First time building a PC- NEED FEEDBACK

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Red Charge

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Aug 3, 2014
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I have never built a PC before. I am trying to cut costs by building my own since price is a limiting factor in what I can get. I have a small amount of knowledge on if my parts will be good enough for what I am wanting to do with this PC. Before I go any further, I might as well explain what this PC will be used for.
Gaming- I am a huge gamer. I am looking for a good, solid frame rate on newer games. Preferably on high-ultra settings.
Music- I am a amateur music producer and I am wanting to make sure I will not be limited by the specs of my PC. This is a priority.
Video editing- Every now and then, I will feel like dabbling with video editing and the like, and I would like the ability to do so.
Recording Gameplay- This may fall under gaming but I didn't think of it at the time. I'd like to be able to record as I play sometimes. Maybe even stream on Twitch.

Now that I've finished rambling about what I am going to do with it, we can get to the important part. The specs.

Processor: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card

Memory: Team Elite 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply

I do not believe that I have left anything out. I would really appreciate some feedback on the build. I would also like to know if my PC can do what I would like it to do. Also, keep in mind that THIS IS MY FIST BUILD. I don't know as much as some of you.
Thank you for your time everyone!
 
Solution
K
This answer's going to be a bit of an essay, sorry.

I have two scenarios in mind. If your budget is really only $700, you might consider picking a different CPU as well. And, since you're a gamer, you could easily go with an i3 or a fast Pentium as they (from a statistics standpoint) generally perform better than budget AMD processors. The one you've picked isn't a budget processor, it's actually pretty good, but you might be better off with a cheaper one so that you can put your money into better components, like the GTX 770 or a R9 290. That'll give you the most bang for your buck, since the GPU typically is what gives you good frame rates in most games. Put as much spare money as you can into the graphics card.

My first solution is...
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kidneydone3

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Aug 3, 2014
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Your CPU, Hard Drive, and Case choices are fine, but here's what I would do differently:
1) Get a better video card. You're a huge gamer, so you want the best possible experience. Assuming you have a budget of $1500, I would instead get either a nVidia GTX 780 or an AMD R9 290/290X. If you're a bit crunched for money, the GTX 770 and the R9 280X are more than capable of a great gaming experience. I personally have a GTX 770 in my system and it's fantastic!
2) Pick a different kit of memory. 8GB is fine, but you should be looking for kits of 2x4 GB, since having two sticks of memory allows you to install them in "Dual-Channel Mode", which essentially gives you better performance and stability as opposed to one stick.
3) Perhaps a different motherboard? This is more nit-picky, but the one you have chosen is designed to fit in small form-factor cases. While it would technically work just fine, picking an ATX-sized motherboard will allow you more room to fit your components, since your case is more than big enough to handle it.
4) One of the most critical components of a computer is the Power Supply that drives it. Sure, the one you've picked will work, but EVGA is not the gold standard for Power Supplies. I would look more carefully at Power Supplies made by Corsair, perhaps ones that are semi or fully-modular and have a better efficiency. It's up to you. Look at the ratings other people have given the power supply, and if they check out, you're good.
 
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Red Charge

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Aug 3, 2014
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My budget is around 700 dollars actually. I am really tight on cash and am trying to get a bang for my buck. Also, some suggestions on a different power supply or motherboard would be nice. I may go for the r9 280x
 
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kidneydone3

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Aug 3, 2014
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This answer's going to be a bit of an essay, sorry.

I have two scenarios in mind. If your budget is really only $700, you might consider picking a different CPU as well. And, since you're a gamer, you could easily go with an i3 or a fast Pentium as they (from a statistics standpoint) generally perform better than budget AMD processors. The one you've picked isn't a budget processor, it's actually pretty good, but you might be better off with a cheaper one so that you can put your money into better components, like the GTX 770 or a R9 290. That'll give you the most bang for your buck, since the GPU typically is what gives you good frame rates in most games. Put as much spare money as you can into the graphics card.

My first solution is this: if you're comfortable learning how to overclock, try the Intel Pentium G3258 ($70 on amazon) as your CPU and MSI's H81M-P33 as your motherboard. It's still MicroATX, which is fine, and it only costs $49.99 at Mwave. You'll have to update its BIOS before you can overclock, though. The guys at tomshardware actually did a budget building experiment using these parts, you can find it here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-b81-cheap-overclocking,3888.html You'll need to cool the Pentium adequately, so I'd get the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. Even if you're not overclocking, it's quieter and more efficient than the stock cooler that comes with any Intel or AMD CPU, and it's only $30. If you're not comfortable with overclocking, try the Intel i3 4130 ($117 at OutletPC)

Otherwise, if you still want the AMD CPU, the motherboard you've picked should still work. My concern with the MicroATX board was that it wouldn't use the space in your case as efficiently, but again, it'll work just fine.

For a Power Supply, I'd choose the Corsair CX600M 80+ Bronze efficiency, as it's reputable, semi-modular, and supplies enough power to support your CPU and GPU under full load. It's a bit pricier, at $70, but you can't skimp when it comes to your power supply.

As for choosing your GPU, keep this following scheme in mind. In order by performance and price, R9 280X < GTX 770 < R9 290 < GTX 780

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions.
 
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Guest

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Here's an option for a budget machine here, you can add an aftermarket CPU cooler for overclocking at a later date if you want to. It's closing in on $800 (over $800 before rebates), but should give you excellent bang for your buck and run almost every game maxed or close to it. The extra cores of the FX will help out in video editing and recording and definitely in streaming. In the budget space, it's very hard to beat AMD. A Haswell I3 is the least I could comfortably recommend from Intel if you wanted to go that route. If you want to go with the 8350, it's a better CPU than the 6300, it just costs $100 more. You could sub the R9 280X for a 270X on that build too which will bring it to around $700, but probably won't be able to max games out unless you play at 1600X900 resolution. If you want 1080P, the 280X will do it.
 
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