Help! Critique my future PC please!

Try this build, it's much less expensive and will allow you to Crossfire GPU's. You'll see a lot more performance out of games that way, especially for the money. :D

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type Item Price
CPU AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor $136.75 @ OutletPC
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $28.98 @ OutletPC
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard $79.99 @ SuperBiiz
Memory Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $114.99 @ Newegg
Storage Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $99.99 @ Newegg
Video Card XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) $252.98 @ Newegg
Video Card XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) $252.98 @ Newegg
Case Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case $69.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply EVGA 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $126.81 @ Newegg
Wireless Network Adapter Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter $17.98 @ OutletPC
Other WINDOWS 7/8/8.1 from /r/microsoftsoftwareswap $25.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total (before mail-in rebates) $1310.44
Mail-in rebates -$118.00
Total $1192.44
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-07 07:02 EST-0500
  • CPU and cooler: The FX-8320 performs comparably to the often-recommended 4690K but costs $60-100 less, making it a better value choice, especially since games are going to be mostly GPU-bound. The CPU cooler, the Hyper 212 Evo, is one of the best, and best value, cooling solutions for your CPU. You will be able to monstrously overclock this CPU and get excellent gaming performance for a long time.
  • Motherboard: The Gigabyte 970A UD3P is a great full-featured ATX form factor board with plenty of built in power and cooling for overclocking and getting the most from your CPU
  • GPU: The R9 290 has about the same performance as the GTX970 but is priced $70-$100 less. I'd like to note that the Anandtech benchmarks were performed with the R9 290's stock cooler, which was Terrible for cooling and noise. Any of the aftermarket coolers (such as the XFX unit in the above build) will get better performance and cooling while running quieter than the original benchmarks. *The layout of this build will allow you to crossfire two R9 290’s without exceeding your budget, greatly increasing gaming performance.
  • Case: The Corsair Graphite 230T looks good, has modular HDD bays, great airflow, easy cable management, and comes with 3 fans from factory. If you don't like red fans (or even fans that light up), the BitFenix Spectre Pro (newegg link for pictures - buy from here, just search the model #) is probably the best looking static-pressure-optimized fan that comes in PWM/non-PWM/LED/non-LED models in sizes from 120mm to 230mm. The 230T comes with great fans, but if you need to replace them, those fans will be the best bang for your buck.
  • HDD/SSD: The hard drive has plenty of space for the price, you can upgrade to an SSD at a later time since it doesn’t improve performance near as much as the other items in the build. Or you can get it now, if you’re OK with adding $50-100 for a 120GB-256GB SSD. Woo!
  • OS: DO NOT buy Windows7/8/8.1 retail. Get it for $10-$25 from /r/microsoftsoftwareswap from a legit/verified seller. It will be a legit key that comes with a free Windows10 upgrade.
  • RAM: For most major brands, all RAM is basically created equal. G.Skill is extremely reliable as a brand, and they don't charge an arm and a leg. I usually choose the single 8GB stick to give you maximum upgrade room and because games don't benefit from dual channel RAM to speak of. I went with 16GB mostly because it’s a good value and there's definitely room in the budget.
  • PSU: EVGA makes great power supplies, and 1000W easily powers this build with headroom to keep it running cool and quiet. It is 80+ Gold certified so you know it will be efficient and not start a fire in your house. <3

Happy building :D

/r/pcmasterrace Thread