Help with first build.

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L

ls4

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Aug 21, 2013
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Hi, I'm working on my first build which I will mostly be using for StarCraft 2 and Skyrim. I've put together two builds, one Intel, one AMD. I need advice on which one I should go with. If I've made any mistakes, or there are improvements I could make without raising the price, please let me know. I'm very new to this and willing to learn. Also, is the stock fan for the i5 good enough if I'm not overclocking? Thanks in advance.
Here are the builds:

Intel
PCPartPicker part list:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($172.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.19 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($227.13 @ TigerDirect)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB Video Card ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1059.20

AMD
PCPartPicker part list:
CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme9 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($188.94 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($227.13 @ TigerDirect)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB Video Card ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1050.95
 
Solution
Sangeet Khatri
Well.. doing a bit of research I found out that :

1. Kingston KyperX 3K is just a little bit slower than 840 Pro, so get that one instead for about 25 dollars cheaper.
2. The Seasonic S12II 620W PSU is of much better quality than the EVGA Supernova, so get that instead.
3. You do not need to spend extra on a Wifi Adapter. Even the Encore one would do just as good.

Hence this is the build with some changes.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+...
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L

ls4

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Aug 21, 2013
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10,510


Thanks, I can see that the video card is better, but will the motherboard support future additions? Also, does it have wifi?
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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May 26, 2013
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This is the build I would suggest :

--> 120 GB is enough for the Operating System and hence C drive
--> Kingston Hyper 3K is much faster than the Samsung 830 SSD. 830 is really old and slow by today's standards.
--> 7970 is much better than 650 Ti Boost (650 Ti < 650 Ti Boost < 7850 < 660 < 7870 < 7950 < 760 < 7970) Quite a lot performance difference there.

--> EVGA Supernova 80 Plus Gold is a pretty good PSU
--> Corsair 300R is much better than Corsair 200R. The 200R is said to be having HDD heating issues.
--> Asus' Optical Drives are better than LG's
--> Asus M5A99FX Pro is an awesome motherboard.

So look no further. Get this build..

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($274.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.49 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1060.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-22 13:20 EDT-0400)

I hope this helps..
 
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L

ls4

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Aug 21, 2013
8
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10,510


Thanks, that looks awesome, might want 250 for the ssd though, thought it might be better to put the games on it and what with mods for skyrim, and mods for civ 4 which I didn't mention earlier, I probably need more space, judging from what's on my laptop right now. Otherwise it looks great, would still like feedback on the intel build but I could definitely see myself going with this one.

Ok, so how does this look? Figure I'll get another drive later, also it looks like the motherboard doesn't come with wireless?
Revised Build:
PCPartPicker part list:
CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($119.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($212.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($274.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.49 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1109.63
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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May 26, 2013
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Well.. there is no point in putting the games on the SSD when there is no advantage at all in the performance of the game. The games work same with or without SSD. Hence I would recommend you to not waste your money on the SSD and hence not put the games on the SSD. Use the 1TB HDD instead. It would be much better because even when games are put into the SSD the performance is exactly similar to the HDD. So why spend more?

Most of the guys buy 120GB SSD as that is the best gain in performance and for a good price. Getting a 250GB SSD at a build with budget 1000 dollars is a no brainer.
 
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L

ls4

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Aug 21, 2013
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Oh, I thought that games like skyrim did benefit from being on an ssd, shortened load screens and what not. If not then I won't bother. But then I guess I don't really understand the advantage of an ssd.
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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May 26, 2013
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SSD's do not affect game performance. The only thing they affect is the load times between the levels but that is not much important. For gaming there really is no use of a SSD. The SSD is more of a luxury thing as for the prices now. It will give you faster boot times, faster app load times, faster data transfer rate but it does not affect the gaming performance at all.. only the load times between levels are lower and that is it.

I would have no problem in recommending a build without SSD altogether. I mean you really do not need it and most guys build a PC without a SSD and spend the money in getting a better graphics card instead as that is what increases the performance and is really more useful for gaming.

Anyways if you like to have SSD, then have it but do not just remove the HDD. I mean you would run out of space soon without the HDD. It is highly recommended to get the SSD and HDD at the same time because you will start saving crap on your SSD and will start looking out the ways to clean it but you would never be able to completely remove the junk out of it. So, better get SSD and HDD at the same time.
 
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L

ls4

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Aug 21, 2013
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10,510


Roger that. I really appreciate your help. Here's what I'm looking at. I changed the case and I may just drop the ssd, I'm kind of pushing it in terms of price already. Also, I might be able to do 16 on the ram if I drop the ssd.
PCPartPicker part list:
CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($119.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($122.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($274.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N53 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.49 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1139.61
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

Honorable
May 26, 2013
2,640
1
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Well.. doing a bit of research I found out that :

1. Kingston KyperX 3K is just a little bit slower than 840 Pro, so get that one instead for about 25 dollars cheaper.
2. The Seasonic S12II 620W PSU is of much better quality than the EVGA Supernova, so get that instead.
3. You do not need to spend extra on a Wifi Adapter. Even the Encore one would do just as good.

Hence this is the build with some changes.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($274.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Encore ENEWI-1XN45 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($13.36 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($71.30 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.49 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1108.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-23 01:22 EDT-0400)

I hope this helps. Is there anything else I can help you in?
 
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Solution
L

ls4

Honorable
Aug 21, 2013
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0
10,510


Looks great, but I think I'll go with the Samsung instead of the Kingston, some people seem to have had problems with the Kingston dying within a year or so. Maybe those were just flukes but it still worries me a little. Otherwise I like the build. Really appreciate the help and I think that's what I'll go with. Not sure why no one had anything to say about Intel though.
 
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L

ls4

Honorable
Aug 21, 2013
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10,510


Will do. Thanks again for all your help. Sold an old ipod so I increase the ram. Here's the final build.

PCPartPicker part list:
CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($119.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($122.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($274.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N53 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($71.30 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1184.16
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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May 26, 2013
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Seriously, this is an awesome build. Good to see that. Really, the build is lovely..

Good to see someone building such a good build..

Will you just post the pictures after the build has been completed? I mean I would love to see what this build looks like..
 
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L

ls4

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Aug 21, 2013
8
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10,510


Will do if I can figure it out, no promises...
 
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