1st Build Revisions, Advice Before I Buy

Darkstar1018 · Jan 23, 2014

Ok so I am getting ready to order the parts for my 1st gaming PC and also my first build.
This is what I've got : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2G9LA
I would like to play Battlefield 4 on medium or higher settings at 60+ FPS. Are there any changes I should make to reach that goal? Anything I could change to get more bang for my buck? I'd like to keep the budget as close to $800 as possible. Any feedback is appreciated.

boosted1g · Jan 23, 2014

Build looks pretty good, would not really change anything outside of my own brand preferances.

The 8320, and the challenger case are often on sale for cheaper then those prices if you were wanting to wait to find a deal.

Eximo · Jan 23, 2014

Spend a little more on your power supply would be my only suggestion.

Tzn · Jan 23, 2014

you spend a lot and is not worth for those components and i mean cpu, gpu and mobo. get a i5 3470 around 180$, a asus mobo one at 60-70$ and R9 270 for gpu that is very very close to gtx 760 consumes less power and is cheaper by a lot. overall you will get better performance with Intel.

HiTechObsessed · Jan 23, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ TigerDirect)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $847.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-23 10:54 EST-0500)

Switched that GPU out for a non-reference with a much better cooler. And saved $10 lol the rest of the build looks good to me. The 270 would be a good choice, but since they are binned lower, you have a higher chance at getting one you can't overclock well, meaning it would be not as close to the 760. The 760 is a great card for 1080p

Darkstar1018 · Jan 23, 2014

HiTechObsessed :

Alright that sounds good to me, also about 5 minutes a go i took apart an old computer of ours and took out the disk reader to save $15 (lol I'm so cheap), and found that it had 2 320GB 7200RPM Western Digital Hard Drives in it. would it be a good idea to just use those and get a SSD for the new gaming rig?

boosted1g · Jan 23, 2014

If you do not need mass storage for media then those 320s would be fine and an SSD drive is always a good upgrade

HiTechObsessed · Jan 23, 2014

I second boosted's suggestion. I love my SSD lol I would recommend a 120GB at least though, so you can install the OS and your programs as well, and maybe a couple games.

Darkstar1018 · Jan 23, 2014

If i use the 2x 320GB setup with an SSD i would need to wipe the 2 hard drives right? is there any quick way to reset them?

HiTechObsessed · Jan 23, 2014

You wouldn't need to do that. Would delete Windows from it, but if you want the data on it you don't have to delete it.

If you want to start completely from scratch, just format the hard drive and it'll be wiped clean

boosted1g · Jan 23, 2014

To quickly "reset" them, plug them into the desktop as a hard drive and after you boot you just format them. This will delete all data from the drive so only do this after you have any files you want removed from the drive.

Darkstar1018 · Jan 23, 2014

boosted1g :

Do i do this on my old desktop? or on the new rig?

boosted1g · Jan 23, 2014

You can do it on any machine where the drive is not the boot drive.

Darkstar1018 · Jan 23, 2014

Ok, so this is the final build : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2GevH
only thing I'm concerned about is my estimated wattage is 419W and I've got a 500W PSU, is that going to be enough? somebody suggested upgrading my PSU on the original build when estimated wattage was 323W...

boosted1g · Jan 23, 2014

Is this rig going to run 24x7?

If no, then go for a 550, if yes then go for a 650 just to have the extra cushion.

HiTechObsessed · Jan 23, 2014

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-hive550

550w is more than sufficient for any single GPU setup. Your build won't pull over 375w at 100% full load.

Don't get the CX series if you can afford the extra $10 for the HIVE.

Darkstar1018 · Jan 23, 2014

Its going to be running for quite long spans of time, maybe i should just buy the 1TB HDD and get an SSD later just to keep my wattage down. a 500W PSU should handle 323W 24/7 nicely right?

boosted1g · Jan 23, 2014

+! for the Hive PSU, I have that in my Desktop, and it has worked great, got a hell of a deal on a 650 watt for something like $60 when it was on sale. And the HIVE series are all modular (except the 24pin and 4/8 pin).

Darkstar1018 · Jan 23, 2014

Actually the 650W Hive is a combo with my case so i save $15 on them, i think i will get a 650W 120GB SSD and use the 2x 320GB HDD.
Final Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2Gflb
Thank you boosted and HiTech, you guys have been great help to a new PC gamer

boosted1g · Jan 23, 2014

The differance in watts between 1 SSD + 2 HDD and just 1 HDD is only 18 watts of power.

Using Extreme power PSU calculator I got 493 watts with this info: High End board, FX-8320, 2xDDR3, GTX 760, 2 HDD, 1 SSD, 1 ODD, 2 120MM FAN, 1 140MM FAN, 20% capicitor aging.

I would get the 650 watt hive for $80. That is only $22 more then your current build.

Believe me the SSD is worth the money in performance.

boosted1g · Jan 23, 2014

Guess my delayed repsonse was after the fact.

No problem on the help darkstar

HiTechObsessed · Jan 23, 2014

The calculators are always overkill. My build with a 760 and 2 HDD only pulls 340w at 100% CPU and GPU load altogether. But the 650 will be perfect for you, glad you got a good deal

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