Improve my build please!

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

crumble113

Reputable
Oct 24, 2014
23
0
4,510
So I'm going to be building a PC exclusively for gaming and a bit of work/browsing.
I have a budget of £900 uk and this is what I've got so far:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/crumble113/saved/vLxxFT

-Any improvements / suggestions for any of the components?
-I've gone for pretty much the cheapest Z97 mobo available as I'm not going to be overclocking (for now anyway), will the mobo be sufficient? I've never really understood the features that more expensive mobos offer?
-Anyone had any experience with the wireless card or anything similar? As the router is directly below my room and I don't want to be disconnecting ever.
-I also wish to get a nice gaming keyboard for a decent price if anyone could recommend something good.

Thanks in advance.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
capt_taco

capt_taco

Splendid
Aug 5, 2009
2,567
0
21,460
It looks good to me ... if I'd add anything, it would be a 256GB SSD, but that would put you over budget. You could shave that amount off in other places, though - drop the mechanical hard drive, and you don't need a case that expensive; you could easily get a good one for half that.

Generally speaking, expensive motherboards are mainly better for overclocking and multiple graphics cards. Unless you're doing that and messing with settings, the average user is not going to notice much difference between one motherboard and another with the same chipset.


edit: Do you need an operating system? I don't see one on there, and that's going to cost some too. Hopefully you've accounted for that.

Rereading the description, if the main use is gaming and light work stuff (e.g., your job is not working with graphics and video), you can use an i5 processor with the same clock speed and see no difference whatsoever in performance from the i7.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Dark Lord of Tech

Dark Lord of Tech

Retired Moderator
Aug 18, 2009
128,614
1,778
159,590
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£249.99 @ Ebuyer)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.86 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£61.26 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (£59.66 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.38 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£274.99 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case (£88.33 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£76.38 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer (£12.65 @ CCL Computers)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN951N 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter (£18.95 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £905.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 17:12 BST+0100
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

crumble113

Reputable
Oct 24, 2014
23
0
4,510
@capt_taco - yeah I don't need an OS, got one for free from my university luckily!
I was thinking about getting an SSD but would rather just stick with the much larger standard HDD as it won't really help in games will it?
I also really like the look of that case haha, pretty much the only reason I'm going for it. If you could point me in the right direction of a cheaper case which looks as good then I'll gladly consider it.
Also I really want to future proof as much as poss and I've seen people saying that the i7 will help more down the line?

@SR-71 Blackbird- the only real difference I see there is the video card make, is the MSI one better even though it has a slower clock speed?
EDIT: I see you added in a cpu cooler which I was considering, however if I'm not going to be OCing for now will the stock fan be okay?

Cheers guys!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
capt_taco

capt_taco

Splendid
Aug 5, 2009
2,567
0
21,460
The SSD won't really help in-game performance, it helps with loading times. In or outside of gaming, it's one thing that will make your system "feel" a lot faster.

The amount of space you need is up to you, but here's my rant on it ... typically what I see is that people get a 1TB hard drive and then hardly use any of it. A few GB for work, a few GB for personal photos and documents. The only ones who really fill up 1TB are the ones who keep movies on their PCs (and they usually get bigger/multiple hard drives anyway.) With a 256GB SSD, after a couple years you might have to think about whether you really NEED that old game still installed and taking up space, but unless you're actively playing 8-10 games all the time, you're not going to run out of space for stuff you absolutely need. You can always add a 1TB hard drive for data later if you need to.


As for a case, it depends what you're looking for, I usually take functionality over looks. You probably don't want just a plain black box, though, so maybe something like this that has some stylized elements to it? Thermaltake has some decent options in the lower price ranges. You can always use some LED fans to increase the visual appeal later.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/thermaltake-case-vn400a1w2n
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/thermaltake-case-ca1a300m1wn00


 
Upvote 1 Downvote
C

crumble113

Reputable
Oct 24, 2014
23
0
4,510
I've never really thought of it like that. You're right, 1TB is overkill and is very easily added at a later date, especially if it's only £35 or so. What SSD would you recommend then? I'm looking at this but it just seems too cheap to be true, what do you think?
What kind of speed increase would I actually see over the regular 7200RPM?
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct256mx100ssd1
Cheers
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
capt_taco

capt_taco

Splendid
Aug 5, 2009
2,567
0
21,460
It's a noticeable increase for sure. I'm not really an expert on SSDs, so maybe someone else is better suited to answer ... but basically this. Newer SSDs are getting to the point where they're all pretty close in performance; the difference compared to a regular hard drive is like driving a sports car compared to riding a bicycle; it doesn't really matter which sports car you have, compared to the bicycle it is screaming fast.

A couple of years ago, you had a lot of SSDs with one design issue or another holding them back, but for the most part that has been ironed out and reliability is the main differentiator. I have heard good things about the Samsung 840 EVO and the OCZ Vector series, bad things about Toshiba, and not much about the one you picked; it's all anecdotal anyway. If I was buying one, this is what I'd probably get, pending further research if I was actually doing it, of course:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7te250bw
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
capt_taco

capt_taco

Splendid
Aug 5, 2009
2,567
0
21,460



Possibly because it's a pretty new CPU and they haven't updated the list. I wouldn't worry about it much, I mean it's listed as compatible on PCPP and there are retailers selling combo deals with that exact same CPU and motherboard:

https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/cpu/?compatible_with=msi-motherboard-z97pcmate
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9096814


You could always write to MSI's support if you're still worried, but i wouldn't be too concerned.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

crumble113

Reputable
Oct 24, 2014
23
0
4,510
Quite worrying how all of the reviews of that set up are saying it wouldn't work. But I think that was down to the CPU being awful.
If I were to buy a standard 1TB HD to add to my system at a later date, how hard would it be to do? Eg i don't want to have to unscrew the motherboard, unconnect all components etc just to get it in.
Thanks for all your help so far, has been very helpful!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
capt_taco

capt_taco

Splendid
Aug 5, 2009
2,567
0
21,460
It is not hard to install an additional hard drive - just screw it in, connect the cables, then go through a couple of steps to make it visible in the OS.

The main thing you are looking for to avoid the situation you described is a case that has access holes in the back plate. Most of them do, but look at pictures.

I see the second one I mentioned uses some kind of tool-less drive bay system instead of access holes, thought the result is the same. However, it looks like people say mounting a 2.5" drive is not easy, so maybe not the best to use with an SSD. You may want to keep looking at cases. What you want are looks and good airflow as well as good access. Look at pictures. The best airflow cases are going to have 1 or 2 120mm fans in the front, one on top and one in back, possibly one on the side, and a bottom-mounted PSU.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom