First build, looking for help and advice.

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I'm new to building computers, and I have had some help on this. I believe everything I've picked out is compatible with the other components, and I've spent literally dozens of hours choosing between price and quality. I'm just looking for some advice on my current picks, and some reassurance that all of my components will function with eachother.

For more information, just put the exact line into Google and view the Newegg link.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard = $75
Tower: Rosewill DESTROYER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case = $55
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL = $84
GPU: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5770 HD 5770 1GB 100283-3L PCI-E = $140
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive = $90
DVD: SATA 22X DVD Burner - Bulk LightScribe Support - OEM $18
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply = $90
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor ADX630WFGIBOX = $95
Total: $647

Budget: $500-$700ish
Location: Michigan, USA
Brand: I don't really have a favorite brand. I try to shy away from intel, but if it's good I'll go for it.
Purchase: www.newegg.com (Or another site with comparable prices and warrenty).
Uses: Gaming, such as MW2 and BFBC2, single player and multiplayer. Movies with good quality, and a music machine for parties.

Thanks!
 
The Caviar Green will be slow, and make your whole system feel slow - this is what all harddrives do, but the Green will be unnecessarily slow IMO, as you can get a Caviar Black FAEX for the same price and it is probably one of the fastest 7200/mechanical boot disks available atm.

The PSU is a bit overkill. I'd suggest looking for a good ~500 watt PSU as you may save a few dollars.
 
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Alright, the HDD was still on the table. I looked at them all, black, green, blue, and the green had the best ratings imo. But I will review the one you suggested and make a choice.

I only chose a 650 watt PSU because it was suggested that with the GPU and MoBo being what they are, I should have a 600+ watt PSU. Will I be safer with a 500 watt? A few dollars doesn't mean that much, I'd rather have a stable system instead of a blown component because I don't have enough power.
 

sp12

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Why not get a samsung F3 if available? It's faster than the black.

I agree -- avoid 5400 RPM disks. They will make your computing experience meh.
 
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The green is 5400? I thought it was 7200.. Oops. I will look at both and compare them. But HDD aside, do the choices I picked looked like they'll work good for the money, and most importantly: Are the compatible with eachother? I did as much research as I could and I'm fairly confident they are, but I really don't want to blow $600 and have something ruin the whole setup.
 

sp12

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There are multiple versions of it, but most are 5400.

Can I just suggest some component swaps real quick?

Samsung f3 (-30$) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 (very good, on a firesale)

Athlon X4 635 (c3 revision) (-25$) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103882&cm_re=athlon_ii_x4_635-_-19-103-882-_-Product (c3 overclocks better)

XFX 750 watt, modular, silver-efficiency PSU (-24$) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003 (so much nicer, 1$ more)

Asrock 880g mobo with Sata/USB3, Crossfire support http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157191 (+11$) (more feature rich, 800 series chipsets, integrated GPU is nice in case your main fries/you want to move this down to a server at some point)

G.skill eco series 1600 speed 1.35 voltage CAS 7 ram (25$) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321 (a bit faster, better for overclocking, low voltage means better OC and less heat/energy)


So for 25$ more you move up in all of those components, in the case of the RAM, PSU, and mobo, you move up significantly. Hard drive and CPU are more moderate in terms of improvement, but it's still there.
 
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Alright, I'm torn between the two HDDs. I looked at the Samsung, and I've found that (like always) there's DOAs. But the problem with getting a replacement is that Samsung has poor support, their website doesn't work, and that people are complaning of a slight noise. The black (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-136-337&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1) has very few 1-4 egg ratings, and a high majority being 5 eggs. However, it's more expensive, and hasn't been rated high. I'm stuck between picking since you both are knowledgeable.

I'm fine with the switch in processor, it is a slightly newer processor and has far better ratings.

For $30 more, I don't see the reason for have an extra 100 watts. I only got a 600w because it was suggested that the MoBo have that as a minimum, I think 750w would be a bit of an overkill, don't you think?

As for the MoBo, why is that one better than the one I picked? The one I had picked out looked like it was the best for the price, and I can't really see a difference between the two. What features makes it worth the money?

The memory, again, I can't find how it's worth the extra $15 for the same thing. There are reviews that it doesn't run at the set voltage and specs, and you have to do it manually. I'd rather have something work than have to fiddle with it to get it to do what it's supposed to do.
 

sp12

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Samsung actually has 76% 5 stars compared to 74% for that Caviar. EDIT: I've rarely seen that caviar before, most people want the FAEX model. Google fails me in that I can't figure out what makes it special. The samsung is faster than the FAEX as well. I've successfuly RMA'd both WD and Samsung drives, but if you've had bad experiences with them don't sweat 45$ for the WD.

30$ more? It's 50 cents more. 15% off+20$ MIR. It's also modular + silver efficiency and will literally pay for itself in two days.

Mobo: Crossfire support, integrated GPU, 800 series chipsets (better overclocking, lower power, integrated sata6, tentatively more likely to have Bulldozer support).

The reason they don't run at default is that Jedec has only approved ram up to 1333 speed. The components are rated to a higher speed, but they are not allowed to run at that speed by default. Intel calls their workaround XMP. You'll literally just have to set the options in BIOS to match the ram.

It's not really the same thing, it's 1600 speed, has better timings, and is lower-voltage.
 
The Asrock over Gigabyte 770: all brands makes gems and lemons at various pricepoints and dun let inexperience with brands outside comfort zone prevent you from hitting a gem either for the $$, features or both ^^
 
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Alright. The PSU I will change to the one you suggested because it is better for only $1 more.

The MoBo, I just don't know. I built the entire system around my original pick, and changing it means a lot more work. I read all the reviews and it seems that the board you suggested has a single problem: The VGA driver. The other MoBo didn't have a problem like that. It seems to have good reviews, and I am willing to work a bit harder for a better MoBo, so I will switch because it seems that it's easier for OCing and because the BIOS has userfriendly options.

I'll also change to the Samsung since you suggested it. I didn't know my original pick (green WD) had 5200rpm, so that one is out the door. Then it was between both the black and the samsung. Both have good, and both have bad reviews. And because it's on sale, and newegg has a good RMA process, I'll try it.

The memory too, I'll change. It's memory, that's all I think of it as. I'm not good with looking at it from a technical side like you do, and what you pointed out does make sense. Since it's not a price-hike, I'll stick with your pick.

And like I said earlier, the processor I'm fine with the change. So the new changed build is:

HDD: Samsung f3 = $60
RAM: G.skill eco series 1600 speed 1.35 voltage CAS 7 ram = $99
CPU: Athlon X4 635 = $99
PSU: XFX 750 watt, modular, silver-efficiency PSU = $97
GPU Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5770 HD 5770 1GB 100283-3L PCI-E = $140
MoBo: Asrock 880g mobo with Sata/USB3, Crossfire support = $113
DVD: SATA 22X DVD Burner - Bulk LightScribe Support - OEM $18
Tower: Rosewill DESTROYER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case = $55
Total: $701 (+$54)

Think that sounds good? It's only $1 above my limit, and this isn't including Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers, Monitor, and OS.
 

sp12

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Looks good, though I want to mention there's an Antec 900 combo with that PSU for 5$ more. It's more personal preferance, but it is a slightly better case. Most important part of case purchases is whether you like it or not, but I just though I'd mention it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492896

I think that will be an excellent build with room for expansion in the future. If you wanted to, you could drop to a 650 watt PSU, but IMO it's not a lot of money saved for the requisite drop in performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207002&cm_re=xfx_650-_-17-207-002-_-Product
 
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I'm going to stick with the 750w since it's the best for the buck. As for the case, I picked out the Rosewell because it has extremely good airflow. However the Antec 900 also has good airflow. I'm not sure what one I'd like. The Antec has the USB+ plugs on top, while the Rosewell has it on the front, giving the ability to put it above the floor so it doesn't suck all the dust. Do you think the Rosewell will have good enough airflow, or should I switch to the Antec to be safe?

I also just want to be sure, will all of my choices work together? Are they compatible?
 
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Just going to bump this up since I plan on buying most of this today/tomorrow.
 

sp12

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Rosewill has one top, rear, and front 120mm fan. The Antec has 2 front and one back 120mm, and 1 top 200mm. The cooling on the Antec will be better, but the Rosewill will probably be fine.
 
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Ok. I'm not too much of a hardcore gamer, and I do like the case pick I had originally. Cooling is good, but I'm happy with what I have.

I ended up buying the Samsung yesterday so I could get the saver deal on it, so I will start purchasing the other parts today. Priced out, my setup will cost me $705.15, and I will save $149.49. All-in-all it's a very good savings for a very good system.

Thank you for all the help!
 
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Actually, I have one more question. Opinions on the Saphire 5770? That was my original card, without really comparing. But reading the review from this site on that card, it shows that the 4870 constantly out-performs the 5770. I am going to mainly game, so I would like to have a good card.

If I could get SLI or Crossfire'd cards at the same or a bit higher price, for a lot better performance, I would. What's your opinions on the 5770?
 

sp12

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5770 is a bit worse off performance wise in general than the 4870, but offers solid price/performance where it is. It's able to push 1680 flawlessly, and 1920 with some lowered settings. It's big advantages over the 4870 are directx11/GPGPU and low energy/heat.
 
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So I should stick with 5770 because it can push good quality with good settings, and has the advantage over the 4870 with dx11 and low energy/heat? I'm all for that, I just want the best graphics for a budget price.
 

sp12

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It's a tossup. The 4870 will give you more performance/dollar, but the 5770 is still a very solid card with lower energy/DX11. It's really a tossup. Is your energy expensive? Is your house warm? DX11 important right now? Then get the 5770. If not, the 4870 is a stronger price/performance part.
 
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Energy isn't expensive, and where the tower will be housed is a basement, so it's usually a few degrees lower than room temp. DX11 isn't important right now, persay, but I don't know if I'll have $150-$200 next year when DX11 will be standard on most games. Do you think DX11 is really all that important within gaming/movies right now?
 

sp12

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Not at all, the 5770 really can't even do DX11 features with good framerates anyway, it's more the DX11 GPGPU features that are attractive.

Just make sure it's a 1GB GDDR5 4870 with a decent cooler.
 
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Now you've lost me. Not with the DX11 GPGPU features, but with the coolers. What am I looking for with a 4870? The only thing I know about 'coolers' is that I'm going to have 3-5 120mm fans in my case, +/- depending on how it initially runs.

Can you give me a suggestion and let me know what I'm looking for via coolers?
 
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Alright, I will buy the $120 one. I do see that it runs very hot, with people having their case getting to very high temps, so I will be sure that I use my 3-5 fans. If I have to, I'll get a different cooler for my system. And if I get a cooler, I'll probably end up crossfire'ing these cards.

Thanks for all your help, I think I'm finally done asking questions ;P
 

sp12

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By the time you're looking to crossfire these cards the 6000 series will be out in force. IMO you could just swap out your single 4870 for a 6850 at some point next year.
 

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