My first build, please review.

[Andy T Cha]

Approximate Purchase Date: August 1
Budget Range: 950,000 KRW (Approx 850)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies)
Are you buying a monitor: Yes
Parts to Upgrade: Everything
Do you need to buy OS:No
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.danawa.com
Location:Seoul, South Korea
Parts Preferences: AMD cpu + gpu
Overclocking: Maybe (I probably will, but not aggressively)
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Why Are You Upgrading: 5 year old laptop, no gaming machine and a bit of money to burn!

ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 Motherboard - 90,000 KRW
AMD FX 8350 CPU -197,000 KRW
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 OC D5 2 GB Dual X - 209,000 KRW
Sandisk Ultra Plus (128GB) - 104,000 KRW
G.SKILL DDR3 8G PC3-12800 CL9 RIPJAWS XL (4Gx2) - 96,000 KW
PSU - Antec VP550P V2 - 62,000
Case - GMC V1000 45,000 KRW
Cooler - Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO - 35, 000 KRW
Used Monitor + Keyboar and Mouse - Approximately 130,000 KRW
1 TB WD drive (from old setup)

Total = 968,000 KRW

How does this look? Is it possible to get a cheaper PSU and cooler?
Also, I can save about 15,000 with an VTX 7850, but not so sure bout this brand.
Theres also a XFX 7850 which saves me 8,000. Does anyone have experience with these makes?
XFX Model
VTX Model

It may seem like I'm quibbling over a small amount, but that small amount will appease the wife. If I could get down to 900,000 it would be great!

Suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Sakkura]

Looks okay, but you might consider rebalancing the build toward a cheaper CPU and more expensive graphics card.

I wouldn't recommend a cheaper cooler; the FX-8350 draws a lot of power that you need good cooling to get rid of. The PSU, well, you could drop down to 500W or maybe even 450, but that may not save you much money at all (assuming you stay with a decent quality unit).

The motherboard isn't well suited for overclocking a power-hungry 8-core CPU, but at stock it's fine.

XFX graphics cards are fine, comparable to Sapphire most of the time. That particular 7850 is the one with their better cooler (they have versions with one or two fans - two fans = better). I'm not familiar with VTX.

 

[Andy T Cha]

What CPU/GPU combo would you recommend? I only save about $20 to go down to a 8230, and not sure how much better the gpu will be.

 

[Sakkura]

If you step down to an FX-6300, there might be room in the budget for an HD 7870 XT or even a GTX 760.

 

[Andy T Cha]

Ok, so here is a revision I have come up with. Decided to change my motheboard, no change in cost, but may be better for OC'ing.

GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3 - 89,000 KRW
AMD FX 6300 - 128,000 KRW
GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7870 UDV OC D5 2GB - 220,000 KRW
Sandisk Ultra Plus (128GB) - 104,000 KRW
G.SKILL DDR3 8G PC3-12800 CL9 RIPJAWS XL (4Gx2) - 96,000 KW
PSU - Antec VP650P V2 - 81,000
Case - GMC V1000 45,000 KRW
Cooler - Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO - 35, 000 KRW
Used Monitor + Keyboar and Mouse - Approximately 130,000 KRW
1 TB WD drive (from old setup) - NC

Total = 928,000 KRW.

So I've also changed the PSU to accommodate OC (Just in case). One more question, I've noticed that the 7870 has several configurations. The model I chose has a slightly higher clock speed, but the ram is clocked slightly lower, while other setups have slightly lower clock speeds, but ram speeds are slightly higher. What is better?

 

[Sakkura]

With that setup, you'll still have plenty of room for overclocking with the VP550P. If you do want to spend a little more to allow for better overclocking, I'd target the motherboard instead (and the cooler, but you could always buy the cooler later on). Like a GA-970A-UD3 or M5A97 (not LE).

As for the graphics card, there is a version called the 7870 XT or 7870 (Tahiti) etc. that has a larger GPU than the regular 7870. That's quite a bit better. Other than that, the various regular 7870s with different clocks don't matter so much when you could just overclock on your own. If anything, it's about finding a card with a good cooler.

 

[Andy T Cha]

I already changed the motherboard. What's a good alternative to the 212 EVO? I don't think I'll be too aggressive with my OC. Also, I'm still kicking around the idea of getting an FX 8320. With that as part of my setup, would the 550 be adequate? Thanks for the help. I must have spent 30 hrs the last few days researching for this build!

 

[Sakkura]

The Hyper 212 Evo is pretty good for the price. If you want to go cheaper, there's the Hyper TX3 among others.

550W would be fine for the 8320.

 

[Andy T Cha]

GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3 - 89,000 KRW
AMD FX 6300 - 128,000 KRW, or AMD FX 8230 - 181,000
GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7870 UDV OC D5 2GB - 220,000 KRW
Sandisk Ultra Plus (128GB) - 104,000 KRW
G.SKILL DDR3 8G PC3-12800 CL9 RIPJAWS XL (4Gx2) - 96,000 KW
PSU - POWEREX BLACK HAWK 650W (Korean Brand) - 58,000 KRW
Case - GMC V1000 45,000 KRW
Cooler - Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO - 35, 000 KRW
Used Monitor + Keyboard - Approximately 100,000
1 TB WD drive (from old setup) - NC

Total = 875,000 (FX 6300), 928,000 (FX 8230)

Looks like ill be going for the 8230 build, possibly even stepping up to the 8350 if I can trim some cost somewhere. I know the PSU may seem like a lot, but I want the room to expand in the future (possibly a 2nd GPU). Are there any specs I should look out for with regards to the PSU, considering I will be OC'ing my CPU?

 

[Sakkura]

The most important spec for a PSU is the amperage on the 12V rail. 80 Plus certification is also useful - complete absence of certification can be regarded as something of a red flag.

I don't know that PSU brand at all, but I would recommend you stay away from it unless you've found a review of it where it was tested properly and performed well.
It's safer to go for a lower wattage and proven quality, rather than a high wattage but potentially terrible quality. A bad PSU can malfunction and in the worst case scenario damage other hardware in the system.

 

[n4c0n]

I'm wondering if you've put this thing together. How does the Hyper 212 Evo fit in the V1000?

 

[Andy T Cha]

I put it together about a month ago. I actually decided to get the Powerex cayenne 530 case. It's chassis is listed as 185 cm, which is the same as the v1000. It just makes it into this case, so I'm guessing it would fit in the v1000.

 

[waka17]

Sorry to thread jack, but i really need to know i bought the antec vp550p v2 over the original vp550p, i didn't realise the v2 until i got home ...it has 2 rails, one 120w and 444w, should i be worried? I'm running an oc'ed r9 270x and am i5 3330, maybe in 3yrs time i also plan to upgrade, any useful information, thank you, im worried....

 

[Sakkura]

Sorry to thread jack, but i really need to know i bought the antec vp550p v2 over the original vp550p, i didn't realise the v2 until i got home ...it has 2 rails, one 120w and 444w, should i be worried? I'm running an oc'ed r9 270x and am i5 3330, maybe in 3yrs time i also plan to upgrade, any useful information, thank you, im worried....

You have nothing to worry about.

The 120W rating applies to the 3.3V and 5V rails. These are not used much in modern computers.

The 444W rating applies to the two 12V rails. The 12V rail(s) are what matter. 444W on the 12V rail(s) on a 550W power supply is perhaps a bit disappointing, but it's certainly sufficient for your system.

 

[waka17]

Oh i see thank you so much, dang it... So i paid rm190/60 usd for a 444w psu? That's disappointing.... By any chance i could change it? Since it s only 2days old?

 

[waka17]

Sorry to thread jack, but i really need to know i bought the antec vp550p v2 over the original vp550p, i didn't realise the v2 until i got home ...it has 2 rails, one 120w and 444w, should i be worried? I'm running an oc'ed r9 270x and am i5 3330, maybe in 3yrs time i also plan to upgrade, any useful information, thank you, im worried....

You have nothing to worry about.

The 120W rating applies to the 3.3V and 5V rails. These are not used much in modern computers.

The 444W rating applies to the two 12V rails. The 12V rail(s) are what matter. 444W on the 12V rail(s) on a 550W power supply is perhaps a bit disappointing, but it's certainly sufficient for your system.

thank you for the reply btw, i also wanted to ask let say i were to upgrade to something that is as power hungry as the r9 280x 3-4yrs down the road and maybe add more RAM, will it be possible with my current psu?

 

[L0L]

If you step down to an FX-6300, there might be room in the budget for an HD 7870 XT or even a GTX 760.

That would bottleneck the GPU hard I believe.

 

[Sakkura]

Oh i see thank you so much, dang it... So i paid rm190/60 usd for a 444w psu? That's disappointing.... By any chance i could change it? Since it s only 2days old?

I don't know, I guess that depends where you bought it. There's nothing wrong with it, and it is normal for PSUs to have a little less power on the 12V rail than what they're rated for overall. The gap is just usually smaller with better (more expensive) PSUs.

thank you for the reply btw, i also wanted to ask let say i were to upgrade to something that is as power hungry as the r9 280x 3-4yrs down the road and maybe add more RAM, will it be possible with my current psu?

Should be - but I wouldn't recommend overclocking then.

 

[Sakkura]

If you step down to an FX-6300, there might be room in the budget for an HD 7870 XT or even a GTX 760.

That would bottleneck the GPU hard I believe.

Not really. It would be CPU bottlenecked in some cases and GPU bottlenecked in others. As it should be.

 

[waka17]

Oh i see thank you so much, dang it... So i paid rm190/60 usd for a 444w psu? That's disappointing.... By any chance i could change it? Since it s only 2days old?

I don't know, I guess that depends where you bought it. There's nothing wrong with it, and it is normal for PSUs to have a little less power on the 12V rail than what they're rated for overall. The gap is just usually smaller with better (more expensive) PSUs.

thank you for the reply btw, i also wanted to ask let say i were to upgrade to something that is as power hungry as the r9 280x 3-4yrs down the road and maybe add more RAM, will it be possible with my current psu?

Should be - but I wouldn't recommend overclocking then.

alright, thanks man, i got worried sick the past 2 days lol... tq very much