Thoughts on my build?

[Josh Ford]

I know I spent a lot on peripherals but I needed them.

Took a few days looking through reviews and I think I've finally made it.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/ProMiner98/saved/2fwmP6

 

[techgeek]

I would consider the 970GTX over the 770GTX. The 770 is End-of-Life, the 970GTX has twice the VRAM and is quite a bit faster than the 770. So unless you are getting the 770 for much less than you can get a 970, I would go with the 970.

Also just a question, did you try out an i5 build for your budget?

 

[Josh Ford]

I would consider the 970GTX over the 770GTX. The 770 is End-of-Life, the 970GTX has twice the VRAM and is quite a bit faster than the 770. So unless you are getting the 770 for much less than you can get a 970, I would go with the 970.

Also just a question, did you try out an i5 build for your budget?

I don't think I can get the 970, I know it's a nice card.

I did but I like AMD and Intel is overpriced for what you get, there's not much different in terms of performance between 8350 and i5 and it's like £70-80 more, so what's the point? I was thinking of removing the SSD, would I then be able to afford the 970?

 

[Josh Ford]

I would consider the 970GTX over the 770GTX. The 770 is End-of-Life, the 970GTX has twice the VRAM and is quite a bit faster than the 770. So unless you are getting the 770 for much less than you can get a 970, I would go with the 970.

Also just a question, did you try out an i5 build for your budget?

Replaced GPU for the EVGA SC version and removed SSD.

 

[techgeek]

I love the SSD in my computer. That said, on a budget and buying a computer for gaming, I put most of my eggs in the platform and GPU. The SSD is great for booting fast, and maybe level loading times if you keep your games on the SSD, but straight gaming performance will be dictated by the platform and graphics card.

 

[Josh Ford]

I love the SSD in my computer. That said, on a budget and buying a computer for gaming, I put most of my eggs in the platform and GPU. The SSD is great for booting fast, and maybe level loading times if you keep your games on the SSD, but straight gaming performance will be dictated by the platform and graphics card.

Most certainly, SSD is personal preference and I chose not to as I ain't bothered about boot/loading times.

 

[techgeek]

I don't think you'll be disappointed going with the 970. It's a heck of a card. It always seems better to start a new build with the newer generation parts. Just sort of seems backward to build a new computer and then go with a second generation part. Not that the 770 is a bad card, my oldest son has it (ASUS DU 770) on my recommendation, but he got it in January. If he was buying now, I'd be advising him the same as you.

 

[Josh Ford]

I don't think you'll be disappointed going with the 970. It's a heck of a card. It always seems better to start a new build with the newer generation parts. Just sort of seems backward to build a new computer and then go with a second generation part. Not that the 770 is a bad card, my oldest son has it (ASUS DU 770) on my recommendation, but he got it in January. If he was buying now, I'd be advising him the same as you.

I can't afford the 970 as I'm like £50 short but I think I'll get the 770 MSI 2gb and upgrade to 16gb ram, not sure what to do; do you think I need 16gb? I chose the 770 as it's cheap and is still very good for upcoming games.

 

[techgeek]

Oh sorry I took that post as you dropped the SSD to make room for the 970. The 770 card is still a good card.

As for 16GB, I think unless you are a super multitasker (have tons of stuff open at the same time) or are into 3d rendering, photo manipulation, content creation, 16GB is overkill. Actually 8GB is the sweet spot right now.

I have 16GB, but pretty much 100% of the time, I have 10GB free. So take that for what it's worth.

 

[Josh Ford]

Oh sorry I took that post as you dropped the SSD to make room for the 970. The 770 card is still a good card.

As for 16GB, I think unless you are a super multitasker (have tons of stuff open at the same time) or are into 3d rendering, photo manipulation, content creation, 16GB is overkill. Actually 8GB is the sweet spot right now.

I have 16GB, but pretty much 100% of the time, I have 10GB free. So take that for what it's worth.

I do like to do GFX now and again, will have MS Office, PSCC and top of the range games etc...

What improvements could be made do you think?

P.S. getting it at Christmas so prices will have dropped.

 

[techgeek]

I don't think you have anything there that would benefit from 16GB or RAM.

As for the rest of it, personally can't say there is anything beyond what I've already mentioned.

I'm in the Intel camp right now. I like the much higher IPC and lower power usage. However I do have to AMD systems in my house. My daughter has a FX4100 (she doesn't need much power) and my younger son has an older system (AMD Phenom II 955). For me the performance systems are all Intel.

And back to the graphics card.

Other than that, it seems like a well rounded system. Good choice not to cheap out on power. XFX is made by Seasonic who are a very respectable name in power supplies. I've recommended the Hyper 212 EVO many times here and I have two systems in my house with them. It's hands down one of the best coolers for the price.

Though I don't have personal experience with AsRock, I've certainly read some less than shining stuff about them. Particularly cheap PCB's. From what I've read, their PCB's are quite thin compared to other manufacturers and bend quite easily. This sort of thing worries me. I'm a EET (Electronics Engineering Technologist) and when I read about that type of corner cutting, it makes me wonder. I'm an ASUS fan. Used to be a GigaByte fan, but I got burned once and I've never been back. Never used anything from MSI, though I've read many good reviews.

As for your purchase date, if this is being bought close to Christmas, you may not have much option with the 770. These aren't being made anymore, and once discounted, they won't be in the retail channel long. You are talking over 2 months away, so I wouldn't count on them being available then.

 

[Josh Ford]

I don't think you have anything there that would benefit from 16GB or RAM.

As for the rest of it, personally can't say there is anything beyond what I've already mentioned.

I'm in the Intel camp right now. I like the much higher IPC and lower power usage. However I do have to AMD systems in my house. My daughter has a FX4100 (she doesn't need much power) and my younger son has an older system (AMD Phenom II 955). For me the performance systems are all Intel.

And back to the graphics card.

Other than that, it seems like a well rounded system. Good choice not to cheap out on power. XFX is made by Seasonic who are a very respectable name in power supplies. I've recommended the Hyper 212 EVO many times here and I have two systems in my house with them. It's hands down one of the best coolers for the price.

Though I don't have personal experience with AsRock, I've certainly read some less than shining stuff about them. Particularly cheap PCB's. From what I've read, their PCB's are quite thin compared to other manufacturers and bend quite easily. This sort of thing worries me. I'm a EET (Electronics Engineering Technologist) and when I read about that type of corner cutting, it makes me wonder. I'm an ASUS fan. Used to be a GigaByte fan, but I got burned once and I've never been back. Never used anything from MSI, though I've read many good reviews.

As for your purchase date, if this is being bought close to Christmas, you may not have much option with the 770. These aren't being made anymore, and once discounted, they won't be in the retail channel long. You are talking over 2 months away, so I wouldn't count on them being available then.

I hope they are, that's a bummer. Do you recommend any other MOBO's then for around the same price?

Thanks.

 

[techgeek]

Either of these two boards I'd feel good about recommending:

Gigabyte
GA-990FXA-UD3

Asus
M5A99X EVO R2.0

Both of these boards are a little more expensive than what you have picked. However they have similar features and seem to have quite high user ratings. Also I know I said I got burned once by GigaByte and haven't gone back, but I would sooner recommend them than AsRock. I've owned several GigaByte boards and build quality was always top notch. Even the board I got burned on was excellent quality and worked well for the few years that I had it before it failed.

One thing to do is check out reviews from reputable sites, like here, HardOCP, AnandTech, etc for these motherboards. See what the pro's have to say about them.

As for the 770 not being available at purchase time, don't sweat it. Maybe the 970 will have dropped in price or maybe you'll get a good holiday deal. Who knows maybe AMD will release something before Christmas (though I think it won't be until next year) that will drive prices down. Either way, as far as pricing goes, time is on your side, hardly ever do prices go up over time. Unless we are talking about the scales of economy being skewed by bitcoin miners with the R9 series when it was released.