Hardware CPU + motherboard for $400 suggestions

[DarkFlare69]

I kind of have some ideas for $400 CPU + motherboard (+RAM if my current RAM won't work) combos and I'd like to hear some opinions

Current system

Spoiler

FX 8320 CPU
Gigabyte 970 Gaming motherboard
8GB DDR3-1600MHz 240pin PC3-12800 RAM
GTX 960 GPU
500GB SSD (primary)
1TB HDD (games)
1TB HDD (backup)
ATX case
550w PSU

Possible combos:

Ryzen 7 1700 ($268) + ASUS Prime A320M-K ($64) + G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 8GB 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2800 (PC4 22400) ($66) = $398

Ryzen 5 1600 ($218) + more expensive motherboard (<$116) + G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 8GB 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2800 (PC4 22400) ($66) = >$284

i7 7700k ($295) + motherboard if anyone suggests one. Keep in mind if my RAM won't fit that'll need to be factored into the cost.

If anyone else has other suggestions, then I'll take those into consideration. I want the Ryzen 7 1700 because 8 physical cores will likely be better for streaming and recording gameplay, while the i7 7700k only has 4, but has hyperthreading so that's a bonus. The Ryzen 5 1600 seems to be in the middle and from what I hear has slightly stronger single core performance against the 1700.

I'll be using this for daily use (Internet, YouTube, programming, and other light use tasks), some video editing (not 4k, just 1080p60), gaming (GTA 5 and Watch Dogs are 2 games I play that are very CPU intensive and not so graphically intense, so the 960 won't bottleneck very much in these games), and gaming + recording/streaming at the same time (I put this seperate from gaming because streaming will add a big load onto the CPU and it's worth mentioning that I want something that can handle games well either way).

Thanks for reading

 

[Futurdreamz]

RYZEN 3 has four cores and is $130 or so iirc, so maybe that's a consideration? It's equiv to an i3

 

[nero99]

swap the 8gb ddr4 int he ryzen 1600 for 16gb and youll have a very decent rig. I use a ryzen 1600 overclocked to 4GHz, 32gb of ram because that kit was on sale at the time, and a ASROCK X370 Killer SLI/Crossfire mobo. What you want to do ith the ddr4 is get high frequency ram, it makes a big difference.

 

[Deleted User]

MSI B350 Arctic is a good motherboard for $80+, I suggest grabbing it, especially for Ryzen.

 

[Small Kat]

The 1600 is excellent for your uses, and with the great stock cooler that it comes with, you can overclock it and the ram to get the best performance. Asus has the best motherboards for overclocking since they have less bugs in the bios and more statbility in overclocking

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/d3mNjc

(Ryzen 1600, Asus B350 PLUS ATX, Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB 3200 mhz)

DDR3 ram isent compatible with ryzen and the intel i7 though.

(P.S. For $40 more, you can get 16gb instead of 8gb.)

(P.P.S. Anything less than 3000mhz in ram and there'll be a slight difference in fps.)

 

[DarkFlare69]

The 1600 is excellent for your uses, and with the great stock cooler that it comes with, you can overclock it and the ram to get the best performance. Asus has the best motherboards for overclocking since they have less bugs in the bios and more statbility in overclocking

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/d3mNjc

(Ryzen 1600, Asus B350 PLUS ATX, Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB 3200 mhz)

DDR3 ram isent compatible with ryzen and the intel i7 though.

(P.S. For $40 more, you can get 16gb instead of 8gb.)

(P.P.S. Anything less than 3000mhz in ram and there'll be a slight difference in fps.)

I went with this, except I got 16GB for a little bit extra. Thanks

 

[Small Kat]

I went with this, except I got 16GB for a little bit extra. Thanks

Awsome!
There are some easy guides on how to overclock ryzen, and on youtube, paul's hardware has a very simple and excellent guide to do so.

 

[DarkFlare69]

Awsome!
There are some easy guides on how to overclock ryzen, and on youtube, paul's hardware has a very simple and excellent guide to do so.

Yes, I've done basic overclocking before so I can probably handle this.

The CPU came today and the motherboard and ram will come within 4-7 days

 

[DarkFlare69]

Awsome!
There are some easy guides on how to overclock ryzen, and on youtube, paul's hardware has a very simple and excellent guide to do so.

If you (or anyone) knows anything about this topic, what will happen after installing windows 7 on it (assuming i have a ps/2 mouse)? I hear no driver support, but what will that actually affect? Will USB 3.0 ports and stuff not work, and what else?

 

[Futurdreamz]

If you (or anyone) knows anything about this topic, what will happen after installing windows 7 on it (assuming i have a ps/2 mouse)? I hear no driver support, but what will that actually affect? Will USB 3.0 ports and stuff not work, and what else?

http://www.anandtech.com/show/11182/how-to-get-ryzen-working-on-windows-7-x64

 

[Small Kat]

If you (or anyone) knows anything about this topic, what will happen after installing windows 7 on it (assuming i have a ps/2 mouse)? I hear no driver support, but what will that actually affect? Will USB 3.0 ports and stuff not work, and what else?

Well i got 3 options for you.
1. Go for windows 10, most windows 7 programs support it and the ps/2 mouse, the motherboard has a port for it in the back IO. (The ports on the back.)
2. Ask help in subreddit r/buildapc, that has people way smarter than me. (I learned from them.)
3. Try what futurdreamz told you. (Although I wouldn't try it.)

To answer your question, ryzen isn't supported for windows 7, only 10, windows 7 drivers dont have support for usb 3.0, and other new features.

 

[migles]

the cheapest mobo you can find, spend the rest in the cpu.
you just have to make sure the chipset matches
there is no real point in getting a "gaming" board or anything like that, doesn't impact the performance.

 

[DarkFlare69]

Well i got 3 options for you.
1. Go for windows 10, most windows 7 programs support it and the ps/2 mouse, the motherboard has a port for it in the back IO. (The ports on the back.)
2. Ask help in subreddit r/buildapc, that has people way smarter than me. (I learned from them.)
3. Try what futurdreamz told you. (Although I wouldn't try it.)

To answer your question, ryzen isn't supported for windows 7, only 10, windows 7 drivers dont have support for usb 3.0, and other new features.

I'll probably go with Windows 10. But for now I have another question

I put it together and it says 3200MHz as the speed, but it says 2133MHz in the name. I bought 3200MHz and it says that on both the box and ram itself, so I'm wondering why it's showing up as different speeds

 

[Small Kat]

I'll probably go with Windows 10. But for now I have another question

I put it together and it says 3200MHz as the speed, but it says 2133MHz in the name. I bought 3200MHz and it says that on both the box and ram itself, so I'm wondering why it's showing up as different speeds

Lol, i forgot. 2133 is normal speed but anything above that is overclocking. So you have to enable X.M.P. in your bios settings and overclock(raise the speed) your ram to 3200.

You should've seen the video that i've told you, it mentions overlocking the memory.

Here ill link it for you.



The guide is really helpful for any questions.

But anything else, the people at r/buildapc is smarter than me and they can help you if I can't.

Edit: Also any type of overclocking can not be stable so you need a OS to test if the overclock is stable. I'd recommend installing a OS first, then try to overclock.