Noob building a gaming pc, need help

[tonyz3t]

Hi this is my first time building a pc and i really needed some help, Ive spent a few weeks researching how to build gaming PC's and adequate parts and here is what ive come up with so far:

Eight core amd FX-8350 processor: $189.15

ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS or GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard : $139.99

Corsair Vengeance Blue 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CML4GX3M2A1600C9B): $39.99

MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card N660 TF 2GD5/OC: $204.99

WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache - WD10EZEX: $72.37

I dont want anything too hardcore just something that can run pretty much any game i throw at it.

My budget for the rig is $700 not including any fans or case or that kind of stuff.

I plan to spend $50 max for the budget and help finding one would be appreciated

I do plan on overclocking the rig and dont know whether or not this motherboard is adequate enough.

I also dont know whether or not i need to buy a sound card or a network card for this. I've heard that most new mother boards dont require a sound card or a network card.

any help is much appreciated!

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Here are some general ideas:

Switch to Intel, much more bang for buck.
So get an i5 3570K (if you're over clocking), if not, i5 3450 or 3470 depending on which is cheaper.

If you're over clocking, you'll need a Z77 chip set board. If not, H77 or B75 will do.

You may want to up the ram to a 2x4gb set, the cheapest set will be fine

Also please fill out sticky.

 

[DSF]

Welcome Tony!

Before we get started, please answer the questions you find in this thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

You can copy them into your post here and then fill in your answers. You've already answered some of them, but I'm not totally clear on what you mean. For example, you say you have a $700 budget for everything but the case and fans, and I'm not sure how much you're willing to spend on those.

A better approach, especially for the inexperienced, is to determine what your overall budget is and then let us help you maximize your bang for buck.

 

[tonyz3t]

Welcome Tony!

Before we get started, please answer the questions you find in this thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

You can copy them into your post here and then fill in your answers. You've already answered some of them, but I'm not totally clear on what you mean. For example, you say you have a $700 budget for everything but the case and fans, and I'm not sure how much you're willing to spend on those.

A better approach, especially for the inexperienced, is to determine what your overall budget is and then let us help you maximize your bang for buck.

I've read through the link you posted and here are my answers:

1. My pc will be mainly used for gaming and maybe some basic video editing

2. My budget for the PC excluding case and fan is about $ and maybe another $100 for the case and fans

3.i will be purchasing my parts from Canada and places online aswell

4. Other than Canada I will be mainly purchasing my parts from online (amazon, tiger direct, newegg) so I don't exactly know where they will be coming from, most likely the US though

5. I prefer AMD over intel generally just because intel processors can get a little pricey, and I will be getting the nVidia GTX 660, however I am open for anything better as long as its in the price range

6. I have a fan and a disk drive from an old rig that I will be using

7. I do plan on over clocking the system

8. Will probably be playing on a 1920x1080 resolution

9. I plan on building within the next 2-3 weeks

Thanks for helping!

 

[xXdragonbatXX]

AMD processor is fine. I have a FX 6300 and it runs very well. Been playing a lot of Crysis 3. I would recommend the WD Black 1TB and maybe budget a SSD if you want your computer to run faster. 8GB ram is a must for a gaming computer. If you want to edit videos and play games go for 16GB of RAM.

If you wanting to spend $250-300(no clue how the transfer into Canadian money) on a graphics card, get the Radeon HD 7950 3GB. I got 60fps on Crysis 3 which is a heavy game.

You can get good cases for $60(again not sure how much that is in Canadian money, sorry).

 

[DSF]

I think I mentioned it in my post above, but I would strongly resist setting aside specific chunks of the budget for specific pieces.

I'm making an assumption here, which is that your priority is to get the highest performance you can get on your budget. If so, $100 for case and fans is probably wasted money. You can get a solid entry-level case for about half that most of the time, and you will likely not need extra fans. If you do, you can get a decent one for $10 or less. The problem is that setting the case budget separate from the rest of the box railroads you into spending $100 on that piece of the machine even if the money could be better utilized elsewhere.

Basically you're looking at taking mfenn's mid-range build here, and tweaking it to fit your budget and what's available where you shop:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841

Most likely you'll do some combination of these in order to get under budget:
- Step down the video card a notch or notch and a half at the most.
- Step the CPU and motherboard down a little bit if you're willing to forego overclocking. (Real overclocking will require spending a little bit more on a cooler, which cuts into your budget even more.)
- Skip the SSD.
- Find a deal on small but high-quality PSU (500-550W is plenty for your situation.)
- Skip the DVD burner if you can live without one in the short term. It's one of the easiest things to buy and install later.

 

[Cerb]

Get 8GB of RAM, as 4x4GB. Don't go for less than 8GB. IMO, get a 4-slot mobo, so that if your video editing eats up the 8GB, you can add another of the same SKU to the 3rd and 4th slots (not generally a worry for a pure gaming build).

The CPU+mobo are as expensive as a good Intel setup. If you're going AMD to save money, then save money. An FX-6300, with a good <=$80 mobo, could be pretty nice, especially with a little overclocking. At $330+ for mobo+CPU alone, that's almost as much as going with an i5-3570K.

I also dont know whether or not i need to buy a sound card or a network card for this. I've heard that most new mother boards dont require a sound card or a network card.

They do not. We often get sound cards due to it being extremely rare that the analog output of onboard sound does not sound like a machine shop. But, the functionality is there, and the consumer sound card market is much smaller than it once was.

--

Tentatively, I'd look into parts like these:
FX-6300*: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819113286
2x4GB G.Skill DDR3-1600: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820231314

ASRock 970 PRO3: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813157364
MSI 970A-G43: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813130679

* note the -$8 mobo combo, if you order from Newegg.ca

That would be $272+s&h, for mobo, CPU, and RAM. Compared to an i5, it might be OK, with some overclocking. Compared to an i3, it's righteous. I have done no work, BTW, to try to find the best prices, so you might be able to shave more off.

Oh, yeah, video card:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814121664
Do the rebate card thing.

Also, please list all parts--actual part names/models--that you plan to carry over, and the single, total, budget. Parts like case, aftermarket HSF, etc., are coming from the same pool of money. They should be able to be selected and compared by their merits, rather than, "I'll get $100 worth of that."

 

[Essence_of_War]

Check-out mfenn's midrange system builders guide

You can tweak it as appropriate for you, and it has an eye turned explicitly to price/performance. It's also overclock ready.

To get it into your budget, cut the SSD, and downgrade the GPU from a 7970 to a 7790 or a 650 Ti Boost.

That should get you to ~700 USD, and get you solid performance at 1920x1080. You'll probably even be able to upgrade the gpu later if you'd like without being cpu bound.

 

[Cerb]

The CPU+mobo is around $90 CAD more than a FX-6300 combo, based on the best OC-friendly combo I could find quickly (ASRock Z77M+3570K), and mfenn's build is purely hardware, so $99 less than the final cost. So it won't actually be $700, even keeping USD comparisons, because those prices rely on discounts that aren't matched up in the land of decent chain donut shops (why did Dunkin' have to go downhill? Why doesn't Tim Horton's invade the US?).

The OP really needs to offer a budget, and list what parts can be transferred. For around $800 CAD total, I'm pretty sure a FX-6300, 660 2GB, and a Hyper212+ for CPU overclocking, can fit in the budget, along with a Corsair 500w PSU (for OC headroom). If not, it would be awfully close to that.

 

[DSF]

Off topic, but Timmy Ho's has made some inroads into the U.S. I know there are a couple in northern states. I'd love to see some in the Mid-Atlantic.

 

[tonyz3t]

Thanks for replying guys, the reason I have a separate budget for case and fans is because my dad is willing to pay for those, so I decided to put most of my money to the system only.

I've looked more into this and will definitely be upgrading to 8gb of ram.

I've also decided that I would use this system for gaming only as I have a laptop that I can use for video editing

And I thought since I do have 700 to spare I might aswell invest in the 8350 although the fx 6300 does look like it can do the job.

Pease keep replying as I will be reading, the help is much appreciated!

 

[mango123]

wow, some pretty horrible advice here in this build thread.

dont pay that much for some AMD pos.

3570/3570k, cheapest z77 board u can find...
all you need is 4gb ram, most games cant utilize more than 2gb system memory.
cheapest HD u can get...
pair up with 7950 which are getting pretty cheap nowadays.

done.

you don't need a SSD for gaming.

you also do not need 8gb of ram for gaming.

you ALSO don't want to get an AMD chip if your sole focus is gaming.

that should get you running plenty at 60fps.

please refer to anandbench to compare vidcards to vid and cpu to cpu.

intel often more than doubles gameplay framerates over AMD.

don't get me wrong, not Intel fanboi here, try and buy AMD when i can ( refger to gpu on specs)

AMD is just a dud lately. (cpu wise.)

 

[Cerb]

wow, some pretty horrible advice here in this build thread.

dont pay that much for some AMD pos.

3570/3570k, cheapest z77 board u can find...
all you need is 4gb ram, most games cant utilize more than 2gb system memory.
cheapest HD u can get...
pair up with 7950 which are getting pretty cheap nowadays.

done.

An i5-3570K, Z77 mobo, and HD 7950 leaves the OP with about $100 for RAM, HDD, ODD, OS, and PSU. That's not remotely done.

If the OP's budget, as described, could fit the FX-8350, I'd have recommended a Core i5-3570K to start with. Unless there's much more that the $700 CAD won't have to pay for, like HDD+ODD, or OS, I don't think it can fit such a CPU, without trading the faster CPU for a much slower video card.

I'm thinking it's really more like FX-4300 v. FX-6300 v. i3-3220 v. i3-3240, rather than FX-8350 v. i5-3570K.

You may not need 8GB, but you won't want to go back to 4GB after you have more, and it's $30. No gaming PC's budget is that tight .

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for replying guys, the reason I have a separate budget for case and fans is because my dad is willing to pay for those, so I decided to put most of my money to the system only.

I don't see why this matters. If your dad is willing to pay $100 towards your budget, that is great, but I don't see why it has to be for specific parts.

Also, do you need an OS license?

 

[mnewsham]

I don't see why it has to be for specific parts.

parents aren't always reasonable.

 

[xXdragonbatXX]

AMD isn't bad. You can do intel if you got the money but when you have a budget you get a budget processor that runs everything fine.

Not on this site but on a site I can't remember of the top of my head if you OC the 6300 is runs almost identical to the i5 so why spend 170 on a i5 when a 6300 is $130 and does the same thing?

 

[Cerb]

(...) so why spend 170 on a i5 when a 6300 is $130 and does the same thing?

I was unable to find anything like the -$50-80 combos that NE.com (U.S.) has for the i5-3570K at NE.ca, so the i5 looks much more like $210, to me.

 

[xXdragonbatXX]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4904562&sku=A79-8351

 

[Cerb]

AMD 6300 is $130 on newegg. Runs almost identical to i5 and is phenomenal with games.

I agree ($132 w/ combo), and I think that's the ideal candidate for the budget, especially if light overclocking is included.

The thing is, the i5-3570K isn't as cheap as $170, that I can find. You can get it for around that effective price here, with deals on parts that would have been good candidates w/o the combo, but I couldn't find such deals at Amazon.ca or Newegg.ca.

 

[mnewsham]

Not on this site but on a site I can't remember of the top of my head if you OC the 6300 is runs almost identical to the i5 so why spend 170 on a i5 when a 6300 is $130 and does the same thing?

Does that including OC'ing an i5? the 3570K can fairly easily hit 4-4.5Ghz on air cooling.

 

[xXdragonbatXX]

A overclock model of the i5 plus a after market cpu cooler is well over $200 sooooo spend $130 on a AMD 6300

 

[mnewsham]

A overclock model of the i5 plus a after market cpu cooler is well over $200 sooooo spend $130 on a AMD 6300

depends on what you plan on doing, if we are going to go that route get the cheapest CPU you can buy, I am talking pure price for performance, the i5 is your winner there.

 

[xXdragonbatXX]

6300 performs same as i5 with more cores.

 

[mnewsham]

6300 performs same as i5 with more cores.

No i am sorry, you are wrong, in almost every case the i5 is superior, and in some cases by a large margin. The i5 also has a higher over clocking headroom 4.5-5ghz with liquid cooling 4.2-4.5 on air cooling. the FX-6300 can get some high OC too, but because intel cores are more powerful at the same clock the Intel i5 remains firmly in the lead.

 

[xXdragonbatXX]

I'll stick with amd