My first build

"What are you planning to do with this computer? Please be as specific as possible."

I am looking for a multi-purpose pc that has plenty of power to spare. I need to run multiple virtual machines and compile code as well as do some gaming like Starcraft 2 and Skyrim.


"What is your budget?"

I don't want to go much over $1100. The only peripherals I need will be a monitor (which will probably be cheaper at Microcenter then anywhere else).


"Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?"

I am from the United States. I will be going to college at Colorado School of Mines so I should be able to get to the Microcenter in Denver though I would have to wait until August (I live in Alaska).


"Do you have any specific requests with the build?"

I would like to overclock though I don't plan on breaking any records. Basically just to whatever runs stable and doesn't put too much strain on the cooling. I will be living in a dorm so I can't have it sound like a jet engine but it doesn't have to be silent. I don't think I will ever utilize SLI. An Nvidia GPU is necessary as Nvidia has much better linux drivers that ATI.



Case: Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbi...69810616&sr=1-4&keywords=corsair+carbide+300r
($78.00)

Motherboard: AS Rock Extreme4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157294
($129.99)

RAM: 16GB CORSAIR VENGEANCE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233386
($121.99)

SDD: 128GB Samsung 840 PRO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192
($139.99)

HDD: 1TB Seagate SV35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148912
($89.99)

CPU: i7 4770k or i7 3770k, whatever looks like the better deal once Haswell comes out.

GPU: The thing I'm struggling with most. I just don't know what performance difference there is between a 660 ti, 670, or 680. Right now I'm leaning towards a 760 ti (whenever they come out) which I heard is a 670 processor with a little bit more oomph. I really don't know though.

PSU: I have no idea. What do you recommend?

Cooling: Again, I have no idea. I REALLY REALLY don't want to burn up any parts. I won't be overclocking much, just to whatever I can get without stressing things too far.


So, any problems you see? Any major bottlenecks?

Also whats the deal with warranties? If I order from Newegg or Amazon, does the manufacturer still cover defective parts? Is it a bad idea to order parts from Amazon?


Thanks for reading

You will be a few hundred dollars over budget with your current build.

You will also want a good aftermarket CPU cooler so add another $80.

In terms of warranty the manufacturer should cover it, however it's sometimes the seller for the first 30 days.

Diddykong, a "good" CPU cooler is $30. Look up the Xigmatek Gaia or Hyper 212 Evo. That's what I'd recommend for this build as long as it'll clear the case side.

For PSU, I'd recommend around a 500W off of our preferred list (its stickied). Also, modular PSUs make cable routing much easier.

to OCF!

For what you aim to do (virtual machine, code running and some games), you have two choices: an i7 (~300$) or a FX 8320 (~150$) which will provide you the same (or even better) performance in applications and similar performances to an i5 in games.

Since your budget is limited (but still honest! ), I would recommend the FX 8320.
For cooling, as it has already been mentionned, the Hyper 212 Evo is a solid choice for a budget oriented build.

For the motherboard, since you plan going overclocking, the gigabyte 990FX UD5 is also a solid choice (~150$)

The sweetest point I've found for OC with a FX 8320 is around 4.3/4.4 GHz: performance doesn't scale well past that kind of frequency, power consumption start increasing faster and faster.

Typical power consumption at 4.3GHz during heavy use is around 130W (I've found the TDP for this CPU a hell overestimated ).

There are no significative difference in use between a 660Ti/670/680, more or less 10FPS. You can play everything maxed with comfortable FPS thanks to a 660Ti .

The SSD I propose is not as good as the Samsung 840Pro but good enough for your all-day use (as long as you don't do 24/7 enormous file transfer on the SSD).

1600MHz RAM speed is fast enough, past this limit, tighter timings are more important. The crucial RAM I propose you has tight timing for reasonable price even if you don't plan OCing the RAM.
If you can afford going for the 840 Pro though, I recommend you to take it

For the PSU:
FX 8320 @4.3GHz ~130W
660Ti ~ 150W
SSD + HDD + MOBO + RAM + ODD + fans~45W

total ~ 325W

A good 430W PSU (with 300W on the 12V rail) would be perfect. The CX 430 (336W on the 12V rail) is a rock-solid choice.

I think that's it ^^'

Fornoob, you made me want that build

Only thing I would change is the SSD. Not sure about Plextor.

The Plextor M5Pro (not Extreme!!lol) is exceptionnal (even better than the 840 Pro because better consistancy and performance remains almost exactly the same with time).
The M5S is a cheaper version, comparable to the Crucial M4 in performances but still good quality

The issue with Plextor is that their best pieces of hardware are just unaffordable for most of us

WOW thanks for the feedback .

I like the fractal design case and the ram is a much better deal. I just ordered an 840 pro ssd for my laptop so I'll see how it performs before making a decision on that. 660 (or 760) ti seems like the way to go.

I don't know if I want to go AMD CPU though. The extra cores are nice but little software and hardly any games actually use the extra cores. The i7 also has hyperthreading. I'm not a fanboy of Intel but much of what I've read puts AMD CPUs significantly behind Intel.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-overclocking-gaming,3440-12.html
This is comparing an i5 3750k to an AMD FX-8350

An i7 3770k is $249.00 on amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-3770...=UTF8&qid=1369864425&sr=8-1&keywords=i7+3770k

The i7 4770k is supposed to be about $330. With the ASRock extreme 4 mobo and the i7 4770k, total price would be about $1200. (I found some lower prices than fornoob).

Thanks again

The extra cores really come into play when multitasking. I'm definitely glad I'm running the 6 core 1100T instead of the 2500k.

I wouldn't be running more than three VMs at a time, more often two or one and they wouldn't be used for intensive purposes just when I need linux tools and am working in windows. I just don't know..... It seems like the extra power of the Haswell combined with hyperthreading would offset the additional cores even while multitasking. I haven't heard rumors of AMD offering a new line of processors until 2014.

From what i understand, hyperthreading makes each physical core run at about 2/3 power but gives each core an additional virtualized core also running at 2/3 power. I'm just kind of worried about running out of power when gaming or doing intensive processes from single applications where the extra cores of the AMD wouldn't help.

newjersian1 said:

WOW thanks for the feedback .

I like the fractal design case and the ram is a much better deal. I just ordered an 840 pro ssd for my laptop so I'll see how it performs before making a decision on that. 660 (or 760) ti seems like the way to go.

I don't know if I want to go AMD CPU though. The extra cores are nice but little software and hardly any games actually use the extra cores. The i7 also has hyperthreading. I'm not a fanboy of Intel but much of what I've read puts AMD CPUs significantly behind Intel.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-overclocking-gaming,3440-12.html
This is comparing an i5 3750k to an AMD FX-8350

An i7 3770k is $249.00 on amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-3770...=UTF8&qid=1369864425&sr=8-1&keywords=i7+3770k

The i7 4770k is supposed to be about $330. With the ASRock extreme 4 mobo and the i7 4770k, total price would be about $1200. (I found some lower prices than fornoob).

Thanks again

Click to expand...

Never trust only one review and synthetic benchmarks are never gospell

A lot of feedback on the FX 8320 has come from the CPU's owner: it is way better than said in many (not every) reviews.

An example (not the best one, but coherent with what is observed in real world).
For virtual machines, additionnal cores are a blessing: you can run them on 4 cores and keep 4 cores for gaming.
Most applications are multithreated now, even if it doesn't scale well past 4-6 cores, you still see an improvement.
Hyperthreading is nice but basically, what it does is splitting physical cores into two logical ones. 2/3 is the best scaling you're going to see with it, it is often well under that.
AMD cores are coupled (it is more 4*2cores than a real 8 cores), so you're close from an already hyperthreaded CPU
Difference would come from the architecture more than hyperthreading

Intel CPU suffer more (or toe to toe) than the FX 8320 when gaming while running multithreaded applications. Regarding monothreaded applications while gaming, I've never tested: what kind of monothreaded applications do you use?

Something else that I want to avoid is AMD coming out with a new CPU in six months... I know that Haswell will be the best Intel has to offer until the series after Ivy Bridge-e (since there is no way that I can justify an Ivy Bridge-e). Honestly, I would like to have the best and I am willing to spend a hundred or two more for it.

newjersian1 said:

Something else that I want to avoid is AMD coming out with a new CPU in six months... I know that Haswell will be the best Intel has to offer until the series after Ivy Bridge-e (since there is no way that I can justify an Ivy Bridge-e). Honestly, I would like to have the best and I am willing to spend a hundred or two more for it.

Click to expand...

Haswell doesn't seem to be a huge improvement compared to Ivy Bridge (~5%) from what I've read.
But let's be honest: if you do want the best CPU in most cases, take an i7 but you will be way out of budget (for the MOBO, an Asrock Z77 extreme 4 or 6 if you go Ivy bridge, or wait for the Z87 if you go haswell).
If you are a little more budget concerned, the FX 8320 is definitely a good choice you shouldn't regret.

It is up to you

I'll think about it some more. I probably wont be able to build until august so i have plenty of time.

Thank you all for your wonderful help.