Need help with new build

T

tickle_me_emo

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Nov 30, 2006
Messages
1,052
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly web browsing and office programs. But I might want to play games in the future. So I’d want a mid tier GPU. I want to try to build a quiet PC. I might try water cooling if it’s easy to install and fits in my budget.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1,500USD (tax and shipping included)

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Los Angeles California

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.
Case (probably in the $100 range)
Motherboard
CPU
CPU heatsink (I'd rather not use the stock one)
RAM
Power supply
HDD (main 120 gig SSD, and 1TB storage)
DVD-ROM
GPU (“silent” one)
Case fans (“silent” ones)
Monitor (24inches, can be 1080p)
Keyboard

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I’ll be reusing my speakers, and mouse. As I currently have a laptop.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No, but it’s nice to have the option.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1080p/1200p

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
1-2 weeks

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.
USB 3.0

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I have a copy of Windows 7 64 bit.


Here's the build I threw together on PC Hound. I didn't do much research. I just looked at the price point and rank on PC hound. I am partial to Antec cases. If anyone has improvements or suggestions I'll take them. I'm not married to anything in the build I posted.
 
Wait, so you're not playing games now then? How soon will you be playing games?

I ask because it's really a waste of money to buy a gaming video card when you're not going to play games on it right away or within a short period of time (less than two months). Might as well stick with onboard video until then.

So here's what I recommend instead:
PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 ($186.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Performance ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) Ripjaws X Series ($96.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) ($125.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: SAMSUNG 500GB 850 EVO MZ-75E500B/AM ($206 @ Amazon)
Storage #2: WD 3TB Red WD30EFRX ($109.99 @ Best Buy)
Optical Drive: LITE-ON iHAS124-14 ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $838.93
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound


Add this HSF to the above build:
$41 - Scythe SCKTT-1000 HSF

As for the cases, I recommend any of these low noise oriented cases:
$85 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$84 - Fractal Design Define R4 Black ATX Case
$124 - Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Case
$120 - NZXT H440 White/Black ATX Case
$127 - NZXT H440 Red/Matte Black ATX Case
 
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Maybe you're right about the GPU. I haven't played a 3D game in a couple years. I've been addicted to magic online, which is mostly a memory hog due to poor coding. Though I think I do want a low-mid range GPU in case I get the urge to buy the latest Civ game or play Dota 2 with bells and whistles.

Since i've been primarily using laptops for the past decade, I don't have that much stuff stored on my hard drives. I currently have a 64 gig SSD as my primary drive, and an 320 gig as my secondary one. The secondary one is about 50% filled, and most of it is back up files. Is it worth double/triple the price for 3-4x more storage?
 
You'll most likely do fine with a 256Gb SSD, you'll be able to fit a new games on it and use a regular HDD for the ones you don't play as often if needed.

Being burnt by "value" brands I try to steer away from these as I find them simply not worth the time mucking around I'd add Asus H97M-PLUS as an alternativ to the ASRock motherboard. It's available at the same price over at Newgg.

Memory: Probably nothing wrong with G.Skill but those heatsinks may be an issue if you want to use an aftermarket cooler due to height.
Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB 1600 is most likely an better option, they're just as fast and I've had very good experience with these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=cruial_sport_1600-_-20-148-545-_-Product

PSU: SeaSonic S12G S12G-550 550W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151136
It'll be more than enough even with a beefy video card, downside it's not modular but if you go with the Fractal Design R4 or R5 cases it wont be an issue at all.

Storage: Given the track record I'd avoid EVO series like the plague, there are however for now no known issues with the current series. Here's a few other ones that might be of interest (all are available at Newegg) and they've all had a solid track record looking at previous series.
Plextor PX-256M6Pro ~150$
Micro M600 256GB ~140$
SAMSUNG 850 PRO 256Gb ~180$

If you need a HDD, go for a Toshiba DT01ACA HDD instead of a NAS drive (also available in 1 or 2TB.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=toshiba_dt01aca300-_-22-149-408-_-Product

You might also want to consider a bluray unit.
//Danne
 
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Just get a GPU when you need it, Intel Graphics HD4600 does actually perform better than what most think.
//Danne
 
I recently built a new PC for a client and the 4600 ran FarCry 3 on Medium settings really well - it will be able to handle Civ.
 
tickle_me_emo said:
Maybe you're right about the GPU. I haven't played a 3D game in a couple years. I've been addicted to magic online, which is mostly a memory hog due to poor coding. Though I think I do want a low-mid range GPU in case I get the urge to buy the latest Civ game or play Dota 2 with bells and whistles.
Click to expand...
Buy a video card when you actually start playing games. Otherwise, it's just a waste of power and money.
tickle_me_emo said:
Since i've been primarily using laptops for the past decade, I don't have that much stuff stored on my hard drives. I currently have a 64 gig SSD as my primary drive, and an 320 gig as my secondary one. The secondary one is about 50% filled, and most of it is back up files. Is it worth double/triple the price for 3-4x more storage?
Click to expand...
You could go for the WD Red 2TB. However, the main reason why I selected the Red 3TB was that it was on sale from Best Buy. The normal price of the Red 2TB is $100. $10 more for an extra 1TB of space? That's a steal. Not to mention that larger hard drives nowadays are faster than your 320GB even if it was 7200RPM and not a laptop drive.

But if you positively don't need that space and don't care about value too much, then you should be fine with this 1TB drive:
$55 - Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive

diizzy said:
Being burnt by "value" brands I try to steer away from these as I find them simply not worth the time mucking around I'd add Asus H97M-PLUS as an alternativ to the ASRock motherboard. It's available at the same price over at Newgg.
Click to expand...
I use to be a major detractor of AsRock a few years back. But over the past two years of reading HardOCP reviews and my own personal experiences with the later AsRock mobos, I have no issue nowadays recommending AsRock in general.
diizzy said:
Storage: Given the tract record I'd avoid EVO series like the plague, there are however for now no known issues with the current series. Here's a few other ones that might be of interest (all are available at Newegg) and they've all had a solid track record looking at previous series.
Plextor PX-256M6Pro ~150$
Micro M600 256GB ~140$
SAMSUNG 850 PRO 256Gb ~180$
Click to expand...
While a 250GB to 256GB is technically enough, he does have the budget for a larger SSD even if he decides to cram in a video card. So might as well get a larger SSD.
diizzy said:
If you need a HDD, go for a Toshiba DT01ACA HDD instead of a NAS drive (also available in 1 or 2TB.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=toshiba_dt01aca300-_-22-149-408-_-Product
Click to expand...
Looking at the user reviews for that HDD, it doesn't seem to be all that reliable. While yes the WD Red 3TB has worse reviews on Newegg, if you look at the Amazon reviews, not only is the drive better reviewed, there's also significantly more reviews.
 
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256 is pretty much the sweet spot right now, if anything you can just get another one later on if needed.

Have a look at the storage section (forums), it's one of the most recommended HDDs there and I'd personally take it any day over WDs RED series. That said, I have a bunch running without any issues at all.
//Danne
 
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diizzy said:
256 is pretty much the sweet spot right now, if anything I can just get another one later on if needed.

Have a look at the storage section (forums), it's one of the most recommended HDDs there and I'd personally take it any day over WDs RED series. That said, I have a bunch running without any issues at all.
//Danne
Click to expand...
I have been in the storage forums but I'm not seeing enough info that would trump the WD Red's significantly high amount of good user reviews on Amazon.
 
Having non dodgy SMART functionality and they work flawlessly with LSI adapters (and Intel controllers for what matter too). Can't really say the same with recent WD HDDs but that's my personal experience...
I do know that LSI users prefer in general Toshiba over WD regarding consumer drives.
//Danne
 
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