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I have ZERO Idea what I am doing.


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#1
westbrookj1

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Hello!
I think It would be fair to start this off with simply stating that I have no clue what I am doing, but I guess I am very willing to learn. I wanted to build a computer partly for the experience and partly because its cheaper. I need help with pretty much everything, but for right now it is getting the right parts. I want to use this computer for every day computing and for gaming. But I still want the computer to play games 2 years from now and not have to repeat this process. I do not plan on "overclocking" (I’m not really sure what that means), or trying to test the machine to its limits. I just want it to always work, 100% of the time with ZERO lag. The following are some ideas of what I was looking for and hopefully someone can point me in the right direction (i.e. brand or better product)
Processor-AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo)
Hard Drive- Looking for 1Tb, nothing more?
Ram- Looking for 16gb?
Graphics Card- I’m not sure what I am looking for really.
Motherboard- I have not a clue
Case-I don't even know where to begin
Optical drive- Blu-ray (that’s all I need, right?)
Power Supply- I’m not sure.

As you can see, I need a lot of help! If I left anything off please bring it to my attention! Also, don’t be afraid to bash my decisions! Criticism helps!
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#2
Gerell

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I'm sure everyone here will be more than glad to help you out! One thing you should let us know though, what's your budget look like?
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#3
westbrookj1

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I am looking at around 1,000. A little more than that is fine! Thank you!
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#4
Gerell

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Well if you really want performance, you should probably Check out solid state drives instead of a regular hard drive. The increase in speed is truly amazing. What are your computer habits like? What sort of games do you play and do you use a lot of applications open at there same time? Do you plan on running more than one screen?
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#5
westbrookj1

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So should I prefer a Solid State Drive to a faster proccessor? The solid state drives seem rather small? Not a lot of Games; Diablo 3, Farcry, Shogun Total War. Besides playing games, I mostly use my computer for school work or internet. Nothing too fancy. One screen is plenty. But I also want to be able to play games that come out 2 years from now just as fast as the ones I play today.
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#6
westbrookj1

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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/uFO7

I will mainly use this for moderate gaming, and internet usage. Am I leaving out any essential parts that I will need to have for this? I also do not understand the problem message at the bottom. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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#7
Gerell

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The message on the bottom, means that the motherboard is USB 3.0 capable. However, the case you picked, doesn't have USB 3.0 slots.

Basically, USB 3.0 is a faster version of a USB slot. Backwards compatible. Its nice! :D
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#8
BL00PER

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Solid state is good for its speed however if your just going to use it for adding lots of programs I would go for a hard disk drive like this one.Next if you want to play current and up comming games your gonna want a decewnt graphics card such as Nvidia's EVGA card like the GeForce GTX 660.
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#9
iammykyl

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Hi.
Very good build, yes it does work but over the top for your stated usage.
A i5-3570K would be the sweet spot for the CPU.
You do not need a sound card to better the integrated sound, unless you are prepared to spend a lot more $$$.

I will put up a build later today for you to consider.

Edited by iammykyl, 28 December 2012 - 04:48 PM.

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#10
SongCloud

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SSD drives are good for data that does not change much as they have limited write cycles, just like flash drives. Typically, you would use an SSD for the OS, games and other non-movable information, and use a larger standard HDD for your data. This will get you the best benefit while still providing good life for the drives and a large enough amount of storage for everything.

Here are some suggestions and links based on what I would do. All prices as listed are from Newegg, are listed in $US, and are current as of 12/28/2012.

  • Case
    2 choices depending on what looks the best to you as you will be the one that has to look at the case. :P

    CoolerMaster HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case - This case comes with 2 120mm fans (front & rear) with support for 4 more (front, side, & 2 top) and has a removable drive cage for ease of installation or to support longer graphics cards. $69.99

    Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case - This case comes with 3 120mm fans (rear & 2 front) as well as 1 200mm top fan already installed and has support for another 2 120mm fans (bottom and middle). It also has removable, washable air filters, a USB 3.0 front port in addition to 2 front USB 2.0 and audio in/out ports, and 10 total drive bays including a dedicated 2.5" SSD drive bay. $109.99
  • Power Supply
    RAIDMAX 850W SLI/Crossfire ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - This power supply is 80 PLUS GOLD certified, meaning it must maintain at least 87% efficiency when under any load between 20% - 100%. This allows it to run cooler and prolongs the power supply's life. It also has Active PFC (Power Factor Corrector) meaning it is extremely efficient at using the power from the electric company and allows the same operation with lower current draw, thereby lowering the amount of power being consumed as well as 4 12v rails with each rail capable of delivering 34A of output power to ensure stable current for all of the components. In addition, it is modular, meaning you only connect the cables that you will actually use, decreasing case clutter and enhancing airflow, and has a quiet 135mm fan. $119.99
  • CPU
    AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) - You know what this is as you selected this CPU already.
  • Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Motherboard - Very highly rated Gigabyte Motherboard supporting the latest 32nm AMD AM3+ multi-core as well as the 45nm AMD AM3 Phenom II processors. The motherboard has a Split Power pane, and 8+2 phase VRM for stable and steady power. It supports 2 VGA cards using either CrossFireX or SLI, and has SATA III and USB 3.0 support. It also features USB charging circuitry which provides power to the USB ports even if the computer is off for convenient charging of portable devices and is compatible with 3TB+ HDDs (using EFI technology) with built in RAID support. The on-board sound solution features a 108dB SNR and multi-channel HD audio.

    There is a combo deal going on right now which has the motherboard and the CPU as a package deal for $314.98. Check it out here.
  • RAM
    CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR 1600 (PC312800) Memory - Model number CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 - This memory is on the Gigabyte approved memory list and has been tested and certified to work with the Gigabyte motherboard listed above as well as with the CPU. It has integrated heat spreaders to enable better cooling and maximum performance. $89.99
  • Video

    Again, you have a choice depending on if you want to go all AMD and get an AMD graphics card as well or if you would rather use one of the NVidia models.

    XFX Double D FX-785A-CDFC Radeon HD 7850 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Video Card - Comes with a Free Far Cry 3 game coupon w/ purchase. Boasts 1024 Stream processors and engineered with the industry's first 28nm GPU, this card features ultra-efficient AMD ZeroCore Power technology and gaming resolutions up to 7680 x 3200 with AMD Eyefinity technology. Dust-free dual IP-5X fans and a floating cover that exhausts air out the back of the case keep everything cool and the solid-state capacitors, ferrite core chokes, and XFS bracket design keep everything stable. $224.99 before rebate

    EVGA 02G-P4-3660-KR GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Video Card - Comes with a free copy of Assassin's Creed III w/ purchase - This card boasts 1344 CUDA cores and features innovative NVIDIA technologies like TXAA antialiasing, Adaptive Verticle Sync, and PhysX. Nvidia GPU Boost intelligently monitors the GPU workload and increases the clock speed whenever possible to ensure peak performance and highest frame-rate possible when you need it and power savings when you don't. This card supports up to 4 monitors with a maximum gaming resolution of 5760 x 1080 across 3 side-by-side monitors for the maximum immersive experience. The card is also NVIDIA 3D vision ready which means that with the proper 3D wireless glasses and software, you can play games in full stereoscopic 3D, as well as watch 3D movies and 3D photographs. $249.99 before rebate
  • Optical
    Another choice for this one depending on if you are simply looking for a Blu-ray player combo drive or a Blu-ray burner combo drive.

    LG Black SATA BDXL Blu-ray Burner w/3D Playback & 4MB Cache - Supports 3D playback & BDXL. 4MB Cache. Write speeds as follows: 14X BD-R, 2X BD-RE, 16X DVD+R, 8X DVD+RW, 16X DVD-R, 6X DVD-RW, 48X CD-R, 24X CD-RW, 12X BD-R DL, 2X BD-RW DL, 8X DVD+R DL, 8X DVD-R DL, 5X DVD-RAM. Read speeds: 12X BD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM, 48X CD-ROM. $69.99

    LG Blu-ray Disk Combo Internal SATA 12X Lightscribe with 3D Play Back - Supports 3D Playback & Lightscribe disk labeling system. 4MB cache. Write speeds as follows: 16X DVD+R, 8X DVD+RW, 16X DVD-R, 6X DVD-RW, 8X DVD+R DL, 8X DVD-R DL, 12X DVD-RAM, 48X CD-R, 24X CD-RW. Read speeds: 10x BD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM, 48X CD-ROM. $59.99
  • HDD
    Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200RPM 32MB cache SATA 6.0Gb/s internal HDD - New Egg Customer's Choice Award Winner! This drive boasts a SATA III interface, 32 MB Cache, and 7200 RPM spindle speed. Seagate OptiCache, which improves performance by up to 45%, and Seagate SmartAlign, which allows for no-hassle transition to Advanced Format 4k sector technology, and 2 year limited warranty allow for better stability and ease of use. $84.99
  • SDD
    Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD - Won the Editor's Choice Award at StorageReview.com. This cost-effective drive is designed for performance! It offers native TRIM support (featured in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2) which is designed to maintain the performance of the drive over its lifetime by proactively deleting invalid data so that write operations occur at full speed and has enhanced S.M.A.R.T technology which allows the drive to provide an early warning of potential problems. $99.99

Total maximum cost of suggested items using the most expensive component where choices are given = $1139.91 before tax & shipping.

If you want to do some digging, you may (will) be able to find the components listed here for less money. ** Don't forget that this also does not include the Operating System or any other software. **

Again, these are simply my suggestions. Use them or not as you wish. :) Let me know if you have any questions and I will by happy to answer them as best I can. Hope this helps you out! :thumbsup:
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#11
iammykyl

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Hi.
Changed the CPU,
Changed the Mobo to Z77 chipset, slightly better fetures, ATX format, much easer to work on, will run a little cooler.
Changed the RAM, cas 9 instead of cas 11, faster.. You will only need 8GB., even for the heaviest of office applications, will be more than enough for home video and Photo editing.
Changed the HDD for a later model, much better performance. The one you selected is quite old.
Changed the case, better cooling, dust filtering, quality built case that you will be able to reuse for many builds.
Your selected PSU I am sorry to say is one of them there bad ones. Changed to a reliable 80+ certified with clean stable power and enough amps on the 12v rails.
Price comes in just below your's.

> http://pcpartpicker.com/p/uN4g
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#12
Dakeyras

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@westbrookj1

I have merged your other topic with this one. Reason being it is counter productive having two ongoing topics for the same subject matter, thank you.
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#13
westbrookj1

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All this advice has been VERY VERY VERY helpfull! I cant thank everyone enough!
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#14
iammykyl

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Your welcome Posted Image

Should you decide to proceed with a build, Please post your list before ordering or purchasing parts so a member can check that everything is compatible, and can answer questions, suggest How to Build tutorials or info on a specific topic.

Happy new year.

I have just seen it in, so going to bed.
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