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First Time Build! (Tips/Suggestions) Please

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  • Video Games
  • Computers
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Last response: in Video Games
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July 1, 2014 8:57:35 PM

Hello everyone,

This is my first time building a computer and I would like to get some input/advice on the build I am following considering its future usage. I only plan on using the computer for web browsing and playing League of Legends. (I would like to run the game on high settings with 60+ FPS).

I have read a few of Lifehacker's posts from his website and I'm considering following his $600 budget build.

CPU: AMD FX6300
MOBO: ASUS M5A97 R2
MEMORY: G.SKILL X SERIES 4GB
STORAGE: WESTERN BLUE 1TB 3.5"
GPU: RADEON R9 270
POWER: CORSAIR Builder 430 W

Link: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/alanhenry/saved/PNFtt6

I have also done some other research and have decided that I will opt for the AMD FX-6300 over the Intel i5 3570k because of it's price and my basic needs.

Many of the posts I have read from Tom'shardware suggest that for gaming, people should buy cheaper CPU's and invest in stronger GPU's because games are more GPU intensive, is this true?
(If it is, would the Radeon R9 270 be able to handle league of legends on high settings with 60+FPS?)

Thanks Guys!

More about : time build tips suggestions

July 1, 2014 11:59:29 PM

The build is good for budget, lightweight gaming, and until the graphic update on summoner's rift kicks in, you'd be fine even with an entry level card. As far as I know, the only cards struggling with LoL are very old or bad embedded ones, and a 270 will help you play some trIple-a games at low details as well.

If I were you, I'd get a 270x. The xfx should prove to be enough for your lightweight gaming needs with no considerable increase in cost from the gigabyte. Also, the PSU is enough and leaves enough headroom, but out of personal taste I like to leave some more for any future upgrades, just in case, so I'd take a 500w. Completely up to you here, although I highly recommend considering the 270x.

As per the gpu needing to be stronger for Videogames, it's more or less true. You do need a more powerful gpu, but obviously a too powerful one paired up with a too slow cpu will end up not performing as it should. You do have to prioritise the GPU, but that doesn't mean you have to completely ignore the CPU ;) 
July 2, 2014 12:35:52 AM

Vynavill said:
The build is good for budget, lightweight gaming, and until the graphic update on summoner's rift kicks in, you'd be fine even with an entry level card. As far as I know, the only cards struggling with LoL are very old or bad embedded ones, and a 270 will help you play some trIple-a games at low details as well.

If I were you, I'd get a 270x. The xfx should prove to be enough for your lightweight gaming needs with no considerable increase in cost from the gigabyte. Also, the PSU is enough and leaves enough headroom, but out of personal taste I like to leave some more for any future upgrades, just in case, so I'd take a 500w. Completely up to you here, although I highly recommend considering the 270x.

As per the gpu needing to be stronger for Videogames, it's more or less true. You do need a more powerful gpu, but obviously a too powerful one paired up with a too slow cpu will end up not performing as it should. You do have to prioritise the GPU, but that doesn't mean you have to completely ignore the CPU ;) 


Thanks for the feedback! I will definitely look into prices for the 270x.

Related resources
July 2, 2014 8:48:51 AM

I would probably do something like this if you are trying to keep it around $550 (a bit over)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($139.20 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $579.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

The GA97-UD3P is just as good as the Asus M5A97 R2, better in some ways even. Changed the PSU since the corsair cx series uses some not great components in the PSU, XFX is really good quality. Fit 8gb ram into the build. The 270x is about $30 more than the 270 so if that is in budget go for it.

I would recommend that you get a CPU cooler at some point since the fx-6300 comes with a pretty bad cooler and the fx cpus run hot (cooler is loud too). Also a CPU cooler would let you overclock a bit.
July 2, 2014 10:12:59 AM

numanator said:
I would probably do something like this if you are trying to keep it around $550 (a bit over)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($139.20 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $579.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

The GA97-UD3P is just as good as the Asus M5A97 R2, better in some ways even. Changed the PSU since the corsair cx series uses some not great components in the PSU, XFX is really good quality. Fit 8gb ram into the build. The 270x is about $30 more than the 270 so if that is in budget go for it.

I would recommend that you get a CPU cooler at some point since the fx-6300 comes with a pretty bad cooler and the fx cpus run hot (cooler is loud too). Also a CPU cooler would let you overclock a bit.


I was going to ask around about changing the motherboard from ASUS to Gigabyte, I saw that microcenter was selling a bundle package and that will save me around $40 :D  thanks for the confirmation.

And I think I will just start out with 4gb right now, I can always add some later right?

As for the CPU cooler I don't think I plan on overclocking my computer, it is something I haven't gotten to read to heavily into yet . If I feel like I want more performance out of my CPU I think overclocking is something I will consider later.

As for the power supply change, is the brand XFX overall better? Did you have any problems with Corsair in the past?

Sorry for the flurry of questions, I really appreciate your help.
July 2, 2014 10:27:32 AM

I can answer for some of them, at least out of personal taste and experience.

You can add more ram later, but we're already knee-deep into the 8gb range when it comes to gaming, so it can help already having enough. Completely up to you here anyway...

Stock cpu coolers are usually the bare minimum needed to keep your cpu cool. While they may run awesomely in some rare cases, they will be NOISY, and I mean it. Otherwise, a tiny little issue and things can go for the worst fast...

XFX/SeaSonic (different names, same components used AFAIK) makes great products when it comes to PSUs, but they tend to get expensive sometimes, while Corsair usually goes for a "more bang for your buck". They're both good, but if you can afford XFX/SeaSonic, go for them.
July 2, 2014 11:23:59 AM

xxchaosreaper479xx said:
numanator said:
I would probably do something like this if you are trying to keep it around $550 (a bit over)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($139.20 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $579.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

The GA97-UD3P is just as good as the Asus M5A97 R2, better in some ways even. Changed the PSU since the corsair cx series uses some not great components in the PSU, XFX is really good quality. Fit 8gb ram into the build. The 270x is about $30 more than the 270 so if that is in budget go for it.

I would recommend that you get a CPU cooler at some point since the fx-6300 comes with a pretty bad cooler and the fx cpus run hot (cooler is loud too). Also a CPU cooler would let you overclock a bit.


I was going to ask around about changing the motherboard from ASUS to Gigabyte, I saw that microcenter was selling a bundle package and that will save me around $40 :D  thanks for the confirmation.

And I think I will just start out with 4gb right now, I can always add some later right?

As for the CPU cooler I don't think I plan on overclocking my computer, it is something I haven't gotten to read to heavily into yet . If I feel like I want more performance out of my CPU I think overclocking is something I will consider later.

As for the power supply change, is the brand XFX overall better? Did you have any problems with Corsair in the past?

Sorry for the flurry of questions, I really appreciate your help.


The reason for PSU the change is simply that the corsair cx uses cheap chinese capacitors instead of the japanese capacitors that have become pretty standard among the reliable brands. The Chinese capacitors in the CX have a higher failure rate at high heats so the cx series is fine as long as you are not putting a heavy load on the psu (gaming can be considered a heavy load lol). Corsair has some very good power supplies available but those are very expensive most of the time (AX/HX/TX series PSUs), the Corsair models I typically avoid are the CX/VS/RM models since they all have the same capacitors (the RM is not as bad but not worth how much it costs imo due to some fan issues and the secondary capacitors). As for XFX, they use Seasonic as their OEM who doesn't make any bad PSUs (to my knowledge) so they are a lot easier to recommend.

For the mobo, not all models of a company's motherboards are equal :)  Gigabyte is a good brand but looking at the Microcenter bundles I would not get the Gigabyte bundle since that mobo is not great. From the bundles I would get this one:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/398235/M5A97_R20_Soc...

With the Asus M5A97.

The reason I originally recommended the GA 970-UD3P is because it has a 8+2 VRM power phase design so it would be able to push more power to the CPU (as opposed to the Asus 4+2 VRM design). The GA78-MT mobo combo on microcenter would barely be able to power the fx-6300. The M5A97 R2 would do well with the fx 6300 the GA 970-UD3P would just be a better overclocker. If you get the GA78-MT combo you may run into problems with the CPU throttling itself due to not having enough power.

Edit: Corsair Builder and Corsair CX are the same thing.
July 2, 2014 7:20:15 PM

numanator said:
xxchaosreaper479xx said:
numanator said:
I would probably do something like this if you are trying to keep it around $550 (a bit over)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($139.20 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $579.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

The GA97-UD3P is just as good as the Asus M5A97 R2, better in some ways even. Changed the PSU since the corsair cx series uses some not great components in the PSU, XFX is really good quality. Fit 8gb ram into the build. The 270x is about $30 more than the 270 so if that is in budget go for it.

I would recommend that you get a CPU cooler at some point since the fx-6300 comes with a pretty bad cooler and the fx cpus run hot (cooler is loud too). Also a CPU cooler would let you overclock a bit.


I was going to ask around about changing the motherboard from ASUS to Gigabyte, I saw that microcenter was selling a bundle package and that will save me around $40 :D  thanks for the confirmation.

And I think I will just start out with 4gb right now, I can always add some later right?

As for the CPU cooler I don't think I plan on overclocking my computer, it is something I haven't gotten to read to heavily into yet . If I feel like I want more performance out of my CPU I think overclocking is something I will consider later.

As for the power supply change, is the brand XFX overall better? Did you have any problems with Corsair in the past?

Sorry for the flurry of questions, I really appreciate your help.


The reason for PSU the change is simply that the corsair cx uses cheap chinese capacitors instead of the japanese capacitors that have become pretty standard among the reliable brands. The Chinese capacitors in the CX have a higher failure rate at high heats so the cx series is fine as long as you are not putting a heavy load on the psu (gaming can be considered a heavy load lol). Corsair has some very good power supplies available but those are very expensive most of the time (AX/HX/TX series PSUs), the Corsair models I typically avoid are the CX/VS/RM models since they all have the same capacitors (the RM is not as bad but not worth how much it costs imo due to some fan issues and the secondary capacitors). As for XFX, they use Seasonic as their OEM who doesn't make any bad PSUs (to my knowledge) so they are a lot easier to recommend.

For the mobo, not all models of a company's motherboards are equal :)  Gigabyte is a good brand but looking at the Microcenter bundles I would not get the Gigabyte bundle since that mobo is not great. From the bundles I would get this one:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/398235/M5A97_R20_Soc...

With the Asus M5A97.

The reason I originally recommended the GA 970-UD3P is because it has a 8+2 VRM power phase design so it would be able to push more power to the CPU (as opposed to the Asus 4+2 VRM design). The GA78-MT mobo combo on microcenter would barely be able to power the fx-6300. The M5A97 R2 would do well with the fx 6300 the GA 970-UD3P would just be a better overclocker. If you get the GA78-MT combo you may run into problems with the CPU throttling itself due to not having enough power.

Edit: Corsair Builder and Corsair CX are the same thing.

I see, I guess I'll stick with the orignial Asus motherboard and go with microcenter's bundle then. And thanks for explaining the difference in quality of capacitors between the different PSU brands. I will take that into consideration, I would rather spend a little more money up front than replace the whole part itself later due to poor quality.
!