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New build advice

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I'm looking to build a computer (hopefully this week or the next). I don't want to spend much more than $600, though if I can build a system for less, I wouldn't mind.

I'm mainly getting this computer to play games on, though I'm not looking for something extremely high-end. I may play a few newer games (SC2, HMM6), but I don't care about playing them on extremely high settings.

I'm looking to get my parts from Canada Computers, since they seem to be the cheapest. Aside from that, though, I haven't any preference for which companies to buy from; it's been so long since I assembled a computer that I don't even know what the better brands for things like graphics cards are.

I've already bought the power supply and CPU, because of stock levels and the sale ended. But both are unopened and I can return them if you guys have suggestions. I also haven't listed extra fans, though any suggestions would be helpful, particularly for the CPU fan.

Parts:

BitFenix Outlaw case
(I'm looking for a minimalistic case.)

AMD FX-8120 octo-core, 3.1 GHz, 125w
(I think I may be going overkill on the CPU, but the price isn't that far off from the FX-4200 which I was originally looking at. Canada Computers also doesn't have any of the Phenom ones in stock, but if you have any recommendations/ideas, that would be helpful. There are other stores nearby where I can get other processors, but the prices tend to be higher.)

Asus M5A78L-M LX PLUS Socket AM3+

Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6450 1GB GDDR3
(I'm quite lost when it comes to graphics cards. I've selected this one based on price, but I don't think it'll be enough for games like SC2.)

G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB 1333MHz
(Price is the main concern with RAM, since I don't think I'll need much of it. I do like the larger heatsinks on these, though.)

Antec HCG-400M 400w

Thanks!

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http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-o...

You can judge if the FX-8120 is good enough.

I would suggest an i5 for a like $35 more (including the sale) or if you don't want to spend that much you can go with an i3-2120.


The graphics card is actually poop, I would suggest a 7750 on the cheap end and a 7850 if you want to spend a lot. Or you can get a 7770 in the middle.

The RAM is good, but if you read the thing above the stock levels it says that it was designed for intel motherboards. It should still work on your AMD mobo, just wanted to point it out.

The power supply is debatable because we don't know your final parts. Can you please tell us your budget so we can actually give you a full build.

Wow, thanks for the quick reply.

I've really been wondering about Intel CPUs, and have been on the fence. I'll decide between the i3 and i5 tonight, and I'll get back to you. Thanks for the advice on that. I'll also look at the video cards, again, after I've decided how much to spend on the CPU.

As for my budget, I'm looking for ~$600 (after taxes). I'd rather spend a bit more than 600 and get a better computer, if that's what needed part-wise, but I'm definitely not ready to spend ~700$.

Patflute said:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-o...

You can judge if the FX-8120 is good enough.

I would suggest an i5 for a like $35 more (including the sale) or if you don't want to spend that much you can go with an i3-2120.


The graphics card is actually poop, I would suggest a 7750 on the cheap end and a 7850 if you want to spend a lot. Or you can get a 7770 in the middle.

The RAM is good, but if you read the thing above the stock levels it says that it was designed for intel motherboards. It should still work on your AMD mobo, just wanted to point it out.

The power supply is debatable because we don't know your final parts. Can you please tell us your budget so we can actually give you a full build.
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what decides your spu is what you plan to play and do. # of cores become important in professional work, and cpu intensive games like BF3. if your games arent as intensive, there really is no need to put alot of cost into the cpu and put it into the gpu, as the gpu is the heart of the gamer.

Right, so I think I would prefer going with the i5-2450P, 3.2GHz. It is just a bit more, and the advantage of a built-in graphics card is nice (not for gaming, obviously, but it would give me a fallback in case a card gets burnt or something).

I'm not sure if the motherboard should be Asus P8H61-M LX PLUS or Asus P8H61-M LE/CSM. Both seem very similar, with the LE having a few more software features. The difference is only $5, though.

I'm clueless about the GPU, though. I've calculated that, with everything else, I have ~60-80$ (pre-taxes). Without good reason, I'm not willing to spend more than 80$, though. (Just to clarify, by 'good reason' I mean if a cheaper GPU won't work, and I have to buy a more expensive one, I will. I'll just need to rethink how much I'm willing to spend.)

As for the power supply, I doubt I'll need more than 300w (though I'd like confirmation on this); I've been using http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp . When I went in right now to return the CPU, I noticed that many of the power supplies were on sale, though not online (at least not yet). So I'm guessing that I'll just go there and pick one out based on what I need and the price. Are there any brands I should be aware of? The only ones I am familiar with are Antec and OCZ.

Thanks again for all the help.

Also, thanks for the link to DirectCanada. I'll have to check out whether anything I'll buy is cheaper, there, though. The CPU at the very least isn't.

Edit:

I'm also starting to lean towards Kingston HyperX T1 8GB 1600MHz RAM. It costs a bit more, but the heatsink look far better and I prefer Kingston....
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