Building my wife a little gaming pc out of spare parts

atraeon · Sep 1, 2016

Hello all, I have a little project I need some help with. My wife's lappytoppy is dying a hot, fan winning, AMD death and I need to replace it. I have a gtx 760 and a 960 laying around, along with an i5 4670k, and 8 gigs ram. I want to build a little pc for her. It will need a blu-ray reader since it will mostly serve as a media device for our movie collection. I will also be installing every emulator known to man since my wife looooves old school platformers. I need help picking out the cheapest parts to complete the build. I already have win 10 and peripherals to go with it so I just need psu, mobo, case (the smaller the better), hdd (1 tb), and optical drive (blu ray reader). If anyone has low price parts to suggest that'd be awesome. Thanks in advance!

Chugalug_ · Sep 1, 2016

Sure thing, I'll get a list back to you.

you might want to pick up a cheap CPU cooler, just to keep temps lower after a long period of being on, i'll fit one in.
I suggest only using the 760 if she does light or retro gaming, it should be more than enough.
Although if she does more graphical gaming, the 960 could be a good option.

superninja12 · Sep 1, 2016

quality parts last longer so i didnt went ultra cheap.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($43.53 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($88.48 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $385.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-01 18:48 EDT-0400

you got an overclockable processor so i took a motherboard thats overclockable, but you need an aftermarket cooler with that so i went for a quality budget one.

boosted1g · Sep 1, 2016

I am assuming your GPUs are full height?
Do you want a Z series board for overclocking the cpu, or would a cheaper mobo be fine?

BadActor · Sep 1, 2016

MicroATX Tower:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($43.53 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($33.69 @ Directron)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $304.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-01 18:50 EDT-0400

MidATX Tower:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 74.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: DIYPC Solo-T1-BK ATX Mid Tower Case ($27.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($33.69 @ Directron)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $274.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-01 18:52 EDT-0400

Chugalug_ · Sep 1, 2016

Here's your list, if you want a flashier case go with the Corsair SPEC-01.
I assume she won't be overclocking given the light workload she uses.
I've included a 550w because a 450w won't run the GTX 760 within a range i'd be okay with afaik.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $189.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-01 18:58 EDT-0400

Chugalug_ · Sep 1, 2016

Quality and AsRock motherboards don't necessarily go hand in hand! xD
I've had some terrible experiences trying to refund whole shipments of doa boards with AsRock, so I try to stay away from them where I can.
As previously mentioned, I don't suspect overclocking is required with the workload specified, best to save the cash.
Also the VP450 is less than optimal given that the GTX 760 has a recommended minimum PSU wattage of 500w, and with a Haswell k CPU's TDP, that's not going to be a good combo with a mediocre PSU.

BadActor · Sep 1, 2016

The OP wants cheap parts to finish out the build. There is nothing wrong with he quality of the motherboard or PSU. The Antec is actually quite decent considering the price and more than enough wattage for this system. It's really not necessary to criticize everyone else's answers. We're entitled to our opinions just like your entitled to yours. Every build doesn't require top of the line parts.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/antec-vp450-power-supply-review/11/

Chugalug_ · Sep 1, 2016

I know, I know. ;.;
I'm just trying to help point out potential improvements, I don't mean to criticize builds as much as attempt to find the best solution for the OP through creating discussion.
Looking back on my comment however it came off a bit rude, sorry about that!

I don't think the VP450 can run the 760 though, that was my concern, not so much the overall quality of the unit.
Actually now I see that OP needed a motherboard purchased, my bad, I thought he already had a non-overclocking one, hence why I was confused about everyone including motherboards!

Sorry again.

BadActor · Sep 1, 2016

His system will never see 400 watts, even if overclocking the CPU and GPU which is why I am confident a 450 watt PSU will be fine.

Chugalug_ · Sep 1, 2016

A GTX 760 lists 500w as the minimum power requirement, although i'm confident it will run around 450w just fine.
I'm just concerned about the VP's ripple at higher loads, how does it hold up?
Also here is my updated build.
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/sTq2m8

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Other: Asus Z97 Pro Gaming ($124.99)
Total: $314.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-01 21:16 EDT-0400

atraeon · Sep 2, 2016

boosted1g :

Cheaper would be fine. Cheap is the word for the day lol.

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