new build-any suggestions?

N

newb5

New Member
These are the parts I was thinking of going with:

Processor: AMD FX-8350

Power: Antec HCG-850M 850W

Graphics: Asus HD7770-2GD5 AMD Radeon HD 7770 2GB GDDR5

Motherboard: Asus M5A97

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB 2 X 8 GB DDR3 1600Mhz\

Hard drive: Western Digital 1 TB 3.5-Inch 7200 RPM SATA III 64 MB HDD

Wireless adapter: D-link DWA-552 (have from an old home computer)

OS: Windows 7 Home

For case either:
Xion Perfomance XON-560_BK or
Corsair 400r Mid Tower Case

This will be my first build. I will be doing some gaming, but mostly the computer will be used for work/multi-tasking. Being a student I've been a slave to a crappy laptop for many years now and am finally looking to upgrade. I want something fast that will last me a while and be easy to swap out parts as needed. I think on amazon the total was around $950. Definitely looking to spend under $1000. I will eventually be getting a SSD once I have more money.

Any thoughts or suggestions on parts/compatibility?
 
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850 watt power supply is overkill for what you have. A good 600 watt would suffice, even for a better video card later if need be.
 
You don't need 16GB of RAM really. 8GB would be enough. If you want to save some cash there it couldn't hurt. You can always add more later.

"Downgrade" the CPU to the 8320. The 8350 is the same chip with an overclock out of the box. Save yourself some cash for the "same" chip. The turbo clock speed difference between the two is 200MHz, which you can probably just overclock yourself with the stock cooler. But that probably isn't even needed.

Try and up the video card if you can. 7850 or higher would be ideal, but the 7770 is not a slouch by any means. Downgrade the PSU as suggested, 850 watts is way more than you need.

The 400R is a really nice case, I've built a computer using one, but it's also probably one of the most boring cases I've ever seen. It's high quality but not one to catch your eye.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!

I will definitely downsize the PSU.

On amazon.ca it is showing the AMD 8350 and 8320 as roughly the same price, so I might stick with the 8350.

Also for the RAM, I would go with 8 gb but it seems like there are decent savings when buying the two sticks compared to one.

For the two video cards, the 7770 has a slightly higher engine clock at 1020 MHz, but the 7850 has a 256-bit memory interface (as opposed to 128-bit). Can someone explain the relative weight of both factors with respect to overall performance? From what I understand having 256-bit is far superior, but will the slight dip in clock speed be noticed?

Any suggestions for other cases that will provide comparable cooling/storage with a bit more curb appeal?
 
Again, why anyone would buy the 8350 or any AMD CPU when the intels are around the same price (system wise), faster, and cooler.
 
You can't compare the clock speeds of HD 7770 and 7850. It's not exactly the same chip. A higher bit interface helps a lot when it comes to the resolution of your monitor. If you are at 1080p or above, I would definitely recommend getting the 7850, even if that means cutting the CPU down to an 8320.
If you are going with the 970 chipset (the motherboard you selected) I would recommed using Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 instead. Performance-wise you won't see a difference, but it has right-angled SATA connectors, and seems to be a bit better built.
Normally I'm an Asus fanboy, but I don't like their 970 boards. The 990X/990FX are good, but I think they missed something with 970.
Same goes for CPU, just FYI. You can't compare, let's say, a Core 2 Quad Q6600 and a i5-2500k. They have different IPC, which is Instructions Per Cycle, which you can most likely guess what is.
 
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Directly comparing specs on CPU's and video cards doesn't really work.

Intel vs AMD processors are an excellent point to this. AMD seems to opt for higher clock speed and more threads/cores while Intel focuses more on an efficient design. The 8350 has a higher clock speed and more threads/cores than an 4670, but the 4670 frequently wins out in benchmarks despite being "slower" and with less cores.

Same applies to video cards for the most part. You can't compare straight up numbers. The best way is to just punch in for example "7770 vs 7850" in Google and look at benchmarks and what people have said about them.

In short though, 7850 is better than a 7770.
 
I read that the Asus 990FX motherboard had issues with Corsair Vengeance ram, any other motherboard suggestions?
 
build

Hey all, thanks for the suggestions, just ordered parts today and decided to go with the following:

Processor: AMD FX-8350

Power: Corsair 650W modular

Graphics: Asus HD7850

Motherboard: Asus M5A99x

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB 2 X 8 GB DDR3 1866 Mhz

Hard drive: Western Digital 1 TB 3.5-Inch 7200 RPM SATA III 64 MB HDD

Wireless adapter: D-link DWA-552 (have from an old home computer)

OS: Windows 7 Home

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 Black

Will let you know when they arrive and how the build goes!
 
That build is very similar to mine. You'll be happy with it. :D

That case is great, although one note, whatever you do, don't try and clean the side windows. I scratched mine to hell with a simple cotton cloth. Luckily you can't see it from a distance but up close it's noticeable.
 
I would save 40 buck and get the FX 8320. Plus the board your getting is a 990X, not a 990FX. It does CF in 8X/8X. For the same money you could get a Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 with a FX chipset. Is there a reason your getting 16gb of memory? If so I would get either of these over the Corsair.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231615
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231627

I would get these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231571
 
StrangleHold said:
I would save 40 buck and get the FX 8320. Plus the board your getting is a 990X, not a 990FX. It does CF in 8X/8X. For the same money you could get a Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 with a FX chipset. Is there a reason your getting 16gb of memory? If so I would get either of these over the Corsair.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231615
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231627

I would get these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231571
Click to expand...

Wow, Gskill really makes some cool looking ram. I got the blue in mine right now, but really like the last set you posted.
 
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Hi all,

Sorry about the delay, these past two weeks have been super busy. I made some last minute slight adjustments, and the final parts that I ordered from NCIX were:

Processor: AMD FX-8350

Power: Corsair 750W modular

Graphics: Asus HD7870

Motherboard: Gigabyte 990fxa-ud3

RAM: G.Skill Sniper 8 GB 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1866 Mhz

Hard drive: Western Digital 2 TB 3.5-Inch 7200 RPM SATA III 64 MB HDD

SSD: Kingston 240 GB

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 Black

CPU cooler: Corsair H100i

And from newegg:

Tuniq TX-4 thermal compound

I ordered everything last Thursday evening. Everything shipped surprisingly quickly (Monday for the case, Tuesday for everything else). I got it built on Tuesday and spent the next afternoon installing hardware/making adjustments. It’s all up and running and I am very pleased. It's quick, quiet, and graphics are smooth as butter.

The liquid cooler is on backorder, so I am using the stock CPU heatsink/fan right now. Once it arrives I’ll apply the new thermal paste.

Thanks for all of the advice, much appreciated!
I would post a picture but I’m not entirely sure how on this forum.
 
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