Advice on a build

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mattangle

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I am building a gaming computer to play games like lol, starcraft, wow and a few first person shooters. This is what I am looking at, I am looking for any thoughts/advice on everything, but specifically my Graphics card for sure.

PC Picker link of my build to make it easy.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/b6VH7P

There is no Graphics card on there, here are the three I am looking at, feel free to suggest any of them or a better one in the price range if you know of one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487024&cm_re=GTX_750_TI-_-14-487-024-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127762&cm_re=AMD_Radeon_R7_260X-_-14-127-762-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202090&cm_re=AMD_Radeon_R9_270-_-14-202-090-_-Product

Once again any thoughts, tips, suggestions on the build/graphics cards I would love to hear them.

Thanks.
 
Solution
tiny voices
The 260x is ALOT better than the 250. Plain and simple.

BUT, you should 100% ditch the SSD and get a better GPU. THis is a gaming PC after all. Why spend $700 to only play at medium when you could play at high or max?

Same goes for the wasted money on the RAM and the case is simply ridiculous for this build. This is a TINY low/mid range build and that case is for $1500+ custom water cooled build. If you have never seen a full tower before, it is as tall as your desk. You have no need for that case at all and a standard mid-tower will be WAY more appropriate.

Also, that PSU is 100% trash and WILL fry your computer. Antec, XFX, Seasonic ONLY.
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tical2399

tical2399

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What FPS games are you looking at and what resolution are you thinking about? Because for lol and wow you can get away with lower cpu and gpu and still be in great shape. As far as the gpu, you should look at a gt 750 oc for the same price.

Had to edit post. The vid i linked was for the 750 ti vs the 260 x. After some more research if you budget is set the 260x is the way to go if you can spend a few more dollars then get the 750 ti. However my initial question remains. Depending on what you want to play, you may not need either.

 
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moozilbee

moozilbee

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Without knowing what FPS games you want to play, this build might be a bit overkill (you might only want to play things like CS GO), I can tweak this build depending on your preferences, EG: Bigger SSD, no CPU cooler, +Optical drive, etc, it's just a general guidline build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($115.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $756.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
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Scremin34Egl

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120 gb ssd should be fine, also $80 dollar case is unnecessary. This would be much more cost efficient

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($115.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($80.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $670.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
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mattangle

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Wow awesome advice so far thank you. Still unclear as to the Graphics card due to multiple answers, but let me go more into detail on my goals so you have more information. I probably shouldn't have even said anything FPS's, because of my gaming time 80% is League of Legends, 15% Starcraft and 5% some random low end FPS on steam, so FPS can be factored right out. My goal is to be to play Lol with high frames, whatever the sweetspot is that I am not going crazy to attain, but I have no kind of lag/delay at all while playing. That would pretty much be my goals, As far as the optical drive/cpu cooler I will just get some cheap optical drive, but I would love a suggestion for a cpu cooler, wether it be liquid or just airflow. I am going to be playing on a new Led monitor (haven't picked one yet), but I just bought a brand new led tv it would be awesome to use as a monitor, but I am not sure if that takes a much more powerful computer. Thanks for the help thus far and I look forward to any more responses.

Thanks.
 
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Scremin34Egl

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If those are the games you are going to be playing then you don't really need such high end graphics. You could even get away with a Pentium G3258 and an R7 260X. Don't have to spend on watercooling if you are not overclocking. A $20 Cooler Master TX3 would do just fine
 
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tical2399

tical2399

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Ok that helps alot. If you just gonna play wow and lol then maybe even a R7 250 and a amd 760k might do the trick.
 
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moozilbee

moozilbee

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Here is a build that is more than powerful enough for LOL and WOW, and features benefits such as a big SSD, it's also easily upgradable for the future. If you would like to be less upgradable but save money, I can make change it for you.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-5500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-HD3 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($55.18 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $630.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
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tiny voices

tiny voices

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This is a poor build NEVER pair an APU with a dedicated card. It just doesn't work out. Starcraft, LoL, and WoW and SUPER CPU intensive. I would recommend an i3 here for those games.

Also, OP, the size of the screen doesn't matter, the resolution does. A 22" 1080p monitor is the same as running a 70" 1080p tv.
 
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moozilbee

moozilbee

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Really? Hmm didn't know that APUs were like that, thanks for pointing it out, here is a revised version:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-3250 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61M-HD2 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $662.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

I don't know all that much about Intel, so Tiny voices if there is a mobo/CPU combo you think would work better, I would appreciate any suggestions.
 
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mattangle

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I took all the advice into factor and revised my build.

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor $109.99
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $29.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard $73.99
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $74.99
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $49.99
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card $189.00
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case $59.99
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply $65.08
Optical Drive: Asus DVD-E818AAT/BLK/B/GEN DVD/CD Drive $18.66
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.99
Total: $779.55

I had two graphics cards on the build because I couldn't decide between the two, the only difference I could see was the less expensive MSI one had 384 Stream Processors whereas the more expensive XFX one had 896 Stream Processors, those are the only differences I spotted. Is that a big difference? Worth the additional $20? Any other thoughts on my updated build are appreciated.

Update* as well as is there any pro's con's to Windows 7 vs 8 for gaming?
 
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tiny voices

tiny voices

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The 260x is ALOT better than the 250. Plain and simple.

BUT, you should 100% ditch the SSD and get a better GPU. THis is a gaming PC after all. Why spend $700 to only play at medium when you could play at high or max?

Same goes for the wasted money on the RAM and the case is simply ridiculous for this build. This is a TINY low/mid range build and that case is for $1500+ custom water cooled build. If you have never seen a full tower before, it is as tall as your desk. You have no need for that case at all and a standard mid-tower will be WAY more appropriate.

Also, that PSU is 100% trash and WILL fry your computer. Antec, XFX, Seasonic ONLY.
 
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Solution
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mattangle

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Not a bad idea, 800$ is sort of my budget for this month. But I'll have another budget next month and ssd is the kind of thing I can always pick up next month. Suggest a higher graphics card that will get me there?
 
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tiny voices

tiny voices

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I edited my post, please read it all as the case and PSU notes are important.

For the GPU,. if you get a $50 case and get $20 cheaper RAM, and lastly drop the SSD you could probably swing a 270x which will max all your games.
 
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mattangle

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Alright I am going to revise my build due to your advice, but I need a little more detail/advice to do that. a 270x graphics card, forgive me for my lack of knowledge but there are quite a few 270x graphics cards when I search for them, could you point me at a specific one. I am going to switch to a cheap mid atx tower, but I have heard that CPU heatsinks can fit pretty tight in them, so could you recommend me a cheap cpu heatsink that will work well. Lastly windows 7 or 8 and what version? Those details will allow me to revise my build and post it. I appreciate your time.

Thanks
 
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tiny voices

tiny voices

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Get the cheapest 270x, they will all basically perform the same.

I recommend Windows 8.1 as, simply put, it is better in every way than 7.

There are TONS of mid-tower cases where all HUGE coolers fit perfectly. Corsair 400r, NZXT Phantom 410, Fractal Design R4 just to name a few. Any decent mid-tower will fit ANY cooler.

Get a Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO. Best cooler for under $50 and will be plenty for some overclocking.
 
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