Finalized build, need advice

[MatthewOU2015]

Hey guys!

After months of dreaming I finally got the funds together to build my first gaming PC. Below is the build I'm 100% going with unless a sale happens.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8hcjVn

Budget: $430 just for tower minus video card
Resolution: 1080p and 1440p
Games / Settings Desired: wow on ultra also If possible I want to run the latest games on ultra.
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): No
Country: USA
Parts that can be reused: Keyboard, mouse
Do you need an OS? No
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? No

I already purchased a R9 290x card, monitor and OS. Does this build look okay for my needs?

[Kagthul]

Eh...AMD CPU is going to underperform on WoW in particular and games in general. Youd be better off with a fast Core i3 or low-end Core i5.

[MatthewOU2015]

Eh...AMD CPU is going to underperform on WoW in particular and games in general. Youd be better off with a fast Core i3 or low-end Core i5.

I was thinking about it but other forums and benchmarking sites have the fx 8320 above the i3 and i5 4460, expect in single core performance. Either was $190 is over budget sadly for a cpu.

[Kagthul]

I was thinking about it but other forums and benchmarking sites have the fx 8320 above the i3 and i5 4460, expect in single core performance. Either was $190 is over budget sadly for a cpu.

Single core performance is what matters most in almost all games. And there's no way an i3 is 190$. Hell, the Pentium G3258 will outperform that FX 8320 in most games.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4370 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.80 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.50 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($41.40 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $405.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-02 23:51 EDT-0400

All i did was swap in a fast i3 and Motherboard. In almost all games, and particularly in MMOs, where simgle-thread performance is pretty mich all that matters, this will handily outperform the FX 8320; not so much in Max framerates, but average and minimum framerates will be a lot higher. (The FX 8320 will have a considerably harder time keeping up in crowded areas and the framerate will drop significantly).

Id also suggest finding a better PSU, the CX series, specifically, is known to be rather sub par.

[Deleted]

Try this build for a similar spec to Kagthul's:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4370 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.50 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case ($30.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($71.10 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $393.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-03 07:57 EDT-0400

[MatthewOU2015]

Try this build for a similar spec to Kagthul's:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4370 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.50 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case ($30.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($71.10 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $393.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-03 07:57 EDT-0400

Looks good but the r9 290x needs a beefy 750w PSU. I'm sure I can find one made by sea sonic. Thanks again!

[xHardz]

Looks good but the r9 290x needs a beefy 750w PSU. I'm sure I can find one made by sea sonic. Thanks again!

I run my 290x with a 600W Silverstone 80+ Silver. As long as you have enough amps on the for the card, you should be fine with a decent PSU of 600ish watts.

[Evildeffy]

Looks good but the r9 290x needs a beefy 750w PSU. I'm sure I can find one made by sea sonic. Thanks again!

The R9 290X does not need it a 750W PSU.
Most of them rank it that high because of shitty power supplies they sell which cannot deliver what they advertise.

In general though if you have a SeaSonic PSU you should be fine with a 620W as the 12V rail(s) are the most important thing.
If that can delivery ~400W in total you should be fine for the entire system at the highest load conditions.

The M12-II series from SeaSonic will not only handle your power requirements... it'll piss on them like it wasn't even bothering.

Edit:
Whilst I do agree that the FX-8320 is bad for WoW it is by far not as bad as some make it out to be in other games.
MMOs tend to be built with Intel's higher IPC on their cores as the clear victor no doubt about that.

But when playing other games which are pretty well optimized the AMD CPU is more powerful.

Certainly the i3-4370 will be good and work fast but remember that especially with the age of DX12 around the corner (not knowing how long you want to keep this upgrade running for) it might be smarter to save up a slight bit more and invest in a quad core.

Though DX12 has advantages to it's design that will alleviate lower core bottlenecks in a bigger effect than quad cores .. it can still become a bottleneck for the GFX card.

All in all both will work, the Intel 1 in WoW and other MMO centric games will be better but my honest opinion is to save up a slight bit more and get a quad core from Intel.
Perhaps go on a 2nd hand scavenge build? I see plenty of people selling off their Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge CPUs... still very much worthwhile to get those as well if you're leashed on a budget.. then again I do not know the 2nd hand market in the US very well.

[Deleted]

There is room in the budget for a quadcore.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.50 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case ($30.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($71.10 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $425.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-03 09:14 EDT-0400

[Evildeffy]

There is room in the budget for a quadcore.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.50 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case ($30.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($71.10 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $425.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-03 09:14 EDT-0400

This seems more solid.

Though out of personal preference.... the motherboards in that price range are seriously horrid ><

[Kagthul]

This seems more solid.

Though out of personal preference.... the motherboards in that price range are seriously horrid ><

For most boards, yes, but the H97 Anniversary is actually very solid for the price. It was deliberately designed to pair with the Pentium G3258, so it has some features other cheapie boards do not (better VRMs for one).

[MatthewOU2015]

An i5 is possible!! Thanks all!

[Deleted]

A few bucks more, just check whatever case you get to fit the 290x you already purchased.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($193.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $457.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-09 07:06 EDT-0400