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Budget Build Idea For My Sister?

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Last response: in Opinions and Experiences
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March 26, 2014 10:40:49 AM

Hey guys. Third question coming at you guys but this is for my little sister. She's a bit of an enthusiast on PCs so she made this build for herself:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3gPZC

Could you guys gimme feedback so I can relay it back to her? She wants opinions, upgrade choices and the whole nine yards but she stated that she would like to not spend more than 700 on the build in total.

She wants to stream League Of Legends, Infinite Crisis and Star Wars The Old Republic if that will help give you an idea of what it's for. Oh, and she loves good looking cases (she chose that one cause she was trying to stay under budget).

Thanks guys!

More about : budget build idea sister

March 26, 2014 10:51:14 AM

Personally I'd consider a different MB something along the lines of a asus m5a97, less spendy 2x4gb ram, possibly a 8320 vs the 6300, and a 212 evo.
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a c 212 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 10:51:15 AM

Looks good :) 
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 11:07:03 AM

Build looks good with one minor adjustment - the HDD. Please do NOT put a WD 10EZEX as the system drive. Its random seek times are HORRID! Get the 1TB WD Black drive you will regret it if you don't.
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March 26, 2014 11:08:18 AM

Wow. My sister's better at this stuff than I am xD So there's no compatibility issues no nothing like that?

I'll tell her about the hard drive but is there anything else?
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 11:12:26 AM

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($263.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN727N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $620.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-26 14:07 EDT-0400)

better motherboard choice, better cpu, better ram 5 bux more.
or

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN727N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $676.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-26 14:10 EDT-0400)

add gtx770 and still be under 700bux.
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 11:12:55 AM

Everything is ok. You might want to get a better PSU, either a bigger EVGA one like 600w or a 520w seasonic.
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 11:14:40 AM

HEXiT said:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($263.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN727N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $620.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-26 14:07 EDT-0400)

better motherboard choice, better cpu, better ram 5 bux more.
or

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN727N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $676.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-26 14:10 EDT-0400)

add gtx770 and still be under 700bux.


You gave him more power hungry parts and left the same PSU...
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 11:15:45 AM

bjaminnyc said:
Personally I'd consider a different MB something along the lines of a asus m5a97, less spendy 2x4gb ram, possibly a 8320 vs the 6300, and a 212 evo.


check the post promo+rebate price of the RAM she picked. that's a good deal.

The only major problems I see with the build are the motherboard and PSU. The motherboard in the original build will need a BIOS update to support a piledriver chip (which you can't do unless you already have a CPU that works in the motherboard). The PSU is also fairly poor quality, even for a budget PSU.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/12/16/evga_500b_500...

I suggest:

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Micro Center)

or, If she plans to overclock the CPU

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)


enjoy!
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 11:21:06 AM

Keep the motherboard. its a good one, just have them update its bios, that shouldn't be an issue...
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 11:58:53 AM

emdea22 said:
Keep the motherboard. its a good one, just have them update its bios, that shouldn't be an issue...


buying a 970 motherboard with an FX processor is a BAD IDEA.

You cannot update the BIOS without a CPU that functions in the motherboard as is. the FX 6300 does not function in older 970 BIOS motherboards. She would need to already have an AM3 sempron/athlon/phenom laying around to flash a 970 board.
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a c 212 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 12:05:32 PM

quilciri said:
emdea22 said:
Keep the motherboard. its a good one, just have them update its bios, that shouldn't be an issue...


You cannot update the BIOS without a CPU that functions in the motherboard as is. the FX 6300 does not function in older 970 BIOS motherboards as is. Unless she has an AM3 sempron/athlon/phenom laying around, buying a 970 motherboard is a bad idea.


Them presumably meaning the retailer.
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 12:31:56 PM

If microcenter is willing to do that with an online purchase, awesome.
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 1:00:25 PM

Where i live a bios update is either free or $8. And i am talking about online purchases

*them = retailer
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March 26, 2014 2:19:07 PM

quilciri said:
emdea22 said:
Keep the motherboard. its a good one, just have them update its bios, that shouldn't be an issue...


buying a 970 motherboard with an FX processor is a BAD IDEA.

You cannot update the BIOS without a CPU that functions in the motherboard as is. the FX 6300 does not function in older 970 BIOS motherboards. She would need to already have an AM3 sempron/athlon/phenom laying around to flash a 970 board.


Not true. My M5a97 (970) rev 1 worked with an 8320 without any updates required. Had a 145 sitting around, didn't need it.

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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 2:46:27 PM

quilciri said:
emdea22 said:
Keep the motherboard. its a good one, just have them update its bios, that shouldn't be an issue...


buying a 970 motherboard with an FX processor is a BAD IDEA.

You cannot update the BIOS without a CPU that functions in the motherboard as is. the FX 6300 does not function in older 970 BIOS motherboards. She would need to already have an AM3 sempron/athlon/phenom laying around to flash a 970 board.


Recommending expensive builds is what got people out of the desktop market in the first place. What i always try to do is recommend the best possible build for the cheapest price. If everybody would do that maybe most of the users wouldn't be using tablets and smartphones. Most ppl don't want to pay $1000 for a pc that they will need to upgrade later. If an fx works on a 970 and the board has good VRM cooling why buy a more expensive one? Same with psu's - most single graphics systems use under 400w of power so why buy a 600/700/800w PSU...just because you can is not an answer.
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a b 4 Gaming
March 26, 2014 3:56:56 PM

emdea22 said:
HEXiT said:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($263.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN727N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $620.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-26 14:07 EDT-0400)

better motherboard choice, better cpu, better ram 5 bux more.
or

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN727N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $676.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-26 14:10 EDT-0400)

add gtx770 and still be under 700bux.


You gave him more power hungry parts and left the same PSU...

because the 770 maxes out at 230w, wich would put it around 420w at max load.
so i figured its tight but not excessively so.
after all hes on a budget of less than 700 he could easily swap out for a 600w psu and stay within that budget so its not a huge deal if he things its to weak.

@emdea22 i chose a better motherboard for its sli support. pointless having a crossfire only board if he's buy a single nvidia card at the start of a build. he would be forced to jump brand or buy a new board to go dual gpu at a later date.

i saved money on the hdd and ram which went towards the motherboard and cpu upgrades.
the ram is better because its the same speed but lesser latency, and cheaper. so they were offset for the most part(+$5 compared to his). even you can see the advantages outway the extra cost.
the 770 was just an extravagance spend to take up the extra budget.
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a b 4 Gaming
March 27, 2014 5:50:45 AM

bjaminnyc said:
quilciri said:
emdea22 said:
Keep the motherboard. its a good one, just have them update its bios, that shouldn't be an issue...


buying a 970 motherboard with an FX processor is a BAD IDEA.

You cannot update the BIOS without a CPU that functions in the motherboard as is. the FX 6300 does not function in older 970 BIOS motherboards. She would need to already have an AM3 sempron/athlon/phenom laying around to flash a 970 board.


Not true. My M5a97 (970) rev 1 worked with an 8320 without any updates required. Had a 145 sitting around, didn't need it.



"Rev 1" means that your motherboard is the second version of that motherboard produced by the manufacturer. You already had an updated 970 BIOS. the first version of the M5a97 is much less likely to have a compatible BIOS.

You also may be confusing motherboard manufacturer revision numbers with BIOS version. They are not congruent.

Older 970 BIOS do NOT work with FX chips. period.

*unless you can get the BIOS updated by the retailer*, or you can find the BIOS version of the board you're getting and verify that it works with vishera, buying a 970 board with an FX chip is a bad idea, it is a crapshoot whether or not your CPU will work.
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March 30, 2014 4:35:23 AM

quilciri said:
bjaminnyc said:
quilciri said:
emdea22 said:
Keep the motherboard. its a good one, just have them update its bios, that shouldn't be an issue...


buying a 970 motherboard with an FX processor is a BAD IDEA.

You cannot update the BIOS without a CPU that functions in the motherboard as is. the FX 6300 does not function in older 970 BIOS motherboards. She would need to already have an AM3 sempron/athlon/phenom laying around to flash a 970 board.


Not true. My M5a97 (970) rev 1 worked with an 8320 without any updates required. Had a 145 sitting around, didn't need it.



"Rev 1" means that your motherboard is the second version of that motherboard produced by the manufacturer. You already had an updated 970 BIOS. the first version of the M5a97 is much less likely to have a compatible BIOS.

You also may be confusing motherboard manufacturer revision numbers with BIOS version. They are not congruent.

Older 970 BIOS do NOT work with FX chips. period.

*unless you can get the BIOS updated by the retailer*, or you can find the BIOS version of the board you're getting and verify that it works with vishera, buying a 970 board with an FX chip is a bad idea, it is a crapshoot whether or not your CPU will work.


My reference to Rev 1 was to indicate it was not the R2, LE, PRO or EVO version. My M5a97 (cheap older original version) worked flawlessly out of the box for my 8320, both purchased shortly after Vishera release.
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a b 4 Gaming
March 30, 2014 5:10:52 AM

bjaminnyc said:

My reference to Rev 1 was to indicate it was not the R2, LE, PRO or EVO version. My M5a97 (cheap older original version) worked flawlessly out of the box for my 8320, both purchased shortly after Vishera release.


Revision 1, or "rev 1" means it is *not* the original version. You did not have an older 970 BIOS.

I've had to flash several 970 boards (edit: well, 4 boards. I guess that's not quite "several", but the point stands) with a thuban chip because they don't even work with bulldozer, much less piledriver, without it.
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