Need advice on these builds!

[yodi1980]

Hello everyone! I need help building a new system my old one is built around a Phenom II x4 955 Black edition @ 3.9 on my H70 watercooler and a 5850HD Black Edition both are overclocked. Originally I was going to just upgrade my GPU but thought it would be better to build from the ground up. My system is 3 years old and I need a new rig 🙁! The PS4 is hogging some of my funds in the next 2 weeks (for the wifey).

To give you a spectrum to work with, I mainly play MMO's like FFXIV: ARRB, Battlefield series, RPG games like Fallout, Xcom, Civ games, GTA & Saint Row games, Metro Light Series, Max Payne, and NBA 2k series.

The first is an intel based build:

CPU: Intel i5-4670 3.4 Ghz: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899

GPU: Sapphire Toxic 280x: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202044

MOBO:MSI Z87: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130694

PSU: Corsair http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

HDD: WD 2TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236404

RAM: G Skill 8GB 1666 Ripjaws: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

TOWER Full Tower by AZZA: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517020

Total Price:1200~ usd


Second is a AMD build:

CPU: AMD FX 8320 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113285

MOBO: Gigabyte 990X http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514

GPU: Sapphire Toxic 280x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202044

RAM: GSkill 1866 8GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455

PSU: Corsair 750w certified http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139040

HDD: WD 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339

CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 Quiet http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181029

TOWER Full Tower by AZZA: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517020

Total Price: 1090~ usd



PS: I can Get a Asus 280x @ 300 usd vs the Sapphire Toxic 280x especially since the Toxic is sold out everywhere (should have purchased it Friday when i had a chance) and move the 60 usd to something else if need be. I also have a 40 inch TV I play on in 1080P. I have no intention ever to play on multiple monitors or do any heavy taskes like auto cad, game designing, or calculations. So please again I need opinions on these builds!

 

[tiny voices]

The PSus are OVERKILL. 650w is plenty.

The CPU cooler in build 2 is not good and will be greatly outperformed by air coolers.

That case is a huge waste and a full tower case is only needed for custom water loops. Get a normal mid-tower case. You have ZERO need for a full tower.

The first build does not need a z87 board because of no overclocking. An h87 board will be fine.

 

[stickmansam]

Put in an Xeon E3, since no OC, its like a budget i7
R9 280x
1600mhz ram is enough, 1866 is like 2% faster?
620W psu, semi-modular, also cheaper liquid cooler [go corsair if you want the longer warranty]or just use stock one
Even included an SSD

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1225 V3 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Zalman LQ-310 Liquid CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($84.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($307.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $993.60
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-03 20:33 EST-0500)

 

[IRONBATMAN]

How about this ?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8B75-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $980.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-03 20:32 EST-0500)

 

[IRONBATMAN]

Here's one with the GTX 780
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8B75-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($484.70 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1145.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-03 20:34 EST-0500)

 

[yodi1980]

I'm loving these builds you guys are putting together. The GTX 780 is nice but not worth the Price vs Peformance of a 280x and for that Price I can just get a 290x when it drops.

So don't worry about the Liquid Cooling and soend the money on a SDD is a nice choice I have to look into really now!

 

[IRONBATMAN]

The GTX 770 and R9 280x have similar perfromance , but the GTX 770 comes with AC black flag , batman arkham origins , and splinter cell black list , all for free.
Actually , the R9 280x is a rebranded HD 7970

here are some comparisons

R9 280x vs HD 7970

 

[stickmansam]

Here is an overall picture in large number of games
The 780 is an okay buy though mostly not needed for 1080p Ultra (only bf4 requires it afaik)

 

[yodi1980]

Okay but wouldn't a bigger Tower be better for airflow?

 

[tiny voices]

Okay but wouldn't a bigger Tower be better for airflow?

Simple answer: no.

Complex answer: it isn;t about space, its about flow of air. for example I have a slightly overclocked CPU and 2 gtx560s in an Matx case and I have ZERO heat issues. More fans DOES NOT mean a cooler computer.

 

[stickmansam]

how much air is flowing and how it is flowing is the key

 

[yodi1980]

What about this case? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133212 saves me about 80 usd to place somewhere else

 

[tiny voices]

That is a perfectly fine case. I personally do not like the styling but it is a good case.

 

[stickmansam]

I like the Antec 302 or 200r, like more plain ones personally

 

[tiny voices]

I like the Antec 302 or 200r, like more plain ones personally

These are both VERY high quality and my two personal choices as well.