Time for my first build 8350, 660ti

Hardware Build a PC
1

Hey guys i'm currently useing a dell xps 17 with an i7-2760 and a geforce gt555m and it's a great rig but when i'm gaming it just doesn't quite do what i want. The main issue is it gets really hot i live in Australia and 30C is nothing in summer and i have seen my cpu and gpu temps hit 70C which makes the entire laptop really hot, loud and uncomfortable to use. Borderlands 2 at 1600x900 and high details runs at 30fps and really hot (you could probbably fry an egg on it).

So the plan is to build myself my first system.

Aim: I'm currently playing borderlands 2 with my mates and i plan to play crysis 3 at 1080p high details at 40+ fps and cool and quiet.

Budget & Location: I live in australia and what i have priced out is just under au$1400

Monitors: Just the one at 1080p already owned

Peripherals: I have already

Now the fun bit please let me know how i have gone and any changes i should make.

AMD FX-8350 $215

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 $159

Corsair 8GB 1600 C8 kit CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8 $79

Samsung 840 series 120gb (non pro version) $99

Seagate Barracuda 2tb $99

MSI gtx 660ti power edition $329

SilverStone Strider Plus fully modular 80plus bronze $109

Corsair H100i $145

Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 $149

 

My local website is pc case gear https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php

Here is a pc part picker link http://pcpartpicker.com/p/M18N it's a USA link as the Australian site doesn't have all the parts listed for some reason.

I'm still wondering about the graphics card gtx660ti, hd 7870 or gtx660.

Also should I drop the hard drive and get the next size up ssd (Samsung 840 250GB is $198) and do you think the h100i is overkill in this rig and if so what would a good substitute be allowing for high ambient temps in summer while still being quiet.

So what do you think?

2

Don't get the cooler. Get some noctua shit or a lower end liquid cooler like the kraken x40. Don't buy an SSD as a single hard drive. Try to use a 7950 instead of a 660ti. That ram is insanely priced. Try to find a cheap 2x4gb 1600mhz kit. Drop the ssd as a whole and get like a 7970.

3

To add to Spenlard, drop the H100i for an H90. The H90 has 140mm fan so it'll fit snuggly on the rear exhaust, and you are even more close to getting the 7970.

4

Sorry guys my mistake the ram is actually $79 not $159 i took down the price of the wrong kit  $159 was for 16gb.

Also what is the reason for the preference of 7950 over 660ti from all accounts that i have seen these are approx equivelent cards in gaming benchmarks and the nvidia has physx and adaptive v-sync so i chose it. I was originally going for a 7870 untill i priced everything out so i have no real preference but would love some reasoning.

For the cpu cooler it must be quiet that is one of the main reasons for the upgrade to start with and i plan on overclocking so i need somthing that can keep that under control. Remember guys i'm from australia so 30C ambient temps are not uncommon which is 10C higher than what most reviews are done at which means 10C extra on the cpu. So how low do you think i can go cooler wise.

5

For Graphics card stick with a NVIDIA card because borderlands 2 has ADV PHYS X and if you don't know what that is then look up borderlands 2 Phys X on youtube. The rest should be pretty good though (although I do still prefer ASUS motherboard). That CPU is great! Enjoy!

6

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/02/28/corsair_h90_h110_hydro_liquid_cpu_cooler_review/4#.UVAj_Ff8kuU

The H90 is a solid performer with one fan. Pair that with a second 140mm (one that came with the case) in push/pull and you'll be able to match an H100i at max fan speed. If you really want to stick with Nvidia that's a personal preffrence.

The 7970 is geared towards performance and comes in at reasonable price. Nvidia is great for folks who like to edit video because of Cuda. Physx still to this day does not have many titles really driving the technology. I lean towards resolution and performance over extra particles. New titles are starting to work more with AMD than Nvidia. Take the latest Tomb Raider. Nvidia was not able to update their drivers for Tomb Raider until just as it was about to launch. AMD is giving Away new games with their cards, Nvidia is offering in-game currency for free-to-paly games - WTF?!

Either way you have enough for a GTX 670 or 7950 or 7970 if you allocate your funds the right way. Don't get me wrong the 7870 is a great card - I have one. I'm sure the 660ti is a good card too, they are both great enthusiast cards. It's just that you are soooooo close to obtaining the next tier and hopefully we have given you something to think about when choosing your hardware.

7

If you plan on overclocking the FX8350, and live in a very hot climate, you will need a high airflow case and proper VRM MOS-FET and RAM cooling. Take a case that has a wind tunnel effect over the CPU placement.

For maximum cooling performance in my aircooled gaming rig (my main gaming rig is custom watercooled, but that's very expensive and not maintenance free at all, I would only recommend that for crazy enthusiasts, and it's not at all practical for taking to LAN parties), I myself use an Antec NineHundred (an old V1, must be 7 years old now) with 3 stock Antec 120mm intake fans (set to low, and I've removed the center mesh in front of each fan for easy cleaning on-the-fly and even better airflow) covering the entire front (I use an external DVD drive), a 200 mm fan (stock Antec Big Boy fan set to low) on top just above the CPU and a 120 mm Noctua fan (automatic fan control via motherboard) in the back just behind the CPU, an 120 mm Noctua case fan pointing at the graphics card (automatic fan control via motherboard), a graphics card with heavy duty twin fan cooling, a Tagan power supply with two high pressure golf ball blade fans, and a Noctua NH-C14 top blowing fan on the CPU that also cools the VRM (with standard electronics grade copper MOS-FET heatsinks stuck on top with 3M thermal pads), and it's not the most expensive solution, but it performs just great and my system is always cool and quiet (about 34 dB at 60 cm distance).The Antec NineHundred (and variants thereof) is not the most practical case for installing things in it, but it's a very solid case, and one of few cases that have the option of making a high front-to-back-and-top airflow, it's reasonably priced, and you even have the option of mounting a second row of 120mm fans behind the front row of fans for more CFL or more static pressure if you want to, and that doesn't interfere with the ability to mount up to nine full size 3.5" harddisks.

Intake is more important for cases than outlet, you should have a slight overpressure (compared to atmospheric pressure inside your case for maximum cooling and against dust). Forget about Corsair pre-filled liquid coolers, unless you mod them they don't perform that great and they are relatively loud when they have to cool in hot conditions. Your best bet is a Noctua NH-D14, it performs better than any prefilled cooling system, and if you need more cooling than that, you have to build a good custom water cooling loop with high grade components. But I can assure you that you can safely run a well installed Noctua NH-D14 in a high airflow case with an FX8350 @ 4.6 GHz in 40°C ambient temperature and it will not make a lot of noise. A Noctua NH-C14 or Scythe Grand Kama Cross Rev.B will run about 4-5 °C hotter than a Noctua NH-C14 but will also cool the VRMs and RAM, and a top-blowing fan is a really good idea if you don't have a top case fan over the CPU and RAM. A Noctua NH-D14 in between a front intake case fan and rear exhaust case fan ("wind tunnel") will outperform anything except high grade custom cooling solutions, and will still be very quiet, even at maximum performance.

A good high airflow case never gets hot, there is not a single part that even feels hot to the touch, the exhaust air is lukewarm at most, because there are no "hotspots" anywhere. Your components will also suffer much less and have a much longer life expectancy, PCB's will not twist or deform, maximum performance will stay intact over time. The case is a much underestimated asset in a gaming rig, especially a gaming rig used in a warm climate or a hot room.

8

seriously stay with the 660ti from msi in most games its equivalent to the 7950 but in other games it smokes the 7950. I have 2 friends with exactly the same pc only 1 guy has the 7950 the other has the 660ti. And after 2 months my friend with the 7950 is regretting his purchase. in my country the 840pro is like 5 euro more than the 840 non pro if this is the case in your country than spend the 5 euro's more ans get the 840 pro.

9

7950 (updated versio with boost) is fast as 670 gtx or even faster http://goo.gl/CQUzA , if you OC 7950 to 1200Mhz you get a faster card than max oc-ed 680gtx,  http://goo.gl/VMcGl

As for PhysX, I played Borderlands 2 with 660gtx with physX and i can tell you that i its a load of crap.

Those PhysX particles arwe just distracting you from the gameplay and do not make the game prettier.

I played it with physx on low, and none of my friends with gtx cards plays Borderlands with Physx. Not to mention that Physx cripples the fps

On the other hand with Amd you get TressX technology which makes the human hair more realistic, it also cripples the performance butits actually worth while....

10

i always like to suggest cheaper parts that perform the same as higher end parts.

my opinion: great mobo, great cpu, AMAZING choice on the card (660ti), nice case and very nice PSU aswell.

benifits of MSI 660ti - Runs VERY COOL, i had an EVGA 660ti and a PNY 660ti, both ran @ 80*~C at full load.

when i switched to my MSI 660ti, runs at 60-65*C full load, and OC's to the moon, running almost as good as my friends GTX 670. great bang for the buck :)

my suggestion: buy cheaper ram, maybe kingston hyperx - cheap, runs just as good as the Corsair stuff, and you can also OC the shit out of it.

get a cheap cooler if you can (like a CM hyper 212), as with any 8350, i asume you will be overclocking it once you get comfortable :)

edit: just saw the price of the case, and id get another, seems like so little for that price.