My first Build-Criticism/Tips?

[MoparGamer]

This is meant to be a gaming PC that will allow me to play most games (Skyrim, Battlefield4, Starcraft2, etc)

I was hoping for some suggestions to help me get the most for my money, I have a budget of roughly $600.

And here is my first attempt... (I'll be installing Windows through usb)
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.29 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($105.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN725N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($8.88 @ Amazon)
Case: Enermax ECA3253-BW ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($10.29 @ B&H)
Total: $603.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-10 21:00 EST-0500)

 

[Devballs]

The AMD FX-6300 will affect your frame rates in games unless heavily overclocked. I would suggest going with an i5 for gaming, although it will cost a bit more you will get better performance.

Other than that the CX lne from Corsair is not highly recommended. Other series of Corsairs are good, or Seasonic, XFX, EVGA or silverstone are considered great PSUs.

 

[ssddx]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/11/27/battlefield-4-performance-analysis/3

30fps on low presets of bf4. i dont think a 7770ghz is going to cut it if you are playing at 1080p if you play at 1280x72 then you might be borderline playable. i would stretch up to a 650ti since it would allow you playable framerates at 1080p on low and medium or if you play at 720p perhaps even high. at a bare minimum i'd go with a 7790 over the 7770.

you might be able to do this by trimming cash in a few areas (or just expanding your budget a bit).

you could save $5 by going with the asrock 790 mobo. you could save $10-15 by going with a 500gb hdd, you could save $5-10 by going with a cheaper case (too bad the cougar spike isnt on sale any more... it was great at $25 a few days ago) and you can go with windows 7 HP for $79.99 on ebay to save $3 (provided ncix charges shipping) and the funds go to a charity.

or just wait until parts go on sale... i just saved $50 off a $413 build earlier this week by getting rebates and instant rebates. you should be able to step up just a bit providd you price watch and penny pinch here or there.

 

[ssddx]

@devballs while i do agree....

going with a comparible intel chip and motherboard (provided you want to overclock and get a z87/i5 k series you're looking at a minimum of $100 more in cost if not more. not really good if you have such a low budget and want to play better games. overclocking an fx6300 is going to be cheaper if a bit less than ideal. if they can stretch the budget then certainly an i5 is good though an 8320 would work as well.

the modular cx series isnt quite as bad as the non modular. i agree they are less than ideal however on such a tight budget build there isnt much you can do. seasonic and xfx just cost a bit too much (normally about $55- 60+)

good points though... not sure if the ops budget is flexible enough to accomodate.

 

[Devballs]

I know it will cost a bit more for the I5/mobo, but I was just postng on a thread where someone was losing 10-15 fps on farcry 3 with the same GPU as other people that had intel processors. The EVGA 500W bronze rated I have seen to sell cheaper than the Corsair CX500 and has had good reviews with a good warrenty. But I aggree with your statement ssddx.

All in all just suggestions and trying to spread information.

 

[MoparGamer]

My budget's maximum is around $640-650, Currently I'm looking at what you 2 have suggested and trying to keep the price around $600.

One small question... Does brand name matter? I've seen things with the same statistics on paper vary 50 or so dollars for what appears to just be the name. (PowerColor vs. Asus)

 

[Devballs]

Sometimes you pay for the brandname, however Brands get their names from building better quality products. That is why all my graphics cards have been EVGA, I have had a PNY and one heat sink litterally dropped off the card half way through a raid. Never had an issue with an EVGA though. Or power supplies, the name brand PSUs have good effiecency, strong 12v rails where the others may not.

 

[MoparGamer]

So I updated the build again, Replacing the power supply with a
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
And replacing the Video card with
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($105.38 @ Newegg)

If I were to heavily overclock the Amd Fx 6300(to 4GHz), I'm guessing I would need a cpu cooler, Is there any particular ones you'd recommend? (I can live with a loud fan)

 

[ssddx]

to be honest i would consider evga psus only so-so in quality. even more so for the cheap ones.

while this list is far from complete it paints a good picture..

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

i'd stay with a 500w if you plan on overclocking at all. amd chips are power hungry. seasonic or xfx are the best ones to go with but on your budget i'm not sure if its possible unless they go on sale. in general i'd suggest anything from tier2 level and above if at all possible.

what resolution were you planning on gaming at? i'd jump up to the 650 ti 2gb from asus for $130 if at all possible. seeing as how you could go up to about $650 and how you can trim back in certain places as i mentioned earlier i think its definitely possible.

as for a cooler you can achieve moderate overclocks fine on a hyper 212 + or 212 evo. keep in mind that a 970 chipset motherboard is only so stable for o/c so you might not be able to go much above 4.2 (and also you might not have a lucky chip which overclocks well).

 

[MoparGamer]

I'd prefer to be gaming at 1080p. The main thing is that I want to get off my 2 year old Hp laptop so I'd happily settle for 720p.

I'll go stare at some alternative power supplies (I don't need an efficient Psu) and see if I can get the 650 ti into my budget.

 

[ssddx]

again... if you pinch and shave in a few areas that i noted above... you can do it most likely.

dont settle for a no-name power supply though. even the cx500m is better than going with something of questionable source. you definitely do not want to get something on the tier 4 or 5 list.

 

[MoparGamer]

I've finally managed to complete the rebuild... Had to jump back and forth between a few different parts to try and get it to 650, Im pretty close and will keep on working at reaching my goal (Getting the base total to 650, Not including mail-in rebates)


Also, Thank you for all the help you 2 have given me

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($83.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.29 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN725N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($8.88 @ Amazon)
Case: Topower TP-6208BB ATX Mid Tower Case ($23.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($10.29 @ B&H)
Total: $667.31
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-10 23:34 EST-0500)

 

[ssddx]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-SP1-Full-32-64-Bit-x32-x64-Version-CD-COA-NEW-/141135208854?pt=US_Operating_Systems_Software&hash=item20dc506196

$79.99 for os

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx650tioc2gd5

you picked the gtx650 not the gtx650 ti. definitely worth getting the ti.

if you went with a matx sized case and a matx motherboard you'd drop some $ (again, too bad the spike isnt on sale with a mir anymore... it was a great little case to build with... http://postimg.org/gallery/78slmoca/ but its likely to go on sale again for $25 (though there are other case but most of the cheapies kind of suck and not really as good as the spike)

dropping to a matx board can save you $20

i'd get the cx500m over the non modular. a little better. still not keen on staying low end but at least its tier 3 not any lower.

 

[MoparGamer]

The only reason I haven't taken your advice for the Win7 on ebay is because of S&H charges (30$ to get it into Ontario).

And the build is hopefully done... As I'm going to bed now aswell.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.29 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN725N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($8.88 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($10.29 @ B&H)
Total: $669.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-11 01:31 EST-0500)