First build attempt (mostly for gaming)

[Silly tortoise]

Hi everyone, I was recently given the opportunity to build myself a workstation/gaming desktop and a little guidance and advice would be highly appreciated

I have managed to get somewhat of a selection of compatible (well, I hope so...) components:

CPU: AMD FX8350 VISHERA (8-core 4.0 GHz-4.2GHz OCd)

MOBO: ASUS CROSSHAIR V FORMULA-Z (4 ram slots, supports upto 32GB of ram upto 2400MHz, supports 3-way SLI & Crossfire, AM3+ 990FX, USB 3.0 etc...)

MEMORY/RAM: MUSHKIN ENHANCED BLACKLINE (4x4GB 2400MHz)

VIDEO CARD: SAPPHIRE VAPOR-X RADEON HD 7970 GHz EDITION (3GB)

HARDDRIVE: SEAGATE BARRACUDA... (1.5TB)

SSD: OCZ AGILTY 3 (128GB)

PSU: I'm not sure but would a XFX PROSERIES P1050BEFX (1050W) do the trick if were to eventually crossfire the HD 7970?

CASE: NZXT PHANTOM 820 (Full tower, apparently 'superb cable management and excellent both fan and water cooling capabilities')

Thats gonna cost about $1650 USD so hopefully a mere $350 for a fearly descent water cooling kit, with I am hoping to assemble myself not a pre-built kit, or whatever is suited really thanks I'm open to any suggestions and thanks in advance

Oh and I'm in New Zealand so that's why I'm getting from newegg.com because here computer parts are ridiculously expensive and the selection isn't that great...

 

[Schlect]

I would recommend a cheaper motherboard since you are only going to be using one PCI slot ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157267 ) perhaps, and a 1050 is defiantly overkill for this build. You would be good with a 750 or 850.

 

[Silly tortoise]

Hey thanks for the reply yeah I was considering the asrock and would a 850w crossfire the HD 7970?

 

[dudewitbow]

If you want to cut cost a bit, I'd recommend the NZXT switch 810 over the phantom 820. the phantom 820 is like a NZXT phantom looks on a Switch 810's body + a few changes

i will also mention that the high timing ram wont increase performance much per cost. at the most its like .5 of an fps

 

[garrettk4]

First things first. In my opinion Intel > AMD (Lots of others will agree.) If its just for gaming with a little extra work here and there the 3570k will do the job.

2nd: Throw out ocz agility 3 because it's an old drive and ocz isn't that reliable. If you want reliablility look into Intel or Corsair.

3rd: You don't need 2400mhz ram. 1600mhz will do the job.

4: Motherboard is way overkill

5. Case is your own choice but 250 bucks for that case is a ridiculous imo. Corsair 600t is a nice substitute.

What's your total budget? Do you need a keyboard, mouse, monitor?

Here's what I came up with:


http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sSdi

 

[Silly tortoise]

Yeah that's probably a good idea thanks

 

[dudewitbow]

First things first. In my opinion Intel > AMD (Lots of others will agree.) If its just for gaming with a little extra work here and there the 3570k will do the job.

2nd: Throw out ocz agility 3 because it's an old drive and ocz isn't that reliable. If you want reliablility look into Intel or Corsair.

3rd: You don't need 2400mhz ram. 1600mhz will do the job.

4: Motherboard is way overkill

5. Case is your own choice but 250 bucks for that case is a ridiculous imo. Corsair 600t is a nice substitute.

What's your total budget? Do you need a keyboard, mouse, monitor?

Here's what I came up with:


http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sSdi

your using the wrong pcpp site. OPS from newzealand. they have a NZ version

 

[Silly tortoise]

My total budget is around $2000 as I will be adding parts and upgrading and trading etc and Ive got the keyboard and mouse sorted but not to sure about a good LED 'monitor though

 

[dudewitbow]

another thing i should mention, if you want my opinion on what the best 7970 ghz is, its the Asus Matrix Platinum(albeit i like my sapphire card, the matrix platinum is a beauty)


edit: but its extremely pricey so its a bomb

 

[Silly tortoise]

another thing i should mention, if you want my opinion on what the best 7970 ghz is, its the Asus Matrix Platinum(albeit i like my sapphire card, the matrix platinum is a beauty)

Ok sweet, the sapphire cards defantly have some attractive features and prices for what you get

 

[Silly tortoise]

What about a water cooling kit, preferably for the CPU & GPU and maybe ram and MOBO/chipsets

Edit: don't think I'll need the chipset and ram cooling though

 

[dudewitbow]

for water cooling, im assuming you dont have any interest in All-in-Ones. if you are an introductory builder, you should be able to find kits not preassembled online. the watercooling section on this forum is a pretty basic start on what you want(keep in mind, allocate cost to it last, as the main components are more important)

 

[Silly tortoise]

for water cooling, im assuming you dont have any interest in All-in-Ones. if you are an introductory builder, you should be able to find kits not preassembled online. the watercooling section on this forum is a pretty basic start on what you want(keep in mind, allocate cost to it last, as the main components are more important)

Thanks it's quite easy to go over the budget with some of those parts

 

[Silly tortoise]

for water cooling, im assuming you dont have any interest in All-in-Ones. if you are an introductory builder, you should be able to find kits not preassembled online. the watercooling section on this forum is a pretty basic start on what you want(keep in mind, allocate cost to it last, as the main components are more important)

Any suggestions for reliable sites that sale water cooling parts?

 

[dudewitbow]

Any suggestions for reliable sites that sale water cooling parts?

im not sure on the ones that ship internationally. the sites most people use would be in between frozencpu, xoxide, performancepcs and similar sites where their main focus tends to be water cooling and cooling accessories/mods

 

[Silly tortoise]

im not sure on the ones that ship internationally. the sites most people use would be in between frozencpu, xoxide, performancepcs and similar sites where their main focus tends to be water cooling and cooling accessories/mods

Thanks for the help I checked out xoxide earlier today and i was hoping it was a legit site and frozencpu looks pretty good