New PC Build Guide

[legoh]

Hi all!

 

I'm very new to the forums but I've been following LinusTechTips for a very long time and love all the videos put out, kudos to everyone in this great community!

 

As explained by the thread title, I'm currently in the midst of building a PC and would love to have some advice.

 

Currently, here are my targets/uses and what I've had in mind:

 

Budget: $1500 USD or $2000 SGD (hopefully I can spend less )

Location: Singapore

Aim: Gaming (I play CS:GO competitively at 1024x768), possibly streaming. As silent a PC as possible.

Monitors: 2 monitors, 1x BenQ XL2420T running at 1920x1080, 1x Dell Ultrasharp 24" running at 1920x1200

Peripherals: Nil

Upgrading: My current computer is dying lmao.

 

Alright so here's what I've had in mind:

 

Case: Fractal Design R5 - I've been shopping around for silent cases and comparing the NZXT and FD, the FD wins me over in price and because I've an optical drive to transfer over

 

SSD/HDD: Don't need any, transferring my current ones over. I currently have 2x WD Black 1TB  HDD and 1x Crucial M500 240GB SSD. I am wondering though if PCI-E SSDs are worth it?

 

Optical Drive: Don't need any, transferring a 1x ASUS DVD+/- RW 

 

CPU: Now here's the BIG question mark I have for myself, what kind of CPU is good? I'm looking for the PC to be able to handle coding such as C++, Python, Ruby, MATLAB etc. I'd also like to be able to have streams on my Dell monitor while I'm playing games. Currently, I have to shrink the size of the stream to reduce the amount of load my CPU handles. I'm also a tab monster sometimes so I'd have browsers in the background while I'm streaming. Additionally, I'm also an Intel fanboy (currently using AMD and it's killing me ). Intel in this case is also because I play CS:GO competitively and it seems to be the better processor for it (please correct me if I'm wrong). Other games that I play currently at max resolution would be GTA 5 and H1Z1. If I stream games such as CS:GO, I do want my FPS in-game to be well above 120 (since I use a 120Hz monitor). 

 

Thus, my first big question mark would be this, do I really need an i7? Would I benefit greatly from having the hyperthreading considering my current kinds of applications for the money I'm putting in? Also, would I need the K versions? In the case of overclocking, I'm a complete noob at this but am willing to hear out what suggestions people have for me or any guides you could point me to. I've never done OCing before cause I've had this understanding that OCing increases the amount of wear and tear on the computer. 

 

Mobo: Again, likewise to the CPU, I've no bloody clue. Especially when it comes to ASUS brands (which I've been using for several years) where they have a ton of different variations.

 

GFX: Here I'm probably aiming for 1x ASUS Strix 960 GTX for it's performance and it's price.

 

PSU: I'm wondering what brands of PSU are really silent. As for power consumption, I've did quite a few experiments on those PSU calculator sites and I think about 650W is enough? Or would 750W be better? 

 

RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB 2400MHz. I honestly picked this cause the price difference for 16GB from 1600MHz to 2400MHz is only $24SGD.

 

Aftermarket Coolers: I'm honestly wondering if it's a big difference in terms of noise levels between the stock cooler, custom fan coolers and water coolers? Currently, I'm using a water cooled PC that I won during a tournament and man, the watercooling is extremely noisy and the reservoir has had multiple problems. I've seen that CoolerMaster offers water coolers that have 0 maintenance. As such in this department, should I go to such solutions? Or should I only turn to them if I plan to OC the CPU? Likewise, how large a radiator do I need?

 

Here is a pricelist of a popular PC parts vendor from Singapore and their prices are in SGD. I'll probably buy from a friend who can get like $100 off in total. 

 

http://fuwell.com.sg/uploads/misc/Fuwell180415.pdf

 

Thanks in advance for all the great help!

[wqesad523w]

TIP: Don't use the old vers of windows from your old pc unless you are fine with constant crashes. I learned that the hard way. Also with that GPU, try to upgrade it to maybe a r9 280X 270X or 285

[Zauski]

TIP: Don't use the old vers of windows from your old pc unless you are fine with constant crashes. I learned that the hard way. Also with that GPU, try to upgrade it to maybe a r9 280X 270X or 285

 

He is looking for a silent GPU, from my experience with AMD they aren't silent. A 960 will do him great

 

Also. Something like a Xeon E3 1230 V3 / 1231 V3 is basically an i7 without overclocking and integrated graphics, but it does have hyperthreading and should save you money. It also allows you to get a H87/H97/B85/H81 board which will save you money.

[wqesad523w]

He is looking for a silent GPU, from my experience with AMD they aren't silent. A 960 will do him great

Ah, though id reccommend a better GPU than a 960.

[Aytex]

Get the i7 it fits your needs (4790k) overclock it for preformance for your tripple a games. for your grpahics cards a 960 wont get 120+ unless you want to sacrafice some settings. PSU 750 watt is good for sli or if you want to change that 960. Most PSU fans dont kick in unless its REALLY Hot in your r5 Your ram if you want to save some money for the 1600 and put it into the i7 or the gfx go for it. There really isnt a Dramatic increaste in fps for the 1600 vs the 2400. Aftermarket cooler GET ONE for the 4790k (if you choose the i7 of course) or you can choose the i5 4690k if you want to get slower speeds for rendering. The aftermarket cooler get a cooler master evo or the h100i for watercooling

[Aytex]

Ah, though id reccommend a better GPU than a 960.

The new ones in idle the fans completely turns off so that might be good for him

[Goldensapling]

CPU : i5 4690k | Unless you're into heavy productivity you don't need an i7

GPU : Get a R9 280, it blows the 960 away in price=performance

PSU : Corsair makes decent PSUs that are fairly quiet, I would recommend a 600w.

MOBO : I would recommend the MSI Z97 Krait Edition because I've loved their motherboards in the past and because it's really freakin' sexy

Cooler : I've heard that the Hyper 212 Evo is fairly quiet.

[legoh]

Hey everyone, thanks for the advice so far! 

 

CPU : i5 4690k | Unless you're into heavy productivity you don't need an i7

GPU : Get a R9 280, it blows the 960 away in price=performance

PSU : Corsair makes decent PSUs that are fairly quiet, I would recommend a 600w.

MOBO : I would recommend the MSI Z97 Krait Edition because I've loved their motherboards in the past and because it's really freakin' sexy

Cooler : I've heard that the Hyper 212 Evo is fairly quiet.

With regards to this, how "heavy" is heavy? Would my intended purposes require an i7? Eg. I would love to stream, have tabs in the background, secondary Twitch stream on my dell monitor and have a game running in the worst case scenario.

 

With regards to a cooler, would you recommend getting one if no OCing is going on or would a stock fan be sufficiently quiet?

 

 

He is looking for a silent GPU, from my experience with AMD they aren't silent. A 960 will do him great

 

Also. Something like a Xeon E3 1230 V3 / 1231 V3 is basically an i7 without overclocking and integrated graphics, but it does have hyperthreading and should save you money. It also allows you to get a H87/H97/B85/H81 board which will save you money.

Ah, so the 960s are better in terms of noise levels? Also, unfortunately the Xeons don't seem to be available here

[Goldensapling]

Hey everyone, thanks for the advice so far! 

 

With regards to this, how "heavy" is heavy? Would my intended purposes require an i7? Eg. I would love to stream, have tabs in the background, secondary Twitch stream on my dell monitor and have a game running in the worst case scenario.

 

With regards to a cooler, would you recommend getting one if no OCing is going on or would a stock fan be sufficiently quiet?

 

Heavy, meaning like if you would have Photoshop, Premiere, 20 Chrome Tabs, and Rendering. The i5 4690k will handle anything you through at it unless you edit for LTT. Also, if you aren't OCing, the stock cooler is generally pretty quiet up until VERY heavy loads.

[Zauski]

-snip

 

 

Most of the 960's have the software that makes it so the fans do not spin under 60 degrees, so silent.

 

And if Xeons aren't available, a locked i5 and a B85/H81/H87/H97 motherboard would do you, ofcourse unless you want to overclock