New Gaming Build - $1100 Budget

[T0rM3nTeD]

I have built computers in the past, and I have a friend who wants one built now. The last few years I have not kept up with what's good, and pricing. I threw a build together that is a little over budget right now. Need your guys help making it work for <=$1100. I do NOT need Windows, monitors, speakers, keyboard, mouse.

Let me know what you think of the following, and why? Where can I make improvements? Is everything compatible? I am completely focused on making this the best gaming machine I can for the price. Focus is on speed/performance.

Case - Cougar: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811553002
MOBO - ASRock 990FX Extreme4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157266
SSD- 120GB Mushkin: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226152
HD - 1TB Seagate Barracuda: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697
CPU - AMD FX 8150 Zambezi 8-core: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103960
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231468
Video Card - MSI N560GTX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608
PSU - Rosewill 750GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182067
DVD Burner - ASUS 24x: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Fan - CoolerMaster 140mm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103077

The SSD will obviously be used for the operating system and all games. HD will be for everything else, like media, etc. Is 8-core the best option for the CPU or is it wise to do less? Is 8GB RAM enough, or should we go for overkill and get 16GB? Let me know what you think of this build, and what should be changed.

Thanks.

 

[Estix]

MOBO - ASRock 990FX Extreme4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157266
CPU - AMD FX 8150 Zambezi 8-core: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103960

AMD's current platform is not as good as Intel's for gaming, for the ~$360 that you're spending on the CPU + mobo, I'd recommend An i5-2500k, and an ASRock Extreme3 Gen3

Video Card - MSI N560GTX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127608

That card is rather overpriced for a 560Ti, you can find them up to $40-$50 cheaper, or go for a 7850 in that same price range.

The RAM is a fine deal if you get the 15% off.

Just my $0.02.

 

[T0rM3nTeD]

Ok, thanks for the info. Is there a reason that a 4-core intel chip is better than an 8 core AMD chip? Also, I'm looking at more 560ti cards and they don't all have the same amount of onboard memory or clock speeds, so how big of a difference will that make?

 

[Estix]

Is there a reason that a 4-core intel chip is better than an 8 core AMD chip?

The short answer is that most games cannot use more than one or two cores, and each core of the Intel chip is faster (able to execute more instructions per clock cycle, (and generally able to handle higher clocks, but that's up to the silicon lottery...))

Also, I'm looking at more 560ti cards and they don't all have the same amount of onboard memory or clock speeds, so how big of a difference will that make?

Honestly? There are very few times that the card would be able to even use 2GB of VRAM, it simply isn't fast enough to need that much.

If you are sure you want NVidia, then I'd suggest using the $20 you can save from going for an Intel CPU + mobo, and using that to up the GPU to a lower-end 570

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162075

That would, realistically be faster, but that's just my opinion, and I usually bat for Team Red

 

[T0rM3nTeD]

Ok thanks again for the answers. Any other areas I can save some money/upgrade performance?

 

[Estix]

Ok thanks again for the answers. Any other areas I can save some money/upgrade performance?

Well, the case is a matter of taste, but you can certainly spend less on it; I'm a fan of Cooler Master's offerings - Storm Scout, 690 II Advanced, and similar.

The fan you listed seems odd, as the case comes with some... Did you mean to include a heat sink fan for the processor? You will probably want to; once again, I'm a fan of CM, specifically their Hyper 212 offerings tend to be good, cheap, and reliable.

Aside from that, it all looks good to my eyes.

 

[T0rM3nTeD]

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