i5's for the most part, but is a lot cheaper. I'm ok with that, and for the money I accept some compromises. Hopefully I can get a solid 5+ years off this new system too.

Edit: As you can see, I'm literally ramming this AM3+ system as full spec-wise as the budget allows, with the view to not having to change anything inside it over it's lifetime.
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:55 pm

Aren't 3 way SLI and Crossfire setups notoriously brittle? My own preference would be to just get 2 graphics cards and a more modest PSU and use some of the saved money on a decent CPU cooler.
 
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:05 pm

Deanjo wrote:
Honestly, with a complete system rebuild like you are doing, you would be better off going intel. The AM3+ / FX 8350 is a dead end product and most AM3+ boards don't even have regular BIOS updates to fix issues with them. If you do go the AM3+ route, I would consider what you get being "as is".


I was surprised that it took so long for someone to bring that up; I clicked on the thread precisely because the 'Why AMD?' question popped into my head. This far down, I still don't have an answer, so I'll ask a few questions:

Does the FX-8350 perform better than quad-core Intel CPUs for your particular encoding workload? If so, that would make using AMD worthwhile, because it won't be faster for games at stock, and will be noticeably slower once overclocked in CPU limited situations (multiplayer).

Now, if you were doing virtualization work or needed ECC on the desktop, stuff that JBI talks about getting into, then AMD makes a whole lot of sense- but not for floating-point intense stuff like transcoding, and certainly not single-thread performance dependent stuff like gaming.

Further, using an AMD CPU means using an AMD chipset- and when it comes to chipsets, Intel sets the standard for performance and reliability. Definitely not a make-or-break thing, but something to think about if you plan on keeping the rig for a long time.


Also, for the SSHDs- that's expensive as hell for 1TB drives, and you are not going to get better sequential performance off of them- they'll likely be slower than larger traditional hard drives due to lower platter density. They do make sense when you can have only one drive, sure, but you have an SSD for your OS and primary applications, and you could get 3TB or 4TB drives instead. With classic spinners, you could even save enough to switch to Intel :).
 
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:09 pm

CeeGee wrote:
Aren't 3 way SLI and Crossfire setups notoriously brittle? My own preference would be to just get 2 graphics cards and a more modest PSU and use some of the saved money on a decent CPU cooler.


And there's this. The best reasoning when it comes to multi-GPU setups is to only use additional cards when a solution with fewer cards simply does not exist, and generally speaking, employing more than two cards in tandem should be reserved for those willing to shell out for the best given that there is additional overhead involved; trying to use three cards while scrimping on the CPU is a recipe for disappointment.
 
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:24 pm

Airmantharp wrote:
Does the FX-8350 perform better than quad-core Intel CPUs for your particular encoding workload? If so, that would make using AMD worthwhile, because it won't be faster for games at stock, and will be noticeably slower once overclocked in CPU limited situations (multiplayer).


Nope, an i5 can easily keep up to a FX-8350 in handbrake and is faster if using quality based encoding (which is the preferred method). If he is looking for quick and dirty encoding for whatever reason, intel also spanks the AMD with it's Quicksync.

The other things to consider that with the AM3+, there is no native USB 3, no PCIe 3.0 and of course the intels will consume a heck of a lot less power especially under load.
 
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:59 pm

Ok, ok! I hear you guys about the Intel thing.

I've been looking, and it's about an extra £120 to get a mobo that's going to take the 3 Radeons + CPU:

AMD FX-8350 £100 Vs. Intel i5 4690K £180
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 £125 Vs. Gigabyte Z97X-SOC £140

I assume most agree the extra £120 spend is worth it over the AMD platform. I could trim back the graphics to lower costs further?
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 6:11 pm

Ya, going intel is worth it, not sure going tri crossfire is.
 
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 6:32 pm

Spending the extra for the Intel platform and backing off to dual Crossfire is probably your best bet.
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 6:46 pm

Yeah, that sounds like a much more balanced build to me.
 
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Re: New Build - FX-8350 & Memory Support?

Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:30 pm

From a performance perspective, yeah Intel wins out - I've spent hours trawling benchmarks and for the most part if you can hit about 4.4Ghz on the 8350, it's about as quick (give or take 2%) as the Sandybridge i7's (assuming all cores are worked hard). Otherwise it's somewhere between an i3 and i5, but is making my brain hurt trying to work it out. If power use is the main metric, give up with AMD now - I'm not so bothered about how much juice it uses. Just a personal thing.

Thing is, once the res climbs to 5760 x 1080 that I will game at, the CPU is not really having an affect on playability at all (See here) for most titles. I read another article (Edit: here) showing generally linear performance on Radeon R9 280X's in Crossfire up to 3 cards when you game at high resolutions. A 4th card yield only an extra 1-2 FPS, so yeah that's a waste. Again, power draw blows - but the raw performance for the money is appealing.

Typically, 3 x R9 280X's were some 91% faster than a GTX 780, but they cost only £130 more, and cheaper than most slightly faster GTX 780Ti's. I'm warming to Intel, sure, but that graphics performance for the price is difficult to overlook. A pair of standard R9's is slightly slower overall, while a pair of R9 290X's is a fair bit faster, but also costs an additional £170.
Mega Beast - Intel i7 4790K | Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H-BK | 32GB DDR3 | SLI GTX 1070 | Samsung 850 Evo 1TB
Mini Beast - Intel C2E QX9770 | Gigabyte X48T-DQ6 | 16GB DDR3 | KFA2 LP GTX 750Ti | Seagate 2TB SSHD

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