first build help

This is my first time building a computer and I was hoping I'd get some feed back on my parts choices.
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core
CPU cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing
Mobo: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+
RAM: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133
Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video card: MSI Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card
Power supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V
Below is more info on what I want from the computer and more info about the project
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly gaming, I don't want a super high quality system, just enough to run games at mid easily
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$600 with tax and shipping
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

US, Florida, Port Saint Lucie
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, RAM, Mobo, hard drive, video card, power supply, and preferably a cpu cooler
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
An old monitor until I save enough to upgrade, I'm getting a tower from a friend and I don't know the make or model
6) Will you be overclocking?
If possible yes, if not then i won't sweat it right now
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I have no clue, I may just use a hdmi to make my tv the monitor.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
as soon as I get the money, eta 3-4 weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Preferably crossfire support and SATA 6Gb/s
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, i have 64 bit windows 7 home.

There are several poor choices and/or poor combinations of components on that list:

1) Since your planned CPU does not have an integrated GPU, DDR3-2133 RAM is a waste of money, especially if you are going to pay $100 or more for just 8GB of RAM. In addition, DDR3-2133 RAM delivers practically zero real-world performance benefit over DDR3-1600 RAM.

2) Which Corsair 750W PSU are you planning to buy? You see, Corsair these days offers both good and crappy PSU models in this wattage range. The RM and CS-M series PSUs are crappy by our standards of a "good" PSU - and the CX-M and TX-M series are average to mediocre in quality.

3) Speaking of power, AMD CPUs generally consume more wattage from the PSU than Intel CPUs of comparable real-world performance, which makes the drawbacks of a crappy or even s#!tty PSU even more noticeable.

EDIT: My original paragraph 1 gave incorrect information. I corrected it.

Thanks for replying, and to answer or respond to each point:

1) The ddr3-2133 RAM chip I have picked out I've found for $73, I wouldn't spend $100 for RAM since I'm on a budget of 600

2) The one I have planned is the Corsair CX750M though at this point i have $50 wiggle room with the budget and I would gladly take into consideration any suggested PSU options.

3) I don't really have much to say on the AMD CPU choice besides AMD's are cheaper than Intel and I had read that Intel was for more high-end builds. If there's a suitable alternative for price ($120) and performance by Intel I'll definitely take it into consideration.

Not sure where you are buying your HDD from so I am not sure of the exact price. but IF this is cheaper it may be a better choice. I used this exact model and found it very nice and fast. If it is the same price just go with whatever brand you like more.

Seagate baraccuda 1tb 7200rpm 6gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=seagate_baracuda-_-22-148-840-_-Product (seagate HDD)

Also If you are going for a cpu cooler the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is your best bet The Evo and Plus models are the same thing except one has slightly better contact with the cpu with flattened heat pipe spreaders (evo) Benchmarks show about a 2-5 degree difference. If any which if you apply the TIM correctly then it is really not worth the money, again if your budget is tight.

I have one right now (212 Plus) on an overclocked intel chip and it is great. MANY others use this cooler. To be honest If i were you and not planning on overclocking right away i would hold off if your budget is tight.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3065&cm_re=hyper_212_+-_-35-103-065-_-Product (Coolermaster CPU cooler)

Go the HDMI route if your monitor is shit. I use my 1080p Television with an hdmi connection and I love it. To be honest i dont think i would ever want to change. (I say this because I have never gamed on a high resolution monitor before so I dont really know what I am missiong )

I had some gskill sniper series 1866 ram and loved it. One thing to think about, and not sure if this is for both intel and amd chips but the timings on the ram are mroe important than the speeds. At least for intel. Now that i think about it it may be opposite for amd but it is worth looking into. If you dont know what i am taling about it is the 9-9-9-10-1t numbers you see with ram.

Plus if you are overclocking it you may not even be able to run the ram at the speeds it says. I know on the 2 2500k chips i got better overclock performance with the ram set to 1066. or what ever the intel default is. even though the sniper was rated at 1866

One last thing Can you post links to the exact items you are looking at. It is difficult to compare or find different options for you when we dont know exactly what you are paying/ features. Thanks

dusksloth said:

3) I don't really have much to say on the AMD CPU choice besides AMD's are cheaper than Intel and I had read that Intel was for more high-end builds. If there's a suitable alternative for price ($120) and performance by Intel I'll definitely take it into consideration.

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If you're not averse to buying a used cpu, I would highly recommend a used intel i5-2500k. I just bought one 2 weeks ago on ebay for $135. You said youself you have $50 of wiggle room. It will easily overclock to 4.4-4.6Ghz and is hands down a huge improvement over the FX-6300

J Macker said:

If you're not averse to buying a used cpu, I would highly recommend a used intel i5-2500k. I just bought one 2 weeks ago on ebay for $135. You said youself you have $50 of wiggle room. It will easily overclock to 4.4-4.6Ghz and is hands down a huge improvement over the FX-6300

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I didnt even think about this.You should HIGHLY consider this route. You can find a cheap new board for this chip z68, z77 (socket 1155). If you go this route add the 212 in your budget because you will want to overclock imediatley. No sense in wasting all that overhead.

Stanfiem said:

Not sure where you are buying your HDD from so I am not sure of the exact price. but IF this is cheaper it may be a better choice. I used this exact model and found it very nice and fast. If it is the same price just go with whatever brand you like more.

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I have my default (subject to change) list here: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/dusk_sloth/saved/yjVD4D and each part isn't final yet because the prices are updated often.

J Macker said:

If you're not averse to buying a used cpu, I would highly recommend a used intel i5-2500k. I just bought one 2 weeks ago on ebay for $135. You said youself you have $50 of wiggle room. It will easily overclock to 4.4-4.6Ghz and is hands down a huge improvement over the FX-6300

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I'm not adverse to buying a used cpu so long as I feel the buyer is trust-worthy, I'll look into that later today when i get home from work.

The only downside to buying a used 2500k is that you will need a Z77 based motherboard, and those are getting scarce at retail for decent overclocking models.

I'd suggest MSI & Gigabyte, though gigabyte's UEFI interface was a little lacking in those models, if I recall correctly. I would try to find a decent model for around $100. I used a Biostar Z77A board in a relative's build 4 years ago and it did fine with a decent OC as well. I've also used a few Asrock motherboards and they've been fine as well. Just don't buy a refurbished motherboard from newegg.

As for ebay & the 2500k, check the "sold listings" for auction style. They usually close <$140 with free shipping. So just put in a max bid of $140 on one of them and you'll likely win the auction. The 3570k cpus (ivy-bridge) sell for around $160-180, which is not worth the extra $20-30, imo.

why would I need a z77, wouldnt any chipset work as long as the socket types match?

EDIT: I've made a modified build with most of your suggestions here: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/dusk_sloth/saved/Vx3H99. the only thing i havent addressed is if the corsair CX750M PSU is good enough, and if its not i have about 25$ wiggle room.

dusksloth said:

why would I need a z77, wouldnt any chipset work as long as the socket types match?

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Yes any 1155 mobo will work. He may be referring to the increased bandwidth you get with pcie 3.0 but even there your tv will not come close to pushing that bandwidth.

How much time would it take for you to save the extra cash for this build? http://pcpartpicker.com/user/dusk_sloth/saved/Vx3H99 (your build 2)

In my opinion it is worth the extra 80 or so dollars. Plus if you can snag a used 2500k it will be worth it.

Roughly 3-4 weeks, im not exactly sure, my work schedule is subject to change, but i can usually make $200 a week.

EDIT: I've heard some bad and good things about newegg and was wondering if I should get warranties on the items I decide to get from them.

Z77 allows overclocking. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to OC on a h77, z75 or b75 chipset. Also p67 p68 series didn't have usb3. The msi GD45 is good for a basic oc but not an extreme OC.

Also you can sometimes get 8gb used ddr3 around $45 in the FS section, but as a newbie, sellers might hesitate. So aside from no Ssd, I think that's as good as you'll get right now

Awesome, I have one last question, E4g1e mentioned that the Corsair CX750M might not be a good enough PSU, is it good enough?

dusksloth said:

Roughly 3-4 weeks, im not exactly sure, my work schedule is subject to change, but i can usually make $200 a week.

EDIT: I've heard some bad and good things about newegg and was wondering if I should get warranties on the items I decide to get from them.

Click to expand...

I would say dont get a warranty. I had a videocard die within a month that had a mixup in the factory the serial number on the card was one number away from the serial number on the box and they accpeted it and gave me a new one. Also When I first started stress testing the machine i built i had some stability issues on stock clocks so to eliminate the hassle of just returning the chip and finding out i had problems with the motherboard i opted to just send the ram mobo and cpu back and get new parts and they took them back and i think even paid for shipping. SO long story longer i like newegg.

J Macker said:

Z77 allows overclocking. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to OC on a h77, z75 or b75 chipset. Also p67 p68 series didn't have usb3. The msi GD45 is good for a basic oc but not an extreme OC.

Also you can sometimes get 8gb used ddr3 around $45 in the FS section, but as a newbie, sellers might hesitate. So aside from no Ssd, I think that's as good as you'll get right now

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I am not familiar with all of those boards you mentioned You may be right about the h77 z75 and b75 (it is worth looking into before you buy) . Some p67's overclock and z68's do as well.

I have a gigabyte z68xp-ud4 board with a 2500k oc to 4.3 i am using.

OP Research the board first. Some may have limited features or less levels of load line calibration but most mid range boards will overclock fair enough (assuming OC is enabled) just read reviews.

One question about the psu why are you getting the 750w? Unless you are certain you are going to crossfire you may be able to get a lower wattage psu. I'm not seeing any reviews for the cxm series power supplies so It is hard to tell. It is a toss up really and if you are one that values peace of mind it is something to consider.

The main reason I want a 750 is I want the room to crossfire later on without having to get another PSU; but I could always buy a weaker PSU and sell it later if I need to upgrade, but that seems like more work.

dusksloth said:

The main reason I want a 750 is I want the room to crossfire later on without having to get another PSU; but I could always buy a weaker PSU and sell it later if I need to upgrade, but that seems like more work.

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I'm 100% sure that you're not going to Crossfire. This what I've noticed in my 9+ years being involved with computer hardware: Generally, unless that person goes Crossfire/SLI within 6 months, the chances of running a CFX/SLI setup decreases dramatically as time goes on. I've seen it countless times: People pay extra for the motherboard and case that would allow them to CFX/SLI only for them to never to do so since A) it's harder to get a compatible card for a decent price with any sort of warranty and/or B) there's a faster card that would perform close to the same as that planned CFX/SLI while using less power and less headaches associated with multi-GPU issues (heat, power, drivers, etc)

In this case, no one is seriously going to recommend R7 260X Crossfire unless you got that second card for like $20.

In addition, if you happen to have a system where you actually do need 750W of power, then it's more than likely a costly system. I've never seen a system that required 750W of power that was actually "Cheap". Thus, why would you trust your costly system to a "meh" quality PSU? Would you not want to ensure that your costly system is safe with a higher-quality PSU?

So for PSUs, I recommend these two options:
$61 - XFX TS Series XFX TS 550W PSU
$90 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU

Either PSU will be a step-up over that Corsair CX750. Yes, that Seasonic is high enough quality to justify an extra $30.

Also, find out what case/PSU your friend is giving you. No point in getting a new system if you're just going to put it inside a case circa 2006 and earlier (a lot of cases around that time aren't that good by today's standards) or a crappy case in general.

Ditch that thermal paste for both lists. The stock thermal paste that comes with the 212 Evo is pretty good as is. But you may not even need that Evo in the first place. I'll get to that in a sec.

If you do go the used route, try to stick with a Z77 (if you want to overclock) or H77 (if you don't want to overclock) motherboard as those should still have a year or so left on the warranty if those mobos have three year warranties. The Z77/H77 chipset was released in February of 2012. The P67 and Z68 were released long before that and more than likely have no warranties left (unless they're the super-high-end models with the five year warranties) Also check to see if the seller will provide you with all of the necessary documents/help to actually get warranty service.

If you really do want warranty however, the used route may not be the best route for you. That does not mean you should go the AMD route however. Now I don't factor in MIR until I actually receive them. As such, that AMD build actually has about $22 of wiggle room in it to me. Let's increase that wiggle room: Ditch the HSF, the thermal paste, swap the G.Skill RAM for the Kingston RAM from your Intel build and that will free up an additional $35, $4, and $5 respectively for a total of $66 in wiggle room. Go with a cheaper motherboard and thats enough money for this Intel setup:
$185 - Intel Core i5-4430 CPU
$80 - MSI B85-G41 PC MATE Intel B85 ATX Motherboard
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Total: $265 plus tax and shipping.

That Intel setup still outperforms that AMD setup, has a more up-to-date UEFI, and newer/faster hardware. The increase performance alone means that you can go a longer time before needing an upgrade in the CPU, mobo, and RAM area.

The i5-4430 is locked, so i couldn't OC, at best i could force it to turbo. The i5-2500k can be OC'd to 4.4 ghz and as long as a used one works I see no reason to go for the i5-4430.

I didn't know about the 212 came with thermal paste, so i'll ditch the other one.

While I can't CFX right away, that doesn't mean I won't be able to in the future, I'd rather pay a little more now then decide down the road i want to CFX and have to buy another Mobo and PSU.

And finally I figured out what case it is I'll be getting, either a thermaltake armor VA8000bws (might be va8003) or a cooler master stc-to1 (or something along those lines, I was told but it slipped my mind).

dusksloth said:

The i5-4430 is locked, so i couldn't OC, at best i could force it to turbo. The i5-2500k can be OC'd to 4.4 ghz and as long as a used one works I see no reason to go for the i5-4430.

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Just to be clear: Are you getting the LGA 1155 motherboard brand new or not?

dusksloth said:

While I can't CFX right away, that doesn't mean I won't be able to in the future, I'd rather pay a little more now then decide down the road i want to CFX and have to buy another Mobo and PSU.

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Again, I highly doubt you'll ever do so. Not to mention that your budget does not allow for a solid 750W PSU that would be good enough for a system that actually requires 750W. Again, no point in getting a mediocre 750W PSU for a system that requires 750W of power since a system that requires a 750W PSU means it's going to be a very expensive system overall. I.e above $1200.

You're already going to have to buy a new case in the future considering that either of the two cases you've mentioned are rather poor for a modern CFX/SLI setup. In addition R7 260X Crossfire is both A) total waste of money and B) doesn't even remotely require 750W.

So in other words, if you're actually serious about doing CFX in the future, you're also looking at:
- Newer and better cooling cases with far superior cable management
- A significantly large monitor with a resolution of at least 2560x1440 and higher
- $400 to $500+ in video cards alone

Even after all that and you still want to do CFX/SLI in the future, then at least get a good 750W PSU like this Seasonic:
$140 - Seasonic X750 Gold 750W Modular PSU

Yes, I plan to buy used LGA 1155.

I understand where you're coming from with the PSU, but everything i've read says that corsair isn't mediocre but decent/good for my budget. That being said, I am still thinking it over and probably will be until I actually start buying parts.

This build is to get me into computer building and to replace my deteriorating laptop, and I don't doubt that in the future I will want to upgrade and maybe drop some serious money on it, but right now I want something that can run games at a decent level and has room for improvement down the line.

Why is the R7 260X a waste of money? Are their similarly priced but more powerful video cards without CFX compatibility?

dusksloth said:

Yes, I plan to buy used LGA 1155.

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Well like I said earlier: The main reason to go with the Core i5 4430 is to get a motherboard with a warranty on it. If you don't care about warranty at all and don't mind paying almost full price for a replacement motherboard later on should the mobo die, then go for the used route.

dusksloth said:

I understand where you're coming from with the PSU, but everything i've read says that corsair isn't mediocre but decent/good for my budget. That being said, I am still thinking it over and probably will be until I actually start buying parts.

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Some of Corsair's PSUs are good like the AX and HX series. However, lately a lot of the later Corsair models are just not that good for the money. Corsair's RM series, which are higher-end than the CX series, didn't do quite good in HardOCP's review:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/13/corsair_rm750_750w_power_supply_review/

Then there's the Corsair CS-M series:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/01/15/corsair_cs550m_550w_power_supply_review/
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=366

Note the -M at the end there: That's an identifier/marker for Corsair's lower-end PSUs that have modular cables. Thus, the Corsair CX-M that you chose is the modular version of the CX series. Traditionally, Corsair's -M series of PSUs are lower quality than their non-modular counterparts. Check it: Here are a few reviews of the Corsair TX-M series:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012...ies_modular_power_supply_review/#.U6UdBvldXlk
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=254

Now compare the performance of those TX-M series against the actual TX series:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011...iast_series_tx750_v2_psu_review/#.U6UdMfldXlk
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=230

Read the above reviews and you'll see why I only recommend the AX and HX series from Corsair: The rest of their PSU lineup aren't good for the money.

As a comparison, here are reviews for the two PSUs I posted:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/01/09/seasonic_gseries_g550_power_supply_review/#.U6Ue__ldXlk
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=225

dusksloth said:

Why is the R7 260X a waste of money? Are their similarly priced but more powerful video cards without CFX compatibility?

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I did not say that. I said R7 260X Crossfire is a waste of money. The R7 260X by itself is a very decent bang for the buck video card. However two of those in CFX is a waste of money since the money spent on R7 260X Crossfire could have gone towards a single faster card like the R9 270X or the R9 280 depending on the sales that day. In other words, R7 260X Crossfire isn't cost-effective unless you found that second R7 260X for like $20.

Then again, make absolutely sure you're paying $120 shipped for that R7 260X because right now you can get the faster R7 270 for $40 more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131545

There's a large enough performance increase that justifies that extra $40:
http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1044?vs=1034

Dangman has a point about the psu's. And about you not needing 750watts even with 2x260's and an oc 2500k you wont be using 750 watts you wont even be using 600 watts.

With all that being said I would still go the used 2500k route only because any cpu you get will not be much of an improvement over an oc 2500k for the price you will pay. Especially if you are planning on getting into the hobby and possibly upgrade later down the road.

One thing to think about is if you do plan on going used 1155 don't rule out mid range z68 boards. The z68 board i have has usb 3.0 support so I would assume others do as well.

Stanfiem said:

One thing to think about is if you do plan on going used 1155 don't rule out mid range z68 boards. The z68 board i have has usb 3.0 support so I would assume others do as well.

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Z68 motherboards did have USB 3.0 but it was usually provided by 3rd party controller chips that were sometimes rather slow or unreliable. The Z77 had native USB 3.0 ports so that shot up the performance and reliability a bit. In addition, the Z77 generally had more USB 3.0 ports.

Yes, drop your PSU and use the money saved to upgrade the GPU.

Alright, having looked at those reviews I've decided to take you're advice and not go with the corsair 750w PSU, instead I'll probably go with the XFX 550W you showed me. Also, if I have enough, which I should, I'll get a 270 or if there's a sale or deal a 270X.

dusksloth said:

Alright, having looked at those reviews I've decided to take you're advice and not go with the corsair 750w PSU, instead I'll probably go with the XFX 550W you showed me. Also, if I have enough, which I should, I'll get a 270 or if there's a sale or deal a 270X.

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I had an xfx and loved it. Good decision