# [SOLVED] Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)



## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

Here's what I've decided on, it's putting a strain on my computer budget, so I can't afford any more "upgrades" without taking away from something else. *I'm buying from CyberPowerPC.com.*
Anywhere you see I can save money, and still get great gaming/video editing performance?
Anywhere that's almost _necessary_ to upgrade?
Thoughts?



*Tower/Case (includes Blue Neon Lights, Temp Gauge, Fan Speed Gauge, and VU Gauge):* *~$85.00*








Case Dimensions (Image Link)



*CPU:* *~$109*
AMD FX-4100 3.60 GHz Quad-Core AM3+ CPU 4MB L2 Cache
*MOTHERBOARD:* *~$70.00*
[CrossFireX] MSI 970A-G45 AMD 970 Socket AM3+ ATX Mainboard w/ OC Genie II, Winki 3, 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe X16, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI
*RAM/MEMORY:* *~$25.00*
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory
*VIDEO CARD/GPU:* *~$175.00*
AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe
*POWER SUPPLY:* *~$80.00*
700 Watts - XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply
*HARDDRIVE:* *~$125.00*
500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
*Current FurMark Benchmark: 91*


*+ Fee for building and shipping over the internet.*
(I don't have the tools or the know-how to build it myself.)


Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. I'm no expert on building computers, so any input about what I could save money on, or what I NEED to upgrade would be fantastic!

Current Approx. Price, Including all fees and shipping:
*~$850.00*


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## Narcissist (Jan 19, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

CPU i3 2100 $125

Motherboard Foxconn Z68 - $90

4GB RAM - $20

HD6870 - $165 with Dirt3 game

Seasonic S12II - $60

500GB faster hdd - $90

Case - $80

~$650 after rebate. 

I know you said you don't have the skills or tools, but the above computer is signficantly better and more upgradable and higher quality all round. Its really easy to build computers, you need a screwdriver and some patience.


Either way, you need a better PSU and Windows 7 too.


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Forgot to mention, I already have a current version of Win7 Ultimate x64.

Also:


Narcissist said:


> CPU i3 2100 $125


But why would I want to downgrade my CPU, when I have such a beasty gaming video card?
The AMD 3.6 x4 core is superior when it comes to encoding videos, gaming, and multitasking.



Narcissist said:


> Either way, you need a better PSU


I guess I could go with an 800watt PSU, just to be safe.


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

-doublepost-


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

the power supply is a crap make as most of these companies who build system for people include in builds.

building is not difficult there are plenty of guides on youtube and we can assist too.

I would stick with the cpu you have chosen but you definetly need to upgrade the psu and that case looks nice but its not what you would deem a gaming case.


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*



greenbrucelee said:


> the power supply is a crap make as most of these companies who build system for people include in builds.
> 
> building is not difficult there are plenty of guides on youtube and we can assist too.
> 
> I would stick with the cpu you have chosen but you definetly need to upgrade the psu and that case looks nice but its not what you would deem a gaming case.


Honestly I'd be extremely willing to build my own PC; but I have some concerns...
-Shipping time. I want my PC sometime in the next 1-2 weeks.
-Do all the parts I order from NewEgg/Amazon come with the screws necessary to install the part?
-The ONLY tool I have to do this, is a Phillips screw driver.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

all you need is a phillips and an anti static writsband. A motherboard comes withs screws and standoffs needed and other parts come with screws if needed too.


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

AMD Radeon HD 6850 OR the 6870?
Is the 6870 worth the extra 20 bucks or so?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

you will need a quality psu to go with those graphics cards not the one in the build. seasonic,xfx and corsair (not gs or cx units) are great makes and you should go for 750w.

the psu is the most important part of a gaming build go cheap or low quality and you will get problems.


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*



greenbrucelee said:


> you will need a quality psu to go with those graphics cards not the one in the build. seasonic,xfx and corsair (not gs or cx units) are great makes and you should go for 750w.
> 
> the psu is the most important part of a gaming build go cheap or low quality and you will get problems.


How about the 775Watt "Thermaltake Toughpower XT TPX-775M Modular 80 Plus Power Supply"?


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Or what if I still get an "extreme gear" one, but 850 watts?
I'm not seeing why they are bad quality.. is it because they don't pump out the watts as advertised?


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Ok I think I found a reasonable power supply.
HUGE link (shrunk it down, it's on Google Shopping)


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## ReviverSoft (Nov 30, 2009)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

As suggested above, consider a PSU from Seasonic, XFX or Corsair. They are top quality, which is why we are recommending them. By top quality, I mean clean, efficient power delivery from the unit and high quality components that last long. If the PSU you are considering is built by Seasonic (OEM), quality will not be a concern.

If you don't intend to upgrade very often, all the more reason why you should be investing in a good quality PSU for your system. 



> Or what if I still get an "extreme gear" one, but 850 watts?


Wattage isn't everything. Low quality, high wattage units are often found to deliver lesser than the rated wattage.



> AMD Radeon HD 6850 OR the 6870?


You will only see a difference of 7-10 FPS between the two, in most games. Specs. are just slightly better on the HD6870.

As for the PC case, I would rather choose the CoolerMaster HAF 922.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Look over our suggested build list. All use top quality known compatible components: http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...evised-2012-and-updated-regularly-448272.html


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

The i3-2100 is superior to the (albeit newer) FX-4100. The FX series offer no improvement to gamers besides a better memory controller and better multitasking at their price points, while actually losing to the Phenoms at gaming benchmarks.

Personally, I think the Phenom II x4 960T is the best CPU at this price range, but Narcissist would disagree with me 

The 6870 is only 7% better than the 6850, requires more power and runs hotter. If the 6850 won't be powerful enough for you, it won't be worth spending more unless it's on a 560 or 6950. In my system, the 6850 runs SWTOR maxed out buttery smooth, among everything else I play.

In all honesty, I built my new desktop last week and I can't think of any changes I would recommend to someone else building on a budget. It's running beautifully and I'm planning on writing a feedback thread after a month of use.

My build:
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 960T Zosma 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HD96ZTWFGRBOX
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Newegg.com - ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

and an extra $20 for
Newegg.com - Rosewill RTK-045 45 Piece Premium Computer Tool Kit

Total price I paid for everything listed above with shipping was $640, although I caught a few of these on sale.

If you want a better video card, the HD6950 or the 560 Ti are both good upgrades.

Some of the vets on this site will tell you to only get ASUS or Gigabyte for motherboards. They _are_ the top two brands, and ASRock's customer service is inferior to the both of them, but this motherboard is pretty rock-awesome for the price. ASRock has grown rapidly into the world's third largest motherboard manufacturer while many of their better products like the Extreme series build solid reviews. The board's impressed me repeatedly since I took it out of the box. The UEFI BIOS is awesome and the LAN controller is very effective. I have mine set up to actually throttle down background downloads automatically while gaming or watching Youtube videos. It works very well.

A full tower case with some bells and whistles might be worth upgrading, too. The Blackbone is serving me well but it's not very showy


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Alright, I think I've selected everything that I will be using.
Thanks to everyone who has pitched in the help, It's really opened my eyes more than you know.

I've decided to go with relatively the same build as my first post, however with these changes:

*As far as changing my CPU*... I just don't feel comfortable doing that.
I feel the FX-4100 3.6 quad's are perfectly suitable for multithreading, encoding (which I do a lot of), and overall multitasking/video editing/flash generating/adobe usage, etc.
Not to mention the fx-4100 x4core will do gaming just fine.

*Power Supply:*
Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply [750Watt]

*HDD:*
_1TB_ SATA-II _6.0Gb/s_ 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD

*Video Card:*
AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB

*Tower/Case:*
CoolerMaster Elite 430 Mid-Tower










Thanks again everyone.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

ASRock may be the 3rd largest Mobo supplier but they need to prove themselves in the real world before I could suggest purchasing one. 
Until that time I still have to suggest Asus or Gigabyte for quality, reliability and support.


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Thanks for the tip Tyree, I'll take that into consideration for sure.

Also... Would you say that this is a good power supply, if I'm using the HD 6850 card?

Corsair CMPSU-650TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply
Google Shopping: Corsair 650 Watt [link]


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

*A POST TO CLEAR EVERYTHING UP, AND TO ADD MORE QUESTIONS:

*So this is my build as of right now...

*CPU:* AMD FX-4100 3.60 GHz Quad-Core AM3+ CPU 4MB L2 Cache & Turbo Core Technology

*HDD:* 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Drive)

*MEMORY:* 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair)

*MOBO:* MOTHERBOARD: [CrossFireX] MSI 970A-G45 AMD 970 Socket AM3+ ATX Mainboard w/ OC Genie II, Winki 3, 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe X16, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI

*GPU:* AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe

Question:
Since I downgraded the GPU a bit, and the 6850 doesn't need nearly as much wattage- Which Power Supply would you all recommend? (Choices below)
Becoming VERY limited on funds, so I have it down to 2 choices...

- Raidmax RX-850AE 80 Plus Gold *[**$107.00]*










- Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2* [$86.00]









As usual, any and all help is GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks for putting up with me! :whistling:
*​


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

The 650w is more than enough. I'm using a 620w in a similar build, and Newegg's power wattage calculator only recommends 447w for yours.

On your motherboard, if it's not ASUS or Gigabyte, you should make sure it has good reviews. And unfortunately 3 eggs is not good enough for my recommendation. I'd recommend any of the top 4 in this list, and all the vets here would recommend only the top 2 (they're probably right ):

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Motherboards, AMD Motherboards, 970

RAM is too cheap to only get 4gb imho. When the difference between 4gb (2x2gb) and 8gb (2x4gb) is only $17, I think the choice is obvious.

That's all I can think of. I think you'll be very happy with your final build.

*EDIT*: can't believe I missed this on my first pass through lol: Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
^probably the best board for you. only reason I got the ASRock instead was because ASRock guaranteed compatibility with the 960t out of the box, whereas the Gigabyte only guaranteed it after a BIOS revision.


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Would it be a better idea (for performance and stability's sake) to get only 2 sticks of 4gb each?
I hear using all 4 RAM slots can cause some little "stutter" issues.
I've decided to use the mobo you suggest at the bottom of that post.
You're right. The one I had selected don't even compare to GIGABYTE's version.


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Also.. how many fans would you all recommend for this build?
The case comes with 2.. do I really need to max it out with 4?


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Yes, 2x4gb is superior to 4x2gb. And 8gb is about as high as normal use will ever need. Pretty much the sweet spot of memory sticks 

You should be fine with the fans that come with the case. Before you buy additional case fans you'll want to buy an aftermarket CPU heat sink. After that point, you'd only need more fans if you added a second video card and crossfired them


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## RooSalad (Jan 23, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Thanks for the fast responses toothman, greatly appreciated.
Most helpful indeed 

I'll be ordering this computer in 3 days. Can't wait!


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## toothman (Jul 13, 2008)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

no problem, and good luck 

if you haven't seen any building tutorials yet, newegg's 3-part series are very informative

Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 2 - The Build - YouTube


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## Narcissist (Jan 19, 2012)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

Looks good, but throw in some thermal paste (Arctic Silver 5) as well, you will need it.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*



RooSalad said:


> Since I downgraded the GPU a bit, and the 6850 doesn't need nearly as much wattage- Which Power Supply would you all recommend?
> 
> - Raidmax RX-850AE 80 Plus Gold
> 
> - Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2


650W minimum for the 6850.
The Corsair without a doubt.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: Critique My First Build! (Thoughts?) (Will Buy Soon)*

If no OC'ing is involved the OEM CPU heatsink/fan will be fine and no thermal pasted would be required.


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