Gathering Thoughts On a New PC Build

[MetaCthulhu]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6Krpf7

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CPU: AMD FX-6300, I started this build based off of this build from GOL, and I didn't find anything else I really wanted instead.

Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M, See above ^

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB, a little cheaper than the one from the GOL build but the same amount and config (2*4GB)

Hard Drive: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB, I didn't find anything else I really wanted (Not that I'm complaining. The Vostro has 60GBs of storage total.)

GPU: PowerColor Radeon R7 370 4GB, relatively cheap and can run Skyrim at 60fps through Wine.

PSU: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze, I have a "PC Master Race!" buddy and this is basically what he uses.

Case: Xion Mid Tower Case, A computer case... I think everything should fit in here.

Controller: Steam Controller, I know a lot of people like mouse and keyboard, but I've been a console gamer since I was 6, so I need a controller.

OS: Ubuntu or Mint, I haven't decided on which one yet.

Total Price ≈ 500.00 USD

So what do you guys think? I'm not set in stone on any of this, so if any of you have some insight or advice I'll gladly hear it.

[legoless]

Wouldn't ever recommend Linux for gaming. If you get Windows 10 you also get native support for a 360 controller, rather than settling for Steam.

[MetaCthulhu]

I would agree with you in the usual case, but I'm hoping that with the release of the Steam OS more games will have Linux support (Steam OS is itself Linux, so anything that works on it should work on normal Linux). Even if I'm wrong about that though, I still have a backlog of older (2011 and back) games that should run pretty well through Wine, and there's always the trickle of AAA games that get Linux releases (Alien: Isolation is one of this small bunch). I'll definitely crunch the numbers again and take another look at the release calendars for Linux and Windows though.

Now bear with me here for a moment, because I'll sound weird, but I don't like the X-Box controllers. It's the analog sticks; I'm (slightly) OCD and I want the controller to be generally symmetrical. (It also might be because the first controller I used was a SNES controller, but who's to say). I actually already have a controller (a Logitech f310), but I thought the Steam controller looked interesting (Plus I might be able to bind all the keys for things like System Shock 2 and Arena).

[Walker Jones]

Looks completely awful to me.

Storage: WD10EZEX (or seagate 003).

For cpu&mobo there's either
-i3-4160/70 and cheap B85
-i3-6100 with B150 or H (slightly more expensive)
Don't even think about fx :/

Ram for this: any non-crap 1600 CL9 2x4GB

Let's say http://pcpartpicker.com/user/walker15130/saved/Xzvrxr

Normal case (still hurts my heart). This psu can stay (really low-end option).

[MetaCthulhu]

@Walker Jones

That's a little harsh!

You're definitely right on the RAM and on the storage, but I don't know enough about the i3 to make an educated statement; my only concern is whether two cores is enough. I'm going to stick to my guns on the graphics card though. I know the 950 will get better performance overal, but I'll mostly be playing older titles under Wine and performance is likely to be near identical there. And given the choice between 100fps through nvidia, or 100fps through open source AMD drivers, I'd rather have the AMD drivers (Plus if it's really deplorable I can always get a 480 for ~ 50$)

I just chose the case because it was cheap. In an ideal world I would have this case

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but I'm cheap, so meh. What sort of case do you recommend?

[Walker Jones]

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Few years ago you could argue that AM3+ fxes were a reasonable option, with a lot of weaker cores (fx-6300 has only 3 modules, with some doubled parts to process 6 threads) they were comparable to sandy bridge (1155) i5/i7 at certain workloads.

But running games was not one of them (as any task that relies on single threaded performance) and intel kept increasing ipc of newer architectures. All i3 so far support HT, doubling available threads up to 4. While it's not as powerful as full 4 physical cores (i5) it does enough job to keep all modern games happy (many of them still make heavy use of 1/2 threads and leave the rest idle). Older games (including every TES) never need more than two, and i3 happens to have exactly two of the most powerful x86 cores available.

Similiar i3 vs FX-8320E
http://www.techspot.com/review/943-best ... page6.html

Even if they have the same performance in some weird task- i3 still draws less power, outputs less heat and its motherboards support newer connectors.

Case IMO needs dust filters, proper mounting options and good materials. In this price range however it's not easy, and I could talk for hours, so:
Corsairs 100R, 200R, 230... and up will be fine. Spending more gives more options, like sound dampening mats (230T, Bequiet SB600/800, CM silencio) or windows (any nzxt S/H). There's always something new https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQmPG-pKks4

[MetaCthulhu]

Sold! (Not literally, I'll probably get this sometime in mid-to-late February. Car first, computer second.)
I would post an updated list of parts, but it's basically the one you posted except with a different graphics card.

Is there anything else I should be aware of before I set my heart on this? Or am shipshape?