- Jul 14, 2015
- 3
- 0
- 4,510
Hello all!
I am very new to all this and have only just gotten an interest in building my own PC just a couple weeks ago. After many Google searches, forum reading and guide watching I've found this site to be the most interesting and detailed about PC specs so I figured to invest some time and interest here. Anyway, that's besides the point, I'm posting here because (I guess as we all do on our first go) I only have an idea of what to build, not entirely sure on the how or whether the pieces will fit together, and I have many concerns/questions about building/upgrading.
For now I have the following details (mostly) nailed down.
Approximate Purchase Date: Maybe Christmas 2015 at the latest?
Budget Range: In theory it's about $AU 1000-$1200 tops (including postage), in reality I have more in total to spend but as this will be my very first build I'm worried I'll break something or screw something up in the process so I'm not planning on spending my entire savings just in case.
System Usage: It's main purpose will be as a gaming PC, yes I will be surfing the internet and watching movies on it, but I want this to be something I can upgrade whenever I want. This is mainly going to be my little experiment, I am incredibly curious to see if I have what it takes to build and upgrade my very own PC.
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts I intend on purchasing:
Case: Thermaltake Black Commander MS-III Mid Tower Case - $65
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19881&cPath=547
Motherboard: Z97I-Gaming ACK Mini ITX -$249
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=31534&cPath=1019
CPU: Intel Pentium Anniversary Edition G3258 -$89
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=28018&cPath=1490
RAM: G.Skill Sniper F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 -$89
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23688&cPath=912
PSU: Silverstone Strider Essential ST50F-ES230 500W -$59
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=29871&cPath=535
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 750 Ti Strix 2GB -$200
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=28477&cPath=876
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO Series 250GB -$165
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=30448&cPath=909
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB 24x DVDRW OEM -$19
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23679&cPath=667
Do you need to buy OS: Yes, Microsoft Windows 8.1 64bit OEM -$135
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25441&cPath=974
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: You may have noticed every link is to PCCaseGear. The reason for this is (in my experience) they are the only Australian retailer of PC parts that have always delivered and answered any queries quickly. I am yet to find another such site that I can trust.
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Parts Preferences:
Case: No preference
Motherboard: Intel Z97 Express
CPU: Intel
RAM: No preference
PSU: No preference
GPU: Nvidia
SSD: Samsung
Optical Drive: Samsung
Overclocking: I'll say maybe, currently uninterested but it's likely I'll experiment with it later on.
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe SLI eventually, although it is not a requirement as this will be my first build.
Your Monitor Resolution: 2560x1440
Additional Comments:
I have never done this before.
I should note that everything is listed in $AU prices, not $U.S (this is why parts may seem to be more expensive than they really are). If it means anything I would 'prefer' if I were able to (in THEORY, not necessarily for the latest games!) run games in 2K, at 120Hz and in 3D. Thus i probably need something that supports Display Ports. This is the end goal so I want to build a PC that I can upgrade whenever I want, however I do not want to buy the best, most expensive parts right away in case I break something. This is why the parts I have chosen aren't the best and were actually based off the 'best value for money' pages on this site! I went for the cheapest sections because I'm paranoid something will go wrong and I'd much rather have accidents with cheap hardware rather than expensive hardware that slaps me in the face with a $300 replacement (hope that makes sense). I am also obsessed with the idea of 'starting from the bottom' and slowly upgrading it to the sexiest PC out. Don't ask me why.
I should add that I chose a Mini ITX for the sake of cable management. I know I'll have tons of room in the case and this is on purpose, I want to get a feel for building first before I move up to, say, an ASRock Z97 Extreme9. As for hard drives I have intentionally chosen a small SSD as I only need the OS and a game or two to make sure everything goes to plan. Later when everything (hopefully) works I'll go about getting a large standard hard drive for data storage. But this is like the very last thing I'll be buying.
Eventually I want to upgrade to the latest and greatest hardware once I'm confident I'll be able to piece it together without breaking anything. I am planning on upgrading every single component of this experimental PC build at some point in the future, probably to the point that I'll effectively end up with 2 PCs.
Now because this will be my very first build, I have been reading around but (as every newbie asks) my main question is:
Will all the above parts communicate properly? (ie, are they compatible?)
Another important thing for me is:
Will I be able to upgrade every component at some stage?
What should I look out for? Such as CPU coolers, once installed can they easily be removed? I've read about thermal paste for example and I've gotten the impression that once a CPU is installed it cannot be removed (which doesn't sound right). Or the way motherboards change their chipsets, will I be able to simply buy a new motherboard and a new respective Intel CPU (when they inevitably change the chipset) and simply remove the rest of the components and plug them into the new motherboard?
I'm not entirely sure what to do with these topics, I want to be sure that, if need be, I can upgrade any piece of this build as I get more confident with handling more expensive parts.
Why Are You Building: This is a learning experience for me. I want to learn how to build my own PC, maintain it and upgrade it whenever I can. I don't learn very well from reading alone or watching videos, they give me a general idea but leave me with some confusions such as the ones listed above. Thus I have to be physically doing it myself to learn best so I guess I'm here to learn!
I hope you guys will be able to help a newbie out, as I'm currently still a bit confused. If there's any information I've accidentally left out or you would like to know please let me know!
I am very new to all this and have only just gotten an interest in building my own PC just a couple weeks ago. After many Google searches, forum reading and guide watching I've found this site to be the most interesting and detailed about PC specs so I figured to invest some time and interest here. Anyway, that's besides the point, I'm posting here because (I guess as we all do on our first go) I only have an idea of what to build, not entirely sure on the how or whether the pieces will fit together, and I have many concerns/questions about building/upgrading.
For now I have the following details (mostly) nailed down.
Approximate Purchase Date: Maybe Christmas 2015 at the latest?
Budget Range: In theory it's about $AU 1000-$1200 tops (including postage), in reality I have more in total to spend but as this will be my very first build I'm worried I'll break something or screw something up in the process so I'm not planning on spending my entire savings just in case.
System Usage: It's main purpose will be as a gaming PC, yes I will be surfing the internet and watching movies on it, but I want this to be something I can upgrade whenever I want. This is mainly going to be my little experiment, I am incredibly curious to see if I have what it takes to build and upgrade my very own PC.
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts I intend on purchasing:
Case: Thermaltake Black Commander MS-III Mid Tower Case - $65
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19881&cPath=547
Motherboard: Z97I-Gaming ACK Mini ITX -$249
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=31534&cPath=1019
CPU: Intel Pentium Anniversary Edition G3258 -$89
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=28018&cPath=1490
RAM: G.Skill Sniper F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 -$89
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23688&cPath=912
PSU: Silverstone Strider Essential ST50F-ES230 500W -$59
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=29871&cPath=535
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 750 Ti Strix 2GB -$200
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=28477&cPath=876
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO Series 250GB -$165
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=30448&cPath=909
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB 24x DVDRW OEM -$19
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23679&cPath=667
Do you need to buy OS: Yes, Microsoft Windows 8.1 64bit OEM -$135
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25441&cPath=974
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: You may have noticed every link is to PCCaseGear. The reason for this is (in my experience) they are the only Australian retailer of PC parts that have always delivered and answered any queries quickly. I am yet to find another such site that I can trust.
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Parts Preferences:
Case: No preference
Motherboard: Intel Z97 Express
CPU: Intel
RAM: No preference
PSU: No preference
GPU: Nvidia
SSD: Samsung
Optical Drive: Samsung
Overclocking: I'll say maybe, currently uninterested but it's likely I'll experiment with it later on.
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe SLI eventually, although it is not a requirement as this will be my first build.
Your Monitor Resolution: 2560x1440
Additional Comments:
I have never done this before.
I should note that everything is listed in $AU prices, not $U.S (this is why parts may seem to be more expensive than they really are). If it means anything I would 'prefer' if I were able to (in THEORY, not necessarily for the latest games!) run games in 2K, at 120Hz and in 3D. Thus i probably need something that supports Display Ports. This is the end goal so I want to build a PC that I can upgrade whenever I want, however I do not want to buy the best, most expensive parts right away in case I break something. This is why the parts I have chosen aren't the best and were actually based off the 'best value for money' pages on this site! I went for the cheapest sections because I'm paranoid something will go wrong and I'd much rather have accidents with cheap hardware rather than expensive hardware that slaps me in the face with a $300 replacement (hope that makes sense). I am also obsessed with the idea of 'starting from the bottom' and slowly upgrading it to the sexiest PC out. Don't ask me why.
I should add that I chose a Mini ITX for the sake of cable management. I know I'll have tons of room in the case and this is on purpose, I want to get a feel for building first before I move up to, say, an ASRock Z97 Extreme9. As for hard drives I have intentionally chosen a small SSD as I only need the OS and a game or two to make sure everything goes to plan. Later when everything (hopefully) works I'll go about getting a large standard hard drive for data storage. But this is like the very last thing I'll be buying.
Eventually I want to upgrade to the latest and greatest hardware once I'm confident I'll be able to piece it together without breaking anything. I am planning on upgrading every single component of this experimental PC build at some point in the future, probably to the point that I'll effectively end up with 2 PCs.
Now because this will be my very first build, I have been reading around but (as every newbie asks) my main question is:
Will all the above parts communicate properly? (ie, are they compatible?)
Another important thing for me is:
Will I be able to upgrade every component at some stage?
What should I look out for? Such as CPU coolers, once installed can they easily be removed? I've read about thermal paste for example and I've gotten the impression that once a CPU is installed it cannot be removed (which doesn't sound right). Or the way motherboards change their chipsets, will I be able to simply buy a new motherboard and a new respective Intel CPU (when they inevitably change the chipset) and simply remove the rest of the components and plug them into the new motherboard?
I'm not entirely sure what to do with these topics, I want to be sure that, if need be, I can upgrade any piece of this build as I get more confident with handling more expensive parts.
Why Are You Building: This is a learning experience for me. I want to learn how to build my own PC, maintain it and upgrade it whenever I can. I don't learn very well from reading alone or watching videos, they give me a general idea but leave me with some confusions such as the ones listed above. Thus I have to be physically doing it myself to learn best so I guess I'm here to learn!
I hope you guys will be able to help a newbie out, as I'm currently still a bit confused. If there's any information I've accidentally left out or you would like to know please let me know!
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