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My first gaming pc: Need educated feedback before I purchase.

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  • PC gaming
  • Systems
  • New Build
Last response: in Systems
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July 11, 2014 1:28:52 PM

Hello folks! I would just really like your feedback on this build. I dont have significant knowledge on computer building and this is my first time building a computer and many redditors helped me with this build. I actually had a budget of $1000 including OS, monitor, and peripherals and as you can see I'm wayyy over budget. I understand that there are many cheaper options I could have taken but I think spending a couple hundred dollars more is well worth it because I will make this rig last A WHILE. At this point I don't wish to spend a penny more but if there are cheaper options for the same or better performance please let me know. I do intend to overclock in the future but with this build that is not the priority for me. Once I decide to overclock I will upgrade but I would like to reuse as much parts as I can. By the way, I will be using this build solely for gaming. Ok well maybe a few school work here and there but thats it.


Is my build compatible with each other?

Are they all optimal?

Are there certain steps I can take to ensure the most optimal performance as possible?


TLDR: What do you think of this build? I don't want to spend a penny more but if you have other options that are cheaper or same price that offer better performance please let me know. Are there other steps I can take to ensure a build to be as optimal as possible?


Thanks so much!!!
Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor-$189.79 CAD
MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard-$89.99 CAD
GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory-$74.99 CAD
PNY XLR8 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive-$69.99 CAD
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive-$57.79 CAD
XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card-$319.99 CAD
Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case-$47.45 CAD
EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750B BRONZE 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply-$69.99 CAD
Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer-$14.99 CAD
Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)-$99.99 CAD
Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor-$154.98 CAD
AZIO Levetron Mech5 Wired Gaming Keyboard-$79.99 CAD
Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse-$64.99 CAD
Plantronics Gamecom 380 Headset-$59.15 CAD
Total- $1339.06 CAD

More about : gaming educated feedback purchase

July 11, 2014 1:35:34 PM

simplysleep said:
Hello folks! I would just really like your feedback on this build. I dont have significant knowledge on computer building and this is my first time building a computer and many redditors helped me with this build. I actually had a budget of $1000 including OS, monitor, and peripherals and as you can see I'm wayyy over budget. I understand that there are many cheaper options I could have taken but I think spending a couple hundred dollars more is well worth it because I will make this rig last A WHILE. At this point I don't wish to spend a penny more but if there are cheaper options for the same or better performance please let me know. I do intend to overclock in the future but with this build that is not the priority for me. Once I decide to overclock I will upgrade but I would like to reuse as much parts as I can. By the way, I will be using this build solely for gaming. Ok well maybe a few school work here and there but thats it.


Is my build compatible with each other?

Are they all optimal?

Are there certain steps I can take to ensure the most optimal performance as possible?


TLDR: What do you think of this build? I don't want to spend a penny more but if you have other options that are cheaper or same price that offer better performance please let me know. Are there other steps I can take to ensure a build to be as optimal as possible?


Thanks so much!!!
[PCPartPicker part list](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/hwqRYJ) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/hwqRYJ/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54430) | $189.79 @ DirectCanada
**Motherboard** | [MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z87g41p...) | $79.99 @ Memory Express
**Memory** | [GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/geil-memory-gel38gb1333...) | $74.99 @ Newegg Canada
**Storage** | [PNY XLR8 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/pny-internal-hard-drive...) | $69.99 @ NCIX
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-d...) | $57.79 @ DirectCanada
**Video Card** | [XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280xtd...) | $299.99 @ NCIX
**Case** | [Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-spec01redl...) | $47.45 @ DirectCanada
**Power Supply** | [EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750B BRONZE 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120pb...) | $69.99 @ Memory Express
**Optical Drive** | [Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/lite-on-optical-drive-i...) | $14.99 @ Memory Express
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700615) | $104.98 @ Newegg Canada
**Monitor** | [Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vs238hp) | $154.98 @ Amazon Canada
**Keyboard** | [AZIO Levetron Mech5 Wired Gaming Keyboard](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/azio-keyboard-kb577u) | $79.99 @ NCIX
**Mouse** | [Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/razer-mouse-rz010084010...) | $64.99 @ NCIX
**Headphones** | [Plantronics Gamecom 380 Headset](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/plantronics-headphones-...) | $59.15 @ Amazon Canada
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1369.06


what kind of games do you play? For MMO and more strategy games, the CPU will be better. But for first person shooters and stuff the 8320 would provide similar single core performance (~10-15% worse than the i5 4430) but has twice as many cores. with the future looking as it has been more cores will help for gaming greatly (when DX 12 happens).

The i5 is locked and you have a Z motherboard which is for overclocking (so a Z board is pointless)
the FX 8320 is unlocked and can easily be overclocked to fill that 10-15% gap in single core performance (somewhere around 4.3 Ghz)

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July 11, 2014 1:49:19 PM

Beezy said:
simplysleep said:
Hello folks! I would just really like your feedback on this build. I dont have significant knowledge on computer building and this is my first time building a computer and many redditors helped me with this build. I actually had a budget of $1000 including OS, monitor, and peripherals and as you can see I'm wayyy over budget. I understand that there are many cheaper options I could have taken but I think spending a couple hundred dollars more is well worth it because I will make this rig last A WHILE. At this point I don't wish to spend a penny more but if there are cheaper options for the same or better performance please let me know. I do intend to overclock in the future but with this build that is not the priority for me. Once I decide to overclock I will upgrade but I would like to reuse as much parts as I can. By the way, I will be using this build solely for gaming. Ok well maybe a few school work here and there but thats it.


Is my build compatible with each other?

Are they all optimal?

Are there certain steps I can take to ensure the most optimal performance as possible?


TLDR: What do you think of this build? I don't want to spend a penny more but if you have other options that are cheaper or same price that offer better performance please let me know. Are there other steps I can take to ensure a build to be as optimal as possible?


Thanks so much!!!
[PCPartPicker part list](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/hwqRYJ) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/hwqRYJ/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54430) | $189.79 @ DirectCanada
**Motherboard** | [MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z87g41p...) | $79.99 @ Memory Express
**Memory** | [GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/geil-memory-gel38gb1333...) | $74.99 @ Newegg Canada
**Storage** | [PNY XLR8 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/pny-internal-hard-drive...) | $69.99 @ NCIX
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-d...) | $57.79 @ DirectCanada
**Video Card** | [XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280xtd...) | $299.99 @ NCIX
**Case** | [Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-spec01redl...) | $47.45 @ DirectCanada
**Power Supply** | [EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750B BRONZE 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120pb...) | $69.99 @ Memory Express
**Optical Drive** | [Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/lite-on-optical-drive-i...) | $14.99 @ Memory Express
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700615) | $104.98 @ Newegg Canada
**Monitor** | [Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vs238hp) | $154.98 @ Amazon Canada
**Keyboard** | [AZIO Levetron Mech5 Wired Gaming Keyboard](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/azio-keyboard-kb577u) | $79.99 @ NCIX
**Mouse** | [Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/razer-mouse-rz010084010...) | $64.99 @ NCIX
**Headphones** | [Plantronics Gamecom 380 Headset](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/plantronics-headphones-...) | $59.15 @ Amazon Canada
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1369.06


what kind of games do you play? For MMO and more strategy games, the CPU will be better. But for first person shooters and stuff the 8320 would provide similar single core performance (~10-15% worse than the i5 4430) but has twice as many cores. with the future looking as it has been more cores will help for gaming greatly (when DX 12 happens).

The i5 is locked and you have a Z motherboard which is for overclocking (so a Z board is pointless)
the FX 8320 is unlocked and can easily be overclocked to fill that 10-15% gap in single core performance (somewhere around 4.3 Ghz)



I'm an all around gamer. I play all sorts of genres. But yes I will be playing a lot of FPS as well. And yes I won't be overclocking anytime soon but I intend to do so eventually once I've gathered the necessary knowledge to it. I realize that my CPU is locked but when I do intend to overclock I will upgrade while reusing as much parts as I can, like perhaps my mobo.
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Best solution

July 11, 2014 2:22:41 PM

you might as well spend the extra bit of money to buy an unlocked processor now then instead of scrapping a CPU later. Also if you want to upgrade you'll probably want a Z97 board because that'll support the Broadwell chips.
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