Review/Rate my first build before buying?

private_joker · Apr 24, 2014

I had a thread going since before I started out looking, but it was/is pretty dead, didn't really get any replies except for one.. I don't really know how strict you guys are about this stuff, but anyway, I had some friends help me out deciding my build. My budget is $850, give or take. I already have a 550W Antec PSU that i've used for about 2 years, so it should be fine for now. And I have a uhh.. way... of acquiring Windows 7 :ange:

I've never had an AMD GPU before, but apparently this one is better than the GTX 760 i was going to get previously, so that's good.

Here's the part picker list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3wLij

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
GPU: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Power Supply: Antec 550W (2 years old though, and I don't really know if 550 will suffice..)
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case

Thanks!

bigshootr8 · Apr 24, 2014

I like the build. I guess if I were to nit pick you could say well the ram doesn't match the board well brown is the typical color for the ASRock boards and so that doesn't make it mesh as well aesthetically but performance wise that doesn't matter. I'm okay with the motherboard choice if you are the only gripe I have there would be that you don't have a overclocking chip there so as long as you understand that all the power to you. With the Antec Power supply do you have the model number from the unit. More then likely its good to fit the bill for your build a 280 isn't anything like a 290x power requirements wise so I think you should be just fine there.

private_joker · Apr 24, 2014

bigshootr8 :

yeah I do remember what it was, I should've dropped the link in my OP, my bad

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

as for overclocking, I don't really know what that is, I've heard the term many times, but this is my first real build and I don't know a lot of the specifics. So if OC makes a big difference, I'd love to know what I can do to fix it. my build was actually 845$ and it went down to 827$ today, so I guess something went on sale, giving me a little bit of wiggle room.

bigshootr8 · Apr 24, 2014

Your power supply will be fine for your current configuration/build. The power requirement for your build currently is just under 400 watts. Now I wouldn't say it would be my power supply choice but it gets the job done. I use a AX850 which is overkill for what I use as a added note.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015 I bought mine for the power efficiency and I eventually bought individually sleeved cables sold by corsair as a added touch again overkill ha!

In terms of overclocking I'll do my best to explain it. Essentially what you are doing when you are overclocking is taking the speed of your processor the i5 that you have and a k sku chip is unlocked to push it harder then it is already. For example if stock was 4.2 ghz you could push it beyond that lets say 4.5 ghz just as a theoretical. Downside is every chip is different the silicon in each chip is different and will react to heat different so it's something that you aren't guaranteed. If it isn't something that you are into then perhaps a h87 board is more your style. The z87 chipset boards are mainly there for your unlocked cpus your 4670k your 4770k's of the world.

If you don't want to overclock which I'd get here are two boards that may fit the bill for you and you would save money in the process.

ASROCK Fatal1ty h87 board red and black theme which would go well with your memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157378

ASRock Pro4 generic themed board brown and black.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157384

I forgot to respond to the GPU dealio. With the two cards the 760 and the 280/x they are around the same in performance. I typically side with Nvidia of late just because of the less power requirement and normally a little more quiet and cool but that's just me here is a link for you to check out keep in mind they are testing a 280x card which is a little faster then a 280.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7400/the-radeon-r9-280x-review-feat-asus-xfx/11

private_joker · Apr 24, 2014

bigshootr8 :

alright nice, and i might get a new PSU and maybe overkill it later haha, but this is my budget at the moment so reusing is necessary. The way you explained overclocking makes sense and I understand it now, though it seems pretty unstable and I don't think I have the experience under my belt to do that right now lol.

As for the motherboard, how much does a mobo affect the gaming aspect of the pc? because I'm sure the money = power/efficiency thing isn't always true, but if it's cheaper, wouldn't that mean it doesn't perform as well? Or is the overclocking aspect what makes it more expensive?

Finally for the GPU, i've been a Nvidia guy too, my current PC has one in it and it's given me no real problems, worked like a charm and not too loud either, but then again i've never tried a Radeon so I can't say anything about that for myself. But the 280X is 439$, while the 280 is 289$, so how much of a difference is there?

[EDIT] Just looked around a bit more and realized there are multiple types of both cards, and they both go from ~300$ to ~$400. Woops! :pt1cable:

Appreciate the help by the way, thanks!

bigshootr8 · Apr 24, 2014

private_joker :

I wouldn't overkill on the PSU side of things. The real benefit from going overkill on your PSU is normally something along the lines where the fan within the unit wont turn on until you hit a certain power usage. I grabbed the one I have now for cosemtic reasons and because the one I had previously didn't support 2 high end graphic cards if I went that route. Now I wouldn't touch 2 Gpu configurations unless I was someone with unlimited funds I wouldn't touch it.

The motherboard at this point wont effect you. Good motherboards will have added feature for example better onboard audio a different sata controller, pci-e slots differently setup. Performance wise you won't see a difference between a z87 board and a h87 board since you aren't overclocking. The z87 option gives you the ability to overclock but you do need a k sku chip so like I said its probably better just to go down to a h87 board.

I know for the GPU side of things some graphic cards are inflated by bitcoin mining which I don't quite understand the real push for anyway. The 280x has more stream processing units that is why the cost is a good 20-30 dollars more. In my opinion you get the best you can afford so if a 280 is it for you a 280 is it

Given the red and black board I suggested the ram you want and the 280 amd card maybe something like would work.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127789

private_joker · Apr 24, 2014

bigshootr8 :

private_joker :

I wouldn't overkill on the PSU side of things. The real benefit from going overkill on your PSU is normally something along the lines where the fan within the unit wont turn on until you hit a certain power usage. I grabbed the one I have now for cosemtic reasons and because the one I had previously didn't support 2 high end graphic cards if I went that route. Now I wouldn't touch 2 Gpu configurations unless I was someone with unlimited funds I wouldn't touch it.

The motherboard at this point wont effect you. Good motherboards will have added feature for example better onboard audio a different sata controller, pci-e slots differently setup. Performance wise you won't see a difference between a z87 board and a h87 board since you aren't overclocking. The z87 option gives you the ability to overclock but you do need a k sku chip so like I said its probably better just to go down to a h87 board.

I know for the GPU side of things some graphic cards are inflated by bitcoin mining which I don't quite understand the real push for anyway. The 280x has more stream processing units that is why the cost is a good 20-30 dollars more. In my opinion you get the best you can afford so if a 280 is it for you a 280 is it

Given the red and black board I suggested the ram you want and the 280 amd card maybe something like would work.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127789

like I said a couple posts ago, I do have a bit of wiggle room, so maybe upgrading to the 280X could be worth it for power/longetivity? As for the motherboard, that makes sense, and the red does look good even though there isn't a window or anything on my case haha. What about a build like this? it's a little over my limit but shouldn't be much of a problem.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3xUQe

[EDIT] Actually, since you said the mobo didn't matter as much, would it be better to go with the original one? it's got a 10$ rebate on it, making it 10$ cheaper than the red/black one and fitting into my budget better. I'm willing to sacrifice to color matching for it

bigshootr8 · Apr 24, 2014

private_joker :

bigshootr8 :

private_joker :

I wouldn't overkill on the PSU side of things. The real benefit from going overkill on your PSU is normally something along the lines where the fan within the unit wont turn on until you hit a certain power usage. I grabbed the one I have now for cosemtic reasons and because the one I had previously didn't support 2 high end graphic cards if I went that route. Now I wouldn't touch 2 Gpu configurations unless I was someone with unlimited funds I wouldn't touch it.

The motherboard at this point wont effect you. Good motherboards will have added feature for example better onboard audio a different sata controller, pci-e slots differently setup. Performance wise you won't see a difference between a z87 board and a h87 board since you aren't overclocking. The z87 option gives you the ability to overclock but you do need a k sku chip so like I said its probably better just to go down to a h87 board.

I know for the GPU side of things some graphic cards are inflated by bitcoin mining which I don't quite understand the real push for anyway. The 280x has more stream processing units that is why the cost is a good 20-30 dollars more. In my opinion you get the best you can afford so if a 280 is it for you a 280 is it

Given the red and black board I suggested the ram you want and the 280 amd card maybe something like would work.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127789

like I said a couple posts ago, I do have a bit of wiggle room, so maybe upgrading to the 280X could be worth it for power/longetivity? As for the motherboard, that makes sense, and the red does look good even though there isn't a window or anything on my case haha. What about a build like this? it's a little over my limit but shouldn't be much of a problem.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3xUQe

[EDIT] Actually, since you said the mobo didn't matter as much, would it be better to go with the original one? it's got a 10$ rebate on it, making it 10$ cheaper than the red/black one and fitting into my budget better. I'm willing to sacrifice to color matching for it

Yea since color matching isn't really all that important here why not take the mail in rebate and save a little extra on the side

builds good. I personally don't care for the case because its a budget case and I tend to like a case with a little more build quality and features but you know corsair makes decent cases and it will get the job done

private_joker · Apr 24, 2014

bigshootr8 :

private_joker :

bigshootr8 :

like I said a couple posts ago, I do have a bit of wiggle room, so maybe upgrading to the 280X could be worth it for power/longetivity? As for the motherboard, that makes sense, and the red does look good even though there isn't a window or anything on my case haha. What about a build like this? it's a little over my limit but shouldn't be much of a problem.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3xUQe

[EDIT] Actually, since you said the mobo didn't matter as much, would it be better to go with the original one? it's got a 10$ rebate on it, making it 10$ cheaper than the red/black one and fitting into my budget better. I'm willing to sacrifice to color matching for it

Yea since color matching isn't really all that important here why not take the mail in rebate and save a little extra on the side

builds good. I personally don't care for the case because its a budget case and I tend to like a case with a little more build quality and features but you know corsair makes decent cases and it will get the job done

I agree, I'm not really a fan of the case either, a friend told me it had great cable management and ventilation and it was cheap so I threw it in, personally I'm a sucker for LED lights and cool design. (I actually had the Rosewill CHALLENGER originally, but some people said the cooler didn't fit within the walls of the case and it didn't have USB 3.0 on the front so I changed my mind) I'll probably end up buying a new case later on in the year, or maybe even look around newegg one more time before I buy the parts and switch it out for something around the same price. Anyways, thank you for all of the help!

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