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[Build Help] My First PC Build!

hotboxtop
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Hi all! 

 

This is my first time on Linus tech tips' forums and my first post so bear with me  :) (If this post is in the wrong area please tell me too!) 

 

After years of using just a laptop and peripherals to play my games I'd really like to build a desktop to do it. My budget for the pc is ~£1000 (~$1500) but I'd like to get that lower if possible, especially if I get a new monitor.

 

In terms of what I'd want from my build, I'd want it to be 'future-proof' for a few years, I'd be willing to upgrade parts if the performance difference was huge but I wouldn't expect that to happen much. I'd also like to be able to run current and new releases at 1080p at 60 fps with decent settings.

 

I used PCPartPicker to start my build but I'd go see if computer stores near me have the parts in for a cheaper price, the breakdown is below:

 

 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£179.99 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (£79.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£134.99 @ Novatech) 
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£69.46 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card  (£274.99 @ Ebuyer) 
Case: Zalman H1 ATX Full Tower Case  (£79.90 @ Scan.co.uk) 
Total: £970.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-24 11:34 BST+0100
 
I do plan on overclocking it and sound and heat for me is a problem, personally.
 
The things which I would take out/replace are:
 
CPU cooler: I've seen lots of people using the Coolermaser Hyper 212 Evo so I was wondering how much of a difference will the liquid cooling make, is it worth the price difference? 
 
Motherboard: I like the one that's shown above but I also saw the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX 1150 motherboard which is ~£40 cheaper but again, is the difference worth the price? 
 
Memory: I like the look of the Ballistix RAM (who doesn't like flashing lights in case?) but I'd be willing to scrap it to save money and get something different
 
Video Card: I had to decide between this and the R9 290 but it seemed like this one was better, if I'm wrong could someone say why?
 
Power Supply: High reviewed power supply but I saw EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular Power Supply and I love cable management so I'd likely take this one over the semi-modular for an extra £10
 
Any thoughts, help, better prices etc will be much appreciated!
 
Cheers in advance  :D
 
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Hi all! 

-snip-

In the middle of reading your post right now. Just gotta say that I've got a link for similar RAM 10 quid cheaper: http://www.unatechnology.co.uk/shop/components-storage-memory-generic-memory/crucial-tracer-16gb-kit-ddr3-1600-led-ob/

#RIPTopGear  This is the best thread ever: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/53190-i-can-not-get-hard/ " French meetings are just people sitting in a semi-circle shouting at each other" -Dom Jolly  :lol:

My rig: 

   CPU: Pentium G3258 @ 4.5GHz | GPU: GTX 760 reference | PSU: Corsair RM750 | Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V | Motherboard: Gigabyte B85M D3H | Case: NZXT S340 White | RAM: 8GB EVO Potenza @ 1600MHz | Storage: 3TB Seagate HDD, 60GB OCZ SSD, 620GB Toshiba HDD | Mouse: Steelseries Rival @1000 CPi |  OS: Windows 10 Pro | Phone: iPhone 6S 16GB  
http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/439354-why-nvidia/
 
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-snip-

if this is mostly for gaming i would say go with 8 gb ram and try to get an HHD because since you try to make it futureproof you'll need the extra storage.

 

and please follow your own topic

"Never quote yourself"

        -I need a better name

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Hi all! 

-snip-

Here you go, a few 970 deals that are cheaper. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/b00nprh3p0/geizhals07-21/ref=nosim?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

https://www.alternate.co.uk/ZOTAC/NVIDIA-Geforce-GTX-970-4GB/html/product/1185404?campaign=Graphics+card/ZOTAC/1185404

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-279-MS&campaign=pcm/skinflint-couk&campaign=pcm/skinflint-couk

#RIPTopGear  This is the best thread ever: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/53190-i-can-not-get-hard/ " French meetings are just people sitting in a semi-circle shouting at each other" -Dom Jolly  :lol:

My rig: 

   CPU: Pentium G3258 @ 4.5GHz | GPU: GTX 760 reference | PSU: Corsair RM750 | Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V | Motherboard: Gigabyte B85M D3H | Case: NZXT S340 White | RAM: 8GB EVO Potenza @ 1600MHz | Storage: 3TB Seagate HDD, 60GB OCZ SSD, 620GB Toshiba HDD | Mouse: Steelseries Rival @1000 CPi |  OS: Windows 10 Pro | Phone: iPhone 6S 16GB  
http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/439354-why-nvidia/
 
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Hi all! 

-snip-

 

Also, just get that Gigabyte mothboard for £40 cheaper - motherboards don't really impact anything, performance etc. Conclusion: So unless you have a brand preference get the cheaper one.

#RIPTopGear  This is the best thread ever: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/53190-i-can-not-get-hard/ " French meetings are just people sitting in a semi-circle shouting at each other" -Dom Jolly  :lol:

My rig: 

   CPU: Pentium G3258 @ 4.5GHz | GPU: GTX 760 reference | PSU: Corsair RM750 | Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V | Motherboard: Gigabyte B85M D3H | Case: NZXT S340 White | RAM: 8GB EVO Potenza @ 1600MHz | Storage: 3TB Seagate HDD, 60GB OCZ SSD, 620GB Toshiba HDD | Mouse: Steelseries Rival @1000 CPi |  OS: Windows 10 Pro | Phone: iPhone 6S 16GB  
http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/439354-why-nvidia/
 
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In the middle of reading your post right now. Just gotta say that I've got a link for similar RAM 10 quid cheaper: http://www.unatechnology.co.uk/shop/components-storage-memory-generic-memory/crucial-tracer-16gb-kit-ddr3-1600-led-ob/

Thanks a lot!

 

 

if this is mostly for gaming i would say go with 8 gb ram and try to get an HHD because since you try to make it futureproof you'll need the extra storage.

 

and please follow your own topic

 

I didn't even realise it doesn't auto follow your own posts, thanks for that I'd been refreshing the page every 10 minutes instead haha! 

 

 

 

Will the 0.1GHz difference be a lot or is it minimal? 

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Thanks a lot!

 

 

 

I didn't even realise it doesn't auto follow your own posts, thanks for that I'd been refreshing the page every 10 minutes instead haha! 

 

 

 

Will the 0.1GHz difference be a lot or is it minimal? 

I don't know that much about graphics cards clock speeds. But I don't think it would make that much of a difference, plus you could always overclock.

#RIPTopGear  This is the best thread ever: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/53190-i-can-not-get-hard/ " French meetings are just people sitting in a semi-circle shouting at each other" -Dom Jolly  :lol:

My rig: 

   CPU: Pentium G3258 @ 4.5GHz | GPU: GTX 760 reference | PSU: Corsair RM750 | Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V | Motherboard: Gigabyte B85M D3H | Case: NZXT S340 White | RAM: 8GB EVO Potenza @ 1600MHz | Storage: 3TB Seagate HDD, 60GB OCZ SSD, 620GB Toshiba HDD | Mouse: Steelseries Rival @1000 CPi |  OS: Windows 10 Pro | Phone: iPhone 6S 16GB  
http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/439354-why-nvidia/
 
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Future-proofing isn't possible really. We don't know how demanding games will be in the future. (Look at Witcher 3 for example.) I would always try to get something that would last a couple years at least though.

If you truly want silence, I'd ditch that NEX unit right away. They have horrible voltage regulation, and they also get extremely loud and obnoxious.

16GB is getting cheaper, and I can see getting 16GB. It would last quite a bit long than 8GB as games are starting to use more and more ram. If you don't mind just adding a single stick in the future you could grab a single stick of 8GB.

Don't waste money on drives like Sandisk. If you're going to get an SSD, get a good one. (Such as this: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam)You're also going to need more space more than likely depending on how many games you download. May I recommend a 1TB WD Blue?

That Zalman case seems over-priced.

I'd recommend this PSU instead:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

I don't know how silent the parts I recommended will be, but they're definitely better quality wise. (I haven't studied up on silent parts quite yet. I'm not really knowledgable with it. Keep that in mind.)

PC and Peripherals:

Intel Core i3 4150 @3.5GHz - ASRock H97M Anniversary - Kingston Fury HyperX Black 8GB DDR3 @1866MHz - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 G1 Gaming 2GB GDDR5 - EVGA 500W 80+ Certified - WD Caviar Blue 1TB - WD Caviar Blue 160GB - Lian Li PC-50 - Linux Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS - Acer P221w 21.5" 1680x1050 60Hz - Kingston Fury HyperX Clouds - Razer Deathadder 3.5G - CM Storm Quickfire Rapid w/ Cherry MX Blues

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If you truly want silence, I'd ditch that NEX unit right away. They have horrible voltage regulation, and they also get extremely loud and obnoxious.

I'd recommend this PSU instead:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

I don't know how silent the parts I recommended will be, but they're definitely better quality wise. (I haven't studied up on silent parts quite yet. I'm not really knowledgable with it. Keep that in mind.)

 

I think I'll stick with the corsair PSU or change to the one you recommended, although I do like the modular PSUs.

 

Don't waste money on drives like Sandisk. If you're going to get an SSD, get a good one. (Such as this: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam)You're also going to need more space more than likely depending on how many games you download. May I recommend a 1TB WD Blue?

That Zalman case seems over-priced.

 

 

I see the Samsung SSDs on sale a lot so I may switch to that and wait for a sale, it'll be a month or two before I purchase the parts so who knows

 

What rough price would you spend on a case or what case would you recommend? The opening vent gimmick for me made me pick that one along with the idea that I'd spray paint it in the colours of The Flash. The other case I was looking at was the Corsair Vengeance C70 or the NZXT Phantom 410

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I think I'll stick with the corsair PSU or change to the one you recommended, although I do like the modular PSUs.

 

 

If you want modular, get this: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1650xxxb9- a few quid more for a better PSU with longer warranty

i5 4670k - Z87X-UD3H - EVGA GTX 670 Sig 2 - Samsung 840 Evo 250GB - 8GB Avexir Core White 1600Mhz - Corsair 750D w/ RGB LED Mod & Remote Control - 2x SP120 - 3x Enermax Cluster - 2TB Seagate SSHD - Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 - SuperFlower Leadex Gold 750W 

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I think I'll stick with the corsair PSU or change to the one you recommended, although I do like the modular PSUs.

I see the Samsung SSDs on sale a lot so I may switch to that and wait for a sale, it'll be a month or two before I purchase the parts so who knows

What rough price would you spend on a case or what case would you recommend? The opening vent gimmick for me made me pick that one along with the idea that I'd spray paint it in the colours of The Flash. The other case I was looking at was the Corsair Vengeance C70 or the NZXT Phantom 410

I haven't checked compatability or anything like that so I can't fully recommend it, (I'd check how everything will do first.) but I'd try looking into an NZXT S340 or something along the lines of that. Beautiful roomy case for its price.

PC and Peripherals:

Intel Core i3 4150 @3.5GHz - ASRock H97M Anniversary - Kingston Fury HyperX Black 8GB DDR3 @1866MHz - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 G1 Gaming 2GB GDDR5 - EVGA 500W 80+ Certified - WD Caviar Blue 1TB - WD Caviar Blue 160GB - Lian Li PC-50 - Linux Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS - Acer P221w 21.5" 1680x1050 60Hz - Kingston Fury HyperX Clouds - Razer Deathadder 3.5G - CM Storm Quickfire Rapid w/ Cherry MX Blues

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All I'm going to say is that I would kill for that GPU.

 
  • AMD Athlon X4 760K CPU   |   MSI FM2+ ATX A88X-G45 Motherboard   |   8GB 1600MHz RAM   |   MSI GTX 760 GPU (Reference)
  • Thermaltake Versa H22 Case   |   1TB Seagate, 0.5TB Hitachi (7200RPM)   |   ArcticRed+ 700WStock    |   Windows 8.1

 

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