First Gaming Computer

[Prophet Yan]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within three weeks possibly.

Budget Range: $800

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming mainly and browsing the web.

Are you buying a monitor: Not at the moment, still would like recommendations for good monitors though.

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, but open to other stores as well.

Location: California, USA.

Parts Preferences: No preference, just want a cost efficient system.

Overclocking: Not at the moment.

SLI or Crossfire: Not at the moment.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050.

Additional Comments: Playing LoL and hoping this computer will last me a while.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Tired of using a laptop.


This is what I have currently decided on buying and need and advice and recommendations on it.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286 ] AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W 6-Core Desktop Processor FD6300WMHKBOX [/url]
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128627 ] GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3P AM3+/AM3 AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard [/url]
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104339 ] HyperX XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model KHX16C9B1RK2/8X [/url]
Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125443 ] GIGABYTE GV-N660OC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card [/url]
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339 ] Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive, Blue - OEM [/url]
SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147247 ] SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE120BW 2.5" 120GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) [/url]
Disk Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 ] ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM [/url]
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200 ] Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply [/url]
Computer Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119272 ] Cooler Master HAF 912 Blue Edition - High Air Flow Mid Tower Computer Case [/url]

I'm also wondering if the PSU is enough to power this system and if all the parts are compatible. Any recommendations are welcomed, thank you!

 

[smorizio]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/39tYn
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/39tYn/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/39tYn/benchmarks/

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $136.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-13 22:23 EDT-0400)

 

[smorizio]

newer ddr-3 ram is 1.5v or less if it 1.6 or higher at 1600v it old ram and stay away from it. for power supply use a coisar or rebranded sesoinic unit. if you can sit a few weeks intel is dropping a refresh of there haswell line when they do drop the refresh you may be able to get an i5 cpu that a better cpu at gaming. also nvidia is rolling out there maxwell line of gpu this year.
http://www.eteknix.com/nvidias-maxwell-gtx-800-confirmed-for-q1-of-2014/
once the foundry gets the supply of there 20mm gpu up.

 

[Beezy]

i know rosewill capstone series is good, I don't know about the green series. Rosewill is a pretty good brand though. generally seasonic, xfx, antec and corsair are "recommended" but they aren't the only good units. Honestly 800 allows for an 8320 over the 6300, which will help a lot. I would cut back the SSD to something like a 60 GB (or whatever is cheaper) to afford the FX 8320 instead of the 6300.

 

[IDontUnderstand]

Yea you can do a lot more with $800. Here is an example.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($159.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $785.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-13 22:33 EDT-0400)

 

[Prophet Yan]

Okay, so I came up with another build to incorporate the AMD FX-8320 instead and this is what I have decided on for now. Opinions? I guess I will have to wait for some sales and rebates to stay within my price range.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.79 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $830.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-16 15:16 EDT-0400)

 

[IDontUnderstand]

I would save some on the case and PSU, go with Antec One and XFX Core Edition 550W, 550W will be enough for GTX 760.
If there's no shipping issue, I would just buy the parts that are on sale or average price now and wait for those that aren't, for example, the RAM, HDD, GPU, and PSU. Those components usually don't drop a lot.

 

[Beezy]

you could drop the 120 SSD to the cheaper 60-70$ ones ive seen floating around (V300 and some others) Or drop to a 60GB still plenty of room for boot drive and most important applications. then you will likely be in budget.

 

[IDontUnderstand]

But by all means, it's the best SSD out there for performance and reliability. However, we are just suggesting that you can get something more budget oriented, such as this A-Data SP600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211719

 

[Prophet Yan]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-SP1-Full-32-64-Bit-x32-x64-Version-CD-COA-NEW-/141135208854?pt=US_Operating_Systems_Software&hash=item20dc506196

Has anyone bought one of these before? Can it be installed on a new system?

 

[IDontUnderstand]

I trust this one better. http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=45271&vpn=GFC-02733&manufacture=Microsoft&promoid=1263

 

[Prophet Yan]

I already purchased the item when it was cheaper, and I'm wondering if it can be installed on a new system. Is there any difference between that item and the one you posted?

 

[IDontUnderstand]

No, I just don't prefer buying from ebay and my link was cheaper. However, if you have already purchased, then it should have no problem.

 

[Prophet Yan]

Yea, I got it on sale and I was budget so I thought I could save a few bucks by buying that one instead and assumed they were both the same items.