Gaming PC Build - Need opinions/help

[Azuman]

For Christmas this year I am looking to get myself a gaming PC with max budget $1500 (excluding monitors/peripherals etc). I had a look around but being not so informed with parts knowledge I am not so sure whether I'm getting the right stuff let alone to play ultra settings on games etc. The main thing I have absolutely no idea on is the power supply, so please feel free to tell me what I should buy and change from this list I compiled.

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($205.00 @ Mwave Australia)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H75 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.00 @ Centre Com)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($175.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($249.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe ATX Full Tower Case ($179.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($64.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($165.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $1423.00

Here is the link to swap around stuff: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/MpLVf7

 

[tsuneo6]

can you provide us with a link to the partpicker. it's easier to swap around components.

 

[DarkSable]

Yeah, bad, bad picks.

For a budget of $1500, you can get an i5-4690k, an H100i, and the rest.

Ditch the 1866 RAM and just get 1600, Cas 9.

How much is one of the new GTX 970s down there? It would let you buy a 500w power supply, because I know those are one of the things that are particularly expensive in australia.

You're spending $180 on the case for... what reason? Far better to invest that in your parts. Ditto for the blu-ray reader; you still would have to pay money for a program that has the licences to play blu-rays... and they're all rip offs that don't work very well.

Also, I strongly suggest getting windows 8.1, as it's just a way faster version of windows 7 that can actually be transferred from one computer (motherboard) to another, which win 7 can't.

 

[Azuman]

@tsuneo6 Edited the original post including the link

@DarkSable As I said I practically have no idea haha with this stuff. On PCcasegear GTX 970 goes for $469 and I was using a ready to ship PC on PCcasegear but changed a few things which explains the case and Windows. Also is it possible to completely ditch the whole tile look and have the original Windows feel? It's been awhile since using a PC since I've been running on a mac since Windows 7 haha

 

[tsuneo6]

it's kinda hard to fit a 970 in there. the prices in australia are quite high arent they! 😛
anyway, i'm doing me best 😉
and no it's not possible to ditch the complete tile look in windows 8. but it's not as bad as everyone says. the only thing that changed is the start menu. which is replaced by tiles... it's not even that bad. people are just afraid of some change.

 

[tsuneo6]

this is what I came up with.
I didnt go for an i5. if I went for an i5 I wouldnt be able to put a 970 in there. and the fx 8350 is still a good CPU, easily overclockable. especially with that cooler. so that should last you for a while. that's also the reason I didnt change the power supply. 620 watts leaves you some room for overclockin


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($205.00 @ CPL Online)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($149.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($94.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.00 @ CPL Online)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($469.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($119.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($98.00 @ CPL Online)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($20.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($115.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1447.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-03 17:16 EST+1000

 

[DarkSable]

Ooph, the 970 is bloody expensive, I'm sorry to hear that.

I also disagree with not being able to ditch the complete tile look. Yes, you still have the start screen with icons on it that you press to open programs, but 1) You can completely ditch the "metro" interface, 2) You can press the windows key, type three letters, hit enter, and have the right program 99.98% of the time, and 3) You can still pin programs to the taskbar, which is what people ended up doing anyways.

tsuneo6, that's a good looking build. The only couple of things that I notice about it are that it doesn't have a normal hard drive (which for me is awful) and that the power supply is significantly more than needed. It might be the best cheap option, I'm not sure - but you could easily use a 550w if there's a decent, cheaper one.

 

[tsuneo6]

Ooph, the 970 is bloody expensive, I'm sorry to hear that.

I also disagree with not being able to ditch the complete tile look. Yes, you still have the start screen with icons on it that you press to open programs, but 1) You can completely ditch the "metro" interface, 2) You can press the windows key, type three letters, hit enter, and have the right program 99.98% of the time, and 3) You can still pin programs to the taskbar, which is what people ended up doing anyways.

tsuneo6, that's a good looking build. The only couple of things that I notice about it are that it doesn't have a normal hard drive (which for me is awful) and that the power supply is significantly more than needed. It might be the best cheap option, I'm not sure - but you could easily use a 550w if there's a decent, cheaper one.

oh, I forgot about the harddrive...QQ and that 620 watts from antex is the best possible cheap option for a good PSU. antecs 550watt PSU was the same price. and seasonic etc were alot more expensive. that's why I decided not to change it.
and yes you can ditch the tile look like that indeed. but in my honest opinion. it's not that bad...I pretty much deleted all those things aswell but I though he was talking about removing that kind of start menu and get the normal one back, which I think is not possible?

 

[tsuneo6]

azuman. calculate another 70ish$ for a 1TB hard drive. I myself have a western digital blue and it's good enough for now.

 

[DarkSable]

and yes you can ditch the tile look like that indeed. but in my honest opinion. it's not that bad...I pretty much deleted all those things aswell but I though he was talking about removing that kind of start menu and get the normal one back, which I think is not possible?

As soon as you take five minutes to change your settings, then I agree, it's not bad at all.

If you really are stubborn and not wanting the start screen, it can easily be gotten rid of by third party programs such as Start for 8.