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Noob needs help

E

Ech0location

n00b
Joined
Apr 25, 2014
Messages
6
I'm 17 and my mother has generously offered to help fund a gaming PC for me, but I have no idea where to start. I've done a crapton of research the last while and I have two possible setups so far, could you critique them, or help me with the setup? *EDIT: Removed the first list.

#2>>http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3ywIE<<

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly mid- to heavy-gaming (Borderlands 2, Minecraft, etc.)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1250 US/$1380 CAD, give or take (less would be better).
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Canada
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.
Most everything listed in the PCPP links up there.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Maybe.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
It's a crappy 22' 720P monitor from 6 years ago.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Soon, probably in a month.
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.
SLI Support, USB 3.0, apart from that, I don't really know what most of these are.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Nope, I'm going with Windows 8.1.
 
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For the overclocking question, it's a yes or no type situation. So please really think about whether or not you want to overclock. Your answer will mean whether or not you have to spend an extra $80 to $100 for the capability to overclock. So again, will you be overclocking?

Also, are you planning on upgrading your monitor as well? If so, when?

Oh and ditch the first list: For a gaming PC, you want to go with Intel CPUs.
 
Dangman said:
For the overclocking question, it's a yes or no type situation. So please really think about whether or not you want to overclock. Your answer will mean whether or not you have to spend an extra $80 to $100 for the capability to overclock. So again, will you be overclocking?

Also, are you planning on upgrading your monitor as well? If so, when?

Oh and ditch the first list: For a gaming PC, you want to go with Intel CPUs.
Click to expand...

Sure, I might as well ditch the first list.

The reason I put maybe is because I'd like to learn a bit more about overclocking first, do you have a personal preference or suggestion?

I'm going to upgrade my monitor the first chance I get, It's the first thing on my list after the computer.
 
Ech0location said:
The reason I put maybe is because I'd like to learn a bit more about overclocking first, do you have a personal preference or suggestion?
Click to expand...
I would probably avoid overclocking in your case since it looks like you're going to have to fit in a monitor as well into your budget......
Ech0location said:
I'm going to upgrade my monitor the first chance I get, It's the first thing on my list after the computer.
Click to expand...
So why not just make it part of that $1200 budget then? I mean, really no point in getting new GPUs if you're going to be stuck with a low-resolution monitor for a long time.

Also, what's your budget in Canadian dollars? Canada has way way different pricing for computer hardware than the U.S does. A lot of times, it's higher. In addition, you might want to adjust your PCPartPicker to use Canadian retailers, not U.S retailers.
 
Dangman said:
I would probably avoid overclocking in your case since it looks like you're going to have to fit in a monitor as well into your budget......

So why not just make it part of that $1200 budget then? I mean, really no point in getting new GPUs if you're going to be stuck with a low-resolution monitor for a long time.

Also, what's your budget in Canadian dollars? Canada has way way different pricing for computer hardware than the U.S does. A lot of times, it's higher. In addition, you might want to adjust your PCPartPicker to use Canadian retailers, not U.S retailers.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that website came in poutine flavor, I'll be sure to change that. I'll add a monitor into the budget as well, since that seems like a good idea (I'm really not very good at planning)

I was posting my budget in US dollars because I figured most of the people here would be more familiar with US prices. My budget Canadian is $1380.
 
Ech0location said:
I wasn't aware that website came in poutine flavor, I'll be sure to change that. I'll add a monitor into the budget as well, since that seems like a good idea (I'm really not very good at planning)

I was posting my budget in US dollars because I figured most of the people here would be more familiar with US prices. My budget Canadian is $1380.
Click to expand...

One of the things we try to do in this subforum is to recommend parts based on the pricing and availability that the original poster will be seeing, not what it is in US dollars and markets. We've seen it happen too many times where we've recommended something based on U.S pricing only for it to be insanely overpriced or not even in stock in whatever country the original poster is in. So we just recommend based local pricing and availability nowadays.

So I'm guessing you'll be ordering from NCIX, Canada Computers, Direct Canada, Memory Express etc?
 
Dangman said:
One of the things we try to do in this subforum is to recommend parts based on the pricing and availability that the original poster will be seeing, not what it is in US dollars and markets. We've seen it happen too many times where we've recommended something based on U.S pricing only for it to be insanely overpriced or not even in stock in whatever country the original poster is in. So we just recommend based local pricing and availability nowadays.

So I'm guessing you'll be ordering from NCIX, Canada Computers, Direct Canada, Memory Express etc?
Click to expand...

Basically, yeah. Here I am being ignorant and you're going to all this effort to help me, seriously, thanks.
 
For simplicity's sake, I'll be using NCIX links:
$220 CAD - Intel Core i5-4570 CPU
$117 CAD - ASRock H87M Pro4 Intel H87 mATX Motherboard
$96 CAD - Kingston HyperX Black KHX16C10B1B/8 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$265 CAD - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$100 CAD - Samsung 840 Evo 120GB SSD
$60 CAD - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$24 CAD - Samsung SH-224DB 24X SATA DVD Writer Black
$100 CAD - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU
$110 CAD - Windows 8.1 64bit
$170 CAD - Asus VE247H Black 23.6" LED LCD Monitor
-----
Total: $1262 CAD

The SSD is there for the OS, programs, and maybe 1-3 games depending on how large those games are. The regular hard drive is for your music, pictures, and other game installs.

Yes it's missing a case. You should choose that yourself. I recommend the following cases:
$60 - Corsair Carbide Series 200R ATX Case
$70 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$72 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$79 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black w/ Window ATX Case
$93 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$105 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$110 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom 530 Black Full Tower ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$170 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 Gunmetal Full Tower ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 White Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B-USB3.0 ATX Case
$250 - Silverstone FT02S-W-USB3.0 ATX Case
$245 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW ATX Case

If you have any questions about the above build, feel free to ask.
 
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Dangman said:
For simplicity's sake, I'll be using NCIX links:
$220 CAD - Intel Core i5-4570 CPU
$117 CAD - ASRock H87M Pro4 Intel H87 mATX Motherboard
$96 CAD - Kingston HyperX Black KHX16C10B1B/8 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$265 CAD - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$100 CAD - Samsung 840 Evo 120GB SSD
$60 CAD - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$24 CAD - Samsung SH-224DB 24X SATA DVD Writer Black
$100 CAD - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU
$110 CAD - Windows 8.1 64bit
$170 CAD - Asus VE247H Black 23.6" LED LCD Monitor
-----
Total: $1262 CAD

The SSD is there for the OS, programs, and maybe 1-3 games depending on how large those games are. The regular hard drive is for your music, pictures, and other game installs.

Yes it's missing a case. You should choose that yourself. I recommend the following cases:
$60 - Corsair Carbide Series 200R ATX Case
$70 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$72 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$79 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black w/ Window ATX Case
$93 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$105 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$110 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom 530 Black Full Tower ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$170 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 Gunmetal Full Tower ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 White Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B-USB3.0 ATX Case
$250 - Silverstone FT02S-W-USB3.0 ATX Case
$245 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW ATX Case

If you have any questions about the above build, feel free to ask.
Click to expand...

Just 3 questions:

#1: How is the cheaper obsidian series case that you didn't list? Is it any good?

#2: If I have a bit of money left over, should I keep that as-is or sink a bit of money into a slightly better GPU?

#3: Shouldn't I get a CPU cooler?
 
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1) The Corsair 350D and 450D are both solid cases. The motherboard I recommended above will fit inside either case.
2) Not enough money would be left over to get the next best GPU. So if there's money left over, get that Coolermaster HSF you had in your Intel link.
3) The CPU already comes with a stock CPU cooler. It'll do the job but won't be as good as the Coolermaster.
 
That system + the HSF + an Obsidian 450D is what I've decided on. Thank you so much! Just one more question... shouldn't I get a 4GBx2 RAM instead of a single 8GB RAM?
 
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Ech0location said:
That system + the HSF + an Obsidian 450D is what I've decided on. Thank you so much! Just one more question... shouldn't I get a 4GBx2 RAM instead of a single 8GB RAM?
Click to expand...

No, unless it's like $20 CAD cheaper than the set I listed. Besides that, you won't notice a performance difference.
 
Is that backwards? I'd get 2x4GB unless it's noticeably more expensive than a single 8GB module. With 2 sticks you get dual channel memory and you still have 2 slots free for a later upgrade if needed.

Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CL9 is $0.98 cheaper than that Kingston stick on NICX. http://www.ncix.com/detail/crucial-ballistix-sport-8gb-1x8gb-39-68901.htm There are other options available, but I'm a bit lazy and I'm a Crucial and Kingston fan of sorts (mostly because they sell server ram), so you'll have to find them yourself. XD Kingston may well have something similar but NICX doesn't seem to reliably list voltage specs so I'd have to Google a bunch of part numbers to see if they're 1.5V or less.
 
zandor said:
Is that backwards? I'd get 2x4GB unless it's noticeably more expensive than a single 8GB module. With 2 sticks you get dual channel memory and you still have 2 slots free for a later upgrade if needed.
Click to expand...
Under the most of ideal of conditions, dual channel really only provides a 5% performance increase. So really not worth getting IMO unless substantially cheaper since I doubt you can notice a 5% performance increase. Plus, going with an 8GB stick means three slots free for a later upgrade :)
 
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