First Computer Build Help

[Joe136]

Hello everyone. Long time lurker and a rare poster here.
First of all, I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this, or if this kind of thing isn't allowed. I also apologize if this post is ugly. It's the first new topic I've ever made. Haha.

Anyway, I've recently decided that I would like to build a computer. This would be my first time doing so, so I've done a good bit of research. Long story short, the time has come for me to finally order everything. Before I do so however, I'd like to make sure that everything is compatible. Below is a list of everything that I'm planning on getting. I would greatly appreciate it you all would look over it and see if something won't be compatible with the rest, or if I'm making a newbie mistake somewhere.

AZZA Solano 1000 Black/Black Japanese SECC Steel/Metal mesh in front ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517004

Sony Optiarc High Speed SATA DVD RW Burner Drive Black with DVD+R DL Overburn Model 5280S-CB-PLUS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118073


Seagate Constellation ES.3 ST1000NM0033 1TB 7200 RPM 128MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178291

ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131877

EVGA 03G-P4-2667-KR GeForce GTX 660 FTW Signature 2 3GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130836

CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231568

AMD FX-8320 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8320FRHKBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113285




Any feedback on this topic is much appreciated!

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Only real issue I can see is that the PSU is pretty overkill. Drop it down to a 600W version and maybe drop another 8GB of RAM (8 is plenty). Use the money you save there to buy at least a GTX 660ti or better

 

[Weaver]

I'd actually disagree with Charizard and keep the PSU and RAM you have, personally. With 850 you'll be able to add on new hard drives and/or get a new GPU in the future without much worry. You can also be assured your case fans will be powered.

It all looks pretty good to me. I checked the mobo, RAM and CPU and they're all compatible. I'd, personally, put out more for a graphics card... but then again, I'm someone who has spent $600 on a graphics card.

Your case is very big. I have a full tower myself, so it's not like it's unreasonably huge, but just keep in mind you're going to have a lot of space left over .

 

[AWAR]

Nope. 850w is definitely an overkill, case fans consume 1,5 - 2 watts at best. Get a corsair 600watt and spend the money on a better graphics card. Also the case is a bit of an overkill. You can get the same features for half its price. As charizard said, 8gigs of ram is enough for gaming, make sure you get 2 sticks of 4gigs though.
You should also consider an aftermarket CPU cooler, FX-8320 comes with a very, very noisy stock fan. I'd suggest the Coolermaster 212 evo.

 

[Weaver]

Nope. 850w is definitely an overkill, case fans consume 1,5 - 2 watts at best. Get a corsair 600watt and spend the money on a better graphics card. Also the case is a bit of an overkill. You can get the same features for half its price. As charizard said, 8gigs of ram is enough for gaming, make sure you get 2 sticks of 4gigs though.
You should also consider an aftermarket CPU cooler, FX-8320 comes with a very, very noisy stock fan. I'd suggest the Coolermaster 212 evo.

I guess I'm just used to my own rig. I have a 580 GTX that consumes around 380 watts under peak load. I also found any PSUs (at the time) under 800 watts didn't have enough +12v dedicated rails for the card (the card needs two). If you wanted to SLI you're talking about 760 watts there alone. Obviously, the 660 will consume far, far less power; but I'm thinking of upgrade potential.

 

[AWAR]

-snip

These are money better spent on a better graphics card rather than a PSU that doesn't affect performance. Also SLI is a pretty rare choice for non-enthusiasts.

 

[Inconspicuous Trenchcoat]

Things I'd take into consideration:
-Do you really need a full tower case? Those things are huge, if you just want a computer to game on, even if you're planning on eventual Crossfire/SLI, you don't need a full tower. Get a mid tower; even consider a small form factor case with an ITX (smallest size) motherboard--only if you'll never SLI/Crossfire.
-If you like the idea of a big case, the Fractal Define R4 [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352022] is a mid tower, but still pretty large (it's wide, so any custom coolers and wires will fit nicely). It's also very quiet (sound-absorbing foam) and first-time builder friendly, it's just an easy case to build in (I just completed my first from-scratch build in it, very smooth sailing). This case is held in high regard from the reading I've done around the internet.
-You seem pretty willing to spend a good chunk of money on this system, which makes me wonder why you're going with an AMD processor. Intel's processors are still much better clock-for-clock. The next gen consoles may have 8 AMD cores, but they're also very slow compared to desktop processors. An Intel will probably still perform better than AMD. The FX processors are better at multi-threaded applications, so if you regularly use those, go ahead; if you're only interested in gaming, I recommend a 3570k or 4670k instead. The way I see it: desktop processors are advancing very slowly these days, better to be trapped with the best, then with an AMD FX processor. An example, look for the game benches [http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/698?vs=701] (If you switched to Intel, you'd need a different motherboard)
-As far as PSU, a good PSU (Seasonic or Corsair HX w/ Bronze, Silver or Gold efficiency) at 500-550W will handle any single-GPU system. A quality 700-750W should handle any SLI/Crossfire configuration.
-If you're only going to be gaming, 2x4GB of RAM is plenty. I'd buy the cheapest RAM you can find that is: 1.35v or 1.5v, 1600MHz, and low profile. Low profile RAM eliminates the risk that your CPU's custom cooler will run into it. Speaking of that, the Cooler Master Hyper EVO is excellent for the price.
-Since you're spending pretty pennies for the other parts, why not on the most important part, the GPU? The best value I've seen on the GPU side lately is Sapphire's 7950 w/ Vapor-x cooling for $300, or a more standard 7950 for ~$270. If you want Nvidia I'd get at least a 660ti, or consider the soon-to-released 760, which is near a 670 but cheaper, about $300. Personally, I'd either get a 7950/660ti/760 or jump to a 780. I wouldn't get a 770, it's just in an awkward spot IMO. 7970 is a better alternative to a 770 because it has 3GB of vram and the memory bandwidth to actually support it, the 770 is a bit starved for bandwidth, so getting the 4GB model might be nearly worthless.


If you don't want to listen to me, here are two of the best resources I've found for help building PCs:

A NeoGAF thread full of extremely knowledgeable people. The first post is crammed with amazing information. [http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509570]

Falcon Guide [http://s1002.photobucket.com/user/The_FalconO6/media/CurrentLogicalPCBuyingGuide/Guide.png.html]

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SHORT EDITION:
-Why a full tower? Get a smaller case?
-Your power supply is overkill. Get a 500-650W Seasonic or Corsair Gold efficiency.
-Why 16GB of RAM? 8GB is more than enough for games.
-Why an AMD FX processor, especially when you're paying good money for the Mobo, PSU etc.? i5 3570k, i5 4670k are better. Intel would require a different motherboard.
-I'd bump up the GPU a few levels, and get a cheaper PSU, MoBo and RAM.
-You probably don't need to spend $180 on a MoBo unless you actual know what its added features ARE AND WANT those, or are going to overclock like it's going out of style. Spend around $100-140 instead. Put savings towards a better graphics card.

 

[Joe136]

Thank you everyone for all of the great feedback! I believe I'll follow your advice and cut down on a lot of things to get a better GPU / Processor. The only reason why I was getting the AMD processor to begin with was because I saw that it had a lot of value for the money... but seeing some of those benchmarks, I think I'll go with Intel.