Advise and Criticise my system. Play whack-a-newb!

[J-man80]

Hey everyone,

I started building computers as a hobby about a year ago but only recently discovered this site. I've already learned a lot from mistakes I've made and from this forum. As you all know, this is a very expensive hobby and mistakes can prove to be quite costly. I've decided to throw myself at the mercy of this community and let you all make me your intellectual punching bag. So feel free to tell me what you think of my system. What bad choices have I made, what would you recommend I do in the future, and what can I do to make some of it worthwhile. Feel free to be blunt, vent about how stupid newbs like me are, whatever! Hopefully it will be in the spirit of fun. If nothing else, maybe it will be a good way for others to learn from my mistakes.

Here are my specs:

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core (bottlenecks my GPU?)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 ATX AM3+
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 (way too much RAM)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" SSD
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal HDD
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II
Case: Inwin MANA134 ATX Mid Tower (can't install liquid cooler)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750M 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX (could be better quality)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit)

I look forward to your responses!

 

[raihan4]

What is your budget? Do you plan on overclocking? I would recommend building something other than that FX 6300 as AM3+ are pretty much dead now.

 

[J-man80]

What is your budget? Do you plan on overclocking? I would recommend building something other than that FX 6300 as AM3+ are pretty much dead now.

That's my system as it currently stands. I tried overclocking a few weeks ago and managed to get 4.5Ghz, torture tested for an hour with Prime95 and it was nice and stable, then I played ESO and after about an hour or 2 it blue screened on me. I just put everything back to default settings since it was handling fairly well without the O.C.

I know I've overspent on a few of my components.

Eventually I'll be upgrading my CPU. I just wish I had picked Intel at the beginning... I didn't know that there was such a huge performance gap between the 2 companies. I saw the 'Hexacore 3.5Ghz' and thought I was getting a super computer! Live and learn I guess...

 

[raihan4]

So, i guess you're looking for criticism of your build? Well, first, as you know, the CPU. That thing is, er.. not that good and the socket is dead. But it still can run newer games adequately, being on par with the i3 (some better, some worse). Second, unless you're doing heavy rendering and things (Which i suppose isn't the case considering you picked up an FX 6300) , your RAM is waayy too much. 8GB is enough for gaming. Third, your PSU. Corsair CX series is not of a good quality (mine died powering a stock i5 and 270x) and going big watts with the CX lineup is money-not-well-spent.

Those are what i found, next time you want to build a PC and is unsure about it, you can always ask all the great forum members here that could help you in some way. Good luck

 

[J-man80]

So, i guess you're looking for criticism of your build? Well, first, as you know, the CPU. That thing is, er.. not that good and the socket is dead. But it still can run newer games adequately, being on par with the i3 (some better, some worse). Second, unless you're doing heavy rendering and things (Which i suppose isn't the case considering you picked up an FX 6300) , your RAM is waayy too much. 8GB is enough for gaming. Third, your PSU. Corsair CX series is not of a good quality (mine died powering a stock i5 and 270x) and going big watts with the CX lineup is money-not-well-spent.

Those are what i found, next time you want to build a PC and is unsure about it, you can always ask all the great forum members here that could help you in some way. Good luck

Thank you for the advice!

I wish I had known about this site at the time; it's definitely a great resource. I've built two other systems for family members since and have learned to ask first, spend later.

I actually bought my system pre-built, but have upgraded so much that it's become a custom. The only original parts are the CPU, HDD, Case and optical drive. When I bought the system, there were a lot of great reviews about the 6300, and having a very limited budget it seemed like a good decision at the time. When I upgraded my motherboard I should have taken the opportunity to go Intel, but I didn't think about it until it was too late.

I'm not a hardcore gamer. The only game I really play is ESO, and according to Hardware Monitor my GPU is bottlenecking my CPU when I play that... (GPU @ 99% utilization while CPU never goes above 70-80%). Should I be worried about my GPU?

My biggest regret is the RAM. I might try to sell some of it to get some money back.

 

[raihan4]

Your GPU is fine actually. I'd stick with it until the system really, REALLY can't take new AAA games anymore, then i'd considering upgrading to Intel skylake/broadwell (or whatever comparable AMD equivalent at that time).