2013 AMD PC Building Guide by PCWizKid

Getting the right ingredients for a PC Build can be tricky if your not sure what parts work well with each other.  Common questions are which components will give you great performance for the value,  should you spend more or less, will it be enough for what you want to do?   PCWizKid has picked one of the latest AMD CPU's for a solid gaming rig along with a fast graphics card to keep you upto date for years to come.  A well balanced solution that will keep the average PC Gamer happy for sure.  Remember with this Gaming Rig we are trying to get great performance for the $$$ so obviously you can do better, but its going to cost you more! So where do you draw the line?  This guid shows you how to build a fast gaming rig for about $1000 USD.
In this special 3 part video series, PCWizKid shows you how the system was put together, the parts used and the results with benchmarks on the latest Windows 8 operating system.
As usual, parts can be substituted and price will vary depending on what you decide to buy.  Having said that, here is the list of parts PCWizKid recommends which were used to build this specific Gaming PC.  Note that we are not reviewing LCD monitors, or the pheripherals such as keyboard and mouse.  You can watch any of the many reviews of those that PCWizKid has done to add that to your system separately. 

NOTE: The following price list and links are as of July 2013, from Newegg and in USD. Total amount for this PC Gaming build is aproximately $1000 USD + Taxes.

AMD Gaming Rig Parts List

Click here for latest pricingAMD FX-6350 3.9GHz Socket AM3+ Six-Core Desktop Processor $139 USD

Why did PCWizKid choose this CPU? Best value for the performance.  6 Core CPU that has the latest AMD processeing engine and Level 3 cache, without spending for a 8 core or 8 thread CPU which are more expensive.  Going to a 6 core processor takes you to the next level beyond what most desktop PC's have today on average (Quad core) , so you are set for multitasking as well as for gaming today and into the years to come.

Click here for latest pricingGIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AMD Motherboard $138 USD

This Gigabyte board has the best AMD chipset available to compliment the FX CPU and ensure you get maximum performance out of it.  Not only that the UD3 model of this board is a mainstream board that offer good everclocking capabilities and stability without spending over $200 for the higher end versions which have the same chipset and only a few more features.

Click here for latest pricingNZXT HALE90 V2 NP-1GM-0850A 850W Power Supply $189 USD

Ok, so this power supply is top of the line.  While looks of a power supply may not matter to you and high wattage is not needed by everyone, remember that the power supply is the heart of the system that will protect your components from over current and voltage and deliver consistant power.  The main thing is that you get a power supply that is as efficient as possible, meaning certified with 80+ Bronze , Silver or in this case Gold.  This means that you will ultimately be wasting less energy and keeping your PC running cooler and more efficient overall.  I must admit that depending on how much you plan to use and further upgrade your system, you can probably purchase a lower wattage version from NZXT such as the NZXT HALE82-N NP-1BN-0750A-US 750W $89 USD.

Click here for latest pricingPatriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory $75 USD

Memeory kits of 8GB are now standard for a gaming PC.  Do not settle for less.  With todays Windows operating systems running 64bit you can easily take advantage of all the memory and you wont be sorry.  Prices will vary with DDR3 manufacturers.  My suggestion is to get a low latenacy CL9 type memory and overclock it a little to get the best of both speed and badwidth.  For this reason we selected the Patriot Viper 3 series.

Click here for latest pricingCOOLER MASTER CM Storm Scout 2 Ghost White Computer Case With Side Panel Window $109 USD

This is a special edition that comes in white and a few more features than the regular black version which is here COOLER MASTER CM Storm Scout 2 Advanced SGC-2100-KWN3 Midnight Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window for $20 less.

Click here for latest pricingDIAMOND 7870PE52GV Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit 2GB GDDR5 Graphics Card $224 USD

This card is top of its class.  A well balanced gaming card that does really well compared to other similarly priced video cards from Nvidia and AMD.  Also it comes with a free copy of Crysis 3 which makes it a great value.

Click here for latest pricingTranscend SSD 320 2.5" 64GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive $89 USD

These days its become very popular to have a SSD drive be the primary C:\ drive to install Windows on only!  Then you get a 1Terabyte 7200RPM drive Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" $89USD  and install or your applications and games on there seperately.  This keeps the operating system running only on the SSD with faster performance for loading and system tasks while your daily work is stored on a larger separate hard drive without impacting the OS performance.

Click here for latest pricingEVERCOOL HPO-12025 120mm x 2 (SSF-12 & Silent Fan) Ever Lubricate CPU Cooler $49 USD

CPU Coolers are sometimes a hard choice.  Common question is do you settle for the stock cooler for now that came with the CPU you bought? Well PCWizKid has never settled, having additional cooling from a after market cooler will always keep your CPU running cooler and its well worth protecting the CPU since CPU coolers are not the most expensice part of your system and do a great deal of work.  In this case we have used the Silent Shark from Evercool.  It can be tricky for some to install , but watch my video below for details on how it was done.  Overall it does a good job keeping the CPU cool and quiet with the silent shark fans and heat sink combo.

Watch the Step-by-Step PC Building Guide