[Rough Draft] My First PC Build - critiques??

[Mikemetroid]

I would go with a 700w or more power supply. Something so that it won't take your phone 3 weeks to charge off of it.

Jer he does not need an i7 at all. Only reason I would reccommend an i7 is if you plan to do some hardcore video rendering. Games do not utilize i7 processors.

inb4 fak u games run bettr

I run Metro Last Light on ultra @ 60fps+ with an i5 and a 3gig video card (7950)

 

[AssassiN]

I would go with a 700w or more power supply. Something so that it won't take your phone 3 weeks to charge off of it.

Jer he does not need an i7 at all. Only reason I would reccommend an i7 is if you plan to do some hardcore video rendering. Games do not utilize i7 processors.

inb4 fak u games run bettr

I run Metro Last Light on ultra @ 60fps+ with an i5 and a 3gig video card (7950)

Thank you, finally someone who understands the difference between i5 and i7.
I'd go for a bigger SSD, get like 256 GB and make it a Samsung SSD.

For graphics cards, it depends on the resolution you use and how much the games you run will utilize it.
I'd say that for now 4GB is overkill, just like using i7 is unless you plan on doing video rendering and such. I'd say 3 GB is more than enough if you plan on using 1080p.

 

[BenGmanUk]

I just posted here because I'm here all the time and am friends with a lot of people here. I know there are some PC geeks that can get me started which is all I'm really looking for right now Plus I would rather not overclock my PC and I'm not sure a site with the word overclock in the name is one that I would get the best advice (for my purposes) on lol, but thanks anyways I will read around their site for advice

That's cool. I've used that site for years its not just about overclocking at all. The forum members are generally pretty good at getting back to you with solid advice, tweaking specs or getting better value for money out of a build.

I'm sure there are TYM members with great PC knowledge. OcUK is FULL of them though so worth a 5 min 'Check my specs please' type thread.

 

[Jeffreys]

Don't get Windows 8 OEM, get the actual system builder version from Microsoft themselves. I remember being on the phone with Microsoft and they advised me against using an OEM version for some reason. Make sure you find out about this first.

I have only ever used a full tower case, anything smaller like a mid tower case may need very good cable management or you risk good airflow. If you have the space I would suggest the NZXT phantom full tower case. Only downside being is that most desks don't have a space that large for it, but it is sexy and you can put it next to your desk and its gorgeous.

Not sure if you have a wired connection for your new PC, incase not then I would suggest a Wireless Adapter.

Another thing you didn't mention was your mouse and keyboard, since you specifically asked for a good gaming rig, I would suggest a wired mechanical keyboard, and a wired mouse.

I would suggest an i5-4570k cpu if you are the overclocking type

Pretty sure the cooler comes with thermal paste IIRC

other than that everything looks nice.

 

[FrothyOmen]

Yeah I have been worried about the case. I don't care how big it is or how pretty it is I just want one that's easy to work with easy to maintain andhas great airflow to keep my rig nice and cool.

I'll research the win8 OEM thing.

 

[Sutter Pain]

I would suggest a modular PSU for easier cable management and also make sure all of your components will fit in your case properly. Some after market coolers tend to be odd shaped and might not play nice. I would also advise against SLI I would just sell and upgrade your gpu to another single card when the time comes.

Also you have a Microcenter close to you right? The cpu deals they have are usually in store pick up only.

 

[Dizzy]

GGA Dizzy what is the difference when it comes to a graphics card being "2GB, 3GB, or 4GB"? Like, the one I originally wanted was the 770 2GB, but then I found out there was a 4GB version for like 40 bucks more. How much of a difference or step up will that extra 2GB give me? Also, I compared the 770 to the AMD card you suggested on some benchmark site I googled, and the 770 gets a higher G3D Mark score. Again, I don't really have much idea what I'm talking about yet, but what makes the one you suggested better/more favorable than the one I've got in my build? Excluding that it comes with free games. No hate, I honestly just have no idea since I'm still learning

Well, if it is indeed the 770, it would be a better card than the 7970, you are correct. In your OP it said 670 though, which is why I made the recommendation. If you indeed do go with the 770 it should out perform the 7970. I do suggest the 7970 over the 670 though (if that is what you have selected and you are mistaken).

As far as the RAM on the video card, its hard to get a solid answer on it. From what I've seen it provides slight to decent performance boosts depending on how video RAM intensive the game is. If its $40 more for 4GB over 2GB, its worth it IMO.

 

[Sutter Pain]

Well, if it is indeed the 770, it would be a better card than the 7970, you are correct. In your OP it said 670 though, which is why I made the recommendation. If you indeed do go with the 770 it should out perform the 7970. I do suggest the 7970 over the 670 though (if that is what you have selected and you are mistaken).

As far as the RAM on the video card, its hard to get a solid answer on it. From what I've seen it provides slight to decent performance boosts depending on how video RAM intensive the game is. If its $40 more for 4GB over 2GB, its worth it IMO.

Also when he is about to purchase the 770tTi might be out and depending on its performance and price point that may be a good option. I have heard VRAM runs open world games really well but I have never had a card with enough extra to tell the difference.

 

[FrothyOmen]

Well, if it is indeed the 770, it would be a better card than the 7970, you are correct. In your OP it said 670 though, which is why I made the recommendation. If you indeed do go with the 770 it should out perform the 7970. I do suggest the 7970 over the 670 though (if that is what you have selected and you are mistaken).

As far as the RAM on the video card, its hard to get a solid answer on it. From what I've seen it provides slight to decent performance boosts depending on how video RAM intensive the game is. If its $40 more for 4GB over 2GB, its worth it IMO.

Whoops, you are right. I got myself all confused there, sorry. And yes I figured that for 40 bucks that was worth it so glad you agree in that respect.

 

[msuanderson]

I got a 64 gb SSD like two years ago because they were so expensive, but I really wanted the Windows boot time. All I have on there is Windows pretty much cause it's so small. For some reason, game load times just don't bother me, but in hindsight I would have loved to splurge for 120gb or higher. I also second the modular power supply!!! 650w should be good, but it never hurts to get extra. 700 would be awesome. Modular was a bit more pricey when I built mine a couple years ago, but it was definitely worth it to me. I didn't check the mobo on your first post last time I posted, but I second just getting a regular ATX board. I think the board you posted only has 2 DIMM slots, you're gonna probably want 4 if you ever decide to put more RAM in. My case is a Corsair Carbide 400R. Pretty nice case with lots of room for fans or water cooling. Also has pretty good cable management. I did have the front USB slots die on me after about a year but they sent me a replacement front panel (which admittedly I have been too lazy to install) no problem.

 

[Rokinlobster]

FrothyOmen Ill try to teach you some things, In case you did not know.

RAM means Random Access Memory. Its purpose is pretty much to store what ever your computer is going to need very quickly. when you are playing a game a bunch of stuff from the game like sounds will be stored in this type of memory. But only temporarily.

A good example to use is Skyrim. When you walk into a house or city, that place is stored on the ram. Then when you go into a new area those are deleted from the RAM and the new ones take place. Having more Ram will allow you to keep more places loaded onto the RAM at one time, reducing loading times.

A key difference between RAM and your Hard Drive is Speed. You will notice that you will connect Ram directly to your mother board, and that it has these black squares attached directly to it which are where the data is stored.

Your hard drive will be attached to your motherboard via a cable, that has thousands of times the distance to travel and that the data is coming from a spinning disc read by a laser, so RAM potentially gets the data there thousands of times faster.

Which brings us to why SSD is so good. You will attach your solid state directly to the mother board, almost the same as ram. Then the data is stored in a specific location, rather than splotched all over a disc. I have no clue how it pars up to RAM, but it totally beats a Hdd.