Hardware Computer Build question (first build)

[Radiobread]

Hey, here's my specs:-

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/fJBwmG

It says on the compatibility notes "Some AMD 970 chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Vishera CPUs" - can anyone tell me, how do I know which BIOS to get and which one? Also how to install it? Thanks.

BQ - Rating out of 10 for this build? (note that I'm getting 2TB hard disk because it's a shared PC between me and my brother)

 

[Originality]

Depending on the retailer, you may be able to request them to flash the latest BIOS before dispatching the motherboard to you.

I'll skip rating the build. Without any context I can only rate against the build I'll be making in a couple weeks, which doesn't help you in any way.

 

[Youkai]

Well I would prefer a Mainboard with a 1150 Socket and a Pentium i5 or i7 ....

the Ram are good ,
get a small SSD for your OS and use the big HDD for other stuff (if you don't care for data security maybe get 2x 1tb instead of 2gb and make a RAID0 build which would speed up things a little)

can't say much about graphic but I think a GeForce GTX 750 for about half the price of the one you picked would be more than sufficient

no idea about the Case
Power Supply must be more than sufficient ... haven't looked at how much your parts need but usually new hardware doesn't need that much power ....

Part picker' built in wattage calculator places it at around 375W. Top right corner.

okay didn't see that ^^
that's actually very high !!

 

[Originality]

Power Supply must be more than sufficient ... haven't looked at how much your parts need but usually new hardware doesn't need that much power ....

Part picker' built in wattage calculator places it at around 375W. Top right corner.

 

[Radiobread]

Thanks very much for the suggestions so far guys - I don't think Amazon will flash the latest BIOS. It says that Amazon is cheapest on PCPartPicker, but I can buy from another site that might be able to do that, so thanks for that suggestion.

How about this video card? http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n750titf2gd5oc

I know I'm gonna sound like a complete noob here, but can I have DDR3 RAM and a graphics card with onboard GDDR5?

 

[Shorkio]

If I'm horribly wrong please correct me.

Thanks very much for the suggestions so far guys - I don't think Amazon will flash the latest BIOS. It says that Amazon is cheapest on PCPartPicker, but I can buy from another site that might be able to do that, so thanks for that suggestion.

How about this video card? http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n750titf2gd5oc

What I've read around the net, Radeon R9 270X competes with GTX 760, which is more powerful than GTX 750 Ti. GTX 750 Ti is more energy efficient and produces less heat though.

I know I'm gonna sound like a complete noob here, but can I have DDR3 RAM and a graphics card with onboard GDDR5?

You are completely fine with DDR3 RAM and graphics card with GDDR5. That is pretty common combination.

 

[Originality]

The DDR3 RAM serves the CPU. The GDDR5 is effectively double the speed of DDR3 but is specially designed for graphics (what do you think the G stands for?). The two are not directly connected so both are compatible with your build.

The R9 270X is significantly stronger than the GTX 750 Ti. About 50% stronger, in terms of GFLOPS. Then again, if you have to choose a weaker graphics card to get better parts elsewhere, then it's your choice. You haven't said what you're going to use it for, or what your budget is, or why you need it, etc... so I can't comment.
EDIT: Ninja'd.

 

[Radiobread]

That's cool, I suppose I could change back, but I just want to be able to run most recent games without lag. I'm really not fussy about high settings. Hoping for under £500 excluding shipping. Thanks.

 

[trumpet-205]

I don't see any problem with your build. So long as you are not overclocking the CPU you'll be fine.

 

[Radiobread]

Nope, not overclocking. And thanks, I'll go with those parts.

 

[Youkai]

Well I can play any current gen game with highest settings and 16x AA on my GTX 650 ....

a "cheap" 750 should be more than sufficient but well if you want to be save for the future get something stronger.
// but yeah comparing both the Radeon might be the better choice ... http://www.hwcompare.com/17287/geforce-gtx-750-ti-vs-radeon-r9-270x/
the price difference is not that high and for one single computer it might be okay to use 3 times as much energy.

Still would recommend to add a Small SSD ^^

I tested the difference at Work,
HDD + Bios took 30 Seconds to boot while SSD+ Bios took only 10 Seconds (and I think most of those 10 seconds are used by the bios XD)
didn't took the time opening office but with SSD it was like 2 seconds max and HDD takes more than 30 sec for sure !

 

[james50a]

seriously ignore the guy telling you to get a 750, its a total waste of money unless you want to buy a new graphics card every year. also you might want to try a hybrid drive or ssd as a mass 2tb drive will slow down pretty quickly if you have everything loaded on it.

 

[Radiobread]

Thanks, I'm going with the SSD for Windows if that's the case. Good idea, should've thought of that myself.

So, I'm getting the Sapphire Radeon video card. Also is my motherboard a good choice and future-proof? Considering I just want to run games without lag.
I don't exactly keep up, I just play what I want to play. Wide variety of genres too.

 

[Jamstruth]

I actually bought that motherboard recently for an almost identical build. There's only one BIOS available for it and my FX8350 works perfectly in it, so don't worry.

As for "future proof" well... the motherboard isn't going to slow anything down but it has its limits. The max RAM limit is more than enough for anybody at the moment (If you're using more than 8gb you're insane). I find its PCIe setup a bit awkward though. The top one is easy enough to use but the 2nd one below the PCIe x16 port is a bit close to my 270X's fans for me to feel safe putting anything in it. Also this board says it can do Crossfire and while it technically can doing so would hamper your performance way too much.

For the general build: If you can stretch for it try and get an aftermarket cooler. That FX6300 should be cooler than my 8350 but my god does the fan whine under load. Doesn't have to be anything particularly fancy but something with a 120mm fan would be a lot quieter but it does mean you forfeit AMD's year warranty (seriously that's in the T&C -_-)