Hi there!
My partner and I are planning on making two gaming rigs in the next month or so, which will be a first for us. We have a friend helping us with the building process, but at the moment we are still trying to decide on parts.
Our build at the moment is this:
CPU: AMD FX-9590 4.7GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 120XL 76.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme9 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
RAM: G.Skill Ripsaws X Series 16GB (2x8G) DDR3-1600 Memory
Drives: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5” SSD + Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB 3.5” 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Graphics Card: XFX Radeon RX 480 8GB XXX OC Video Card
Power Supply Unit: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case: NZXT Phantom 820 Full Tower Case
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Windows 7
( PCpartpicker list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/XDNygL )
We already have two monitors, so those are not included. AMD over Intel is a choice we're eager to try out as we've heard many good things, but we're open to be swayed on this if you have a passionate opinion on it. We've done our best to pick our well-reviewed parts across the board.
Used for:
Gaming (Guild Wars 2, Riders of Icarus, Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2 *when it releases, Borderlands 2, League of Legends, etc etc.)
Video Editing
Artwork
Priorities:
Low temperature case
Reliability
Durability (we game for hours on end at a time)
Meh:
Eyecandy (hence the pricey case)
Overclocking (We're interested but have no clue where to start)
Not priorities:
Noise
Our biggest question is about cooling; we're not sure about going liquid with it. Our friend recommends liquid cooling, but we're not sure. I'm hoping not to trigger a massive debate on air vs. liquid cooling here, but my research on it still leaves me questioning which one would be better, and are looking for an experienced opinion. The general consensus seems to be that air cooling is more reliable and less maintenance, which is a pro for us considering that reliability is a priority and we've never had to maintain a liquid cooler before and would have no idea what we're doing, but that you trade improved cooling for this at a relatively low risk. The price difference between the two is not a major concern, as if we're going to spend money building rigs we really want to have them in a good place. The air cooler we'd go with otherwise is most likely the Noctua NH D15, but we are completely open to alternative options.
Our other questions are about the build entirety; does it seem solid? Do any components stick out as a problem in some way? Is there room for improvement within this budget (or a close stretch that would improve something significantly? Is the speed of our DDR3 RAM okay and is 16GB enough? Has anybody purchased something from XFX before, were they okay?
Thank you very much for reading through, and thanks in advance for any help. We'll be around a bit tonight (UK time) and tomorrow, and we'll try to reply to any questions/comments as soon as we can.
My partner and I are planning on making two gaming rigs in the next month or so, which will be a first for us. We have a friend helping us with the building process, but at the moment we are still trying to decide on parts.
Our build at the moment is this:
CPU: AMD FX-9590 4.7GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 120XL 76.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme9 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
RAM: G.Skill Ripsaws X Series 16GB (2x8G) DDR3-1600 Memory
Drives: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5” SSD + Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB 3.5” 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Graphics Card: XFX Radeon RX 480 8GB XXX OC Video Card
Power Supply Unit: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case: NZXT Phantom 820 Full Tower Case
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Windows 7
( PCpartpicker list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/XDNygL )
We already have two monitors, so those are not included. AMD over Intel is a choice we're eager to try out as we've heard many good things, but we're open to be swayed on this if you have a passionate opinion on it. We've done our best to pick our well-reviewed parts across the board.
Used for:
Gaming (Guild Wars 2, Riders of Icarus, Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2 *when it releases, Borderlands 2, League of Legends, etc etc.)
Video Editing
Artwork
Priorities:
Low temperature case
Reliability
Durability (we game for hours on end at a time)
Meh:
Eyecandy (hence the pricey case)
Overclocking (We're interested but have no clue where to start)
Not priorities:
Noise
Our biggest question is about cooling; we're not sure about going liquid with it. Our friend recommends liquid cooling, but we're not sure. I'm hoping not to trigger a massive debate on air vs. liquid cooling here, but my research on it still leaves me questioning which one would be better, and are looking for an experienced opinion. The general consensus seems to be that air cooling is more reliable and less maintenance, which is a pro for us considering that reliability is a priority and we've never had to maintain a liquid cooler before and would have no idea what we're doing, but that you trade improved cooling for this at a relatively low risk. The price difference between the two is not a major concern, as if we're going to spend money building rigs we really want to have them in a good place. The air cooler we'd go with otherwise is most likely the Noctua NH D15, but we are completely open to alternative options.
Our other questions are about the build entirety; does it seem solid? Do any components stick out as a problem in some way? Is there room for improvement within this budget (or a close stretch that would improve something significantly? Is the speed of our DDR3 RAM okay and is 16GB enough? Has anybody purchased something from XFX before, were they okay?
Thank you very much for reading through, and thanks in advance for any help. We'll be around a bit tonight (UK time) and tomorrow, and we'll try to reply to any questions/comments as soon as we can.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram