Budget PC Build - $550 - Need Critique & Suggestions

[akishore]

This is going to be my first build and I've done as much research as my brain can handle and have picked all the parts. I believe they should all work together, but wanted some folks with some real experience to make sure before I buy the parts. Here are the parts:

MSI Computer Corp. Motherboard ATX DDR3 1333 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z87-G43

Rosewill Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case CHALLENGER-U3 Black

Rosewill 450W 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Power Supply CAPSTONE-450 Black

Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003

G.SKILL Ares Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9S-4GAB

Intel Core i3-4130 3.4 3 FCLGA 1150 Processor BX80646I34130

EVGA GeForce GTX 750 with G-SYNC Support 1GB GDDR5 128bit, Dual-Link DVI-I, HDMI,DP Graphics Card (01G-P4-2751-KR)

Any suggestions would also be greatly appreciated such as a newer model out that is only slightly more expensive, etc.

For my own info, how long does a build like this take for someone who's never done it? Also, any tips for what order you should install the parts, etc?

Thanks!

 

[Suztera]

You can follow the guide underneath and also look up videos on youtube if you want a more visual experience.
Reason for changes, Z97 motherboard for when you wish to upgrade the cpu to a i5 k model cpu. However, if you don;t plan on overclocking at all, get a H87/H97 motherboard.
Swapped the power supply for something cheaper but equally good. 550W is enough for any single gpu setup. it is overkill on this build but you can upgrade the gpu to a higher tier card.
Add the 750Ti which is slightly faster out of the box.

Building a pc first timeif you include breadboarding the cpu, motherboard, gpu and ram maybe 3-5 hours. Do you have someone who knows how to build a pc?


Also here is a guide for installing windows and optimizing it afterwards.
Window 7 : http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds
Window 8: http://www.overclock.net/t/1240779/seans-windows-8-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.43 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $543.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-20 03:40 EDT-0400)

 

[akishore]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm an IT person, so I work with computers all the time. I have swapped out graphics cards, hard drives, etc, but have never actually built a PC on my own. I'm hoping I should be able to do it.

Had a quick question: can you give me another suggestion for a Z97 motherboard that is from Gigabyte, ASUS or MSI in the same price range? Someone told me to stick to those three brands for motherboards!

I just read what breadboarding is and I'm guessing it means connecting the main components before actually connecting everything to the case?

You can follow the guide underneath and also look up videos on youtube if you want a more visual experience.
Reason for changes, Z97 motherboard for when you wish to upgrade the cpu to a i5 k model cpu. However, if you don;t plan on overclocking at all, get a H87/H97 motherboard.
Swapped the power supply for something cheaper but equally good. 550W is enough for any single gpu setup. it is overkill on this build but you can upgrade the gpu to a higher tier card.
Add the 750Ti which is slightly faster out of the box.

Building a pc first timeif you include breadboarding the cpu, motherboard, gpu and ram maybe 3-5 hours. Do you have someone who knows how to build a pc?


Also here is a guide for installing windows and optimizing it afterwards.
Window 7 : http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds
Window 8: http://www.overclock.net/t/1240779/seans-windows-8-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.43 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $543.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-20 03:40 EDT-0400)

 

[Suztera]

Asrock is part of Asus branch although separate divisions. They are fine.
But if you really want to swap it:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97kcsm
Breadboarding is testing the cpu, motherboard, ram and gpu outside the case. Most people would place the motherboard on top of the motherboard box and test it there. It is to ensure that all components work and troubleshooting is much easier than in a case.

 

[akishore]

Appreciated. Can you give me your quick opinion on this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K23BW70/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

It's the MSI ATX DDR3 2400 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97 PC MATE. It's $20 cheaper. Is there anything on the ASUS one that would definitely make me want to spend the extra money?

Thanks for all the help!

Asrock is part of Asus branch although separate divisions. They are fine.
But if you really want to swap it:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97kcsm
Breadboarding is testing the cpu, motherboard, ram and gpu outside the case. Most people would place the motherboard on top of the motherboard box and test it there. It is to ensure that all components work and troubleshooting is much easier than in a case.

 

[Suztera]

Well, the MSI Z97 PC MATE doesn't have a M2 connector if that interest you.