First build, a few questions, all help welcomed!

AggravatedBadger

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So this is my first attempt at building a budgeted gaming PC
CPU: Intel i3-4130
MoBo: ASRock Z97 Anniversary
Mem: Corsair vengeance 4gb 1600
Storage: Seagate 500gb
GPU: MSI Radeon R9 270
Case: Rosewill Challenger
Power Supply: Corsair 550W ATV12V

Little breifing before I ask any questions. I mainly worked off this build http://pcpartpicker.com/b/Nzbv6h swapping out some parts that were either not available in Canada, too expensive (the original bitfenix build with SSD and all would cost around 1,000 for me), or not my taste . Also I already have the radeon card and rosewill case ordered from newegg. I'm also hoping to finish ordering the rest of the parts tommorrow, but I don't know if it'll be possible.


So here are my questions
Does it work together?
What is a cheaper PSU I could be looking at?
Will 4gb of ram cut it, or is the difference gonna be really noticeable.
Any parts you would swap out with something you think is better? I'd like too look into it.
Also any other tips for a first time builder.

Thanks for your time dudes!!
 
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Most of those components are good, and they will all work together but I'd like to suggest some changes.

First of all, you do not need a Z97 motherboard for that CPU. A B85 or H97 board would be a much better choice. You could pick one out yourself and I'll tell you if it's a good one, or I could find one a couple of the best options for you. Let me know what you would prefer. :)

One stick of 4GB Corsair Vengeance memory would be perfect, as you can add another 4GB stick later on if you'd like to.

What specific Corsair 550W PSU have you chosen? They make some great ones, and some very average ones. I can also pick you out a good PSU if you have chosen a CX or VS series as they are pretty bad quality. :)

Also, the i5 would be better...

Alex Kelly

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Most of those components are good, and they will all work together but I'd like to suggest some changes.

First of all, you do not need a Z97 motherboard for that CPU. A B85 or H97 board would be a much better choice. You could pick one out yourself and I'll tell you if it's a good one, or I could find one a couple of the best options for you. Let me know what you would prefer. :)

One stick of 4GB Corsair Vengeance memory would be perfect, as you can add another 4GB stick later on if you'd like to.

What specific Corsair 550W PSU have you chosen? They make some great ones, and some very average ones. I can also pick you out a good PSU if you have chosen a CX or VS series as they are pretty bad quality. :)

Also, the i5 would be better if you can afford it obviously, but the i3 you have picked out is more than capable. I used that exact CPU for many months with a GTX 760 (more powerful than an R9 270) and it was just fine. Didn't bottleneck it at all. I'd recommend spending more on the GPU before you think about upgrading to an i5.
 
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Praveen926

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Hey Mate.You dont need i3 4130..Just get i3 3220 and get a mobo with lga 1155 socket cause i3 3220 uses 1155 socket.The only difference between 4130 and 3220 is intel hd graphics.Anyway your are getting a dedicated gpu.So you really dont need Intel HD graphics.So get i3 3220.And try to increase your budget and get a another stick of ram of 2gb with same frequency...4gb ram will be enough for now.But i suggest getting 6gb instead of upgrading later..I suggest you getting a gigabyte or asus mobo.Asrock mobo's are easily breakable.So better go with Gigabyte..Your gpu is really good.You can play all games at high-ultra settings.You dont need 550w for your pc.You just need a good 500w.Reduce your budget by getting a good 500w psu.Thats it....Select it as best solution if it helped you

Update:- if you are on a budget get the lowest priced i5 processor.Cause you get quad core,which will be better in multi tasking.And fps varies in i3 and i5....So better get a 3rd gen i5 if you have some more budget
 

Alex Kelly

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The 4130 is a decent amount more powerful than the 3220. The 3220 is outdated and will cause issues in a lot of CPU intensive games. I disagree with literally everything you have suggested and said unfortunately. You are right about the PSU though, even 400W would be enough but it doesn't mean he should get a 400W PSU. 550W is a nice sweet spot as it allows for upgrades down the track, and the PSU won't be getting loud and hot running at nearly it's limits.
 

Praveen926

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I have i3 3220 and i dont find any issues with it.But for future upgrade,you need to get atleast 650w psu so that he could get a high end gpu then.550w is really good for his build but we are here to reduce his budget so that he can get any other components like head phones,etc
 

Somber

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650w really isnt necessary unless he gets like a gtx 780 or along those lines. a 550w is good enough

edit** and he wouldnt get a high end card with a CPU that would bottle neck it
 

AggravatedBadger

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Jul 29, 2014
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@Alex Kelly If you wanna help me by picking out some good parts, i'd appreciate it a lot! I was using the PSU in phillips build I mentioned, gold certified I believe.

@Gorgonzer I like the price of the mobo and ram in that build! I'm sorting out some financial stuff today, if my situation improves a lot maybe i'll look at an i5

@Praveen926 I'll definetly check that out about the i3 3220 sounds a lot cheaper, this would limit my options in the future though when I want to build on my computer correct?

Thanks for the help so far guys, definetly gonna replace my mobo
 

AggravatedBadger

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I'm on the fence about getting 8gb or 4gb of ram, it'll be cheaper down the road to get 8gb now so I might go for it.
I really like that PSU great price, unfourtunately it'd have to be shipped from the states internationally bumping up the price considerably for me, however it is 30$ cheaper than the other gold certified PSU I was looking at so i'll probably get it. Thanks!

@techgeek
Looks great, i'll check it out for sure, thanks!
 

Somber

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No problem like i said i would just get the 8gb of ram so when you build the computer and you go to play a game you wont have a headache wondering why the games keep crashing and then have to wait for the additional ram to come in the mail
 

Alex Kelly

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If it's a CS or RM series 550W, they will do just fine. They could both power even a GTX 780ti, please disregard what Praveen has said. If your PSU is neither of these models, the XFX that Somber suggested is a really good choice. :)

The i3 3220 will limit your options for upgrading the CPU and the socket is already outdated. Praveen, you should never suggest something just because it's what you are using.

You don't need a Z97 motherboard as even if you wanted to upgrade to an i5, you wouldn't need a K series as overclocking is not necessary unless you are really interested in it.

I will update this post with some good motherboard options, but it's hard to keep up when heaps of people are giving different advice, hahah. :)

EDIT; 4GB of RAM will not cause games to crash, but if you can afford it I'd recommend getting 2 4GB sticks of either Corsair or Gskill memory straight up.
 

AggravatedBadger

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Yea i'm definetly set on a 550w PSU, bronze certified seems a lot cheaper than gold certified relative to the efficiency gain so i'll probably go for bronze.

Yea not too interesting in overclocking at this stage a different mobo sounds good.

@Somber but remember this is a budget build so if overclocking options down the road is gonna cost me a chunk of cash now i'd rather abstain from it for now and put the saved money towards more ram or storage space!
 

Somber

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4gb will crash a game. maybe if you have absolutely no other programs or procceses running it wont. but get 8gb
 

Alex Kelly

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A Z97 board will cost you a lot extra. Don't bother. :) Here is a great value B85 board that will support an upgrade to an i5 later on. I have used this board and it was perfect. I no longer use it only because I upgraded to Z97 to overclock my 4670K. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128607&cm_re=Gigabyte_B85-_-13-128-607-_-Product
 

Alex Kelly

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Agreed. If he already has a CS or RM 550W he won't need to buy a new one though.

This is a great article that has all the best PSUs, if you do need to buy a new one.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html
 

Gorgonzer

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Yea I always recommend the XFX. They are fairly priced and have modular and semi modular units up to 1250w.
I also highly recommend a single rail PSU. You want all that power available to all your components at all times.
 

AggravatedBadger

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I actually was looking at another motherboard too, msi h87, heres the three motherboards on newegg canada

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157529&cm_re=asrock_z97_anniversary-_-13-157-529-_-Product

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130697

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128607

You can see with rebates the asrock z97M comes out to the same price as the gigabyte essentially.
Also wouldn't a micro ATX sized board limit my options/be really small in my case?
 

Alex Kelly

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Agreed. A 550W XFX PSU would be a great choice if Badger actually needs a new PSU. :)
 

Gorgonzer

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None are good for a second GPU, benifits of the 97 borad is that you can upgrade to the 5th gen processors down the road. All other chipsets are limited to the 4th gens.
 

Alex Kelly

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The MSI board you have linked is a great board, I highly recommend it :D

The ASRock is also a good choice but IMO the MSI is better.

Yeah, the Gigabyte B85M D3H and ASRock you linked are both Micro ATX boards, so they would look a little small in that Rosewill case, but they certainly wouldn't limit your options, unless you want to add many different PCI devices later on, or add another video card for a crossfire setup. :)
 

Alex Kelly

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The MSI board he linked supports Crossfire.