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I would love someone to look over my new build before I buy.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/84DGVn[1]
I will be using a 1TB HDD I already have
Playing DOTA, EVE, FFXIV, and doing Autocad things.
Comments
I might get a better PSU.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cs650m
Other than that everything looks good IMO.
I revised some stuff, http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/
Partpicker doesn't seem to list this cpu cooler, I am correct in thinking it would fit the FX-8350?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-001-SV&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2262
I always say and go by my experience always buy at least 850 w psu
Your new list of parts isn't actually a list of your parts, but just a generic link to that site where someone else can create a list of their own parts.
I'd question why you're going with an AMD processor on that budget. If you're going to be doing something that really can push eight cores, then have at it, but otherwise, you'd be better off with a Core i5-4690K.
I'd also question paying extra for a motherboard that can handle CrossFire when you're only getting a single video card.
That strikes me as too much to pay for that SSD. It's fast in benchmarks, sure, but OCZ has had reliability problems. I'd sooner get this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT240M500SSD1-240GB-Internal-Solid/dp/B00BQ8RM1A/ref=sr_1_7?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1416703870&sr=1-7&keywords=Crucial+MX100
And that would be the case even if the SSDs were the same price.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/bqsqWZ
There's a new updated list.
I still don't see why you're looking to pay so much for CrossFire support on a motherboard when you're only getting a single card. This is basically the same thing as what you picked, except that you give up CrossFire/SLI, eSATA, and FireWire support, none of which you're likely to care about:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-970A-UD3P-Motherboard-Gigabit-Ethernet/dp/B00F5R9O46/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1416709915&sr=1-1&keywords=GA-970A-UD3
Corsair's CX power supplies are decent budget units, but they're very much budget units. If you're going to do something where 600 W isn't enough, you really shoudl be looking for higher quality. For example:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-seasonic-ssr-650rt-single-rail-80plus-gold-1x120mm-fan-atx-psu
That SSD is half the size of what you picked before--and not very much cheaper than the larger one I linked above.
Why are you looking at liquid cooling for the CPU? That really only makes sense if you're going for an unreasonably large overclock. And even if you are, you might prefer the FX-9590, which offers cherry-picked dies for big overclocks. But for gaming purposes, you'd be better off switching to Intel on your budget, and getting a Core i5-4690K or something like that.
The memory you picked is only 1333 MHz. I could understand doing that if you get a big discount, but you're paying basically the same price as for much faster memory.
You see I'm trying to get a completely white and black colour scheme. I will change the mobo and ssd now though thanks!
Also why not have watercooling? it isn't that expensive, and it is a fun thing which I have never used in a build before.
I don't know about you, but I spend most of my time at my computer looking at the monitor and only look at the case to turn it on or off. I wouldn't sacrifice performance for some color scheme with components on the inside of the case. I might have sacrificed something to get a cool-looking case when I was in my 20s, but now I would run a computer in an open-air case if they still made those, and I wouldn't care what it looked like.
Liquid cooling is only necessary for extreme overclocking. You can achieve decent (safer) overclocks with $30 air coolers. If you really want liquid cooling, be prepared to deal with the headaches of it. Pumps can fail and let your CPU overheat fast. Leaks can cause damage to multiple components in your system before you know it is leaking. With air cooling, you usually get a nice warning sound from bad bearings if the fan is going out. Even if you don't, decent airflow from other fans can make up for a failed fan enough that you'll be able to see when you're running hotter than normal on your temperature monitor program.
I like watercooling, I don't think it's quite as drastic as everyone here makes it out to be. It's your money, if your ok knowing you could have an air cooler for $30 less, but want the cool factor, go for it.
Also, I agree with building a computer that looks good, if you have the budget to do it, why not. Will it run faster with pretty lights? No, but it will look a whole lot better, and it makes for a nice conversation piece.
Amen. I want it to be a conversation piece and fit in with the style of my house. As a designer myself I appreciate how my things look and to me a computer can be as much about form as function these days. At the end of the day it's my money and I was just hoping for help here.
Solid build dude. Couple things I would recommend changing on this would be the PSU (look for at least 1,000w PSU.) Also if you're doing a lot of Autocad work, I would also add more memory and jump it up to 16GB of total memory instead of 8. Other than that good shit
Power supplies - I see a lot of people saying "more" and throwing out numbers like 700-800-1000W.
That really doesn't matter. I promise.
Yeah, you need enough watts, but you don't need nearly as much as what people think. A lot of people make the mistake of getting a junky power supply, and when it breaks, make the mistake of assuming it was too small (because Watts is really the only number the manufacturer gives you to go off of) - and yeah, a larger crappy power supply running at a low percent load probably isn't going to fail as early as a smaller crappy power supply running closer to 100%, but that doesn't make it any better or any less likely to blow up the rest of your computer (sometimes quite literally).
What matters is quality.
A typical PC, even a gaming PC with a hefty video card, will probably not push 400W under a typical gaming load. Even under synthetic benchmarks, with a top-tier video card, at stock clocks you may see 500W. Now, I will admit, overclocking throws that out the window, but we aren't really talking about a huge overclocking machine here, we're talking a typical gaming rig.
For most people, I usually recommend a good 600-650W - that's more than enough margin for any single CPU and GPU put together, several hard drives and fans, and even allows for moderate overclocking on components - while being a small enough size that they aren't too expensive or suffer from low-load-low-efficiency.
Corsair is a strong brand, they don't have many bad power supplies (the RM series was about it, and that was poor because of faulty cooling/trying to be too silent - they supposedly have fixed the fan controller in there). You can overpay for the brand name, but you are going to have a solid PSU.
Seasonic is a good brand, and usually pretty nicely priced. Many other name brand PSUs are really Seasonic with a different sticker or paint job. I can't think of any bad Seasonic units in recent memory.
There are other good ones, but many brand names, being rebranded "other" units, are hit or miss depending on what the base model actually is.
Anyway, just thought i would post given the large number of "upsize your PSU" posts - I think your CX 600W is a sensible pick, size-wise and quality-wise. I won't speak to the price, but I tend to thing brand name/reputation and warranty support are worth a least a little something --- peace of mind if not a few dollars at any rate.
As a point of reference, here's some data I took from a recent build:
With Prime95 and Furmark running (both set to maximum power draw/benchmarking)
Intel 4790K (stock clock)
nVidia 980 (stock clock)
1 Hitachi HDD
1 Samsung SSD
6 fans, 1 water pump (Corsair H100i)
From Corsair iLink (AXi-series PSU)
Power Draw at the PSU, DC-output: 353W
Also plugged into the same outlet:
2x24" LCD monitors, a 4-bay NAS, 2 small gigabit ethernet switches, a lamp with anm 8W LED bulb, and a 40W stereo amp
As reported by my UPS (would be the same as a Kill-A-Watt reading)
Power Draw at the Wall: 505W
That includes all of that above equipment being on as well as the computer.
Sure, the 980 is pretty efficient. It has a TDP listing of 165W. Cards don't really go over 300W TDP for a very good reason (the R9 290 you had selected has a TDP of 275W, fwiw)
So you can add 150W to my number for good measure if you want, and your still absolutely no where near a 750W, let alone a 1000W, PSU requirement.
As another point of reference, here is the most recent HardOCP video card review. It happens to be a 970 SLI review... but what card they are reviewing really isn't relevant to this discussion.
http://hardocp.com/article/2014/11/19/nvidia_geforce_gtx_970_sli_4k_nv_surround_review/10#.VHVXWovF8Xw
On page 10 they benchmark a few different multi-GPU configurations for power draw, using a from-the-wall (Kill-A-Watt) method to see total computer draw, both idle and under benchmark/artificial loading.
Crossfire with 2 R9-290X's running under full load hit 750W. That's with 2 GPUs that have a 290W TDP in there. It makes me wonder why people are recommending a 1000W unit for a single R9-280, or why the AMD "Recommended" spec is 750W (fwiw, I can't even find any "official" recommendation on PSU sizes for their cards, although I know they did at one time provide that).
It is probably because they know a lot of power supplies are poor quality and can't handle their rated loads very well. Also, a lot of people buy video cards as an upgrade and the power supplies they are using can be older. The last thing to consider is that OEM power supply vendors may lie about the rating of the power supplies they sell and simply throw a different sticker on them. It is safer to go over on wattage rating than to try to push close to the maximum specs of a three-year-old power supply which lied about being able to handle 800 watts.
I have the pcs+ r9 290x and I run both are full throttle with a 1000w psu.
Oh btw I said both cuz of crossfire. 750 is very safe for 1 r9 290x especially a non custom one.
If you aren't going to crossfire, I would get the 750 just because its nice to have some energy wiggle room.
Btw the psu does matter because if you don't have enough power, your gpu will throttle to save power and not run at its full potential which is why I went safe and got a gold rated 1000 w psu for my dual pcs r9 290x set up.
If I went single I would have gone 750 but I bet 700 is fine.
I'm running SLI'd GTX760's and a heavily overclocked core i7 2600k, 4 hard drives, 4x 120mm fans, 1x 200mm fan, all off of a 650w PSU. Granted its a gold rated, but still, 650w.
People CONSTANTLY overbuy wattage on PSU's If he is going a single card, even a 290x is about a 280w card at full blast, i.e. its at 100% load. Proc is about 100w, rest of the stuff is minor. RAM is almost nothing, hard drives are usually ~9w each. Assuming he was somehow able to get his CPU at 100% and GPU at 100% load, he would be uing roughly 450w.
A decent 550w gold or a 600/650w bronze would be more than enough.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Also, i would spend less money on the motherboard. Something like a gigabyte UD3 is perfect unless you plan on extreme overclocking, there is zero reason to buy a gamer/high end mobo. My i7-2600k is a 3.4ghz stock proc, i have it running at 4.3ghz and have had it there since i bought it, on a gigabyte UD3 mobo. No issues whatsoever.
Also, that antec case is kind of pricey for what it is.
For that kind of money i'd be looking at the Corsair Graphite series, like a 650d, or a 730t, etc
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
I would take 16gb ram and save on something else.. Like the ssd.
Other than that I prefer Intel and nvidia.. i5 and a 770 (msi with frozr) is good value for money at the moment.
For power supply, watt numbers are somewhat misleading, you need to find a site with power supply reviews and buy a decent quality one.. Or be lazy and go for a known brand and silver/gold label.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
skip ocz ssd - ive had them in the past.. they fail.
go for the intel ssd's
maybe throw in another 1tb hdd so you can set up a raid to protect against data loss
I feel sorry for your computer.
The GPU will throttle, but it can't sense how much power is available. If you overdraw on a PSU, it will either spontaneously shut down (they are supposed to do that, it's short circuit/overcurrent protection), or the voltage will dip and you will probably fry something (usually VRMs). GPUs throttle based on temperature and based on power draw - but not power supply.
CPUs can do something similar - but all devices go in assuming they will have adequate power supplies, and if they don't, the PSU is supposed to protect them from under voltage by shutting down.
go for the intel ssd's
maybe throw in another 1tb hdd so you can set up a raid to protect against data loss
OCZ is owned by Hitachi now - and Hitachi actually makes decent HDDs.
That being said - I think Intel tend to be overpriced for what they offer (but that can vary based on sales and such). I usually find Crucial or Samsung safe SSD brand choices that can be found for competitive prices.
But if it were really cheap, I wouldn't turn away an OCZ drive.