Gaming PC First build advice

Eoghan S

Hey guys
So I've decided to build my first gaming PC, and have a list of parts at the ready, shown below, with links!
My budget is around 600eur not including the monitor. Any help you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated, especially with part capability and considering my budget
Thanks in advance!

Parts:
http://www.custompc.ie/amd-fx-4130-black-edition-retail---am3quad-core380ghz8mb125w---fd4130frgubox-132146-p.asp
Chose this CPU, as it was both quad core and had a decent amount of GHz

http://www.custompc.ie/asrock-890fx-deluxe5-socket-am3amd-890fxddr3s-ata-600atx-132879-p.asp
I chose this as it has the same socket as the above CPU, had enough room for extra RAM , and extra graphics cards for potential future upgrades

http://www.custompc.ie/corsair-8gb-4x2gb-quad-channel-vengeance-gold-ddr3-160090135v---cmz8gx3m4x1600c9g-132653-p.asp
Just a possible RAM, not too picky for this

http://www.custompc.ie/seagate-500gb-barracuda-720012-serial-35-hard-drive-st500dm002-s-ata6gbs16mb7200-rpm-132337-p.asp
Wasn't sure what Hard drive was fully compatible, but this seemed to be handy enough, hence why I chose it

http://www.custompc.ie/zalman-cnps10x-performa-heatsink-and-fan-socket-201111551156775fm1am3am3am2am2-132099-p.asp
Again, I chose this to cool the CPU, I am a complete beginner, so don't get annoyed at my ignorance :P

The case I chose is from amazon, with a link to come later on if needed?

http://www.custompc.ie/microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-64-bit-english-1-pack---gfc-02050-133286-p.asp
64 bit due to my RAM size

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/9299512/art/asus/geforce-gtx-550-ti-direct.html
I chose this graphics card, as , according to a few reviews, it gives quite a run for its money, and is excellent for games such as Skyrim, or Chrysis 3.

I'll mostly be playing games such as Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty franchise and Minecraft, so will need tips based on this
I also haven't yet chosen a decent monitor, for around 100eur, so help with this will be appreciated

Thanks guys, would love ideas and help with this build

BloodBath

A bit over budget but a significantly more powerful pc with a good monitor.

Item|Price
AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€101.91
ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX, Sockel AM3+, mATX|€48.03
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC Windforce 2X, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€174.18
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€57.03
8GB-Kit A-DATA XPG G Series PC1600 CL9|€60.59
Zalman T2 Mini Tower - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€18.69
ARCTIC COOLING ARCTIC F12|€3.16
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€46.45
LG 22EA53VQ-P|€125.83
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€88.08
LiteOn iHAS124-04 schwarz SATA|€16.24
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€759.18

Jonny7

Ah spare them from Windows 8.. had it 3 months now with a fake start button and it's still awful

Eoghan S

@BloodBath
Thanks for your list, love most of the parts there, but the motherboard may produce some problems. Have you used it yourself? I'd just prefer one with more RAM slots, and more graphics card slots, so that I could build from that in the future. I'd say I'll keep the motherboard I have above, and replace the graphics card with something cheaper, as I won't need to play games in full HD display. Other than that, thanks for the advice, and have you any experience with a slightly cheaper graphics card around the 100~ price range?
I suppose I may be contradicting myself in needing more graphics card slots, when I'm going to lessen the quality of the graphics card, I just want a gaming PC that I could potentially upgrade even more in the future!
Thanks

Eoghan S

Jonny7 wrote: »

Ah spare them from Windows 8.. had it 3 months now with a fake start button and it's still awful

I personally prefer Windows 7 also, so that part I will most definitely change, I just find it much simpler to use!
Most of the parts BloodBath mentioned seem to be exactly what I was looking for anyway

BloodBath

Eoghan S wrote: »

@BloodBath
Thanks for your list, love most of the parts there, but the motherboard may produce some problems. Have you used it yourself? I'd just prefer one with more RAM slots, and more graphics card slots, so that I could build from that in the future. I'd say I'll keep the motherboard I have above, and replace the graphics card with something cheaper, as I won't need to play games in full HD display. Other than that, thanks for the advice, and have you any experience with a slightly cheaper graphics card around the 100~ price range?
I suppose I may be contradicting myself in needing more graphics card slots, when I'm going to lessen the quality of the graphics card, I just want a gaming PC that I could potentially upgrade even more in the future!
Thanks

That is a bit of a contradiction in fairness. Upgrading a graphics card is as simple as buying a new one and selling your old one anyway. When using a lower res you would want to be cranking up the AA anyway so there's no harm having a more powerful card.

The monitor I included is a full hd monitor. Why would you not use it to it's full capabilities?

You won't need more than 8gb of ram for gaming anytime soon. Nothing is using over 4gb at the moment. The majority of games are still 32 bit programs that can only address 3.5gb of ram anyway.

Jonny7

Eoghan S wrote: »

@BloodBath
Thanks for your list, love most of the parts there, but the motherboard may produce some problems. Have you used it yourself? I'd just prefer one with more RAM slots, and more graphics card slots, so that I could build from that in the future. I'd say I'll keep the motherboard I have above, and replace the graphics card with something cheaper, as I won't need to play games in full HD display. Other than that, thanks for the advice, and have you any experience with a slightly cheaper graphics card around the 100~ price range?
I suppose I may be contradicting myself in needing more graphics card slots, when I'm going to lessen the quality of the graphics card, I just want a gaming PC that I could potentially upgrade even more in the future!
Thanks

You aren't going to need more than 16 gigs of ram for gaming for at least a decade

One graphics card slot is all you need, the GTX 660 is at least 100% faster than the 550ti.

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

That is a bit of a contradiction in fairness. Upgrading a graphics card is as simple as buying a new one and selling your old one anyway. When using a lower res you would want to be cranking up the AA anyway so there's no harm having a more powerful card.

The monitor I included is a full hd monitor. Why would you not use it to it's full capabilities?

You won't need more than 8gb of ram for gaming anytime soon. Nothing is using over 4gb at the moment. The majority of games are still 32 bit programs that can only address 3.5gb of ram anyway.

Alright, I've changed my view on the matter, apologies I'm very new to this!
Would you recommend hardwareversand?
I've noticed a lot of people buy from there here, is that due to their large collection of parts?
Thanks again for your help

Eoghan S

Jonny7 wrote: »

You aren't going to need more than 16 gigs of ram for gaming for at least a decade

One graphics card slot is all you need, the GTX 660 is at least 100% faster than the 550ti.

Alright then, I'll stick with this graphics card, I presume its reliable?
How does it perform in large games like battlefield or skyrim?

Jonny7

If you are new, you can add 20 euros and they will build it for you (hardwareversand are among the cheapest and are also v reliable)

That graphics card will play those games on highest settings at 1920x1080 HD no problem
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_GTX_660/

uncle_sam_ie

It's a good GPU alright and will do just fine for those games. Also, there is nothing wrong with Windows 8 apart form the new metro UI which can easily be fixed with third part software like Start8 http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/ Install that and you get a supercharged Windows 7. And,Hardwareversand is the best place to go if you're buying a whole system, it will work out cheaper in the end.

Eoghan S

Jonny7 wrote: »

If you are new, you can add 20 euros and they will build it for you (hardwareversand are among the cheapest and are also v reliable)

That graphics card will play those games on highest settings at 1920x1080 HD no problem
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_GTX_660/

I am new, but I consider this something of a project for me, a bit of a challenge to spend my time! I would much rather build this first one myself, and through my own trial and error, I can then improve my next build in the future
Graphics card looks great, now just to find a sleek looking case...

Eoghan S

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

It's a good GPU alright and will do just fine for those games. Also, there is nothing wrong with Windows 8 apart form the new metro UI which can easily be fixed with third part software like Start8 http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/ Install that and you get a supercharged Windows 7. And,Hardwareversand is the best place to go if you're buying a whole system, it will work out cheaper in the end.

Thanks for the info
Only problem is that windows 8 has a good few problems, especially with games made over 2 years ago. I love the speed of it, but its the bugs I'm worried about! Do you have experience with any problems of Windows 8?

Eoghan S

Would anybody have any recommendations for a gaming mouse or keyboard, for cheap enough?
Not really sure if they'll be essential, but anyway

uncle_sam_ie

Eoghan S wrote: »

Thanks for the info
Only problem is that windows 8 has a good few problems, especially with games made over 2 years ago. I love the speed of it, but its the bugs I'm worried about! Do you have experience with any problems of Windows 8?

I've had no issue's at all with Widows 8.

Eoghan S

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I've had no issue's at all with Widows 8.

No problem, I'll probably go with windows 8 so, thanks for the info mate

Eoghan S

Would this case fit well, or is it too large (if that's possible?)
http://www.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=73892&agid=631
Cheers

BloodBath

I was trying to not go too far over budget but if you are willing to spend more then yes that case is fine. You could get a full atx mainboard then as well.

If you want to make use of the front usb3 ports you will need at least the pro 3 board. If you plan on overclocking in future you should go with the extreme 3.

Pro 3

Extreme 3

Good gaming mouse

Mouse mat

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

I was trying to not go too far over budget but if you are willing to spend more then yes that case is fine. You could get a full atx mainboard then as well.

If you want to make use of the front usb3 ports you will need at least the pro 3 board. If you plan on overclocking in future you should go with the extreme 3.

Pro 3

Extreme 3

Good gaming mouse

Mouse mat

Thanks a lot for your advice, really appreciate it!
I'm open to the idea of over clocking, but I wouldn't know a) how to do it or b) if it would harm my components?
My budget is fairly fixed, but I may stretch it for better quality components
Thanks again for your help

Pompous

BloodBath wrote: »

A bit over budget but a significantly more powerful pc with a good monitor.

Item|Price
AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€101.91
ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX, Sockel AM3+, mATX|€48.03
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC Windforce 2X, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€174.18
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€57.03
8GB-Kit A-DATA XPG G Series PC1600 CL9|€60.59
Zalman T2 Mini Tower - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€18.69
ARCTIC COOLING ARCTIC F12|€3.16
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€46.45
LG 22EA53VQ-P|€125.83
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€88.08
LiteOn iHAS124-04 schwarz SATA|€16.24
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€759.18

Could this build run all the latest games at high settings?

uncle_sam_ie

Pompous wrote: »

Could this build run all the latest games at high settings?

Yes:)

Gumbi

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

Yes:)

Not all games. But it will do well in most.

BloodBath

Yes most games.

Metro last light and crysis 3 might challenge it but they challenge rigs twice the price.

Playing with some settings will give you good frame rates and the games will still look great.

Eoghan S

Thanks again BloodBath, I'm basically nearly completely copying your suggested rig, but have another possible CPU for suggestions. This is around five euro cheaper, with the same socket, and more GHz (4.2 as opposed to 3.6), with the only flaw - it has a quad core as opposed to a 6 core.
Here's my questions:
Would this be a better option for me?
What difference would the 2 cores be?
Its found here...
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/13521344/art/amd/fx-4350-4-2-ghz-socket-am.html
Thanks guys

BloodBath

It's not worth a €5 saving. The 6300 is a superior processor and you can overclock it to 4ghz handy enough. Future games will be making use of 6 cores so the 6300 will scale better.

I you bought a decent cpu cooler like the coolermaster 212 evo in future you could overclock the 6300 to 4.5ghz pretty easily.

It depends on what mainboard and case you go for as well.

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

It's not worth a €5 saving. The 6300 is a superior processor and you can overclock it to 4ghz handy enough. Future games will be making use of 6 cores so the 6300 will scale better.

I you bought a decent cpu cooler like the coolermaster 212 evo in future you could overclock the 6300 to 4.5ghz pretty easily.

It depends on what mainboard and case you go for as well.

I wasn't fully sure about over clocking, but I'm open to the idea, so may upgrade the motherboard to the extreme 3, and stick to your original CPU.
I'm going to try to order most parts off dabs.ie, as I can get the vat reduction there, so I may be switching parts from your original ones. Would you know of any decent power supply on dabs.ie?
And would this motherboard work as well as the Extreme3, and what is the difference?
http://www.dabs.ie/products/asrock-970-extreme4-am3--amd-970-ddr3-atx-7RCB.html?q=asrock 970&src=16
Thanks mate

Eoghan S

http://www.dabs.ie/products/asrock-970-extreme4-am3--amd-970-ddr3-atx-7RCB.html?q=asrock%20970&src=16

BloodBath

That's a good board. It supports sli as well so you could add a second 660gtx in future if you need more power.


This power supply would have enough power and connections for the 6300 and 2 x 660's as well.

http://www.dabs.ie/products/corsair-500w-builder-series-cx-80--bronze-atx-power-supply-8CDD.html?q=power%20supply&src=16

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

That's a good board. It supports sli as well so you could add a second 660gtx in future if you need more power.


This power supply would have enough power and connections for the 6300 and 2 x 660's as well.

http://www.dabs.ie/products/corsair-500w-builder-series-cx-80--bronze-atx-power-supply-8CDD.html?q=power%20supply&src=16

I may just stretch my budget slightly and get this board so, just in case I want to over clock and upgrade more in future, thanks for the info
Would this hard drive do nicely with the board above?
http://www.dabs.ie/products/wd-1tb-blue-sata-6gb-s-7200rpm-64mb-3-5--hard-drive-8757.html
And what about these?
(Sorry about this, just need to buy off an Irish store to avail of my vat reduction, and couldn't find the exact parts you mentioned earlier, so had to improvise!)

Eoghan S

http://www.dabs.ie/products/corsair-8gb--2x4gb--ddr3-1333mhz-cl9-value-select--desktop-memory-kit-7JGM.html
(Links don't work with editing a post)

BloodBath

That's fine.

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

That's fine.

Thanks for your help , just wondering how you do the parts list as you posted earlier?
Just find it much easier to assess my parts :P

BloodBath

No problem.

It's a script made by a boards user (fluffy). You can get it on one of the stickys on the forum.

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

No problem.

It's a script made by a boards user (fluffy). You can get it on one of the stickys on the forum.

Again, thanks for your help, its much appreciated
I'll post a list of my full setup tomorrow if possible so
Thanks

Eoghan S

Item|Price
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 1033MHz 2GB PCI-Express 3.0 HDMI OC|€183.45
WD 1TB Blue SATA 6GB/s 7200RPM 64MB 3.5" Hard Drive|€59.76
Microsoft Windows 8 - 64-bit - 1 PC - DVD|€88.57
LG Electronics 22EA53VQ 21.5" 1920x1080 5MS VGA DVI HDMI IPS LED Monitor|€134.93
Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 Vengeance Black Performance Desktop Memory Kit|€69.08
Best Value Duratool Antistatic Wrist Band|€5.80
ASRock 970 EXTREME4 AM3+ AMD 970 DDR3 ATX|€85.36
Zalman Optical Gaming Mouse M300 (USB/2500dpi/7 Buttons)|€12.64
Zalman ZM-K300M Multimedia Keyboard|€9.65
Corsair 500W Builder Series CX 80+ Bronze ATX Power Supply|€53.86
SteelSeries QcK mass - Mouse pad|€10.31
AMD FX6-6300 Black Edition Vishera Six Core AM3+ 3.5GHz 14MB 95W|€107.62
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo - 4 Heatpipe, Tower CPU Cooler|€31.72
CoolerMaster High Performance Thermal Paste 2g|€1.54
CoolerMaster SickleFlow 120 Blue LED Fan - 120mm, 2000RPM|€7.69
Samsung 18x DVD-ROM SATA OEM (Black)|€15.36
Shipping|Free!
Total|€877.34
So that's my build so far, keeping in mind I may get it VAT free (hopefully!), so the total cost should be nearer 700eur.
I haven't located a sleek looking case, preferably in white , yet, so I'm open to cheap suggestions
I was looking at this however :
http://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-Tower-Part-Mesh-Gaming-Display/dp/B007P42TY4/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1375210571&sr=8-16&keywords=gaming+computer+case+white
What are any of your views on the matter?
Thanks for all the help guys, and would I need any extra wires, plugs, etc. for this build?
Or any cheaper options for either part, that effects performance only slightly?
Thanks again!

Eoghan S

So what I'm looking for by doing my build is basically learn how to build PCs, spend as little as possible for a reliable system that will last me a good few years, which I can use with almost any games at high enough settings, even online, and will also be extremely responsive and reliable when surfing the web, and maybe a little video editing, as well as music streaming and burning.
Just thought I'd put that out there :P

Eoghan S

What about this case?
http://www.dabs.ie/products/best-value-989-midi-tower-usb-3-0-modded-case-8801.html?src=15
Cheers lads

BloodBath

The 212 evo comes with decent paste. I'd drop the static wrist band as well. Just ground yourself on something like a radiator before handling the parts and wear rubber soled shoes You could ditch the extra fan as well and go with a case that has more fans at stock.

How about this?

http://www.dabs.ie/products/zalman-z9-plus-tower-case-with-fan-controller-8BR5.html?refs=44070000&src=3

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

The 212 evo comes with decent paste. I'd drop the static wrist band as well. Just ground yourself on something like a radiator before handling the parts and wear rubber soled shoes You could ditch the extra fan as well and go with a case that has more fans at stock.

How about this?

http://www.dabs.ie/products/zalman-z9-plus-tower-case-with-fan-controller-8BR5.html?refs=44070000&src=3

Yeah, that case looks great actually , thanks
Would I just have to hold on to the radiator before touching all the parts, or while holding them to ground myself?
And are there any more items I could cut from my list to save costs?
Thanks again for all your help!

BloodBath

If your radiator is grounded, which it should be, then touch it before handling the parts. If you're not sure about the radiator you should be able to ground yourself on any metallic electronic appliance like a toaster or an oven by touching the metal on it. It's pretty hard to fry anything unless you're carrying some serious electrostatic.

ESD damage is real and possible but I've never experienced it and I haven't been that careful. Just keep yourself grounded every few mins especially if you move around on carpet and you will be fine.

I don't see any other cost cutting avenues unless you ditch the overclocking.

Unitedfandoc

BloodBath wrote: »

It's not worth a €5 saving. The 6300 is a superior processor and you can overclock it to 4ghz handy enough. Future games will be making use of 6 cores so the 6300 will scale better.

I you bought a decent cpu cooler like the coolermaster 212 evo in future you could overclock the 6300 to 4.5ghz pretty easily.

It depends on what mainboard and case you go for as well.

Hi BloodBath, is it possible/safe to overclock the FX-6300 to 4Ghz on the ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 with the Coolermaster 212 Evo?

Thanks in advance.

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

If your radiator is grounded, which it should be, then touch it before handling the parts. If you're not sure about the radiator you should be able to ground yourself on any metallic electronic appliance like a toaster or an oven by touching the metal on it. It's pretty hard to fry anything unless you're carrying some serious electrostatic.

ESD damage is real and possible but I've never experienced it and I haven't been that careful. Just keep yourself grounded every few mins especially if you move around on carpet and you will be fine.

I don't see any other cost cutting avenues unless you ditch the overclocking.

Thanks I'll do that so,
Will overclocking really increase my performance to a huge extent?
For example, would it increase the speed of games such as minecraft, or will it just use up extra power and add heat?

BloodBath

Unitedfandoc wrote: »

Hi BloodBath, is it possible/safe to overclock the FX-6300 to 4Ghz on the ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 with the Coolermaster 212 Evo?

Thanks in advance.

Yes I'd be expecting 4.5ghz with those.

Will overclocking really increase my performance to a huge extent?
For example, would it increase the speed of games such as minecraft, or will it just use up extra power and add heat?

It will in cpu limited games. Minecraft being one of them. You bought the parts for overclocking so you might as well do it straight away. It's a waste otherwise. It doesn't add much more power usage.

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

Yes I'd be expecting 4.5ghz with those.



It will in cpu limited games. Minecraft being one of them. You bought the parts for overclocking so you might as well do it straight away. It's a waste otherwise. It doesn't add much more power usage.

So my main and basically last question would be if minecraft or other CPU reliant games would run at the top speeds when overclocked?
How long would you expect the CPU to last when overclocked to around 4.2 GHz?
I'd ideally want one for around 5 years?
Thanks again

BloodBath

It will be fine for most. The likes of starcraft 2 multi-player will tax even overclocked i5's on full settings.

I'd aim for a 4.5ghz overclock.

It will last way longer than you will ever use it. I've been running overclocked hardware for years and never had anything fail. Only a ****ty old thermaltake psu that blew up on me. Nothing to do with overclocking.

Let's say your processor lifetime is 50 years, reducing it to 20 years is not gonna change anything is it?

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

It will be fine for most. The likes of starcraft 2 multi-player will tax even overclocked i5's on full settings.

I'd aim for a 4.5ghz overclock.

It will last way longer than you will ever use it. I've been running overclocked hardware for years and never had anything fail. Only a ****ty old thermaltake psu that blew up on me. Nothing to do with overclocking.

Let's say your processor lifetime is 50 years, reducing it to 20 years is not gonna change anything is it?

That's fine so, my build sounds perfect for my needs!
I read online that over clocking can cut the CPU lifespan to around 2 years, with 5+ years stock! Just shows you can't trust Google
Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it

BloodBath

I don't think anybody's ever tested the lifespan of processors but I've never seen them fail. It's always something else that goes first.

I think overclocking is pretty established as safe at this stage.

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

I don't think anybody's ever tested the lifespan of processors but I've never seen them fail. It's always something else that goes first.

I think overclocking is pretty established as safe at this stage.

Yeah, I'd like to overclock, the only thing I'm scared of is messing up and breaking the CPU, as the warranty is voided the second I overclock!

BloodBath

It is and it isn't. Take your time anyway. There's plenty of detailed guides out there.

andy g

Hey Eoghan,

Dont mean to be rude or anything but maybe you might have some interest in the set up I have for sale,

http://www.adverts.ie/3477143

Also have high end peripherals that I can include, No worries if you dont, goodluck to your build if you decide to go down that root!

Cheers,
Andy

Eoghan S

BloodBath wrote: »

It is and it isn't. Take your time anyway. There's plenty of detailed guides out there.

Will do, thanks again for all your help, much appreciated
Will update this when I order the parts so