How's my system looking?

[Bryce1197]

Alright, I'm about to order my first gaming PC and want to know if I should swap any parts out for something that will give me better performance in the long run.

System:
CPU: AMD FX-8350
MOTHERBOARD: Asrock 990FX extreme3 motherboard
GPU: Gigabyte R9-280X OC
RAM: 8GB (2x4) G.skill ares 1866 MHz ram
PSU: Antec high current gamer 620w modular
OS: Windows 8.1
HDD: Seagate 1TB 7200RPM
CASE: Thermaltake Chaser A31
OPTICAL DRIVE: Samsung 24x DVDRW CD
PCIe: TP-Link 150Mbps wireless PCIe adadpter

Costs $1425 Australian dollars.
Anything I could swap out for the best performance?

 

[Sakkura]

Looks pretty good. The motherboard does only have 4+1 power phases though, so you could consider something with more power phases to ensure great overclocking performance and durability.

 

[ZionZA]

Swap the AMD CPU and motherboard for an Intel one. Something Like a i5 3570k cpu or up. Performance wise thats all I can really think of

 

[Bryce1197]

Looks pretty good. The motherboard does only have 4+1 power phases though, so you could consider something with more power phases to ensure great overclocking performance and durability.

Asrock 990FX extreme4?

 

[Sakkura]

Yeah, that has 8+2 power phases.

 

[Bryce1197]

Should I get the MSI R9 280X gaming or Gigabyte R9 280X OC edition?

 

[Sakkura]

They're difficult to compare because they have very different fan profiles. Basically the Gigabyte card is set up to be (by default) very noisy, but run very cool, while the MSI card is set up to be quiet, but run quite hot (even at its slightly lower stock clocks).

The memory on the MSI card is better, so it can be overclocked more.

 

[Bryce1197]

They're difficult to compare because they have very different fan profiles. Basically the Gigabyte card is set up to be (by default) very noisy, but run very cool, while the MSI card is set up to be quiet, but run quite hot (even at its slightly lower stock clocks).

The memory on the MSI card is better, so it can be overclocked more.

Obviously being cooler is more important for overclocking, so do you know how well a ThermalTake chaser A31 case muffles sound with a stock AMD CPU cooler and 2 case fans at 1000 RPM and 14DbA each?

Also how is a MSI HD 7970 3GB Twin Frozr III OC Boost?
It comes with a AMD gold reward for the same price as the 280X's I listed.

 

[Sakkura]

Same GPU clocks as their 280X, but the memory is slower. It has a different cooler that is set up to run cooler but make a little more noise.

I think I'd recommend the 7970 if you want any of the games they offer.

I'm not too familiar with the case. As for noise... now that you mention it, the CPU cooler is going to be an issue. The 8350 is pretty power-hungry, and the stock cooler is not great. I think that'll make a lot of noise no matter what, and definitely hold back attempts at overclocking.

 

[Bryce1197]

Same GPU clocks as their 280X, but the memory is slower. It has a different cooler that is set up to run cooler but make a little more noise.

I think I'd recommend the 7970 if you want any of the games they offer.

I'm not too familiar with the case. As for noise... now that you mention it, the CPU cooler is going to be an issue. The 8350 is pretty power-hungry, and the stock cooler is not great. I think that'll make a lot of noise no matter what, and definitely hold back attempts at overclocking.

Being my first build I plan to stay at stock for a month or so just so I learn a few more things, which Graphics card stays cooler the Gigabyte R9 280X OC or the MSI HD 7970 twin frozr III?

 

[Sakkura]

I think they're pretty similar.