Hello guys on Build a PC, The Tek Syndicate. My name's Ariel, I've never built a PC before, etc.
Alright, let's get to it. I recently got offered a paid internship that will get me 800-850 US dollars weighing down my bindle by the end of July. After looking at hardware reviews (mainly) from The Tek Syndicate and The Tech Source.TV for a year now, I have a fairly solid build. But it being that I'm a complete novice, I want y'all's opinion. (Yeah I just used y'all's, I live in Texas)
But what do I want this system for?
Primarily gaming (I'll get to that later on) is what I want to do on this system. I'm also an amateur photographer and would like to do a little video editing on the side. But I'm sure that any decent gaming hardware will be enough for my basic video editing needs. Even though I told you guys that I'll be getting 800, I want this system to be around the 650's range.
First thing's first:
OS: Windows 7: Home Premium: 64Bit = $54.99 (Bought)
I was thinking of getting Windows 8 (and Start Is Back), but my friend informed me about this amazing deal. It also comes with an Anti-Virus, and after a main-in rebate, the prices goes from $124.99, to $54.99. I've already bought it, but I just wanted to let you guys know that this is the only item that I've bought.
My PC Build: I want to give it a name...
CPU: AMD: A10-5800k = 129.17
I went with this APU because it's a damn good bang for your buck. I'm also planning on over-clocking and running the internal 7770D with an external 6670. This item isn't going anywhere on my list.
Cooling Fan: NZXT: Respire T40 = $21.34
Yes, I''m going to be doing over-clocking with this "little guy". I was extremely persuaded on this cooling unit by The Tech Source's review on it.
Motherboard: ASRock: FM2/AM2 A75 FCH = $59.99
I originally went with Logan's suggestion, the DGS.This motherboard is one notch up from that one. The main reason that I decided to go with this one was the quad-channel memory, and two PCI-e slots. This motherboard has much better upgrade ability. With this motherboard is could later upgrade the RAM and even later, get a better GPU setup.
RAM: G.Skill: Ripjaws X Series 8 Gb 1866 X2 = $125.98
This would total 16 Gb.This is my least assured item. I could take advantage of a quad channel set, but that's not very necessary. You guys can sway me on this part..
GPU: Asus: Radeon HD 6670 = $69.99 (After $20.00 Main-In Rebate)
This is the best GPU that I can run with the A10's 7770D. This particular model is the best because it has 1 Gb of GDDR5 oppose to 2 Gb of DDR3. Why buy this when you can just get a better GPU? Well, I'm not planning on making a big leap until the much later future.
PSU: Corsair: Builder Series CX600 = $66.24
Another less assured item. It's fairly over-kill for the current set up, but I want to upgrade GPU/s later in the future. Would chipping in 20 more dollars for the 750 be a good investment for the future?
Storage:
SSD: ADATA USA Premier Pro SP600 64 Gb = $68.28
I chose this SSD as my boot drive, it will only hold the OS, the Steam client, and Photoshop CS6 and And this would also the the drive that I would use for my video editing. I wouldn't need much for video editing, I would do more than one video at a time.
HDD: Seagate: Barracuda 2 TB 7200RPM = $92.74
This hard drive is more than enought for my games, music, photographs, videos, etc. 2 TB might seem like over-kill, but trust me. I NEED a lot of storage.
Case: Xion: Xon-560 = $29.99 (After $10.00 Mail-In Rebate)
This case supports mATX and ATX, has USB 3.0 and has really good airflow. I like simplicity, but this is a damn good bang for you buck.
Total: $663.72 (Subtracting $30.00 from Main-In Rebates) + Shipping
I kind of passed my $650 budget, but I think it's a fairly solid build. As you can see I prefer Amazon as my retailer, but I'm also comfortable with newegg.com, TigerDirect.com, and Fry's since they have a local store around my area.
Gaming: I mainly play a lot of online games guys. MMOs mainly along with Minecraft. Currently the two most graphically intense MMOs that I play are TERA, (running at 9 FPS on my laptop) and Neverwinter (Un-playable on my laptop). I'd love to buy games like Tomb Raider, Far Cry 3, and man I don't even know. There would be so many options with a rig like this! I couldn't see myself playing triple-a tittles on high. But I could see myself playing on Medium settings at 1080p with out filters, and High settings at laptop resolutions.
This is quite a post, I really wanted to give you guys information and make it easier on your part when trying to give me suggestions. Thank you for (hopefully) reading my entire post and keep on being crazy awesome people!
Ariel Gonzalez