First Ever PC Build (low budget) and Looking for critique

[obsidiangel1982]

I have put together a very low budget PC build, but I've never built my own PC before, so I'm hoping the community can help poke holes in my build, if any. I just want to be sure that before I start buying parts that my build is solid. I have included a link to the PCPartpicker.com build below.

I'm incredibly overwhelmed by the sheer number of motherboards available on the market and have not the slightest idea of where to start except with the brand names I've heard of such as MSI and Gigabyte. Any help there would be greatly appreciated. Everywhere I've browsed states a different set of motherboards are the best, but the best ones are way too expensive. For the moment, I've chosen ASRock fatality z87 killer. Obviously, I've chosen an ATX ff, but if an M-ATX would be better/more budget friendly, I'm all for it.

If possible, I'd like to get my build under $700, but I'm not sure where to compromise.

I've chosen both an Intel graphics card and Intel CPU because I'm more familiar with Intel and I've had issues with my AMD video card in the past (that's not to say that I would have more issues), but if anyone can vouch for the AMD stuff, do let me know. I also don't know how well AMD CPUs work with Intel GPUs and vice versa or is that not an issue?

I've tried to build it to somewhat compare to Digital Storm's Vanquish II level 1, but hopefully a little bit improved.

Final note, the link provided below correctly links to my build, but it doesn't LOOK correct in the preview, so hopefully it's fine.

http://

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($180.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($91.48 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $699.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-03 21:38 EDT-0400)

 

[obsidiangel1982]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($180.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($91.48 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $699.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-03 21:38 EDT-0400)

@SR-71 Blackbird This is awesome! Thanks, can you explain a little of why you chose that particular motherboard, if possible?

Thanks for your help!

 

[dutche99]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3tRyX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3tRyX/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3tRyX/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-2000 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 32GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($44.29 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.79 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.10 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Raidmax 535W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $739.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


I know you don't like AMD, but for this price point, they are your best bet. AMD's prices are way lower than both Intel and NVIDIA (CPU's and flu's respectively), but still offer great performance, not to mention more cores (check out the FX 8320 (8 core!) for ~$20 more than the 6300 (six core)) than there Intel competitors. Performance of this the FX6300 is about between that of the highest end i3 core and the i5 4650K. But the price is way lower. The same goes for AMD gpu's. Especially in the lower-end cards, the AMD cards have way better price: performance ratios. The MSI r9 270 will be able to run circles around the gtx750 and 750ti that you have chosen. As well, because the CPU is so much cheaper, I through in a 32gb SSD, which you can put your OS and some frequently played games on, which regardless of Intel or AMD will make your gaming experience so much better.

 

[obsidiangel1982]

I through in a 32gb SSD, which you can put your OS and some frequently played games on, which regardless of Intel or AMD will make your gaming experience so much better.

I'm not sure I understand how the dual Hard drive thing works. What's the purpose in having 2?

 

[dutche99]

I through in a 32gb SSD, which you can put your OS and some frequently played games on, which regardless of Intel or AMD will make your gaming experience so much better.

I'm not sure I understand how the dual Hard drive thing works. What's the purpose in having 2?

Due to the price of SSD's, it really doesn't make much sense to buy a $1000 1tb hdd. But because we want blazing fast SSD speeds, but still need lots of storage capacity, its best to go with two hard drives, the SSD for you OS (for faster boot times), frequently accessed documents (significantly improved access/loading time) and some frequently accessed programs and games (using the SSD will give you improved responsiveness and speed for games etc.), while the 1tb HDD will allow you to store all your other files that you still need on your PC, but don't necessarily access 24/7, or that you don't require insanely fast loading times for. Think of it like plugging a USB stick into your computer. The secondary drive will appear in my computer similar to when you plug a USB stick in. The only differences will be the drive name (most likely C:// or D://, instead of common external storage names like E://) and the fact that its connected directly through Sata, instead of USB. That's basically all you need to know about hard drives, it's pretty easy.

So, long story short, it allows you to utilize a bit of SSD technology, but still gives you lots of storage via a standard hard drive.

 

[obsidiangel1982]

I through in a 32gb SSD, which you can put your OS and some frequently played games on, which regardless of Intel or AMD will make your gaming experience so much better.

I'm not sure I understand how the dual Hard drive thing works. What's the purpose in having 2?

Due to the price of SSD's, it really doesn't make much sense to buy a $1000 1tb hdd. But because we want blazing fast SSD speeds, but still need lots of storage capacity, its best to go with two hard drives, the SSD for you OS (for faster boot times), frequently accessed documents (significantly improved access/loading time) and some frequently accessed programs and games (using the SSD will give you improved responsiveness and speed for games etc.), while the 1tb HDD will allow you to store all your other files that you still need on your PC, but don't necessarily access 24/7, or that you don't require insanely fast loading times for. Think of it like plugging a USB stick into your computer. The secondary drive will appear in my computer similar to when you plug a USB stick in. The only differences will be the drive name (most likely C:// or D://, instead of common external storage names like E://) and the fact that its connected directly through Sata, instead of USB. That's basically all you need to know about hard drives, it's pretty easy.

So, long story short, it allows you to utilize a bit of SSD technology, but still gives you lots of storage via a standard hard drive.

So if i'm understanding correctly, I wouldn't need to reboot my computer to access what's there? I don't know why I always thought I would need to reboot the PC to load the second hard drive. If it's like i'm thinking, that's really cool.

 

[dutche99]

I through in a 32gb SSD, which you can put your OS and some frequently played games on, which regardless of Intel or AMD will make your gaming experience so much better.

I'm not sure I understand how the dual Hard drive thing works. What's the purpose in having 2?

Due to the price of SSD's, it really doesn't make much sense to buy a $1000 1tb hdd. But because we want blazing fast SSD speeds, but still need lots of storage capacity, its best to go with two hard drives, the SSD for you OS (for faster boot times), frequently accessed documents (significantly improved access/loading time) and some frequently accessed programs and games (using the SSD will give you improved responsiveness and speed for games etc.), while the 1tb HDD will allow you to store all your other files that you still need on your PC, but don't necessarily access 24/7, or that you don't require insanely fast loading times for. Think of it like plugging a USB stick into your computer. The secondary drive will appear in my computer similar to when you plug a USB stick in. The only differences will be the drive name (most likely C:// or D://, instead of common external storage names like E://) and the fact that its connected directly through Sata, instead of USB. That's basically all you need to know about hard drives, it's pretty easy.

So, long story short, it allows you to utilize a bit of SSD technology, but still gives you lots of storage via a standard hard drive.

So if i'm understanding correctly, I wouldn't need to reboot my computer to access what's there? I don't know why I always thought I would need to reboot the PC to load the second hard drive. If it's like i'm thinking, that's really cool.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4530257_use-two-hard-drives-same.html

That is a very very basic explanation of how extra hard drives work. There are also many other sources on the internet to help you set of two or more hard drives. There is also this thing called RAID, which to my best understanding allows users to make two hard drives into one "logical" hard drive but I have never used it, nor do I plan on ever using it in the future, and I can't say how it works with the SSD/HDD combo we have going on here. http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID that article pretty much gives a basic overview of RAID and how it can be used, but if you want to find more, I'm sure there are many forum members who would be willing to help