Basic build ready for Gfx card later

brav

I want to build a 'basic' cpu, ready for a decent gfx in a few months, such as gtx 760 or hd 7950(or newer versions coming out soon). Probably Nvidia, as I may be running Linux OS for a while testing etc. or maybe even try out Steam OS

I was thinking of the below build, any suggestions or changes or anything obvious that I am missing?

Question|Answer
1. What is your budget?|€600 to €700 before Gfx card
2. What will be the main purpose of the computer?|Gaming/Possible HTPC(but will be in another room/Testing/Developing)
2-a Type of games|Arma 3, BF 4, Civ 5, HL 3, testing for Oculus rift games
3. Do you need a copy of Windows?|Yes
4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?|All parts too old really except DVD drive
5. Do you need a monitor?|No
5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?|1920x1080 mainly no upgrade beyond of this res planned yet
6. Do you need any of these peripherals?|No
7. Are you willing to try overclocking?|Yes but don't think i'll need to
8. How can you pay?|all ways
9. When are you purchasing?|As soon as I'm confident with the order


So this is what I came up with, went with Haswell for the IGP to do me until Gfx card purchase.
Do you think its enough or (hopefully) overkill?

I also plan on getting 2 HDD at a later stage for RAID but the 120GB should do me until then.

It will be my first build in years, last one I built was Athlon 64 FX with Nvidia 6800gt! (Have been using Laptops and mac mini as server since, and XB360 for gaming, but going to dip my hand back in to some decent gaming again)

Item|Price
Intel Core i5-4570 Box, LGA1150|€166.30
Gigabyte H87-HD3, ATX|€79.92
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance Low Profile schwarz PC3-12800U CL9|€75.99
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€89.99
Cooler Master Silencio 550 black, Cooler Master GX 650W|€134.90
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€80.33
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€646.42

BloodBath

You could get a graphics card now if you went for an fx 6300. It's still a very strong processor especially when overclocked.

Prices on HWVS have been fluctuating like crazy the past couple of weeks and some of those are gone up already.

The 7870 is still a very good card that will run most games on high or max settings with 60fps.

Item|Price
AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€98.87
Alpenföhn Sella - 92mm, AMD/Intel|€18.54
ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0, AM3+, ATX|€60.57
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€66.79
HIS 7870 IceQ X 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E DVI/HDMI/2xMini DP|€168.56
Cooltek Antiphon Black, ohne Netzteil|€61.25
be quiet! SYSTEM POWER 7 500W - bulk -|€51.84
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€84.34
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€629.75

You could get the Samsung 840 evo on Amazon cheaper especially if you go through Flubit.com. I'm about to order one which was discounted 12% through Flubit with free delivery for €76.

brav

Ok, originally I had rulled out AMD, as have been using Intel on all my machines lately, however looking at the prices of AMD, I can get better much better value I think.

Was thinking of waiting a few weeks to build up more money and then order graphics card.

Here is the current list, however links are for hardwareversand, may get some on amazon, like the HDD you suggested etc

Item|Price
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance Low Profile schwarz PC3-12800U CL9|€79.79
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€94.49
Cooler Master Silencio 550 black, Cooler Master GX 650W|€134.49
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€84.34
AMD FX-8320 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€135.95
ASUS M5A97 EVO R2.0, AM3+, ATX|€84.00
HIS HD 7950 IceQ X² Boost Clock iPower GDDR5 3072MB DVI/HDMI/2xMiniDP|€241.56
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€873.61

BloodBath

I'd be dubious about the quality of the psu in that case. Cooler Master have a reputation for making ****e quality psu's and from a quick glance at a review it seems that one is no different.

You would be better of picking up that case or one similar like the Nanoxia deep silence 1 or 2 or the Fractal Design R4 with a separate quality psu. If you go for the fx 6300 then a 500w should be plenty. Grab a 600w for the 8320.

You would want a good cpu cooler to make the most out of that 8320 as well. The board you chose is good. I'd personally go for the 6300 and overclock it as high as possible. Most games don't make use of that many cpu cores and it will be easier to get higher clock speeds with the 6300 than the 8320.

I'd maybe stick with the board you selected with a 6300 and a cm 212 evo cpu cooler.

brav

Ya I'd say my basket changed about 10 times today, between AMD and Intel.

I found it cheaper anyway to get a separate case and psu, I never heard of the Be Quiet! ones so I was wary of adding them but from reading reviews they seem OK.

I will have to wait until next week anyway and prices might have changed again so will order then.

I might also go with the 6300, I thinks its a good option now, more than I need really, I was just thinking long term but i'll always have to option to upgrade or OC a bit more.

Thanks for the advice, and ill update next week hopefully when I'm ready to order

brav

Ok I will have a 7950 3GB next week so Im going to order the rest now. Used that discount site http://geizhals.de/ to add them to basket, saved around €40 so added one or 2 more things (controller and ssd cache) which I don't really need but would like to try. (i.e. the discount worked on me)

Item|Price
be quiet! Pure Power L8 CM 530W|€64.05
Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows, schwarz|€37.48
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€81.16
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€62.98
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€51.11
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€89.98
SanDisk ReadyCache SSD 32GB 6,4cm (2,5")|€34.51
FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Black Pearl|€87.20
AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Tray, Sockel AM3+|€97.99
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD|€25.94
ASUS M5A97 EVO R2.0, AM3+, ATX|€79.28
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€730.67

BloodBath

Looks good. I'd go for the be-quiet system power 7 500w though. It's more efficient and cheaper and 500w is more than enough. You will use around 350-370w with those specs.

Do you have an xbox or ps3 already? You can use their controllers with a pc with a wireless adaptor. It would save you buying a new controller.

Let me know how you get on with the cache drive on the 1tb wd. Use hd tune and test your before and after speeds. I'm going to do something similar myself.

brav

I actually didn't think the receiver was still available separately, I now see it is, Thanks! (I have 3 x 360 controllers already).

With the PSU, Since I was getting a decent case I said id spend a little more for one of their CM versions, but now as the 530 is out of stock, I might just go for the 500 plain one.

EDIT:
Ordered it there so don't tell me to change anything now! Dropped the PSU to Be Quit 500W, took out the 360 controller, and total now came to just under €680.
With the Graphics card and 360 gaming receiver ordered separately, total build cost about €900.

brav

I said I would update thread to close it off, and show results.

To confirm what I ordered, this is what I got from hardwareversand.de:



This along with a Gigabyte 7950 3GB, Xbox 360 gaming receiver, USB hub and usb cable extender, and some Xbox 360 play and charge battery packs total came to just under €900

I already had an old Saiktek Keyboard and an old Razer Copperhead mouse(still works great), and the PC was either going to used in office(with a samsung 24" display) or in another room where I have projector etc set up for Xbox 360, Media players etc.

Here were all the parts still in boxes:



The graphics card with decent cooler and quiet (surprised me with 3 fans):



Here is the AMD FX 6300 installed on board:



Here is inside the case with all parts installed, case has no window and will be in the corner out of sight in room anyway(power button on top very handy).
It was my first time trying to do some decent cable management to help improve airflow.
In the end the 24pin ATX cable just about reached the motherboard being routed form behind.



Once set up now all I see is the blue light in the corner, but I may disconnect this as its a bit too bright:




Ran a few benchmarks, all were what I expected for 6core AMD and 7950.
Currently neither overclocked, but I did test to see in case I wanted to a later stage(right now the performance I get from stock is enough a). Was surprised how easy it was to put up the AMD form 3.5 to 4.2 by just changing multiplier and not having to touch voltage etc. Very easy.
The 7950 already runs at 1Ghz stock(compared to the normal 900Mhz I think), I did push this up, but during benchmarks, fan noise started to creep up so left it back at 1Ghz, and if I need the extra power (like for BF4 this weekend) I may put it up for certain games etc.


Here is 3DMark scores running at stock: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/1464875

TerrorFirmer

Let me know how you get on with BF4. Even at 4.2Ghz I find mine is frankly crap for BF4 large servers, extremely disappointed with it. It gets by in general (only after I disabled 2 of the 6 cores), but the frame rate is not reliable at all and can hit 20fps in really heavy situations.

EoinHef

Nice build man, so neat and tidy:)

You should actually throw a few pics in the build images thread.

brav

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Let me know how you get on with BF4. Even at 4.2Ghz I find mine is frankly crap for BF4 large servers, extremely disappointed with it. It gets by in general (only after I disabled 2 of the 6 cores), but the frame rate is not reliable at all and can hit 20fps in really heavy situations.

I've only really played campaign so far, played multiplayer for brief second, but will finish the campaign first.

The default settings were set to High, the frame rate on this dropped to 50fps in the busiest scenes, I changed it to ultra, and it goes down to low 40s now in the busiest scenes, but OK for me.