Building a PC (opinions and suggestions needed)

Started by {PLA} Van STING, April 03, 2015, 11:07:14 AM

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I'm not sure if this is the right spot to post, I guess an admin can move it if it's the incorrect area.

It's time I get a good computer. My budget is around $1000 for the parts. I want to use this computer for playing Bioshock Infinite on high settings, Skyrim with the high res texture update, and for Photoshop, ZBrush, and 3ds max. How well could I do that stuff with this build?

Here are the parts:

Case: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055Q7BR4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=TOCJEEJ8F08&coliid=I2XZMVQJT8WX83

GPU: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NJ9BJ8G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=TOCJEEJ8F08&coliid=I2ULDEXRJ1LTQE

CPU: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009O7YUF6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=TOCJEEJ8F08&coliid=I1GAAIBV9MTPDM

Storage: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EIQTKAS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=TOCJEEJ8F08&coliid=I2FM4014LWRFON&psc=1

Motherboard: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YDJHWM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=TOCJEEJ8F08&coliid=I2ZYIPNFPOQULJ

RAM: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J8E90I2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=TOCJEEJ8F08&coliid=I3HOL5EDPHF2EQ&psc=1

PSU: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EB7UIO6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=TOCJEEJ8F08&coliid=I2701SXXONBWBT&psc=1

Any bottlenecks I'm not seeing? Should I get the 650 wat PSU since its a couple dollars more? Is a aftermarket CPU cooler necessary if I'm not going to overclock (I may overclock)?





Well first off you're missing a OS. Whether or not you want Windows 7 or 8.1 us up to you. I would tell you to flip a coin but it'll come out heads. If you plan on over clocking, depending on the level of overclocking you could probably get a cheap liquid cooler and be fine. While the Hybrid Drive is good, you should get a solid state as your primary and get the 1tb hybrid as a secondary (The solid state will boot up faster and is better for gaming, a 128gb or 250gb should be fine.) and if the 650 Watt is only a few bucks more then get it. I hope this doesn't blow your budget.
"I would explain it to you but your head might explode."


April 03, 2015, 12:30:49 PM #2 Last Edit: April 03, 2015, 12:55:59 PM by {PLA}gdh92
You've got some good parts there. I would add a solid state drive, I have a 1tb and that makes a huge difference but they are very expensive so you could just get a small one and put windows and your games on it.
Other thoughts... Always get the best psu you can, 8gb of ram is good but alot of pc's are going to 16 now and extra cooling shouldn't be needed unless you overclock.

Edit: looking at the price you might as well go for the 750w power supply, newer graphics cards use a lot less power but for $7 it's nice to have it.
I play less now but I'll always be around, lets keep this site and battlefront going. :)

Well Van I feel like this is a familiar subject here.  :P

I have an earlier rendition of that same RAM set in my rig, runs like a dream. Really good parts list there, I mean I know compatibility is way better than it used to be for parts back in the day. Looks like you matched up the right socket types with that board, so I think it all looks good from this end.

If possible (just for longevity and extra cooling) I always go with a really good CPU cooling option. This machine has a liquid cooling unit so unless I'm doing something seriously wrong, it'll never overheat. Great thing is if you get something that fits that case and board correctly, you can always just add that in later after the initial build if money is an issue. Big thing is if you get a cooler, don't try and pinch too many pennies on that option. I've heard of people losing their CPU (or mobo at worst) with cheap cooling units going bad.

I'm really not one to talk being that mine is a custom pre-built (too nervous at the time to build my own) but I love to tinker with the machines.
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Thanks guys!

How about one of these for the CPU cooler: http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1428116553&sr=1-1&keywords=cpu+cooler

and I'll probably get a 120 gb ssd, and I'll probably upgrade to 16 gb ram later this year.

April 04, 2015, 07:05:55 PM #5 Last Edit: April 04, 2015, 07:15:49 PM by {Alpha}Pvt.Drunken_Master
The case is decent.  I watch tigerdirect / newegg for cases on sale with rebate.  Got some awesome cases for very little, between $20 and $50.  They seem similar to that one, but don't know that one personally.  I would wait for a sale on a cool case.

I think your PSU is a little light yet expensive.  I just got an Ultra X4 850W on tigerdirect with rebate for around $70.  I watch for the deals and get them to keep them in the garage until the next builds.  My home machine is and X4 1050W that I paid just over $110 for.    No probs so far.

I like that CPU.  I have the 6350 and it is awesome.  Handles everything easily. That one is even better.  I'm getting the 9'series soon, I hope.

Don't know that video card but it looks better than mine and mine handles everything I throw at it  (GEFORCE 650TI boost overclocked)

decent price on memory and you can get more later.  good!

I have the same motherboard and I LOVE IT!     I paid slightly more than that a year ago.  I can't recommend it more!

as far as the SSD's go, I have one but I don't use it.  My WD Blue drive does fine. What keeps me from delaying is that you need to reconfigure windows to use  the magnetic drive for all the frequent changes and only read from the SSD  or the SSD will die prematurely with too many writes.   That takes time.    I dont disagree with the SSD, just don't think it is necessary to get what you are looking for but if you have the time to set it up correctly, go for it!

check the room on that cooler, it is good but it is big and doesn't fit all cases.  I use a stock cooler but I have to keep it clean.  im getting the same one for my next build

Quote from: {PLA} Van STING on April 03, 2015, 08:18:01 PM
Thanks guys!

How about one of these for the CPU cooler: http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1428116553&sr=1-1&keywords=cpu+cooler

and I'll probably get a 120 gb ssd, and I'll probably upgrade to 16 gb ram later this year.

For the SSD I'd try and shoot for something at least over 200gb. Trust me on this one I made the mistake of getting a smaller one when I first had this machine commissioned and it botched my first install of Windows 7 after it got too full. Right now I run a 240gb which is about half full now. What you'll find yourself running into is the problem with any smaller OS drive (which is what I assume you'd have on the SSD) is that there are random save/access directories that constantly get added as you install more to the system.

For instance you may install a copy of 3DS Max on your larger drive but with most modern applications there is usually a special additional directory often held under the user files that stores additional data. I'm usually pretty good about installing any additional software onto my other 1tb drive, but I still find my SSD filling up incrementally as I load more onto this machine.

As for the RAM honestly I don't think you'll need anything above 8-10gb unless you plan on doing a ton of video work and live streaming. Most the time Windows and other software aren't even able to use more than that (not at this point anyway). So my advice would be to just get the bigger main drive and stick to the 8gb RAM.
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Thanks again guys! I'm gonna have to wait to get the ssd, I recalculated the total price of everything minus the ssd, including stuff besides the computer components, and its around $1450 which is getting a little too pricey.

The motherboard supports 4 fans and a cpu cooler fan. With 4 fans on the case and the 2 on the gpu, 1 on the cpu cooler and 1 on the psu, would that be enough fans to keep it cool?

My new pc's got 2 fans and I only use one,  it occasionally gets hot but even after a few hours it's still fine. That's with a 980 graphics card, 850w psu and i7 cpu all with their own fans.
Most cases have more than you need so you can use  the ones to get best airflow. Overclocking is a different story though   :)
I play less now but I'll always be around, lets keep this site and battlefront going. :)

May 02, 2015, 10:43:58 PM #9 Last Edit: May 02, 2015, 11:05:20 PM by {PLA} Van STING
Thanks again guys!

I got my computer up and running; on my first try I got it to work! The hardest part was definitely installing the motherboard. I'm now learning how to manage the temperatures and I'm also in the process of overclocking.

Overclocked to 4.3 ghz (and it's at stock voltage) and I'm using this http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NH-U12-Sockets-Heatpipe-Cooling/dp/B00C9EYVGY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430632713&sr=8-1&keywords=noctua+nh+u12 :
Is 30C (CPU) good when idle? Is 59C (CPU) and 48C (core) ok at 100% load with prime95?



It's incredibly amazing so far. 3ds max takes around 20 seconds to open instead of around 6 minutes! And it's not slow with a million polygons onscreen in 3ds max.

And with my new monitor (my dad probably wouldn't like me taking his) games look soooooo sharp at 1920 x 1200 vs like 720p!