First ever build for gaming, good bad or just ok?

mdiiorgi

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Sep 27, 2015
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I plan on building my very first gaming pc within the next few weeks. I am going to wait on a graphics card and just use the integrated graphics for now until I get a few more dollars fora graphics card (gtx 960). But here is my build let me know what you guys think of it and if i can improve! also if anyone has suggestions for a slightly cheaper PSU but still good quality that would be great!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c7yMBm
 
Solution
2GB vs 4GB:
The price difference isn't that huge. Perhaps $20 to $30 more.

A lot of reviewers say there's no point, but then I've already seen it demonstrated in at least four games that there was a benefit. Also, we know that VRAM usage is going to continue to rise.

*It also benefits in a way that you can't benchmark.
Let's say you're running Windows and have over 400MB (desktop usage), then open a game that uses over 1600MB. What happens is at some point the desktop data gets swapped over to the System RAM to free up more VRAM for the game.

If you had 4GB then there's no need to swap in that scenario so leaving the game to go to Windows is faster, and Alt-TAB is more likely to work without issues.
I don't see any obvious problems.

You may want to consider a 4GB version of the GTX960 to future-proof a bit as VRAM usage has started to rise in general. Another options is the R9-380X 4GB.

The EVO isn't a bad cooler, but there's one that's about $10 you may want to consider. I'll post some links below.
 

jhall18

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Jan 11, 2016
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Good job on picking a quality power supply. The 960 should work fine with the parts you listed, and the 212 evo will work good for mild overclocks. Also you don't need 4gb for 1080p gaming, 2gb will work fine. :)
 

The Corrector

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Feb 17, 2016
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Looking good... Stay with that PSU - it is of great quality and you don't want to throw away that quality for a cheaper crap.... When you get that graphics card, you should be fine... For the time being the Intel HD Graphics 530 that the Intel Core i5-6600K has, should allow you to play basic games on decent settings and more graphic intensive games on very low settings.
 
*Make sure you keep checking for motherboard BIOS updates. (at least one will fix the CPU errata issue)

recommended CPU cooler: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h7

GTX960 4GB: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn960wf2oc4gd

R9-380X 4GB: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-strixr9380x4ggami

PERFORMANCE: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/R9_380X_Strix/23.html

The above two GPU's have a lot of pros/cons.
I prefer NVidia overall, but the R9-380X is noticeably faster. It's slightly more expensive but still a better value if only comparing FPS vs dollar.

It gets more confusing if we discuss drivers, software and feature like PhysX/Gameworks that the AMD might not have. On the other hand, many of these NVidia feature might not be enabled on a GTX960 due to the hit in performance.
 
2GB vs 4GB:
The price difference isn't that huge. Perhaps $20 to $30 more.

A lot of reviewers say there's no point, but then I've already seen it demonstrated in at least four games that there was a benefit. Also, we know that VRAM usage is going to continue to rise.

*It also benefits in a way that you can't benchmark.
Let's say you're running Windows and have over 400MB (desktop usage), then open a game that uses over 1600MB. What happens is at some point the desktop data gets swapped over to the System RAM to free up more VRAM for the game.

If you had 4GB then there's no need to swap in that scenario so leaving the game to go to Windows is faster, and Alt-TAB is more likely to work without issues.
 
Solution

gran172

Reputable
Jan 22, 2016
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I'd get the 4gb, i had a R9 380 2gb and returned it for a 4gb one, not that it was a HUGE increase in fps, actually, fps stayed the same, main difference was that i could play with higher resolution textures without stuttering, for example, with the 2gb one i'd get 60fps on high textures but with massive stutter due to lack of vram, when i got the 4gb one i could use very high textures and not stutter at all. Anyways, you can't go wrong with either of those, they are all good options.