Help with first PC build

Brianoforris

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Looking for help with first pc build. Have settled on sapphire r9 280 graphics and i7 3770k processor. Would like 16 gb ram and 2 tv memory if I can do all this for 1000 or close. My daughter wants it for gaming and video editing. Any help is appreciated. I own like 47 gaming consoles but I'm a total noob with this.
 

gamer1357

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Does this include the operating system.
 

Brianoforris

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Ah, sorry, right now I'm looking at windows 7 64 bit. Can't stand windows 8. I don't know what mind of motherboard to get, or case, like I said I'm a total noob. Any advice on what parts to use would be appreciated.

I can go over 1000 just I would prefer not to go by too far at this point.
 

Brianoforris

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This was the CPU i was looking at http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007SZ0EOW?pc_redir=1407483196&robot_redir=1

And this is the graphics card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?gclid=Cj0KEQjwjZefBRDfsY28oNjbgeABEiQA8kVt3R3pr07tr2L7kDX72cAsHOJBBjVOmfszPoYj2cMHypwaAo9E8P8HAQ&Item=N82E16814202099&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Desktop+Graphics+Cards-_-N82E16814202099&ef_id=UxstKwAAACGD2g8o:20140810052550:s

I know it's not important but i was hoping for some kind of cool case that lights up as well. The kid would love that. 16gb ram and 2tb hard drive is probably out of the question at this point. I don't know how to choose a motherboard either.
 

Gunmetal_61

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It's a good first attempt, but I'm not sure if an i7, especially the overclockable version is needed. For gaming purposes, an i5 offers almost identical performance as an i7 because games currently have not really started utilizing more than 4 threads (effectively 4 cores, the i7 has four physical cores split into eight virtual ones). Depending on the application, an i7 may be more useful if the program supports multithreaded processes and rendering, but the benefit is trivial. If you daughter is still starting out or is only doing video editing as a side thing, then I think it's better if you save $100 and go with an i5.

Let me give you a general outline of what I think would be useful to you:

CPU:
Core i5-4590 (~$200), Core i5 4690 (~$220), or AMD's FX-8320 (~$160) / FX 8350 (~$170). The Core i5's are better at gaming with stronger per-CPU core performance, but the AMD CPUs have more weaker cores which may allow it to beat the i5 in multi-threaded processes (such as video-editing). Both are almost as good as the other in their respective stronger fields. As a note, the i7 is on a totally different level to both of those lines because it has both the strong cores of the i5 and the same number of threads in an FX.

I assume that you don't understand overclocking very well. Yes, it does give you more performance, but these days, CPUs should be fast enough for 99% of people at their default speeds. It's not worth the hassle (unless you're a dedicated enthusiast) of learning, tweaking, treading on the edge of the CPU's stability, and buying the cooling solutions and motherboards needed for it. If you're aspiring to become a builder, I'd still say that you should stick with not overclocking for your first build. However, you could still buy the 4690K (overclockable version of the i5 at ~$240) and learn to overclock it later. The AMD FX series CPUs are all overclockable.

And just as a note, the CPU you selected is of the third generation ("Ivy Bridge"). The most current generation is the 4th ("Haswell"). They perform just about as well, but the Ivy Bridge uses an outdated socket that will no longer support future CPUs.

Motherboards:
For the Intel boards, if you're getting a non-overclockable CPU, an H97 board is sufficient. A Z97 is needed for an overclockable CPU if you want to overclock.

For AMD, a 990FX chipset board is best to support the FX-8320/FX-8350.

As a general rule, don't spend more than $200 on a motherboard. There is no difference in speed between a high-end board and low-end, just feature sets. Good makers of both boards include Gigabyte, MSI, Asus, etc.

RAM:
8GB minimum. At least 16GB for a video editing case I believe.

Video Card:
Your card is a good choice.

Storage:
Either get just a magnetic hard drive for everything, or get an SSD for the operating system (for fast boot-up times, etc) and a hard drive for file storage. A SSD has less write/read cycles than an HDD, so don't store anything more than the OS and programs on there. A 120GB-256GB SSD is best for the sake of price/practicability.

Power Supply:
600W+ minimum in your case. A good brand would be something like Corsair's TX, HX, or AX series.


There's a lot more I can talk about, but I had to condense it. Just ask if you have any questions.
 

gamer1357

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($312.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($198.50 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1090.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-11 00:49 EDT-0400

The only reason i used the i7 instead of the i5 is because you mentioned your daughter is using it for video editing as well. If video editing isnt as important as your budget the i5 4690k will do just fine. I just put windows 8 but you can buy windows 7 if you like. You can get a better looking case if you like but generally they will cost more if you want them to stay high quality.
 
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Brianoforris

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@gun metal

Thanks a lot for all the info. This is what I was talking about. The different generation architecture, I had no clue. And you were correct, not much need for overclocking but I have a much better grip of cpu's because of your explanation. Thanks a lot.
 

Brianoforris

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Aug 10, 2014
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@gamer1357

Thanks for taking the time to set up that build for me! I really appreciate it. Seriously, you guys get nothing out of this but it really helps me.

One question - is that CPU the 3rd generation one that another poster was talking about? If it is can you suggest a haswell one for me? I honestly can't tell the difference.
 

gamer1357

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The 4770k is the 4th generation haswell version so you're good to go. The way you tell the difference is from the first number. So and i7 2xxx is second generation, 3xxx is a third generation and a 4xxx is a fourth generation.