First time building pc

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Selina744

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Mar 24, 2013
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Hi, I'm building a pc for the first time and I have done a lot of research on the build, but would like some advice on how it looks before I throw money into it.

Budget Range: $500-700

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, watching movies, surfing internet, school projects (computer programming)

Are you buying a monitor: Not now

Do you need to buy OS: No

Location: Utah

Parts Preferences: AMD (people bash on them, but I like them)

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Additional Comments: I would like it to be able to play SC2 on high settings. I'd also like it to be able to play other games. I usually did rpgs and fps on my xbox or playstation, but I'd like to start buying them on pc.

I have my list of parts here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LVzX
 
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stickmansam

stickmansam

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Oct 30, 2011
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Made some minor changes

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: SteelSeries Zboard Wired Gaming Keyboard ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $704.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-24 18:00 EDT-0400)

No SSD build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($133.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: SteelSeries Zboard Wired Gaming Keyboard ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $673.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-24 18:31 EDT-0400)
 
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Solution
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Toms_Expert

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Mar 23, 2013
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6100 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake CLP0598 45.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1.5TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax ATX-238WU ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Raidmax 530W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($38.44 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: SteelSeries Zboard Wired Gaming Keyboard ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $659.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-24 18:10 EDT-0400)
 
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jnkweaver

jnkweaver

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Nov 11, 2011
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They are both very solid builds.

Toms_Expert isn't as this is the 4th time I told him the Raidmax is not a good PSU.
 
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jnkweaver

jnkweaver

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I can't give you current stuff but take a look at the tier levels
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx
Raidmax Tier 5 don't buy

and look at another site recommended
http://www.johnnylucky.org/power-supplies/psu-recommendations.html
raidmax no where to be found.

Most people give recommendations back to NewEgg in the first 3 months. The power supply will last that long but over time the ripples will hurt the system
One comment
Pros: 135mm fan, semi-modular, finally 12v rail heavy (20a, 17a for video cards, fans)instead of 5v (hard drive) oriented like turn of the century designs.

Cons: STILL CLAIMING OUT OF SPEC RIPPLE! 70mv is waaay too much ripple on the 3.3v and 5v line! MAX ripple by ATX specification is 50mv. High failure rate. Dual rail is NOT good for high end video cards. You are better off with a big fat single rail or shared triple rail design.

Other Thoughts: Do you want to trust a PSU that has out of spec ratings right on the side of it? Ripple will shorten the life of your components! Spend a few bucks more and at least get an Antec (not a basiq) or something! Don't buy into the "more watts the better" hype. Unless you are running quad-core with 8800 GTX in SLI you probably dont need more than a good quality 400w PSU. Bottom line: DON'T buy a cheap PSU if you want a reliable and stable system, period!

Raidmax is not a great company and until they have a slew of decent reviews I will not trust them to make a decent psu nor will I recommend them.
 
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Selina744

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Mar 24, 2013
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Ok I like the different memory options. The blue red series is cheaper, but am i loosing any quality for that? Also same with the Western Digital HD, I love the price, but I don't want something that's gonna fail on me. I've looked up the reviews on the Raidmax, and I have to agree with jnk. There's a few too many people who have owned it for a couple months and then it busts and ruins their system. I'd rather spend an extra $20 than risk it.

I also noticed that both of you picked video cards that are 2x as much. What will be the difference in gaming with those cards?
 
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jnkweaver

jnkweaver

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The green series is the power saving ones. They are usually cheaper per Gb. The blue is suppose to be their general hd. The red is for the raid/network. The black are the best ones and they have a 5 yr warranty. The problem I have with Seagate is they lower their price but are lowering their warranties to 1 yr. That tells you something about their failure rate when they have to start cutting their warranties. I like WD.
 
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Selina744

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Mar 24, 2013
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Ok that sounds good then :)

And what about the PSU? I don't wanna just grab the cheapest one. The XFX one is more expensive, but if it's much better quality I'll go with that one.
 
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stickmansam

stickmansam

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Quad cores finally doing showing in games with crysis3, the quad cores (AMD) are able to pull ahead significantly compared to the dual cores with HT (i3's) even thought the duals are faster clock for clock
Athlons are exception as they are really slower clock for clock

CPU_03.png
 
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Selina744

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Mar 24, 2013
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I found the card you were talking about. It does look pretty good and I like it more than the XFX and it has better ratings and looks like it will cool better. I think I'll go with that

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127722&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
 
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stickmansam

stickmansam

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Oct 30, 2011
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Yep thats the card I was talking about :)
Also faster too
 
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stickmansam

stickmansam

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The XFX is better but at $40 the corsair is the better deal

 
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Selina744

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Mar 24, 2013
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I built my computer :D Thank you guys so much.

But now i have another problem... i cant get a signal on my screen. I have the hooked up with an hdmi cord. Though I'm only using one stick of memory atm cause my memory is taking a long time to come in. Is that a problem?
 
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