Due to a few good things happening at work, I think I have enough budget to dive into a new pc (its been 8 years since my last gaming pc). I've never built my own pc before so my cousin is helping me and he decided to kind of line out a pc on new egg for a reasonable price (Shooting for 500-600 bucks maybe a bit more). I've already found out that I can get windows 7 for 65 bucks with my student discount so that is a big success already. Anyway, here are my specs, please let me know what you think and if there is anything I should change whether it be a quality boost or cash saver. Thank you duders 
 
NOTE: I already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers I'm using so that isn't in there. I also have 2gb of ram that I can use from my other pc and add to this one. 
 
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM 


HEC 6C28BBX585 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 585W Power Supply 


Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 


MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS 


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 


AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4100WMGUSBX  
 
He gave me the choice of 2 different graphics cards 
 number 1
HIS H687FN1GD Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card  
 
number 2 
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity (100315L)  
 
I guess for a benchmark, I would really like to play The Witcher 2 in all its glory! (or at least pretty close to it)
 
Thank you guys in advance for the feedback

I can't say for certain, but I'm not sure a 6850 or a 6870 will run the witcher 2 in full, running a 6950 it goes nice, so who knows.

Make sure that the new ram is the exact same speed and preferably the exact same model as the old ram that you will be combining it with.

@Sackmanjones: Assuming it's about 8-10% less than a 6950 (I think a reasonable assumption), you should be able to run most things on high, not gona get 60 FPS, but should run most things ok. And if you need the FPS, you can drop it down the mid and all should be good. I played the witcher 2 when it first came out and that thing is a beast, so I'll have a look to see if the drivers and game updates have helped to smooth it out. Also, personally I'm not a big fan of AMD CPU's, but it should be fine. Also, if you have the money, get a more name brand power supply. I like coolermaster, corsair and gigabyte, but if you need to keep the price down, you should be ok.

Probably a good idea to get 8GB of RAM. I'm no expert, but make sure the power supply that's included with that case is of good quality. Take a look at the builds and advice in this thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=455869.

Use Pcpartpicker.com to price match all your components and get the best possible deal.

@Sackmanjones: You could probably still use it, it will most likely just run at the slowest speed. So it would be a waste to get higher speed memory just to have it slow down so the old memory could keep up. Also the same model thing is more of an OCD thing, shouldn't actually be a problem.

@strangone said:

Probably a good idea to get 8GB of RAM. I'm no expert, but make sure the power supply that's included with that case is of good quality. Take a look at the builds and advice in this thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=455869.

Use Pcpartpicker.com to price match all your components and get the best possible deal.

I would advise you to stick with the 4gb just to keep the price down, and you don't really need to 8. However, you should just pick up a single 4gb stick like this one http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_538_1137&products_id=16034 . This means that if you ever need to go up to 8, just throw in another.

I could see going to 8gb. When I upgraded my pc it was all of $20 for 2x4gb sticks. I would actually trend to a intel i3 over a AMD for gaming (check benchmarks for relevant games).

I personally prefer Intel processors myself. Witcher 2 is a bit of a monster. I'm currently playing with a Nvidia 9800GT 1g, 4 gigs of ram, Intel Core 2 Quad at 2.4g (Kinda shitty, I know, but i get my new rig in a couple weeks). I can run it on high, but I notice some frame rate stutter, and have gotten a few CTDs, particularly in the first act. Last time I played, right after the enhanced edition came out, I bumped it down just a little, and it ran a bit better. So if you do have to notch it down a little, it probably won't have to be that drastic. Just make sure Uber-sampling is off, lol!

I'm almost thinking you should upgrade to a more powerful GPU. If you're choosing between those two, grab the 6870

I thought I could offer some advice. But I guess not.

My strategy is to just dump as much new stuff as I can into it to make sure I'm still maxing games for a while. Especially right now when the next generation of consoles isn't even announced, go big man. Especially if you want to play Witcher 2 at its Max. I kind of wanted to make sure I'd still be able to max out their new game Cyberpunk when that thing comes with just a GPU upgrade.

Then again I am using it to edit and I'm gonna skip out on those new consoles anyway.

@Sackmanjones: You "should" be able to have it on high and it will run, but it won't run great. It will depend on your tolerance, if you don't mind it getting a choppy in some situations, you'll be fine. For most other games you will be fine on high as well, like I said before, the witcher 2 is a beast. A 6850 is not the best card out, it is an older card, and it's age is starting to show. Personally, I would encourage you to go up to a 6950, which was designed as a 'recent' high end card, while the 6850 and the 6870 where more 'mid' level cards. You can't expect for an older mid range card to push out the best performance on one of the most demanding games out there now. Also, what resolution is your monitor? All this advise has been with a 1080 panel in mind.

@Sackmanjones: I'm in the process of building a new PC and was planning on an FX-4100, but I decided to go for an FX-8120 or FX-8150. Is only an extra £50-60 in the UK, which I think is cheap for the extra performance and the extra year or two I could go without upgrading.

@Sackmanjones said:

@clstirens Why do you think that? And I plan on goin with the 6870

Well, the Witcher 2 has a few "eye candy" settings that require a pretty beefy rig. However, a 6870 SHOULD run the rest of the high settings just fine, so there really isn't much more a reason.

what monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers you've already got?

monitor is a VERY important factor gaming wise..

The time is always now for a new PC.

Why only have one I got 8 of them.

4 gigs is enough, unless you use 64bit apps that are really memory hungry.

you always use 64 bit windows 7 is a 64 bit OS at all times and does 99% of everything with every program in 64 bit with every program.

@Cubical said:

you always use 64 bit windows 7 is a 64 bit OS at all times and does 99% of everything with every program in 64 bit with every program.

There are 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows 7. And not all programs are 64bit btw. And the vast majority of applications never use that much ram.

You should be using 64-bit anyway, anyhow, anywhere. Unless you're like only playing old games. There's no downsides.

I'd recommend a more powerful GPU for sure. I hate to say this but the 660 will be coming out in a few months, in which you can also save a bit more perhaps. If it's as good as the 560 was for the price it will probably be worth the wait, even though I usually never recommend anyone to wait since you can get caught up in the waiting game.

If you don't want to do that, go with the 6870 for sure. You'll be running most things fine unless AMDs drivers get in your way.

@Sackmanjones: Go for 8Gb of RAM. Same exact model, only $17 more. It will make a difference. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Also, I don't encourage cheap cases (especially with pack-in power supplies), but going for nicer ones separately makes it more difficult to fall under $600.

I have to recommend getting a video card in the $249-279 range. For years I would buy the budget cards and for years I was disappointed with the performance in some game I would try to play. I thought it was stupid to pay the same amount for a card that I could get a console for. But I took the plunge with the 6950 last year and it has been one the best things gaming decisions I've ever made. Also look for free games that come with the card, I got Deus Ex: HR and Dirt 3 for free.

@psoplayer said:

@Sackmanjones: Go for 8Gb of RAM. Same exact model, only $17 more. It will make a difference. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Also, I don't encourage cheap cases (especially with pack-in power supplies), but going for nicer ones separately makes it more difficult to fall under $600.

8 gigs of ram won't make any difference compared to 4...

@braveortega said:

I have to recommend getting a video card in the $249-279 range. For years I would buy the budget cards and for years I was disappointed with the performance in some game I would try to play. I thought it was stupid to pay the same amount for a card that I could get a console for. But I took the plunge with the 6950 last year and it has been one the best things gaming decisions I've ever made. Also look for free games that come with the card, I got Deus Ex: HR and Dirt 3 for free.

It's a nice card isn't it? I got the MSI twin forza 2, bumped it up to a 6970 speed and it runs great.

@Sackmanjones: Eahhhhh, you should be ok with the 6870, but the witcher 2 will probably be a little chugy, and in a year in a half, you will be having to bump down the settings a bit for the latest and greatest (which the witcher currently is)

@mosdl: And what nut job is installing the 32 bit version that is fucking included on the same fucking disc as the 64 bit kernal on there 64 bit instruction compatible CPU. NOBODY and if they are to clueless to know windows will install the 64 bit for them and 99.99% of all cpus in the last 8 to 9 years have had 64 bit support unless you are an intel atom netbook CPU or something and you will not be playing games on that thing in 64 bit anything anyway.

AS long as windows 7 is running it use 64 bit instructions no matter what program it is using end of subject. the 32-bit mode in windows 7 is smoke and mirrors just like its direct x 9 support.

its fucking emulated why do you think 32 bit games have trouble running on 64 bit OS.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-windows7-vista64-support-32bit-applications.htm

If you installed windows 64 bit you are running 64 bit code no matter what else happens on the machine it is converted to 64 bit instructions for the CPU by the emualtor that is 64 bit they cant magicly run 64 bit and 32 at the same time and change at will it wont happen it is running inside a 64 bit windows emulator with hardware virtualzation. end of subject.

get more ram it cheep as hell you always need more ram do not listen to these people its not that much more money buy the ram dont go to taco bell for a month and you will have money for tons of ram.

If you dual boot the mahcine and install 32 bit windows xp (the better way to use 32-bit programs this has a point) or 32bit windows 7 (if you are insane nutjob ) then you will be running in full 32 bit mode and 32 bit instructions and that is the ONLY time when nothing but the 32 bit program only or all 32 bit programs are running.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/309240-30-battlefield

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/do-i-really-need-8gb-of-ram/16742

@Sackmanjones: Your set then.

@Sackmanjones:

You might think about getting a more robust PSU to go along with all those other juicy components. 585W is kind've a weird number and, admittedly without investigating further, that leads me to assume that the PSU you've picked out is maybe on the cheaper side.

If you've the dosh to throw at it, maybe go for a highly-rated straight-up 600W or 650W PSU. Simply because it's the one component that could take all of the others with it if it fails.

Have fun with your new PC! :D