Advice Request: First PC Build - RTS/4X/Occasional FPS - SPAIN

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RCS-Raincloud

RCS-Raincloud

Commendable
Jun 17, 2016
28
0
1,540
Greetings from Spain. I'll be building my first PC soon and definitely could use some advice.

Approximate Purchase Date: July - August
Budget Range: 1.000 - 1.500 €
System Usage: Gaming (RTS, 4X, ocasional FPS), watching streams/movies, internet browsing
Are you buying a monitor: Yes, looking for 2x 1920x1080 60hz 21" - 24" for multi task and gaming while watching streams
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.pccomponentes.com/
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Parts Preferences: Quality and price, don't care about brand name
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No
Additional Comments: Room temperature can reach 30° C / 86° F. Trying to get most internal parts and case from the above mentioned site. Would like it to last 4 - 5 years without major upgrades.
Why Are You Upgrading: Using work notebooks for the past 5 years.

This is my initial idea:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (€196.00 @ Amazon Espana)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€107.88 @ Amazon Espana)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (€63.04 @ Amazon Espana)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€173.10 @ Amazon Espana)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€47.85 @ Amazon Espana)
Case: Thermaltake Core V31 ATX Mid Tower Case (€66.95 @ Amazon Espana)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€123.10 @ Amazon Espana)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSD1 DVD/CD Writer (€15.95 @ Amazon Espana)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Wireless Network Adapter: Netgear A6210-100PAS USB 3.0 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter (€112.48 @ Amazon Espana)
Monitor: BenQ GW2270 21.5" 60Hz Monitor
Monitor: BenQ GW2270 21.5" 60Hz Monitor
Total: €906.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-17 18:47 CEST+0200

GPU: Waiting on RX 480 benchmarks and to see what happens to prices in general.
CPU: €190~ should meet my needs and last a few years
Motherboard: Advice needed. Most MSI, ASUS and Gigabyte H170 and entry level Z170 are €95 - €125. Not sure which one to pick, available models here: http://www.pccomponentes.com/placas_base/h170/intel_z170/
Memory: €65~
Storage: €135~ + €50~ thinking on having OS and main apps in SSD and the other for files
Case: €65~ looks ok, almost sure it can fit everything, 2 fans, good dust filters. Could use a smaller one of same quality, provided it could fit all I need, but not essential.
PSU: Huge overkill. SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular only €20 cheaper, little option in between. Should I go for the 750W and never worry about it again, even if I upgrade CPU and GPU in the future?
Wireless Adapter: €50~ I'll be relying a lot on wifi, seems like a good idea.
Monitor: Advice needed. Never had dual monitors setup before. Suggestions are most welcome.

Thank you!

Edit: Added info.
 
Solution
Blas
I'm checking the H170 mobos in pccomponentes, and to be honest i don't see any significant difference between the available models. At most, the gaming mobos have better sound chips and a few extra USB ports, but the central characteristics are pretty much the same. There might be quality tiers, but it's hard to tell for me. Pick the one you like the most, honestly :)

What i saw is that all of them accept at most DDR4 2133 MHz. Apparently only with the Z170 chipset can you use RAM over 2133 MHz. So that's maybe something to consider too. The cheapest Z170 (http://www.pccomponentes.com/msi_z170_a_pro.html) is just €102, which is only marginally (€12) more expensive than the cheapest H170...
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Blas

Blas

Distinguished
May 18, 2007
729
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¡Hola compañero, peazo ordenador!

I have a few suggestions about your build:

- RAM: instead of 16GB of DDR4 2133, i would buy a 2x4GB DDR4 of the highest speed possible, because RAM speeds matter (http://www.techspot.com/article/1171-ddr4-4000-mhz-performance/). For your intended use cases, 8 GB is more than enough (i have 12GB and i have never, ever, seen more than 6GB used, for basically the same use you intend to give it). Faster RAM will give you more frames when gaming.
- Optical drive: really? Do you still use it? ;)
- GPU: if you don't game too much, an RX 480 might be the best option (though for the moment we only have rumours about its performance). For future proofing, pick a GTX 1070, but wait for the custom (non Founder Edition) versions, they should be better cooled, overclocked, and cheaper).
- PSU: hardware is getting more and more power efficient. If you won't overclock and won't SLI/CF, 750W is overkill. I'd pick 550W. Your future GPU will consume the same wattage or less.
- Mobo/storage: have you heard about M.2 PCIe drives? (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269.html#p1) They are way faster than SSDs, but also more expensive. If i were buying a new computer and had that budget, i would definitely look into a mobo with a PCIe M.2 port, and i would replace the Samsung EVO with an M.2 drive (the samsung SM951). Note that there are M.2 drives that transfer their data via SATA protocol, and others that use PCIe protocols: you'd want PCIe, because the SATA ones are just like regular SATA SSDs performance-wise.

As for the rest of the build, i either approve, or can't help. In any case, great choice, and in Pccomponentes you will find good prices, and good service (or at least that's my experience with them).

Saludos desde Madrid, enjoy your build!
 
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RCS-Raincloud

RCS-Raincloud

Commendable
Jun 17, 2016
28
0
1,540
Muchas gracias Blas.

Good to know the website is reliable in your experience. I've heard only good things of them so far.

I'll look into the RAM replacement you suggest, thank you.

Optical drive is mostly because family and work colleagues are primitives. I end up needing it 4 - 5 times a year, so if this PC lasts 5 years, it's an ok expense.

I agree the RX 480 will do, if the performance rumored is confirmed. In a few years I may need to replace it for something more powerful, but is way to soon to tell. That's why I'm looking for advice in the build overall.

Mobo is my greater concern at the moment, I know very little about them. We also don't seem to have all the options people have in North America. I can't really tell the difference between the H170 models and Z170 entry level models we got here. Only a few euros difference between 5 or 6 Mobos. They all look the same to me.

Monitors are a bit easier to research, less concepts and values to compare and keep track of. Still, any suggestion is appreciated, specially from experienced consumers.


 
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Blas

Blas

Distinguished
May 18, 2007
729
8
20,165
I'm checking the H170 mobos in pccomponentes, and to be honest i don't see any significant difference between the available models. At most, the gaming mobos have better sound chips and a few extra USB ports, but the central characteristics are pretty much the same. There might be quality tiers, but it's hard to tell for me. Pick the one you like the most, honestly :)

What i saw is that all of them accept at most DDR4 2133 MHz. Apparently only with the Z170 chipset can you use RAM over 2133 MHz. So that's maybe something to consider too. The cheapest Z170 (http://www.pccomponentes.com/msi_z170_a_pro.html) is just €102, which is only marginally (€12) more expensive than the cheapest H170 (http://www.pccomponentes.com/msi_h170m_a_pro.html), and offers a little more ports and such (http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2099-intel-chipset-comparison-z170-h170-h110).

So maybe i'd pick an entry Z170 mobo, after all. But sorry, can't really tell you which one exactly :/
 
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Solution
RCS-Raincloud

RCS-Raincloud

Commendable
Jun 17, 2016
28
0
1,540
Great, I'll go with a Z170 mobo after doing more research. It's just a matter of comparing the available models, after all. Thank you for the advice.

That will also allow me to use faster RAM, as you said. Depending on the mobo, even real SLI or CF in the future. If the RX 480 is as good as it seems, games with CF support and Freesync monitors will probably become more common in the next 2 years. Then I could buy a second GPU and go for better monitors.

The M.2 SSD is also a good idea. The final price difference with all the improvements is still in my budget - with a much better overall system!
 
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