PC Noob. Pls Help

Hi im Ed.

Im currently trying to ditch my console and want to build my 1st gaming PC. I was wondering if these parts work together. I want to make sure i don't bottleneck it. I've been researching like a mad man on youtube and newegg reading reviews about these parts, yet im still uncertain.

 

CPU: AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor. $120

 

Mobo: ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard. $59

 

VGC: Galaxy  GeForce GT 640 GC 1GB 128-bit DDR3. $85

 

PSU: COOLMAX ZX Series ZX-500 500W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply. $30 

 

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL. $44

 

HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 ST250DM001 / HD253GJ 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive. $55

 

Grand Total of : $393/493 +Shipping. 

 

Im in need of an experts advice, im currently on a tight budget around the $500-$600 price range. I really want to run games like GTA4, LOL, The Witcher 2, ect.. @ Decent frame rate on Ultra or high settings. I currently have an old Dell LCD 17" monitor if that helps? As well as a Wester Digital Caviar 120GB Hard drive and of course the useless DVD-R optical drive. I have Windows Vista 32bit OS and want to upgrade any advice on which OS is better Windows7 or 8?

 

Thanks in advance.

Ed.

 

 

Good for a first build CPU is good and GPU is good but might have some FPS lose in some games if on max settings. Get win7 x64, Vista is ok since updates but is still no better than XP or 7. You will aslo need a case and if you are on a buget get small case or maybe a mid-tower case that has good air flow. Now to HDD there is alot of sales on HDD right you could even find a 500Gb HDD for maybe 15 or 10 dollars more. RAM,PSU,MOBO and CPU but if you want to save a couple of bucks get 965 phenom II black edition or if you can find it a Phenom II 960t they are still crazy fast for the money. It will alos give you extra money for maybe a bigger HDD or GPU. But this is all up to you man.

id say for the gpu for a couple extra bucks you could get a radeon 7750 and that would probably get you a couple more fps

I agree with isaac2223.

I've got a case that i'll reuse until i get bored of it. Im having trouble with figuring out how much watt this rig will need. I have to links which calculate the watt required but there inconsistent one tell me il need 350W the other says i need 450W minimum. Theres only one review on the Galaxy Geforce GT 640 1GB card and that kinda make me uneasy about it since i just got The Witcher 2 and im planning to play it comfortably. 

 

1. http://support.asus.com/PowerSupply.aspx?SLanguage=en

2. http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

These are the 2 PSU Calculators sites i was talking about.

Thanks for the help  

 

Its a good build but I would highly recommend that you get a i3 3220 and a h77 motherboard and a HD 7770 instead of the gt 640 and spend an extra $5 for a WD blue 500gb.  

Basically what we are saying is do not cheap out because in the long run be cheap does not help with computers.

Getting a HD 7750 sounds really tasty especially the GIGABYTE GV-R775OC-2GI Radeon HD 7750 2GB 128-bit DDR3 for $100. The only problem is that it might affect the amount of power i need since it requieres a minimum of 400W to support it. 

Well alot of times they tell you that to give you a over just in case you add or over stuff so maybe even getting 550 Watts here is this I know its alittle bit more but never risk the PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159125&Tpk=power%20supply.

Hey man, thats a a great set up, but i think i might have a few ideas on how to save a few bucks. First off your cpu, I would recomend a AMD FX 4100 ($110). It is a 95 watt cpu so youll save some power, its very overclockable, and its 10 dollars cheeper. Im useing one overclocked to 4.0 ghz with the stock cooler and its amazing. For what your wanting to do it would work just as great. Its still only a ten dollar difference so its up to you. 

Your main problem would be your graphics card. Im not 100 percent sure that this card will run the games you want on ultra at good frame rates. What ever extra money you have should be put into the graphics because thats what your games are going to reliy on. I would suggest looking at last generation cards like radeon 68xx series or an nivida card 550 and up. It would be worth the while to look in to a radeon 6870 or a nivida 550 ti. Both should run what you want just fine. 

Your power supply looks great, just make sure that it will have enough PCI Express connectors on it to support the graphics card you choose. Also depending on the power supply you get make sure its maximum wattage will support your system. A great tool is on newegg (http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html?name=Power-Supply-Wattage-Calculator). 

Your motherboard is great, but i found one with a few features you might like. ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157323 )This board comes with two sata 6 gbs ports, which means you can get a faster hard drive. It supports higher speed ram, 6 channel audio and much more. You can read about it. Going with this one will make you much happier in the long run because its very upgradeable. it supports 8 core cpus, high speed ram, usb 3, gigabit internet, and much more. The best part is youll save five dollars and get a whole lot more features. 

The rest are just personal upgrades you can do. If you go with the asrock board i would pick up at least some 1600 mhz ram. You can get eight gigs from g.skill and it coats the same. Also i would try to get a bigger hard drive that has sata 6 gbs connectors. Believe me that you will fill up 250 gb in no time once you fid steam sales. If you cant get a bigger one you can always buy one later and add it in.

All in all your system is pretty good. These were just a few things that you could change to help out in the long run. You dont have to do them. Also 100 dollars seems a little high for shipping. I think the last computer i ordered was only like 30-50 dollars in shipping. So you might look into which part has the higgest shipping coast or wait for deals for free shipping or discounts. Subscribe to the newegg news letter if you havent already, It usually has great deals. 2013-01-02

In regards to which operating system i would go with windows 7 for sure. Windows 8 is still being figured out so unless your monitor is a touch monitor i would greatly advise windows 7. It will support all your games and youll be used to how everything works. 

Also you didnt say anything about the case you were going to use. If you buy one remember that the case dose not boost perfomance. Just make sure what ever you choose has some what good air flow and is some what cheep. The money you save on that can be put into other parts that will make your computer all the better.

 

The FX-4300 is better than the FX-4170 for the same price. That said if this is a gaming rig i would spend less on the cpu and get a better gpu.

Like get a g860 for cpu and a 7770 for gfx

@TheLonewolfTech Oh the $100 is for the OS i need to get. So it would be $393 without upgrading the OS. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJPfHK4sz5c

^^^ Is pretty much all i know about the Video Card. Any Suggestions for VGC that are in the $70-$120 price range? Again i don't want to bottleneck it.

 

Thanks alot! for that Mobo recommendation definitely adding it as well as the 600W PSU @ellogovern recommended to make this build sorta future proof.

 

 

He knows he stuff so if you want to buy the 640 you can but it will only be able to really play older games and for newer games you will have to turn down the detail low or middle level of detail. So everyone and including me if you could add just alittle bit more money for the GPU it will really help later if you want to play other games beside witch and GTA. but like always it is up to you man.

You know what we never asked what resolution the moniter you have and are you going to upgrade the moniter. If it a lower resolution than this GPU well work just great but at 1600/900 or 1920/1080 this card will be pushed very hard.

Its a Dell LCD 17" monitor 1280 x 1024 max resolution.

I am saying yes it can play the games you want maybe not in full detail but for late 2012 and 2013 games to come out with out changing the graphics down in detail. But in all and all the rig you have will work also look up if you can overclock the gpu for those extra frames. But like I always say its up to you man.

What are your thoughts in integrating the SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5. I feel like its a bit overkill, but i will be upgrading to a bigger moniter in a couple of months and i don't want to have to upgrade the VGC that soon.

Let`s see its about 40 dollars more than than the 640 I would do it many because of the moniter upgrade and the fact that alot of games are going to need extra power for them even minecraft. So for those extra bucks I will give it the ello approve but make sure everything you have will mix together.

Do PCI Express 3.0 x16 VGC fit on PCI Express 2.0 x16 Mobo?

yes they are backward compatiable you maybe see maybe 1 frame loss but now nothing to cry about. Are you going to just game or is editing going to happen to?