Looking for advice on first PC build

[Megnut]

Hello everyone.

So, I wanted to move on from console gaming to PC gaming, but I don’t have any experience building a computer--other than watching my brother put together his own gaming computer. I’ve done some research online, but I’m still unsure about choosing the right parts(in both cost and quality) and making sure they work together properly. The following link is to the tentative build I’ve put together:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vyq6mG

Any suggested changes? Are there parts that are over/underpowered, aren’t compatible, or known to have issues? I don’t want to purchase $700+ worth of parts that might turn out to be a waste simply because I’m not well-versed in this area. Thank you for any assistance!

Here’s some additional information:

Approximate Purchase Date: January 2015

Budget Range: around $700

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (Skyrim [heavily modded], not sure what else yet), some general computer use

Are you buying a monitor: No

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com, any reputable site with good prices

Location: Port Angeles, WA

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: I don’t plan on overclocking my CPU or GPU; I would assume they can handle the games I’ll be playing without too much trouble.

SLI or Crossfire: I have an AMD GPU listed in my build, so Crossfire I suppose. I don’t think I’ll be getting a second graphics card anytime soon, though.

Your Monitor Resolution: Depends. I’ll be alternating between a 52” 1080p LCD TV and a 32” 720p LED monitor. Not dual monitors, but switching back and forth occasionally.

Additional Comments: I’m not sure about the storage options. An SSD would be nice, simply for quicker boot-up, load times, less heat/noise, etc; but it also quite a bit more expensive for only a quarter of the space the HDD on my list provides. Although, I don’t think I’ll get close to filling up a 250GB, let alone 1TB. Thoughts?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Regardless what anybody says, SSD always is the better choice over a HDD unless the only concern is the amount of storage space. If sheer quantity of space isn't an issue, go with an SSD every time. It's more than just boot times and file transfers. Every time the system has to access data needed for drivers, services or kernel operations, the SSD will speed up that process.

Games specifically might not benefit that much from it aside from map loading and levels, but the rest of the system does, which frees up resources for the game itself.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'll tweak that configuration for you and see if we can maybe even bring the price down while increasing the performance.

 

[Skylarz]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($75.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($61.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($56.49 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $749.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-16 18:54 EST-0500

Should fit with enough to crossfire 2 r9 280 if you don't overclock.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($75.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($61.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 290 4GB DirectCU II Video Card ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $818.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-16 18:56 EST-0500

With r9 290 around your original build price

Edit: Regarding to additional questions. I have both used 64gb of ssd and 256gb I must say that 120 or 128 is the best because my 64gb filled up extremely quickly and my 256 still have 127gb left after a few games. I also have 3tb of hdd with over 150 games installed and used only around 1.5tb

 

[Zerk2012]

Whatever you do don't buy a garbage case, power supply, or motherboard.
This is the way I would go it leaves off the SSD you can add one anytime but for a budget build get the best performance you can with your budget then add luxury items later.
All high quality parts gets you arguably the best gaming processor out with the ability to overclock in the future (you will be glad you have that) very high quality motherboard, power supply, and the R9 280 video card will serve you well and probably the best one on the market.
Right at $800 less if you get the rebates. The Combo price on this processor and motherboard is the only way to go $306 top of the line.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nkRNWZ

 

[Darkbreeze]

Since you DON'T plan on overclocking, and are not building a server, you might find this will basically run any title out there at ultra settings, for the most part. Sometimes you have to compromise on components so I left the SSD off, but you can add one and transfer your OS to it at any point in the future if you choose to. Unlike the CPU and motherboard, which you can't easily change directions with later, you don't lose anything this way as the addition of an SSD at a later date will simply allow you to then shift the HDD to storage only.

The RAM is a bit faster at 1866mhz and also has a fast CAS 8 latency. Not the most fantastic case ever made, but it's plenty good for a budget build. If you can increase the budget a small amount you may choose to go with a better case like the Corsair 200R or 300R. The case is, again, something you can always upgrade down the road but doesn't really affect your performance at all for the present.

Most importantly, going with a GTX 970 now allows you to instantly game any title and most likely will be able to do so for the next 3-6 years or more with no problems. If you upgrade the core system at any point, likely the 970 will still be relevant and can be use in the new build. Additionally, if you do decide later on you need additional gaming power for multiple monitors or higher resolutions, you can always upgrade the motherboard to a model that supports SLI, but for the present it doesn't sound like that's a factor for the immediate future so the single card support shouldn't be a problem.

Granted, it a quad core CPU, but they're fast cores for a stock chip and I don't know of any games requiring more than four threads, not to mention with the addition of an aftermarket cooler, if you decide to overclock later, you can easily do so with this configuration and should have no trouble taking it to 4.5Ghz, possibly more with a very good cooler.

It's a little bit over your budget, but considering your build was very weak in the GPU department, and this build gives you instant gaming credibility, it's well worth the extra cost.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-4350 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($103.77 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($326.99 @ Directron)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $735.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-16 20:39 EST-0500

 

[Megnut]

Thanks for the quick response everyone! It was all very informative.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'll grant that an i5 build will be a better overall performer, but it's just not possible to pair an i5 and a GTX 970 with any decent quality components for under 735.00 as with this. Now if you had an 800-ish dollar budget we could go intel, but this build above will perform nicely anyhow.