Advice for first build

[unrealj]

*First Build*


Approximate Purchase Date: "sometime in the future"

Budget Range: "300-450$"

System Usage from Most to Least Important: "gaming mostly"

Parts Not Required: "parts that are not needed is keyboard,mouse,monitor"

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: "newegg"

Country: "USA"

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: "I would prefer a micro atx case for lan party and AMD parts"

Overclocking: "yes"

SLI or Crossfire: "NO"

Monitor Resolution: "1280x1024"

Additional comments: im just looking for some others opinions on what parts i should choose to build a reasonable lan party pc that can atleast play halo 2 at some high settings and some recent games on medium maybe

 

[DeusAres]

Try this...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $427.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-17 20:58 EST-0500)

 

[PoplicoMan]

Try this...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $427.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-17 20:58 EST-0500)

You could switch out the RAM for some Corsair

 

[DeusAres]

You could switch out the RAM for some Corsair

It doesn't really matter. This RAM will work just fine. It's rated for speeds of 1866MHz with a latency of 9ms.

Anything at 1600MHz or higher is a good buy. Just gotta make sure the CAS latency is at 9 or less. That's pretty much a standard for RAM. Other than that, there's really no reason to be loyal to a specific brand. G.Skill, Corsair, Patriot, Crucial, and Mushkin are among some of the most reliable brands.

 

[PoplicoMan]

The speed and CAS are generally inconsequential

 

[PoplicoMan]

Thought that maybe the extra 500GB might come in handy
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $435.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-17 21:27 EST-0500)

 

[DeusAres]

The speed and CAS are generally inconsequential

It's helpful for video editing/rendering.

The RAM in your build is fine. It doesn't really matter. I was just too lazy to change it. The OP is more than welcome to grab whichever RAM he wants. At this point, it's purely aesthetics.

 

[PoplicoMan]

It's helpful for video editing/rendering.

The RAM in your build is fine. It doesn't really matter. I was just too lazy to change it. The OP is more than welcome to grab whichever RAM he wants. At this point, it's purely aesthetics.

Amen

 

[DeusAres]

Word of advice, if the OP wants to add in an aftermarket CPU cooler, he may run into clearance issues with the tall heat spreaders on the Corsair Vengeance RAM.

Here's an overclocking friendly build...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $427.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-17 22:01 EST-0500)

It should allow you to overclock your CPU by a decent amount. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[unrealj]

Alright those all look good thanks for your help and i already have a Zalman CNPS5X Performa cpu cooler would this fit in a micro atx case?and be better than the one you suggested? And im looking to probably overclock the cpu to about 3.80 ghz or more.

 

[DeusAres]

That CPU cooler should fit just fine.

It's performance isn't the best. But it'll more than hold its own. No need to waste money on another heatsink. Put the saved cash towards a 1tb drive such as the one in poplicoman's build.

 

[unrealj]

And also one more thing, is a AMD FX-6100 6 core worth the extra 15 bucks than the quad core you posted and what about this graphics card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161391) it looks good for its price

 

[DeusAres]

GPU-No. That GPU is W-E-A-K, lol. The HD 7770 would run circles around it.

CPU-No. It really depends on whether or not you'll be running any multi-threaded applications. If you only plan on playing games or doing other mundane tasks (such as word processing or internet browsing), the phenom would be the best choice. 6 "cores" isn't going to help in gaming. Also, I don't even think the FX 6100 is a true 6 core processor. It's more along the lines of a 3 core processor with hyper-threading. If you're going to upgrade your processor, you may as well grab the FX 6300 (if you can fit it in the budget). Otherwise, I wouldn't touch the FX 6100. It's just not worth it in my opinion.

 

[unrealj]

alright makes sense because the fx-6100 is what my stock desktop came with so i was wondering if it was just worth it to buy another one but i guess not. thanks for your help.

 

[DeusAres]

No problem. Good luck with your build.