Newbie building a PC

[obelisk918]

Hey guys! I am in the market for a new computer. I have little knowledge of computer parts, so I've been doing a little bit of research in between studying for my finals.

I feel as though I've learned quite a bit, but I'm sure most of you know a lot more.

I've tossed around a couple of builds on a different forum (for the game I play) and got tons of information. But they said I should post what I think my final build will be here for review from you guys before purchasing. I'd like to purchase tomorrow or soon after.

I will post what I think will be a pretty good computer for what I plan to do.

What I plan to do is this: Play a 10 year old game (Dark Age of Camelot). It's probably not going to be the most difficult game to run on a computer, but what I'm playing it on at the moment a 6 year old computer with only an upgraded video card.

I'd like to run 2-3 instances of this game at once while frapsing (a video recording program). I'd also like my Sony Vegas editing/rendering to be smoother/quicker.

So, I wanted to spend $500-$700 on it, but my builds have been coming to roughly $750, which is okay for me.

I also heard that ATI graphics cards work best with AMD processors and vice-versa for GeForce and Intel. I don't know how legit that is, but it's something I'm willing to take for granted, I suppose.

Now, I have a 500GB HDD that I will put in this computer for storage, so when purchasing this computer, I wasn't too concerned about hard drive space.

I was also informed that my Graphics card would be PCIe 3.0 and my MB supports up to PCIe 2.0. I was also informed that this would decrease the performance of my card, but it would be minimal. I'm okay with that, as the game I play isn't going to be making my video card work too hard. (A friend said that the decrease in the Max Payne game is only 3 FPS at the highest settings).

Anyways, tell me if there are any major flaws, if I can get better deals on similar parts without loosing too much performance, or if I can upgrade for minimal cost. Thanks guys!

Motherboard
- BIOSTAR TA970XE AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS ($99.99)
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138348

CPU
- AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) ($209.99)
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284

Graphics Card
- GIGABYTE GV-R785OC-1GD Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 ($174.99)
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125451

Power Supply Unit
- Thermaltake TR2 TR-700 700W ATX ($79.99 - $20 promo)
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153167

Solid State Drive
- Crucial M4 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ($109.99)
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

RAM
- G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 (Free with Processor!)
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416

Case
- NZXT M59 - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($49.99)
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146058

Optical Drive
- LG 24X DVD Burner ($16.99)
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136259

Grand Total (with shipping): ($737.25)

 

[chamnaplong]

That could be okay, I prefer the 7870 HD not the 7850 HD because high end cpu fits high end graphic cards

 

[Deemo13]

Looks like a good build.

And AMD cards work fine on Intel boards.

 

[andrewcarr]

Well first off the AMD CPU and GPU and the NVidia CPU and Intel CPU thing isn't true.

Secondly I wouldn't recommend that PSU. If all you want is a 7850 (or lower) then a Corsair CX 430 is all you need.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

Also having the card in PCI-E 2.0 vs 3.0 has no performance difference.

The GPU you're looking at is more than powerful enough for that game and if you know you aren't going to play anything else I'd actually recommend you take a step down in performance to save some money (even this GPU will be overkill).
GPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161414

What are you using for the OS because windows costs $100 and you need to decide if you want 7 or 8.

I'd honestly recommend switching to these three things.
CPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115233 (since you can get $15 off)
Motherboard- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130648
Memory- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544

This should be better all around computer for you, these changes should also save you a bit.

 

[obelisk918]

Thanks for the responses so far!

Andrew, I thought the same about the PSU, but people were telling me it'd be a mistake to go that low. I don't really plan on upgrading anytime soon, so I figured around 400-450W would be sufficient.

I'll definitely keep the mb/cpu changes in mind as I come closer to making my final decision.

I want a bit of overkill just in case I start to play SC2 again. I'd like to maybe turn up the graphics a tad when I do play.

But if I really wanna shave costs down, I know now what I can get away with :>

 

[andrewcarr]

Well looking as the specs sheet to that game (you weren't lying about it being 10 years old) from here
http://darkageofcamelot.com/content/system-requirements
that best GPU listed is the Nvidia GeForce 6800 series and ATI X800 which on this list
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
are at the same tier as Intel HD 4000 graphics (looking at the 6800 Ultra and X800 XT, which were the top of their series). The 7770 is a full 12 steps above that and the 7850 is another 3 above the 7770 (or 15 above the recommended cards). Can you see why I don't think either card will have any problem maxing out the game settings when the Intel HD 4000 graphics isn't considered adequate for gaming (and in fact built onto CPU's).

 

[chamnaplong]

dude GeForce 6800 is almost no more

 

[Belkiolle]

While a 430 watt PSU will power this rig you'd be much better getting something that's higher wattage for future expansion as well as heat droop and efficiency.

You don't need a 1,000 watt monster PSU (no point in these really for just about anything) but a 600-700 watt PSU will run cooler and more efficiently than a 430 watt PSU that's being maxed out all the time and with sales you won't pay much more, if any, than you would for the 430.

I don't see the need for an 8 core processor unless you just really want it. Games won't utilize it and you haven't mentioned virtual machines or anything to take advantage of them.

I'd recommend switching to a quad core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106009 119.99.
That saves you $90 right there.

I also prefer Gigabyte to Biostar for motherboards.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128553 79.99

You don't get free RAM with this one but you could grab the 8GB set that andrewcarr linked to and still save about $70 on the build.

 

[Deemo13]

Not to say that the 8350 is not a good processor though.

While sure, the 4170 has 4 cores, it is of the slower and older Bulldozer architecture, while the new 8350 is of the new faster Piledriver architecture. You would only really need 600-700 if you are going to do Crossfire in the future. You realistically only need about 500.

 

[andrewcarr]

Lots of what you said isn't true at all. A PSU is most efficient at about 50% load, dropping way off below 20% making a overkill PSU even less efficient. The 430 watts is more than enough and won't be as close to its limit as you suggest. If you don't believe me just put the build into this PSU calculator (this is the most accurate one I've found).
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
If you still aren't convicted a 430 watt PSU isn't powerful enough I wouldn't go over 500 watts. Something such as a Corsair CX500.

You won't find any good brand PSU in the 6-700 watt region for as cheap either. Only the unreliable off brands that are know to fail (sometimes giving a small and expensive fireworks display as all the money you spent on your new build goes up in smoke).

As for future upgrades, if all you play is that one game then there won't be needed. But if you weren't satasfied with the performance of a 7770 you could still get the next generation 8850 after it's released.

 

[obelisk918]

I'm assuming the PSU brand I listed is a sketchy brand? :<

 

[chamnaplong]

Worth it guys

 

[Deemo13]

Well, Thermaltake isnt the best brand in the business.

 

[andrewcarr]

Some of their units are okay but generally I don't eve give the a look. I only look at Antec, OCZ, PC Power & Cooling, XFX, Seasonic and Corsair (listed in no specific order).