First Desktop Build

[anothergeek]

Hello everyone, I am having trouble deciding upon an appropriate desktop build mainly due to my lack of knowledge and a user on overclockers.com recommended that I throw up my build on here for you guys to take a look at.

I will definitely be using this build for school, and also for gaming starting with LoL, Minecraft, Skyrim and Portal, as well as other Steam games. Looking to run Windows 7/8 or Linux Mint.

Total cost right now looks to be around $930, and if anyone can identify areas and parts i am wasting money on, or ones that could be improved with just another $20 bucks or so, that would be helpful. Thinking about installing wireless network card on here as well. The max I can do is $1,000. Without further ado, the build!

Case - Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced - 154.99
PSU - Antec HCG-750 - 99.99
Processer - AMD Phenom II X4 - 129.99
Video Card - Sapphire 100358L - 104.99
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 2TB - 99.99
SSD - Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB - 139.99
Heatsink&Fan - Cooler Master RR-212E-20PK-R2 - 34.99
Motherboard - ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 - 84.99
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X series 8GB(2x4GB) - 71.99
Total - 930ish

Just looking for help! And I don't know terribly much about building a desktop, so if you could explain what I am not thinking about, that would be terrific!

Current Build

*Case - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 - 79.99 (Purchased)
*PSU - SeaSonic G Series 550W - 79.99
*Processor - Undecided
*GPU - MSI GeForce GTX 760 - 259.99
*HDD - WD Caviar Black 1TB - 89.99
SSD - Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB - 139.99
*Motherboard - Undecided
*RAM - G.Skill 8GB Ripjaws X Series - 78.28
*Optical Drive - Pioneer 15x BD/CD/DVD Burner - 59.99
Total:780ish

Final Build (Purchased Items)
Case - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 - 79.99
PSU - CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 - 37.99

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Get an FX-6300 or 6350 for the CPU. Not worth it for the X4.

Might consider a motherboard with a better VRM.

Get something better than the 7770 for gaming. You'll want it.

No need for a 750W PSU. A Corsair CX500M will be plenty for you.

 

[anothergeek]

Get an FX-6300 or 6350 for the CPU. Not worth it for the X4.

Might consider a motherboard with a better VRM.

Get something better than the 7770 for gaming. You'll want it.

No need for a 750W PSU. A Corsair CX500M will be plenty for you.

When you say VRM, what will that affect?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

The power delivered to the processor is controlled by the VRM section.

An inadequate VRM can lead to processor throttling and VRM overheating.

Look for 8+2 for any of the 125W CPUs.

 

[Theocnoob]

anothergeek- Private Message a user called Knufire and ask him to come post a build for you. He'll be able to squeeze a better cpu and video card in for the same amount of money.

 

[anothergeek]

@ATMINSIDE - I will check into another mobo with better VRM, how long would a PSU last? Could I take it 4+ years into another build or so?
@Theocnoob - thanks, I will message him in a bit!

 

[Knufire]

Can't do much right now, Internet is down so I'm stuck on mobile, sorry.

 

[anothergeek]

Can't do much right now, Internet is down so I'm stuck on mobile, sorry.

Thanks for being willing too!

 

[ATMINSIDE]

@ATMINSIDE - I will check into another mobo with better VRM, how long would a PSU last? Could I take it 4+ years into another build or so?
@Theocnoob - thanks, I will message him in a bit!

The PSU can last quite a while if you get a quality unit.

 

[anothergeek]

@ATMINSIDE
What would you use if you spent up to $200 on a video card?

 

[Knufire]

Why limit your budget to $200? You trap yourself if you do that...you could easily cut money elsewhere (RAM/PSU/case) and get a solid GPU.

 

[anothergeek]

I thought that ram was where you wanted a lot of power? But that is very true, I didn't think of that as trapping until now.

 

[Knufire]

Nah, RAM is rather trivial actually. CPU and GPU is what defines performance, moreso GPU if we're just talking about gaming.

 

[anothergeek]

Nah, RAM is rather trivial actually. CPU and GPU is what defines performance, moreso GPU if we're just talking about gaming.

Its mostly going to be gaming, the most difficult thing other than that might be running a 3D renderer in 2 years when I should be upgrading anyways. Until then it will be mostly gaming. What will the CPU affect if I change the GHz in terms of how my desktop runs? Will it be a big difference more in the GHz or the core count? In other words is it better to have more cores, or higher GHz?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I'd recommend a GTX760 for a GPU right now. Its $250 and doing great.

 

[anothergeek]

I'd recommend a GTX760 for a GPU right now. Its $250 and doing great.

What different games are you running with it?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Look at benchmarks, I'm running a 770.

For 1080p, the 760 will run all games except maybe Crysis 3 and Metro Last Light at highest settings with AA.

 

[anothergeek]

Look at benchmarks, I'm running a 770.

For 1080p, the 760 will run all games except maybe Crysis 3 and Metro Last Light at highest settings with AA.

Thanks! Sorry for all of these questions. Just learning what all of these different things do is kinda difficult.

 

[wonko]

Don't apologize! This is the place to go for questions, and I've found a lot of help here.

If I were building a $1,000 rig (not including OS), here's what I would do:

Case - Corsair C70 - $120.33: http://tinyurl.com/kcy39rx
PSU - SeaSonic G Series 550W - $79.99: http://tinyurl.com/mx4djdy
Mobo - ASUS Z87 Pro - $199.99: http://tinyurl.com/kjtnoc9
CPU - Intel i5-4570 $199.29: http://tinyurl.com/kuv4n8k
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws 2x4GB - $78.28:http://tinyurl.com/mcnkfmm
Video - GTX 760 - $249.99: http://tinyurl.com/khzsw3z
HDD - WD Black 1TB - $89.99: http://tinyurl.com/lmvl5r9
Optical - LG Blu Ray - $69.95: http://tinyurl.com/m2htt9s

Total Price: $997.82

I didn't shop around. I just looked on Amazon. All of those are Prime-qualified which means free shipping if you're a Prime member.

Don't worry about an after-market heatsink and fan. The one Intel includes with their CPU is specifically designed to cool it and you don't need anything different if you're not overclocking.

Put your money into the graphics card, mobo and the CPU for gaming. Memory is great, but you don't need to max out your mobo and you don't need to get ultra-high performance RAM either.

For the PSU, buy a quality PSU and it'll last for quite a while. Look for 5 year warranties.

For the mobo, look at USB 3.0 and SATA III.

For the case, you want it to be roomy for good airflow and so you can add fans, etc. later. I like Corsair because I think the build quality is great and this case is a nice one, and not horrendously expensive.

I skipped the SSD, because while those are great, I think it's better to spend the money on higher-quality stuff everywhere else and add the SSD later.

Each one of those parts are made by high-quality and well-known manufacturers with good warranties and reputations.

Thoughts?

 

[wonko]

*New Build as of 7/28 10:05AM PT

*Case - Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower - 89.99
*PSU - Corsair CX500M - 69.99
*Processor - AMD FX-6350 - 139.99
*Video Card - MSI GTX 760 - 259.99
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 2TB - 99.99
SSD - Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB - 139.99
Heatsink&Fan - Cooler Master RR-212E-20PK-R2 - 34.99
*Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3 - 109.99
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X series 8GB(2x4GB) - 71.99
Total: 1,016

You're looking at an AMD CPU and NVidia GPU. Generally, you want Intel/NVidia or AMD/ATI when you're matching parts. (My opinion... probably no basis in reality... LOL. But, AMD bought ATI, so it feels like they should be matched.)