My Tentative Plan for a PC Build, Looking for some Input

[Guest]

My laptop broke about two-months ago. Since then, I've been planning on building a decent gaming PC. Before I set out for a parts list, I set the budget for $700 (give/take $30), which is ambitious considering a monitor is included in the budget. This is what I came up with (this is my first build, so constructive comments would be appreciated);

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor- $149.29
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard- $54.99 ($10 mail-in rebate)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory- $68.99
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive- $58.25
GPU: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card- $159.99 ($10 mail-in rebate)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case- $45.58
PSU: Sentey® Power Supply 525w- $29.99
Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor- 129.99 ($10.00 mail-in rebate)
Keyboard: V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard Wired Standard Keyboard- $7.99

Price before mail-in rebates (shipping included): $725.06
After main-in rebates: $695.06

 

[CTurbo]

Well first of all, don't get that psu. You MUST get a better psu. It's very important.
Second of all, I wouldn't get any FX cpu because they are already 2 years old, and AMD is not replacing them. You can get an i5 for just $30 more that would be a lot better.

There's also no reason to get a 5400rpm hard drive. The 7200rpm drives are the same price or cheaper.

 

[Guest]

Well first of all, don't get that psu. You MUST get a better psu. It's very important.
Second of all, I wouldn't get any FX cpu because they are already 2 years old, and AMD is not replacing them. You can get an i5 for just $30 more that would be a lot better.

There's also no reason to get a 5400rpm hard drive. The 7200rpm drives are the same price or cheaper.

Would a Corsair CX600M work for my needs?

 

[jaraldo]

In addition to what CTurbo has said you will want a PSU from EVGA/XFX/Seasonic/Antec in general. If you go with an intel i5-4460 instead for example, you could get away with an XFX 550w power supply for $50.

Intel is a better route, but if you are wanting to keep the AMD build, which is at least acceptable in some ways at this budget range, you will want to change your motherboard to.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgN1D79Joo7tdE9xMUFlMEVWeFhuckJEVF9aMmtpUFE&gid=3
That mobo might be fine if you don't overclock, but I certainly wouldn't risk it. You want something with a good amount of VRM like 8+2, if not a 6+2.

 

[Guest]

Okay guys, I updated my build based on your recommendations. Would this (http://pcpartpicker.com/user/maxs154/saved/kjGxFT) work better? I'm not willing to go higher than $800 for a build, I just don't have the money right now.

 

[jaraldo]

Hmm, well it's better sure. I'm wondering if you got a cheaper case and a slightly cheaper mobo if you could afford a better graphics card though. I saw some asus r9 280 on for $200 recently

 

[jaraldo]

How is something like this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($219.20 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor ($127.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard Wired Standard Keyboard ($7.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $813.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-08 15:19 EDT-0400)

Edit: you could get a $20 cheaper r9 280, but the asus are quieter and usually a better brand. Up to you

 

[Guest]

How is something like this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($219.20 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor ($127.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard Wired Standard Keyboard ($7.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $813.71
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-08 15:19 EDT-0400)

Edit: you could get a $20 cheaper r9 280, but the asus are quieter and usually a better brand. Up to you

I'll definitely will take this into account, but the R9 280 is a little out of my price-range. I will probably have to stick with the R9 270.

 

[jaraldo]

What do you mean? Like I said, the asus was just a suggestion and is onsale for only $13 over your budget. If you really don't have that cash it's fine, there are other brands available.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Dell S2240M 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard Wired Standard Keyboard ($7.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $781.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-08 15:46 EDT-0400)

Edit: If you wanted to lower the price a bit, you could save maybe $20 with a different monitor and mobo, but I'd try for this build.
Edit 2 Got you an IPS monitor for $10 cheaper as your Asus one was a TN panel. Switched your 4460 for the 4440, I doubt you will see any difference for $5. With that $15 saving I got the XFX r9 280 instead and you are $20 under budget.

 

[Guest]

What do you mean? Like I said, the asus was just a suggestion and is onsale for only $13 over your budget. If you really don't have that cash it's fine, there are other brands available.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 280 3GB IceQ OC Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor ($127.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard Wired Standard Keyboard ($7.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $794.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-08 15:38 EDT-0400)

Edit: If you wanted to lower the price a bit, you could save maybe $20 with a different monitor and mobo, but I'd try for this build.

With the ASUS R9 280 it was about $860 pre-rebates, and I just didn't have the money for that (I have college coming-up so I have some other things I need to take of financially). But I think I can manage this easily. Thanks.

 

[CTurbo]

These builds from jaraldo are exactly what I would do and they are much better than your original AMD build. Here are my finishing touches...


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cmV7pg
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cmV7pg/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cmV7pg/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D2V Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($200.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor ($127.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard Wired Standard Keyboard ($7.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $784.31
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-08 16:02 EDT-0400)



Yeah I didn't pay attention to the monitor. The Dell may be better.

 

[jaraldo]

Yeah, you have a better CPU mobo combo

I still think the Dell will be better as the VS series are not always IPS, and that particular model is not.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vs228hp
Just a minor thing anyways

Maxs154, you have got the info/combos you need to finalize the build to whatever suites you now, if you have anymore questions, feel free to ask

 

[Guest]

Yeah, you have a better CPU mobo combo

I still think the Dell will be better as the VS series are not always IPS, and that particular model is not.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vs228hp
Just a minor thing anyways

Maxs154, you have got the info/combos you need to finalize the build to whatever suites you now, if you have anymore questions, feel free to ask

Thanks for all your help, man. I have not built a PC in 8 years, so this has been really helpful.

 

[jaraldo]

Yea, things have sure changed a lot since then

Add a SSD when you can into it and it should be a damn fine machine! Prices will probably even drop to $50 for 120gb by the time you are ready to get one.