First system build in the $700 range. Advice on parts please before my head explodes:)

[lastmecca]

Okay, this is my first system build, coming from a ps4 and a crappy laptop for a PC. I plan on building this month hopefully next week and I already have windows 7. I really want this new PC to be my all around media center for gaming, videos, music, tv etc. I typically play RPGs and would like to be able to mod them with decent fps/high to ultra graphics. I will be connecting this PC to my tv set that is a 40 inch 1080p. I plan on keeping this set-up for maybe 3 years before upgrading to 4K. Alright here's the build link:

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Qd4x2R

I plan on getting everything from Newegg to take advantage of the no tax and free shipping. First time using them are they recommended? I went with the cheap motherboard because I don't plan on OC'ing nor crossfire, will this cause problems for my build? The 480 I chose also is on the bigger side will it fit into my case and onto my motherboard?Really liked both RX 480 and GTX 1060, the 8gb of VRAM plus the 3 fan cooling at $230 leaned me toward AMD, would like to know you guys thoughts on the matter. Will gaming on a tv set be problematic? Sooo... is my build solid or did I screw the hooch? Any and all advice is well appreciated. Oh and sorry if I'm a kind of all over the place with questions, been tinkering with this build in my head for awhile now.

 

[King Dranzer]

Wait for some time collect bit more money and go for it. You will get better deals on Black Friday.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($190.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H110M-E/M.2 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($37.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card ($379.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $772.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-16 09:02 EST-0500

 

[lastmecca]

Wouldn't the 1070 be a little OP for 1080p? or is my expectations a little too high for the 480 and the 1060.

 

[King Dranzer]

No GTX1070 is the card that could provide you 60fps at ultra settings in most of the games. GTX1060 is not scaling that good at 1080p in providing 60fps in many games(at ultra settings).

If this is the case at present in a year it will get worse.

 

[Jeff Kaos]

Wouldn't the 1070 be a little OP for 1080p? or is my expectations a little too high for the 480 and the 1060.

I just built an i5 6600K/GTX 1070 gaming rig and it runs 1080 p like a champ. I've been playing Fallout 4 on ultra with a lot of texture mods and it looks fantastic and has crazy fps. I did a ton of research before committing to a build because I'm pretty sure this is the only high end rig I'll ever own. From my research the i5/1070 is the optimal pairing for flawless 1080p gaming. And since you're hitting you're head on the wall I'll tell you a little about what I learned. first keep in mind this is purely from reviews and articles and NOT personal experience.

The first thing I learned is that the highest rated and reviewed motherboard manufacturer is ASUS. After spending months looking at different mobos I concentrated on only ASUS boards which narrowed things considerably.

The second thing I learned is that you absolutly should not skimp on a PSU. Get the best you can afford. Luckily with the holidays coming up this is one component you'll see having deep discounts. Same with RAM. Right now I saw a few 16GB deals on Newegg and if I were you I'd probably pick them up. $66 for 16 GB is the best deal I've seen but it's possible they could go lower the closer we get to the holiday shopping season.

The third thing I learned is that EVGA 1070 cards have started on fire. While I have no idea how often this has happened and if it's still happening the simple fact that it's confirmed AND the fact that EVGA has released updates and some sort of cooling pads for the card tells me it 's not nothing. So despite having years of using EVGA cards both personally and professionally I dropped them from my list of suppliers. In the end I went with an MSI card because they have a pretty good rep for having superior cooling fans on their cards but I've heard good things about ASUS and Gigabyte. My personal conclusion is that most cards are pretty much the same in the end and all you're really looking for are minor features and "extras". But in the end though I'd stick with high rated card manufacturers and MSI, ASUS Gigabyte and (to an extent) PNY are brands that are either well regarded or brands I've used in the past; which is the case with PNY (though I mainly put them in CAD type builds).

If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Good luck.

 

[King Dranzer]

Wouldn't the 1070 be a little OP for 1080p? or is my expectations a little too high for the 480 and the 1060.

I just built an i5 6600K/GTX 1070 gaming rig and it runs 1080 p like a champ. I've been playing Fallout 4 on ultra with a lot of texture mods and it looks fantastic and has crazy fps. I did a ton of research before committing to a build because I'm pretty sure this is the only high end rig I'll ever own. From my research the i5/1070 is the optimal pairing for flawless 1080p gaming. And since you're hitting you're head on the wall I'll tell you a little about what I learned. first keep in mind this is purely from reviews and articles and NOT personal experience.

The first thing I learned is that the highest rated and reviewed motherboard manufacturer is ASUS. After spending months looking at different mobos I concentrated on only ASUS boards which narrowed things considerably.

The second thing I learned is that you absolutly should not skimp on a PSU. Get the best you can afford. Luckily with the holidays coming up this is one component you'll see having deep discounts. Same with RAM. Right now I saw a few 16GB deals on Newegg and if I were you I'd probably pick them up. $66 for 16 GB is the best deal I've seen but it's possible they could go lower the closer we get to the holiday shopping season.

The third thing I learned is that EVGA 1070 cards have started on fire. While I have no idea how often this has happened and if it's still happening the simple fact that it's confirmed AND the fact that EVGA has released updates and some sort of cooling pads for the card tells me it 's not nothing. So despite having years of using EVGA cards both personally and professionally I dropped them from my list of suppliers. In the end I went with an MSI card because they have a pretty good rep for having superior cooling fans on their cards but I've heard good things about ASUS and Gigabyte. My personal conclusion is that most cards are pretty much the same in the end and all you're really looking for are minor features and "extras". But in the end though I'd stick with high rated card manufacturers and MSI, ASUS Gigabyte and (to an extent) PNY are brands that are either well regarded or brands I've used in the past; which is the case with PNY (though I mainly put them in CAD type builds).

If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Good luck.

Yes you are correct. i5/GTX1070 provides lot better performance than i5/GTX1060 and GTX1070 is the minimum I recommend for 1080p(unless one has budget of $500-600). In this case OP can push his budget up by a bit and go for GTX1070 instead of GTX1060. And in coming weeks he can find better deals.

Yes PSU is one of the most important component of the build. So I recommend getting a good PSU acoording to budget of the build and power requirement. SeaSonic S12II series is one the best Bronze rated PSUs available.

The RAM you can start up with single 8GB card and add second one down the lane.

 

[Jeff Kaos]

I also went with a GTX 1070 card because it's "VR Ready". I'm not sure how well it actually handles VR or if I'll ever even get a VR setup but it's nice to know that if I do get into VR in the near future I won't have to upgrade in order to check it out. But if you can fit a 1070 into your budget I'd do it in a second. I know that the GTX1080 is the king of cards but with a $600+ price tag I see the 1070 becoming the more popular of the two with the 1060 being the mid tier card.

 

[lastmecca]

Oh okay, I see... Well, I guess I'm really going to have to hit the drawing board and wait out for the better deals. Micro center has their i5's right now at a deep discount so I'm going to see if Newegg will match them or I'll suck it up and make the drive. I'm determined to keep this budget within <$700 range but I might be able to pull it off with the 1070, if I'm patient. Thanks for the advice guys and I been looking into those PSU's myself, saving a few bucks isn't worth burning down the house.

 

[Jeff Kaos]

Oh okay, I see... Well, I guess I'm really going to have to hit the drawing board and wait out for the better deals. Micro center has their i5's right now at a deep discount so I'm going to see if Newegg will match them or I'll suck it up and make the drive. I'm determined to keep this budget within <$700 range but I might be able to pull it off with the 1070, if I'm patient. Thanks for the advice guys and I been looking into those PSU's myself, saving a few bucks isn't worth burning down the house.

Here's a few more tips to keep things a little tighter on budget: keep the PSU simple; ask around here for a good budget PSU and someone will point you in the right direction. Go with 1 stick of 8GB RAM right now and add another later. Also remember that you can get a good case for well under $50-$60. Maybe even cheaper; especially with sales. Unless you're looking to overclock you can save a few bucks by going with a non "K" CPU and mobo setup. While the i5 6600 is only about $40 less than the i5 6600K you'll save a lot more money on the board by not needing a Z board for overclocking. Keep an eye on Newegg for sure. Pick your CPU and then go to the store page of that CPU on Newegg and look at the bundles. While you might not get exactly what you want you might find some good deals for full build bundles that might be a lot cheaper than if you get individual parts. Especially the closer you get to the holidays. If anything looks questionable in a particular bundle a simple "is this a good PSU (or whatever)" post on these forums will inform you. Also remember that an SSD is a luxury and not a requirement. While you can pick up a decent SSD for under $50 that's $50 you can put towards RAM or a better version of a GPU.

 

[lastmecca]

Nice tips, looking into those bundles now. Microcenter got the i5 "K" version for $180 right now btw for those looking. I think I can get the motherboard and i5 for about $200 but finding that 1070 with a little discount is going to be a challenge. I'm a bargain shopper at heart, just feels wrong paying full price.

 

[Jeff Kaos]

Even with the holiday's coming up I think $350 - $400-ish is about the lowest you'll find that card but it's a great card that will chew up anything you throw at it.

 

[lastmecca]

Ha! where can I find it for $350? I'm still messing around with the build but the lowest I've seen the 1070 is $389 for the Zotac mini. Also do I really need a tool kit to build this pc or will common tools lying around the house due? $20 dollars for a pc tool kit is on the chopping block but not sure if I will regret it.

 

[Jeff Kaos]

Ha! where can I find it for $350? I'm still messing around with the build but the lowest I've seen the 1070 is $389 for the Zotac mini. Also do I really need a tool kit to build this pc or will common tools lying around the house due? $20 dollars for a pc tool kit is on the chopping block but not sure if I will regret it.

Sorry about that; the lowest I've seen a 1070 is $380. It may go lower though and $350 is "best case scenario" during holiday sales. I'd also avoid a mini card unless space is an issue. Besides Newegg keep an eye on Amazon. They usually have the same prices as Newegg with an easier return policy.

 

[lastmecca]

Yea tell me about it. I was going to try to get as much as I could from Newegg to avoid taxes but couldn't do it to myself. If something goes wrong I know amazon got me covered. I'm not so sure about Newegg and to be honest their customer service is looking suspect to me already after trying to call them twice. I changed the card I'm looking at to the Zotac Amp Edition too. Only $10 bucks more than the mini.

 

[King Dranzer]

About the PSU issue this being a budget build I advised that PSU. It is a Bronze class PSU that doesn't mean it is crap. That PSU is top of the line when it comes to budget. But if you can spend good amount I would recommend Corsair RM750x because it supports SLI and it comes with 10Year warranty. You can buy it once and use it multiple builds without the requirement of spending extra on PSU the next time you upgrade. It can easily last 3-4 builds depending on how regularly you upgrade.

If you don't plan on having SLI in future then get Corsair RM550x which also comes with 10Year warranty and can be used in multiple builds but is not suited for SLI.