Is this PC build good for a $1,300 budget?

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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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Jun 16, 2014
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1) you don't need thermal paste. the cooler that comes with the i7 has pre-applied thermal paste which is fine.
2) if you can get 2133 memory cheaper go with that and save a few bux. if not 2400 is fine.
3) the 970 you chose has the stock cooler. you want to pick one with an aftermarket cooler. the stock one has the single blower fan. aftermarket generally look better, cool much better, last longer and have 2-3 fans.
4) you'll need a better power supply than that. choose one from tier 1 or 2 here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
5) you are overspending on an i7 if this is a gaming build. an i5 is the way to go. it'll give you very similar performance and will balance your build better. you can invest in a better aftermarket cooler on your gpu, a fuller feature mobo, bigger hdd, etc.
6) idk if you know but you picked a mini motherboard for a full size case.
 
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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This is what you should buy:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($275.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($139.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($93.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($93.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ CPL Online)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($499.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Cooler Master N300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1327.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-27 14:11 AEST+1000
 
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rype_pw

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Apr 26, 2016
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Marked as the answer however I'd like to keep the spec2 and asus turbo 970 for design reasons.
 
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N3rdR4ge

N3rdR4ge

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is it the red thing you are looking for? cuz i'd recommend this card:

eaa072ab396eb9de47b15bd924720a02.med.1600.jpg


http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-gtx970gaming4g


the spec case is fine though.
 
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Bearmann

Bearmann

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Sep 14, 2015
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I believe the Seasonic Gold SSP-550RT that he chose is equivalent to the G series (tier 2) and better than the Bronze Antec High Current. 550W is fine for a single GTX 970, but if you want to allow for a possible higher end nVidia card in the future, you could consider a 650W unit. If it's for gaming, an i5 6500 with a better GPU would get you more bang for your buck, but if you were going higher than a GTX 970, I would probably wait for Pascal.
 
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G

gondo

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Actually I'd drop to an I5. I7 is overkill for gaming. The MSI B150M is not recommended. Instead go for an Z170 based board for the extra PCI-E lanes and faster than 2133 memory speeds. B150M is a business class chipset. The 120GB Samsung EVO works but a 240GB is more recommended. A 120GB will fill very fast with games installed. For business 120GB is fine to install office and photoshop and other apps.

Here's a quick system. I went I5 and upped the board to a Z170. I didn't include an SSD to stay within budget. One can be added at any time in the future to partner with your 500GB. I choose a better power supply but there was no price. As for the case I went with the standard Corsair 200R but any case works. It's personal preference.

You could up the I5 to the k series if you want to overclock and get a nicer cooler as none is included with the I5. There isn't much difference in price and a Coolermaster EVO or Cryorig H7 isn't too expensive. No thermal compound would be required if you got an aftermarket heatsink so the $11 for the artic silver could go towards a Cryorig.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($275.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($11.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($185.00 @ Umart)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($65.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.00 @ Storm Computers)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($455.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Total: $1155.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-27 14:53 AEST+1000
 
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Bearmann

Bearmann

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Sep 14, 2015
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Gondo,

Nice gaming build, but I think you are about $200 under budget. Maybe you could add that SSD and the 500GB HDD is pretty small.
 
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