First Gaming Pc

[Dery78]

Hi,

I will build my first ever (gaming) pc next week. I have been searching for a long time what build to follow and i think i have finally found something pretty good for my budget. I just want to know what you think about this pc build (link at the end of the message) and also, what mouse, keyboard and monitor do you recommend for about 200-250 $ for the three?

Thanks

http://pcbuildsonabudget.com/gaming-pc-build-for-900-dollars

 

[Burpo]

There's a thread here with more good info & prices..

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=32293457&postcount=1

Nice 24" Asus monitor here for $129 with promo code EMCAVNK22

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...72115-Index-_-LCDLEDMonitors-_-24236335-S0A1A

 

[lehtv]

You're located in the US, I'm guessing?

What's your total budget incl. monitor, mouse etc?

Do you already have a copy of Windows?

Overall, the build you linked to is in the right direction but some of the parts are bad picks, such as the CX series power supply (overkill in wattage but not very high quality).

 

[Dery78]

Im located in canada, and my overall budget is about 1100-1300$ with everything included (window7, monitor, mouse, keyboard and of course the pc).
With this kind of budget i want to be able to play games like star citizen, elite dangerous, gta 5 etc. with high graphics, so could you tell exactly what is wrong with this build and how to improve it.

Thanks

 

[Dery78]

And also, i would like to buy everything on amazon, to have a quick delivery and to get everything at the same time.

Sorry for the double-post

 

[Sabrewings]

With this kind of budget i want to be able to play games like star citizen, elite dangerous, gta 5 etc. with high graphics, so could you tell exactly what is wrong with this build and how to improve it.

Sorry, pal. On your budget I don't see Star Citizen on High when it releases (two years from now, with lots more features added in). Even now Star Citizen on high with my 980 Ti can be a bit of a workout. You could manage pretty decent settings now and upgrade to a 16nm card when it actually releases. That would be your best bet right now.

Elite shouldn't be a problem. I was managing it with pretty decent settings on my old GTX 275 and Q6600 and only had issues around stations. Although, when the landing expansion comes along who knows what that will do to the minimum specs.

 

[Dery78]

Thanks saber i will probably do what you recommend. Otherwise, what do you think of this build?

 

[Ken g6]

I think you can't afford a build quite that good. Sticking to Amazon is also a problem - I couldn't find Windows there, and allowing NCIX as well dropped the price about $200.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: *Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: *Crucial BX100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($81.07 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: *Toshiba Product SeriesT01ACA 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: *Club 3D Radeon R9 290 4GB Royalking Video Card ($344.79 @ NCIX)
Case: *BitFenix Neos Black/Red ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: *EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: *LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: *Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Monitor: *BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($179.99 @ NCIX)
Keyboard: *Logitech Corded Keyboard K280e Wired Standard Keyboard ($11.99 @ NCIX)
Mouse: *Logitech B120 Wired Optical Mouse ($8.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1297.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 13:45 EDT-0400

I wasn't sure if you needed speakers, so I selected a monitor with some built-in.

 

[Dery78]

Thanks a lot Ken, but i'm not thinking of changing all my build
(the one in the link) because i really liked it and i have seen some good feedbacks about it. Also, i was thinking of an asus 23 inches for the monitor (140$) i think on amazon and for the os i found an windows 7 for 90 $. In addition, i prefer to go with nvidia for the card and i dont understand why you choosed and i5-4460 instead of the i5-4690K (i understand that the second one is more powerful)

Sorry if some of my questions are a little nerdy, but like i said im new in the hardware world and im just trying to understand and learn the maximum to build the best pc possible for my budget.

There are the links for windows 7 and the monitor :

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premi...=sl1&tag=pcbuonabu-20&linkId=P4OGIYWBITK7UC6W


http://www.amazon.com/VS228H-P-21-5...37501869&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=asus+monitor

 

[Sabrewings]

Thanks saber i will probably do what you recommend. Otherwise, what do you think of this build?

It'd be a pretty plucky gaming PC. The 970 is a pretty stout card and would do you pretty well until Star Citizen goes full release. At that point I'd look to upgrade to whatever the current gen descendent of the 970 is.

 

[Dery78]

Ok so you think i should go with the build that i post, or is there anything else i should change?

 

[Sabrewings]

If I had to pick anything to change it'd be the RAM. I'd double it so you don't have to worry about it later, but that's just how I usually go about things.

 

[Dery78]

ok and what about the power supply that lehtv mentioned that is not very good ?

 

[Sabrewings]

ok and what about the power supply that lehtv mentioned that is not very good ?

I don't have any specific comments or experience there. Corsair is typically a good brand, but not all PSUs are created equal under a particular brand.

As a rule of thumb, I'd shoot for an EVGA power supply. They're either Seasonic or Superflower which are both pretty good. 500w should do you.

 

[lehtv]

ok and what about the power supply that lehtv mentioned that is not very good ?

I don't have any specific comments or experience there. Corsair is typically a good brand, but not all PSUs are created equal under a particular brand.

http://hardocp.com/article/2015/01/21/corsair_cx750_750w_power_supply_review/9

The bottom line is simply this; there is absolutely no reason ANY user should buy a Corsair CX750 as you can get better performing, better built, and better supported products for about the same price or even for much less money.

The EVGA 750W B2 is a great example of a superior product for the same price. However, it still stands that you just don't need 750 watts - only buy it if it isn't more expensive than a similar quality 550-650 watter.

As a rule of thumb, I'd shoot for an EVGA power supply. They're either Seasonic or Superflower which are both pretty good. 500w should do you.

Untrue, many EVGA units are HEC or FSP. The first gen Supernovas were FSP, and the current gen low end models (including all 500W units) are HEC. The HEC ones are to be avoided on this budget, they are entry level units and this is not an entry level build.

 

[Dery78]

Thank you for your help, but im a bit lost, what should i get for the power supply exactly? The EVGa or the Corsair and how much watts? Also i would like to maybe change the hard drive as the one proposed in this build hasn't very good reviews on amazon, i am open to get an HDD or SSD i just want about a 1 TB memory for about 60-80 bucks.

 

[lehtv]

Ok so you think i should go with the build that i post

No.

or is there anything else i should change?

Yes.

If you want specifics, look towards Ken's build - it pretty much encapsulates the best bang for buck you can get for $1300. It even has an SSD which your linked build guide lacks.

Granted, the case is a bit poor in terms of airflow for a 250W card, you could use at least another fan or maybe even two in there (I'd recommend Fractal Design Core 2300). The power supply is good, slightly overkill but it's hard to complain when it's only $80.

I'm not going to even bother with a suggestion from Amazon, the GPU prices are pretty atrocious compared to NCIX, the case selection is poor..

 

[lehtv]

Thank you for your help, but im a bit lost, what should i get for the power supply exactly? The EVGa or the Corsair and how much watts?

For GTX 970, you need 500W. E.g. XFX 550W $80, M12II 520W $90.

For 290X, you need 600W. E.g. Antec Neo Eco 620C $72 AR, EVGA 650GS $100 AR.

750W is overkill either way, in other words - but there's no real harm in it, so if the price is right (as it is with the EVGA 750W B2), it's fine to buy 750W.

Also i would like to maybe change the hard drive as the one proposed in this build hasn't very good reviews on amazon, i am open to get an HDD or SSD i just want about a 1 TB memory for about 60-80 bucks.

You're right, the proposed hard disk is not a good one. That's an old SATA 3gb/s drive. You should get a newer and better performing WD Blue 1TB WD10EZEX.

Well, you could just buy a hard disk and install everything there. But on this budget I would want to have at least a 120GB SSD for the OS and program files, or preferably 250GB as you have on Ken's suggestion. If you've never used an SSD, well let's just say the difference it makes to the user experience is quite easily worth it as long as it doesn't take too much budget away from your graphics card.
I'd go with Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB ($60 @ NCIX, way too expensive at Amazon), HyperX Fury 120GB ($68 @ Amazon), OCZ Arc 100 240GB ($100 @ CC, $110 @ Amazon) or Crucial BX100 250GB ($115 @ NCIX).

 

[escrow4]

Windows 7 is obsolete. If you want future gaming you want DX 12 so you want a modern OS which will be 10 in a week and a bit. Your original link also only has a tiny 1TB HDD and no SSD. The build that Ken recommended is excellent, I have that mobo and its a good choice and you don't particularly need a K chip and Z97 board to overclock, a locked i5 will be enough.

That said in terms of future expansion I'd strongly suggest an H97 board for the expandibility and a 4590 non K, which gives you 300MHz straight out of the box. If you are spending $1300 may as well spend an extra $60 ish for better parts.

 

[lehtv]

I wouldn't call a 1TB hard disk tiny. Easily enough for most PC's that are strictly for gaming and web.

Not sure what you mean by the expandability of a H97 board. It's not like it will be even remotely worth it to upgrade to Broadwell. B85 over H81 I can still get behind, as it does give you USB 3.0 ports for the case and PCIe 3.0 which makes a small difference with high end cards.

 

[Sabrewings]

Windows 7 is obsolete. If you want future gaming you want DX 12 so you want a modern OS which will be 10 in a week and a bit.

Win 7 is cheaper now and it becomes Win 10 anyway. What's not to like?

Untrue, many EVGA units are HEC or FSP. The first gen Supernovas were FSP, and the current gen low end models (including all 500W units) are HEC. The HEC ones are to be avoided on this budget, they are entry level units and this is not an entry level build.

Thanks for the correction. I was actually thinking of that article but couldn't find it.

 

[Dery78]

Ok so I read all what you wrote guys and thank you for all the information that you gave me. But as I said, I got really good feedbacks about the first build that I posted and I really plan to use it as a base, the only things that i would like to change are the power supply and the storage, so if possible could you recommend me some compatibles options with links for more information. Also lehtv, first you told me that this build was good but with some bad parts, why telling me know to don't build it?

Finally about my budget, 1300$ was the absolute maximum (including windows 7 upgrade in windows 10 after), I target more 1100-1150$.

 

[Eelectricity]

Do not go cheap on the PSU (power supply), get the most Seasonic you can afford. Also check out pcpartpicker if you haven't. You can still discuss your build here posting your pcpartpicker list here.

 

[Dery78]

Thanks Electricity, i found something pretty interesting but maybe 200$ over my budget, is this a good build and how could i make it fit in 1100$ ?pehttps://pcpartpicker.com/guide/LyWG3C/i5-4690k-?gtx-980-overclocked-gaming-pc

 

[Dery78]

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/LyWG3C/i5-4690k-gtx-980-overclocked-gaming-pc