Seeking feedback on prospective 1st ever build

Hi Tek Syndicate Community

I have been eagerly watching Luke's 'Kill your console build' and the videos successfully brought back a passion I haven't actively perused since I was 16: building PCs. At the time however I was too poor to actually buy the parts, so I never got to build one. 

This will change now:

COUNTRY:

The only difficulty is that I am living in Thailand where I am working for an NGO. Things are priced in Thai Baht here. I don't expect anyone to make pricing suggestions, but the rule of thumb is, while deals may not apply, what is more expensive in the US is more expensive here.

Unfortunately I can't order in the US as the post office here tends to make technology disappear, or refer it to the customs department which likes to put horrendously high import taxes on IT components. 

BUDGET

Working for an NGO I am on a budget. So I would like to start with something that is reasonably snappy but can be upgraded every six months.

I AM PLANNING TO USE THE PC FOR

  • Gaming (Titanfall, Elder Scrolls Online)
  • Expected resolution (as long as it looks better than on XBOX One ;D - is this expectation realistic?)
  • Getting my feet wet with Linux (and Kernel compilation)
  • A little editing (not professional level, its more of a hobby) of After Effects animations and Photoshopped images

 

SPECS:

You can find my PC picker-list here: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Z_101/saved/#savedbuild_950923

 

YOUR FEEDBACK:

I would really appreciate your feedback, particularly with regards to possible computability issues and your preferred brands. 

PCpartpicker seems to suggest that I would require a BIOS update? I don't assume this would be hard to do?

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you very much in advance!

Z

Needs a better motherboard. I would drop the 8350 down to an 8320. It's the same thing, but it has a lower clock. You can overclock it to the same speed with ease. Invest that saving on the CPU into the motherboard. It should have a power phase of at least 6+2 or higher, which is available on select 970 motherboards, and nearly all 990 chipsets.

Thank you Berserker. I already changed my selection to the 8320.

I apologise in advance for the following question, but I kind of lived in remote areas for the last 7 years which means that I am a little behind the 8ball. 

Would you be happy to specify what you mean with the 6+2 power phase?

What do you think of the following alternatives for the Motherboard?

  • GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3P AM3+ / AMD 970 / 4 X DDR3 / 6 X SATA 6GB/S / ATX

  • ASROCK 990FX EXTREME3 SOCKET AM3+ / 990FX / 4 X DDR3 / 5 X SATA 6GB/S / ATX

  • GIGABYTE 990FXA-UD3 AM3+ 990FX/SB950 CF/SLI USB3 SATA3 1394

Thank you for your advice!

Z

Power phases are the level with which power can be delivered to the CPU. Lower power phase designs can actually throttle power hungry 8 core processors, because they do not deliver a sufficient level of power.

AMD motherboards all have varying levels of power phase design. Be sure to check the manufacturer's website for details. Most AMD boards are 4+2, but you should have a minimum of a digital 6+2 power phase design. Anything higher will be optimal for overclocking.

From what I understand, the Gigabyte UD3 is the best selection in that given list. It has an appropriate power delivery for the 8320 or 8350.

I personally prefer ASUS branded AMD motherboards. Intel motherboards require less scrutiny.

Yup.  Other than the weak motherboard, everything looks good.

Thank you very much Berserker and Some Tech Noob. This was really helpful! Just need to wait for my next payment to come in and of I go :).