$1000 gaming first build

dolson8 · Mar 3, 2014

I am looking at about a $1000 upgrade from my current pc, as long as it's worth it and lasts me at least 4 years (preferably 6+) like my current one has.
This will be my first build so I'm kind of winging it with the parts, please let me know of any incompatibilities or suggestions.
I will be using this computer for gaming and internet, nothing special. Possibly OCing both CPU and GPU. Looking at buying in the next few months. (I am in Australia so the parts may be more expensive than the US)

Current:

AMD Phenom x4 9950BE 2.6ghz
Radeon HD 4850
8gb DDR2 RAM
Cooler Master 460w PSU

Proposed:

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/33sjv
Price breakdown by merchant:

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($194.00 @ CPL Online)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212X 82.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($45.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($114.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Value 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($92.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB Video Card ($259.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Silverstone SST-RL01B-W-USB 3.0 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.00 @ CPL Online)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SPRO-12025KK-RP 56.2 CFM 120mm Fan ($8.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($105.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1062.00

Is this going to be a decent upgrade from my current pc for gaming? will it perform well on highish settings at 1680x1050 on recent and future games?

maurelie · Mar 3, 2014

It is a decent upgrade, even at 1080p on high setting will still get good fps in many games. Just better get 2X4 GB RAM so they will run in dual channel mode.

logainofhades · Mar 3, 2014

Made some changes. You will want dual channel ram for sure.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($194.00 @ CPL Online)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212X 82.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($45.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($114.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: Avexir Core series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.00 @ PLE Computers)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB Video Card ($259.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Silverstone SST-RL01B-W-USB 3.0 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.00 @ CPL Online)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SPRO-12025KK-RP 56.2 CFM 120mm Fan ($8.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.00 @ PLE Computers)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1063.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-04 06:04 EST+1100)

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Mar 3, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($194.00 @ CPL Online)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Respire T40 68.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($39.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($130.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($105.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card ($225.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Thermaltake VN900A1W2N (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.00 @ PLE Computers)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1040.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-04 06:19 EST+1100)
what about this one ? got an overclocking motherboard and you can Overclock the R9 270 to reach clocks of the R9 270X
update change the cooler to the Hyper 212X (the T40 is too bad)

tiny voices · Mar 3, 2014

ahmedkhalifa1999 :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($194.00 @ CPL Online)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Respire T40 68.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($39.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($130.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($105.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card ($225.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Thermaltake VN900A1W2N (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.00 @ PLE Computers)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1040.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-04 06:19 EST+1100)
what about this one ? got an overclocking motherboard and you can Overclock the R9 270 to reach clocks of the R9 270X

I would go with logainofhades build. It has a MUCH better PSU and a 270x. It is better all around.

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Mar 3, 2014

tiny voices :

ahmedkhalifa1999 :

I would go with logainofhades build. It has a MUCH better PSU and a 270x. It is better all around.

They both have the same PSU and the R9 270X is an overclocked R9 270

tiny voices · Mar 3, 2014

The 270x is better than the 270 plain and simple. you cannot justify it with overclocking. Maybe OP doesn't want to overclock. And even if he does, an overclocked 270 can't touch an overclock 270x. Saying an overclocked 270 is the same as a stock 270x is pointless really.

Also, yes I saw the PSU, I must have seen the cx600 in OPs build.

dolson8 · Mar 3, 2014

Okay I will get the dual channel RAM
I can't overclock CPU and GPU with the original motherboard?
Also, couldn't I get a 270x and overclock that even further or is it not worth the $35?
I was pretty set on the CPU, GPU, and storage but I kind of guessed everything else

tiny voices · Mar 3, 2014

Yes you can overclock the CPU perfectly fine on the motherboard you listed, you just wont be going for any world records or anything with it. that's all.

The 270x is definitely the way to go. Read my post about what I said in regards to the 270 vs. 270x.

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Mar 3, 2014

tiny voices :

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/11/13/amd-radeon-r9-270-review/10
look at that review

tiny voices · Mar 3, 2014

Come on. You didn't even read what I said. Yes an overclocked 270 will be as good or better than a STOCK 270x, but an overclocked 270x will blow away an overclocked 270. Plain and simple. That is what I'm saying.

If you have a 270 and your buddy has a 270x you cannot say your is better. You 270 overclocked will be better than his stock 270x but as soon as he overclocks, his 270x will be much better than your 270 overclocked.

dolson8 · Mar 3, 2014

My bad, I replied before I read that.
So besides logainofhades build is there anything comparable or better I can get for the same money?

tiny voices · Mar 3, 2014

I would change the PSU from the Corsair cx600 to the XFX unit. Other than that, and the dual channel RAM, I would say it looks good to go.

dolson8 · Mar 3, 2014

Thanks a lot for the replies
Do I need thermal compound?

tiny voices · Mar 3, 2014

No, it will come with the CPU cooler.

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Mar 3, 2014

no you won't need it because all CPU coolers come with good thermal compounds

dolson8 · Mar 3, 2014

Also will this motherboard and fan allow me to reach 4+ghz without overheating or should I get an 8350 instead and overclock it less

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Mar 3, 2014

dolson8 :

with the Hyper 212X and the Asrock 990FX Extreme3 you will reach 4.5GHz easily and with the Gigabyte GA-970a-D3P you will reach like 4.3GHz but you will reach 4+GHz with both boards and overclocking differs from chip to chip (yours isn't like mine)
note : The FX-8350 is an overclocked FX-8320

tiny voices · Mar 3, 2014

There is no need to overclock. At stock it will max all games so even if you overclock you will see little or no gains at all.

Yes, the cooler you have should get it to 4ghz no problem. DO NOT expect any real gains you can feel though. Overclocking modern CPUs is a hobby, not mainly for gaining real performance.

dolson8 · Mar 3, 2014

So maybe I should use the stock amd fan, get rid of the ssd and get a 280x for the best gaming performance?

tiny voices · Mar 3, 2014

Yes, that would drastically improve gaming performance.

4cloud · Mar 4, 2014

True it will be loud and hot but its worth it in the future you could upgrade to an aftermarket cooler.

tiny voices · Mar 4, 2014

No, it will not really be loud or hot. The stock cooler gets a bad rep. There is nothing wrong with it.

dolson8 · Mar 5, 2014

I've found a website where I can get all of this minus the SSD and fan for $850 delivered, I was thinking I should build this and sell it for $1000 or so and then with the extra ~$200 I can buy one with a 280x.
If I were to get a cheaper motherboard and PSU what should I get?

tiny voices · Mar 5, 2014

I highly doubt you can sell it for a profit at all. Selling a used computer generally takes a hit of 15% right off the bat. Don't forget used a minute or used a year is still the same used.

NEVER cheap out on the PSU. it is the most important part of a PC by far.

$1000 gaming first build

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