Building Gaming PC

[Caleb Bach]

Hey guys, I was wanting to update my rig considering it was a Walmart PC that I purchased 2 years ago. I added a Corsair GS60 600W PSU and a Radeon HD 6770 GPU.

I want to upgrade because of my low end CPU. But can only do so in little amounts. Here is what I am thinking.

I currently own a PC, so I am going to stick with a few things I have and upgrade only what I need for right now.

-Corsair GS60 600w PSU
-AMD XFX 6770 GPU
-5 GB DDR3 RAM
-685 GB HDD with Windows 7

I am looking at buying these upgrades, and would like your feedback.

-AMD FX-8350 CPU
-GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
-Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded USB 3.0

How would this set-up perform gaming, streaming, and video editing?

 

[Rammy]

The FX8350 is a strong choice but if you are trying to get the best value for money, the FX8320 might be a better choice. Fundamentally the same processor running at a lower speed, the price difference right now is too big to ignore; the FX8320 is $130, the FX8350 is $200.

The motherboard you chose is pretty sensible as it's at the cheaper end of 990FX boards. The main chipset difference between that and a 970 board is full SLI support though, so you might be better off shopping amongst those.

I own an Antec 900, and it was a great case, but it's getting pretty old fashioned and I don't think it represents great value for money (even with the USB3.0 refresh). If you want a big black tower, then have a look at the Fractal Design
Core 3000 or Define R4, Corsair 400R/500R, Cooler Master HAF922... It's a very long list.

As for performance, you'll be held back by your graphics card in games. I doubt it'll have any major issues running most games as long as you are happy to turn down the options accordingly. It's a 3 year old card after all.
For editing, the 8 core AMD processors offer great value for money, so you are onto a winner there whichever you pick.

As a side note, 5Gb of ram is an odd (and potentially unbeneficial) amount. Ideally, you want to have matching pairs to take advantage of dual channel ram. In the majority of tasks its not going to make a massive difference, but there are places where it can. If your memory is potentially a bit mismatched and slower speed, you might want to consider getting a new 2*4Gb kit.

 

[g-unit1111]

I own an Antec 900, and it was a great case, but it's getting pretty old fashioned and I don't think it represents great value for money (even with the USB3.0 refresh). If you want a big black tower, then have a look at the Fractal Design Core 3000 or Define R4, Corsair 400R/500R, Cooler Master HAF922... It's a very long list.

I had an Antec 900 as well - great case back in the day but now not so much. I definitely agree with all the choices listed and would also add the NZXT Phantom series, the Nanoxia Deep Silence 2, iSilverstone Fortress, and if you're going the micro or mini route, the Bitfenix Prodigy and the EVGA Hadron. Brands I would not buy are the usual suspects - Raidmax, Apevia, Logisys, CIT, Sentey, Toppower, etc etc.