$900 Gaming PC: Motherboard Help

[steelteal]

Hi, I have been working on this PC for the past week and I have mostly decided on all the parts except the motherboard. Also, if anyone can recommend a better/faster optical drive below $40 then post below. All I will be using it for is to install Windows and to rarely watch a movie or burn a CD.

Items I have decided on:
CPU
Memory
Storage
Video Card
Case
PSU

Also, if anyone sees anything that might bottleneck the system or something that isn't from a reliable brand please post below. I have researched all of the parts except for the motherboard. I don't really know what to look for in a good motherboard so I really need help there. Thanks in advance.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($193.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.74 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($172.08 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Kingwin 550W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($80.75 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $905.27

 

[butremor]

that mobo is fine
no use of 16 gb ram for gaming 8 is fine

 

[g-unit1111]

What is the primary use of this build? If it's gaming I would recommend going Intel over the AMD FX. That PSU is not a very recommended manufacturer.

 

[butremor]

also for gaming 8350 is not necessary, youre just fine with 8320 or even 6300 here have a look http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/699?vs=697 in gaming benchmarks fps almost same performance
also if you dont plan to add second gpu later you can get ascrock 970 pro3 mobo
if you do this you can afford better gpu on money saved

 

[Avenged7x]

+1 to both butremor and g-unit

Not only is that PSU of questionnable quality its also expensive. The XFX 550w which is Seasonic made or the Seasonic 520w are both nice high-quality units which should be available for less than that one.

 

[g-unit1111]

+1 to both butremor and g-unit

Not only is that PSU of questionnable quality its also expensive. The XFX 550w which is Seasonic made or the Seasonic 520w are both nice high-quality units which should be available for less than that one.

According to the manufacturer index posted yesterday that PSU is actually a Kingwin proprietary model and not a Super Flower. Interesting.

 

[butremor]

What is the primary use of this build? If it's gaming I would recommend going Intel over the AMD FX. That PSU is not a very recommended manufacturer.

actually that psu has good reviews http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Kingwin/AP-550/10.html

 

[Avenged7x]

According to the manufacturer index posted yesterday that PSU is actually a Kingwin proprietary model and not a Super Flower. Interesting.

I stand corrected, that PSU does seem to be a pretty good unit. However still quite expensive.

 

[Avenged7x]

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9 $53.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pc-power--cooling-power-supply-ppcmk3s500 $64.58 or $69.99 and Modular
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-m12ii520bronze $79.99 Modular (in case you hate the white)

 

[Goodeggray]

Frys.com is closing out Corsair HX650 made by Seasonic for $80 after $10 mir. Also checkout the Powercooler 7870 Tahiti le for $240 after $20 mir at newegg. It preforms almost as well as the 7950.

 

[steelteal]

that mobo is fine
no use of 16 gb ram for gaming 8 is fine

Thanks for the reply. I originally was going with 32GB of RAM but I downgraded so I would have more to spend on a SSD. Also, I want the extra RAM for real-time rendering in After Effects and Vegas and I might even use some to host a Minecraft server while playing on it.

 

[steelteal]

What is the primary use of this build? If it's gaming I would recommend going Intel over the AMD FX. That PSU is not a very recommended manufacturer.

Gaming, but mainly for Minecraft and I have heard to go with Intel but this will be good enough to play Minecraft at a high FPS and I don't want to change any other parts for it to be compatible with Intel.

Video Editing

Watching videos in 1080p HD

Hosting a Minecraft Server

 

[steelteal]

Thanks for all the replies. It seems like the PSU is pretty good, but what made it stand out to me was that it is 80 Plus Platinum Certified.

 

[g-unit1111]

Gaming, but mainly for Minecraft and I have heard to go with Intel but this will be good enough to play Minecraft at a high FPS and I don't want to change any other parts for it to be compatible with Intel.

Video Editing

Watching videos in 1080p HD

Hosting a Minecraft Server

All you're really going to change is the motherboard. Maybe try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($251.97 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $834.46
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-24 16:37 EST-0500)

 

[steelteal]

Best answer selected by steelteal.