Advice on a PC Build

[GeneralSquirts]

I wouldn't bother upgrading that (current lineup of your) PC later. Your CPU is not great to be honest and that's what will be holding you back. It's easy to replace a lot of things (GPU, PSU, RAM etc) but the CPU is awful so I really wouldn't bother. You're much more likely to break something while doing it than with other bits which slot in and out easily.

Alternatively, get a better CPU with a cheaper PSU atm and then you can upgrade GPU and PSU later and get more RAM etc. Atm your CPU is the weakest part of your PC anyway so it makes the most sense. Depends how much extra a 750W PSU is compared to say 450W.

CPU: I've been told that the CPU isn't bad at all, so maybe I'm getting bad information then? I wasn't aware my CPU was that bad. The thing is I got the CPU, motherboard, and heatsink all together from my friend who was passing down his older parts from his previous build after he mustered enough funds to get an insane $1500 Intel build. So I kind of jumped at the opportunity, which may have been a bad decision looking back at it now. The four things I have actually purchased already is the CPU, Motherboard, and Cooler listed above. I also just recently obtained the case and have it still in the box it came in to avoid static damage. But still, I've been told it wasn't a bad CPU at all. If needed I will go out and get another CPU, as I already invested a lot of my PC savings to get the current CPU I have in possession. But would my CPU be that limiting to my build?

GPU: Now originally I was looking at the Radeon R9 270X/270 for the build and Who- gave me a good site to go compare different GPUs in both performance and price. After searching I found some alternatives. Would these alternatives be better? From the screenshots below, I'm thinking of perhaps switching to the GeForce GTX 950 instead. I was also using the GTX 760 as another card to compare the others with. By the looks of it, it looks to hold better performance for a cheaper price and using PCPartPicker, the GTX 950 seems compatible with everything else I have. I just want to know if I would be correct in assuming that this card overall is better than what I was previously looking for. 

PSU: As for the PSU, I've decided to stick with the 750W since I can afford it anyways, and it would be less of a hassle to get a new PSU since I will probably look to upgrade in the future.

Spoiler

[close]

Spoiler

[close]

[GerRagnar]

Not a single disadvantage to having more power then you need at all, And as for your graphics card you could look at this http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

lol a real Techguru here

[MrTiki]

I mean it's not terrible, but it will be what holds your rig back is what I was getting at.

Here's a comparison of it and the CPU I have on my rig:
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-4670K-vs-AMD-FX-8320
Overall the 4670 does quite a lot better, and yet that is the main limiting factor on my build atm. I have a GTX 760, which is slightly better than the R9 270X.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-270X-vs-GeForce-GTX-760

The 900 series is essentially the best value for money you can get at the moment, but it's up to you which one you get.
If you're sticking with the CPU you have already (which makes financial sense) then go with the GTX 950. Don't spend too much else on your rig and just save up for a brand new rig at some point in the future. Things are only going to get cheaper so you might as well not spend too much and make it last as long as possible imo. Even things like RAM I wouldn't go overboard on, just get 2x4GB or something (I have 8GB and it's not limiting my rig), as there are already some motherboards with DDR4 RAM, so at some point that will be financially viable, and depending on how long your rig lasts you may be getting that on your next one.

Edit: Forgot to mention the 900 series is a newer and better version of the 700 series. It hadn't come out when I was building my rig unfortunately, but essentially 960 > 760 in every way.

[Andee]

I mean it's not terrible, but it will be what holds your rig back is what I was getting at.

Here's a comparison of it and the CPU I have on my rig:
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-4670K-vs-AMD-FX-8320
Overall the 4670 does quite a lot better, and yet that is the main limiting factor on my build atm. I have a GTX 760, which is slightly better than the R9 270X.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-270X-vs-GeForce-GTX-760

The 900 series is essentially the best value for money you can get at the moment, but it's up to you which one you get.
If you're sticking with the CPU you have already (which makes financial sense) then go with the GTX 950. Don't spend too much else on your rig and just save up for a brand new rig at some point in the future. Things are only going to get cheaper so you might as well not spend too much and make it last as long as possible imo. Even things like RAM I wouldn't go overboard on, just get 2x4GB or something (I have 8GB and it's not limiting my rig), as there are already some motherboards with DDR4 RAM, so at some point that will be financially viable, and depending on how long your rig lasts you may be getting that on your next one.

Edit: Forgot to mention the 900 series is a newer and better version of the 700 series. It hadn't come out when I was building my rig unfortunately, but essentially 960 > 760 in every way.

Is the AMD-FX-8320 really that bad?

[Who-]

After having an AMD CPU I wouldn't recommend anyone get one tbh

[GeneralSquirts]

Spoiler

I mean it's not terrible, but it will be what holds your rig back is what I was getting at.

Here's a comparison of it and the CPU I have on my rig:
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-4670K-vs-AMD-FX-8320
Overall the 4670 does quite a lot better, and yet that is the main limiting factor on my build atm. I have a GTX 760, which is slightly better than the R9 270X.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-270X-vs-GeForce-GTX-760

The 900 series is essentially the best value for money you can get at the moment, but it's up to you which one you get.
If you're sticking with the CPU you have already (which makes financial sense) then go with the GTX 950. Don't spend too much else on your rig and just save up for a brand new rig at some point in the future. Things are only going to get cheaper so you might as well not spend too much and make it last as long as possible imo. Even things like RAM I wouldn't go overboard on, just get 2x4GB or something (I have 8GB and it's not limiting my rig), as there are already some motherboards with DDR4 RAM, so at some point that will be financially viable, and depending on how long your rig lasts you may be getting that on your next one.

Edit: Forgot to mention the 900 series is a newer and better version of the 700 series. It hadn't come out when I was building my rig unfortunately, but essentially 960 > 760 in every way.

[close]

Alright, sweet. All of this helped me a lot. I also had a specific question as to whether or not it matters if I get a GTX 950, but from a different company that assembles it. For instance, The GTX 950 I looked at via PCPartPicker that's on Amazon (where I'm purchasing all my parts). Instead,  say I pick up the EVGA version of the GTX 950. I'm assuming that there's no difference in performance and that they're both completely fine. But is there a difference between the two in terms of anything that matters in regards to my build? Also if you're curious, the reason I'm buying off amazon is because I was given gift cards for the holidays and I might as well use the funds that I received to build my rig.

[Who-]

Some of the different company's will do Factory overclock's , better fans or back plates etc. I personally have a EVGA GPU so I would recommend getting a EVGA just because I haven't run into any problems with it for the 4 months I have had it.

[Gamboji]

I'd drop the 980 for a 970/960 just to save some money. That card is really good but I doubt you'll really have a need for it. Going with a 960 or 970 would probably cost half of what that one costs, but maybe I'm just dumb and poor.

[MrTiki]

Oh yeah, I forgot to reply about brands of video card. Essentially all the main brands are fine (for Nvidia cards that's EVGA, MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, XFX). I'd avoid Zotac, PNY and Palit, purely because they're smaller brands and I don't really know anyone who has any experience with them. They try to cut costs to compete, but obviously that's not necessarily in your best interests. Also I have no idea if they have decent support/warranty at all, whereas the big brands all do.
Of the main brands, the main thing to look for is cooling. You'll pay more for 2-3 fans as opposed to 1, but it's generally better for your card to keep it running a little cooler. But yeah there's not a huge amount of difference between cards by the main brands other than cooling. I think with AMD cards you get a bit more variation of factory overclocked cards and stuff but I'm not 100% sure.

[GeneralSquirts]

Oh yeah, I forgot to reply about brands of video card. Essentially all the main brands are fine (for Nvidia cards that's EVGA, MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, XFX). I'd avoid Zotac, PNY and Palit, purely because they're smaller brands and I don't really know anyone who has any experience with them. They try to cut costs to compete, but obviously that's not necessarily in your best interests. Also I have no idea if they have decent support/warranty at all, whereas the big brands all do.
Of the main brands, the main thing to look for is cooling. You'll pay more for 2-3 fans as opposed to 1, but it's generally better for your card to keep it running a little cooler. But yeah there's not a huge amount of difference between cards by the main brands other than cooling. I think with AMD cards you get a bit more variation of factory overclocked cards and stuff but I'm not 100% sure.

I figured as much. I really do appreciate yourself and others who helped edit and finalize my build to be even better and cost less than it was before. I couldn't stress how much you guys helped me with words. 

[GeneralSquirts]

After much work, and about spending 5 1/2 hours making sure I got every little plug, pin, and latch set correctly. I present to you my first computer rig.

Spoiler

[close]

The process of building it was really fun. I enjoyed taking the time to do it, and I enjoyed all 5 1/2 hours of it. This is the rig without my monitor/windows 10 installed yet, I'll be getting that done in the upcoming days. Everything seemed to be working fine when I powered it up for the first time. I noticed that my GPU fan wasn't spinning, but I'm assuming that's because I don't have the OS setup yet and therefore don't have the necessary drivers/software to properly get my GPU functioning. \

[MrTiki]

Nice carpet.

(Congrats though!)

[Kore]

Hey, my z77 most likely fucked up, I don't have a "K" i5 so I don't think there will be a problem but I will still ask. Is there gonna be any performance loss if I buy H61? (there are no other lga1155 mobo's anymore)
Kinda weird to get such a small motherboard compared to my Z77 pro3, I use GTX970 Phantom which is pretty huge.
I'll get myself a new gen mobo and CPU at some point, but I won't really have money in the next few months.

[GerRagnar]

Hey, my z77 most likely fucked up, I don't have a "K" i5 so I don't think there will be a problem but I will still ask. Is there gonna be any performance loss if I buy H61? (there are no other lga1155 mobo's anymore)
Kinda weird to get such a small motherboard compared to my Z77 pro3, I use GTX970 Phantom which is pretty huge.
I'll get myself a new gen mobo and CPU at some point, but I won't really have money in the next few months.

"K" means you can overclock your CPU, if you did overclock your cpu on your Z77 then you may suffer  a performance loss in certain applications (Gaming should be fine), since you cant overclock on the h61 mb.

Ivy Bridge Z Boards are getting so expensive lately its insane