So... Building a PC

[Hoplon]

Most the ones I've seen are about 65$ USD. I've heavily considered an SSD, but with most games being 35-60gb installs now, I figure a larger HDD will do me better. As of now I have 2 1tb hdds in my PC, all together taking up about 1.6tb with everything I have on them. I'd add in the newer drive I have (like 1 and a half years old) with the 2tb one, but I'd still consider one. It would be nice as a boot drive.

From what I've gathered, Intel is superior, but on the budget I have AMD really seems like the way to go. The closest appealing chip I can find would factor out to be at least 60 USD more, with having to change the mobo.

Sure, budget is the master. the SSD would jsut be for windows and the things that want to be on the same drive as windows, the games would be quite happy on the mechanical HDD. this offers 2 advantages, boot times and program start up times are a lot faster and reinstalling the OS to combat a virus or just to fix a problem doesn't affect the large files for games. We are recommending a SSD as well as a 2tb HDD.

 

[masticina]

Well as the others say an SSD really is going to help you allot.

Windows has allot of little small files. Loading those from SSD is at least 10x faster then from a HDD. Running an SSD will make your system feel much smoother and act much quicker.

Not going back to a HDD myself. Now having a secundairy HDD as storage? Of course. Price seen owning a 1/2Tbyte of storage for media and stuff like that really can't hurt.

An SSD also will keep your system fresher in the long run. Windows runs quick as you install it but after a while goes to hell. On a HDD this makes the difference between a system that is acceptable and one that runs like excrement.
On an SSD even a heavily fragmented/broken system still runs at decent speeds.

16Gbyte of memory. Good choice! It will run games, you want to have enough memory to store games right now but also games in the future. And I have found upgrading from 8Gbyte to 16Gbyte that it smooths things. More memory means more caching, means that if you run a game, watch a youtube video, return to the game. There is enough left in the memory to load it up allot faster.

And you know the AMD 8 core system is indeed a good choice. I do run a Core I5 myself but yes with the games getting more suited for multi core systems having 8 cores isn't a bad idea. With enough cooling it can run a pretty neat overclock.

 

[FPLOON]

It "scares" me... Wanting to build a PC that's within 500 bones that will not only last longer than the amount of years cover an elementary school, but also be able to play every single game off my Steam library is an investment that feels about as risky as using an old version of McAfee... and that's not including the warranty I would not be sure of lasting that long as well as the drive to build it myself so that I don't end up asking a bunch of FAQs like I should know all that by now...

Other than that, I have debated about buying a SSD for my current laptop as I build up enough leisure funds to build my first PC...

 

[The Enquirer]

Well as the others say an SSD really is going to help you allot.

Windows has allot of little small files. Loading those from SSD is at least 10x faster then from a HDD. Running an SSD will make your system feel much smoother and act much quicker.

Not going back to a HDD myself. Now having a secundairy HDD as storage? Of course. Price seen owning a 1/2Tbyte of storage for media and stuff like that really can't hurt.

An SSD also will keep your system fresher in the long run. Windows runs quick as you install it but after a while goes to hell. On a HDD this makes the difference between a system that is acceptable and one that runs like excrement.
On an SSD even a heavily fragmented/broken system still runs at decent speeds.

16Gbyte of memory. Good choice! It will run games, you want to have enough memory to store games right now but also games in the future. And I have found upgrading from 8Gbyte to 16Gbyte that it smooths things. More memory means more caching, means that if you run a game, watch a youtube video, return to the game. There is enough left in the memory to load it up allot faster.

And you know the AMD 8 core system is indeed a good choice. I do run a Core I5 myself but yes with the games getting more suited for multi core systems having 8 cores isn't a bad idea. With enough cooling it can run a pretty neat overclock.

I'm under the impression that ssd's don't actually fragment because it's digital, not mechanical like a HDD.

Out of curiosity, how much RAM does your GPU have? And is the already purchased GPU included in the budget?

2gb. The GPU has already been purchased, and it wasn't included in the 630$ total. It was 200, so with that included it would be 830$

What parts are you willing to swap out for others? Because you can honestly save a little cash by going to 12 gigs of RAM. Unless you plan on video editing and processing/other RAM intensive processes, you should be good with 12 for gaming.

I'd actually considering getting a smaller storage, but making an ssd, at least for your OS and programs you frequently run. You can tack a HDD on for other stuff.

I'd recommend an SSD too, but I think they're still priced 1GB/1$, so not cheap.

lol no. not for while now. like 5 years. a 128 gb which is fine for an OS install shouldn't breach $50 (might be wrong translating from pounds sterling)

An SSD is the part to get, possibly an i5 over the AMD but can be a pricey so understood if not.

From what I've gathered, Intel is superior, but on the budget I have AMD really seems like the way to go. The closest appealing chip I can find would factor out to be at least 60 USD more, with having to change the mobo.

Intel will generally run cooler and it is superior in the long run, however for your budget, as you said, you will get more bang for your buck with AMD.

Since you are running AMD have you considered getting a CPU cooler?

Also be cautious when picking out your case. With a lot of them you will need to swap out your fans because they can be very loud. That may or may not be an issue depending on how much online gaming you do, with a mic in particular.

 

[masticina]

Well as the others say an SSD really is going to help you allot.

Windows has allot of little small files. Loading those from SSD is at least 10x faster then from a HDD. Running an SSD will make your system feel much smoother and act much quicker.
...

I'm under the impression that ssd's don't actually fragment because it's digital, not mechanical like a HDD.

Well, yes and no!

An SSD isn't just a row of boxes to store things into. It actually has a layer of intelligence to it. It auto defragments by moving data around if needed. Your pc doesn't sees the actual data, but sees it through a virtual layer. This is a controller that optimizes data.

Still it does requires help from the software. You still might want to use TRIM once in a while so the drive cleans up unused pages.

The big gain with an SSD is seektimes. A hdd has a quite slower seek time, having to move the head to the sector, compared to an SSD. An SSD simply uses that virtual layer and quickly seeks up the data.

So yes an SSD doesn't really fragments. Not really.. but how it does it makes it a complicated system. And it is still suggested to trim once in a while if there is no garbage collection on the controller.

 

[The Enquirer]

Well as the others say an SSD really is going to help you allot.

Windows has allot of little small files. Loading those from SSD is at least 10x faster then from a HDD. Running an SSD will make your system feel much smoother and act much quicker.
...

I'm under the impression that ssd's don't actually fragment because it's digital, not mechanical like a HDD.

Well, yes and no!

An SSD isn't just a row of boxes to store things into. It actually has a layer of intelligence to it. It auto defragments by moving data around if needed. Your pc doesn't sees the actual data, but sees it through a virtual layer. This is a controller that optimizes data.

Still it does requires help from the software. You still might want to use TRIM once in a while so the drive cleans up unused pages.

The big gain with an SSD is seektimes. A hdd has a quite slower seek time, having to move the head to the sector, compared to an SSD. An SSD simply uses that virtual layer and quickly seeks up the data.

So yes an SSD doesn't really fragments. Not really.. but how it does it makes it a complicated system. And it is still suggested to trim once in a while if there is no garbage collection on the controller.

Yea, I'm definitely aware of why it is faster than a hdd, but that was actually really helpful considering I'm getting myself one for the PC I'm building. Thanks!

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

Out of curiosity, how much RAM does your GPU have? And is the already purchased GPU included in the budget?

2gb. The GPU has already been purchased, and it wasn't included in the 630$ total. It was 200, so with that included it would be 830$

What parts are you willing to swap out for others? Because you can honestly save a little cash by going to 12 gigs of RAM. Unless you plan on video editing and processing/other RAM intensive processes, you should be good with 12 for gaming.

I'd actually considering getting a smaller storage, but making an ssd, at least for your OS and programs you frequently run. You can tack a HDD on for other stuff.

I'd recommend an SSD too, but I think they're still priced 1GB/1$, so not cheap.

lol no. not for while now. like 5 years. a 128 gb which is fine for an OS install shouldn't breach $50 (might be wrong translating from pounds sterling)

An SSD is the part to get, possibly an i5 over the AMD but can be a pricey so understood if not.

From what I've gathered, Intel is superior, but on the budget I have AMD really seems like the way to go. The closest appealing chip I can find would factor out to be at least 60 USD more, with having to change the mobo.

Intel will generally run cooler and it is superior in the long run, however for your budget, as you said, you will get more bang for your buck with AMD.

Since you are running AMD have you considered getting a CPU cooler?

Also be cautious when picking out your case. With a lot of them you will need to swap out your fans because they can be very loud. That may or may not be an issue depending on how much online gaming you do, with a mic in particular.

I actually can't find any 12gb ram deals cheaper than the one I'm planning on (Actually, right after posting this, I did.), seems to be well reviewed, as well, and only 70$. I also do edit videos here and there, so I figure it couldn't hurt. I was considering a CPU cooler, but I don't plan to over-clock, and from what I've read, the stock cooler seems to be fine (I could be incorrect on that notion.) I don't generally talk to people when I play games, and for the most part I only do it on less-intensive games (I mean, the most demanding online game I have right now is Battlefront, and there isn't even a chat feature in the game) I am a little skeptical about my case choice, it comes with 2 pre-installed fans which I'm sure are cheap, and it only has room for one more (Which I'm pretty sure I will opt for another case fan), but like I said, I don't plan on doing anything to catch this PC on fire.

I'm also very picky when it comes to cases, which really sucks, considering the fact that I'm really limiting my options (Preferred top mounted IO, no side window, can't look fucking stupid, etc.). I've got a dell XPS right now, and I absolutely love the case for it, but it's not very well designed, and can only hold a micro ATX motherboard, so I'm just getting something new.

 

[Vigormortis]

Not much to add, really. Just about everyone's already brought up the SSDs, so...

Good build. Could still upgrade the GPU, but otherwise it's fine.

Anyways, the CPU is actually decent on your GPU. The AMD R9 380 is a better buy if both are evenly priced *hell even if the 960 is cheaper it aint worth it compared to the 380* but I understand that can not be changed.

Agreed. The 380 has been showing some pretty great performance for the price.

That said, I'm really anxious to see the R9 Nano come down in price. Which, of course, is largely dependent on how well it does with this first run.

The things pack nearly as much punch as the Fury X's but are under six inches long, can be sufficiently cooled with a single fan, and require half the wattage of similarly powerful cards.

In short: I want them down in price (from the 500~700 they're sitting at now) so I can slap at least two of 'em in a new build. Would save a LOT of space, power, and heat dissipation requirements. I could even, hypothetically of course, stick two of these in a (modified) Micro ATX rig.

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

Adhering to the advice so many of you were so kind as to give, I will probably get a 120gb SSD to load windows onto. Thank you!

 

[The Enquirer]

I actually can't find any 12gb ram deals cheaper than the one I'm planning on (Actually, right after posting this, I did.), seems to be well reviewed, as well, and only 70$. I also do edit videos here and there, so I figure it couldn't hurt. I was considering a CPU cooler, but I don't plan to over-clock, and from what I've read, the stock cooler seems to be fine (I could be incorrect on that notion.) I don't generally talk to people when I play games, and for the most part I only do it on less-intensive games (I mean, the most demanding online game I have right now is Battlefront, and there isn't even a chat feature in the game) I am a little skeptical about my case choice, it comes with 2 pre-installed fans which I'm sure are cheap, and it only has room for one more (Which I'm pretty sure I will opt for another case fan), but like I said, I don't plan on doing anything to catch this PC on fire.

I'm also very picky when it comes to cases, which really sucks, considering the fact that I'm really limiting my options (Preferred top mounted IO, no side window, can't look fucking stupid, etc.). I've got a dell XPS right now, and I absolutely love the case for it, but it's not very well designed, and can only hold a micro ATX motherboard, so I'm just getting something new.

I'd consider looking into high-airflow cases as that may help you a bit.

Obviously this is above your budget, but this is my current setup: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wPpQHx

 

[Albino Boo]

You will get 40% increase in performance for about the same price by going for an i5 4690k with 8gb of Ram.

Same price, more or less, until you factor in the Motherboard. I'm getting my CPU and Motherboard at a local electronic store that has bundle deals, and the AMD bundle is about 60$ cheaper. I'll still consider it, though, as the 4690k is a lot newer than I suspected. I take it the i5 doesn't hyperthread, though.

In reality hyperthreading doesn't make one bit of difference in PC gaming. Most games only have 2 threads and even those games that have 4 the heavy lifting is done by 2. Its not going to change anytime soon because Intel have 80% of the PC market and not all AMD chips have 8 cores. So while the same game will run easily on an AMD octacore on the PS4 you will get worse performance from the PC because the game sits much further away from the hardware. Single core performance is the king for PC gaming and it will remain so. If you can't afford the extra for the i5 thats fine, you have to cut you cloth to suit your purse. If you can afford it, the i5 offers far better performance and value for money in a games machine.

 

[votemarvel]

I'm on the side of an SSD isn't necessary, if you are budget conscious. For the same price as a decent sized SSD, you can get an SSHD with four times the space.

Of course your performance boost won't be as good but you will have one versus a traditional hard drive, and you'll have a larger amount of space for your needs.

It's weird that I think this way really as I wouldn't be without my SSD now, it's as I said I just don't think it is a needed component if money is a factor.

Also don't feel the need to get a gaming motherboard, especially if you like your old Dell case. I use a Micro-ATX board in my system and it performs perfectly well.