Build for Friend $2k

[Khanmots]

Friend's looking to do a build; I'm trying to help keep him from overspending (he tends to way overspec...) but haven't kept up with stuff.

He does have a few non-std requirements. He wants it to be quiet... and he wants it (and the monitor) to be semi-portable so he can haul it to a friend's place on the weekend.

And... the standard questions.

1) What will you be doing with this PC?
He'll be gaming and web browsing.

2) What's your budget?
$2k max including tax/shipping

3) Which country do you live in?
US, Texas, DFW

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
He has nothing. So he'll need Case, PSU, CPU, Ram, Video Card, Storage, DVD drives... etc. Will also need a monitor, keyboard (cheap ok) and OS.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
A mouse...

6) Will you be overclocking?
Not unless it's dirt simple.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Doesn't have one. He's wanting 1920x1080 or 1920x1200. 23/24"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as he's sold on a build he'll order parts.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
He won't need RAID. He may want Crossfire/SLI, but really doubt he'll ever make use of it. USB 3.0 might be used. His mboard needs are truly rather modest (but despite this he's looking at $400 mboards...)

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
No.

 

[rastaban]

$2k is not unreasonable for a solid gaming rig including OS and peripherals, but it can definitely be cut down (need speakers too?)

Are there any games in particular he is looking to play?
Seeing the budget is flexible enough to factor it in, does he care at all about aesthetics? Does he want a minimalist looking case or a "gamer" type case?

There are some easy to follow guides for overclocking, so it is "dirt simple" nowadays if you use a cookbook method. But testing can be time consuming especially if you want to get the most out of it. Since the budget is pretty high, it's a feature I'd leave in for now.

Preliminary core component suggestions from me would be:

CPU: i5 4670K ($240 on Newegg)

ATX Mobo options, not much preference from me between these:
ASUS Z87-PLUS ($160 on Newegg) - has the best auto-overclocking feature of all the mobo makers
MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ($168)
MSI Z87-G43 Gaming ($148) - fewer power phases than G45 Gaming, not an issue unless getting into very high overclocks
Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z5S ($153)
ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ($150) - only one of the group with 2x 20-pin USB 3.0 headers if you choose a case with 4x USB 3.0 front panel ports.

RAM: any cheap 1600 MHz, 1.5V, CL9 sticks will do, 2x4GB to start off. These will work.

Storage/SSD: 250GB Samsung 840 Evo ($160)
Storage/HDD: how much data/media does he need space for?

Optical: Any SATA DVD -RW will do (~$20)

PSU: Assuming a single higher end gaphics card, 550W-650W range is about right. I'm biased here, so I'd just grab a Seasonic X650 for about $150.

CPU cooler: lots of options here, but I'm holding off from an expensive Noctua suggestion for now.

I'm not up to date on monitors, especially panels for gaming.

 

[Khanmots]

He doesn't have a specific game he's aiming at.

His only requirements on case are quiet and easily transportable (and decent airflow of course). Doesn't care what it looks like.

He'll need speakers as well, but as he's been using laptop speakers for the last 4-5 years anything will be a step up...

Probably a 1TB HDD.

Given RAM prices (and knowing him...) he'll prob be pushing for 2x8 or 4x4GB of ram.

On PSU's anything against Corsair? I've been a big fan the last many years and was thinking maybe a TX650.

 

[rastaban]

What do you mean by RAM prices? why would he spend more on it when prices are high now?

The Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 ($65) is a pretty cheap 1TB HDD. Slightly more expensive but with enterprise level 24/7 advertised durability, is the Seagate Constellation CS ST1000NC001 ($105). The former has a 2 yr warranty and the latter has a 3 yr warranty. Both are single platter drives.

Or you can choose Western Digital's Blue WD10EZEX ($60) comparable to the first Seagate. The Black WD1003FZEX ($89) comes with a 5-year warranty. Both are also single platter. I've owned a few older Blacks and they tend to be noisy during operation, I don't know about these newer ones though.

Corsair often uses Seasonic as it's ODM for higher models in their lineup. The TX650 is one of those models based on Seasonic. I'm a fan of modular PSU's so I'd pass on the TX650. I always looked at it as "why not go straight to the source of the good stuff?" and choose Seasonic. You can check whether a Corsair PSU is based on a Seasonic or not just by googling for reviews. I believe their highest AX series all fall into that category.

If your friend doesnt have a specific game in mind, I'd have to assume he's more of a casual game and write off the top end graphics card. A GTX 760 ($250-$280) is a solid card and should play most games on high settings at 1080p or 1200p. The AMD side has some price inflation going on so I won't go there.

For speakers, the M-Audio AV40 is a great starting place for inexpensive 2.0 sound. You can always add a subwoofer later.

 

[Khanmots]

He really is a casual gamer, most of what he plays isn't horribly demanding. MMOs, RTS, sometimes stuff like oblivion. Usually not high-end FPS. Something in the 760 range would probably be more than enough.

He's been trying his damndest to blow his budget, ($400 mboard, GTX 780, high-end i7, etc), and you've given me a lot of info to start trying to help him rein it in.

Oh, and on the RAM, I was meaning that for him it's under $100 and he'll think that 16 v 8gig is future-proofing so he'll want it. If I can sell him on 8 for now and upgrade later if he needs it I will... but it's probably a hard sell.

 

[limitedaccess]

Maybe consider a mATX build (or even ITX)? It will give better portability. Personally with a casual and non tech savvy user (who also doesn't seem very budget limited) I'd stick with single GPU. Consistency and reliability would give the overall better experience.

DDR3 ram prices are more likely to go up in the long term then down, as DDR3 is transitioning to DDR4. If you actually do want 16gb ram there isn't much benefit to upgrading later on.

 

[rastaban]

Well, the easiest way to convince him not to spend more is to present the ugly side.

There's just no way any casual user is going to use more than 5 or 6 GB of RAM, so it's just meaningless to get more than 8 GB imo. You get a tiny bit more power draw by adding more DIMMs and I think (not sure on this) the on-die IMC is stressed a bit more.

High performance parts generally mean more heat production which demands more cooling and noisier fans. If he wants to spend money really badly, I'd say $100 in fans is well worth the acoustic upgrade, but that is usually not something people do during the initial build.

For portability, mATX is the most flexible. Also, the case would ideally be aluminum for cutting weight. I've built in the Lian Li PC-A04, and it's terrific, but the airflow is probably a little lacking for a 760 (no rear exhaust fan). The motherboard list would have to be revised too.

 

[Dangman]

Maybe consider a mATX build (or even ITX)? It will give better portability. Personally with a casual and non tech savvy user (who also doesn't seem very budget limited) I'd stick with single GPU. Consistency and reliability would give the overall better experience.

From what I can tell, there aren't really any small cases (mATX or mITX) that are really that quiet in comparison to their ATX brethren.

So, Khanmot, ask your friend what matters more: Portability or low noise. He really can't get both unless he goes with really low-end parts.