Help with First PC Build Please

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HiTherePhoebe

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Apr 9, 2013
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10,510
Hi,

I want to build a PC that will be capable of running games such as Far Cry 3 etc at the best frame rate possible for my budget of around £500/$750 - I'm not expecting 1080p on Ulta, don't worry. I've never built a PC before nor is my knowledge of hardware too great so I thought the best way to find what would be best would be to ask the amazing community here.

After watching a lot of videos of others builds etc I've put together this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PtE1

I realise this comes over my budget slightly but this is because I've added Windows in there. Please let me know if I've missed anything that I need or any changes you feel I should make, I'd love to get as much feedback as possible. I won't be able to build it till about June so there's no rush on ordering any parts at the moment.

Oh and if you could also suggest to me any websites that are good to order from that would be great.

I'm completely open minded about the whole build so any suggestions would be greatly received.

Thank you in advance for any help you're able to give :)

Phoebe
 
V

Valentin_N

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Mar 24, 2013
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10,810
May I ask where you live? I ask because I see £/$.

Here is US-build Intel based system - you can buy an optical drive that costs 16 and you will come at 750$

Here is US-build AMD based system - you are 16$ above the budget but you get an ssd for the OS and hdd for storage.

Here is UK AMD system - with £26 more you get an Tahiti LE which is a very powerful card.
Here is UK-Intel system - if you can extend the budget to £555, you can add i5-3330
 
yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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Mar 23, 2013
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apevia X-TRPJR-GN ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $772.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-09 08:24 EDT-0400)

look at this and tell me what you think
 
H

HiTherePhoebe

Honorable
Apr 9, 2013
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10,510


I'm in England, does this make a difference? And both of these builds look good to me. Is there a difference when it comes to intel or AMD, is one better than the other?
 
C

ciraze

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Apr 4, 2013
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10,510
Do you only want to use the computer for playing games ? You need more information so we can give you a good build for your needs
 
H

HiTherePhoebe

Honorable
Apr 9, 2013
13
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This looks good, thank you, I'll most definitely consider it. What are the motherboard and graphics card like? I haven't come across either of these during my research, are they the best you can get for that price?
 
V

Valentin_N

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Mar 24, 2013
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It does as the config might be more expensive or the parts do not exists. I will edit my first post.
 
H

HiTherePhoebe

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Apr 9, 2013
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10,510


I want to use it for gaming, school work, some video editing (probably Sony Vegas) and just other general things - Skype, Internet browsing etc
 
H

HiTherePhoebe

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Apr 9, 2013
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10,510


Ah okay, thank you very much
 
yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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Mar 23, 2013
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completely ... the gtx 660 is powerful GPU and will gave you years of great gaming
 
yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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Mar 23, 2013
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£149.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£52.56 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.00 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (£163.49 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.36 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£11.77 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£68.39 @ Aria PC)
Total: £674.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-09 14:41 BST+0100)

that is the UK version
 
H

HiTherePhoebe

Honorable
Apr 9, 2013
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Great! Thank you very much :)
 
H

HiTherePhoebe

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Apr 9, 2013
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Oh okay, it's a bit too much over my budget unfortunately I think he most I could stretch to would be about £600 :( do you think maybe a cheaper case would still be alright? Just to try and being the price down a bit?
 
yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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Mar 23, 2013
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How about this one :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£104.93 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£52.56 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.00 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (£140.05 @ Dabs)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£32.90 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£11.77 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£68.39 @ Aria PC)
Total: £599.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-09 15:28 BST+0100)

still powerful cpu and VGA
 
H

HiTherePhoebe

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Apr 9, 2013
13
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Sorry, I didn't see your amended post. I have only looked into Intel rather than AMD, is it as good? Or better even? And thank you for the UK versions, they're really helpful :)
 
H

HiTherePhoebe

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Apr 9, 2013
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How much better would the AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor be compared to getting a AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor? It would take £40 off, which would be really useful, or would this not be a good idea? Is there one in-between these two maybe? Thanks

How about the AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor?
 
yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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Mar 23, 2013
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Ok, phoebe

the AMD FX-6300 is newer than AMD Phenom II X4 965, even has mor cores (6 comparing to 4) means it'll deliver more powerful performance faster than the AMD Phenom II X4 965.
Also it'll be more future proof (be sufficient for at least 3-4 years to come) before it needs an upgrade
As for the in-between, actually there is FX-4300 which is cheaper by £20 and still more powerful than x4 965 (http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-965-Black-Edition-vs-AMD-FX-4300-Black-Edition )
but i would recommend that you get the FX-6300, you won't regret it, if you wanna save money here is the FX-4300 :
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/AMD+%28Piledriver%29+FX-4300+3.80GHz+%284.00GHz+Turbo%29+Socket+AM3%2B+4-Core+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=52725&source=skinflint

Best wishes :)
 
V

Valentin_N

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Mar 24, 2013
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AMD's FX cpu are good but I think Intel's cpu are better choice (not in every occasion), if you can afford it; better performance and lower watt-usage, making the energy-bill less expensive. Application that only use one thread/core (such as iTunes, or science application as World Community Grid where each application uses one core/thread) will perform poorly, where the previous generation beats the new architecture without a problem. To utilize the full potential of the FX cpus, all cores or most of them have to be utilized. Many Games do not utilize more than two cores (one module consists of two "cores", however a module can be seen as a "true" core) which might lead to cpu bottleneck. With Steamroller,which will come out this Q2/3, it might be different story, where major improvements (the "cores" inside the module are more like cores and not only a part of a core) are made and the new PS4 and Xbox 720/Next uses multicore apu (cpu+gpu in the same silicon) where games in the future will be optimize for multi core cpu.

To sum it up: the FX cpu perform well if all of it cores are utilize, they have good overclocking potential, they are affordable and it all depends how well the application can use the cores.
 
yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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Mar 23, 2013
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That's some insightful comparison right there, with build components are well-chosen ... but no matter of the OP choice i would recommend a Dual-kit memory modules for better performance and less bottleneck possibility (either in Intel or AMD build)
As for the " (one module consists of two "cores", however a module can be seen as a "true" core) which might lead to cpu bottleneck. " I'd like to remind you that i3 actually has (two) true cores with two threads (not true cores) ...and Hyper-threading is a nice touch but they are not real cores .
 
F

FinTFT

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Apr 6, 2013
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Thanks from me as well and if you don't mind some beginner questions:

a) What about sound? What card and does one need to buy speakers or just hook it out to a home theater via an optical cable?

b) Does it make sense to use this video card with a 60" plasma 8080i? Or should get like a 23" separate monitor? (Got a couple of 21" in house).

I used to play older games such as wow or starcraft and I have no idea about the newer ones (such as flight simulators or shooter type) with modern graphics.

c) Wireless network card and wireless keyboard + mice, or alternatives?


Thanks!
 
V

Valentin_N

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Mar 24, 2013
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Intel doesn't say their i3 is a quadcore even if it can operate 4 threads, compared to AMD who does say that its octa-core is an octa-ore when it's more of a quadcore cpu which represent the cpu performance much better as it has four modules.

You're right about that hyperthreading gives a nice touch; from various tests you get a boost from 15% up to 50% for "free" though hyperthreading depending how well the program is optimized for HT. I am also aware that HT can decrease the performance and therefore might cause bottleneck issues.



A) If you don't have expensive speakers a sound card is not needed, the integrated sounds cards is enough. Creative and Asus are known brands. I hope other can give better answers since sound is not my field.

B) If you like your 60inch plasma tv, play on it otherwise I would go for 23inch monitor, VA or IPS-panels (LG IPS235P-BN). PLS-panels are quite new and needs time to mature.

C) This is completely up to you. if you have it in the living room go wireless keyboard and mouse otherwise take a mechanical PS/2 cherry MX blue if you game a lot (here you have to see what Cherry MX switch fits you best) and a wired mouse.
 
F

FinTFT

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Apr 6, 2013
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Thanks but are the integrated sound cards 5.1? They weren't last time I've build systems more then 6 years ago :)

 
yasserBasha

yasserBasha

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Mar 23, 2013
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" I am also aware that HT can decrease the performance and therefore might cause bottleneck issues. "

I'm glad that you are aware of that ..
But actually there isn't any bottleneck with the core i3, what i meant is that bottleneck wouldn't be a problem for the latest CPUs because the modern technology they were built on is designed to prevent this problem (without getting too technical)
Plus every benchmark shows piledriver getting an edge over i3-3220 not to mention overclocking and of course the upgradability with steamroller (future am3+)which makes it better choice logically
Don't get me wrong , i'm Intel guy but i weigh every build based on budget,performance and upgrade path then i make my decision .
That's just my opinion, but you're right with all u said :)
 
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