First build - okay? not okay?

[JConover]

I live in Florida, USA and I'm looking to spend about 850USD on my first ever system build. I'm willing to deviate from that price, but no more than 900USD. I plan to buy the components separately, but I still don't earn much, so the budget remains. I also want to start out relatively small and simple so I can see a marked improvement when it's time to upgrade. With my budget, I need time to plan out purchases, and I do not expect to have the system fully assembled before 2017.

 

I am currently doing my gaming on a first generation HP Envy Touchsmart 15" ultrabook, so it should be quite obvious why I'm finally looking to upgrade. I mostly play World of Warships and World of Tanks, but I'd love to get into some more in-depth games that don't suck me dry on time.

 

I use an older Dell USB keyboard (the one you see everywhere), a Logitech wireless optical mouse, Logitech 2.1 speakers (which are amazing quality for $30), and a Samsung SyncMaster S23B550 monitor hooked up via HDMI. Peripherals-wise, I'm not in need of anything new at this moment. I can deal with what I have for a while. I am only using one monitor for this system because I don't really need more for my first system build.

 

Here is a list of what I've picked using all the research I could find:

 

 

CPU - Intel i5-6500

CPU Coller - Hyper 212 EVO

Motherboard - Asus B150 PRO D3

RAM - G.Skill Ares 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600

Storage - WD Blue 1TB 7200RPM

GPU - MSI GTX 1060 3GB

Case - NZXT S340 (Black)

PSU - EVGA 650W semi-modular (80+ Gold)

 

Operating System - Windows 10 Home 64-bit

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/J.Conover/saved/xrZxrH

 

I have chosen Intel and Nvidia because I have had fantastic experiences with them in the past, and I have heard a few people say they are more efficient than competitors in terms of power usage, which is a bit important to me; I don't like hot, inefficient tech. Any advice or input into this setup would be much appreciated. For individual components, I'd prefer to keep any price changes close to the prices on my list.

 

Aesthetics is kind of important to me. I don't want the thing looking like a steaming pile of crap, or be covered in gaudy, ridiculous colored plastic, so my chosen case is non-negotiable. I want a mature, classy look. I have high but realistic standards.

[Guest]

*waiting for people to comment multiple times on getting a skylake instead of haswell*

 

Yes get a 6th gen skylake

16GB for starter is overkill

 

you don't need a cooler. 4590 already have stock cooler

[IBM_THINKPAD_R51]

You should have an SSD as you System Disk and keep the Hard Drive as secondary storage.

Or get a high capacity SSD as your only drive. 

[iamawesome]

1 minute ago, IBM_THINKPAD_R51 said:

You should have an SSD as you System Disk and keep the Hard Drive as secondary storage.

Or get a high capacity SSD as your only drive. 

I would not recommend ssd as your only drive because they are not cheap per gb

[JConover]

1 minute ago, IBM_THINKPAD_R51 said:

You should have an SSD as you System Disk and keep the Hard Drive as secondary storage.

Or get a high capacity SSD as your only drive. 

I planned on purchasing one at a slightly later date, once everything is complete.

[IBM_THINKPAD_R51]

@iamawesome True, but it is an option.

[BurntNewt]

is this going to just be for gaming or are you also looking to edit on it 

[JConover]

3 minutes ago, dexxterlab97 said:

*waiting for people to comment multiple times on getting a skylake instead of haswell*

 

Yes get a 6th gen skylake

16GB for starter is overkill

 

you don't need a cooler. 4590 already have stock cooler

16GB is not that much, and it should give me room to upgrade other components along the way. Also, there is no way I'm using a stock cooler when I can get something far better for $25.

[JConover]

Just now, BurntNewt said:

is this going to just be for gaming or are you also looking to edit on it 

Mostly gaming, maybe dabble in minor editing someday.

[Guest]

If you insist on after market cooler and NVIDIA gpu this one is far better. I also keep 16GB of RAM and red themed for you

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($198.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus B150 PRO GAMING/AURA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($91.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($69.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GAMING X Video Card  ($299.88 @ OutletPC) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.89 @ Newegg) 
Total: $783.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-06 21:53 EDT-0400

[RangerLunis]

Like you said, that SSD is a great idea, be sure to upgrade with one at a later time. One recommendation: switch that 960 for a new rx470, its a bit cheaper and more powerful if not mistaken, it's considered the best 1080p gaming gpu at the moment allowing you to play on ultra just above 60fps in most games. Other than that great job, 16gb of ram is in no way overkill in my opinion as applications are continuing to utilize more and more of it. Great job

[Hero7750]

Go 1060 or 480 over the 960

[BurntNewt]

1 minute ago, JConover said:

Mostly gaming, maybe dabble in minor editing someday.

if its for mostly gaming you really only need 8gb of ram unless your doing hardcore gaming also you only need a 550 watt power supply and if your willing to spend 50 extra dollars you can get a gtx 970 4gb 

[Shiv78]

5 minutes ago, dexxterlab97 said:

If you insist on after market cooler and NVIDIA gpu this one is far better. I also keep 16GB of RAM and red themed for you

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($198.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus B150 PRO GAMING/AURA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($91.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($69.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GAMING X Video Card  ($299.88 @ OutletPC) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.89 @ Newegg) 
Total: $783.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-06 21:53 EDT-0400

No offense to OP, but this is a MUCH better config and you might be able to squeeze in a 120 or 240 gig boot ssd!

 

EDIT: 1060 BLASTS the 960 out of the water. 1060 is on par with or very close to a 980 in terms of performance.

Edited September 7, 2016 by Shiv78

[JConover]

4 minutes ago, dexxterlab97 said:

If you insist on after market cooler and NVIDIA gpu this one is far better. I also keep 16GB of RAM and red themed for you

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($198.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus B150 PRO GAMING/AURA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($91.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($69.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GAMING X Video Card  ($299.88 @ OutletPC) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.89 @ Newegg) 
Total: $783.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-06 21:53 EDT-0400

With a case and OS, that build goes over the upper limit of my budget. I do like the i5-6500. Don't know how I skimmed over that. I'll make some changes real quick. Thank you for the input.

[RangerLunis]

1 minute ago, Shiv78 said:

No offense to OP, but this is a MUCH better config and you might be able to squeeze in a 120 or 240 gig boot ssd!

No case however?

[JConover]

Just now, RangerLunis said:

No case however?

Or OS. Kinda need an OS to use the darn thing... I noticed it, though.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, JConover said:

With a case and OS, that build goes over the upper limit of my budget. I do like the i5-6500. Don't know how I skimmed over that. I'll make some changes real quick. Thank you for the input.

Well you can try this. I left 40-ish bucks for a cheap case

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.88 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus B150 PRO GAMING/AURA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($91.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($69.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($259.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.89 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($88.88 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $812.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-06 22:00 EDT-0400

[BurntNewt]

2 minutes ago, JConover said:

Or OS. Kinda need an OS to use the darn thing... I noticed it, though.

if you have an old laptop hard drive with an os you can use it in a 2.5 bay as a boot drive it will be slower than a 3.5 though 

[Juanse]

22 minutes ago, JConover said:

I live in Florida, USA and I'm looking to spend about 850USD on my first ever system build. I'm willing to deviate from that price, but no more than 900USD. I plan to buy the components separately, but I still don't earn much, so the budget remains. I also want to start out small and simple so I can see a marked improvement when it's time to upgrade. With my budget, I need time to plan out purchases, and I do not expect to have the system fully assembled before 2017.

 

I am currently doing my gaming on a first generation HP Envy Touchsmart 15" ultrabook, so it should be quite obvious why I'm finally looking to upgrade. I mostly play World of Warships and World of Tanks, but I'd love to get into some more in-depth games that don't suck me dry on time.

 

I use an older Dell USB keyboard (the one you see everywhere), a Logitech wireless optical mouse, Logitech 2.1 speakers (which are amazing quality for $30), and a Samsung SyncMaster S23B550 monitor hooked up via HDMI. Peripherals-wise, I'm not in need of anything new at this moment. I can deal with what I have for a while. I am only using one monitor for this system because I don't really need more for my first system build.

 

Here is a list of what I've picked using all the research I could find:

 

 

CPU - Intel i5-4590

CPU Coller - Hyper 212 EVO

Motherboard - MSI Z97 PCMATE ATX LGA1150

RAM - Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866

Storage - WD Blue 1TB 7200RPM

GPU - MSI GTX 960 2GB

Case - NZXT S340 (Black)

PSU - SeaSonic 650W semi-modular (80+ Gold)

 

Operating System - Windows 10 Home 64-bit

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Gq678K

 

I have chosen Intel and Nvidia because I have had fantastic experiences with them in the past, and I have heard a few people say they are more efficient than competitors in terms of power usage, which is a bit important to me; I don't like hot, inefficient tech. Any advice or input into this setup would be much appreciated. For individual components, I'd prefer to keep any price changes close to the prices on my list.

Î'd go for 8gb of ram

Go skylake

No need of CPU cooler if not OCing

Wait for the 1060 to go in stock

[JConover]

Just now, BurntNewt said:

if you have an old laptop hard drive with an os you can use it in a 2.5 bay as a boot drive

I didn't know that. I don't have one lying around, but that's really helpful to know. Thanks!

[NoRomanBatmansAllowed]

1 minute ago, BurntNewt said:

if you have an old laptop hard drive with an os you can use it in a 2.5 bay as a boot drive

If it's OEM (which it probably is) it probably won't work.

 

 

@JConover You're gonna have to find a cheap OS somewhere.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, JConover said:

I didn't know that. I don't have one lying around, but that's really helpful to know. Thanks!

Get Ubuntu for free. It has Steam support too. 

[NoRomanBatmansAllowed]

1 minute ago, dexxterlab97 said:

Get Ubuntu for free. It has Steam support too. 

Supporting steam isn't the problem. The problem is that the vast majority of games on steam don't support Linux. Plus the learning curve for Linux (even a simple one like ubuntu) can be killer.

[JConover]

Keep in mind, everyone, my budget is there for a reason. I don't want a cheapo case that looks ridiculous. I prefer classy, more mature design, and the S340 is one of the most popular cases on the market. And I need an OS to use the darn computer at all, and I refuse to use the nearly outdated Windows 7, so that only leaves 10 (which I have had fantastic experiences with, by the way).