My First Gaming PC

[Justin1998]

Hi there folks, just wanted to share my first Gaming PC and see what you guys (and gals) think of it. Thanks!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/C9hd7P

 

[jmsellars1]

Should be OK as a gaming PC but there are a lot of ways to improve it.

- The FX-6300 isn't great for games, you would get similar gaming performance out of a cheaper Pentium G3258. Alternatively an i3 would be even better and that's only a bit more.

- I'd buy both RAM sticks together so they're a matched pair and have guaranteed compatibility in dual channel mode. Gives you a small performance boost. Nothing you will notice in games so this isn't the end of the world if you don't to be honest.

- That case can fit an ATX motherboard, you might as well get one for the extra expansion options.

- I seriously doubt you will need the extra fans, they are just going to add noise really.


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RL2YZL
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RL2YZL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.49 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series😀T01ACA 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec Green 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $540.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-26 17:51 EDT-0400


That build would give you around the same gaming performance and comes in quite a lot cheaper. Has other benefits as well; it consumes less power so should run cooler and quieter and has a newer motherboard with more expansion possibilities

 

[Justin1998]

Should be OK as a gaming PC but there are a lot of ways to improve it.

- The FX-6300 isn't great for games, you would get similar gaming performance out of a cheaper Pentium G3258. Alternatively an i3 would be even better and that's only a bit more.

- I'd buy both RAM sticks together so they're a matched pair and have guaranteed compatibility in dual channel mode. Gives you a small performance boost. Nothing you will notice in games so this isn't the end of the world if you don't to be honest.

- That case can fit an ATX motherboard, you might as well get one for the extra expansion options.

- I seriously doubt you will need the extra fans, they are just going to add noise really.


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RL2YZL
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RL2YZL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.49 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series😀T01ACA 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec Green 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $540.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-26 17:51 EDT-0400


That build would give you around the same gaming performance and comes in quite a lot cheaper. Has other benefits as well; it consumes less power so should run cooler and quieter and has a newer motherboard with more expansion possibilities

Ok thanks. Having no CPU cooler or case fans isnt going to overheat my main components? I plan on playing World of tanks and some Arma 2 dayz mod so just not sure have much heat i will produce while gaming.

P.S. Forgot to mention im in Canada. But the build you posted is actually just under my budget anyways. Cheers!

 

[jmsellars1]

The CPU includes a cooler which is fine unless you're overclocking and the case includes a 120mm exhaust fan. That cooling setup would be fine for most gaming builds and this particular one is very low powered so should stay particularly cool. Traditionally gaming builds are around 300-400W but this is probably closer to 200-220W under full load.

 

[Justin1998]

The CPU includes a cooler which is fine unless you're overclocking and the case includes a 120mm exhaust fan. That cooling setup would be fine for most gaming builds and this particular one is very low powered so should stay particularly cool. Traditionally gaming builds are around 300-400W but this is probably closer to 200-220W under full load.

Ok. Yeah i wont be overclocking the CPU because, well its not unlocked and i dont think i will need to overclock the GPU. Only going to be playing world of tanks diablo 3 maybe some Dayz if I can run it on high enough settings. Should i stick with the HDD or go with a solo 250 gb ssd? im thinking HDD but not sure

 

[CTurbo]

jmsellers build is way better. Your build was not very good at all. What is your budget in CAD?

 

[Justin1998]

jmsellers build is way better. Your build was not very good at all. What is your budget in CAD?

Thanks for the input. I think I am going to use his build tbh. I won't be overclocking anything as it is my first gaming PC. Although later on in its life span I will upgrade the CPU and mobo so I could potentially SLI the 960s. Budget is 750-800 dollars CAD but I think he has got the best build for me.

 

[jmsellars1]

Glad to help. I wouldn't worry too much about SLI though. If you're anything like me you will end up leaving it 3+ years before upgrading and at that point it is much better to just buy a newer card. Take my situation for example, I could buy another GTX 460 and they do work well in SLI but that should only give me performance equivalent to maybe a GTX 570 or GTX 750Ti or something. I would have a more powerful, cooler running and quieter system by just buying a much more powerful single GTX 960.

EDIT: With the hard drive vs SSD situation, go with the SSD if you can cope with the amount of storage they have. You can always add hard drives later.

 

[CTurbo]

You could actually get an i5


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.75 @ shopRBC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280X 3GB royalQueen Video Card ($254.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Enermax ECA3212-BL ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $788.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-27 08:45 EDT-0400

 

[Justin1998]

The CPU includes a cooler which is fine unless you're overclocking and the case includes a 120mm exhaust fan. That cooling setup would be fine for most gaming builds and this particular one is very low powered so should stay particularly cool. Traditionally gaming builds are around 300-400W but this is probably closer to 200-220W under full load.

Glad to help. I wouldn't worry too much about SLI though. If you're anything like me you will end up leaving it 3+ years before upgrading and at that point it is much better to just buy a newer card. Take my situation for example, I could buy another GTX 460 and they do work well in SLI but that should only give me performance equivalent to maybe a GTX 570 or GTX 750Ti or something. I would have a more powerful, cooler running and quieter system by just buying a much more powerful single GTX 960.

EDIT: With the hard drive vs SSD situation, go with the SSD if you can cope with the amount of storage they have. You can always add hard drives later.

Yeah that's what I was thinking of doing. And if it gets really bad I can save a game to a usb LMAO. Thanks for all the help though!

 

[aden2k15]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7gQNVn I would go for more something like this.

Dual channel Ram, always better than two separate bought.
Motherboard is a lot more reliable.
Case has a lot of room for your cpu cooler and such, and the ram I put is low profile heat spreaders so it wont get in the way and not so bulgy in the case.
WD has gone down the road for me, I have seen better performance with seagate, and its cheaper.
I knocked off one fan, since the fan only supports 4, but thats more than enough if you have proper airflow and cooling setups. (Also one of the fans are blowing directly onto the mobo so no overheating.)
Changed psu, better quality, semi, more wattage, and its cheaper.
Hope it helped!

 

[Justin1998]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7gQNVn I would go for more something like this.

Dual channel Ram, always better than two separate bought.
Motherboard is a lot more reliable.
Case has a lot of room for your cpu cooler and such, and the ram I put is low profile heat spreaders so it wont get in the way and not so bulgy in the case.
WD has gone down the road for me, I have seen better performance with seagate, and its cheaper.
I knocked off one fan, since the fan only supports 4, but thats more than enough if you have proper airflow and cooling setups. (Also one of the fans are blowing directly onto the mobo so no overheating.)
Changed psu, better quality, semi, more wattage, and its cheaper.
Hope it helped!

What do you think of this build:
CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
SSD: -OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5-
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro OEM (64-bit)

Friend of a friend is selling it used he has only had it for 1.5 years. Seems like a powerful build and perfect for me and my wallet. Brand new its about 1200+ dollars.

 

[aden2k15]

Its a pretty solid build. I need to know motherboard and power supply. Also, should add another 8gb (dual channel 2x4). Unless he put 4x1gb chips in it, which in that case doesn't make sense and just remove the 1gb chips. Point is you want 8gb minimum for the latest games today and many more to come. Also, you need to keep in mind, is the airflow good in the case? Does the mobo have heat issues? I would say no, and get your own build. This way you KNOW you are getting new parts, and dont have that risk of it breaking sooner. The build you have I think is fine. Maybe oc the fx 6300 to 3.9ghz. I have the fx 6350, which would be the exact thing is mine. If you have a better budget crossfire the 380 with another one, it would destroy any game out there. You need a lot bigger power supply though.

 

[Justin1998]

Its a pretty solid build. I need to know motherboard and power supply. Also, should add another 8gb (dual channel 2x4). Unless he put 4x1gb chips in it, which in that case doesn't make sense and just remove the 1gb chips. Point is you want 8gb minimum for the latest games today and many more to come. Also, you need to keep in mind, is the airflow good in the case? Does the mobo have heat issues? I would say no, and get your own build. This way you KNOW you are getting new parts, and dont have that risk of it breaking sooner. The build you have I think is fine. Maybe oc the fx 6300 to 3.9ghz. I have the fx 6350, which would be the exact thing is mine. If you have a better budget crossfire the 380 with another one, it would destroy any game out there. You need a lot bigger power supply though.

I am going to check the used one out next tuesday. Run a few benchmarks to see the heat it produces and what not. He says it has 4 180mm fans. And yes a ram upgrade would be the first thing I do. Posted full parts list above as an edit

 

[aden2k15]

Seems like a good build. Has a SSD as well. I mean, thats cool and all, if it works properly, then go for it! Im jealous lol. I mean for $1200, I could probably build you one on pcpartpicker, cheaper and better. If you want?

 

[Justin1998]

Seems like a good build. Has a SSD as well. I mean, thats cool and all, if it works properly, then go for it! Im jealous lol. I mean for $1200, I could probably build you one on pcpartpicker, cheaper and better. If you want?

No its he selling it for $750. Brand new from Ncix or whatever is $1200. So if its a good running computer i should not pass this up.

 

[aden2k15]

Just remember bro, its used. He could've also overcloked which made the parts lifetime shorter. I'm not saying no because I'm try to be the smart guy, but make sure this dude was one of ya real homies. This is a big opportunity, but could end bad. It could also end extremely well too 😀 Hope I helped!

 

[jmsellars1]

I wouldn't buy it for $750, performance would be similar to that build I suggested. You do get a SSD as well but you could just add one to that build. Personally I would just build a new PC now but if you want his I wouldn't go over $650.