PC Build Review

I've got one AMD FX X6 6300 3.5GHz (4.1GHz) box just sitting here, basically a relic from an era when we actually thought we were building machines that would last forever.
Just one stick of Kingston DDR3 HyperX Fury, running at 1866MHz, packed with 8GB—that’s two 4GB modules in black.
Just one Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P on an AM3+ socket.
I've got one Sapphire R9 280 3GB GDDR5 Dual-X sitting here with that boost feature, just waiting for someone to come along and give it a purpose again.
Just one single 1TB Toshiba hard drive, spinning at 7200RPM with a 32MB cache—basically a relic from a bygone era that'll probably rattle like a tin can in a dryer if you look at it wrong.
Just one LG GH24NSC0 sat Bulk Black DVD burner sitting there, looking like a relic from a bygone era.
Just one Zalman Z3+ in that sleek USB 3.0 black finish.
Just a single Xilence 600W Performance C with a 120mm fan, nothing fancy.

I’ve already made up my mind about the processor, the graphics card, and the RAM—those aren't up for debate, so don't even try to talk me out of it. What I actually need help with is finding a decent case; I'm looking for something spacious enough to breathe and won't turn into a literal furnace, ideally sitting somewhere around the $200 mark if you can find something that isn't a total waste of money.$117Secondly, I’m wondering if that optical drive is actually any good—I’m looking for one of those standard, old-school classic models. Also, is the voltage on this power supply even remotely reliable, or am I just asking for trouble? Once you guys get everything sorted out, will all these components actually play nice together on this motherboard, or is it going to be another headache?

Just staring at the horizon, waiting for what the future holds.

So, are all these parts actually enough to get this rig up and running without a hitch, or am I missing something crucial? If there's a gap in my setup, please hunt down whatever I need—just make sure it’s budget-friendly and won't look like a total eyesore next to the hardware I've already picked out.
Total budget: $5,000.$1767
I’m honestly sitting here wondering if I could just track down this exact same setup somewhere else—maybe some local shop around Chicago or even an online retailer—and actually walk away with a better deal if they throw in free assembly and shipping, rather than getting squeezed like this.$1707).

Thanks a million for the hand you gave me!

You didn't mention what your total budget looks like—it might be easier for the guys to help you out if you do.

George Sanders37 said:You didn't mention what kind of total budget we're looking at here, and honestly, it’s like trying to build a house without knowing if you're buying bricks or gold bars—the guys won't be able to give you much useful advice until they know how much cash you're actually willing to burn.

Edited

Here is the full build at Micro Center:

1 x AMD FX X6 6300 3.5Ghz (4.1GHz) box
2 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 Mhz (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+
1 x HDD SEAGATE Barracuda (3.5",1TB,64MB,SATA III)
1 x LG GH24NSC0 sat Bulk Black 24x
1 x Fortron Hyper 500W, 80+
1 x CPU Hladnjak LC-CC-95, Intel/AMD, 90mm
1 x Sapphire R9 280 3Gb GDDR5 Dual-X with boost
1 x Zalman Z3+, USB3.0 black

Total: $1758
I swapped in standard RAM since there really isn't any difference, but I upgraded everything else. For instance, you didn't include an aftermarket cooler which you definitely need, plus you picked a crappy power supply, so I fixed that here. 🙂 You also have the option to stick with 4 GB of RAM now but go with a much better FX 8300 instead; you can always upgrade the RAM later. Or, if you can stretch your budget by about $50, grab the FX 8300 and 8 GB of RAM right now. That would put you at roughly $1817, so take a look.

That Sapphire card isn't quite as solid as the triple-fan version. Don't let it fool you. 😉

That Fury RAM is actually cheaper right now and way better than Crucial—honestly, if you don't have a Gigabyte board, you might as well grab the XFX with the beefier heatsink for the same price.

Which one is actually the better deal? CLICK vs CLICK Regarding the GPU, yeah, the dual-fan model definitely has better cooling, but he specifically asked for this particular version, so I just gave him what he wanted. Maybe it was just an aesthetic thing—who knows.

http://www.newegg.com/p/graphics-cards/evga-gtx-960/

I suppose I’d probably lean toward the GTX 960. You could either go with one of those Gigabyte models that comes with a three-year warranty, or maybe look at the Inno3D iChill Ultra, which I think is one of the more powerful 960 versions out there and stays way cooler than most other cards.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/evga-geforce-gtx-960-strix/15/

Adam Moore3 said:Here’s the full build for the future:

1 x AMD FX X6 6300 3.5Ghz (4.1GHz) box
2 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 Mhz (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+
1 x HDD SEAGATE Barracuda (3.5",1TB,64MB,SATA III)
1 x LG GH24NSC0 sat Bulk Black 24x
1 x Fortron Hyper 500W, 80+
1 x CPU Cooler LC-CC-95, Intel/AMD, 90mm
1 x Sapphire R9 280 3Gb GDDR5 Dual-X with boost
1 x Zalman Z3+, USB3.0 black

Total: $1758
I swapped in standard RAM since, honestly, it's not like there's some magical difference you'd actually notice, but I beefed up everything else; for instance, you skipped an aftermarket cooler which is basically suicide for these chips, and you picked a power supply that was about as reliable as a screen door on a submarine, so I fixed that too. 🙂 You also have the choice to stick with 4 GB of RAM right now if you want to grab a much better FX 8300 instead, since you can always just slap more RAM in later, or if you can stretch your wallet by maybe $50 just go all out now with the FX 8300 and 8 GB of RAM, which would put you at roughly $1817, so it's really up to you.

Alright, I switched the RAM and added that cooler, but I'm still sweating the power supply—is 500W actually going to cut it? Like, if I decide to start overclocking, is this thing going to blow up in my face? Also, I’ve got another thousand bucks in the bank, but I’ve earmarked that for a monitor and peripherals, so if I wanted to jump to a beefier processor I could, though I'm not sure if the extra cost is actually worth the marginal gain in performance.

If anyone here has actually gone out and bought computer parts from Future, I’m dying to know if they handle the system setup for free—like, a full installation of classic Windows—so that when the box finally hits my doorstep, I can just plug it into the wall and get straight to work without any extra headaches or hidden fees.

If I'm not mistaken, I don't think they deal in "pirated" versions of Windows—they’re really only going to go down that road if you're dropping 700-$267 on an operating system, basically if you actually pay for it. Honestly, these days, anyone who knows their way around a PC can pull that off—so why not just ask a neighbor or some friends? I'm sure there's someone you know who can help you out.

Look, I’ve already nuked my OS twice—swapping from Ultimate to 8 and then crawling right back again—so I’m wondering if the drill is exactly the same when you're dealing with a brand-new machine. Back then, I just popped the disc in, dove into the BIOS to tell the system to boot from the drive, and let the installation run its course. Is it really that straightforward for a first-timer too, or am I missing some hidden hurdle?

Samuel Moore70 said:I've already swapped out my Windows twice (went from Ultimate to 8 and then back again), so does the process work the same way if the drive is brand new? I just burned the Windows installer to a disc, went into the BIOS, set it to boot from the optical drive, and ran the install. Is it the same deal for a first-timer?

It works the same on the 1st time, the 5th time, or the 155th time. 🍿

I honestly can't wrap my head around whether upgrading to an FX 8300 is even worth the headache compared to sticking with the X6 6300, especially since you aren't seeing any real jump in quality—just those extra two cores tacked on for an extra $67 when it feels like you're just paying more for a marginal bump.

Samuel Moore70 said:I'm not sure if upgrading to an FX 8300 from an AMD FX X6 6300 is even worth it. Performance isn't much different besides those extra two cores, yet you're paying $67 more for it.

It’s an investment for the long haul. Modern games just keep demanding more cores.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:it’s basically an investment in the long haul, especially since modern games just seem to gorge themselves on more and more cores every single year.

But even then, you've got it pushing through at a modest 3.3 GHz while that AMD FX X6 6300 can easily cruise past the 3.5 mark.

Well, both are unlocked, so you could probably even hit 4GHz with that little cooler of yours.

Timothy Kim60 said:Look, both of them have unlocked multipliers, so honestly, you could probably push either one to 4GHz even if you're just messing around with a basic little cooler.

So which one am I actually better off grabbing?

FX 8300 🙂

So, if you drop the burner, you're looking at $50 roughly

1 x XFX NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 3GB DDR5 Graphic Card
1 x AMD CPU Desktop FX-Series X8 8300 (3.3GHz,16MB,95W,AM3+) box
1 x Gigabyte 970A DS3P, AM3+
1 x CPU Cooler LC-CC-120, Intel/AMD, 120mm, PWM
1 x HDD SEAGATE Barracuda (3.5",1TB,64MB,SATA III)
1 x Zalman Z3, USB3.0 black, 3x120mm
1 x MEM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz (2x4), Kingston Fury
1 x Fortron Hyper 500W, 80+

Total: $1819

You could opt for that 95 cooler instead, but this one is a steal for the price—it's got 4 heatpipes and a 12cm fan.

If that's pushing your budget too far, just grab the AMD FX-6300. In my opinion, it's better to save money there for gaming performance rather than skimping on the graphics card. Then again, I noticed you haven't actually specified what you'll be using this PC for.