First fully new PC build in 7 years...suggestions?

[masteraleph]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

A fair amount of word processing; sadly, I am an adult these days. Some gaming (DA3, when it comes out will be the most demanding thing I'm running; I play single player RPGs and never FPSs). Possibly some TV/movie watching, but not that much. Not likely to be doing a whole bunch of number crunching, though if my wife steals the desktop it may do that from time to time- she occasionally does graphic analysis of relatively large data sets.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

$1600-$2000, everything included.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

United States. I live in NY, so Microcenter is a short trip away. No Frys in the area, however.

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

No particular affections. I would prefer a smaller form factor- mATX or so, which limits possibilities somewhat.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Reusing speakers and probably the keyboard- would really love an ergonomic mechanical keyboard, but I don't think I can justify the multiple hundreds of dollars just for the keyboard. I may retain the mouse for the moment- it's a Logitech MX Revolution, and I can still get it to charge and hold a charge for a week or two, but it'll have to be replaced at some point before the system as a whole is. Otherwise everything needs to be new, including the monitor.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Probably default.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?

This should be part of the build. I'd like to move up to a 27" monitor; 30" monitors just don't seem to have the quality or bang for the buck, much to my regrets. On some level I'd love to move up to 4k, but it seems like there are still issues on the 28" TN ones and 27-28" seems too small for 4k to me anyways, and the 32" models are all prohibitively expensive. so probably 2560x1440.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

Would prefer to build relatively soon. I'd be ok with waiting towards the end of September if something is going to be coming out that I'm unaware of. After that, waiting only if something truly revolutionary is coming out imminently.

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

I have a spare release copy of Windows 7 around, though I've heard that can be an issue with newer motherboards? Otherwise, I'm still running Office 2k7, though I'm not sure anything since then has been a huge upgrade. My wife is a grad student, if that matters, in terms of ordering stuff.

Other stuff- would prefer a larger SSD- 1TB seems very expensive, but I'd think 512GB makes sense. If using the onboard sound, would prefer a digital output that I can plug into a receiver.

 

[mfenn]

I'm not sure where you heard that 30" monitors are low quality. The Dell U3014 and HP Z30i are still the pinnacle of high-resolution prosumer monitors. You are right that they aren't exactly great bang for the buck, the $1200 on a U3014 is over half of your budget. However, if I were in the market for a big ole' monitor, the U3014 would be a the top of my list.

When you move down to 27", the options really open up, but given your budget, I don't think I'd go with one of the Korean import options. I'd probably go with the Dell U2713HM for $600.

In terms of OS, Windows 7 is perfectly fine to re-use. There's no channel board being sold today that doesn't support it. Since you live near an MC, the i5 4690K + mobo combo is a no-brainer.

So without further ago, my parts recommendation:

i5 4690K + Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming combo $295
Crucial DDR3 1600 16GB $150
Sapphire R9 280 3GB $200 AR
Crucial MX100 512GB $215
LG DVD Burner $14 AP
EVGA SuperNova 650W $50 AR
Corsair 350D $80 AR
Dell U2713HM $600
Total $1604 AR AP

I didn't include a mechanical HDD because 512 GB should be plenty for tons of documents and several games. You could add one if you liked. You could also go up to a ~1TB SSD like the Crucial M550 and stay within budget.

 

[riversend]

Good description of what you want, and as usual, nice build from mfenn.

Just out of curiosity, what is the older build you are migrating from?

 

[masteraleph]

Mfenn- many thanks. One question, though- the 250D looks like it's mini-ITX only. I don't have a problem doing mini-ITX per se- there's really no chance I'm going to want more than 1 GPU- but would you suggest looking at a different case and/or motherboard?

riversend- Current build- partially from 7 years ago, partially from more recently when things went boom (but even so, at least 4 years ago)-

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (actually from 7 years ago)
Intel DG45ID motherboard (from 4 years ago- bought when old motherboard and gpu went kablooie- don't remember the original motherboard I was using)
ATI Radeon 5750 (bought when old GPU went kablooie, also 4 years ago- originally had a Geforce 8800Ultra)
Samsung HD501LJ 500GB HDD
LiteOn DVDRW LH-20A1L (I'd say that I'd keep this but it had some trouble ejecting the other day)
Corsair 620W PSU
SilverStone Sugo SG02B-F case (bought in 2009)
Dell 2407WFP monitor
4 GB DDR2 PC2-6400 memory (I believe Crucial, but I don't remember the brand)

Still functioning, but a bit long in the tooth. I'll probably be throwing in an SSD and turning it over to my wife- I don't know the apples-to-oranges comparison numbers with her 3 year old Macbook Air (though it probably is competitive), but she occasionally runs those visualizations I mentioned above, and wants something to run them on that won't tie up multiple hours of CPU time on her primary computer.

 

[Blain]

I don't have a problem doing mini-ITX per se- there's really no chance I'm going to want more than 1 GPU

You won't need more than one for the tasks you've listed.
Is there something you've left out?

 

[masteraleph]

You won't need more than one for the tasks you've listed.
Is there something you've left out?

No, that was just in reference to the recommendations, which included a mini-ITX case and a micro-ATX motherboard. I was saying I'm fine with mini-ITX.

 

[DSF]

No, that was just in reference to the recommendations, which included a mini-ITX case and a micro-ATX motherboard. I was saying I'm fine with mini-ITX.

Although it says 250D the link points to a 350D. I'll leave it up to mfenn to clarify what he meant, but I will just point out that the 350D would fit the motherboard mfenn suggested.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I'm not sure where you heard that 30" monitors are low quality. The Dell U3014 and HP Z30i are still the pinnacle of high-resolution prosumer monitors. You are right that they aren't exactly great bang for the buck, the $1200 on a U3014 is over half of your budget. However, if I were in the market for a big ole' monitor, the U3014 would be a the top of my list.

Yeah, despite how epic the 3014 is, it's pretty hard to justify one 30'' 2560x1600 when for less money, you can pick up 3x 1920x1200, and for almost half the price you can take a very modest downgrade to a high-quality 27'' panel from Dell or Asus. I think the Asus PB278Q is also worth a look. It can be had new for $470 from Amazon with the usual quality warranty/fast-replacement guarantee, and if you're willing to check out the warehouse deals (typically with minor cosmetic damage), you can find them for as low as $370! At that price, you might consider getting two and STILL be within your budget!

 

[mfenn]

Although it says 250D the link points to a 350D. I'll leave it up to mfenn to clarify what he meant, but I will just point out that the 350D would fit the motherboard mfenn suggested.

Slip of the finger when typing out the link, I meant the 350D. 99% of the time, the part I linked to is correct over the link text. Fixed, thanks!

 

[masteraleph]

Many thanks to everyone for their recommendations, especially mfenn. I'm still debating on which 27" monitor (I'm more tempted by the Asus than the Dell, and also hear good things about the BenQ BL2710PT and the AOC Q2770PQU), but in all honesty I suspect I'll probably be happy with any of them.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Silverstone SG10? The Corsair 350D is substantially larger than the Sugo SG02B-F I'm coming from, and I'd prefer to avoid that.

 

[MongGrel]

That Dell looks nice, have one of these I bought last year for $399 on sale on Black Friday.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824260115

That one mfenn listed looks better.

Dell monitors are nice, are only thing I buy that is Dell now and then are their monitors.

 

[mfenn]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Silverstone SG10? The Corsair 350D is substantially larger than the Sugo SG02B-F I'm coming from, and I'd prefer to avoid that.

The SG10 is a totally good case too, go for it if you like it better.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I'd recommend the Corsair Air 240. It can fit either a Mini-ITX or Mirco-ATX board, 240mm front radiator, and full length graphics cards while still being not too large. It also keeps your PSU and hard drives fully behind the motherboard to reduce clutter.

 

[mfenn]

I'd recommend the Corsair Air 240. It can fit either a Mini-ITX or Mirco-ATX board, 240mm front radiator, and full length graphics cards while still being not too large.

The Air 240 is roughly the same overall size as the 350D though (shorter but wider). I got the impression that the OP was looking for something much smaller.

 

[masteraleph]

The Air 240 is roughly the same overall size as the 350D though (shorter but wider). I got the impression that the OP was looking for something much smaller.

You're right- I definitely do want smaller. Air 240 is about 33.5 liters, 350D is about 41.5, with the 350D looking more like a traditional tower-type case (as you said, taller but narrower). SG10 is just a hair under 23 liters (very slightly wider than the 350d, actually), but definitely substantially shorter and shallower than the 350d and a bit smaller in all dimensions than the 240. Doesn't quite raise the "there is no space in here!" fears in me that a smaller mini-ITX like the SG08 does, though, and I think I like the micro-ATX form factor a little more.

EDIT: Again, many thanks to both mfenn, who has taken a lot of time to respond here, and to everyone else, who has clearly put a good amount of thought and experience in, as well.

 

[masteraleph]

::smacks forehead::

Totally forgot to mention- PC is not next to a router and needs to have a wifi solution. Does that change the motherboard I should be looking at? Microcenter seems to have mini-ITX motherboards with wifi, but I'm not sure they have micro-ATX with wifi. Or would micro-ATX and an adapter be just as good?

 

[Essence_of_War]

If you're OK with mATX, and you'll be using windows, you can pick up any inexpensive PCIe wifi adapter, Rosewill often has one or more for <$20. No need to integrate it into the MoBo unless you're using mITX.

 

[mfenn]

::smacks forehead::

Totally forgot to mention- PC is not next to a router and needs to have a wifi solution. Does that change the motherboard I should be looking at? Microcenter seems to have mini-ITX motherboards with wifi, but I'm not sure they have micro-ATX with wifi. Or would micro-ATX and an adapter be just as good?

The GA-Z97MX Gaming has enough PCIe slots for you to stick a Wi-Fi adapter in the bottom x4 slot (shorter PCIe cards can always go into longer slots). Getting an add-in card is just as good as integrated, in some ways it's better because you can upgrade it separately from the motherboard.

Something like this $15 Rosewill card would be fine if you're looking for basic 802.11n connectivity.

 

[guidinggod]

deleted

 

[Mondozei]

A quick note about 4K TN monitors. TN panels have really progressed a lot. Pcper and Sweclockers have both done in-depth analysis(of which Sweclockers even have a dedicated monitor guy on a freelance basis) and have come to the conclusion that the 4K TN panels are of a very high quality. Even the ROG Swift monitor has a TN panel and that quality is so high that it even bests some IPS panels except for viewing angles. And at any rate, if you are not doing collaborate work, do you need to sideye your panel from an angle?

I'd also not go for 16 gigabyte of RAM. You don't even need 8 gigabyte most of the time unless you're doing a ton of stuff while gaming(like Twitch streaming etc). You'd be surprised how well you're able to get away with even 4 gigabyte on even modern games with high settings.

So you can shave off some there from your budget.
As for harddrive, again I am slightly heretical, but I got a new 7200 RPM HDD and no SSD. I boot my machine within 7-8 secs despite the fact that I haven't done a system cleaning for over 6 months and it is pretty fragmented. Even during gaming, I'm usually one of the first to get onto a new map.

Plus, having 2 TB is hell of a lot more convenient than having 512 gigs - for a lot cheaper. If you really want to, you could get a small SSD on the cheap to boot on but honestly, I'm saying having an SSD is slightly overhyped when you compare it to modern, high-performing HDDs. Yes, there is an improvement, but there isn't a huge one. Do notice that I am doing the technical equivalent of swearing in the church now, I'm breaking a lot of conventional wisdows

That money saved from getting less RAM and a HDD, invest it in a good 4K monitor. The Asus one is the best one under 800 dollars.