Please review my first budget, pc build. ($800 give or take)

[arceus23]

Hello, I am a first timer to pc building and i'm admittedly very intimidated. I've wanted a custom pc for years now, but it's finally time to get realistic and make sure my specs are acceptable before ordering. I'm open to any cost effective substitutions as long as it stays under or around $800.

(Sidenote: Is there anything I should be wary of for my first time building? I'm going in educated, but blind in terms of experience. Is the physical building easy to screw up? Is my specifc case roomy enough for my parts? I used pcpartpicker.com to ultimately decide my components. Thank you very much for any assistance or advice given to my thread.)

CPU: Intel core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-core
Cooler: Cryorig H7 49.0 CFM
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB
Case: Corsair Vengeance C70
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224FB/RSMS DVD/CD Writer

 

[Karadjgne]

Looks good. We'll balanced. Not a big fan of the Evga psu, but it'll work for that build.

 

[kwa-e]

Building a computer is easier then legos, all you have to make sure it to excercise a little caution (not reckless abandon) to make sure you don't break any parts.

Putting in the graphics card and the RAM might be a bit daunting at first though, just make sure you press on opposite ends with equal force and it will just snap in.

As for the build, the only thing I don't like is the PSU, if you can you should get an S12II unit as those are pretty reliable for cheap. (And maybe take advantage of the fact that you have 4 RAM slots and get a dual channel kit, which seems to have a decent impact on performance in digital foundry's videos.)

 

[arceus23]

Building a computer is easier then legos, all you have to make sure it to excercise a little caution (not reckless abandon) to make sure you don't break any parts.

Putting in the graphics card and the RAM might be a bit daunting at first though, just make sure you press on opposite ends with equal force and it will just snap in.

As for the build, the only thing I don't like is the PSU, if you can you should get an S12II unit as those are pretty reliable for cheap. (And maybe take advantage of the fact that you have 4 RAM slots and get a dual channel kit, which seems to have a decent impact on performance in digital foundry's videos.)

How exactly would I go about getting a dual channel kit? Is that just a specification of one of my preexisting parts? (Also, would you recommend a 520 bronze, 620 bronze, or a 430B S12II? It isn't that much more expensive. I can manage the little extra.)

 

[kwa-e]

Dual channel kits are usually two 4 GB sticks that are certified to work with each other in dual channel, they're not much more expensive than regular 1x8GB sticks though.

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f42133c15d8gnt
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx421c14fbk28

 

[arceus23]

Looks good. We'll balanced. Not a big fan of the Evga psu, but it'll work for that build.

Well, would you also recommend the SeaSonic S12II for a substitution?

 

[arceus23]

Dual channel kits are usually two 4 GB sticks that are certified to work with each other in dual channel, they're not much more expensive than regular 1x8GB sticks though.

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f42133c15d8gnt
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx421c14fbk28

Oh, I see. Is there a reason as to how or why they work better?

 

[kwa-e]

Dual channel kits are usually two 4 GB sticks that are certified to work with each other in dual channel, they're not much more expensive than regular 1x8GB sticks though.

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f42133c15d8gnt
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx421c14fbk28

Oh, I see. Is there a reason as to how or why they work better?

Think of it as having extra path ways, single channel having one and dual channel having 2 path ways instead.

With these extra path ways you can shove twice the amount of data where the single channel ram would otherwise choke.

While this does make a huge difference in programs that requires large amounts of data to be moved and processed like video rendering and calculations this usually makes little difference in games but the reason why I'm suggesting going for it now is because there may be a time in the future where it WILL make a tangible difference- that and dual channel RAM isn't much more expensive than a single channel stick.

 

[Karadjgne]

The Seasonic S12II 520w or 620w are excellent psus, pretty much used as the basis for other models such as the Antec HCG 520M. (which is also excellent). As are the XFX TS 550w or core 550. The Evga 500b isn't bad, its solidly mediocre, so it's not a bad choice as such, but there are definitely better choices in the same price bracket.

The psu IS the single most important component of the pc. It's directly responsible for the health and performance of every other component that needs power. $30 gpu, $50 mobo, $100 cpu I'd have no problems with a mediocre psu. But you are looking at $300 gpu, $100+ mobo, $200+ cpu. I'd not be trusting top grade parts on mediocre.