- Jan 4, 2013
- 5
- 0
- 10,510
I've been in the business of building my first computer since November and finally did last night! 
I've been doing research since November on EVERYTHING about building a gaming PC and TomsHardware was my go-to site. Whenever i had questions i'd just search the forums and usually my question would have already been covered. I learned so much (but am DEFINITELY still a noob) about what I wanted in a PC and i have everyone on this site to thank for that. I appreciate your time. And thank you. Specs below.
DISCLAIMER: This was supposed to be a budget build for playing Starcraft I and II mainly. I'm 31 years old gimme a break! Please spare me with the whole "you shouldda" because in reality "i didn't."
AMD FX-6100 <- Yeah i know i know (STOCK COOLER -- ABSOLUTELY NO PLANS TO OVERCLOCK!)
Gigabyte 970A-D3 Mobo
16GB DDR3 1600 Corsair Vengance RAM
NZXT Tempest 210 Case
NZXT Fan controller
Samsung 840 120GB SSD
WesternDigital Caviar 7200 RPM SATA3 500GB HDD
***Sapphire Radeon 5450 (if you're laughing i'd keep reading)***
***Ultra 700 Power Supply (see above)***
3x120mm NZXT Case Fans
1x140mm NZXT Case Fan
This was what i purchased and planned to put together. As luck would have it (depending on your angle) a co-worker of mine gave me a brand new sealed in the box BFG GeForce GTX 295. Which in turn made me change my power supply to a Corsair CX750M because the Ultra 700 didn't have enough amperage on the +12v rail. I told you i did my homework.
What was most important to me: The Case and Airflow! I spent about 3 days researching on airflow and exhaust vs. intake. I needed/wanted a case to fit into my budget but also give me excellent airflow and the Tempest 210 fit the bill. The cable management is 8/10 as well. I puchased the NZXT Fan Controller to assist my case with airflow and the ability for the user to control the fan speed. I love the darn thing. Right now i have 2 120mm intake fans in the front of the case, 1 120mm exhaust fan in the rear, 2 140mm exhaust fans at the top. Not to mention the 80mm heatsink fan and the GTX 295 Fan. My case is very open. And temps are good (30c i think)
Wishes: I wish my case had more front panel USBs. It only has one which sux! My darn MOBO doesn't support the front I/O panel USB 3.0. I wish i would have gotten a Mobo with a better BIOS. Not a deal breaker really. And ran out of black SATA3 cables and had to use a red one
doesn't match anything in my case. Also this board is ATX but only used 7 of the standoffs. I spent 20 minutes checking and rechecking and checking again to see if i missed one or two and i didn't.
All in all i got what i wanted. A super fast system IMO. Pretty good Windows Scores 7.3 because of my processor. Everything else is a 7.5 to 7.7. I get to play Starcraft on Ultra settings and i have you guys to thank. Thank you so much again for reading and good luck!
I've been doing research since November on EVERYTHING about building a gaming PC and TomsHardware was my go-to site. Whenever i had questions i'd just search the forums and usually my question would have already been covered. I learned so much (but am DEFINITELY still a noob) about what I wanted in a PC and i have everyone on this site to thank for that. I appreciate your time. And thank you. Specs below.
DISCLAIMER: This was supposed to be a budget build for playing Starcraft I and II mainly. I'm 31 years old gimme a break! Please spare me with the whole "you shouldda" because in reality "i didn't."
AMD FX-6100 <- Yeah i know i know (STOCK COOLER -- ABSOLUTELY NO PLANS TO OVERCLOCK!)
Gigabyte 970A-D3 Mobo
16GB DDR3 1600 Corsair Vengance RAM
NZXT Tempest 210 Case
NZXT Fan controller
Samsung 840 120GB SSD
WesternDigital Caviar 7200 RPM SATA3 500GB HDD
***Sapphire Radeon 5450 (if you're laughing i'd keep reading)***
***Ultra 700 Power Supply (see above)***
3x120mm NZXT Case Fans
1x140mm NZXT Case Fan
This was what i purchased and planned to put together. As luck would have it (depending on your angle) a co-worker of mine gave me a brand new sealed in the box BFG GeForce GTX 295. Which in turn made me change my power supply to a Corsair CX750M because the Ultra 700 didn't have enough amperage on the +12v rail. I told you i did my homework.
What was most important to me: The Case and Airflow! I spent about 3 days researching on airflow and exhaust vs. intake. I needed/wanted a case to fit into my budget but also give me excellent airflow and the Tempest 210 fit the bill. The cable management is 8/10 as well. I puchased the NZXT Fan Controller to assist my case with airflow and the ability for the user to control the fan speed. I love the darn thing. Right now i have 2 120mm intake fans in the front of the case, 1 120mm exhaust fan in the rear, 2 140mm exhaust fans at the top. Not to mention the 80mm heatsink fan and the GTX 295 Fan. My case is very open. And temps are good (30c i think)
Wishes: I wish my case had more front panel USBs. It only has one which sux! My darn MOBO doesn't support the front I/O panel USB 3.0. I wish i would have gotten a Mobo with a better BIOS. Not a deal breaker really. And ran out of black SATA3 cables and had to use a red one
doesn't match anything in my case. Also this board is ATX but only used 7 of the standoffs. I spent 20 minutes checking and rechecking and checking again to see if i missed one or two and i didn't. All in all i got what i wanted. A super fast system IMO. Pretty good Windows Scores 7.3 because of my processor. Everything else is a 7.5 to 7.7. I get to play Starcraft on Ultra settings and i have you guys to thank. Thank you so much again for reading and good luck!
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