Good build for a "casual gamer"?

[alcoholic philipp mainländer]

Hey, this Christmas I'm getting a rig with the following specs:

UPDATE: I've already ordered and received all of the parts except for the CPU and motherboard which will arive in the mail around Christmas.

Here's what I got:

FX-6300 6-core 3,5 GHz (hasn't arrived yet)
Asrock 970 PRO (hasn't arrived yet)
Kingston HyperX Genesis 2x4 GB
Asus GTX660 TI
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB
Asus DRW X24
Corsair CX500W
Cooler Master Elite 310
Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium

THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS OLD AND OUTDATED:


Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H motherboard
AMD A10 6800k Black Edition 4.4 ghz
AMD Radeon HD 8670D (onboard)
8 gb 1600 mhz RAM
1000 gb hard drive
450 watt power supply
Cooler Master Elite 344 case

Could you tell me if this build is any good for a "hardcore casual gamer" like me? You can take a peek in my game collection to see what kind of games I'm into. Also, the prebuilt rig comes with the OS installed and ready to go, which do you guys think will suit me better, Windows 7 64-bit or Windows 8/8.1 64-bit? Also I'd like to know which one performs better as a gaming OS. Thanks in advance.

UPDATE:

I found a nice build with these specs, which one is better?

AMD FX6350 4.2 ghz 6-core
4 gb 1333 mhz RAM
NVIDIA GTX 650
Zalman Z9 case w/ 500 watt power supply
Asrock 970 motherboard

UPDATE:

Here's a better one I found for 738 euros.

AMD FX6300 Box
Asus M5A97
Asus GeForce GTX 660 2 GB
Kingston HyperX Genesis 2x4 GB
Zalman Z3 Plus
EVGA 500 W PSU
WD Caviar Blue 1 TB
Asus 24x DVDRW Black SATA
Windows 7/8.1 64-bit Home Premium
Basic assembly

UPDATE:

I managed to crank the price down a little:

AMD FX-6300 Box - 110 €
Asrock 970DE3 - 60 €
MSI GTX660 OC 2 GB GDR5 - 169 €
Crucial D3 1333 mhz 8 GB RAM - 64 €
Zalman Z3 Plus - 40 €
EVGA 500W PSU - 55 €
WD Caviar Blue - 59 €
Asus DVDRW 24x Black SATA - 18 €
Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium - 95 €
Basic assembly with no software installation - 35 €

Total: 704.11 euros

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

引用自 HλNNES：

Very nice build, but do I have to assemble it myself? To be honest, the only time I've ever opened a computer's case was when my granpa's old Pentium 4 rig's CPU socket had somehow popped off and I had to reattach it. My local retailer has an "assembly service" that costs around 80 euros but I think it'd be better if I did it myself, are there any good books or tutorials for assembling your own computer? Do I need any special tools? Also, what will mailing the parts to me (Espoo, Southern Finland) cost?

http://www.systemastore.fi/computer.php

[alcoholic philipp mainländer]

引用自 Rumpelcrutchskin：

引用自 HλNNES：

I probably sound like a complete noob, but does adding an extra stick of RAM increase the need for power? Also, can I snag the 4 gb stick from my current junk rig and then use it with the new one, or do they need to be of the same brand?

RAM takes very little power. Two parts that use most power in PC are graphics card and CPU, rest is just small stuff.
You need same specs RAM so not good idea to use your old one.

Well my current RAM is the following: (copypasted from CPUZ)

Type: DDR3
Size: 4 GBytes
Channel #: Single
NB Frequency: 1607.4 MHz

[alcoholic philipp mainländer]

引用自 Rumpelcrutchskin：

引用自 HλNNES：

Very nice build, but do I have to assemble it myself? To be honest, the only time I've ever opened a computer's case was when my granpa's old Pentium 4 rig's CPU socket had somehow popped off and I had to reattach it. My local retailer has an "assembly service" that costs around 80 euros but I think it'd be better if I did it myself, are there any good books or tutorials for assembling your own computer? Do I need any special tools? Also, what will mailing the parts to me (Espoo, Southern Finland) cost?

http://www.systemastore.fi/computer.php

That's nice. I came up with this, do you think I can make it a little cheaper by changing some parts?

AMD FX6300 6-core
Antec Big Boy 200mm TriCool Fan
Asrock 970 EXTREME4
Gigabyte GeForce GTX660 2gb
Kingston HyperX Genesis 2x4 GB
I haven't came up with a good case yet, what would be the best one for this build?
500W EVGA 100-B1-0500-KR power supply
HGST Deskstar 500 GB hard drive
ASUS 24x CD/DVD drive
Mcab PCI Fast Ethernet
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Assembly without software installation
1 year warranty

Total: 753.91 euros

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

引用自 HλNNES：

引用自 Rumpelcrutchskin：

http://www.systemastore.fi/computer.php

That's nice. I came up with this, do you think I can make it a little cheaper by changing some parts?

AMD FX6300 6-core
Antec Big Boy 200mm TriCool Fan
Asrock 970 EXTREME4
Gigabyte GeForce GTX660 2gb
Kingston HyperX Genesis 2x4 GB
I haven't came up with a good case yet, what would be the best one for this build?
500W EVGA 100-B1-0500-KR power supply
HGST Deskstar 500 GB hard drive
ASUS 24x CD/DVD drive
Mcab PCI Fast Ethernet
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Assembly without software installation
1 year warranty

Total: 753.91 euros

AMD FX6300 Box comes with stock CPU cooler, unless you overclock the CPU it's enough.
This mobo is better: Asus M5A97 R2.0
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 7200 RPM
Motherboard comes with ethernet card built in, you dont need separate verkokorrti.

[alcoholic philipp mainländer]

引用自 Rumpelcrutchskin：

引用自 HλNNES：

That's nice. I came up with this, do you think I can make it a little cheaper by changing some parts?

AMD FX6300 6-core
Antec Big Boy 200mm TriCool Fan
Asrock 970 EXTREME4
Gigabyte GeForce GTX660 2gb
Kingston HyperX Genesis 2x4 GB
I haven't came up with a good case yet, what would be the best one for this build?
500W EVGA 100-B1-0500-KR power supply
HGST Deskstar 500 GB hard drive
ASUS 24x CD/DVD drive
Mcab PCI Fast Ethernet
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Assembly without software installation
1 year warranty

Total: 753.91 euros

AMD FX6300 Box comes with stock CPU cooler, unless you overclock the CPU it's enough.
This mobo is better: Asus M5A97 R2.0
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 7200 RPM
Motherboard comes with ethernet card built in, you dont need separate verkokorrti.

How much will it cost if I swap over the parts to the ones you mentioned, in total?

EDIT: 762.11 euros, can I make it abit cheaper if I order a 750gb hard drive?

[_I_]

the build you listed is fine, nothing wrong with the asrock 970 extreme4 or case
hdd upgrade shouldnt cost very much
wd is much better than a hgst (hitachi) for hard drives

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

AMD FX 6300 Box - €110.00
Asus M5A97 R2.0 - €85.00
Asus GTX 660 OC DC II - €169.90
Kingston HyperX Genesis 2x4 Gb - €72.50
Zalman Z3 Plus case - €39.90
EVGA 500W PSU - €54.80
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB HDD 7200 RPM - €65.00
Asus 24xDVDRW - €17.90
Windows 7 64-bit - €95.00
Basic Assembly - €35.00

€745

[alcoholic philipp mainländer]

I'm thinking this:

AMD FX6300 Box
Asrock 970DE3
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2 GB
Kingston HyperX Genesis 2x4 GB
Zalman Z3 Plus
EVGA 500 W PSU
WD Desktop Blue 500 GB SATA
Asus 24x DVDRW Black SATA
Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
Basic assembly

Total: 725.21 euros

[Rove]

引用自 HλNNES：

引用自 Rove：

If you can order from Germany or make something similar from a local PC Parts retailer then here is what I suggest:

http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/2cwKe
Total: €673.74

The cheapest way to get Windows is to order a "OEM" copy from some place just like I did in this build. Just make sure you get 64bit WIndows and NOT 32bit cause you need 64bit.

Very nice build, but do I have to assemble it myself? To be honest, the only time I've ever opened a computer's case was when my granpa's old Pentium 4 rig's CPU socket had somehow popped off and I had to reattach it. My local retailer has an "assembly service" that costs around 80 euros but I think it'd be better if I did it myself, are there any good books or tutorials for assembling your own computer? Do I need any special tools? Also, what will mailing the parts to me (Espoo, Southern Finland) cost?

Thanks. Yes it requires some assembly similar to a model toy or a specific themed Lego set. It's really that easy and there is a manual for your motherboard that is pretty much a step by step guide much like you would get for a model.

Newegg has a good tutorial on Youtube in 3 parts over 1 hour and 30 minutes.

There are many other good video, picture and text tutorials around and about the internet, at least in English.

You need a cross-head screw driver, average size and that is pretty much it.

I have no idea what shipping costs or if it is even possible.

I recommend you to look at local retailers like I see you have been doing. To try and lower the price find other retailers and shop around for the very best deals while keeping in mind that bundled shipping is usually cheaper.

I would not recommend going under a 1TB HDD with 64MB cache to be honest. It can fill up pretty fast specialyy with things like Humble Bundle or Bundle Stars or other game bundle deals and Steam sales and things like that. Also 1TB with 64MB cache will make sure that you get the very newest and fastest HDD technology while under 1TB may be older slower technology or may use 1/2 platters of the new stuff but it is hard to know.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Asus M5A97 is way better quality then Asrock 970 DE3 and you also have campaign price on it, it usually costs around €100-110.
Asus GTX 660 has also campaign price and is cheaper then Gigabyte GTX 660, still same quality and power if not even better.
500 GB HDD fills up quite fast those days, 1 TB is really better choice and you dont need to uninstall stuff so much.

[alcoholic philipp mainländer]

引用自 Rove：

引用自 HλNNES：

Very nice build, but do I have to assemble it myself? To be honest, the only time I've ever opened a computer's case was when my granpa's old Pentium 4 rig's CPU socket had somehow popped off and I had to reattach it. My local retailer has an "assembly service" that costs around 80 euros but I think it'd be better if I did it myself, are there any good books or tutorials for assembling your own computer? Do I need any special tools? Also, what will mailing the parts to me (Espoo, Southern Finland) cost?

Thanks. Yes it requires some assembly similar to a model toy or a specific themed Lego set. It's really that easy and there is a manual for your motherboard that is pretty much a step by step guide much like you would get for a model.

Newegg has a good tutorial on Youtube in 3 parts over 1 hour and 30 minutes.

There are many other good video, picture and text tutorials around and about the internet, at least in English.

You need a cross-head screw driver, average size and that is pretty much it.

I have no idea what shipping costs or if it is even possible.

I recommend you to look at local retailers like I see you have been doing. To try and lower the price find other retailers and shop around for the very best deals while keeping in mind that bundled shipping is usually cheaper.

I really think I'm too nooby for this... It's like jumping from the 5 meter trampoline into the swimming pool for the first time... I probably sound childish, but I kick ass at building with Lego. You can check my YouTube channel, xyxx502, where I've made some working Lego guns. My biggest concern is static electricity and me being nooby enought to put in the wrong screws in the wrong holes (I've heard that can damage the mobo or the case) '_'

[alcoholic philipp mainländer]

引用自 Rumpelcrutchskin：

Asus M5A97 is way better quality then Asrock 970 DE3 and you also have campaign price on it, it usually costs around €100-110.
Asus GTX 660 has also campaign price and is cheaper then Gigabyte GTX 660, still same quality and power if not even better.
500 GB HDD fills up quite fast those days, 1 TB is really better choice and you dont need to uninstall stuff so much.

Allright, I got it down to 739.01 euros with those. I'm a very space-sensitive user and I often strive to keep my hard drive in tip-top one-third full state, so I think a 500 gb is enough. My current one is 910 gb, and in two or three years I've only filled 333 GB (lol coincidence) of it.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

引用自 HλNNES：

引用自 Rumpelcrutchskin：

Asus M5A97 is way better quality then Asrock 970 DE3 and you also have campaign price on it, it usually costs around €100-110.
Asus GTX 660 has also campaign price and is cheaper then Gigabyte GTX 660, still same quality and power if not even better.
500 GB HDD fills up quite fast those days, 1 TB is really better choice and you dont need to uninstall stuff so much.

Allright, I got it down to 739.01 euros with those. I'm a very space-sensitive user and I often strive to keep my hard drive in tip-top one-third full state, so I think a 500 gb is enough. My current one is 910 gb, and in two or three years I've only filled 333 GB (lol coincidence) of it.

Need to think about future, games and programs will only get bigger and you should also leave 10% of HDD empty so it could defragment itself. If you fill it to the brim it does not have space to rewrite the data.

[alcoholic philipp mainländer]

Yeah, I'll stick with the 739 euro build with the 1TB one. I'm not gonna play Call of Duty: Ghosts or Watch Dogs anyway.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

I wouldn't go lower than 1TB drive, unless perhaps u have more than one drive in the system.

As 1TB to house all your stuff, that can fill up fairly quick. 500GB HDD after a fresh format and OS install will be approx 465GB, leaving u with roughly 430GB after OS install and some other basics like updates, drivers, etc.

If u already have 300GB or so of games, well then I would highly suggest more than one drive in the system, or one larger drive so you have room for your OS, Apps, Games, etc.

FYI Defragging requires that there be 10-15% of free space on a drive so it has room to move data around. So for a 500GB HDD, formatted is around 465GB and 15% of this space comes to approx 69GB, which is the amount of free space u don't want to go lower than. Overall 500GB isn't much when your games are stored there, along with your OS and other files.