Any thoughts suggestions on my First Build???

[PhillipKennedy]

CUSTOM PC

Processor: AMD FX-8150 EightCore AM3+, $200

Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M-LX-V2 AMD Mainboard - AM3+, $71

RAM: Kingston 8GB (2x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3, $88

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB, $68

Case: Cooler Master Elite 430, $55

PSU: Corsair CX500M, $89

Optical Drive: Samsung 24x Internal Optical Drive, $29

SSD: Samsung 840 120GB 2.5"

Wireless Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN721N 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter, $11

Graphics Card: Radeon 7850 2GB, $199

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Premium, Service Pack 1, 64-bit - OEM, $110

Total: $1000

This build will be for everyday use, watching movies, and gaming. Maybe basic programming in the near future. I'm trying to keep the price as low as I can without compromising the gaming capabilities. The games I plan on playing the most are Rome 2 Total War(which I understand has had problems) and Star Wars The Old Republic, will it play them on ultra?? and other games I know will definitely run like the Age of Empires series and Star Wars battlefront 2.

And just out of curiosity how would this build go with the more demanding games like battlefield 3 and crisis n all that on ultra. I've spent months learning about all the different components of PC's and fiddling with custom builders but I'm still a beginner and this is the build I'm thinking. I would like to keep it at around $1000, any thoughts? (I am in Australia, and this is a custom build I made on centrecom.com.au ) thank you!

 

[Onus]

I've sprinkled my remarks below:

CUSTOM PC

Processor: AMD FX-8150 EightCore AM3+, $200
This is a Bulldozer CPU, offering generally disappointing performance. Swap it out for a newer Piledriver CPU such as the FX-6300 or FX-8320.

Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M-LX-V2 AMD Mainboard - AM3+, $71
This is an old-tech board with a modern socket tacked onto it, and will hinder the system's overall performance. Look for a 900-series board that has heatsinks on its VRMs. Avoid the cheaper MSI offerings, the -G43, -G45, and -G46, which are known for VRM problems. Also, "960," "980," and some "970DE" boards are not true 900-series either. The "real" ones will have a 950 Southbridge on them.

I would add a decent air cooler like the Xigmatek Gaia to this build, as you will likely want to overclock, at least a little. This cooler performs slightly better than the more-often parroted Hyper212 EVO, but costs $5-$15 less.

RAM: Kingston 8GB (2x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3, $88
Ok. Look for DDR3-1600 if you can get it at a decent price, but it isn't a huge deal.

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB, $68
Ok.

Case: Cooler Master Elite 430, $55
I don't care for the brand, but cases are a personal preference item. Just make sure your parts will all fit.

PSU: Corsair CX500M, $89
Ok. Make sure it is the "M" version, as the non-modular version uses inferior Samxon capacitors.

Optical Drive: Samsung 24x Internal Optical Drive, $29
Fine.

SSD: Samsung 840 120GB 2.5"
The 840 EVO or 840 PRO will have better performance than the vanilla 840, especially in this size.

Wireless Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN721N 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter, $11
If you need wireless, I'd suggest a PCIe x1 card; USB adapters tend to have poor antennas and correspondingly poor range and performance. If not too expensive, a dual-band wireless "N" card will offer much better performance.

Graphics Card: Radeon 7850 2GB, $199
The price looks a little high, but that could be regional. If it is the same price or cheaper, check out the GTX650Ti Boost Edition (not the non-Boost) for marginally better performance.

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Premium, Service Pack 1, 64-bit - OEM, $110
Ok.

.
.
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I think this build should be able to play most games on "High" settings.
I'm sure some of our Australian members will have suggestions for you too.

 

[PepitoTV]

Ok, you can take this as a suggestion:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($185.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($109.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($272.16 @ Mwave Australia)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($85.00 @ CPL Online)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($109.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Total: $1019.16
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-01 04:48 EST+1100)

I left the SSD in order to get a better CPU/GPU, this build will max the titles you mentioned and will play BF3/Crysis 3 at near max settings.

 

[Onus]

^That is a considerably better build, if you're willing to forgo the SSD.

 

[PhillipKennedy]

Thanks for the suggestions, I didn't think they would come that fast lol. So an SSD isn't really worth it?

 

[Onus]

Well, IMHO I won't build for myself without a SSD any more, but then I don't just play games, and rather than leave many applications open (despite having plenty of RAM), I open and close them as needed, so the SSD really matters.
If your primary focus is on playing games though, a SSD offers few benefits, generally limited to improved level-load / respawn times in some cases.

 

[PhillipKennedy]

I suppose I could always put a SSD in later. I did want to put my OS on there though

 

[Onus]

If you might get one later, I'd suggest partitioning your hard drive into a 111GB C: and the rest D: for your data. The formatted capacity of a 120GB SSD is 111GB, so this would allow you to clone the C: partition later, then keep that old partition around as a backup.

 

[PhillipKennedy]

Ok will do! So is the build I put up a waste of time and money? I was trying to go for an i5 4570 and a 660ti but I thought it would be overkill for what I wanted to do but again I am a beginner and unsure. The 4570 is only and extra $26 so I could get that, but the 660ti and 660 are both almost $100 dollars more, I wasn't sure if it was worth it?