New Build. Advice please :)

lauriegreen18 · 13 Aug 2013 at 19:35

Hi all,

I'm new to PC building and I am currently putting together my first build.

I was hoping to get some input on my build so far, any comments on the builds compatibility / specs / price / alternative components etc would be welcome.

Please don't hold back!

EDIT: It's a build primarily for gaming.

Thanks guys, here the build I am looking to purchase:

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 760 SC ACX 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (02G-P4-2765-KR) £215.99
1 x ASRock 990FX Extreme4 AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £127.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6350 Black Edition 3.90GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £107.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD10EZEX - OEM ** Single Platter ** HDD £54.95
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £47.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard III Windowed Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler £26.99
3 x Xigmatek XAF-F1252 Whiteline Fan - 120mm £8.99 (£26.97)
Total : £816.92 (includes shipping : £11.75).

dannywaugh1 · 13 Aug 2013 at 19:41

Looks good to me only thing not on is the 550w power supply maybe push it to a 600w maybe?

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 19:43

You'll be told to change to Intel, but on an AMD build, drop down to a 6300 or spend the extra on an 8320. Also switch the board to a Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3.

And order the Asus 670 at £189 today - there aren't many left. edit: I just looked and they've gone. There may be more on the way though.

Doomedspeed · 13 Aug 2013 at 19:49

This would be my doing (can't get an intel build (of good quality within budget without resorting to the win8 dev edition option)

YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x MSI 990XA-GD55 AMD 990X Chipset (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £69.95
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - Black £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £35.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £805.80 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Idleman · 13 Aug 2013 at 19:58

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 760 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £74.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Case - Black £61.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £47.99
1 x Thermalright HR-02 Macho CPU Cooler £39.98
Total : £790.86 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:07

YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 750W Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020061-UK) £78.98
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £69.95
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x Antec One Gaming Case - Black £49.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU Cooler £26.39
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £822.19 (includes shipping : £12.50).

This builds assumes you may want crossfire at a later date and would be ready for it.

lauriegreen18 · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:11

Doomedspeed said:
This would be my doing (can't get an intel build (of good quality within budget without resorting to the win8 dev edition option)

YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x MSI 990XA-GD55 AMD 990X Chipset (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £69.95
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £59.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - Black £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £35.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £805.80 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Idleman said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 760 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £74.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Case - Black £61.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £47.99
1 x Thermalright HR-02 Macho CPU Cooler £39.98
Total : £790.86 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Potty27 said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 750W Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020061-UK) £78.98
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £69.95
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x Antec One Gaming Case - Black £49.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU Cooler £26.39
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £822.19 (includes shipping : £12.50).

This builds assumes you may want crossfire at a later date and would be ready for it.

Thanks for all your input guys, would it be possible to explain why these builds are better? (You must excuse my noobyness)

Idleman · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:24

lauriegreen18 said:
Thanks for all your input guys, would it be possible to explain why these builds are better? (You must excuse my noobyness)

Mainly, because they all include a better processor. The XFX 850W has a Seasonic OEM and will enable you to add another 760 at a later date if you wish. The 300R is a better all round case, as is the cooler I specced. And you can always add an ssd as a future upgrade. Or alternatively, use Win 8 evaluation for a few months free and get an ssd now, this will give you time to save for an OS and give you the chance to decide if you want Win 7 or 8.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/jj554510.aspx

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:32

I like all 3 builds, but I would advise getting an SSD. If you know you wont want to crossfire, my build can be a bit cheaper.

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:33

Something like this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x VTX3D HD 7870 Black Boost Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x MSI 990XA-GD55 AMD 990X Chipset (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £69.95
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Antec One Gaming Case - Black £49.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU Cooler £26.39
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £783.20 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:36

Or this if you want a higher end single GPU:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC Twin Frozr Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £209.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x MSI 990XA-GD55 AMD 990X Chipset (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £69.95
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x Antec One Gaming Case - Black £49.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU Cooler £26.39
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £837.20 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Could get the 670 for £10 less, but I think the MSI one is worth the extra.

lauriegreen18 · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:37

Idleman said:
Mainly, because they all include a better processor. The XFX 850W has a Seasonic OEM and will enable you to add another 760 at a later date if you wish. The 300R is a better all round case, as is the cooler I specced. And you can always add an ssd as a future upgrade. Or alternatively, use Win 8 evaluation for a few months free and get an ssd now, this will give you time to save for an OS and give you the chance to decide if you want Win 7 or 8.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/jj554510.aspx

I've pretty much decided on Win 7 for my OS, I use it currently and like it. I've also used Win 8 on a few occasions and really didn't enjoy it.

So in regards to processor, is the 8 core 3.5GHz better than the 6 core 3.9GHz? Also, you say I could add another 760 later on, would my current build not allow using two graphics cards at once?

I have been thinking of adding a SSD to this build, would you recommend that? What are the advantages, in your opinion?

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:40

You can just run the 8320 at 3.9GHz (or more), so you not only match the speed but have more cores doing it. Your original spec allows for two graphics cards, but you need a PSU of around 750W or better to run them.

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:40

As you said don;t hold back... or this if you want pretty much all of the above for under your original budget:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC Twin Frozr Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £209.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x MSI 990XA-GD55 AMD 990X Chipset (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x **B Grade** Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £60.00
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU Cooler £26.39
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £810.25 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Potty27 · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:41

Your first build would run fine, but it's not great value for money.

Idleman · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:53

If you already have Win 7, can you not reuse it?

So in regards to processor, is the 8 core 3.5GHz better than the 6 core 3.9GHz?

The 8320 is better all round than the 6350.

Also, you say I could add another 760 later on, would my current build not allow using two graphics cards at once?

Not with the 550W Psu.

I have been thinking of adding a SSD to this build, would you recommend that? What are the advantages, in your opinion?

With an ssd, you benefit from faster boot times and loading times, software and games.
Although I have all my games installed on my hdds and hav`nt really noticed any difference when gaming, but then I don`t play online, so don`t know if you gain any benefit.

Doomedspeed · 13 Aug 2013 at 20:56

Potty27 said:
As you said don;t hold back... or this if you want pretty much all of the above for under your original budget:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC Twin Frozr Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £209.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £124.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x MSI 990XA-GD55 AMD 990X Chipset (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x **B Grade** Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD120BW) £60.00
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual CHannel Kit (PV38G213C1K) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Thermalright True Spirit 140 CPU Cooler £26.39
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £810.25 (includes shipping : £12.50).

Im not sure that cooler fit that case..

I still think my spec is better.. even though the h80 is pre-order, you can run stock for a week and then add the h80 later.

teppic · 13 Aug 2013 at 21:00

I'd go for the Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 if possible, especially with an overclock. Its high end VRM and heatsink design makes it worth the extra except on a really tight budget.

Compare designs of the Gigabyte 990 (which is still a good board):

http://www.gigabyte.com/fileupload/product/2/4434/7182_big.jpg

and the slightly more expensive 990FX:

http://www.gigabyte.com/fileupload/product/2/4672/8421_big.jpg

Idleman · 13 Aug 2013 at 21:03

Doomedspeed said:
Im not sure that cooler fit that case..

I still think my spec is better.. even though the h80 is pre-order, you can run stock for a week and then add the h80 later.

No it is`nt, mine is better than yours.

Ethermaster · 13 Aug 2013 at 21:09

And an Intel build just to balance up all these great AMD builds

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x Asus GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II OC Gamer 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **FREE SHIPPING** £189.95
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £106.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £69.95
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (TXD38G2400HC10QDC01) £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £51.95
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
Total : £879.77 (includes shipping : FREE).