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Building my sons first "new" computer

D

dmbxc

n00b
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
17
My son has a good interest in computers and actually took a couple programming/digital art classes at a local college. Part of his birthday present this year is brand new computer (the last couple were left over laptops) with the understanding that the video card might come after we make sure he uses the computer. Here are the details and please let me know what you think. The past two computers I built based on recommendations from this website and happy to report both of them are still going strong (one is 6 years old and the other 4 years old). Looking forward to hearing what people think and how this build could be improved or other options for the money to be spent.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Building for son who is getting into gaming now. Primary use will be lightweight games with some Fortnite, Fallout, FarCry. I'm thinking about holding off on the video card at first to make sure he really wants to play games on the PC compared to console. He does some graphics work but nothing processor intensive and has started programming but that is mostly cloud based. I'm hoping that this computer will last him till college (another 7 years)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Was trying to stay around $1,000 before video card but I'm more concerned about making sure the computer will last for another 7 years if possible. I understand that the video card may be outdated before then but hoping the motherboard/cpu will last.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
West Virginia
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
PC Hound Part List
CPU: Intel Core i5-8600K ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASUS TUF H370-Pro Gaming (WI-FI) ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.SKILL 16GB Ripjaws V Series ($160.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: CORSAIR 550W VS550 CP-9020171-NA ($23.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital 500GB Blue WDS500G2B0B ($96.77 @ Amazon)
Case: COOLER MASTER MasterBox Pro 5 RGB MCY-B5P2-KWGN-01 ($77.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER MasterLiquid ML120R RGB MLX-D12M-A20PC-R1 ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Combo MK270 ($19.35 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z200 ($16.82 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer EB1 Series EB321HQU Awidpx (UM.JE1AA.A03) ($282.97 @ Newegg)
Total: $1,163.82
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I'm building from scratch as the previous computer will kept for general use
6) Will you be overclocking?
unlikely
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
2560x1440 and the monitor size is 31.5
I'm open for any suggestions on the monitor!
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Ready to start ordering the parts and will be building the PC because he enjoyed helping me with the last one I built years ago.
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.
I don't have anything set in stone in terms of requirements but I do like the WiFi/Bluetooth built into the motherboard. Probably more important is the onboard video because I'm still exploring the option of onboard video only to start with to make sure he really wants to play games on the PC
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
OS license is not an issue
 
I'd consider dropping the CPU to an i5 8400. Save you a few bucks. Also means you won't need that liquid cooler. Maybe consider a Hyper 212 Evo as a cheap air cooler to keep it nice and cool. You've got a H370 board, so not overclocking as you mentioned, so I believe the 8400 would bring your price down a touch (along with cooler change), that you can put towards perhaps a better graphics card (read below)

You'll be limiting your choice to a minimum of GTX 1060 6gb or RX 580 8GB at 2560x1440 to run anything relatively well at decent settings for gaming. Note new GPU's are 'expected' very shortly on the Nvidia side, so may (hopefully) drive prices down on current gen. If we're lucky.

I would really consider spending a few extra dollars on a nicer keybaord/mouse personally.
 
ReaperX22 said:
I'd consider dropping the CPU to an i5 8400. Save you a few bucks. Also means you won't need that liquid cooler. Maybe consider a Hyper 212 Evo as a cheap air cooler to keep it nice and cool. You've got a H370 board, so not overclocking as you mentioned, so I believe the 8400 would bring your price down a touch (along with cooler change), that you can put towards perhaps a better graphics card (read below)

You'll be limiting your choice to a minimum of GTX 1060 6gb or RX 580 8GB at 2560x1440 to run anything relatively well at decent settings for gaming. Note new GPU's are 'expected' very shortly on the Nvidia side, so may (hopefully) drive prices down on current gen. If we're lucky.

I would really consider spending a few extra dollars on a nicer keybaord/mouse personally.
Click to expand...

When I used pchound to look for CPUs in the i5-8400 series I didn't find anything. I might need to use the old fashioned method and look directly on NewEgg/Amazon/PriceWatch for the CPU.

Agree about the keyboard and mouse. Using that as a placeholder for now.
 
Motherboard: This is very debatable but I like to get boards with the newest audio chip, which would be ALC1220. The one you listed is ALC887. In my mind if the manufacture spent the extra money on the more expensive chip they might have also spent extra money on the rest of the sound components. I'm sure this isn't always true and might not ever be true.

Power Supply: This is a very budget power supply. I would get a Seasonic Focus Plus 550w it is currently $50 after rebate on newegg.

CPU Cooler: Definitely don't spend $100 on this. You can get a Coolermaster 212 for $20-30.

Speakers: You are going to want a headset for gaming so you can tell which way sounds are coming from. Speakers are horrible for this.
 
Dermen said:
Motherboard: This is very debatable but I like to get boards with the newest audio chip, which would be ALC1220. The one you listed is ALC887. In my mind if the manufacture spent the extra money on the more expensive chip they might have also spent extra money on the rest of the sound components. I'm sure this isn't always true and might not ever be true.

Power Supply: This is a very budget power supply. I would get a Seasonic Focus Plus 550w it is currently $50 after rebate on newegg.

CPU Cooler: Definitely don't spend $100 on this. You can get a Coolermaster 212 for $20-30.

Speakers: You are going to want a headset for gaming so you can tell which way sounds are coming from. Speakers are horrible for this.
Click to expand...

Arguably you can get an external DAC/AMP later on, but onboard sound is still more handy/convenient.

I agree re speakers. OP consider the Corsair HS50 headset as a great, well priced headset for gaming purposes.

Edit; I also agree re PSU. VS series and CX series from Corsair have never really left a good taste in my mouth. Especially considering you want it to last 'x' years, a solid brand will suit you better here. Seasonic are hard to beat.
 
Dermen said:
Motherboard: This is very debatable but I like to get boards with the newest audio chip, which would be ALC1220. The one you listed is ALC887. In my mind if the manufacture spent the extra money on the more expensive chip they might have also spent extra money on the rest of the sound components. I'm sure this isn't always true and might not ever be true.

Power Supply: This is a very budget power supply. I would get a Seasonic Focus Plus 550w it is currently $50 after rebate on newegg.

CPU Cooler: Definitely don't spend $100 on this. You can get a Coolermaster 212 for $20-30.

Speakers: You are going to want a headset for gaming so you can tell which way sounds are coming from. Speakers are horrible for this.
Click to expand...

Updated the power supply to the Seasonic. Agree about the headset and forgot to list that he has one already.

I'm updating the build to change the CPU cooler to either the Coolermaster 212 or Hyper 212 EVO.

Appreciate the input so far!!
 
ReaperX22 said:
I'd consider dropping the CPU to an i5 8400. Save you a few bucks. Also means you won't need that liquid cooler. Maybe consider a Hyper 212 Evo as a cheap air cooler to keep it nice and cool. You've got a H370 board, so not overclocking as you mentioned, so I believe the 8400 would bring your price down a touch (along with cooler change), that you can put towards perhaps a better graphics card (read below)

You'll be limiting your choice to a minimum of GTX 1060 6gb or RX 580 8GB at 2560x1440 to run anything relatively well at decent settings for gaming. Note new GPU's are 'expected' very shortly on the Nvidia side, so may (hopefully) drive prices down on current gen. If we're lucky.

I would really consider spending a few extra dollars on a nicer keybaord/mouse personally.
Click to expand...


Further updated the build to use the i5-8400 CPU but I'm trying to decide between two different chips. The i5+ or just the i5. The plus model gives you better caching which should improve some loading times from what I understand but overall I don't think my son will notice. The difference in the price is only $30 so I'm leaning towards the plus model.
i5 8400 CPU $199.99 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117824
i5+ 8400 CPU $229.99 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=274-000A-003R3
 
dmbxc said:
Further updated the build to use the i5-8400 CPU but I'm trying to decide between two different chips. The i5+ or just the i5. The plus model gives you better caching which should improve some loading times from what I understand but overall I don't think my son will notice. The difference in the price is only $30 so I'm leaning towards the plus model.
i5 8400 CPU $199.99 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117824
i5+ 8400 CPU $229.99 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=274-000A-003R3
Click to expand...

It's the same exact CPU, one just comes w/ a 16GB Optane memory module, which could speed things up quite a bit since your only going with a spinner and not an SSD.
 
CAD4466HK said:
It's the same exact CPU, one just comes w/ a 16GB Optane memory module, which could speed things up quite a bit since your only going with a spinner and not an SSD.
Click to expand...

The storage unit he chose is an SSD. M.2 Sata 500GB

OP you won't need the + model.
 
ReaperX22 said:
The storage unit he chose is an SSD. M.2 Sata 500GB

OP you won't need the + model.
Click to expand...

Lol My bad, I didn't notice that, thought it was a WD Blue spinner, yeah the OP is good with the regular i5.
Good looking out.
 
CAD4466HK said:
Lol My bad, I didn't notice that, thought it was a WD Blue spinner, yeah the OP is good with the regular i5.
Good looking out.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the feedback. Getting close to pulling the trigger on this build but not soon enough according to my son
 
dmbxc said:
Appreciate the feedback. Getting close to pulling the trigger on this build but not soon enough according to my son
Click to expand...

I'm sure your boy is probably having a conniption fit right now. :D Especially if he's anything like mine when he's waiting on a new rig.
 
Just noticed your RAM choice is 3600mhz. The H platform won't really support that. Consider grabbing maybe a 2400/2666 kit (intel doesn't care as much about RAM speed as AMD Ryzen does), to save another ~20-30 bucks.
 
ReaperX22 said:
Just noticed your RAM choice is 3600mhz. The H platform won't really support that. Consider grabbing maybe a 2400/2666 kit (intel doesn't care as much about RAM speed as AMD Ryzen does), to save another ~20-30 bucks.
Click to expand...

Good catch on that.
 
The i5-8400 already comes with a cooler. It is only a 65watt part, so you can get away with the intel cooler as long as the case has decent airflow.

 
quiktake said:
The i5-8400 already comes with a cooler. It is only a 65watt part, so you can get away with the intel cooler as long as the case has decent airflow.

Click to expand...


Yeah but for ~25 bucks for long-term cooler and quieter running of a system, I'd spend it personally. But that's me. I hate stock coolers. Then again, I hate the mounting mechanism on the 212 too.. So there's that...
 
I'd go with a 212 for no other reason that the ease of replacing the fan when it dies.
 
So from the original build I updated the CPU to go with the 8400 instead of 8600K. Replaced the CPU Cooler with the EVO 212 because my son really wanted LED fans. The case has good air flow and I could probably get by with the stock fan but he wants LED lights so why not. I did change the memory to a slower speed due to the max speed supported by the motherboard. I'm holding off on the video card to see if anything changes in terms of price over the next month or two. The video card will be a birthday gift for him. All the parts are arriving this weekend and he doesn't know so should be a good surprise. Thanks again for all the helpful advice.
 
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