# first time build questions



## ravvysan (Jun 7, 2011)

Hi! I have a question or two about my first build. (let it be known, I havent bought a computer since about 2004 and have never tried to put one together.) I just ordered a barebones kit that inluded these parts:

amd fx8320 3.5ghz
msi 970a-g46
4gb adata ram
1tb seagate hd
lg dvd drive
solidgear 650w psu
cougar solution mid-tower 

My intention was to start off with something midrange that I can add to over time. First, from what I can tell, this mobo does not have onboard video? So does this mean that I have to have a video card from the start? While I do play games, I'm not hardcore, and hoped to add a nice video card down the road sometime. Are there any of these components that you would want to replace right away? Should I spend additional money on cooling right away?
other than probably buying windows 7, I had hoped to stop here for a little while. 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

ravvysan


----------



## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

It would have been helpful, if you would have asked if those parts are all high quality before purchasing them.

As for graphics, that motherboard does not have onboard video. You will need a GPU, something like this one:

SAPPHIRE 100366-2L Radeon R7 260X 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support Video Card - Newegg.com

There are many other recommendations I would suggest, but since you already purchased the components, there's not much to do. If anything, I would HIGHLY recommend changing the low quality PSU to a XFX or Seasonic branded unit.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Invest in a good quality PSU. A $50 650W will not be reliable.A good quality unit will be good for the intended future upgrades.


----------



## ravvysan (Jun 7, 2011)

Masterchief and Tyree, thanks for the replies! My old (and I do mean OLD) computer recently died, so I did some quick research and bought a kit that I thought would suit my needs and get me back computing again quickly...probably should have consulted the experts first though, you're right. That being said, I only spent $379 plus tax for everything. With that kind of budget, what would you have chosen? I really just need a decent starting point computer right now, that I can upgrade as needed in the future. Also, I noticed that the board I ordered has a PCI slot, so I suppose I could use the video card from the old computer as a stand-in for a decent GPU for a little while.


----------



## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

A PSU swap with the GPU I linked above will do you well for now.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Definitely make the PSU your first upgrade.


----------



## DBCooper (Jun 11, 2010)

Hi ravvysan,

Yes, I'd also recommend upgrading the PSU...to a very good, reliable brand. Very good PSU brands are "SEASONIC" and "XFX". Hope everything goes well with the upgrade.


----------



## Jennifer Law (Oct 30, 2014)

Piling on: PSU is the single most important part of the entire build.


----------



## csayantan (Sep 3, 2009)

hi

instead of HDD if u can plz buy SSD. it will make ur PC way faster that it could be.this is also a reason that macbook performances are better than the current home build machine. I would suggest samsung EVO versions of rather than normal sata 3, :smile:

thx


----------



## drkarasheed (Nov 24, 2009)

ravvysan said:


> Hi! I have a question or two about my first build. (let it be known, I havent bought a computer since about 2004 and have never tried to put one together.) I just ordered a barebones kit that inluded these parts:
> 
> amd fx8320 3.5ghz
> msi 970a-g46
> ...


You are far behind.
Go for a Motherboard that can take upto 32GB RAM, has PCIe slot(3rd Generation),, USB 3.0 SLots(-and a USB 3.0 Heder on the MOBO), at least 6 SATA 6 sockets.
Go for a 4 Core minimum processor, and
a branded(corsair or Cooler master)SMPS of at least 500 Wtts or more.
This will be the basis on which you can build up 'down the road' depending on your budget. This basis is almost future proof.


----------



## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

I would highly disagree with your PSU recommendation. Both Corsair and Cooler Master use very low quality manufacturers for their PSUs.

Sticking with XFX or Seasonic branded PSUs are the recommend and only choice.

It will be quite a while before 32GB of memory is needed. 16GB is barely needed now.


----------



## flyboydale54 (Sep 13, 2009)

regarding your first build. If the motherboard does not have onboard video, then you must install a video card in the video card slot, or you can not connect a monitor to the motherboard. Bottom line here is that if you do not have a video port on the motherboard with the rest of the ports, then you have to install a video card in order to have the video port to connect the monitor. If there is a video port on the motherboard next to all the other ports, then you do have onboard video. Stick with a Nvidia Video Card because the drivers seem much more stable and useful than with the Radeon Video Card. Radeon seems to want to remain in secret regarding others developing suitable better drivers, so steer clear of Radeon at this point. Unfortunately I bought two Radeon cards but it was not long before I found the short comings and limitations that are not desirable.


----------



## drkarasheed (Nov 24, 2009)

Masterchiefxx17 said:


> I would highly disagree with your PSU recommendation. Both Corsair and Cooler Master use very low quality manufacturers for their PSUs.
> 
> Sticking with XFX or Seasonic branded PSUs are the recommend and only choice.
> 
> It will be quite a while before 32GB of memory is needed. 16GB is barely needed now.


Ok
I agree with you.
Regarding the PSU I have a '650W Corsai'. Tis is giving me a steady voltage and, I spoke in favour of that becuase it is standing unpredictable variations in voltage in my part of the world. Anyway I will try to see how it performs when I go for another PSU. I will defnitely go for one of your brands.
About 32 GB RAM, I meant only - making it a bit future pfoof. You can also try some 'RAM Disk' on that, wspecially if one goes for high end gaming.


----------



## Garyaero (Apr 29, 2012)

Tyree said:


> Invest in a good quality PSU. A $50 650W will not be reliable.A good quality unit will be good for the intended future upgrades.


Not always I have the Apevia ATX-IB680W PSU I bought for under $60 in 20011 and its still going strong I never had any problems with it


----------



## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

drkarasheed said:


> Ok
> I agree with you.
> Regarding the PSU I have a '650W Corsai'. Tis is giving me a steady voltage and, I spoke in favour of that becuase it is standing unpredictable variations in voltage in my part of the world.


If its an older Corsair unit, then it was made by Seasonic. Corsair used to care about the consumer and had some of the highest quality PSUs, but when they wanted more money so they decided to raise the prices and provide low quality units.


----------



## Gobbygonk (Nov 17, 2013)

With that system I would go with a Radeon card rather than Nvidia. Nvidia are best but cost more. Radeon cards are made by AMD and more compatible with the CPU, and on a first-time cheap build with XP sp3, a decent card (R7) can be bought for under £80.


----------



## ravvysan (Jun 7, 2011)

thanks again for all the replies! since i last posted i picked up a gpu - a radeon r9 270, got a great deal on it and it came with some free games. drkarasheed, not sure what you mean....the processor is an 8 core, and the mobo has all the specifications you talked about. csayantan, a ssd is on my wishlist, along with a better psu as per all the recommendations. In fact, I hope to do a little Cyber Monday shopping tomorrow. I was able to find this ssd Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD - 2.5 Form Factor, SATA III 6 Gb/s, Up To 540 MB/s Read Speed, Up To 520 MB/s Write Speed, 7mm Thickness, Samsung 3-core MEX Controller - MZ-7TE250BW at TigerDirect.com free Far Cry 4 game) on sale, anyone have any comments about this particular deal? As far as the psu goes, it sounds like xfx or seasonic is the way to go. Is there a particular model that everyone loves?


----------



## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

The SSD alone for that price is a decent buy. The 250GB has been selling on the web for around $150. The game code is gravy.

My PS of choice for most (single graphics card) PCs is the Seasonic M12II 620. Usually sells for around $90 but watch for it on sale for $65 or so. Also, the XFX TS 550 is a good buy at around $60 (currently $54 shipped after rebate at Newegg)


----------



## drkarasheed (Nov 24, 2009)

ravvysan said:


> thanks again for all the replies! since i last posted i picked up a gpu - a radeon r9 270, got a great deal on it and it came with some free games. drkarasheed, not sure what you mean....the processor is an 8 core, and the mobo has all the specifications you talked about. csayantan, a ssd is on my wishlist, along with a better psu as per all the recommendations. In fact, I hope to do a little Cyber Monday shopping tomorrow. I was able to find this ssd Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD - 2.5 Form Factor, SATA III 6 Gb/s, Up To 540 MB/s Read Speed, Up To 520 MB/s Write Speed, 7mm Thickness, Samsung 3-core MEX Controller - MZ-7TE250BW at TigerDirect.com free Far Cry 4 game) on sale, anyone have any comments about this particular deal? As far as the psu goes, it sounds like xfx or seasonic is the way to go. Is there a particular model that everyone loves?


Please forgive me if I have created some confusion as to the number of cores. It is left to you. More numbes of Cores at the processor level may help multitsking.
As far as the SSD is concerned I chose 'Samsung 840 EVO 128 GB Pro'.It has 5 year warrantee.
I will never go back to a classical HD for my C drive again. It is superb and has 5 years warrantee.I chose 128 GB because I already had a 32 GB SSD, and I chose this 32 GB drive as the destination drive to install any application or program that let me do so. This gives me good results.


----------



## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

The number of cores will assist with multitasking and speed in general. In most users cases, 6 cores is good enough. 4 can even do as well.

That's a great choice on the SSD, however, you may find yourself looking for more space in the future.


----------

