First real gaming pc

so i have been granted a free "dream" computer. i have a limit of 3,000 usd but i would feel bad making it worth that much. my total as it sits is about 1,600 before shipping and such.

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now, as much as i would like to think i know what im doing. i am less than a year old when it comes to pc and some feedback would not hurt. im going to list all the parts im getting and feel free to modify this list based on personal reviews/recommendations on products/brands. this is an AMD rig, no offence intel/nvidia guys.

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COMPUTER STUFFS
 
Case - Raidmax Agusta
 
Motherboard - ASUS Crosshair Formula-Z
 
Power Supply - Rosewill lightning-1000 (1000w) 
 
Gpu - XFX 7970 Ghz edition  W/ Arctic accelero Xtreme VGA cooler
 
Cpu - Vishera FX-8350 8-core 4.0ghz W/ Thermaltake NiC C4 120mm CPU cooler
 
RAM -G.Skill Ripjaws x series 16gb
 
HDD - seagate barracuda 1TB
 
OS  - Windows 7 home premuim 

what do you think? what would you get for aftermarket heat sinks and such?

 

edit - my budget is 3,000 usd. so feel free to go crazy on recommendations.

i currently use a 60hz 1920x1080 monitor with the thermaltake level 10 gaming mouse and a levetron mech 5 keyboard. so this is stricly the pc needing to be build.

this pc will be a dedicated gaming pc. i do NOT inted to OC it at all but i still want to keep those temps low for the lifespan and just because i like to take care of my stuff. i still do not trust the idea of watercooling yet.

im in love with arma. 2 and 3. even dayz. so i would like to be able to play that and maybe even stream to friends while i play it. obviously i would like to be able to jump that render distance way up and still have no less than 30 frames.

 

NOTE -  All items must be on newegg as thats the only place that i can order from.

You can cut down the PSU. There is little need for 100W. I estimate you wouldn't use more than 500W. You could throw in an SSD? It's faster than a harddrive. Boost your boot times, and the loading times from programs (including games).

For the heatsinks, I happen to own a Phanteks 12DX. I think it is a good and inexpensive cooler. It depends what kind of overclock you wish to achieve?

I think we need more information. Check out the FAQ on this forum. It will give some guidance on building a PC. What do you happen to use this PC for? Editing? Gaming?

Posted for your convenience :)

To make things easier around here just include some extra info so we can tailor you better.

  • Budget. How much are you willing to spend?
  • Where do you live (what country),  and what currency do you use?
  •   -Is there a retailer you prefer?
  • Do you need or already have peripherals? (this can add to costs)
  • What will you be using your future computer for? Gaming? Rendering? Mix of both? Or is this a home media PC?
  • Do you overclock or want to get into overclocking?
  • Do you plan on going for custom watercooling now, or in the future?
  • OS. Do you need a new one?
  • Do you plan on Mining BTC either for yourself or Tek Syndicate?

If you Game-

  • What kind of settings do you like or what FPS do you want to play at?
  • What resolution will you be playing at? //or would like to play at.
  • What kind of games do you like to play?
  • What specific game will you be playing (if applicable)

If you Render or Edit things-

  • What application do you use to render? (very important)
  • Do you render movies or photshop pictures

 If you don't have peripherals -

  • What kind of keyboard do you prefer? Mechanical, scissor, membrane, etc.
  • What type of mouse-grip do you have? Palm, claw, combination?
  • what kind of games do you play? (mmo vs fps, for button management)
  • What size monitor are you looking for, and what resolution? Screen type (IPS, S-IPS, TN, etc.), hertz (60, 120, etc.)

Other Notes:

  • Please submit a PcPartpicker list as it's really easy to configure and edit. (you may have to change the URL to your region.)
  • If you can't or don't want to use PcPartpicker, just keep the format clean and organized.

my pc will be a gaming machine. 90% playing stuff like skyrim, arma 2 + 3 (dayz included), red orchestra/rising storm and battlefield 3. the other 10% is just youtube and skype really. i do not do any editing of any kind. i have thought about streaming game play to friends some times.

im not impatient. i dont mind having that 1 second extra load time for stuff. and the price for a large ssd is just to high. i have like 50+ games on steam in under 1 year on pc. most of wich i do play a lot so i will want them all downloaded and ready to play. so i need a large amount of space to fit my ever expanding collection

as for the PSU, i was always told you gotta make sure you dont skip on that. and that one is on sale on newegg right now for a decent price so i figured why not.

 

Ok. I am going to construct something in pcpartpicker.com real quick. Are you gaming at 1080p? Or do you require a monitor?

A large PSU (1000W) will still function, but it will be incredibly inefficienct. More watts doesn't necessarily make it better, but you are right, you do need to choose a good PSU. I'll post a build in a minute.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1pJhJ

750W is enough for two graphics cards, plus extra devices, plus overclocking.

I haven't chosen a case, I couldn't find the Raidmax you listed. I kept some parts based on your interest.

You only need 8GB of RAM for a gaming machine. Most games don't utilise more than 4GB.

Gave you a fair amount of cheap, reliable storage capacity. You can change the Caviar Blue HDDs for a single Caviar Black 2TB. The Blacks HDDs are more expensive.

The HIS 7970 aftermarket cooler is probably the best.

Heatsink is a large dual tower dual 140mm. It will overclock the 8350 really far.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Piez/saved/28fC

A REAL "Dream" build. Spend an extra 100$ on some decent fans. This thing will literally crush ANYTHING thrown at it. Use the H110 to get a nice 4.5-5.0 Overclock if you need it to. If you use that extra 100$ on some good fans, this thing will destroy pretty much anygame out there for atleast 5-10 years. (Unless some super advance happens in PC games requiring much better computers) It will also edit great, but if you want to edit alot I suggest 1866 RAM instead of 2400. Even though you wont use it to it's full potential, it will give you AMAZING bragging rights.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Piez/saved/28fh

The logical build. Much more economical, still will destroy almost all games are 1080p, but not very good for editing. I reccomend this one the most. The 2 GTX 760's in the right SLI are comparable to a GTX Titan. But of course, will give off much more heat. It will run all games fine.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Piez/saved/28fu

The cool build. Most economical. But, it will do very good on 1080p. The Single GPU will give a lot less hot temps, while still being pretty powerful. The h110 will keep the 8350 cool for weeks. 

I know you probably hate water cooling, but the H110 is a closed-loop factory sealed water cooler. There is a 0.0000001% chance it will break,  even if you get one of the bad ones. However, if you are seriously paranoid about a water leak change it out for a Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 140mm UFB Air CPU Cooler.

 

DONT forget to buy some decent fans for the case! It onlys comes with 3 120m's pre-installed. This won't be able to hold over your system. If you don't buy some decent fans the build won't even last you a year!! 

 

 

 

I will never overclock anything. and i want an amd rig. no intel / nvidia

Are you sure about that AMD only? I saw a article on maximumpc, they did an "Ultimate AMD build", and an intel pc blew it out of the water, and with a $3000 budget you could have something very nice. Here's a link to the article

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/amd_gaming_PC_2013?page=0,0 

 

May I ask why? You're seriously missing out on all AMD.

 

I'll start working on some all AMD versions.

maximumpc are asshats who recommend obscenely priced parts based on who send them stuff not on real world testing.

The benchmarks don't lie, and what proof of this do you have?

Here's an AMD rig.  Not exactly sure why you're set on it, but here ya go...

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1pMNO

Just so you know, you CAN mix Intel CPUs with AMD GPUs.  It doesn't have to be Intel/Nvidia or AMD/AMD.  Just use the list above for reference.  You can go to Newegg and search for each of the parts there.  I also recommend getting this monitor...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Matte-FREE-EXPRESS-X-STAR-DP2710LED-27-2560x1440-Samsung-PLS-Panel-Monitor-/330932578190?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item4d0d1e678e

It's the cheapest 1440p monitor you'll find on the web.  I'll leave the keyboard, mouse, and OS up to you.  Those things are based on preference.  I also highly suggest taking a look at Corsair's website.  They are offering a large selection of their cases for 50% off.  So, you can grab the Corsair 650D that is in the list above for $100.  This is a limited offer, so I would hurry up and jump on it if I were you.  I think the deal ends on the 12th.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

He already has a monitor.

I actually have a 650d right now, I highly recommend it. Very easy to build in, great air flow.

So?  Get a better one...

If I had somone offer me a $3000 budget, I would damn well take full advantage of it.

[Edit]

He could use the 1440p monitor as a main gaming monitor, and then setup the 1080p monitor to handle web browsing and other tasks.

"i have a limit of 3,000 usd but i would feel bad making it worth that much."

I mean of course he can get it if he wants too.

they benched a single gpu amd system (HD7970) with a dual gpu intel system(GTX 690)

no shit it's gona blow the amd system out of the water.

"edit - my budget is 3,000 usd. so feel free to go crazy on recommendations."

dont worry guys/girls. this is just 1 of the rigs i plan on having. i eventually will have an all intel/nvidia rig and then a mixed one based one what i liked out of the two rigs most. that sort of thing.

i heard that for gaming you want a 144hz monitor? something about the smoothness just destroys a 60hz one.

im fine with my 1080 as it sits. i just got this monitor 3 months ago in a  bundle and i think its fine really.

but just to makes things clear. i dont hate intel / nvidia. they are awesome. i just wanted to start with amd because the thats what all the people i know have.