Just looking for comments or general feedback on new build :)

[veerorith]

So I have put together a new build the past few days over pcpartpicker.com. I'm just looking for basic feedback and information you might have to share about good or bad choices I have made. Please refrain from going all "Intel is the superior everything", I have chosen AMD because of my lack of money
Also, I was considering getting some sort of liquid cooling system, but I wasn't sure what to get and whether or not it would be worth the time and effort. Also, pros of liquid cooling vs risks, such as coolant/water all over your valuable computer parts. . .

here is the build -
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/yjr

Thanks in advance,

Tyler/VeeroRith

 

[veerorith]

Oh, btw I may end up getting another Video Card to connect with crossfirex when I have the money/Birthday gift in the future.

 

[manofchalk]

Your total budget would be good.

I assume this is a gaming machine?
Then you can halve the RAM, only need 8GB for gaming.

Custom water-cooling isn't justified on this rig, entry level kits are usually cost $150 and after adding fans, Kill-Coil/PT Nuke and your own tubing and barbs (if you want) it can end up costing $200+ for just a basic CPU loop.
AIO watercoolers (Corsair H series type coolers) are outperformed by cheaper air heatsinks at the low end and and are again unjustified at the high end.
Much better off buying a cheap air heatsink for $30 and sinking the rest into better components.

 

[veerorith]

Oh yes, and was considering changing current ram for this maybe. I have a large amount of afterthought and my forethought is fairly nonexistent XD
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31600c9d16gxm

 

[manofchalk]

So you have already bough the machine?

That RAM is no better, for a gaming rig, 8GB is plenty.

 

[veerorith]

Your total budget would be good.

I assume this is a gaming machine?
Then you can halve the RAM, only need 8GB for gaming.

Custom water-cooling isn't justified on this rig, entry level kits are usually cost $150 and after adding fans, Kill-Coil/PT Nuke and your own tubing and barbs (if you want) it can end up costing $200+ for just a basic CPU loop.
AIO watercoolers (Corsair H series type coolers) are outperformed by cheaper air heatsinks at the low end and and are again unjustified at the high end.
Much better off buying a cheap air heatsink for $30 and sinking the rest into better components.

Thanks for the advice on water cooling. Also, I guess the ram didnt really matter to me, It just seemed like a good deal at the time Would maybe a faster speed of ram but only 8 instead of a 1300 16 be better? Because I don't quite understand the "Speed" of ram vs capacity. As in the 1300 vs lets say, a 1600

 

[veerorith]

And no, I have not bought the machine, I'm just speculating on parts
My plan is to wait probably until christmas because I don't have the money to buy the build completely. I can ask parents for the video card or something and save some money using components as christmas gifts

 

[manofchalk]

In the majority of cases, you will benefit from capacity than speed. But again, for gaming, 8GB is plenty.

Im not entirely sure myself, but I know it vaguely.
The frequency (1600Mhz or so) is how fast the data inside the RAM can move and be sent to the CPU.
The timings (CL9 or so) refer to how fast the RAM can react to requests for data.

In general a faster frequency is better than lower timings.
Right now 1600Mhz, CL9 is the price-to-performance sweet spot. Go any higher and your paying a lot of money for minimal gain.

 

[veerorith]

Swapped out the ram for 8gb, corsair vengeance.
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/yjr
(same link as before, just felt like pasting again for lolz)

 

[veerorith]

Oh and yes, it is for gaming. Silly me. Ya that's all I do with myself so. . .

 

[hitman01]

Made some adjustments, it should be better now :

AMD FX-4300 FX-Series Four-Core
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FX-Series-Four-Core-Processor-FD4300WMHKBOX/dp/B009O7YU3S

Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 AM3+
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GA-970A-DS3-AM3-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B0083R9QQG/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065017&sr=1-7&keywords=970+motherboard

XFX AMD Radeon HD 7850
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-FX785AZNFC-FX-785A-ZNFC/dp/B008E6XJYG/ref=sr_1_21?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065684&sr=1-21&keywords=7850

Corsair Builder Series CX 500
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Builder-Watt-EPS%C2%A0-CX500/dp/B0092ML0MY/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1352059957&sr=1-2&tag=vglnk-c1001-20

Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB)
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-PC3-10666-240-Pin-Memory-CMX8GX3M2A1333C9/dp/B003N8GVUY/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065457&sr=1-7&keywords=corsair+2+gb+ram

Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3R
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-Enterprise-3-5-Inch-HE103SJ/dp/B004L5GRQQ/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065611&sr=1-1

Thermaltake Case VL80001W2Z V3
http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-VL80001W2Z-Black-Performance-Retail/dp/B005OME2XU/ref=sr_1_55?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065891&sr=1-55

Better processor & GPU, cut down PSU and some other stuff

 

[veerorith]

Made some adjustments, it should be better now :

AMD FX-4300 FX-Series Four-Core
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FX-Series-Four-Core-Processor-FD4300WMHKBOX/dp/B009O7YU3S

Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 AM3+
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GA-970A-DS3-AM3-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B0083R9QQG/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065017&sr=1-7&keywords=970+motherboard

XFX AMD Radeon HD 7850
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-FX785AZNFC-FX-785A-ZNFC/dp/B008E6XJYG/ref=sr_1_21?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065684&sr=1-21&keywords=7850

Corsair Builder Series CX 500
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Builder-Watt-EPS%C2%A0-CX500/dp/B0092ML0MY/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1352059957&sr=1-2&tag=vglnk-c1001-20

Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB)
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-PC3-10666-240-Pin-Memory-CMX8GX3M2A1333C9/dp/B003N8GVUY/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065457&sr=1-7&keywords=corsair+2+gb+ram

Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3R
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-Enterprise-3-5-Inch-HE103SJ/dp/B004L5GRQQ/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065611&sr=1-1

Thermaltake Case VL80001W2Z V3
http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-VL80001W2Z-Black-Performance-Retail/dp/B005OME2XU/ref=sr_1_55?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1352065891&sr=1-55

Better processor & GPU, cut down PSU and some other stuff

I am thankful for the feedback, but I don't quite understand some of these changes. To be honest, I don't think I need 1TB on a hard drive. Second, how is a 3.8ghz quad core better than a 4.2 quad core? Last but not least, these are all amazon, and many of them have no customer reviews, so there is no way of knowing if they are really any good compared to the specs on paper. I've avoided more than a few PSU's that looked great, but had a habit of killing your computer on power surges/outages, from helpful reviews.

The main point is, give more details on why one part is better than the other. It seems like you just took the build I am working on and just said "no, just use mine" and handed me a brand new build. Let me know why some parts should be changed, and I can better understand the thought process behind the changes.

 

[shahrd]

Upgrade that RAM to 1600 mhz. It'll make some difference. And you can always overclock the memory if necessary. 1600mhz memory at 8gb is almost the same price ans what you posted at newegg. Sign up for their newsletters as they give a lot of really great coupons out almost daily. The gpu card that you chose has a tendency to overheat. I'd go with the gigabyte or msi version of that card. Much more reliable. I have the Sapphire 7870 and it runs like a dream except it causes issues when I try to overclock it so stay away from sapphire (many others also have the same problem with this gpu). I can't really see the case all that well so I don't know what kind of cable management it has. Make sure the back of the case is removable and it has cable management. Can't tell you enough how much of a headache that spares you.

I can't tell if the board you picked has a PCI Express 3.0 slot but you should make sure it does if you're getting the 7850 card because you want to be able to get the most out of it. As far as the hard drive goes I'd buy one with SATA 6 gb/s capability. Your board supports that so you should buy a hard drive that you can hook into that. If you really are considering water cooling, don't. That's $150 that would be better served towards getting a much better processor. Also, if the case does not come with atleast 3 fans invest in buying atleast one more. Nothing worse than overheating your parts!

Other that that, solid build. Way to go on the psu. It's a nice balance between efficiency and power. 500w is most you'll need unless you SLI. Also Corsair is a solid brand for psu.

Feel free to message me back if you need more ideas! Newegg has incredible deals. Just sign up for their newsletter. Best decision I ever made.

 

[hitman01]

Yeah i didn't explain what i did ok so here it goes, first of all i changed the motherboard to a cheaper & better one, asrock makes great budget motherboards, but the gigabyte one is just better and also cheaper. second of all, i changed the cpu from Bulldozer to piledriver (vishera) its a newer architecture so basicly it is be better even if it is clocked a little bit lower. Changed the GPU to a way better one, the 7850 is an overclocking beast, it can reach 580's levels, there are alot of manuals out there to show you how can you overclock it, changed the PSU to a BETTER one, and cheaper, 500w is more than enough even for crossfiring it, i own it myself and i can't understand why you are saying that it would kill your computer.
I chose the 1TB hdd because its cheaper than the 750gb and more space, if u want to keep it just do it, changed the case to a cheaper one to make more room for cpu and gpu, that's about it

 

[shahrd]

Yeah i didn't explain what i did ok so here it goes, first of all i changed the motherboard to a cheaper & better one, asrock makes great budget motherboards, but the gigabyte one is just better and also cheaper. second of all, i changed the cpu from Bulldozer to piledriver (vishera) its a newer architecture so basicly it is be better even if it is clocked a little bit lower. Changed the GPU to a way better one, the 7850 is an overclocking beast, it can reach 580's levels, there are alot of manuals out there to show you how can you overclock it, changed the PSU to a BETTER one, and cheaper, 500w is more than enough even for crossfiring it, i own it myself and i can't understand why you are saying that it would kill your computer.
I chose the 1TB hdd because its cheaper than the 750gb and more space, if u want to keep it just do it, changed the case to a cheaper one to make more room for cpu and gpu, that's about it

Piledriver is a much better architecture, agreed. Especially when they release the new drivers for win 8 if they haven't already. 7850 is a great card and gets the best price/performance in the industry. The XFX version, however, has a heat issue so in smaller cases it could potentially be an issue. Also, a hotter graphics card could potentially be a hotter mobo but, as long as you have good cooling it should be fine.

I was unaware that 500w would be able to handle crossfire but, awesome if it works for you . I just normally would like some head room and would prefer power not to be my limiting factor so I went with 600w in my own rig.

I still stand by getting a hard drive that is SATA 3 enabled. If you have the ports on your mobo, you should use that increase in speed. It'll def help with game load times. Later on the op could look into getting a SSD (as they'll probably drop in price again in a year or two) and install his OS on there instead. Your system will be lightning fast.

 

[manofchalk]

^ SATAIII on HDD's is fairly pointless, they are nowhere near close to saturating SATAII. It is a nice feature to have, but hardly a necessity.

 

[hitman01]

I chose the XFX version as it is the cheapest model there, the sapphire (the second cheapest one) is 192$ and it would pass his budget. Buying two fans, one in the buttom and one in the side should fix that problem i believe.

Yes a corsair 500w would handle it but without overclocking, a 500w corsair can power up a GTX 680 or a 7970 with no problem, so i believe a 7850 shouldn't be a problem, but if he really wants to crossfire he could sell his current psu and get a 600 one later on.

I agree on the sata 3, but i do not think that it would make a major difference as HDD's do not use it alot, its better for SSDs, so if he really wants it he can post it here so i/we can help him afterwards when i have more time.

 

[veerorith]

Upgrade that RAM to 1600 mhz. It'll make some difference. And you can always overclock the memory if necessary. 1600mhz memory at 8gb is almost the same price ans what you posted at newegg. Sign up for their newsletters as they give a lot of really great coupons out almost daily. The gpu card that you chose has a tendency to overheat. I'd go with the gigabyte or msi version of that card. Much more reliable. I have the Sapphire 7870 and it runs like a dream except it causes issues when I try to overclock it so stay away from sapphire (many others also have the same problem with this gpu). I can't really see the case all that well so I don't know what kind of cable management it has. Make sure the back of the case is removable and it has cable management. Can't tell you enough how much of a headache that spares you.

I can't tell if the board you picked has a PCI Express 3.0 slot but you should make sure it does if you're getting the 7850 card because you want to be able to get the most out of it. As far as the hard drive goes I'd buy one with SATA 6 gb/s capability. Your board supports that so you should buy a hard drive that you can hook into that. If you really are considering water cooling, don't. That's $150 that would be better served towards getting a much better processor. Also, if the case does not come with atleast 3 fans invest in buying atleast one more. Nothing worse than overheating your parts!

Other that that, solid build. Way to go on the psu. It's a nice balance between efficiency and power. 500w is most you'll need unless you SLI. Also Corsair is a solid brand for psu.

Feel free to message me back if you need more ideas! Newegg has incredible deals. Just sign up for their newsletter. Best decision I ever made.

All right, so I changed the HDD, I actually saved money on it XD Fancy stuff
Thanks for the heads up on the Graphics card, I've got an XFX 7770 now.
From extensive googling - There are no mobo's with am3+ with pcie 3.0 slots. It doesn't matter at the moment because it has no major changes from 2.0 to 3.0, so there wont be any performance hit. Unless of course they come out with a card that can fully implement 3.0 socket along with a driver that implements it, then a 3.0 should work fine in a 2.0. (again, this is what google/other forums have said, I understand that in the future it might make a difference)

 

[hitman01]

I've got an XFX 7770 now.

??

Did you read what i wrote D:

 

[shahrd]

All right, so I changed the HDD, I actually saved money on it XD Fancy stuff
Thanks for the heads up on the Graphics card, I've got an XFX 7770 now.
From extensive googling - There are no mobo's with am3+ with pcie 3.0 slots. It doesn't matter at the moment because it has no major changes from 2.0 to 3.0, so there wont be any performance hit. Unless of course they come out with a card that can fully implement 3.0 socket along with a driver that implements it, then a 3.0 should work fine in a 2.0. (again, this is what google/other forums have said, I understand that in the future it might make a difference)

I didn't meant to scare you away from the graphics card lol. The 7870 is the best card you could possibly get. Just not a Sapphire or XFX version. MSI is not much more expensive. I would go for that if you can. And damn, you're right. I forgot PCI 3.0 only works with Ivy Bridge processors. My bad. Yea hopefully it won't make too much of a difference. I just wanted to make sure you got the most out of your card. No sense paying for features you won't use.

 

[veerorith]

I see the price help now with hdd hitman, I'm, just a silly person who doesnt read posts in depth enough

If it wasn't noticed the Rosewill Challenger case has 3 fans included on purchase. I can totally get more if I need to.

The goal of the less powerful video card is that I may end up getting a second later on when I have more money.

Sorry if I seem a bit behind, me typing and researching is slower than the posts you guys are making I just replied to shahrd and found another 4 or so posts waiting lol.

I'm gonna hold off on an SSD for now. I like the extra space more than the speed at the moment. Especially considering my 500gb one I have currently is always almost full, until I transfer files and such to my external drive.

To be honest, I have never overclocked before, and the idea of doing so is a bit intimidating. I'm not really on the lookout for an overclocking compatible card or processor, just something that can run modern games on "non-minimal/low" settings. My current pc has a dual core 2.4ghz, and an old nvidia 8600 gt, with 3gb of ram. Any improvement is good for me XD

My budget can go up to a maximum of about $700, hopefully more towards $600 though.

 

[veerorith]

Sorry, replied about xfx 7770 before I read the newer posts, looking into it now

 

[veerorith]

Ok, changed graphics card to the gigabyte 7870, dats a big pricetag XD Oh silly video cards, why do you have to be more expensive than pretty much everything else lol
Oh well, its still under $700 so its k.
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/yjr

 

[veerorith]

Also, new fx-4300 vishera one, because price difference is void tomorrow when the rebate goes away anyways
And the other reasons you already discussed that I dont want to take the time to retype.

 

[hitman01]

Why aren't you changing the CPU and motherboard, the FX 4300 is a newer architecture so its better, the gigabyte motherboard is also better than the asrock one and also cheaper.
Also, if you went cheaper on RAM, motherboard, PSU and case like this :

Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 AM3+
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GA- [...] otherboard

Corsair Builder Series CX 500
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Buil [...] k-c1001-20

Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB)
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-PC3- [...] r+2+gb+ram

Thermaltake Case VL80001W2Z V3
http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake- [...] 91&sr=1-55

You could get this :

Gigabyte 7950
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Mini-Displayport-PCI-Express-Graphic-GV-R795WF3-3GD/dp/B007581QHG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1352070232&sr=1-1&keywords=7950

For 692.02 and you will not have to upgrade later