Need help optimizing my build (new builder here)

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Dillon_3

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Oct 6, 2015
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Ok , I will link the parst list im working on, and I will also just include the parts here for ease of access. Here is an overview of what I will be using the pc for: This will be a gaming pc, I hope to play recent / new releases on medium or higher and achive 60-120 fps, ive included a moniter and keyboard in the build for myself and wont change those components.
What im looking for in advice, is any thoughts on part combos I have made, any recomendations on how to get the same preformance for cheaper (ive tried really hard so I dont know....I cant find better personally, but im new to this).
I am also concerned about bottlenecking at any point, so if someone notices if/how/where it may bottleneck I would seriously apreciate being let know before I make an uneducated call on what to buy.


Notes:
- My overall budget it 1450$ (canadian) taxes and shipping IN
- I will be ordering all of these parts from ontario (probbaly from canadian suppliers unless there a are american alts with cheaper/free shipping)
- I intend to overclock EVENTUALLY if nessicary
- Unless needed, I am ok sticking to one 8gig ram at 2400 speed to upgrade to 16 later
- Not buying an OS
- Although looks are nice, bang for the buck is the goal here :)
- I have a number of old HDD to throw in if i need bulk storage allready, as well as an old CD drive for installing drivers and stuff durring build
- I hope to purchase this pc farily soon
(I used pc part picker only to source parts for ease of compatibility, im willing to use other places, howerver i dont know how to check compatibility)

Parts list /w links: (http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/n3TMkL)

CPU - AMD FX-4350 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (129$)
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd4350frhkbox

CPU Cooler - Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (69$) https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h60cw9060007ww

Motherboard - MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard (125$) https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-970gaming

memory - Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory (72$) https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx324c11sr8

storage - Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (110$) https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdhp256gg25

video card - Asus Radeon R7 370 4GB Video Card (235$)
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-strixr7370dc2oc4gd5gaming

case - NZXT Phantom ATX Full Tower Case (120$)
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-strixr7370dc2oc4gd5gaming

power supply - Thermaltake TR2 500W ATX Power Supply (52$) https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/thermaltake-power-supply-tr500

fan controller - NZXT Sentry 2 Fan Controller (25$)
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-fan-controller-sentry2

moniter - Acer GN246HL 144Hz 24.0" Monitor (280$)
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/acer-monitor-umfg6aab01

keyboard - Thermaltake eSPORTS Challenger Pro Wired Gaming Keyboar (60$) https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/thermaltake-keyboard-kbchp001us
 
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getochkn

getochkn

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Jul 2, 2006
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Kind of a crappy CPU. I would ditch the $70 cooler and spend $200 on a CPU instead.


Also, black Friday is coming in about a month and there should be some good deals from newegg.ca, amazon, tigerdirect.ca, NCIX, even canada computers. I would wait till then being this close and look for a better CPU, trying for an Intel if you can. Ditch the $120 case and get a cheaper case. Ya it's nice looking, so what, when it costs as much as your CPU because you are cutting your budget down due to a case, it's not worth it. A $40 case hold PC parts just the same. Don't need a fan controller.
 
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Dillon_3

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Oct 6, 2015
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My choice in case was based on recommendation actually not style (from two people) im not sold on its ascetic anyways, my concerns were of course air flow mostly with the case, but im guessing any full size ATX format case would do the same thing! As for the CPU, this pick was a downgrade from the 220$ 8 core version of the same one, however im not sure what would be a good pick for a CPU at the 200$ price point that would pair well with the rest of the build (last thing I want is a crap CPU when 60 or 80 extra bucks would have gotten me a really nice one, im open to recommendations). As for the cooling, as far as I could tell keeping it cold as possible was really important and usually the stock coolers are awefull?
 
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modernwar99

modernwar99

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Either you can play on medium settings with a lower end GPU and make use of the 144hz monitor, or save a ton of money by buying a 60hz one and put it towards maxing games with a GTX 970. Also 8GB of RAM should be plenty for gaming.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.98 @ NCIX)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.95 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($399.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($189.63 @ Vuugo)
Keyboard: Thermaltake eSPORTS Challenger Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $1319.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-06 18:43 EDT-0400
 
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Dillon_3

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Oct 6, 2015
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My concerns lie in loss of air flow and premormance, reducing the case and MOBO size (keep in mind im kinda using comon snese here and not any REAL tech known how, im outa my depth hence the asking)
(also noted the issue with the power supply)
 
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Dillon_3

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Oct 6, 2015
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modernwar99 im really impressed with how fast you threw that build together (it took me two days to come up with that draft) but I like it, it makes a bunch of sense to put more into my hardware and then overclock a cheaper monitor. My question about that build is about RAM speed there ( is 1600 acceptable, and would this build have the longevity to play new releases?)
 
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Dillon_3

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Oct 6, 2015
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im torn now between the build modernwar99 sugested and the changes made to my build by getochkn (and then saving on the moniter as well), because im not sure i would NEED to overclock for any of my games with war99's build

(Thank you so much, everyone....really, even this so far has givin me alot more to think about, as im certian every one of you knows more than me, and your all saving me money and stress :3)
 
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Speedstang

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Feb 14, 2015
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You won't lose performance in reducing the case and motherboard size. As for air flow, the stock coolers are enough, unless you want to overclock a lot you don't really need to worry about that, the case is really just a box for your parts. I'd say Modernwar99's suggestion is perfect for you. Powerful CPU, Powerful GPU to match it, Dual channel RAM, and a good power supply. It's everything more that your original build.

EDIT: The CPU he suggested is locked, it can't be overclocked, but honestly that CPU won't ever need to be overclocked. As for overclocking the GPU, I don't think you'll need to, that GPU can basically max out any game right now at 1920 by 1080 with 60 FPS.
 
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Dillon_3

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Oct 6, 2015
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Speedstang, I think your right, I have been looking at the two side by side, and it really is everything I was hoping for and a bit more, for a bit less money (and if im waiting on the 144hz moniter....I do have an old 1080 60hz tv I could use as a tide over to save a bit more money, or just wait till black friday!. Much apreciated everyone ( Im going to make a case change and find a dif moniter to go with that build, but I feel really good about spending my money on those parts) Thank you all. (if anyone else wants to add im not going to be buying till the sales, so I will leave the thread open to sujestions (if thats ok) untill then.
 
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Speedstang

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I'd say modernwar99's build is better, better hardware with a lesser monitor, but you can max out nearly all games without any overclocking. In response to your previous post, 1600 Mhz is fine for 8 gb, it won't have too much of an effect, it's what I'm currently using. You should still be able to max out games on that monitor.
 
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Geekwad

Geekwad

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Sep 25, 2015
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I would consider something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.63 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($124.98 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($106.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390 8GB SOC Video Card ($419.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($33.49 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($89.00 @ shopRBC)
Monitor: AOC G2460PF 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($379.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Keyboard: Thermaltake eSPORTS Challenger Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $1450.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-06 19:41 EDT-0400

Stock CPU fan will get you started and then you can upgrade it, the case, fans/controllers and such later.....after you have your core system in place.
 
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Geekwad

Geekwad

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Sep 25, 2015
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The GPU's are even, but taking this staged approach I'd throw this thought out there. The mobo you chose is not SLI capable, and it would be a nice option to have for the future (look at Z87's).

On that point....a 700-750w PSU now would have you ready for that so you wouldn't have to upgrade if you did it. If you do end up saving for a better monitor, you may want that to get good frames at higher resolutions (or at least have the option).

You also mentioned you would want to overclock eventually, but the Intel on the plate does not overclock. If your thought was upgrade later and then overclock, then that's fine.....but the Z87 would be better for that than the H97 too.

((NOTE: The 8-thread AMD 8320 does OC to the 4.2Ghz area, but not equal to a 8-thread 4790K clocked to the same level.)))
 
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Dillon_3

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Oct 6, 2015
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Ok, so I just took the monitor off for now (expecting price drops on black Friday to balance out buying a moniter with the savings :3 ) and I made a few changes to the INTEL build modernwar99 suggested, and made a few tweaks based on the things mentioned above. However the more I think about over clocking the more I think "im used to playing games on a laptop, am I going to be so greedy I want to over clock my nice new gaming pc" or will I be so impressed with how much better it is that ill leave it alone.....im partial to the later there). From what I can tell this will be more than enough for MOST games pre (and possibly some) 2015 titles. http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/jp2kMp


Also mabey a stupid question but HOW are this https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp42974kr and this http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr939g1gaming8gd the same price if one has double the video ram??!!
 
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Geekwad

Geekwad

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Sep 25, 2015
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Different manufacturers (Nvidia makes a larger profit on their cards), and somewhat different designs......both get to roughly the same place. There are circumstances that the extra memory comes in handy on the AMD card, but they aren't perfectly comparable spec-to-spec. Same way an AMD-FX 8-thread is not like the Intel 8-thread.

Excusing specs but focusing on performance, AMD at certain price-points (low-mid......and finally starting to show signs of life at the top of the pile again) tend to offer a better value to performance ratio. It's a generalization, but 'usually' accurate (I have found this varies from country to country though....depends on how each manufacturer's distribution system and focus in the country is).
 
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modernwar99

modernwar99

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The R9 390's 8GB VRAM doesn't do anything at 1080p, though helpful at higher resolutions. The gigabyte version also has locked voltage which means a very limited OC. I bought my R9 390 over the GTX 970 in hopes dx12 and/or vulkan shows the same performance gain for AMD in future AAA titles. Which ever one you decide to choose, I guarantee you will not regret it, they're both great cards for $300.

Also not a huge fan of the FX series, sure they're cheaper now, but AM3+ is a dead socket that leads nowhere in terms of upgrades and you would have to switch over to either Intel or Zen (if it is successful) later on. The i5 stock would perform better in games than an OCed 8320. Even games like GTA 5 that use all 8 cores, the 8320 performs about on par with an i3.

Also get rid of the Raidmax PSU, it is a low quality unit. Stick with EVGA G series or XFX TS series for top notch quality at a low price.
 
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