gaming Need help with PC build for Next Gen.

[Psychotic Muffin 86]

Well the title really says it all, I need help with building a PC since this is my first go-around at doing it.

 

Now I've been looking through various sites and have gotten advice from a few other people, and have come to this build at the moment, but would like a few more opinions before I spend a few hundred dollars and end up buying something I horribly regret.

 

Current Build:

 

CPU:AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)

Memory:Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)

Storage:Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)

Video Card:Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)

Case:Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Microcenter)

Optical Drive:Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC) 

Power Supply:Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)

 

Total: $644.90

 

Now all that's left is four questions: Am I missing anything? Is there anything that I could improve that without raising the price too much, as well as benefit me in the long run for PC gaming? Is this worth the time and price? & finally, Will this be able to support Next-Gen games such as BF4, Watch Dogs, GTA5, etc.

 

EDIT #1 : Also, if anyone could point me to a site where they could pre-build the computer before shipping it, or even just a current pre-built computer, that would be greatly appreciated.

Edited July 19, 2013 by BraveLilPyro

[MLPForums Phanact 1,374]

Personally I'd say go for a GTX 760 in the graphics card department. http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-HD-7870-vs-GeForce-GTX-760 As you can see in that link, the 760 completely trumps the AMD card in gaming performance!

 

On a different note, I probably wouldn't even bother with a DVD drive unless you use them for a lot of films. You can easily install windows or linux with a USB drive.

[Psychotic Muffin 86]

Personally I'd say go for a GTX 760 in the graphics card department. http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-HD-7870-vs-GeForce-GTX-760 As you can see in that link, the 760 completely trumps the AMD card in gaming performance!

 

On a different note, I probably wouldn't even bother with a DVD drive unless you use them for a lot of films. You can easily install windows or linux with a USB drive.

That link appears to be broken and all it does is take me to a error 404 screen, would you mind giving a different one to look at? 

[Gay Bird 421]

I'd recommend going for the AMD 4100. Almost everything you would do wouldn't use more than four cores, and with less cores, it makes for each core being more powerful. It's like a 4 liter v8 with only 4 cylinders running to a 4 liter v4 with all cylinders running.

[long gone 8,929]

GTA5

Don't worry about that one, Rockstar hasn't confirmed a PC version yet.

 

Specs seem pretty nice, but as others have said almost nothing takes advantage of more than four cores and any further cores bottleneck performance, and the GTX 760 performs better than the Radeon HD 7870. So go with those instead.

[Psychotic Muffin 86]

Thanks so far everyone, I'm currently going through another build using some of the parts you guys suggested and will post it here for further evaluation when I'm done.

 

Also, how important is a CPU Cooler? I didn't include it in the build but I would like to know if I should.

[MLPForums Phanact 1,374]

If you aren't planning to over clock your CPU then the default CPU Cooler that comes with your processor will work more than fine (:

[Psychotic Muffin 86]

Alright now here is the new build, is it worth the price? (I changed parts like some of you suggested, as well as added Windows 7)

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ibkM

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ibkM/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ibkM/benchmarks/

 

CPU: AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX  AM3+ Motherboard  ($84.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($48.89 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($62.98 @ Outlet PC) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($265.66 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Microcenter) 

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer  ($15.98 @ Outlet PC) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ Outlet PC) 

Total: $741.45

 

The Total will actually be 766.45 because there's a current Promo code taking off $25 but I won't be buying this immediately.

Edited July 19, 2013 by BraveLilPyro

[Wonderbolt_Spitfire 235]

Thanks so far everyone, I'm currently going through another build using some of the parts you guys suggested and will post it here for further evaluation when I'm done.

 

Also, how important is a CPU Cooler? I didn't include it in the build but I would like to know if I should.

Aftermarket heat sinks don't matter unless you are overclocking your processor if you plan on doing that and want a solid safe temperature then you should purchase an aftermarket heat sink.

 

One thing you need to include is an SSD they are well worth the money and make load times instant.

 

Another thing is that you should be looking at buying an i7 the Intel processors generally out perform AMD by a substantial margin. Although their price point is pretty steep, I suggest getting an Intel unless money is an issue, but if you want a next gen Gaming PC then money shouldn't be the issue. 

 

Lastly I will preach for the GTX 700 series they have a nice high bit rate (264 I believe) which is honestly the most important thing to your video card lasting 5+ years and no game being able to make it strain. My GTX 470 is a 320 bit rate and has lasted me 5 years and no game has given it any trouble. Of course clock speed and memory size are nice too but bit rate is key.

 

 

If you are looking for any particular suggestions on part then let me know (I build gaming PCs), but for me half the fun is looking at the parts yourself and comparing and contrasting.

 

Lastly I suggest building the PC yourself by buying all the parts you are going to be grossly overpriced for labor which is honestly not worth it when you can do it yourself. All the connectors for all the pieces are self explanatory and anything you have questions with google or I can answer. Plus building your PC yourself is so much fun and gratifying.

[Psychotic Muffin 86]

Aftermarket heat sinks don't matter unless you are overclocking your processor if you plan on doing that and want a solid safe temperature then you should purchase an aftermarket heat sink.

 

One thing you need to include is an SSD they are well worth the money and make load times instant.

 

Another thing is that you should be looking at buying an i7 the Intel processors generally out perform AMD by a substantial margin. Although their price point is pretty steep, I suggest getting an Intel unless money is an issue, but if you want a next gen Gaming PC then money shouldn't be the issue. 

 

Lastly I will preach for the GTX 700 series they have a nice high bit rate (264 I believe) which is honestly the most important thing to your video card lasting 5+ years and no game being able to make it strain. My GTX 470 is a 320 bit rate and has lasted me 5 years and no game has given it any trouble. Of course clock speed and memory size are nice too but bit rate is key.

 

 

If you are looking for any particular suggestions on part then let me know (I build gaming PCs), but for me half the fun is looking at the parts yourself and comparing and contrasting.

 

Lastly I suggest building the PC yourself by buying all the parts you are going to be grossly overpriced for labor which is honestly not worth it when you can do it yourself. All the connectors for all the pieces are self explanatory and anything you have questions with google or I can answer. Plus building your PC yourself is so much fun and gratifying.

I'm not to worried about getting an intel-i7 since most of the next gen games i've looked at only require an i5. And even then, I can always upgrade later.

 

And add, Yes I'm using a website called www.pcpartpicker.com, where they get the cheapest prices from multiple retailers. Building it, will be one of my only worries though.

 

And here is what might be the final specs if you'd care to look.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1iesK

[Wonderbolt_Spitfire 235]

I'm not to worried about getting an intel-i7 since most of the next gen games i've looked at only require an i5. And even then, I can always upgrade later.

 

And add, Yes I'm using a website called www.pcpartpicker.com, where they get the cheapest prices from multiple retailers. Building it, will be one of my only worries though.

 

And here is what might be the final specs if you'd care to look.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1iesK

 

 

Then pick up an i5 instead of the AMD. The sad thing is that even the the i5s are better processors than the AMD ones. To be honest AMD has been putting out crap lately, the only thing they are good for is for large amounts of numerical computations because of their higher base clock speeds. The only redeeming quality they have to a gamer is their price point, but that only allows you to see the saying "you get what you pay for"

 

 

If you are going to build it your self then I suggest a full tower case there is a lot more room to fit parts in and it will allow for more air circulation.

 

Other than that you NEED an SSD that will make your build better, but until you change the processor out it's going to be like a sports car without an engine.

 

If you decide to switch your processor then make sure to not skimp out a MOBO. Just buy an above average MOBO. You don't need anything crazy top of the line, but the MOBO will be your bottleneck that holds you back, considering all your other parts.

[MLPForums Phanact 1,374]

You definitely don't need an SSD. You have the exact same hard drive as me and the read and write speeds are around 200mb/s so forget the SSD. If you don't want to play every game on max settings and are more than happy sticking to medium or high then stick with AMD, somebody above me is obviously an Intel fanboy. (I have Intel)

 

You don't need a bigger case at all as long as you make sure you buy some extra fans for your current case.

 

Finally, I'd say don't bother buying windows 7 outright, maybe try and get a student discount from a friend as it makes everything much cheaper or you can PM me.

 

If you need any help in building your PC then please feel free to PM me about that as I, like the user above me, have built numerous gaming and home theater PC's

[long gone 8,929]

A desktop i7 isn't necessary for gaming. A desktop i5 is more than enough power for most games, even if it's more expensive than what you have right now, but Intel currently delivers more bang for your buck than AMD when it comes to gaming. If you're on a laptop like me, then... well, it's a different story.

 

Samsung is making 1TB SSDs with blisteringly fast read/write speeds, but these will retail for $650 so you might want to wait on those if you want a fast primary drive.

 

More RAM could help. Some games are really memory-intensive and require a lot of RAM. 6 - 8GB should do. I barely find any high-end (or even mid-range) gaming PCs with only 4GB RAM these days.

 

Windows 8 is cheaper than 7, but I don't really know if Metro is your thing. I get by just fine with it, I even have some Metro apps on my laptop (not nearly as many as my tablet, but, well, I think you can tell why) but from what I can tell most people would rather use the traditional Start menu over the new Start screen. The learning curve definitely isn't as bad as the iPress made it out to be, but as I said I don't know if you want to learn Metro or not. With Windows 8.1 on the horizon, it's probably better to wait until that is available at retail if you choose to go for Windows 8 (booting to desktop, Start button returns, you never have to see the live tiles, etc.)

[Chacobos 160]

You could possibly up your processor to another level but besides that you are set, very similar build to my PC and I play A LOT. 

[Lost 1,410]

I may come back to this topic to weigh in fully, but with it being 5am here i'm actually heading off to bed now, one thing i will state is that i found it to be only slightly more expensive to put a blu-ray drive in my build rather than a DVD drive, this may be something you wish to consider.

 

 

I would also like to note it is impossible to be able to guarantee that it would run next gen games like BF4, when BF3 first came out i assumed i would be able to run it on ultra at 60fps but that wasn't the case, i had to fully overclock my system. If you do end up overclocking that CPU it would be a good idea to throw liquid cooling in there for it, i'm running a Coolermaster H80 which works a treat, my i7 never gets too hot, and its overclocked and a processor known for heating issues.

[MLPForums Phanact 1,374]

If you do go for the liquid cooling route, never buy any closed loop cooler from Corsair. They're awful and loud and they break very easily when firmware updates are applied to them.

 

If you want THE best cooler ever made, get the Noctua NH-D14 but make sure it will fit in your case as its giant!

[long gone 8,929]

On the subject of cooling, remember that AMD produces a lot more heat than Intel does due to the higher clock speeds. I'd recommend a good cooling system if you want to stick with AMD for your processor. Otherwise, if heat and cooling are concerns for you I'd recommend switching out the motherboard and processor to one with an Intel LGA slot and a Core i5. Might be more expensive, but assuming that you are working with a $1000 budget it should still fit within your budget.

Edited July 21, 2013 by Daring

[Psychotic Muffin 86]

Ok one last question, this is my current and final build

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/BraveLilPyro/saved/1Zng

 

All I want to know is will this be good enough to last me for atleast 5-6 months and play games such as Bf4 and whatnot, I plan on I only need it to last 5-6 months because by then I'll have probably upgraded CPU's which is what alot of people are telling me to do. I'm likely upgrading to Intel i5 but would like to know which specific model I should go for.

 

Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the advice, when I was first trying to buy a PC i almost bought an ALIENWARE, but with the help from you guys, I think I've come to a much better conclusion, and I owe it all to you guys!!!!

[Wonderbolt_Spitfire 235]

Ok one last question, this is my current and final build

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/BraveLilPyro/saved/1Zng

 

All I want to know is will this be good enough to last me for atleast 5-6 months and play games such as Bf4 and whatnot, I plan on I only need it to last 5-6 months because by then I'll have probably upgraded CPU's which is what alot of people are telling me to do. I'm likely upgrading to Intel i5 but would like to know which specific model I should go for.

 

Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the advice, when I was first trying to buy a PC i almost bought an ALIENWARE, but with the help from you guys, I think I've come to a much better conclusion, and I owe it all to you guys!!!!

 

 

Yes, your current build will last you for longer than 5-6 months if needed. Although I may not like your lack of SSD and your choice of Processor, it will last for a couple years probably even longer depending on the game you play.

 

 

On a side note make sure that your RAM's clock speed is initially supported by your MOBO because if it isn't then you will have to go into your MOBO's BIOS to edit that and normally people who don't know what they're doing will screw something up when doing that.

 

I'm sure you already know this but it's worth mentioning that when you change your Processor you are going to have to buy a new MOBO.

Edited July 21, 2013 by Wonderbolt_Spitfire

[long gone 8,929]

Not bad. Not bad at all.

 

As Spitfire said, make sure your RAM speed is supported by the motherboard, lest you want to edit the BIOS and manually set it to support it.

[Psychotic Muffin 86]

How would I check to see if the RAM is supported by the MOBO, as well as when I upgrade the CPU and need a new MOBO should I stay with the one I have or go for a better one?

[long gone 8,929]

Here's the mobo on Newegg.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131872

 

Looks like it already supports the RAM speed (DDR3-1866). As I said though, you might want to go for more than 4GB RAM as not only will your games be using that RAM, but the OS as well, and some of these games can be memory-intensive (although if it were optimized well, it shouldn't use more than 1GB RAM). This can be done later if 6GB or 8GB DDR3-1866 would break your budget though.

 

Update: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455 8GB DDR3-1866 for slightly less than the motherboard.

Edited July 22, 2013 by Daring