what do you guys think

[jjb75]

So I will be building a new pc soon on a budget but here is my first draft tell me what you think.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3xcr7

[igyman]

I would recommend the following alterations:

- Get an Intel CPU, instead of an AMD - Intel CPUs tend to heat up a lot less. Also, you might want to think about a quad core (second gen. Intel i5, like i5-2400 will do the trick)

- If you're not going to use the cooler that comes with the CPU, you should aim to get something with a bit more kick - your current choice seems a bit too close to what you'll get with your CPU anyway. Otherwise, you shouldn't waste your money.

- Get an Asus Motherboard, if you can afford it. Asus does quality work when it comes to motherboards. I've been using them for years and I've only had a problem once (which was quickly resolved)

- Don't waste your money on a sound card - motherboards nowadays have integrated sound chips that work just as well as any sound card (I use my MBoard's sound chip and I have a 5.1 setup, never had any sound issues)

- If you can afford it, get a Chieftec power supply

- If you can afford it get Kingston, or Transcend RAM modules.

[jjb75]

Thanks for the reply I will consider what you have said. And your right about the intel CPU I don't know what I was thinking

[igyman]

No problem, hope it helps you get the best configuration for your money.

[chipublib]

Get an AMD chip, because it doesn't heat up at all. I've had one for 8 years and I haven't had problems. AMD has the same performance as Intel but at a lower price.

[stingerhs]

Get an AMD chip, because it doesn't heat up at all. I've had one for 8 years and I haven't had problems. AMD has the same performance as Intel but at a lower price.

i don't know where you get your info, but there's no way i'd make a blanket statement like that. and, no, AMD chips put out just as much, if not more, heat than Intel chips. i use a closed loop water block on my Phenom 2 X4 because the boxed cooler was getting too hot and noisy (temp drop of >10C with new cooler at load).

 

@jjb75 - i noticed that you tried to keep a budget around $450. is that your limit, or do you have room to spare?? computers are similar to cars, afterall. speed costs money. how fast do you want to go??

[jjb75]

i don't know where you get your info, but there's no way i'd make a blanket statement like that. and, no, AMD chips put out just as much, if not more, heat than Intel chips. i use a closed loop water block on my Phenom 2 X4 because the boxed cooler was getting too hot and noisy (temp drop of >10C with new cooler at load).

 

@jjb75 - i noticed that you tried to keep a budget around $450. is that your limit, or do you have room to spare?? computers are similar to cars, afterall. speed costs money. how fast do you want to go??

 

Really my budget is around 500 - 600 $ this is just the first draft. I posted this here to hear your guy's imput.

 

And for the pc I want to be able to play games like skyrim with decent fps on med to high settings.

[stingerhs]

based on current pricing conditions, an AMD processor actually might be the way to go. i just wouldn't go with the ultra-low end option you went with. i would go with the AMD FX-6300 chip. it has 6 cores, and it will hold its own against most Intel chips. the best part is the price: $119 @ Newegg. its tough to beat that kind of performance at that price. it will raise the price of the build, but the performance boost will be worth it.

 

the other thing to point out is graphics. this is where you want to spend most of your money since it has the biggest effect on game performance. if you're looking for more of a bargain, try the AMD R7 260X. the closest card from Nvidia in that price range is the GeForce GTX 750 Ti, which costs an extra $40 ($110 vs $150 on Newegg).

 

if you want to consider spending more than that, the Nvidia GTX 760 would give you a lot of bang for your money. the pricetag is a bit heavier at $250, though.

[Isaac Clarke]

You can actually get a much better build with an AMD 8-core as well as an HD 7950 all for just over $600. The AMD processor is fine for gaming (even giving benefits over Intel in games like BF4) and the 7950 will only struggle with Crysis at 1080p. This setup will absolutely obliterate any of the next-gen consoles.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Aydk

[stingerhs]

well, thats the beauty and the curse of the PC hardware market. there's lots of options, and an extra $100 can make a big difference in performance. that said, the fact that you can build a pretty serious gaming rig for $450-600 is just awesome.

 

just don't forget about things like the operating system, optical drives, and matching up USB 3.0 motherboards with a compatible case.

[Darth Avlectus]

One thing I learned is to have your end purpose as clear as possible.

 

If you go with AMD, that is the cheaper alternative and frankly it isn't too bad. you get more value for your $$$. For most gaming it'll do just fine. AMD tends to have a high operating voltage by default which produces waste heat. Do think about adjusting this.

 

 

Also what you may consider about PSUs is:

While it's rather tempting to go with a cheap power supply (there are some pretty good deals to be had), prices of electricity usage are going up. Also efficiency is a bit of an issue.

 

A platinum rated power supply is good for the long run if your needs are 600-700 Watts maximum (beyond which the platinum benefits are only marginal). I know it's more expensive up front but platinum is also more power efficient than their cheaper counterparts. Their *idle* power consumption is as low as 5%, kicking up only when usage demands it. Think about the numbers. You're using, say 550W max. At 10% this is only 55W. Your idle usage could be as low as 5% which is 27.5W.

 

1) You will save $$$ on power bills over the long run (assuming of course you're sticking with the setup for longer than 1-3 years). It may not seem like a big difference at first but you'll be glad you did in the long run as you scrape together for your next custom PC. You'll make up for the greater price PSU with power savings. Sooner than you would with a lower rated PSU.

 

2) Having an efficiency rate of over 90% also means a whole lot less waste heat to remove, being less heat wear because the PSU is curbing their consumption to only high usage points. Long and short of it, this means longevity of your parts.

 

 

What you do is your choice. This is the 'why' for getting a more sophisticated PSU.

 

If you're going with 1300-1600W on the other hand...I dunno what to tell ya.