My First Build...

[clb931]

These are the parts I've been looking at for my first build. I'd appreciate any input you guys could give me. I'm not too worry about the budget because I'm planning on buying parts over a period of time. I'd like to possibly upgrade the cpu and add another gpu eventually...but I'm new to all this so any input is appreciated.

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GPU: Radeon HD 6850

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3

Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I

MB: GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition

HDD: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s

 

[Sakkura]

If the build is mostly for gaming, you could step down to 2 x 4 GB RAM to save some money. Then pour that into either a better graphics card or CPU. If you could get a 2 GB Radeon HD 7850, that would give you better performance and the option of Crossfire with less microstutter than the 6850 (which is notorious for that problem).

 

[prodigydoo]

vengeance ram is very nice..
I would consider something like an AMD FX-6120 for the cpu, you will see almost double the performance..

There isnt much more transfer speed you can get from a caviar black, but it also comes with a much longer warranty so i would recomend going with that.

you will also see a bit more performance with a GTX 460..

motherboard looks nice and has good support for dual gpu ect.. so its a good pick

good luck with your build

 

[clb931]

Thanks for the reply.

-Yes this will be mostly for gaming, but I also do a lot of video editing and occasionally I mess around with blender. Would more ram help out with render time? or is that mainly going to be a cpu issue?

-I can definitely look into the 7850...thanks for the heads up.

 

[clb931]

Thanks prodigydoo

-I've been looking on newegg and amazon, didn't see the FX-6120, just the 6100. Where can I find that?



I've also been looking at getting the hyper 212, do i even need to replace the stock heatsink and if so would the hyper 212 interfere with my ram? I've read that it's pretty big.

 

[Azn Cracker]

Unless you already have the phenom sitting around, I would but a different cpu. Its just pretty old architecture. I suggest the Core i3-3220 or if you prefer amd the
FX-4170 (taken from best cpu for the money). Also the 16 gb ram is overkill, 8 will be more than enough.

 

[Sakkura]

vengeance ram is very nice..
I would consider something like an AMD FX-6120 for the cpu, you will see almost double the performance..

There isnt much more transfer speed you can get from a caviar black, but it also comes with a much longer warranty so i would recomend going with that.

you will also see a bit more performance with a GTX 460..

motherboard looks nice and has good support for dual gpu ect.. so its a good pick

good luck with your build

If you're going for an FX CPU, I'd go with piledriver/vishera instead of bulldozer/zambezi. So an FX 6300 for example. And the GTX 460 is no better than the 6850 and even harder to find. Much better to get a card from the newer generations, at least if you're buying retail.

 

[clb931]

I don't have any problem going intel it just seemed like it was more expensive as far as upgradability goes. Getting rid of the extra ram would free up some wiggle room for the cpu though so i think ill do that.

 

[Sakkura]

Unless you already have the phenom sitting around, I would but a different cpu. Its just pretty old architecture. I suggest the Core i3-3220 or if you prefer amd the
FX-4170 (taken from best cpu for the money). Also the 16 gb ram is overkill, 8 will be more than enough.

The 'best cpu for the money' article is outdated, since AMD launched their new FX CPUs a week after the article. They're only a little more expensive than the old ones, so I would go for the new crop since the performance is a good deal better. The FX 6300 is pretty close to the 4300 in price, so it's a tempting pick.

 

[clb931]

The 'best cpu for the money' article is outdated, since AMD launched their new FX CPUs a week after the article. They're only a little more expensive than the old ones, so I would go for the new crop since the performance is a good deal better. The FX 6300 is pretty close to the 4300 in price, so it's a tempting pick.

I have looked at the FX series. Seems like a good option for me without adding much too the cost.

 

[prodigydoo]

for video editing your cpu will count when rendering, also depending on the software you use ram may help a lot or a little..

when i render with after effects, it fills up my 16gb in just a few minutes, when i render with sony vegas, it only takes 2-4 gb for a whole video.

 

[Sakkura]

I have looked at the FX series. Seems like a good option for me without adding much too the cost.

I would say the new FX series gives you more bang for the buck than Intel processors for things like video rendering, while Intel still tends to be better for gaming. The FX 6300 seems like a reasonable pick since it has 3/6 cores for good multithreaded performance, while still being quite overclockable for reasonable unthreaded performance. And affordable (about the same as a Core i3-3220).
Just bear in mind it will draw a lot more power and potentially make more noise.

 

[clb931]

If the build is mostly for gaming, you could step down to 2 x 4 GB RAM to save some money. Then pour that into either a better graphics card or CPU. If you could get a 2 GB Radeon HD 7850, that would give you better performance and the option of Crossfire with less microstutter than the 6850 (which is notorious for that problem).

I looked at the 7850, the only issue I saw with it was that uses PCI-e 3.0 and the MB I was looking at only has 2.0 slots. Is 3.0 backwards compatible?

 

[Sakkura]

I looked at the 7850, the only issue I saw with it was that uses PCI-e 3.0 and the MB I was looking at only has 2.0 slots. Is 3.0 backwards compatible?

Yes, it is fully backwards compatible. The 2.0 slot will only offer 2.0 speeds, but that's still enough for any cards currently on the market.