Good Enough Gaming Rig

[Deathstalker]

I'm new to the forum. I have been reading the reviews for quite some time. I have been building computers for over 10 years now. I do already have some parts just looking to build a rig that will handle games like Marvel Hereos, Rome II, Civ V and WoW.

Here is the list of parts I have now.

AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz
EVGA GTX 560 Ti 2Win (Dual GTX 560 Ti's on one card)
Intel 520 128GB SSD
Asus 16x DVD-RW
Corair 350D

For a motherboard I was thinking about getting the Asus A88XM-Plus once it's available. I may or not may overclock the CPU. I am pretty sure this board you can get a decent overclock.

Memory wise I was going to get 8GB of G.Skill Ares (Orange) DDR3-2133MHz

Powersupply I want a fully modular one and was leaning towards a Corsair AX850. I plan on making my own cables with 18 gauge automotive wire, getting the pins from Dazmode, connectors from FrozenCPU and the sleeving from Nils.

As for a hard drive. I might get one later on but with only loading an OS a few games I don't think I will really need one as this will strictly be for gaming.

For the parts I was thinking of getting how does that sound?

[fortkentdad]

I game on an AMD A10-5800K and it is definitely "good enough" for my needs (I'm into racing games and flight sims, but from my limited gaming knowledge I don't think your games would tax your system).

I've got it on an ASUS A85M-Pro and find it easy to use and it has simplified OCing. I like ASUS's fan control system too.

Been reading lots about PSU's lately (see PSU Calculators and while I'm no expert by any means on this from what I've learned, unless that video card is very power hungry then the 850 is serious overkill. Curious about why you would make your own cables? Wouldn't the ones that come with the PSU be "good enough" for your "good enough" system?

[great_big_abyss]

If you have a discrete GPU to use, why are you going with an APU? You could go with an FX4350 (if you're partial to AMD) and get better CPU performance (necessary for CivV) or, better yet, get an Intel setup with either an i3 or a lower end i5.

Doh, just saw you already bought the APU. Any way to return it? I think this is the wrong application for it, honestly.

[Deathstalker]

Originally Posted by fortkentdad

Been reading lots about PSU's lately (see PSU Calculators and while I'm no expert by any means on this from what I've learned, unless that video card is very power hungry then the 850 is serious overkill. Curious about why you would make your own cables? Wouldn't the ones that come with the PSU be "good enough" for your "good enough" system?

I want to individually sleeve the cables and make them custom length and I don't like the look of the cable entensions. I want this build to be very aesthecially pleasing. I can get the power supply used from a friend for a great price but there is still warranty left on it and I don't want to void the warranty.

Originally Posted by great_big_abyss

If you have a discrete GPU to use, why are you going with an APU? You could go with an FX4350 (if you're partial to AMD) and get better CPU performance (necessary for CivV) or, better yet, get an Intel setup with either an i3 or a lower end i5.

Doh, just saw you already bought the APU. Any way to return it? I think this is the wrong application for it, honestly.

I have had it too long to return it. I already have video card.

And for cooling I have the NZXT Kraken X60.

[Deathstalker]

fortkentdad: I don't go by those PSU calculators. I know the graphics card I have pulls 430 watts under max load and the CPU pulls 100 watts under max load and if I overclock it to 5.0GHz I might have to increase the voltage and that would end up pulling a bit more wattage, maybe 125 watts. So that would be 655 watts, not including fans, drives and other accessories. So I think a good 850 watt PSU would be sufficent. I don't mind spending more on the power supply as it is one of the most important components and you should never skimp on it.

Regarding making my own cables. I am doing this because I can make my own custom lengths and sleeve them how I want to sleeve them without voiding my powersupply warranty.

great_big_abyss: I've had the APU for awhile now and it is too late to return it. I think it should be find as a stand alone CPU. I don't plan on doing anything really CPU intensive with it.

[great_big_abyss]

Originally Posted by Deathstalker

fortkentdad:
great_big_abyss: I've had the APU for awhile now and it is too late to return it. I think it should be find as a stand alone CPU. I don't plan on doing anything really CPU intensive with it.

Okay. It's a fine processor indeed. You should be happy with it.

[dARqSyDE]

The APU is also handy to run a second(third/fourth) monitor.

A88 mobo is a good choice, giving you the option to upgrade to Kaveri if those end up being compelling enough. It also, with a Kaveri APU, will support PCIe 3.0 if you choose to upgrade the graphics in the future.

And yes, it'll run CiV and WoW perfect fine.

[fortkentdad]

I got the message about PSU calculators in my thread about the wild variations on the recommended PSU wattage from a half dozen different PSU Calculators. PSU Calculators

On the advice of one of our fine Hardware Canucks I did buy a monitor to measure the actual watts draw on my machine - while running 3DMark11 benchmarks I managed to get all the way up to 320w.