Thoughts and suggestions on my 2nd ever build

[FordPrefectV]

So my about 6 or 7 year old computer wouldn't start up for about a day, kept BSOD'ing and such, and I'm pretty sure my hard drive is fried. It's pretty old, and on top of that it was a pre-built (ugh I know), so I decided it was time for an upgrade.
I'm trying to keep it cheap as I have another which is much more powerful, but it needs to be able to run stuff like AutoCad, Google Sketchup, etc. and still have enough power for some programs that are a bit more taxing.
I need it as fast as possible, as in I'm probably buying all the parts on Tuesday, and also as in I can't buy them online because I can't wait for shipping. Luckily, there is an NCIX very close to where I live, which is where I will be getting all of the parts.

This is what I have come up with: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/FordPrefect/saved/6nXdnQ

The only thing I haven't included that I would need is an operating system, which brings up another question: since my old PC was a prebuilt and because of that I don't think I got a key for Windows 7 (which it was running), and therefore don't have any chance (I assume) of transferring it over to this computer, is there any place where I can get a copy of Windows 8.1 for less that isn't kinda sketchy? I've heard of places like /r/microsoftsoftwareswap, but I'm not sure if it's really safe and/or legal. If not I'll just pay the whole hundred dollars or however much it is selling for nowadays I guess.

Anyway, other than that all I really want to know is whether everything is compatible (pcpartpicker said something about a BIOS update for some AMD A78 chipsets and Kaveri CPU's?), and in general whether or not everything is good price-performance wise and if not what changes would help.

Thanks,

Ford Prefect (#hitchhicker's guide)

 

[rockie_]

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[Nextg_Rival]

I will actually try to suggest an Intel build, as my knowledge on the 860K is very limited. Here you go: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/VW6qQ7

That's a very general-purpose PC.

 

[Math Geek]

i don't see much savings from what you have picked. you could go with an a10-7850k apu which has similar gpu to the 750 and drop the extra card.

i see a10-7850k for $180 on ncix.com. same $85 mobo and this would be about $265. don't know for sure but it looks like you have an $85 cpu, ~$85 mobo and about $150 in gpu for around $320 total. so this apu would save some bucks. that is really all i can see limiting it to that store and not online shopping for sales.

the a10-7700k is $150 and pretty much the same as the 7850k for another bit of savings.

 

[FordPrefectV]

I will actually try to suggest an Intel build, as my knowledge on the 860K is very limited. Here you go: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/VW6qQ7

That's a very general-purpose PC.

After looking through some reviews of each, it seems as though they are pretty even, but it looks like Intel wins it on this one. Thanks, will make the switch, and this also makes it so that I don't need to update the BIOS. Although, now I need find a new motherboard, and the one you linked isn't available at NCIX. I thinking about one of these two: Asus H81M-A (http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-h81ma) or MSI H81I (http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-h81i). What do you think? (also, if there is a better mobo that I am not aware of for around the same price, that would be great too)

Checking the compatibility notes with each one, I guess the MSI mobo comes on top as the ASUS mobo does not have onboard USB 3.0 headers (which my case has).

Also, on top of this, it seems as though I might need to update the BIOS in order to use these processors too. Not too sure how to do that, but I guess I can find out (yay for internets!)

Thanks

 

[FordPrefectV]

this mobo doesnt need BIOS update
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-fm2a88xpro3

Unfortunately that is not sold at NCIX.

 

[FordPrefectV]

i don't see much savings from what you have picked. you could go with an a10-7850k apu which has similar gpu to the 750 and drop the extra card.

i see a10-7850k for $180 on ncix.com. same $85 mobo and this would be about $265. don't know for sure but it looks like you have an $85 cpu, ~$85 mobo and about $150 in gpu for around $320 total. so this apu would save some bucks. that is really all i can see limiting it to that store and not online shopping for sales.

the a10-7700k is $150 and pretty much the same as the 7850k for another bit of savings.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I would rather keep a seperate CPU/GPU configuration, that way in the future if I want to upgrade it a little it won't be as much as a mess. What would your thoughts be if I were to do an Intel Pentium G3258 instead? I think I will, but another opinion is always helpful.

Thanks

 

[Nextg_Rival]

I am unsure of whether you'll need to update the BIOS if you go for a H81 motherboard. Otherwise, those motherboards seem alright. You might consider getting a Zalman CNPS10X Optima air cooler since as far as I know, the G3258 can be overclocked well even without a Z97 motherboard. Clocking it to 4.4 GHz will be stable a decent performance while waiting for an upgrade.

 

[adamb1897]

What is your budget?

 

[FordPrefectV]

I am unsure of whether you'll need to update the BIOS if you go for a H81 motherboard. Otherwise, those motherboards seem alright. You might consider getting a Zalman CNPS10X Optima air cooler since as far as I know, the G3258 can be overclocked well even without a Z97 motherboard. Clocking it to 4.4 GHz will be stable a decent performance while waiting for an upgrade.

That would be nice, but I'm not planning on overclocking this much, so an aftermarket cooler won't really be necessary. Also another quick question, the MSI mobo is Mini ITX, where as all my components (including my case) are designed for Micro ATX. Does this matter at all?

Thanks

 

[FordPrefectV]

What is your budget?

500-600 dollars is preferable, but the lower the better (without decreasing performance of course)

 

[Nextg_Rival]

I am unsure of whether you'll need to update the BIOS if you go for a H81 motherboard. Otherwise, those motherboards seem alright. You might consider getting a Zalman CNPS10X Optima air cooler since as far as I know, the G3258 can be overclocked well even without a Z97 motherboard. Clocking it to 4.4 GHz will be stable a decent performance while waiting for an upgrade.

That would be nice, but I'm not planning on overclocking this much, so an aftermarket cooler won't really be necessary. Also another quick question, the MSI mobo is Mini ITX, where as all my components (including my case) are designed for Micro ATX. Does this matter at all?

Thanks

As long as the components are compatible according to pcpartpicker then it's OK.

 

[FordPrefectV]

I am unsure of whether you'll need to update the BIOS if you go for a H81 motherboard. Otherwise, those motherboards seem alright. You might consider getting a Zalman CNPS10X Optima air cooler since as far as I know, the G3258 can be overclocked well even without a Z97 motherboard. Clocking it to 4.4 GHz will be stable a decent performance while waiting for an upgrade.

That would be nice, but I'm not planning on overclocking this much, so an aftermarket cooler won't really be necessary. Also another quick question, the MSI mobo is Mini ITX, where as all my components (including my case) are designed for Micro ATX. Does this matter at all?

Thanks

As long as the components are compatible according to pcpartpicker then it's OK.

Alright, awesome!

Thanks again

 

[Nextg_Rival]

No problem! Good luck.