First Build - Suggestions Please

Thanosten

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Mar 15, 2017
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This is my first build, and I need some help. This is what I have so far and am wondering if I have made any mistakes? Would all the parts be compatible and would all fix inside the case with enough room for cables and all the components while still having adequate airflow?

CPU: Intel Core i3-7100 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock Slim 35.1 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H270M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E MicroATX Mini Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic 360W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 50.5 CFM 120mm Fan

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/user/Thanosten/saved/gzz999
 
Solution
Remember gold rating doesn't necessarily equal quality, it can be gold rated but very low quality.
However, I made a mistake in identifying what the manufacturer of the Edison M PSU was.
You only need a basic PSU for a workstation anyway, which is why I recommend the Thermaltake Smart 650w, as it is a fantastic deal at the price it is going at.
Even if you add a powerful GPU like a 1080 and an i7 with that PSU it will hold up fine. (This is an extreme case!)
Generic RAM is also a good choice given you won't be doing any really intensive tasks.
This is the best value for you. You also didn't include a hard drive, so I added one.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz...
I guess main purpose is office?
It's a very nice build. I would go with 2x4GB RAM though.

The tower is quite expensive, I'd much rather go with a Fractal Design Define Mini, cheaper and with quality sound dampening. However the Silverstone is fine.

Everything should fit with ease.
 
You don't need a CPU cooler btw, feel free to get the fans though.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($72.00 @ Shopping Express)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($116.00 @ IJK)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($68.00 @ Shopping Express)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($63.00 @ Shopping Express)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($59.40 @ Skycomp Technology)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($51.70 @ Skycomp Technology)
Total: $430.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-15 22:05 AEDT+1100
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($72.00 @ Shopping Express)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($116.00 @ IJK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($85.00 @ Umart)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 3 (Windowed) MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($52.70 @ Skycomp Technology)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Edison M 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.10 @ Skycomp Technology)
Case Fan: Thermaltake Pure 12 LED 41.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($9.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $423.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-15 22:53 AEDT+1100
 

Thanosten

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Mar 15, 2017
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530
Can someone explain to me why i should do 2x4Gb instead of 1x8Gb. Also here's the updated build. I changed the CPU because its $70 cheaper and doesnt seem to have any major differences. Am i correct in that?

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock H270M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E MicroATX Mini Tower Case
Power Supply: Fractal Design Edison M 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 50.5 CFM 120mm Fan

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/user/Thanosten/saved/gzz999
 


Wow, a $150 motherboard with a $70 chip??? Thats pretty messed up. :ange:
I wonder how much of the H270 features you gonna actually use.
Coming to your question, the board is dual channel. So 2 x 4gb will run faster than 1 x 8gb. Simple logic, 2 taps will fill the bucket faster than a single tap. Also if one stick dies, you still have the other one to boot with. With one stick your pc is practically dead if that stick fails.

More balanced build...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($72.00 @ Shopping Express)
Motherboard: MSI B250M PRO-VH Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($109.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($85.00 @ Umart)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($59.40 @ Skycomp Technology)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($85.00 @ Shopping Express)
Case Fan: NZXT FZ-120mm LED 59.1 CFM 120mm Fan ($12.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Total: $422.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-15 23:43 AEDT+1100
 

Thanosten

Prominent
Mar 15, 2017
27
0
530
I was going with the Intel Core i3-7100 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor before, but I decided to switch because of the small difference. The only reason I didn't change the Mobo to its cheaper version, the ASRock B250M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 was because it has the m2 Ultra slot and isn't that much more expensive.
 


Doesnt matter. It will still serve you well with its M2 slot... https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B250M-PRO-VH.html#productSpecification-section
 

Thanosten

Prominent
Mar 15, 2017
27
0
530
Your right. I've changed it to this. Anything else? If not I will make make this post "solved".

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock B250M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case
Power Supply: Fractal Design Edison M 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 50.5 CFM 120mm Fan
Cost: $450.50 AUD

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/user/Thanosten/saved/gzz999
 


hmm, the edison m was rated as a tier 2 psu here in tom's..
 
I'm talking about for the money somewhat as well.
It is a decent unit, not as good as it could be though.
Also don't use the PSU tier list, inaccurate in some cases, outdated and oversimplifies the composition of PSUs and their features.
Because a unit isn't modular for example it might not get put in T1 despite good performance.
You can get a HCG or XFX TS both of which are great Seasonic units rebranded.
 


yup, reducing price with quality components is always a welcome change
 
The Edison M is a Seasonic rebrand as well.
For 4$ more than the Corsair CXM it's the right choice imo, as it is based on the Seasonic G if I'm not mistaken (has been a while since I looked into Fractal Design as their units are hopelessly overpriced - except for AU/NZ)
 
Remember gold rating doesn't necessarily equal quality, it can be gold rated but very low quality.
However, I made a mistake in identifying what the manufacturer of the Edison M PSU was.
You only need a basic PSU for a workstation anyway, which is why I recommend the Thermaltake Smart 650w, as it is a fantastic deal at the price it is going at.
Even if you add a powerful GPU like a 1080 and an i7 with that PSU it will hold up fine. (This is an extreme case!)
Generic RAM is also a good choice given you won't be doing any really intensive tasks.
This is the best value for you. You also didn't include a hard drive, so I added one.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($72.00 @ Shopping Express)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($116.00 @ IJK)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($68.00 @ Shopping Express)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($63.00 @ Shopping Express)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($59.40 @ Skycomp Technology)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($51.70 @ Skycomp Technology)
Total: $430.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-16 19:36 AEDT+1100

 
Solution

Thanosten

Prominent
Mar 15, 2017
27
0
530
I've been told that having a Power supply with alot of watts being unused in dangerous and can be damage the motherboard. I've never heard of this before but is it true?
 
To answer both your questions:
1. No, this is completely false, the PSU doesn't supply your system with its rated wattage all the time, the system simply takes what it needs.
When it is idle it might use say 50w of power, while at load it might use 80w in your case.
2. No again, if the RAM stick fails for some undisclosed reason you should contact the manufacturer for warranty regardless, note that this is highly unlikely.
I run a store, and have never once had anyone return a RAM stick unless it was silly user error, like jamming the RAM stick in without the notches at the side pushed out, and grinding the connector or sides. Only failed kit i've ever come across was a DOA Kingston Fury kit which was replaced with no trouble.
The only benefit to two sticks of RAM is the use of dual channel memory vs single channel, you'll see 0 difference in workstation use which is what you're doing, but in gaming you may see at most a 1-2fps increase in performance which is within margin of error for tests anyway.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/does-dual-channel-memory-make-difference-in-gaming-performance/
 
can't find a review for the 450W, but the 550, 650, 750W units of the Edison series is definitely a Seasonic G, I assume the 450 is as well

as for your question:
Gold/Silver/bronze tells you about efficiency. this means how much power is converted to heat and how efficient the PSU is working.
for example there were PSUs that could output 450W but draw 600W from the wall. and when you only drew 300W it still took 600W from the power outlet, got hot (and mostly defective after a time because of the heat but at least hurt your electricity bill)
that's why back in the day there was the 80+ label that set a standard as to how much power a PSU is allowed to waste at 20%, 50%, 100% load.
later on this label was expanded into bronze / silver / gold and later platinum & titanium
generally the difference between a bronze and a platinum PSU below 1000W is truly insignificant in terms of energy consumption.
did the calculations once based on a 550W unit (gold vs. bronze) and you needed 6-8 years of usage to justify the 30$ the gold unit cost more or something like that

anyway, there is usually a big quality difference between units that got a 80+ rating and units that don't, at least I don't know any halfway decent PSU that's not 80+ rated at least
but if it's bronze/silver/gold says nothing about the quality.

it's like saying a cheap chinese car is better than a Benz because you get 50miles further with a gallon of oil.
yes, the chinese car might have a more efficient engine but it says nothing about the build quality of a car and frankly it won't matter if you get 50km further if the car doesn't start anymore after refuelling or starts to burn down.

it's the same with PSUs.
sadly advertisement says "450W GOLD" -- which means exactly nothing.
it could be a 450W PSU that can only deliver 275W in a real world situation and is likely to burn your house down when under load.
like with cars, there are some parameters that help. like if you're buying a Benz you know that it ain't a bad car. of course some series might be a bit better than others but generally you know you buy trusted quality.
same applies to some PSU manufacturers, like Seasonic or in the last few years Super Flower. if you get a PSU that's made by them, you know you'll end up with a quality unit.
then there are manufacturers like FSP or Delta that are a bit hit or miss. a few of their units are really good, others are mediocre and some are just plain junk.

the thing with PSUs also is -- to make it a bit more complicated -- that you for example don't see a lot of Super Flower or Delta units running under their own name other companies buy their designs and rebrand them.

Fractal Design for example got the Integra M and the Edison M series.
Fractal Design doesn't build any of them though.
they buy a certain mediocre FSP design, attach their own casing, fan and box and sell it as "Fractal Design Integra M"
while they buy a pretty nice Seasonic design, attach their own casing, fan and box and sell it as "Fractal Desing Edison M"
someone who doesn't know and doesn't look into it just sees 2 PSUs, both from Fractal Design, both 450W, but one costs 20$ more, so he buys the cheaper one and thinks he got a good deal. well. he doesn't.

as to why is one better than the other:
it's mainly due to the parts used. you can buy a shelf at IKEA that will look used and cheap the moment you've assembled it due to the low grade press board and cheap paint or you can get a shelf from a carpenter made out of solid high grade wood, oiled and painted with maybe even organic materials that can last generations.
as for PSUs, there's the interial design (do they use a simple and easy design like an IKEA shelf that any middleschool-dropout can assemble or a more sophisticated delivery that's safer and cleaner), the capacitors used (are they japanese premium capacitors that are sufficient to handle unstable power conditions, high currents and can perform even when getting a little hot, or are those cheap chinese/taiwanese caps that work just fine as long as they're in perfect lab conditions), the soldering quality and of course the different protections implemented, like the PSU automatically shutting down when the voltage rises to high or drops too low, shutting down when it detects a surge, when it overheats and so on. cheaper PSUs implement not all of them or not properly which can lead to a unit failure. depending on the design and quality a unit failure can lead to different outcomes. for example your power line is hit by lightening. a quality unit will trigger several protections. It might be that the PSU fries and won't start anymore or that it works just fine after cooling down. either way, your computer is save.
with a PSU of questionable quality the unit won't protect your computer and won't sacrifice itself but would go out, taking your CPU, board, GPU with it and in the worst case catch even fire.

TL,DR:
better parts used in the PSU make for saver, cleaner and longer power delivery to your system for a little higher price
it's generally the part most important not to "save cash" on.
 
Jesus christ that's an essay, tbh I never read these kinds of posts fully, i'm a lazy bum. :p
The reality is you might save a dollar if you use your PC frequently and get a gold over a bronze, but its pretty pointless to think of it as a money saving mechanism, you want to be thinking about the components and quality over rating primarily.