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Started by TofuLion | | 6 answers
Advice on Building New HTPC/Gaming PC
Approximate Purchase Date: one month

Budget Range: 600-800 (lower is better but not at the cost of adequate performance)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: HTPC (mostly streaming from netflix, hulu, etc. also want to play blurays) and Gaming (not too heavy but want a better experience than consoles)

Are you buying a monitor: Looking at Samsung UN55FH6030 55-Inch 1080p 120Hz 3D LED HDTV (2013 Model)

Parts to Upgrade: Need complete build

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg has alot of combo deals but I have no preference

Location: upstate ny

Parts Preferences: thinking AMD because they are cheaper

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: 1080p 120Hz 3D

Additional Comments: prefer to be quiet

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Had been planning to buy an Xbox One but why settle for what they have when i don't need simple and easy.

This is what i was thinking:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3jnGdC
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3jnGdC/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.99 @ Micro Center)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($6.73 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($66.26 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 270X 2GB IceQ X² Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($42.93 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $839.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 15:03 EDT-0400

I have been debating whether to go for an apu but not sure if they perform well enough for what i want. also, at some point i will be building a media server as well so the hard drive and optical drive will be going to that build. Plan on overclocking the 8320 to try for 4GHz but do you think this will create too much noise when watching movies. id like to bring the cost down but like i said, not at the expense of performance. Please advise. thank you
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October 10, 2014 3:11:27 PM

mdocod said:
Here ya go:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
For equal cooling/noise, the FX-6300 will overclock at least ~15% higher than the FX-8320. Performance scaling in real time workloads favors per core performance over core count at least 2:1, and more so in games that simply do not scale into many-cores at all. Since you are overclocking, the FX-6300 is the better value CPU option.

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling ACFZA30 74.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.95 @ Amazon)
4x8mm heatpipes instead of 4x6mm on the 212EVO makes this better suited to the power levels of FX 32nm chips when overclocked. This will deliver better cooling per decibel on 32nm CPUs than the 212EVO. It also comes with a syringe of MX4, no need to buy anything else.


Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Heatsunk 8+2 phase VRMs are FAR better suited to overclocking than the M5A97 LE, which has 4+2 phase CPU power without any heat-sinking. The LE would give you socket/VRM temperature issues and forced performance throttling. The UD3P also has superior onboard audio.

Memory: Mushkin Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
These Crucial OEMed (Mushkin branded) 4GB DIMMs are a better value for AMD builds than G.Skill. G.Skill builds 4GB dimms single rank, Crucial still builds em dual rank, which allows for rank interleave. This kit will offer 10% better memory access performance than a comparable G.Skill kit.

Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Better quality SSD for the money.

Storage: Western Digital Red 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Quieter HD.

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Place-holder GPU. At the time of purchase, you'll just want to see what is happening in the market. If there's a GTX960 available at that time that may be your best value GPU.

Keep in mind that if you intend to do an AMD CPU build and intend to play DX11 titles, Nvidia proprietary DX11 drivers are actually much better suited to the AMD CPU architecture than the implementation used for AMD cards at this time. Nvidia's version is better threaded, and thus, reduces the compute overhead required of any single core by up to ~20%. The result of this, is up to ~25% better minimum FPS in compute bound conditions. AMD's current CPU architecture can be best described as "many tiny cores." Nvidia DX11 drivers help spread the compute workload out across more of those cores better than the current implementations of DX11 on AMD cards.

From an HTPC perspective, the fixed function video decoder in Kepler/Maxwell based cards is technically much higher bandwidth and better prepared for the transition to 4K media, however, if you intend to stay on a 1080P set for the life of this HTPC then that really won't matter, pick whichever GPU gives you the best balance of visual quality and performance for the money. Keeping in mind that visual quality and performance are not the same thing and do not originate from the same place.

Case: Silverstone PS10B ATX Mid Tower Case ($48.98 @ Newegg)
This is mostly a placeholder as this needs to be chosen based on your personal aesthetic preferences. Corsair, Fractal Design, SilverStone, and CoolerMaster all make many fantastic budget cases.

Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Seasonic OEMed, better build quality, better component quality, better efficiency, and much more real current and thermal headroom than the CX600, all makes this a better PSU for an overclocked FX system.

Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($44.45 @ Adorama)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($96.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $855.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 16:37 EDT-0400


that makes perfect sense. as this is my first build i wasn't quite sure what exactly i should expect but you just reassured me that my research over the past couple weeks has put me on the right track. just needed to be optimized. i really liked the idea of an 8-core cpu but youve made it clear that it isnt my best option and theres always room for upgrade in the future. the only part that has always bugged me is the video card. so many models and numbers and manufacturers... at least now i know to focus on nvidia so that narrows it down for me quite a bit. thank you very much for your insight

Best solution chosen by TofuLion

October 10, 2014 1:57:51 PM

Here ya go:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
For equal cooling/noise, the FX-6300 will overclock at least ~15% higher than the FX-8320. Performance scaling in real time workloads favors per core performance over core count at least 2:1, and more so in games that simply do not scale into many-cores at all. Since you are overclocking, the FX-6300 is the better value CPU option.

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling ACFZA30 74.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.95 @ Amazon)
4x8mm heatpipes instead of 4x6mm on the 212EVO makes this better suited to the power levels of FX 32nm chips when overclocked. This will deliver better cooling per decibel on 32nm CPUs than the 212EVO. It also comes with a syringe of MX4, no need to buy anything else.


Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Heatsunk 8+2 phase VRMs are FAR better suited to overclocking than the M5A97 LE, which has 4+2 phase CPU power without any heat-sinking. The LE would give you socket/VRM temperature issues and forced performance throttling. The UD3P also has superior onboard audio.

Memory: Mushkin Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
These Crucial OEMed (Mushkin branded) 4GB DIMMs are a better value for AMD builds than G.Skill. G.Skill builds 4GB dimms single rank, Crucial still builds em dual rank, which allows for rank interleave. This kit will offer 10% better memory access performance than a comparable G.Skill kit.

Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Better quality SSD for the money.

Storage: Western Digital Red 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Quieter HD.

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Place-holder GPU. At the time of purchase, you'll just want to see what is happening in the market. If there's a GTX960 available at that time that may be your best value GPU.

Keep in mind that if you intend to do an AMD CPU build and intend to play DX11 titles, Nvidia proprietary DX11 drivers are actually much better suited to the AMD CPU architecture than the implementation used for AMD cards at this time. Nvidia's version is better threaded, and thus, reduces the compute overhead required of any single core by up to ~20%. The result of this, is up to ~25% better minimum FPS in compute bound conditions. AMD's current CPU architecture can be best described as "many tiny cores." Nvidia DX11 drivers help spread the compute workload out across more of those cores better than the current implementations of DX11 on AMD cards.

From an HTPC perspective, the fixed function video decoder in Kepler/Maxwell based cards is technically much higher bandwidth and better prepared for the transition to 4K media, however, if you intend to stay on a 1080P set for the life of this HTPC then that really won't matter, pick whichever GPU gives you the best balance of visual quality and performance for the money. Keeping in mind that visual quality and performance are not the same thing and do not originate from the same place.

Case: Silverstone PS10B ATX Mid Tower Case ($48.98 @ Newegg)
This is mostly a placeholder as this needs to be chosen based on your personal aesthetic preferences. Corsair, Fractal Design, SilverStone, and CoolerMaster all make many fantastic budget cases.

Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Seasonic OEMed, better build quality, better component quality, better efficiency, and much more real current and thermal headroom than the CX600, all makes this a better PSU for an overclocked FX system.

Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($44.45 @ Adorama)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($96.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $855.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 16:37 EDT-0400
October 10, 2014 12:49:29 PM

any suggestions to lower the price? or do you think everything in there is necessary?
October 10, 2014 12:29:25 PM

Don't worry, your build will be perfect for the HDTV so no need to worry. This build will kill any console out of the water :) 
October 10, 2014 12:25:55 PM

Effeectt said:
Great build and it will fit your needs, my only worry is that a 120hz monitor may not be necessary, since it will only be useful if YOU can run games above 120fps +. This is just an opinion but otherwise this is a great build


thanks for the quick response. it will actually be an HDTV not a computer monitor so it will be a more permanent piece of equipment (hoping to get 8-10 years before upgrading) so maybe a crossfire in the future to support the tv. should i go with a better gpu or maybe an apu that i can further implement crossfire in the future?
October 10, 2014 12:17:55 PM

Great build and it will fit your needs, my only worry is that a 120hz monitor may not be necessary, since it will only be useful if YOU can run games above 120fps +. This is just an opinion but otherwise this is a great build

See all answers