Attempting my first PC build

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wevie13

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I am about to build my first PC. While I am a computer science major, I am still somewhat in the dark when it comes to hardware. I want to think I know what I am doing, but I am no near as knowledgeable as I would like to be or hope to become.

I use my computer for just about everything from web surfing, watching video, coding and compiling, etc. While I am not a huge PC gamer (I ten to stick to the consoles), I still want the ability to run most anything on the occasion that I do play. I mostly just want to build a machine as awesome as possible that will still be a good machine a few years from now, if that is possible.

After some research, this is what I put together with a budget of around $700. I am open to any and all advice. Where am I really overspending, if anywhere?

I added my choices the the cart a few days ago and when I cam back to look tonight, a few of my choices where gone and I can no longer find them. What I had the other day was almost $200 cheaper. I think most of that price was from the case and power supply as I had a combo chosen with a 700W power supply but I cannot find it now.

COOLER MASTER RC-692A-KKN5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119259

XION AXP-1000K14XE 1000W PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817190033

AMD A10-5800K Trinity 3.8GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 7660D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280

MSI FM2-A85XA-G65 FM2 AMD A85X (Hudson D4) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130663

MSI R6570-MD1G/LP Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-bit Graphics Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127611

Western Digital WD 1TB 7200 RPM HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231486

LG Optical Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136250

Rosewill 3.5" Internal Card Reader
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223119

 
Solution
cball1311
Yeah, thats my bad. Let me look for something with SATA3, might up the price just a touch.

EDIT: Here you go.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637

Modular PSU means that the cables for SATA, PCI, and molex are seperate from the PSU and you can just connect the amount of cables that you need. Saves space in the case and looks a lot better. As far as quality, just don't by cheap. Antec, SeaSonic, PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, and XFX are good quality brands. You get what you pay for when it comes to a PSU (the most important part of the rig IMO).
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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For $700 you can do wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy better. That power supply is crap, don't purchase it. I think I'd chuck that whole build. If it's gaming the Trinity is a good CPU with above average graphics and that video card add on isn't very good.

Here's what I would suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.57 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($200.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($63.93 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $706.42
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-01 23:19 EST-0500)
 
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wevie13

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It looks you have certainly found some cheaper options for me but I do have a few questions. Why the Intel i5? It is more expense at 3.2GHz while the AMD A10 is cheaper at 3.8GHz so is it also not faster and/or better? I have always bought AMD because of the price and have never been disappointed in them.

I not really sure about the PU. I knew that was too much, but I was thinking that more is better if I planned to add more later. Like I said, I had a Cooler Master case/PU 700W combo picked out but it as gone from NewEgg but of course that does not mean I could not find it elsewhere.

I also don't see spending that much on the graphics card. As I said, I have never been much of a PC gamer but I would like the option to do so, but if that is the price to able to do so, I think I can settle for less.

When referring to the video car add on, are you talking about the onboard or the one I chose?

You guys are right about the Blu Ray. I don't really need it so for $50 or so, I can do without it although I would like the card reader because we take a lot of pictures and I find it very convenient to be able to just put it in the PC instead of hooking the camera up.

Thanks for the input and keep it coming. I plan to spend about two more months researching before I build.
 
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cball1311

cball1311

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I like the AMD budget idea for multitasking purposes (not just gaming). Here is what I would go for with AMD. The case is up to you, just make sure that it has USB 3.0 ports on the front because the motherboard that I suggested has a USB 3.0 headers. The Sapphire 7850 is perfect. Added a 1.5TB HDD for ~$20 less. The PSU I went with is just the right amount ,it's modular so you don't have all of the extra cables, a good name brand, and gold rated for better efficiency.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($159.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($60.38 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($200.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($85.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $688.30
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-01 23:47 EST-0500)
 
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wevie13

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After reading the specs and some of the reviews on that CPU, I really like it. I am most certainly a multitasker on the computer. I always have a bunch of windows open, along with a few other applications. I also usually have video streaming to my 50" via HDMI. I have also just ordered another 23" monitor so I can have a duel monitor setup. I have not looked into it but is triple monitor possible so I can have both monitors and the 50" running?

I am not sure about the motherboard. I was hoping to have 6Gb/s SATA but maybe that is not such a big deal? This is something I am not totally sure about yet but my thoughts are 6 is better/faster than 3.

More HDD space for less is always a plus.

What do you mean about the PU being modular? You also brought up another point I need to ask about and that is brands. What are good and what should be avoided at all cost?
 
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cball1311

cball1311

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Yeah, thats my bad. Let me look for something with SATA3, might up the price just a touch.

EDIT: Here you go.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637

Modular PSU means that the cables for SATA, PCI, and molex are seperate from the PSU and you can just connect the amount of cables that you need. Saves space in the case and looks a lot better. As far as quality, just don't by cheap. Antec, SeaSonic, PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, and XFX are good quality brands. You get what you pay for when it comes to a PSU (the most important part of the rig IMO).
 
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wevie13

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That MB is very similar to the one I originally picked out but of course they are different sockets and the one I had has onboard graphics.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130663

 
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wevie13

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Could the same be said for the onboard graphics? I can't find any specs on it but if one has that, could you go with a lesser graphics cards and still get the same performance?
 
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cball1311

cball1311

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No. Onboard graphics will never reach the perfomance of a dedicated graphics card. There are cases where you can CrossFire the integrated graphics with a dedicated card (known as CrossFire Hybrid) but I have never dealt with it before.
 
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wevie13

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I would love to have one but right now, the cost is just too much.
 
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jonjonjon

jonjonjon

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imo this makes more sense considering he isn't a huge pc gamer. the ssd is well worth it. also the kingston ram is 1.6 volts for the same price you can get 1.5V ram.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($159.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($60.38 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.57 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($169.98 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $684.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-02 01:26 EST-0500)
 
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wevie13

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this is my thinking. I just can't see spending quite that much on a graphics card. I am quite confident that something in the $80 to $100 range would more than satisfy my needs.

The ssd is something I didn't really consider at first because of the cost but after reading about them more, and seeing everyone's comments about them not only on this site but pretty much everywhere else, it almost seems silly not to get something at least enough for the OS and a few more of the more important apps.
 
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g-unit1111

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1. Stock speed doesn't really matter. The Trinity is a higher clock yes but it's not really efficiently used compared to the Intel i5. The i5 is a quad core CPU and is overall higher end than the Trinity. Here's a few benchmarks that show the i5 is a better overall CPU:

- http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/676?vs=702
- http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-trinity-a10-5800k-vs-intel-ivy-bridge-i5-3470--discrete-gpu-gaming-performance/17272.html

2. You don't really need 750W anymore - you can get away fine with 600W.

3. Yes you do. If you are even thinking about purchasing a PC and want to play games you will need a good GPU. That low end Radeon you picked will run games at about the equivalent of an Etch A Sketch.

He did say "a few years from now". The SSD can come in a month.
Click to expand...

I do agree with this. It's not really a necessity when you first get the system.
 
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jonjonjon

jonjonjon

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i think your sort of missing the point that he would like the option to play games. that doesn't mean it should be at the expense of other things. i get the impression they are not that worried if it can run the newest games on max settings. especially if they are more of a casual gamer a $100-150 card is more then enough. sure you could spend another $100 on a ssd later but spending it later still makes it a $800 computer.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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I think of getting the SSD like getting the navigation system on a new car. Sure it looks pretty, gives the car some extra juice, but you could leave it off, get one later and it would still perform the exact same function as if it were built into the car. I'm recommending the Radeon 7850 - it's a great GPU for the price, it won't max out games but it gives you the option to play them at exceptional frame rates for a mid range GPU, and it will perform better than that Etch A Sketch card will.
 
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