Is this $500ish (+GPU) build worth it?

thomasshera

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Jun 10, 2015
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Hello,

I am planning a mITX gaming PC build with:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JwH77P
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JwH77P/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H240-X 90.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($6.79 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97I AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($127.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $443.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 14:34 EDT-0400

Here is the link:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JwH77P

I may upgrade later to an i5 4690K, but for now, all the games I play run fine on this CPU, and I save $150 (for the CPU cooler). Also, the case looks great: it is the best value mITX water cooling case (it has Primo cable management abilities). There are water cooling cases like the Thermaltake Core X1, but those are $35 more expensive and look worse.

Any thoughts on what GPU I should pick? The case can hold 13" GPUs unmodified.

Also, any advice on good AIO water coolers that will look good in this case? I'm thinking I should switch because the one I picked is very hard to find on the Internet. I also want good looks and good warranty for it.
 
Solution
Are you asking for a $60 gpu? $60 is too low for a good rig. I recommend the r9 280x. Are you planning on overclocking the cpu that you are buying a water cooler?

thomasshera

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Yes, I plan on OCing my Pentium (otherwise it has terrible performance lol).

I didn't include the CPU in my budget, but I am thinking a Sapphire card (390X 8GB?) is the best card for my setup (single-monitor 1440p gaming + 3 monitor schoolwork).
 

thomasshera

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Jun 10, 2015
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I don't have any of these parts. Also, I have decided on a custom water cooling loop, so disregard the AIO for now, thanks.

I do have some old PC parts, like a slow 320GB hard drive, a 200W PSU, and an old MOBO which maximum supports 4GB DDR2 ram.