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EXAMINE my potential rig

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Idol123

New Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2013
Hello, I am pretty new to building computers and this is my first potential full project i am planning.

My aim is to build a mid-range gaming desktop AMD rig with the potential for improvement and alteration over time. I have done a lot of reading around the subject and have previously owned a mid range gaming computer which i had custom made by Cyberpower. Wanting to construct a desktop from scratch not having replaced anything more than a power supply and graphics card in the past means i feel liable to make pretty serious mistakes when constructing the machine so any advice is highly appreciated from you guys!

Here is a list of the components i plan to use to build the rig and where i am sourcing them from. Also below the list i have included a list of questions im unsure of.

Finally, thanks for the advice you guys give even if its just scrap that and start again any feedback is appreciated!

Component list:

Tower & Power Supply:
VANTAGE TYPE-R GAMING PC CASE BLACK 750 WATT PSU 4 RED LED FANS CARD READER (£60.39)
http://www.freshtechsolutions.co.uk...-750-watt-psu-4-red-led-fans-card-reader.html


Motherboard:
MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (£52.76)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637

CPU:
AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4170FRGUBOX (£82.44)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106009


RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL (£36.93)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Graphics card:
ASUS HD7770-2GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 2GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (£105.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121642

Total cost: £338.51


Questions in particular:
- are all of my components compatible with each other?
- will i need to purchase anything else (e.g. sound card) not including mouse and keyboard :p
- is my tower a mid tower or full?
- are there any areas you would improve upon whilst saving money at the same time or through value for money means?
- what else do i need to configure in to my setup (e.g. CPU cooler?)
 
Last edited:
This is a hard one, first of all toss the PSU that comes with the Tower. Buy a seperate, high quality PSU from Corsair or Seasonic or Enermax.
I don't know the mainboard, would have to google to find out what series that is.
Besides Intel is better for gaming than AMD.
My second question would be, can't you save a bit more money or give us a higher budget? I personally see no point in building a "mid"-range gaming PC. Save a bit more so you can build a PC that lasts you some years.
I assume you play 1080p only, not more?
 
Hey, welcome to OCF! :beer:

When trying to recommend a build to you, there's some information that's extremely helpful for us to know. If you could answer these few short questions, we'd be happy to help!

  • What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.
  • What is your budget?
    1. Does this include a copy of Windows?
    2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
  • Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?
    1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
    2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?
  • Do you have any specific requests with the build?
    1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
    2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
    3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
    4. In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
    5. Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.

Once again, thank you in advance for taking the time to answer these, and I hope you enjoy your stay at OCF! :)
 
Ah yes definitly!

What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.
The computer is orientated for high end gaming but really trying to not waste money, however as IDKFA stated if it needs to be spent then i am willing to extent the budget.

What is your budget?
For the rig alone (just the components i would hope for less than £600, however this is flexible)

Does this include a copy of Windows?
No

Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
No

Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?
Im from the UK, however newegg.com seems to be an excellent supplier and comes out on top in terms of prices from what i can see so may be sourcing the majority of components from there.

Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
http://www.newegg.com/ is my main source, however http://www.freshtechsolutions.co.uk/ also plays a role for the tower
ebay seems to have some good deals i am tempted by, but weary

If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?
-

Do you have any specific requests with the build?
I would also light some lights etc to be Incorporated into the design and am a big fan of extra gadgets, but these are not included in the budget and would most likely be a future addition

Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
I have overclocked 20% in the past and had no trouble with it so would be willing to do so again if possible.

Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
Im not particularly bothered, i would prefer a larger build for future work on it

Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
Yes, i would like additional features to be encourporated for this aspect, however am purely focusing on the components to start with

In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
continuous upgrading

Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.
Sounds like an excellent opportunity i didnt know about previously. Yes
 
This is a hard one, first of all toss the PSU that comes with the Tower. Buy a seperate, high quality PSU from Corsair or Seasonic or Enermax.
I don't know the mainboard, would have to google to find out what series that is.
Besides Intel is better for gaming than AMD.
My second question would be, can't you save a bit more money or give us a higher budget? I personally see no point in building a "mid"-range gaming PC. Save a bit more so you can build a PC that lasts you some years.
I assume you play 1080p only, not more?

A brilliant, yes i was skeptical about the power supply but again the price drew me automatically, i will purchase a seperate power supply then.

i was curious what the difference really was between intel and AD in the first place as both seemed viable options, what make intel better in your opinion?

1080p is what i have been gaming at yes
 
Newegg, as far as I know, does not ship to the UK. You do have several English websites that sell computer parts, the best being Scan.co.uk.

Intel is superior, yes, but outside of your budget range. This is low-mid end gaming, you could easily see significant performance gains for another 400 or 500 pounds of budget.

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