Gathering parts for a gaming pc need your opinion

[Mrfallout5000]

Hey guys im from south australia and i've been gathering together some computer parts from amazon.com to make a reasonably high end gaming computer, this is my first time doing this (building my own pc), so if you see any problems in the parts below could you tell me what to swap it with or if you just see any necessary changes that need to be made could you tell me please and keep in mind im looking to keep it under the $1350 bencemark thanks very much it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cpu: amd phenom ii x4 965 black (3.4ghz) $119

 

Motherboard: msi 890FXA-GD65 $129

 

Video card: xfx r7970 black edition $450

 

Case: cooler master haf atx mid tower case $99

 

PSU: 850w power supply $124

 

RAM: 8gb corsair vengence $55

 

CPU Fan: cooler master hyper evo 212. $31

 

HDD: western digital black 500gb $96

 

Optical drive: asus 24xDVD-RW $21

 

Operating system: windows home premium 64 bit $96

 

Total: $1232

[hoofhearted4]

nothing really. the only thing i could say is get W7 Professional. because it has more options to tinker with then Home Premium and its going to be supported longer. but really, thats not even a big deal

 

other then that, i would suggest going Intel over AMD. its no fanboyism, Intel is simply better. that said the 965 you have is one of their better chips, but its getting dated by now.

 

as for your GPU, idk how well the xfx version has been doing or if your getting the one with the reference cooler or not. i do know the sapphire and Gigabyte versions are highly rated though for heat and noise performance, so possibly a switch to one of those? also gotta say, prices are cheaper over there. there are no 7970s over here that are $450. all like $475 or higher (mostly higher lol.)

 

as for your PSU, i would really recommend getting the Corsair AX850W. its basically one of the best PSUs on the market. its extremely stable even when putting out more then 850W. its 80 Plus Gold also even when putting out more then 850W. very very good PSU.

 

just opinions really. swapping out bot of those would be putting you right up to your $1350 mark though. and none of it is really necessary. imo. maybe someone else would be able to come on here and yell at you to chance something :P

[FMod]

nothing really. the only thing i could say is get W7 Professional. because it has more options to tinker with then Home Premium and its going to be supported longer.

Support will last exactly the same, till 2020.

The extra options are of no use to a normal home user. It only makes sense if you're getting it for free, but then why not ultimate. The only marginally useful option is Windows XP Mode, which is a lame substitute for VMware.

 

 

as for your PSU, i would really recommend getting the Corsair AX850W. its basically one of the best PSUs on the market. its extremely stable even when putting out more then 850W. its 80 Plus Gold also even when putting out more then 850W.

He clearly doesn't have the budget for this. TX650V2 is all that's needed.

 

 

Other parts of the build:

RAM - use cheaper Samsung 1333 RAM, then o/c it

Motherboard - go much cheaper. Even a good intel mobo (Asrock P67 Pro3) is under $100.

CPU - intel 2400 or 2500 or 3550 or 2500K (in reverse order, depending on the price gap) is the best for games, but if getting AMD, at least get Phenom II X6. Should only be $139 for the base model, then overclock it. Extra cores should help in future games and will help to bring it close to intel 2500 in applications already.

[hoofhearted4]

nothing really. the only thing i could say is get W7 Professional. because it has more options to tinker with then Home Premium and its going to be supported longer.

Support will last exactly the same, till 2020.

The extra options are of no use to a normal home user. It only makes sense if you're getting it for free, but then why not ultimate. The only marginally useful option is Windows XP Mode, which is a lame substitute for VMware.

there must have been an extension or something because last i looked Pro was supported longer then Home by like 2 years. but i cant find anything saying that anymore. so it must have been changed. but who says hes a normal home user? hell im a normal Home user and i hate using W7 Home. every now and then i run into something i cant do. but it was a suggestion. not a necessity. which i stated.

 

as for your PSU, i would really recommend getting the Corsair AX850W. its basically one of the best PSUs on the market. its extremely stable even when putting out more then 850W. its 80 Plus Gold also even when putting out more then 850W.

He clearly doesn't have the budget for this. TX650V2 is all that's needed.

the price went up for the AX850 since the last time i looked. it was $20 cheaper. but still, he could get an AX650 for only $20 more then his current PSU. and besides, he actually does have the budget for that. atm hes like $100+ under his budget. but again, i didnt realize the AX850 went up in price. the 650W would still be more then enough. and in either case, AX or TX, both great PSUs.

 

RAM - use cheaper Samsung 1333 RAM, then o/c it

agreed. there is no need to buy $55 RAM. $40 RAM will do the same thing, and there isnt even any need to OC really. but you can of course.

 

Motherboard - go much cheaper. Even a good intel mobo (Asrock P67 Pro3) is under $100.

no need to go cheaper. but i agree on going intel. ASRock boards are cheap. even new Z77 mobos are the same price as what OP has listed.

 

 

lastly, pay special attention to what FMod says. he really knows what hes talking about. much more then I.

[Dan3345]

For the price you are shoving out on the video card I would highly suggest you exchange the CPU and motherboard for intel. You will get much better performance on an i5 2500k and a z68, or even p67. board doesn't have to be too expensive, just needs at least 1 pcie3 or 2, I would look for one with pcie3 so you are a bit more up to date. The motherboard may cost another $20 and the CPU will cost about $220-$200 but it will be very worth it.

[hoofhearted4]

For the price you are shoving out on the video card I would highly suggest you exchange the CPU and motherboard for intel. You will get much better performance on an i5 2500k and a z68, or even p67. board doesn't have to be too expensive, just needs at least 1 pcie3 or 2, I would look for one with pcie3 so you are a bit more up to date. The motherboard may cost another $20 and the CPU will cost about $220-$200 but it will be very worth it.

 

ASRock z77 mobo same price as his listed one.

 

Intel i7 2500k about $100 more then his listed CPU or if he wants, the new Intel i5 3750k for $120 more then his listed CPU.

 

and he can save a little bit of money by getting a 7950 GPU instead. such as the Sapphire or Gigabyte version. both great models. and both can be OCed if necessary.

[FMod]

there must have been an extension or something because last i looked Pro was supported longer then Home by like 2 years. but i cant find anything saying that anymore.

Might have been referring to something else. MS maintains a fairly consistent support scheme with ~10 years for every product, and they all got released simultaneously. XP got its support cycle prolonged because a lot of people still use it and don't plan to replace it.

 

every now and then i run into something i cant do.

Just wondering - what specifically has been a problem?

 

but still, he could get an AX650 for only $20 more then his current PSU. and besides, he actually does have the budget for that. atm hes like $100+ under his budget.

That's still a $50 difference between AX and TXV2. Both are Seasonic units, AX is a newer Gold platform and TXV2 is an older M12-II. To an average user, there's no difference. The point of AX is silent running, but you need a heatsink like Ninja or Mine 2 and a non-reference GPU cooler to benefit from a quiet PSU.

 

The idea of my suggestions here is to save on things that don't make a difference to get a better CPU that does.

[hoofhearted4]

there must have been an extension or something because last i looked Pro was supported longer then Home by like 2 years. but i cant find anything saying that anymore.

Might have been referring to something else. MS maintains a fairly consistent support scheme with ~10 years for every product, and they all got released simultaneously. XP got its support cycle prolonged because a lot of people still use it and don't plan to replace it.

idk. ive had this discussion with someone before. i looked up stuff that said it was gunna be officially supported for like an extra year or two. but, not any more so it doesnt matter. both till 2020.

 

every now and then i run into something i cant do.

Just wondering - what specifically has been a problem?

idr. honestly. which means it was nothing important. it was either something i had learned in school and wanted to try out and/or something i saw online or from a friend and wanted to try out. i think it had something to do with Security and Enabling and Disabling stuff. but i honestly dont remember. again which means it wasnt a big deal. i always just recommend Pro because it does in fact come with more features then Home, so there is no chance they come across something they cant do. and where many people on here are PC Enthusiasts, i think it better just to recommend Pro from the start.

 

but still, he could get an AX650 for only $20 more then his current PSU. and besides, he actually does have the budget for that. atm hes like $100+ under his budget.

That's still a $50 difference between AX and TXV2. Both are Seasonic units, AX is a newer Gold platform and TXV2 is an older M12-II. To an average user, there's no difference. The point of AX is silent running, but you need a heatsink like Ninja or Mine 2 and a non-reference GPU cooler to benefit from a quiet PSU.

or a Havik 140 or a NH-D14 or the Hyper 212+ or better yet, a silent case like the Corsair 550D or Fractal Define R3.

[Dan3345]

MrFallout I really think Intel is the way to go. It will cost a bit more but you will get much more performance out of it and won't be dissatisfied. But then again, in my case I went from a 1100T to i5 2500k and the difference was enormous. So perhaps someone whose never seen an intel enthusiast build wouldn't know what their missing. Edited May 24, 2012 by Dan3345

[Mrfallout5000]

Hey back again i've been reading your suggestions and changed some parts around. The only parts im not exactly sure on are the Power supply, Motherboard and the GPU (a gpu that could run bf3 at max ) so guys feel free to express your opinion but just try to keep in mind when suggesting im trying to keep it around $1350 $1400 being the max and I must thankyou all for your suggestions they have been of great help to me and appreciate all of you guys for helping a noob like me.

 

Cpu: intel core i5 2500k (3.3ghz) $204

 

Motherboard: ASrock pro3 gen3 atx intel Z68 DDR3 1066 intel $104

 

Video card: xfx r7970 black edition $450

 

Case: cooler master haf atx mid tower case $99

 

PSU: corsair enthusiast TX V2 series 750w modular 80+ bronze $114

 

RAM: G-skill 8gb ripjaw x-series DDR3 1333 MHz $43

 

CPU Fan: cooler master hyper evo 212. $31

 

HDD: western digital black 500gb $96

 

Optical drive: asus 24xDVD-RW $21

 

Operating system: windows home premium 64 bit $96

 

Total: $1260