I am building this PC for general computer use, gaming, and some video rendering. My main goal of this post is to see if I am getting the largest performance possible for the money I am spending.
Processor: I originally wanted a i5-3570K or a FX-6300, but thought the best value for what I needed would lie in the FX-8350. I will also get a $20 rebate card from Newegg with this processor. I plan on overclocking.
CPU Cooler: This seems to be one of the most recommended coolers. I know I can get better performance from more expensive coolers, but I do not know if it’s worth the extra money.
Motherboard: It was one of the most popular choices on newegg and seems to be liked on other sites too. I honestly do not know if I could get similar performance and features from another board, however. It also comes with a $20 combo discount with the 8350.
Video Card: I am conflicted with this pick. Tom’s Hardware rated the 7870 Tahiti cards as one of the best performance and value but the one I really want, Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT, is out of stock. The PowerColor one is available at newegg and seems to run as well as a stock HD 7950, but some reviews say it runs hot and loud. I’m not sure if I should stick with this one or pay $50 more for a 7950 that might run cooler, quieter, and can be overclocked to greater speeds.
Memory: I saw this in another person’s build and it seemed like a good value, especially with the price I can get it for on Amazon.
Storage: I purchased my SSD on sale for what I thought was a good price a month or two ago and have it in my current computer. I will transfer this to my new build. I want the 3 TB drive to store my large video/file collection. I already back everything up on an external 3 TB drive that is attached to my router.
Power Supply: I have heard horror stories about buying a cheap power supply so I wanted to go with a good brand. I think this is the proper wattage for my build based on what PCPartPicker suggests, but I don’t know how much overclocking adds to the mix.
Case: I really liked the looks, cable management possibilities, and reviews of the Corsair C70. I got it on sale a few weeks back and it has just been sitting at my desk, begging me to be put to use.
DVD Drive, Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers: I already use these on my current PC and will transfer them to the new build.
[url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LWG7]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LWG7/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LWG7/benchmarks/]Benchmarks[/url] [b]CPU:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8350frhkbox]AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor[/url] ($179.99 @ Newegg)
[b]CPU Cooler:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr1]Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler[/url] ($32.99 @ Amazon)
[b]Motherboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga990fxaud3]Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard[/url] ($133.98 @ SuperBiiz)
[b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-khx1600c9d3x2k28gx]Kingston HyperX Grey 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory[/url] ($45.98 @ Amazon)
[b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001]Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url] ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
[b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax78702gbd52dhppv3e]PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card[/url] ($244.98 @ SuperBiiz)
[b]Power Supply:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx600]Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply[/url] ($59.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Other:[/b] Corsair C70 Arctic White (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (Tiger Direct) ($86.00)
[b]Other:[/b] Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (Staples) ($152.64)
[b]Other:[/b] Logitech G400 Wired Optical Mouse (Amazon) ($22.00)
[b]Other:[/b] Microsoft Wireless Keyboard (from my old system) ($0.00)
[b]Other:[/b] DVD Drive (from my old system) ($0.00)
[b]Other:[/b] Logitech X-230 32 Watts 2.1 Black Speakers (from my old system) ($0.00)
[b]Other:[/b] Microsoft Windows 8 Upgrade (64-bit) (upgrade sale) ($15.00)
[b]Total:[/b] $1103.54