Computer Building in Progress (Topic)

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Computer Building in Progress

Nov 14 2014, 3:09 pm
By:

Dem0n

Pages: 1 2 >

Nov 14 2014, 3:09 pm

Dem0n Post #1

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So I'm looking to get a new computer. Obviously, I want it to be fast and up-to-date. Graphics-wise, I wanna be able to play games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and Shadow of Mordor on 60 fps on high settings. My original budget was $800-850, but I got some parts for super cheap, so I'm not really sure how much I'm trying to spend now. I already got the case, RAM, PSU, and some case fans, which are listed below.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (Purchased For $25.00)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $15.00)
Power Supply: Ultra LSP 550W ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $5.00)
Case Fan: Kingwin CFY-012LB 40.0 CFM 120mm Fan (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $45.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 10:14 EST-0500

------------------------

Okay, almost two years later, those parts I bought are collecting dust in my closet as I still have not built a computer. I should have enough money in about a month, so I think now's a good time to start looking for parts. Roy was kind enough to put together a parts list for me, and this is what he's got:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus B150M-A D3 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Red 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (Purchased For $25.00)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.59 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ B&H)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $15.00)
Power Supply: Ultra LSP 550W ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $5.00)
Case Fan: Kingwin CFY-012LB 40.0 CFM 120mm Fan (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $608.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-17 17:49 EDT-0400

That looks great, but I'd like to hear other people's opinions as well. Specifically, here's what I want from each part I don't have:

Motherboard: The one Roy linked me looks fine, but it only has DDR3 compatibility. I'd prefer to have one that's future-proof with DDR4 capabilities.

CPU: Something that'll run fast with multiple IDEs and emulators, as well as games and other intense programs, open. I'm trying to get into the mobile development industry, and my current laptop and desktop are absolutely pathetic when trying to run Android apps (they take anywhere from 3-10 minutes to build even the simplest programs). An i5 is probably good for me. Not K-series though - I don't plan on overclocking.

GPU: To be honest, I don't really play new games, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to run new graphics well. With the Skyrim Remastered edition announced, I'll probably get that, and I'll want to be able to run it in full 1080p with a huge amount of mods to make it beautiful. I think a GTX 960 will suffice, right?

SSD: 250 gbs is probably good for me.

HDD: 1 tb is more than enough. Hell, my 6 year old desktop has a 750 gb hard drive, and it still has 160 gbs free on it. Honestly, if a good deal for a 512 gb SSD pops up, I might just get that instead. Not to mention, I have a few old laptop hard drives that I could use as external hard drives.

Monitor: I'd like a really nice monitor, but I'm pretty cheap, so a 1080p screen around 23-24" will be fine.

Keyboard: I do want a mechanical keyboard, but I'm not sure I want to spend like $100 on that right now. Let me know if there are any good deal, though.

Budget: $800-900. I probably want to stay closer to $800, but if I'm able to pick up a couple more shifts at work, I might be more willing to spend near $900.

Again, I'll have enough money for this in about a month, but I'm not against buying parts individually if good deals come up. In fact, I probably prefer that, so let me know if there's anything that I should definitely buy sooner than later. Thanks!

Post has been edited 3 time(s), last time on Jun 17 2016, 9:54 pm by Dem0n.

Nov 14 2014, 11:01 pm

NudeRaider Post #2

We can't explain the universe, just describe it; and we don't know whether our theories are true, we just know they're not wrong. >Harald Lesch

Damn lost my post. Short version: I don't trust that PSU. 5% DOA or dead within weeks. Don't put your components at risk and get the Antec recommended below.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (Purchased For $25.00)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.64 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $15.00)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: AOC i2267Fw 60Hz 22.0" Monitor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Kingwin CFY-012LB 40.0 CFM 120mm Fan (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $776.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 15:07 EST-0500
I'm pretty happy with the build except the GPU. It's just barely what you ask for, maybe a bit weaker, but the next step up costs almost $100 and you'd have to sacrifice a lot of other things for it. In short, not worth it.

Nov 15 2014, 1:43 am

Roy Post #3

An artist's depiction of an Extended Unit Death

Quote from

NudeRaider

Short version: I don't trust that PSU. 5% DOA or dead within weeks.

Eh, it's a very popular PSU on Tigerdirect, and the majority of reviews are quite positive. And for every unhappy customer leaving a review there are several happy customers that don't bother. The only negative Amazon reviews are that they make it difficult to use the warranty. And correct me if I'm wrong, but that Antec has 14 reviews out of 139 saying DOA/died early, which is 10% (worse than the 47/761 = 6% on Tigerdirect, assuming all 1- and 2-star reviews are those complaints). Just because it's an unfamiliar brand doesn't mean it's necessarily garbage. Although statistics aside, I like your manufacturer (FSP) over the Ultra (Andyson).

Also, why the unlocked version of the i5 if you're gonna stick it on a B85 board? Seems like a waste of money when you can just get the 4590 or 4690. The 4590/4590S are available on Tigerdirect right now for $185 if you apply a $15 off $100 coupon.

Right now I don't see anything worth picking up when you can wait for deals to come by.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Nov 15 2014, 1:51 am by Roy.

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Nov 15 2014, 12:13 pm

NudeRaider Post #4

We can't explain the universe, just describe it; and we don't know whether our theories are true, we just know they're not wrong. >Harald Lesch

Quote from

Roy

Quote from

NudeRaider

Short version: I don't trust that PSU. 5% DOA or dead within weeks.

I must admit I didn't do a fair comparison. I just couldn't find a proper review of it so I couldn't confirm it's good. So I went to stores and checked the customer reviews which admittedly don't say much. For the Antec I did find a proper review so I didn't check customer reviews. So yeah it's entirely possible the statistics are even worse because I lacked the data to do a meaningful comparison. But still, until I saw a proper review of the Ultra I can't say I trust it. In the long version of my post this was clearer.
If you know it's a good PSU, by all means keep it. If not, don't play with fire. There's just too much value at stake.

Quote from

Roy

Also, why the unlocked version of the i5 if you're gonna stick it on a B85 board? Seems like a waste of money when you can just get the 4590 or 4690. The 4590/4590S are available on Tigerdirect right now for $185 if you apply a $15 off $100 coupon.

Oh wow, thanks for bringing that up! I really didn't know that only Zxx chipsets support overclocking. Asrock supports it on some boards, but the one I picked doesn't seem to be one of them. So my recommendation would be
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Micro Center)
I don't feel like the budget is tight enough, but if he really wants a �ATX he could get any ASUS board because they all support non-Z overclocking.

Quote from

Roy

Right now I don't see anything worth picking up when you can wait for deals to come by.

Wasn't looking for deals, just a list of parts he should be getting to get the most of his price point.
The video card is really cheap thanks to $49 off, though. But it might be just under his requirements so he might wanna wait until a good deal for a R9 290(x) or GTX 680/780 comes up. But those are $100+ more expensive so that wouldn't be worth it for me.

Nov 15 2014, 3:07 pm

Dem0n Post #5

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Thanks for the build, Nude, though I am skeptical about the graphics card. You said it's just barely what I want, and I got a PowerColor card the last time I built a computer and it died in a month, so I want to stay away from those. I'm hoping I can find a decent mobo/cpu combo that can save me some money so that I can spend some more on a good gpu. Maybe there'll be some Black Friday deals or something.

Nov 16 2014, 2:47 pm

NudeRaider Post #6

We can't explain the universe, just describe it; and we don't know whether our theories are true, we just know they're not wrong. >Harald Lesch

Quote from

Dem0n

My point is that it's not cost efficient at the moment to get a higher tiered card. You're better off getting a cheap (or even used) R9 280 now and upgrade to the next generation/tier or even the tier/gen after the next in 1-2 years.

My Powercolor works well for over like 4 years now, and the one my brother got for like 2 years now.

But yeah I understand if you stay away from a brand that failed you in the past.

Yup definitely wait on Black Friday.

Nov 17 2014, 2:57 pm

rockz Post #7

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I wouldn't touch a non-80+ certified psu with a ten foot pole.

Personally, I buy the cheapest graphics card no matter the company that makes it. They're all based off the same reference design, and the parts are mostly coming straight from the manufacturer. I worry more about bad design than bad quality.

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Nov 22 2014, 3:11 pm

Roy Post #8

An artist's depiction of an Extended Unit Death

Here's your chance (or anyone's, for that matter) to get an SSD in this system: Corsair Force LS 120GB ($25). You have to go through some hoops ($20 rebate, checkout with Google Wallet on the Newegg app) to get that price, obviously.

Your case already has a 2.5" drive bay, so you don't need to buy a mounting bracket for it.

Edit: The deal just died.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Nov 22 2014, 5:07 pm by Roy.

Jun 17 2016, 9:54 pm

Dem0n Post #9

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Alright, it's been over a year and a half, but I think I'm actually (almost) ready to buy parts. Please read the OP and let me know if there are any good deals!

Jun 18 2016, 3:17 pm

Excalibur Post #10

The sword and the faith

Dem0n,
Since you waited so long DDR4 has dropped considerably in price. Would you rather keep the memory you have or go for proper DDR4? I ask because if you're going to go DDR3 you might as well ignore Skylake. I don't see the point in doing a new platform with old RAM. If you don't mind buying some DDR4, you could still do Skylake.

For GPU I'd recommend waiting til the RX 480 is out. Its supposed to be a cheap powerhouse that offers more value than any card on the market currently. You waited this long, you can wait a lil more.

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Jun 18 2016, 3:31 pm

Dem0n Post #11

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Quote from

Excalibur

Yeah, I just looked at the prices, and it is pretty cheap. I might just do that.

Jun 18 2016, 3:39 pm

Excalibur Post #12

The sword and the faith

In that case:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($208.63 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($96.28 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.33 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($93.72 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.89 @ Directron)
Total: $498.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-18 11:38 EDT-0400

I find the mobo you listed above to be a little sketchy. At that point you're literally scraping the bottom of the barrel for the lowest priced mobo that fits your CPU and anytime you do that with a part I feel like you're asking for trouble. Its an 800$-ish build right? A 50-60$ mobo does not fit. Get something decent.

Grab the RX480 when it comes out, and there you have it.

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Jun 18 2016, 8:39 pm

Dem0n Post #13

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

After talking with Ex and Roy, this is what we've come up with so far:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T4 70.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($48.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk X400 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VC239H 23.0" 60Hz Monitor ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Other: RX 480 ($200.00)
Total: $849.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-18 16:38 EDT-0400

Still don't know if I need that CPU cooler. Ex says I should get it, Roy says stock will be fine if I'm not overclocking (which I'm not), and I'm cheap and hate mail-in rebates anyways. Might still get it, but I'm not sure. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Jun 19 2016, 7:33 am

Oh_Man Post #14

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Ex already said it's his personal preference.

There's really only three reasons you wouldn't use a stock cooler:
(1) Aesthetic preference
(2) Overclocking purposes (better temps)
(3) Noise reduction

And tbh I think the graphics card usually puts out more dBs than the stock cooler fan for the CPU so I think (3) isn't even really valid.

Also I think you should be getting the 970. 2GB of VRAM doesn't really cut it these days. But if all you're concerned with is Skyrim than the 960 seems to be able to get over 60fps no problem.
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Jun 21 2016, 4:25 pm

Dem0n Post #15

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

So I've been reading up on the RX 480, and it looks like the 8 gb version is only going to be like $50 more. Would it be worth it to get that? I wouldn't mind paying $50 extra to get much better performance. Of course, since there aren't any benchmarks released, I can't really make an educated decision on which would be the better purchase.

Jun 25 2016, 11:36 pm

Excalibur Post #16

The sword and the faith

If you're gaming at 1080p 4GB should be sufficient. If you'd like to futureproof for a possible upgrade to 1440p, 8GB might be beneficial.

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Jul 5 2016, 5:13 am

Dem0n Post #17

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I bought all the core parts, and now I'm trying to install Windows on a hard drive. I put it on a usb, and when it gets to the Install Windows screen where you choose your language and time, I can't use my mouse or keyboard to select anything. A lot of other people have had this problem and they suggested plugging the components into the front usb 2.0 slots rather than the back ones, which I've done, but I still can't use anything. I don't even see the mouse on the screen. I have a Logitech G400; does that need drivers before it can be used or something? I don't remember how it worked when I first got it. Anyone know how to fix this?

Jul 5 2016, 6:25 am

NudeRaider Post #18

We can't explain the universe, just describe it; and we don't know whether our theories are true, we just know they're not wrong. >Harald Lesch

Try to change the USB and xHCI (not to be confused with AHCI) settings in your BIOS.

Legacy USB settings should work best and xHCI to enable if Windows supports your USB 3.x controller, otherwise supply a driver during the installation process (there should be a brief period where it's asking for 3rd party drivers during loading of the installation process)
If you can't get USB 3.x working, disable xHCI and use USB 2.0 ports. I'd go for the back ports for if they appear USB 2.0 they definitely are, while front one's might be connected to a 3.x connector internally. Refer to your mobo manual to confirm it, since you must've plugged them in yourself. (you did, right?)

Avoid all of that and use the port that has been designed for mouse and keyboard: PS/2. You should get used ones for free or very cheap. Just keep them in the cabinet until you wanna reinstall.

Jul 5 2016, 11:57 am

ShadowFlare Post #19

Are you trying to install Windows 10 or something older? I'm guessing you are trying something older, since Windows 10 has built-in support for most (or all?) USB 3.0 host controllers. For a Skylake CPU, you probably should use Windows 10, since any version older is technically unsupported by Microsoft for Skylake except on certain hardware configurations, at least according to Microsoft (for reasons other than driver support). Even then it still won't be supported for all of the remainder of Windows 7's or 8.1's support lifecycle, iirc.

edit: Just saw the screenshot in the shoutbox. Yeah, Windows 7 doesn't include USB 3.0 drivers. I don't recall which version first had them included, even in the installer, if it was 8, 8.1, or 10.

btw, I didn't mention 8 above when talking about support lifecycles because its has already ended. For some reason Microsoft considers 8.1 as if it was a service pack for 8, as far as support lifecycles go, so they've already ended support for 8, even though the server version still gets a full support lifecycle.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Jul 5 2016, 1:32 pm by ShadowFlare.

None.

Jul 6 2016, 7:04 pm

Dem0n Post #20

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Finally, my computer has been built. Only thing I'm waiting on is the SSD, which I'll probably get in about a week when I get more money, but I'm just using an old laptop hard drive until then. Just got my RX 480, and it's pretty cool. Thanks to everyone who helped me put this together, and thanks to ShadowFlare for the software support!

Tentative final parts list since I haven't bought the SSD yet:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $204.99)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T4 70.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler (Purchased For $14.99)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (Purchased For $89.99)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (Purchased For $53.99)
Storage: Sandisk X400 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($130.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 480 8GB Video Card (Purchased For $239.99)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $15.00)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $64.99)
Monitor: Asus VC239H 23.0" 60Hz Monitor (Purchased For $109.99)
Total: $924.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-06 15:08 EDT-0400

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jul 6 2016, 7:16 pm by Dem0n.

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