Final list of parts for my first build - any advice?

Cheaper motherboard and it should perform about the same: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_803&products_id=22891

With the saved money from the motherboard, you can go with a better quality psu: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19763&cPath=226
The Corsair CX600M is decent, but the Antec HCG is better.

I would recommend getting an aftermarket cpu cooler to overclock, but other than that it's a build build.

your build $1064 (not counting monitor)

alternate build...

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2orD4) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2orD4/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2orD4/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8320frhkbox) | $149.99 @ SuperBiiz
**CPU Cooler** | [Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h60cw9060007ww) | $64.99 @ Microcenter
**Motherboard** | [Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a78lmusb3) | $54.99 @ Microcenter
**Memory** | [G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f314900cl9d8gbsr) | $68.00 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7td120bw) | $109.99 @ NCIX US
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $59.98 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-r9280xdc2t3gd5) | $319.99 @ B&H
**Case** | [Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cougar-case-spike) | $24.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1750bnlg9) | $74.99 @ NCIX US
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $19.98 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700615) | $94.98 @ OutletPC
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $1042.87
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-22 19:44 EST-0500 |


gave you an 8 core cpu instead of a 6 core, a boot ssd for faster start and snappier performance, a better video card for a few dollars less than your total build above. i did however go micro atx case and board. only reason i used a 750w psu is that it was the same price as a 650 (must be a good deal going on.

http://www.pccasegear.com/sc/rkU

PC]http://www.pccasegear.com/sc/rkUPC Case Gear - Shared Shopping Cart
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=21807 AMD FX-8320 8 Core Black Edition Processor - $189.00ea
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25244 ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 Motherboard - $69.00ea
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19475 G.Skill Sniper F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 - $99.00ea
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19747 Seagate Barracuda 1TB ST1000DM003 - $69.00ea
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25159 Cougar Spike 5SS7 Mini Tower with 400W PSU - $65.00ea
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=24330 ASUS DRW-24D3ST 24x DVD Writer - $24.00ea
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25326 Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X Overclocked 3GB - $419.00ea
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25441 Microsoft Windows 8.1 64bit OEM - $115.01ea
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22419 Corsair CX-750 Modular 80+ Bronze Power Supply - $135.00ea
Total: $1,184.01 - @pccasegear.com 23/12/2013

$1184 similar build on pccasegear.

i really would have liked to get a seasonic or xfx psu fit in there though and a 650 would have been ideal. you can probably cut the price down by $40 easy if you pick antec or another mid-tier brand.

you are right... aus prices are much higher (i must have missed the part where you stated pccasegear in your first post!).

edit:

[strike] CURRENTLY EDITING.... the shopping cart isnt showing correct parts!!!! (but it was a moment ago... let me fix)[/strike]

done editing... see above. can probably cut back $40-70 if you buy a cheaper psu, $5 if you buy a cheaper dvd drive.

Not really. You're cramming a stronger gpu and processor but at the cost of a lower quality psu, case, and motherboard (specifically the motherboard and case).
The OP already had a great build to start out with.

@chaos

there is nothing wrong with the case. sure its small (but its a mini tower) and suprisingly it fits 330mm long video cards, has 3 120mm fan slots and fits a full sized psu. while build quality isnt on par with $120 corsair cases its solid enough and has usb 3.0 to boot. yes there are other options, i only listed it because its not a bad case for cheap.

there is nothing wrong with lower end matx motherboards. yes, i would have preferred the asus model however asrock is respected as a decent budget brand. perhaps not the best, but as long as it is reliable does it matter?

i do agree a better brand psu is a great idea however what i listed is no worse than the original one the op had. while not high end many people do use them. personally i'd rather see a seasonic or xfx in there but unless you sacrifice performance you wont get that.

i know i upgraded the gpu and cpu by trimming costs elsewhere (mainly swapping to matx over atx) however many people really do not require an atx sized board and dont need all the expansion slots, sata slots and additional features.

basically it was provided as an option which would raise performance by a good margin at the expense of a few options lost. while i do completely agree with some of your points its not a bad idea to look into.

i also agree that what the op originally had isnt "bad". i listed this as an option to consider in case they didnt think about going the matx route which might give them enough budget to get different components. if they want to go that route or if they want to go the original route... its up to them.

It's not the fact that it is mATX, but they are low quality boards for the FX chips. It's much more recommended to grab at least a 970 chipset board with a FX chip, and with this budget it's more advised. A motherboard is also an important part of the build as well.
Especially with the 8320, an 8-core processor, the OP will never be able to overclock that with such a low quality motherboard. And overclock FX chips are highly recommended as they are meant to be overclocked.

The case is fairly low quality, not saying that is is necessarily bad, but a case like that is meant for more budget builds, not something like this. It will have terrible airflow because it will have no cable management options. Also, the steel won't be as good as say the Bitfenix Shinobi so it won't last very long.

You cut down so much on the build, too much if you ask me, to fit in the stronger gpu and cpu, but it's still not within the OP's budget. It won't be smart to cut down even more. It's better to have a balanced build with good quality parts all round rather than having a stronger cpu and gpu with everything else lower quality. With an all round balanced build, it will be much easier to upgrade in the future.

the board is atx... just looked and saw that... it was listed next to all the matx boards though. this would would mean using a different case (or finding a matx board elswhere (like the asus one i wanted to use). which would change the numbers slightly but not by a huge deal.

you are completely right... a 970 chipset would be ideal and could give better overclocks. depends on how much of an overclock they were looking for though. a modest overclock is definitely possible even on a cheap board.

the case wont last as long? i hope you jest. its not like it would fall apart. terrible airflow? you do realize you can tuck cables back and only use psu cables you need. we didnt have cable management back in the old days and we didnt have pcs blowing up because of it. i agree its not as high quality as $100+ cases but its also not $100+. airflow is decent for such a small case (3x120mm) but i agree its not as good as some high airflow mid cases. not bad for the size though.

sure i cut down in a few areas in order to maximize performance numbers. its likely doable on the ops budget with enough tweaking- it was thrown out there as an idea to consider. i've seen asrock motherboards last for years and years and i even had a cheap sparkle psu last for over 8 years. more risk perhaps (but corsair cx is much better than sparkle too).

i agree... a well rounded build with high end parts is definitely reliable and a good option... again i only provided a higher performing option to consider at the expense of a few things.

your upgrade path with cpu is limited to only the higher end fx chips likely. finding upgrade parts isnt going to be any easier going well rounded however i do agree that performance will have an edge in the future if they bought the 8320 later on and upgraded the gpu later on as well. depends on if the op wants to upgrade along the way or just build fresh at the end of life.