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Build am I solid?

S

Saki630

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
344
My nephew is asking me to build him a PC that will run some Autodesk software he is using and video rendering that he is learning.

Now, to be clear he is not a professional so he doesn't need expensive equipment. I'm trying to get him something under $2000 that will work well for a few years until he finishes school. I'm estimating 90% youtube/netflix usage :)

Right now on Newegg I've chosen an OpenBox MOBO that looks solid and OpenBox cooler. With taxes and shipping I am under $2000.

i7 5820k
Asrock Extreme4 x99
Mushkin DDR4 16gb
GTX 980
Corsair 750w
850Evo 256gb
WDBlack 2TB

lastly a case: Obsidian 450D, cooler Corsair H110, and mouse.
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Does everything look solid? I feel that the $390 CPU is inflating the price, but its more than enough for this build.

My gut says to stray away from those ES Xeons on ebay boasting 8-12+ cores.

Any problems with my selection? I haven't used Asrock mobos.
 
Not that solid of a build for several reasons:

1) If this was suppose to be a cheap throwaway build, I would have no issue recommending the open box route. But considering that this is a $2000 PC, I highly recommend getting a NEW motherboard for increased chances of reliability and peace of mind. That AsRock X99 Extreme4 isn't a bad choice brand new.

2) You didn't say which Autodesk software your nephew was planning on using. Nor did you mention any type of gaming. As such, that GTX 980 card is fairly overkill. If your nephew is only planning on using AutoCAD AutoDesk, then all he really needs is a GTX 750 Ti card. Maaybe a Quadro K600. So you might want to go ask your nephew what exactly he's doing with the Autodesk software.

3) Corsair has gone downhill in the past few years in terms of quality and/or worthiness. In other words, without even having to know which Corsair model you've chosen, I can pretty much say without a doubt that you're either paying too much or the quality is too low just because it's a Corsair 750W PSU. I recommend this eVGA 750W PSU instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6ZP3R88399

4) Ditch the Black 2TB drive. Never really worth it. You're better off with a cheaper Toshiba or WD Red 3TB drive from a price to GB standpoint or a HGST 3TB drive from a reliability standpoint.

5) Does your nephew live far away from you? I ask because one of advantages of CLCs like the H110 is that they're a bit easier to ship cross-country. But if the person doesn't live that far away, there are no plans on overclocking, and doesn't live in a particularly hot place, then you really don't need a CLC.
 
Dangman thanks.

I did some more research and realized Revit doesnt use GPU, so the GTX 970 would be more than enough. I remember rendering some things in 3DSMax back on an old 8800gt, he can wait lolz.

I'll drop the WD 2TB drive but its $129, and the $80seagate looks like it has bad reviews.

I thought Corsair psu's were re-branded Seasonics which people seem to like. I'm not sure how to evaluate psu performances other than the 80-90+ rating.

diizzy nice Lenovo link! Those look good, but I dont think he needs the quadro card at this point.
 
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Obsidian Case $120
WD Black 2TB $130
Gigabyte Windforce gtx 970 $325
Corsair 750W $120
Mushkin 4x8gb $175
ASRock x99 Extreme4 $160 openbox
i7 5820k $390
Corsair H110 $70 refurb
850 EVO 250GB $90
Logitech G502 mouse $65

$1645 looks good to me.
 
How often will he be doing video rendering? Because if the answer is "RARELY," I can't see paying the premium for X99.

I still think you're spending too much. A Skylake Core i5 6500 plus H170 chipset will have all the future features a student could want,and would cut the price by $275.

It also means you don't have to take a chance with an open-box just to save a quick buck. You can get retail-boxed H170 motherboard for $90!
 
He doesn't need an X99 setup for learning. Get him on a Z170 build with a Skylake processor and load it up with some RAM.
 
I wouldn't touch an open box motherboard with a 10 foot pole. It was returned for a reason.
 
Saki630 said:
I thought Corsair psu's were re-branded Seasonics which people seem to like. I'm not sure how to evaluate psu performances other than the 80-90+ rating..
Click to expand...

That was many years ago. Corsair primarily uses flextronic and cwt now. Antec and xfx still use seasonic extensively

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qaSSCWjC11ArO8WyBb_wTvFU_Ez9488F6ARkbag1e14/htmlview?pli=1

Good tier list from jonnyguru. I'd pick tier 4 or higher, personally tier 3 is my preference for performance to dollars ratio.
 
endlesszeal said:
That was many years ago. Corsair primarily uses flextronic and cwt now. Antec and xfx still use seasonic extensively

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qaSSCWjC11ArO8WyBb_wTvFU_Ez9488F6ARkbag1e14/htmlview?pli=1

Good tier list from jonnyguru. I'd pick tier 4 or higher, personally tier 3 is my preference for performance to dollars ratio.
Click to expand...

Damn, Earthwatts is still surprisingly highly-rated. But I'm not surprised - the one I'm using is going on eight years now. Sturdy and good value, if you can live without modular.
 
Yeah. I have one of the originals made by seasonic and the update built by delta. Both are still running, 6 and 4 years respectively

What I am more surprised is that the old seasonic m12 bronze units are better than modern gold units, eg corsair cs450m. Mainly because I'm not well versed in psu design but I certainly appreciate good units.
 
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