CPU nooby looking for advice on his first build

[ponmbr]

Hello all, this is my first ever venture into making my own gaming PC, and I wanted some advice. This is my proposed build, which I really want to play BF4 with. I only plan on doing 1080p and not more than 1 monitor. Anyway, link;

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1SMfv

Peripherals can be purchased at local stores which I planned to do with a friend's Best Buy discount. Are there any discrepancies you guys can see with this? I don't know which operating system I want yet. Also, do I need to buy cooling stuff to go with it, or is it fine as it is in that regard (I ask because pcpartpicker has a section for picking CPU cooler parts)? I appreciate any advice and feedback. And again I would like to reiterate; I'm a nooby. So nooby that I had no idea about any of this stuff a couple days ago. I've been doing research but most stuff still goes over my head, so if you can possibly simplify explanations it would help.

 

[ethereal essence]

ok first, if your only interest is gaming, drop the i7 for an i5. You won't notice a difference in gaming but you'll be able to upgrade your card from a GTX 760 to an AMD R9 280X which will be more powerful at 1080p. you can then get a 750w power supply to be sure you have enough power for the better gpu.

As for cooling, if you won't be overclocking then you are fine with the stock cpu cooler. If you are not overclocking at all then get the non K version of the processors. Same processor, only the non k can't overclock.

If you do video editing or other things that require a beefier cpu, consider the AMD FX-8350. it is over 100 cheaper than that i7 and performs close to it in things that use 8 threads (like in video editing). This is an optional consideration and if you don't do that stuff the i5 would be better.

 

[IInuyasha74]

Three things to say.

First, you would be better to go with an AMD CPU. BF4 uses AMD's Mantle API which means that it will literally perform better on AMD cards. For example an AMD and Nvidia card that normally on most games perform equal would see the AMD card with a decent sized boost in BF4. I would recommend an AMD 7870 or higher. Probably go for the AMD 7970 since the price is so close to what you previously planned to pay for the Nvidia card. They have new releases out also which you should consider which will do a little better, but because of a new naming scheme I haven't got around to remembering them yet.

Second, do you plan to overclock? If not, you are better to go with either the non-K version of the i7-4770 or with a Xeon processor. For example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116905
Practically same performance, but $80 cheaper.

Third, for cooling the CPU, the stock cooler will be fine. You should order some thermal paste because the stuff that comes on the stock cooler is terrible, even decent cheap stuff will do a lot better like Cremeique2 does great and its just a few bucks. If you are overclocking though then yes you will want to get an after market cooler.

 

[ponmbr]

Three things to say.

First, you would be better to go with an AMD CPU. BF4 uses AMD's Mantle API which means that it will literally perform better on AMD cards. For example an AMD and Nvidia card that normally on most games perform equal would see the AMD card with a decent sized boost in BF4. I would recommend an AMD 7870 or higher. Probably go for the AMD 7970 since the price is so close to what you previously planned to pay for the Nvidia card. They have new releases out also which you should consider which will do a little better, but because of a new naming scheme I haven't got around to remembering them yet.

Second, do you plan to overclock? If not, you are better to go with either the non-K version of the i7-4770 or with a Xeon processor. For example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116905
Practically same performance, but $80 cheaper.

Third, for cooling the CPU, the stock cooler will be fine. You should order some thermal paste because the stuff that comes on the stock cooler is terrible, even decent cheap stuff will do a lot better like Cremeique2 does great and its just a few bucks. If you are overclocking though then yes you will want to get an after market cooler.

I had heard that, but I also plan to play more than just BF4 as well. I don't plan on overclocking in the near future but having the ability to after a while would be nice. I actually had a higher wattage PSU on it but I knocked it down a little bit so I could upgrade the CPU to an i7. All the advice I've previously received while I've been doing this has been to go Intel and Nvidia. I considered the idea of the 7970/R9 280x but I read unflattering things about AMD drivers in a review for the 280x IIRC so that's why I opted for Nvidia cards. Obviously Nvidia has problems too but my friend who would be helping me assemble this suggested Nvidia as well. I'll definitely consider AMD stuff if it's not actually an issue of problems with drivers and whatnot.

 

[IInuyasha74]

Yes but the other card you get will perform well on other games too. Mantle is going to be used on the Wii-U, Xbox One, and PS4 so many games will use it. But ignoring this point,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131468
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

This graphics card. Always outperforms Nvidia 760, and thats not considering the advantage from games made with Mantle.
While it is true that currently Intel's best cpu's beat all of AMD's, it is not true at all that Nvidia's graphics beat AMD's. Nvidia have the 690 and Titan. The 690 beats almost any two cards with the exception of the R9 290X and two Titans, and the Titan beats any single card, but that is if you want to buy a $1000 card. Otherwise, there is a constant go between of who is better depending on price and card rank.

As for drivers, I have heard about them being an issue for years, and with an old x800 pro I have (card from 2006) they are a pain. But I also have a 7850, an a10-5600k and an 10-6800k and the drivers for them were no issue at all. Download, double click, click next over and over like usually, and your done. I actually like AMD's more cause the Overdrive software built in is by far the easiest overclocking software I have ever used.

But if you plan to overclock in future then yes the 4770k is good for you to stick with, but you are best to get some decent thermal paste an a decent aftermarket cooler. Both items together may cost $20-$30 but honestly I use a $16 cooler on my i7-3770k and it works fine and I've even overclocked a little

 

[ponmbr]

Yes but the other card you get will perform well on other games too. Mantle is going to be used on the Wii-U, Xbox One, and PS4 so many games will use it. But ignoring this point,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131468
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

This graphics card. Always outperforms Nvidia 760, and thats not considering the advantage from games made with Mantle.
While it is true that currently Intel's best cpu's beat all of AMD's, it is not true at all that Nvidia's graphics beat AMD's. Nvidia have the 690 and Titan. The 690 beats almost any two cards with the exception of the R9 290X and two Titans, and the Titan beats any single card, but that is if you want to buy a $1000 card. Otherwise, there is a constant go between of who is better depending on price and card rank.

As for drivers, I have heard about them being an issue for years, and with an old x800 pro I have (card from 2006) they are a pain. But I also have a 7850, an a10-5600k and an 10-6800k and the drivers for them were no issue at all. Download, double click, click next over and over like usually, and your done. I actually like AMD's more cause the Overdrive software built in is by far the easiest overclocking software I have ever used.

But if you plan to overclock in future then yes the 4770k is good for you to stick with, but you are best to get some decent thermal paste an a decent aftermarket cooler. Both items together may cost $20-$30 but honestly I use a $16 cooler on my i7-3770k and it works fine and I've even overclocked a little

I will definitely make sure to get those things when I decide to try it. What do you think about this particular set-up right here? This build was actually suggested by a member of another forum I that I frequent (he used all the parts I had picked at the time, with the exception of the power supply, I picked that one).

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1SScr

It has the R9 280X on it and a different, and also cheaper motherboard.

 

[IInuyasha74]

I would say that is all good. I would personally consider a different motherboard in the same class, only cause I have an Asrock Extreme4-M Z77 motherboard and I feel it doesn't perform the best for overclocking. But looking at them on Newegg it seems to be the best one at that price so I would say you are good with it.