New build for semi-gaming

[Phaetos]

Personally, I would spend the extra $10 on the memory mentioned above as it should provide a decent improvement on your gaming at a very modest cost.

As for the current monitor, not a bad choice. However the one I mentioned with slightly lower specs has both a promo code AND rebate to save you some considerable coin.

I will consider the RAM upgrade to the Ripjaws.

Thanks alot again, been a big help.

 

[mfenn]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($139.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-HD2 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($41.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Apex TX-381-C MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($41.97 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VN247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $548.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-14 15:51 EDT-0400)

My final setup. I think it will do me nicely. And it comes in under $600

Regarding RAM speed, timings, etc: When you're using a discrete GPU, the speed, timings, and dual-channel nature of your main memory don't really matter because all of the heavy streaming memory operations are happing on the GPU which has its own memory.

However, the inverse of the above means that when you have an IGP or APU, then the speed of your main memory does matter. This $70 Team DDR3 2133 kit will give you a performance boost in gaming for only $5 more. And you don't have to worry about it being 1.65V since you're running AMD.

 

[Phaetos]

new question. been reading reviews and everyone is saying the stock HSF is garbage. Any suggestions?

 

[mfenn]

new question. been reading reviews and everyone is saying the stock HSF is garbage. Any suggestions?

It isn't great, but it's good enough for stock clock operation.

 

[Phaetos]

one more final question on this. I have changed my decision on a case after reading horrible reviews of that original case listed. I have settled on this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163247

The issue is that it supports 2 x USB 3.0. The gigabyte board says it only supports USB 2.0. Is that going to be an issue to use the front panel USB, or will it work regardless?

 

[mvbighead]

one more final question on this. I have changed my decision on a case after reading horrible reviews of that original case listed. I have settled on this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163247

The issue is that it supports 2 x USB 3.0. The gigabyte board says it only supports USB 2.0. Is that going to be an issue to use the front panel USB, or will it work regardless?

I've heard front panel ONLY works with USB3.0, so no backwards compatibility. That may be different for your case. With that in mind, you're either looking at a different board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130741

Or an add in card.

 

[Phaetos]

couldn't i just use the case, and not connect the front ports? which i know defeats the purpose of them being there, but I really don't want to start switching parts around ....

or I can go with this case .... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144273 or this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811553011

 

[Phaetos]

selfish bump for reply

 

[mvbighead]

The silverstone case will be a much better quality one than those others. You definitely not use the USB ports on teh front, but I tend to find them very handy for flash drives, charging phones, etc.

Personally I would want them to work, but if you don't care... no biggy.

This case seems like it would fit the bill:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-case-vsk3000

 

[Phaetos]

antech it is then ... dunno how i missed that one while perusing the cases last night .... Thanks again guys. Much help appreciated

 

[Phaetos]

OMG! Someone stop me, please ....... I keep waffling between starting with the 8GB RAM suggested with the Team Yellow ones. My soul and brain keeps telling me to just get it over with and put 16GB in. and I have some wiggle room in the budget still.

Hit me with it ...

 

[Ken g6]

Psst...wanna buy a cheap SSD? I'd stick with 8GB.

 

[Phaetos]

Psst...wanna buy a cheap SSD? I'd stick with 8GB.

Not sure I trust SSD's yet. And the case selection doesn't have internal bays for 2.5" drives.

 

[lehtv]

Not sure I trust SSD's yet. And the case selection doesn't have internal bays for 2.5" drives.

SSD's are more reliable than hard drives.

Pretty much any 3.5" slot will support a 2.5" drive using an adapter, an since an SSD doesn't vibrate and isn't prone to failure from vibration, you can equally well just leave it lying on the floor of the case if you're not going to be moving the case around.

 

[Phaetos]

For the price, why not give one a shot and see how it goes. Thanks for that suggestion.

 

[lehtv]

For what it's worth I would not buy a 60GB drive, I'd either buy 120GB (or bigger) or keep saving and waiting for a decent sale. Sooner or later, a good quality 240GB+ drive is bound to hit $100 and a 120GB drive $60 or so, we've already seen steady decrease in their prices so far.

60GB drives perform worse than 120GB (which in turn perform worse than 240GB). More importantly, 60GB drives are also pretty bad in terms of capacity per dollar, and again 120GB drives aren't so affordable per GB than 240GB drives. Finally, you won't really be able to fit many games (if any) on a 60GB drive, even my 120GB one only holds about 20 gigs of games in addition to all the other stuff I want to have there. Yes, you'll still benefit on the desktop and using other applications, but sooner or later you'll wish you had a bigger capacity drive.

 

[shredz]

I agree with previous poster. And I would add that 60gb is getting small for me and my windows 7 installation. I just had to move my page file because I was running out of space yet again.

 

[mvbighead]

This'd be a fairly decent option:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093HMKVI/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

[Phaetos]

Errmmmmmm ..... I just noticed something. The newegg says that my Gigabyte board that will be delivered today says that it has a D-Sub, a DVI-D, and an HDMI port. Gigabyte's website, shows a different colored board for starters, and only shows that is has a D-Sub and a DVI-D, no HDMI.

NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128571

Gigabyte: http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4364#sp

What gives?

 

[Cerb]

The only difference I see is PCB color...but I'm looking at the same board . The DS2 is a different model.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128571

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4374#ov

 

[lehtv]

Gigabyte uses the HD# suffix to denote the availability of HDMI and not-low-end integrated audio, based on what I've seen anyway.

 

[Phaetos]

And it shows that there is NO HDMI on the blue colored version on Gig's website. Unless my eyes deceive me ....

 

[lehtv]

And it shows that there is NO HDMI on the blue colored version on Gig's website. Unless my eyes deceive me ....

That's because the motherboard you linked doesn't have the HD2 suffix, it has the DS2 suffix. It is a different motherboard altogether.

The motherboard linked by Cerb is also not exactly the right one. He linked the rev 1.0 of the GA-F2A55M-HD2. What you're looking for is the Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-HD2 rev 3.0.

 

[Cerb]

^ Which even explains the PCB color change.

 

[Phaetos]

Ahhhh ... thanks. I tried finding a different Rev when I was looking but it kept linking me to the DS2 for some reason. Thanks, fears diverted

ETA: Then there is this kink .....

1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096x2160
* The resolution of 4096x2160 can be supported when using an FM2+ APU; the maximum resolution supported is 1920x1200 when using an FM2 APU.

The A10-6800k is an FM2, not a FM2+, correct? If that's the case, then I will have to use the DVI-D instead ....