I am preparing to build my first gaming PC very soon. I would appreciate some feedback on the part list I have selected.
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/NoctHorn/saved/dD7v6h
Here are a few questions I have concerning the build to start some discussion:
How big of a difference does an SSD make?
Is the graphics card the best one I can get at that price?
I would like any feedback on what could be done to make the system better without raising the price.
Note that I have aleady purchased the case.
Yes, best card for the money.
To be honest, I would go for the Samsung 840 EVO (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7te120bw), it's more expensive, but the Sandforce controller in the PNY is noticeably slower when dealing with incompressible data (sound, movies, archives, encrypted data). Crucial has recently launched the MX series, with great performance, and very low prices (256 GB for $110 MSRP) if you can afford it. If not, the PNY is more than ok for normal use.
If you want, you can switch to AMD by changing the motherboard and the CPU, there should be no difference when it comes to gaming:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga990fxaud3
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8320frhkbox
That will save you $58 and allow you to buy the EVO or the Crucial MX100 256 GB (when shops start stocking it, I think amazon has it for sale).
You could also drop Windows and move to linux and save $100 in the process, but there's a learning curve involved.
SSDs make an enormous difference on program start times and boot...
Higher clocked 280x for $25 cheaper...
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280xtdfd
6GB 280x for $5 more...
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r9280xgaming6g
I'd either do this, (overclocking) which is more expensive... http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Vc7Pgs
or this, (not overclocking) which is cheaper... http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zPNGnQ