Hi guys. I've saved up enough money to finally build myself a PC, and I've educated myself as to what I need to do it (I... think). Problem is, of course, I'm super new to all of this so I don't know how to tell quality or workability of parts. I'll stick to the guide!
Budget: around $700 Canadian. It's not a great time for ordering online for the canucks :( Where do you live: Toronto, Canada Is there a retailer you prefer: Noperoo Do you need or already have peripherals? I'm good for peripherals. I'd be using my PC for gaming (I'm fine with lowered settings, not an avid gamer) and some adobe suite stuff. I'm used to using my samsung laptop, so literally anything will be an upgrade. Do you overclock or want to get into overclocking: I'm indifferent. I'm sure I'll want to someday, but not in the near future. Operating System. Do you need a new one: pc part picker says windows 10 is cheapest for a new machine, so I'll go with that.
So here's the build I came up with.. feel free to tear me apart on anything you see fit, I'm here to learn. I didn't include a case because I think I actually have one that will work.
Ya, naw here, much better, you're only want the FX chip if you were going to do streaming
and if you're going to buy a windows key I'd avoid OEM keys as they only work once, and I'd probably avoid grey market keys are you've no clue where they originate from. so if you want windows on the cheap well, maybe go look in a back alley, Microsoft is screwed in either case
also a 360 is going to be a better choice overall compared to the 750ti, especially if $170 is the lowest it gets in canada.
Oh wow, you officially downgraded him from 6 core with 750Ti to dual core with 360... OK, if you can't get good combination, go for the best you can... 6300 is better for the Adobe stuff... 6 cores are 6 cores... For gaming 750Ti or 360 are both weak sauce... However... 860K with 370 and SSD will push you much forward... Whatever you choose, you want to have an SSD, be it 60GB for the OS, or 120GB for the OS and other software. You want an SSD. I would go for 860K FM2+ socket, 370/270, which ever is cheaper and an A-Data 120GB SP550 SSD...
The i3 is going to be better for gaming compared to the 6300. As most games don't use more than 4 threads, and so by extension as pretty much all current AMD CPUs have the same per core performance, it would be faster than the 860K as well
and both the 750ti and 360 can do pretty good work at 1080p
- - an SSD really wouldn't be worth losing so much storage space, nor performance in other areas and it can always be added later.
And if you were going for the 860K, which is 50 dollars cheaper so possibly worth the hit there
for a bit more you'd be able to get a 4GB 380
depends if you want a better CPU or GPU, the GPU would be better for gaming, though if one could wait for AM4 that'd be way better so that the platform has an upgrade path in the future
CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($94.98 @ Newegg Canada) Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($64.99 @ NCIX) Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($40.92 @ DirectCanada) Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.99 @ Canada Computers) Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 380 4GB royalQueen OC Video Card ($259.99 @ NCIX) Case: Xion XON-310_BK MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($25.99 @ Amazon Canada) Power Supply: SeaSonic 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.88 @ Canada Computers) Total: $619.74 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-27 19:52 EDT-0400 - - Bit higher end FM2+ board for a good amount more money, it has USB 3.1 though I guess http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-a88mg31
Depends if you do CPU intensive tasks or play CPU intensive games like CoH 2 or ARMA, or you could wait out for AM4, it should be out soon anyways and then you have an upgrade path, and you'd probably be able to get more money for the PC unless you have no PC right now
It goes generally 370>950>380
the 370 would be slower ya, the 380 is on par with the 960, but a bit faster than the 960 in most cases
it's just that the 950 and 370 usually cost the same, with the 950 outperforming it by a good margin, and then the 380 beats the 950 by a good margin and with sales might cost only a bit more.
@psycho_666 I'm using a refurbished 160GB hard drive for my OS right now after selling my SSD, and it's fine, like it's not worth spending the 50 dollars on the SSD over spending that 50 on your GPU.
upgrading your GPU later would cost say $200 and then you have a GPU lying around
where as throwing in an SSD later is the same 50 bucks or so, and you already have a stronger GPU
- - Should you want to throw in an SSD later, what you should do with the 1TB hard drive is partition it to like a 250GB OS partition, and 750GB partition for long term storage, that way when you reinstall with the SSD, you only have to format the smaller partition.
Can either be done in windows or with a Gparted live USB
Basically the SSD will help with the Adobe stuff. The, 370 does just fine on 1080p, and since he is fine with lower settings than hyper mega, he may go a couple more years with the 370... I could be severely wrong, but I would do that if I was in that position.
With the SSD and the current build it's around 800 after tax, I think the basic decision here is between a better GPU or the SSD. Thanks for all your help guys!
I disagree about the SSD. You can buy a cheap 60-120GB drive and install windows and a few games while still maintaining a large HDD for games/backup. Windows and apps are much snappier on an SSD. $260 is a bit overkill for a non avid gamer especially on such a tight budget. I would not bet big here I would hold off and spend a bit more on the GPU when HBM matures a bit more and the new skus drop for AMD and nVidia in a year or two.
If you aren't a huge gamer I would go with the SSD. the 370 can handle most of the mainstream games that people constantly play and still look great (i.e. Diablo III, League of Legends, CSGO, etc)
I'll just tell @johnnyeppelseed that there are cheap windows keys on Kinguin per Paul's recommendation (they have a warranty thing so they seem fairly reputable imo but feel free to make your own decision).