New to building a pc

[knockoutdafat]

Approximate Purchase Date: this week, possibly buying on Wednesday.
Budget Range: 5-600
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, rift, wow, any other misc games i might want to try out)

Parts Not Required: keyboard, monitor, speaker,

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: would like to get AMD part

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: probably not, but would like to have the ability in the future with no upgrades or small amount of upgrading

Monitor Resolution:1920x1080

Additional Comments: none

 

[striker410]

Well the first thing is don't get that combo. Substandard PSU, outdated parts.

Please fill in this form: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

We'll get back to you once you do. Also, I would certainly not trust that PSU with my build.

 

[knockoutdafat]

What do you think about this build


Processor:AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

Case: RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WB Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156063

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-S2P AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128504

GPU:ASUS EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121419

PSU: Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-520 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371047

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231313

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

not sure if that motherboard and RAM are compatible , appreciate the help and thanks in advance.

 

[baskerva]

You are right in that the motherboard and ram aren't compatible. You will have to get some lesser RAM or upgrade the motherboard. also the motherboard is pci 2.0 x 16, not 2.1 x 16. Not a big deal right now, but just something to keep in mind. Also the motherboard you are looking at i believe is 3.0 gb/s for the Sata and that HDD listed is 6.0gb/s. I would look into a better motherboard... maybe something with usb 3.0 and sata 6.0 gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131654 ~104
that might be better suited for what you are looking to do...

 

[striker410]

^ agreed. And that's a very crappy board. I would suggest you go Intel, as the new Sandy bridge processors dominate in gaming. You should go i3-2100 with an H67 board. Should still be in budget.

 

[knockoutdafat]

You are right in that the motherboard and ram aren't compatible. You will have to get some lesser RAM or upgrade the motherboard. also the motherboard is pci 2.0 x 16, not 2.1 x 16. Not a big deal right now, but just something to keep in mind. Also the motherboard you are looking at i believe is 3.0 gb/s for the Sata and that HDD listed is 6.0gb/s. I would look into a better motherboard... maybe something with usb 3.0 and sata 6.0 gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131654 ~104
that might be better suited for what you are looking to do...

Thanks, the only other question i have is if that PSU is going to be enough, or if i should go with say a 600?

 

[baskerva]

yeah have to agree with Striker. Right now the Sandybridge processors are much better. Bulldozer might even the ground, but that is still awhile off. I think the psu you have will work, especially if you use an sandybridge. On newegg if you look you can almost always get a good psu with a good rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028.
Depending on where you live as well, you might want to consider going to Microcenter for the CPU. the i3-2100 is 100 and the i5 2500k is 180 there... cheaper than you will find anywhere (you have to pay taxes though).

 

[knockoutdafat]

^ agreed. And that's a very crappy board. I would suggest you go Intel, as the new Sandy bridge processors dominate in gaming. You should go i3-2100 with an H67 board. Should still be in budget.

If i went with the i3-2100 besides the board do i have to change anything else, or is everything else alright. If i do what would you recommend for a GPU in the price range as the 6850.

 

[baskerva]

everything should be fine. You can try and find a PSU that is certified for the i3/i5/i7 intels, but not a must. You will have to find a good lga 1155 motherboard, go asus, gigabyte or even intel. Everything else should be fine. You can probably get an equally good set or RAM cheaper. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220436&cm_re=patriot_sector_5-_-20-220-436-_-Product this could save you a few bucks and oc's easily if that is something you are into. The only reason to stay away from that graphics card will be if you are going to be running Linux. Then stick with nvidia.

 

[baskerva]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=289
This is a good indicator of the cpus you are looking at and we are talking about...

 

[knockoutdafat]

I will be running windows on this machine. Why would i want a PSU that is certified for i3/i5/i7? If it doesn't have to be out of curiosity.

 

[baskerva]

sorry not certified, compatible. I think its just something lowerend PSU's advertise to make them more enticing. The one you have selected should be fine with an i3, but you could probably downgrade to a 80 certified and save 20 bucks if you need to.

 

[knockoutdafat]

do graphics cards work better with each others parts. Like nvidia works better with intel, and geforce better with AMD. if you mix and match then does it effect performance.

 

[baskerva]

Well Geforce is Nvidia. Raedon is ATI and AMD. I know Nvdia is SLI and ATI is crossfire for their dual card setups. I don't think there is any difference in what will work with Intel and AMD processors. The main reasons to avoid ATI and AMD with Linux is driver issues. I think AMD is trying to get to a point where their AMD CPUs and their graphics cards are better integrated for better performance, but from what I know they aren't there yet. If you are having any thoughts articles like: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card-game-performance-radeon-hd-6670,2935.html can be useful, but I don't think you are going to get any difference in performance...

 

[striker410]

^ not really true. Ubuntu always rolls out the latest drivers in their releases. You are actually better off going ATI with linux IMO.

Also, don't get Nvidia and AMD. Unless you get the new 990fx chipset (which you wont; pricey) there's no SLI.

ATI or NVidia will work with intel quite well. If you go only single card, same goes for AMD.

It's really about price. I think that ATI has better value cards between 50-250, but that's my opinion. It really does depend.

 

[knockoutdafat]

I guess, I just don't understand how the dual- core processor is better than the quad core processor. i looked at those comparisons that you showed me baskerva. and changed it to the 965 instead of the 955 and it seems like a give and take. I don't know how to choose lol.

 

[baskerva]

Striker: Learn something new every day. Didn't know Nvidia and AMD don't get along very well (not surprised). I was asking over in the Linux forums recently and was told again that Nvidia was still the way to go with Linux, but graphics cards are probably the things I know the least about so I can't refute it. I'll have to look into using ATI's in Linux....

Knockout: One of the big differences is going to be wattage. The i3 runs at 65w and the 965 at 125w. The Sandybridge CPUs also have graphics capabilities built into them which SHOULD help your graphics card handle the load better and should be able to help it perform better. The dual core i3 comes with Hyper-threading technology which helps with the multitasking aspect (I've read that it acts around 30-40% of actual physical cores). The AMD will overclock where the Intel is locked in at 3.1. Those two chips are rather similar in performance, but have some differences. Its somewhat of a preference and future proofing. Intel has said they are going to use the LGA 1155 socket for the foreseeable (at least Ivy-Bridge) future. I'm not positive that AMD has said that about bulldozer. If you have the extra $ get the i5 2500k (overclock to 4.4ghz on room air) and you will be good for a long time to come (but likely to push you out of your budget)... There are others I'll defer too that will be able to give more insight, but for now I would stick with Intel (die hard AMD guy here too) or wait and see what AMD is going to come out with in Q3/Q4 (not something you are wanting to do I bet).

 

[striker410]

Could not have said it better myself! Very good job outlining the facts.

 

[baskerva]

Could not have said it better myself! Very good job outlining the facts.

Thanks Good to know all of my reading has gone to some good use.