1st PC Build: ~$500

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1

Hey, this is my first time building a PC. I've asked my gaming community for help and they've been helpful but I'd like to have more dedicated help and more opinions. I'd appreciate all the help I can get.

It's meant for gaming at 1080p, on games mostly SC2, SWTOR, and Skyrim. I also have Metro 2033, but since I got it for free, I'm not concerned if I can't play it. I won't be overclocking except maybe slightly increasing the base clock, but I doubt I'll need to since stock speeds seem good enough for my humble gaming needs. If I do get an unlocked CPU, I may upgrade my MOBO and OC at another time, but not for now.

Budget is ~$500, but I want it at ~$450 because of taxes/shipping/rebates and because Microcenter is ~100 miles away. MC being far isn't that much of a problem since I go to the area roughly once a month or two months, but I'd like to not have to go back if I don't have to.

CPU: 3570k $170 Microcenter*


GPU: HD7850 1GB ~$170 Newegg


MOBO:  MSI H61 $60**


RAM: -will upgrade later; using DDR3 1333Mhz 2x2GB for now-


PSU: CX430 $40Newegg 


HDD: -will upgrade later; using Seagate 2TB 5400RPM for now-


Case: terrible, may want to upgrade at later time (or now)


OS: taken care of


Optical Drive: taken care of



Now, Microcenter has a deal featuring FX-8350 w/ MSI 970A MOBO for $225, which I might get instead; however, since my PC will be mostly gaming, how much difference would there be in gaming performance compared to the roughly same priced IB w/ locked MOBO? What if I got a 2500k and an unlocked MOBO instead? Or an i3 3220 but extra money for me to spend on case/cooling/RAM? 

I appreciate the help all, I can't wait to hear your reponses.  

 

 

2

I see nothing wrong with this.... although the motherboard that youre looking at i think is only 50 dollars on newegg.

3

try to get a CPU cooler like the hyper 212 evo like 30$ now 

4

You may not want to skimp on the psu if you're going to overclock the 3570k. 600W bronze should keep you safe.

5

Good sir, Microcenter has a bundle for the FX6300+motherboard for $130.

Add this PSU:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013 5 year warranty, strong 12v rail and a great price.

Now you can go two ways, you can add this HD7870 :http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150604 This will put you barely above $400 mark and will give you a nice improvement over your listed system.

You can also go this way, a HD7950:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006 This will put you around $475 total and completely destroy that 7850 system you listed.

You seem to be going the opposite way with a gaming PC, you are putting a 7lbs cpu with a 3lbs GPU. Always try and get a stronger graphics card, because the fastest cores in the world mean jack in gaming, the graphics card is what counts.

6

If I decide not to overclock for now (but get a CPU cooler anyways), could I just upgrade my PSU and MOBO later on? I feel that my games collection is too few right now (most of them are on console, or are classics) that I would need to push my PC to its limits. I do feel that my CPU is stronger than necessary right now, but then again I don't plan on upgrading for another two to four years after this build, so I wanted to be a bit more futureproof. 

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it. 

7

Are you asking about the CX430 psu? If so that 7850 with the 3570k at stock clocks will cause it to sweat a good bit, it only has 28amp 12v rail . It will run with that power supply, but for how long will be the question.

Yes you could also upgrade the H61 mobo and CX430 later to a better combo, but why buy things twice good sir?

8

What if I went for a ~$100 i3 instead of the FX6300? I guess my CPU doesn't have to be 3570K strong, but wouldn't my CPU be holding me back instead? Or is the FX6300 stronger than an IB i3? I did some research and it seems the games I play are more CPU intensive than graphics (Skyrim/SC2). As for my PSU, yeah, I did feel that it wasn't the best although considering its price and 80+ Bronze, it would be good enough. 

9

The FX6300 and the i3-3220 for example are equal in performance, they are also equally priced usually. The AMD bundle microcenter has up is just too good of a deal good sir,i have a i3 myself and it is properly good. When i was buying my i3, if i saw that combo deal i would never bother with Intel for that price. The i3 and the 6 core AMD will both play Skyrim well, you can not go wrong.

For the price and the combo deal, the AMD has the upper hand. Here is a bench of both, they have Skyrim there and the FX actually gains a few FPS over the i3: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/699?vs=677

 

10

Hmm, then I'm really liking the AMD system. I just thought that I was supposed to stay away from the FX series because the way they were designed wasn't as good as current Intel CPUs and AMD's Phenom CPUs, though I haven't seen hard proof of that. Well, I'll just wait until I actually buy it then, thanks all!

11

The Bulldozer FX series(6100, 4100 8150 etc) those are the ones they are mentioning, the new  FX series(4300,6300,8320,8350) is properly good if you are on a budget.

12

FX 6300 is better for gaming, and you can always overclock. 600w seems a little too high for this setup, 500w will suffice. I would invest the money saved into a better GPU, as that's what will be driving your games, such as an HIS IceQ HD 7870, definitely worth the money. 28 amps is good enough, I'd suggest

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194095

AND @*%#@ STOP WITH THE SAME RECCOMENDATIONS YOU FRUIT-SELLING FANBOYS, get this, much better for overclocking than the Coolermaster

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185093

13

Okay then, the AMD it is. Also, would the free MOBO that comes with the FX6300 allow OC or would I need a better one? Also, is it multiplier or BLCK OC? Thanks for the clarification. Oh, and if I don't find the one you (TropiKo) recommended, can I just get the one everyone else is recommending (the CM Hyper one)?

14

The Gigabyte board will OC a bit but it is not well known for that, the MSI 970 board for $164 is a better option but it is $34 dollars more. As for OC, let us just get you a nice system together and then we can help you OC. As for the cooler, the 212 EVO is a fine cooler and will give you a nice bit of OC performance for a very good price.

15

Okay, so right now, here's the build:


CPU: FX6300 $130 @ MC


MOBO: Gigabyte GA-78 $0 @ MC (bundle)


HSF: CM Hyper 212 $30 @ Newegg


GPU: HIS IceQ HD7870 $230 @ Newegg


PSU: Corsair CX500 500W 80+ $50


RAM: DDR3 1333Mhz 2x2GB (will upgrade later)


HDD: Seagate 2TB 5400RPM (may upgrade later)


Case: crappy one


Budget is ~$460 since the rest is for tax/shipping 

16

Looks good, just make sure you understand the limitation of that motherboard when it comes to OC. Other then that, it will perform very well. That 7870 is properly good for the money and you will enjoy it.

17

The thing I'm wondering is though, is the 7870 2GB worth the extra $50-ish dollars than the $175 1GB HD7850? That's what I'm really wondering, because I'd like to buy a case and maybe even RAM. I mean, I'd love to have this 7870 but I'm just not sure the extra FPS is worth it when I look at the benchmarks.

18

That is entirely up to you, you have to choose what priorities you want. If you want the case and more ram then go for it, it is your system you are free to do as you wish with it. The 7850 if it can play the games that you want at the fps you like then definitely!

19

If I do get the 7850, could I OC it to performance closer to the 7870, given my current system? If I get the 7870 instead, is the IceQ w/ one big fan better than the Gigabyte OC'd edition w/ 3 fans?  

20

The OC 7850 will definitely perform almost as well as the 7870, it is a good solid card for its price for sure. Personally the 3fan Gigabyte cooler is the bees knees for me, i have a similar cooler from arctic on my 5870's and its properly good, cards do not go higher then 55c under full tilt.

Here heck out a OC 7850 vs a 7870: http://images.tweaktown.com/content/4/8/4854_27_sapphire_radeon_hd_7850_2gb_oc_edition_video_card_review.png As you can see it is only 3-8 FPS difference between a OC 7850 vs stock clock 7870. Of course this is only one game but Metro 2033 is a demanding game.