New to PC building - Question about Case reuse (and/or part suggestions welcome)

muadddib

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Jun 13, 2014
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Hi All,
This is my first time posting, so apologies in advance if I am not doing it right. It's come time for me to upgrade my PC (the video card/motherboard are dying). Seeing as it still has parts largely from 2007 (those, in addition to CPU/RAM/windows XP), it's time for me to more or less replace everything. I already have a new power supply and hard drive, and I'd like to reuse my case, so what I need is MoBo/RAM/Video Card/CPU/OS combination. I was searching around (I'd like to spend ~$500 on everything including upgrading Windows), and I found this thread, which seems to offer suggestions (by Maxime506) on par with what I'd like to get/spend: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2169858/budget-living-room-game-build.html

For reference, this is my power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028
Hard drive (unused, pending new OS): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236625
And here is the case I'd like to reuse: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129155

My question is, how does one know whether a case is compatible with a given motherboard? Is the motherboard (Motherboard: ASRock H87M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard) compatible, or should I get a non-mini version? Thanks for the advice. Feel free to suggest alternate parts, as my knowledge is fairly limited. It'll be mostly a home desktop computer, used for some light gaming.
Nick
 
Solution
Well, even though you have parts already, windows is still a pretty big buzz kill to a budget :(

If you could get $50 more I'd recommend one of these 2 builds. You'd benefit more from the CPUs.

PartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System:...

jaraldo

Honorable
Hi and welcome :)

The case you have picked is compatible with ATX, and micro atx. You can see this in the description: "Motherboard Compatibility"

A CX series power supply is "ok". You might have some problems with it being Dead on arrival, but wait to worry about that until you put your computer together. :p

So you have the hard drive, case and psu already with a $500 budget? Should be able to get you something nice :)


 

jaraldo

Honorable
Hey, if you could answer some questions about what games you'll be wanting to play that would help.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/353572-31-build-upgrade-advice

Just for your knowledge, this is something higher quality for around $500
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $554.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-13 21:26 EDT-0400

I don't think you would benefit from this as much since from what you seem to be getting at is a simple home computer than can handle gaming.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.49 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($62.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ TigerDirect)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $504.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-13 21:34 EDT-0400

It would still be good to know what games you want to play and more of what you like to do. As if you would like to save money, we could even find more adequate parts.
 

muadddib

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Jun 13, 2014
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4,510
Thank you very much for your response. To clarify, the newest game I'd be likely to play is probably Starcraft II, along with (much) older games like Star Wars Rebellion and a few in-between. This machine is mostly a music downloading/playing/converting and internet searching computer with some work added on (the most computer intensive of which would probably be Adobe Illustrator).

For what it's worth, I do know the PSU works, since I originally though that was the issue with my current computer configuration, before realizing it was in fact a flaky video card (so technically I have two functional PSUs, if you include my old one, although at this point I'd only use that as an emergency backup).
 

jaraldo

Honorable
Well, even though you have parts already, windows is still a pretty big buzz kill to a budget :(

If you could get $50 more I'd recommend one of these 2 builds. You'd benefit more from the CPUs.

PartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $559.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 03:49 EDT-0400

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($143.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $553.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 03:55 EDT-0400

 
Solution

jaraldo

Honorable
Since I think a budget should come first though, this build will be good enough to satisfy your needs regardless.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $489.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 03:51 EDT-0400

I was unsure if you needed a DVD drive but I included them anyways.
 

andrei65

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Apr 14, 2014
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 270X 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($179.00 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $497.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 04:08 EDT-0400

This is the best i could make myself , the 270 is definetly better than a 750ti , and can be overclocked to reach a 270x's performance .
 

muadddib

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Jun 13, 2014
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4,510
Thanks everyone. The $500 dollar number isn't a hard value, so I can probably do one of the builds $550 builds you suggest jaraldo. I'll probably do the Intel build, if only because my current CPU is Intel and it's given me absolutely no problems. I think I'm pretty capable of installing computer parts/software, but being new at this, is there anything in particular I should know (i.e. anything unique to the parts you recommended in your Intel build?) Thanks again.




 

jaraldo

Honorable
Nothing really to say, intel CPU has integrated graphics which is nice incase you graphics card is dead on arrival or stops working; which is handy so you are still able to use your computer.

The cpu I picked can't be overclocked but it will be fast for what you need. The motherboard also isn't overclockable, so in this build you won't be overclocking. But overclocking is more of a hobby anyways and if you didn't do it before then there is no real need for it.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($90.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Core Edition Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $544.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-16 19:14 EDT-0400

There was a deal on for the 7850, something to consider
 

muadddib

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Jun 13, 2014
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4,510
Thanks. Based on my limited know-how, I probably shouldn't be overclocking anything anyways, so that's fine by me.



 

jaraldo

Honorable
Is there any games you wanted to play in specific? We could up the graphics card if you would like a certain FPS or need to play on a certain settings.

Right now you'd probably be in the high/ultra settings with 35-50fps on average.
 

muadddib

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Jun 13, 2014
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4,510
I actually already went ahead and got your first Intel suggestion. The most recent games I've played and/or expect to play in the near future are Medieval Total War and StarCraft 2. Thanks again.