New to PC building and want to know if this build will last

BenCern · Jan 4, 2015

Hi i havent built a PC yet, im currently saving up for one. I was just wondering if this build would last long enough to be worth the investment

1. Graphics card- AMD R9 290x (Refurbished)
2. Motherboard- GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD
3. Processor- AMD x8350 black edition
4. 2x4gb RAM
5. Power supply- 750w gold certified
6. windows 8.1

I'd like to know how everyone feels about a refurbished Graphics card, I found the AMD R9 290x for a steal and i was wondering if its risky buying a refurbished one.

Also i'd like to know more about the mother board i found, its fairly cheap and i dont really know all that much about them

is 750w generally enough to run what i have plus a few fans

And finally is 8gb RAM enough

Also im not a huge gamer but id like to run most games at 1080p

Current Build Price $1,030 and im willing to go up to $1200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514&cm_re=Amd_motherboard-_-13-128-514-_-Product Motherboard Link

Thank you very much!

davidarad02 · Jan 4, 2015

im no intel fanboy, but amd based systems for around 1000-1200 bucks is just not worth it. here is something im suggesting:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GqxwHx
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GqxwHx/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($116.75 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($348.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1032.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-04 11:07 EST-0500

EDIT: i don't really recommend getting a refurbished gpu, as it can have some BAD parts like a bad power delivery system or bad memory. the actual gpu itself isn't really changed as is already really hard to make one, and to fix it its even harder

Hope this helps

BenCern · Jan 4, 2015

davidarad02 :

Thank you for the quick reply. I like what you put together, but im wondering About a full tower vs mid tower. I plan on upgrading this PC throughout its life and i dont really know how much smaller a mid tower is and how much it restricts airflow.

Just so you know the AMD R9 290x was on sale for around $260. Such a tempting price.. lol

Oh and thank you very very much for the PC part picker website i had no idea it existed!

davidarad02 · Jan 4, 2015

the 290x is a great deal, but the 970 is better then it in ANY factor.

RookieOfTheYear · Jan 4, 2015

David is absolutely right. I personally own an AMD FX-8350 and the 6350 (I got them for an absolute steal), and love them. But I was on a much tighter budget than you. Anything around $1,000 and up, you should go with Intel. You get better performance, and there is a way better upgrade path.

He suggested a nice build, but here would be the build I would suggest. I just included higher end parts, and the price reflects that.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($124.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($124.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($348.99 @ B&H)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I ID ATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Total: $1216.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-04 11:23 EST-0500

Do you not need a hard drive? I noticed you didn't have one included in your build. Also, will you need a monitor, mouse and keyboard?

Demosthenest · Jan 4, 2015

Ben, I really recommend the Define r4 or r5 as an upgradable case, it's just perfect and you can choose between silence or airflow. R9 290x for 260 is very good but I have to warn you, I have one and it's VERY noisy and VERY hot.
I would do what David suggested only maybe you want to consider if you want to overclock or not. If not, you can buy a better non k processor and a cheaper mobo.

Demosthenest · Jan 4, 2015

David, r9 290x has pretty much the same performance as a gtx 970, it even pulls ahead in some games, especially with mantle.

davidarad02 · Jan 4, 2015

Demosthenest :

yet the 970 has way better power efficiency and better thermals - both get you overall better performance when overclocking it (you can get to 980 performance with a little overclocking).

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