Thoughts on first custom PC build?

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

First PC build I'm doing as I want to start getting into PC building and this is my first build after research and feedback from others. Thoughts, concerns, suggestions are highly appreciated.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NXVGt6

EDIT: My price range is around $900-1000. The purpose of this PC is mainly for gaming, but for personal school use here and there.

dashboy1998 · Dec 24, 2014

What's your price range?

iron8orn · Dec 24, 2014

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tTNgK8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tTNgK8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($80.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Gunmetal/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.75 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $910.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-24 00:40 EST-0500

something like this would do perfect 1080p gaming.. you would also probably want a different case if you notice the note on the page
of course if you want a higher resolution and sli you need a z motherboard

CTurbo · Dec 24, 2014

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6vvqVn
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6vvqVn/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($78.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $875.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-24 00:57 EST-0500

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

dashboy1998 :

Around $900-1000

rdc85 · Dec 24, 2014

I would add 120/240 gb ssd for that price range..

also I'm not fond with seagate drive lately.. (3 of mine just died recently)
switching to wd one for time being...

iron8orn · Dec 24, 2014

yeah i like wd too

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

rdc85 :

Switched to WD then, is there anything else that I should switch up? Another question is should I go get the GTX 970 or just stick the 270X? I want perfomance but I always want to be cost efficient and switching will be bump up my current price quite a bit.

iron8orn · Dec 24, 2014

well we made it so you could fit a gtx 970 into your budget..

going with a k cpu and overclocking cost quite a bit.. overclocking your cpu really wont offer much of a performance gain in games..

not really much point in a z motherboard unless you want to have 2 gpu's plus the higher res monitor to compliment them would cost a bit too

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

iron8orn :

Thanks for the response. One final question, Is a CPU cooler necessary? I have no idea about if they are a necessity or not.

iron8orn · Dec 24, 2014

the cpu comes with a cooler

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

iron8orn :

OK, one final check before I check this out and begin buying parts. Any final changes I should make? I think I'm set.

CTurbo · Dec 24, 2014

So which build were you going with? I see you have increased your budget. This is what I would do for up to $1000

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2mbCqs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2mbCqs/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($61.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($78.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $970.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-24 08:47 EST-0500

You cannot beat this for $1000

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

CTurbo :

Thanks for the suggestion, but I think the revised build I have now is good.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8Q2bGX
However, I'm thinking adding 128GB SSD to it. Should I add one? Also, about the installation of SSD I read somewhere that SSD's need a mount to be installed or the case has to have one pre-built for it already. This might be a problem as I'm trying to stick as close to the the budget as possible.

CTurbo · Dec 24, 2014

My build is much better. It includes a 128GB ssd, a way better cpu, and a WAAAAY better psu, and it's still under $1000

Or this is under $900 and is also a lot better

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w74Y8d
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w74Y8d/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($61.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $892.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-24 13:58 EST-0500

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

CTurbo :

How is the Intel Xeon E3 V3 better than the i5 listed? One thing to note is I don't really intend to overclock my CPU as I am sure it will be enough for my gaming purposes.
Also for the power supply, how is it better? Also my build can still include an SSD for under $1000, just haven't added one yet.

iron8orn · Dec 24, 2014

that xeon is basically a i7 4770 with no integrated graphics

CTurbo · Dec 24, 2014

Yes the Xeon is an i7 for the price of an i5. I do not recommend ANY Corsair CX psu for such a powerful build. Nobody here would. The XFX is 10x better.

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

iron8orn :

CTurbo :

So, I should get a Xeon instead an i5? I like that the Xeon has hyper-threading but is the extra $40 I'm shelling out truly worth the perfomance update I'll be getting?

iron8orn · Dec 24, 2014

eh.. few games can take advantage of a i7 and there should be more.

up to you but a i7 is generally considered to be put to use with like a couple of monitors, streaming, multitasking, editing, rendering.. etc..

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

iron8orn :

So, I decided to go with the i5 in the end. Is there anything else I should add or change? Perhaps a different a CPU cooler rather than the stock cooler? The CM Hyper 212 EVO seems good and is quite cheap.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CzhFpg

Vic 40 · Dec 24, 2014

I understand you like to create your own build but you're still overspending on certain parts.That build CTurbo posted with the xeon is a better choice.Your choice of case should even fitt within the budget.

My view on your build,pushing the budget a bit
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TTjB7P
doesn't leave room for another cpu cooler,but you could leave the two extra fans out if you really wanted a better cooler and get this one,
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-cpu-cooler-cnps10xoptima
or a bit more,
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/raijintek-cpu-cooler-0p105245
You could at least get that cpu and the bigger ssd,but it's up to you.The ram is also as good or even better for a lot less money.
You also could take two of these instead of those phantek fans,
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-fan-r4s4s10akgp

Well enough suggestions me thinks.

Trekstars · Dec 24, 2014

Vic 40 :

I understand you like to create your own build but you're still overspending on certain parts.That build CTurbo posted with the xeon is a better choice.Your choice of case should even fitt within the budget.

My view on your build,pushing the budget a bit
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TTjB7P
doesn't leave room for another cpu cooler,but you could leave the two extra fans out if you really wanted a better cooler and get this one,
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-cpu-cooler-cnps10xoptima
or a bit more,
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/raijintek-cpu-cooler-0p105245
You could at least get that cpu and the bigger ssd,but it's up to you.The ram is also as good or even better for a lot less money.
You also could take two of these instead of those phantek fans,
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-fan-r4s4s10akgp

Well enough suggestions me thinks.

Should I get 2 case fans? They seem nice, but don't I only need one? Or the more the merrier?

CTurbo · Dec 24, 2014

There is NO reason to get $85 RAM when $60 RAM is just as good. Get the 4590 instead of the 4570. They are the same price and the 4590 is a little better in a couple of ways. You do not NEED an after market cpu cooler.

Somehow that build comes out just $2 cheaper than my Xeon build, so I don't understand why you would go for it.

Vic 40 · Dec 25, 2014

Trekstars :

You don't need extra fans at all when it comes to it,both cases come standard with two.They will give extra airflow though.

Thoughts on first custom PC build?

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