PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[ringthree]

Wrong thread.

[Tokitoki]

I'm looking for some advice regarding the new AMD A10 chipsets. My current build is 4 years old and I'm looking to upgrade it, but I'm not sure if I want to spend the money on the 4th gen i7 series. This is the Newegg A10 Bundle I've looked at. Doing a bit of searching around the net, the newegg deal seems to be a good deal. As a whole package with the same items minus the power supply from Microcenter I'd already be paying $422 with tax (at least I'm lucky one is nearby).

My current build from memory is (at work currently):
Phenom II X3 2.8GHz
ASUS HD4870 Dark Knight 1GB
OCZ 6GB (2x3GB) RAM
ASUS M4A78 Mobo
Rosewill 600W Power Supply
Thermaltake Case - Large fan on top, two smaller fans on back

My questions would be
1. Would gaming performance be bottlenecked by my GPU? It was a good buy when I got it, and still has decent memory compared to some newer models. Not sure if I'll upgrade right now if it will be a huge loss.
2. I would assume I would need the larger power supply, but want confirmation as my current one has zero issues and is a whisper.
3. I had not planned on overclocking anything, but would a separate CPU heatsink/fan be recommended? I have never used one before because I do not overclock and figured it was just more noise.
4. Is it worth spending some money on the 3rd gen Intels and trying to overclock? Would that be recommended for someone who has not done so before?
4. Is there a different or better recommendation from the people who know more than myself about this stuff?

Thank you in advance.

My questions got lost in some banter. Would anyone be able to give their opinions? The deal on Newegg isn't going on anymore, but I'm still curious. Gaming wise, I'd really only be playing lolXI and ARR. My current build runs ARR fine, and of course no trouble with XI, but it's four years old and about time to upgrade.

Looking at pcpartpciker.com, the power supply I own would be able to power all of these components with some left over. I am assuming this site is accurate as I see people on here using it...?

[Tsakiki]

I'm planning to build a new PC before FFXIV ARR launches at the end of August, and have put together this set of stuff at pcpartpicker: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/tsakiki/saved/1RBw

I'd appreciate pointers on things that look odd and/or missing. I am not planning to over-clock at all, and want to keep it in the $1200 Canadian range.

[Adajer]

Looks good for the most part.

If you are gaming at 1080p, you won't need a 4GB Graphics card.
Do you NEED a bluray player and a wi-fi adapter? Please note that most bluray players require additional (paid) software to actually play blurays.
See how much the i5-4670 costs. Runs much cooler and is a tiny bit faster than the 3570. You would have to get a different motherboard chipset. Z87 I think. I know they are 1150 socket.
Also, you would be doing yourself a favor by getting a Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler for $20-$30. The stock intel cooler is terrible.

[Tsakiki]

Thanks for the tips. Probably don't actually need a bluray player, but I do need wifi since it's in an awkward spot for cables. Wasn't sure about a CPU cooler without overclocking, so I'll add that in and check for the i5-4670 changes.

[Tsakiki]

I made some modifications, and I think this will be a nice set-up for me. I added in a new monitor and shifted around some of the parts.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.98 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($157.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($80.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($112.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($269.99 @ NCIX)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($28.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($123.78 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B3ST/BLK/G/AS DVD/CD Writer ($23.00 @ Vuugo)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($277.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1566.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-01 10:20 EDT-0400)

[TSFFXI]

Is there any reason you need a Z87 board? That's the overclocking chipset. Here's the wiki page for the motherboard chipsets that haswell processors use: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1150. You can probably save some money by picking a different one.

[Tsakiki]

Is there any reason you need a Z87 board? That's the overclocking chipset. Here's the wiki page for the motherboard chipsets that haswell processors use: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1150. You can probably save some money by picking a different one.

Thanks, I picked that one because it's the one Newegg "suggested" when I picked the processor. I should have known better. Looks like that will shave $40 from the total.

[Aylee]

I have had a million builds before but the expected cash never came through. Finally have the money in hand and ready to build a PC but I really suck at picking stuff. So far I have this but no idea how to pick mother boards. Mainly wanting to run ffxiv on max settings as well as srarcraft2 on max while streaming in 1080p any suggestions? Would like to spend as little as possible but budget is around 1100 don't need os/keyboards/mice/ext. I don't really plan to overclock as I have no experience in it and I don't see that the rewards is worth the risk. Any suggestions on where I can save some money or where I should spend a little more for a decent performance upgrade?

CPU:Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor($219.29)

MotherBored: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard($99.99)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory($71.37)

Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk($104.29)

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive($84.99)

Case NZXT Apollo Black NP ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.89)

PSU:Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer($15.98)

Total:$853.60 Need GPU

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1fZvQ

[Arkanna]

Thanks, I picked that one because it's the one Newegg "suggested" when I picked the processor. I should have known better. Looks like that will shave $40 from the total.

I know it's probably too late now, but, if you don't intend to overclock at all, you wouldn't need to invest in any kind of aftermarket heatsink/fan combo (the CPU comes with a stock Intel cooler that will be all you need for a non-overclocked CPU). I know it's not much money, but you could always reinvest that savings into a different PSU. The one you chose should be fine but it is Newegg's house brand and other makers are more reputable.

[Arkanna]

So ive had a million builds before but the expected cash never came through. Finally have the money in hand and ready to build a pc but I really suck at picking stuff. So far I have this but no idea how to pick mother boards. Mainly wanting to run ffxiv on max settings as well as srarcraft2 on max while streaming in 1080p any suggestions? Would like to spend as little as possible but budget is around 1100 dont need os/keyboards but do need a good monitor would like 2 but I understand that's probably not in the budget

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1fX5m

The CPU you picked is a last-gen Ivy Bridge CPU. I'd replace that with a Haswell CPU, and match it with an LGA1150 motherboard.

K-series CPU's are meant for overclockers. If you don't intend to overclock, you can save a little cash by going with a non-K variant and a non-Z chipset motherboard. For instance, Haswell has H87-based motherboards that are usually a bit cheaper than their Z87 brothers.

[Aylee]

The CPU you picked is a last-gen Ivy Bridge CPU. I'd replace that with a Haswell CPU, and match it with an LGA1150 motherboard.

K-series CPU's are meant for overclockers. If you don't intend to overclock, you can save a little cash by going with a non-K variant and a non-Z chipset motherboard. For instance, Haswell has H87-based motherboards that are usually a bit cheaper than their Z87 brothers.

Never knew that about the K and Z, thanks that is nice to know. I actually edited it a little and dropped it down to a i5 to save ~100 bucks. but the one I picked is a K also so i'll pick the non K version. What would be a good motherboard for the i5 1155? Any other suggestions? and thanks a ton for your input

[Arkanna]

Never knew that about the K and Z, thanks that is nice to know. I actually edited it a little and dropped it down to a i5 to save ~100 bucks. but the one I picked is a K also so i'll pick the non K version. What would be a good motherboard for the i5 1155? Any other suggestions? and thanks a ton for your input

If you're set on sticking to the older, LGA1155 Ivy Bridge, then I'd stick with a H77 to go with your non-K series CPU. The case you picked will take a full-size ATX board, so go with that unless you want to save a little money on a Micro ATX board. As long as you pick a good manufacturer, the motherboard will be fine regardless of what you pick.

If you do end up picking Haswell instead (and you should, clock-for-clock it's a tiny bit faster than Ivy Bridge, but they've made huge strides on the power-saving capabilities of the chip), make sure you match it with an LGA1150 board. The socket changed between Ivy Bridge (LGA1155) and Haswell (LGA1150).

[Aylee]

If you're set on sticking to the older, LGA1155 Ivy Bridge, then I'd stick with a H77 to go with your non-K series CPU. The case you picked will take a full-size ATX board, so go with that unless you want to save a little money on a Micro ATX board. As long as you pick a good manufacturer, the motherboard will be fine regardless of what you pick.

If you do end up picking Haswell instead (and you should, clock-for-clock it's a tiny bit faster than Ivy Bridge, but they've made huge strides on the power-saving capabilities of the chip), make sure you match it with an LGA1150 board. The socket changed between Ivy Bridge (LGA1155) and Haswell (LGA1150).

I honestly dont know how to tell the difference between the old and new ivy bridges. Can you edit my build with the cpu and motherboard you recommend me by chance? I'm not stuck on anything i'll change anything on that build for a more powerfull system/Cheaper with same power as long as it will run ff14 on max and allow me to stream and play sc2. Also how do I tell the diffrence? Do I just look for socket type and LGA 1155 = old LGA 1150 = new? Also kind of doing this as a learning experience so all the info about why each thing is better than something else is nice. Thanks!

[Arkanna]

I honestly dont know how to tell the difference between the old and new ivy bridges. Can you edit my build with the cpu and motherboard you recommend me by chance? I'm not stuck on anything i'll change anything on that build for a more powerfull system/Cheaper with same power as long as it will run ff14 on max and allow me to stream and play sc2. Also how do I tell the diffrence? Do I just look for socket type and LGA 1155 = old LGA 1150 = new? Also kind of doing this as a learning experience so all the info about why each thing is better than something else is nice. Thanks!

The bolded about covers it, at least for this product cycle. I'm gonna be out this evening so I won't be able to edit your build until later, assuming you still need help.

[Aylee]

The bolded about covers it, at least for this product cycle. I'm gonna be out this evening so I won't be able to edit your build until later, assuming you still need help.

Awesome I appreciate it Im about to edit the build with one of the gpu's i think you are suggesting but i'd appreciate any edits you make later. I dont plan on ordering the parts until probably sunday night since they usually wont ship over weekends anyway. Adding current edits here so dont have to keep scrolling up.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor($219.29)

MotherBored: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard($99.99)

Video Card: Need help picking

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory($71.37)

Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk($104.29)

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive($59.99)

Case: NZXT Apollo Black NP ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.89)

PSU: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer($15.98)

Total: $725.79 Still need a gpu

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1g5D8

[izembo]

isnt that psu a little overkill?

[Aylee]

isnt that psu a little overkill?

I don't have a clue to be honest which would you suggest

Made some adjustments any suggestions?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1gcVx

[Rellikard]

The TX650 PSU should be fine for any single GPU you throw in there.

[Mojo]

If you can get a higher rated PSU for the same price (or similar), then go for it. The farther a PSU is from it's rated power, the more efficiently it runs. Power savings. Etc.