Parts list for a first time builder of a new PC

[HoopyFrood42]

I'm building a PC for the first time and I just want to make sure before I get any farther that I have a good build. I put a list together on pcpartpicker.com so everything should be compatible. I'm using it for work (Excel, Word, and Adobe PDFs) and moderate gaming. Also, I use two monitors. Are there any glaring weaknesses or anything that I should seriously change?

Also, I can't seem to find a really highly rated wireless network adapter. Can someone recommend one?

Here's my setup:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gV9nwP

 

[George Mulligan]

Build looks good with one exception. Your PSU is a lower quality model and more power than you need. Look for a higher tier PSU at 500W.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

 

[FunGui]

I might even swap out the SSD and buy a greater graphics card

 

[adrenox]

Looks like very powerful machine but is 1tb going to be enough storage space?
you can get windows 8.1 about $15 cheaper from g2a (ill give you a code if you would like)
if you are looking for a wireless card because you are far from your router i would suggest powerlines instead, your internet connection will be faster and more reliable since its almossth the same as an ethernet connection

hope i helped

 

[frag06]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($81.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($268.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($104.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1017.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-01 16:18 EST-0500

Upgraded the PSU and GPU.

For this price, you could get an i5 and a good motherboard.

 

[HoopyFrood42]

I might even swap out the SSD and buy a greater graphics card

Looks like very powerful machine but is 1tb going to be enough storage space?
you can get windows 8.1 about $15 cheaper from g2a (ill give you a code if you would like)
if you are looking for a wireless card because you are far from your router i would suggest powerlines instead, your internet connection will be faster and more reliable since its almossth the same as an ethernet connection

hope i helped

1tb should be more than enough for me. I don't use a ton of storage. I don't have a lot of media files and I plan to house my OS on the ssd.

And I really appreciate you offering the code. If I decide to buy the parts to build soon I probably will take you up on that offer. Thanks!

 

[HoopyFrood42]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($81.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($268.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($104.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1017.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-01 16:18 EST-0500

Upgraded the PSU and GPU.

For this price, you could get an i5 and a good motherboard.

Would you consider an i5 to be an upgrade over the AMD? The reason that I went with the AMD was because of the price vs the possible improved performance of the i5. Most of what I read suggested that I shouldn't spend the extra money on the i5. Is this something I should seriously consider changing?

 

[adrenox]

I might even swap out the SSD and buy a greater graphics card

Looks like very powerful machine but is 1tb going to be enough storage space?
you can get windows 8.1 about $15 cheaper from g2a (ill give you a code if you would like)
if you are looking for a wireless card because you are far from your router i would suggest powerlines instead, your internet connection will be faster and more reliable since its almossth the same as an ethernet connection

hope i helped

1tb should be more than enough for me. I don't use a ton of storage. I don't have a lot of media files and I plan to house my OS on the ssd.

And I really appreciate you offering the code. If I decide to buy the parts to build soon I probably will take you up on that offer. Thanks!

Glad to hear it and not a problem just let me know when and if you need it

 

[frag06]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($81.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($268.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($104.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1017.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-01 16:18 EST-0500

Upgraded the PSU and GPU.

For this price, you could get an i5 and a good motherboard.

Would you consider an i5 to be an upgrade over the AMD? The reason that I went with the AMD was because of the price vs the possible improved performance of the i5. Most of what I read suggested that I shouldn't spend the extra money on the i5. Is this something I should seriously consider changing?

The i5 will be faster in most games, especially anything single-threaded. Unless you're streaming, editing or using programs that can take advantage of the eight cores, go for the i5.

You can get an i5 4440 for $25 extra right now, which is a good option unless you plan to overclock at some point.

 

[HoopyFrood42]

Build looks good with one exception. Your PSU is a lower quality model and more power than you need. Look for a higher tier PSU at 500W.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Thanks for the link. That is something that I will fix.

 

[HoopyFrood42]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($93.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($81.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($268.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($104.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1017.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-01 16:18 EST-0500

Upgraded the PSU and GPU.

For this price, you could get an i5 and a good motherboard.

Would you consider an i5 to be an upgrade over the AMD? The reason that I went with the AMD was because of the price vs the possible improved performance of the i5. Most of what I read suggested that I shouldn't spend the extra money on the i5. Is this something I should seriously consider changing?

The i5 will be faster in most games, especially anything single-threaded. Unless you're streaming, editing or using programs that can take advantage of the eight cores, go for the i5.

You can get an i5 4440 for $25 extra right now, which is a good option unless you plan to overclock at some point.

Thank you for the info. That is something that I will seriously consider changing before I move forward.

 

[George Mulligan]

Sounds silly, but don't forget to change your MB if you change CPU!

 

[HoopyFrood42]

Sounds silly, but don't forget to change your MB if you change CPU!

Thanks for the reminder! I'm going to run everything through pcpartpicker.com before I buy to make sure that everything is compatible.

 

[FunGui]

I suggest getting a 120gb ssd rather than 250gb, and get better graphics card; the 970 is an excellent choice or the 780, and to help get a cheaper Seasonic M12II 600w which is better and cheaper, with plenty of clean power.

 

[HoopyFrood42]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I really appreciate it!