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Fickle about first build

Hi. I'm looking to build my first desktop PC after my daily driver (a 2012 Core i5-2400m Asus laptop) gave up the ghost recently. Since I do not carry my laptop to work and school anymore, I have decided to go for a desktop. While aiming to keep the build budget at around SGD 1000 (or about USD 736 as of 11th Sept 2016), I hope to keep the price as low as possible for just the components. I have decided to restrict my purchases to local PC parts shops and not buy any components online (cost of components and delivery are similar to prices in-store).

 

 I live in Singapore now and thus pricing will primarily be in SGD.

 

I hope this build can help achieve a few things:

 

(1) be future-proof (be sufficient for my users for the next 5 years, at least).

(2) run Windows 10 and my oft-used apps smoothly (which, to my pleasant surprise, the ol' laptop managed to do).

(3) allow for single/ multi-component upgrades and repairs (relating to point (1)).

 

The following is the list of applications that run almost weekly on my computer, ranked most often to least used (excluding Internet browsers):

 

(1) Microsoft Office apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Sway - daily

(2) Imaging: Lightroom, Photoshop - 2x weekly; I do a bit of amateur photography in my free time

(3) Gaming: League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm (with plans to run current triple-A titles at and average of at least 30 fps, 1080p occasionally; MOBAs for social reasons) - weekly

(4) 3D: Sketchup, Revit, Sculptris - fortnightly; daily if there are projects

(5) Statistical: SPSS - monthly; every other day when there's data to process

(6) Audio: Adobe Audition - 4-monthly?

 

I felt that my old laptop handled those apps fairly satisfactorily with the above processor and 6 GB of RAM. However, this build also serves as an opportunity to learn about PC-building, which I wanted to do for a long time. After some reading, I decided on the following parts:

 

- CPU: Core i5-6500 (2.7 - 3.3 GHz)

- M/B: H170-based board (brand, model and form factor to be decided later, but would prefer an ITX or micro-ATX board to make moving between houses easy)

- RAM: 8 GB (4GB x 2) DDR4 2133 MHz RAM

- Storage: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SATA (I already have a 2.5" 500GB HDD that I intend to use and migrate Windows 10 from)

- PSU: Seasonic M12II 520W 80+ Bronze (Modular) or Corsair CX550M 500W 80+ Bronze (Modular)

- Case: either micro-ATX or ITX, open to suggestion

- Graphics: optional purchase. May purchase one when I decide to play a triple-A game. If anything, it should be a 2GB GTX 950 or 4GB RX 460. Again, open to suggestions.

 

I use one monitor now and am very satisfied, but I plan to add an additional unit some time in the future. 

 

There were other options to consider as well, and I will need your help to answer some questions:

 

- Is future-proofing really a valid concept and is it realistic? This thing about future-proofing was brought about by some of my experienced relatives and friends. I found that my entry level laptop met my needs was alright although it began to show signs of age. 

- Should I downgrade to an LGA 1150-based chip like the i5-4590? It seems to offer similar performance to the i5-6500. Conversely, should I choose something slightly better like the i5-6600 (non-K)? Or is something like the i5-6400 enough?

- If I decide to stick with an LGA 1151-based CPU, should I go a tier higher and get a Z170 board? I am not sure if a Z170 board is necessary for future RAM upgrades with higher clock speeds (my laptop RAM had a clock speed of 1066 MHz). Or if I should even consider higher RAM speeds in the future (if I restrict my CPU to the i5). What about B150 boards?

- Should I go for branded cases (such as those from Cooler Master or Phanteks) or will lesser-known ones be adequate (e.g. Vios, Tecware)?

- Should I even consider migrating files between hard drives or just buy a copy of Windows 10 Home?

 

I am currently in a slight hurry to put one together so prompt replies are greatly appreciated. The tentative deadline is 2 October. 

 

Thanks!

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

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I would stay with the Skylake chip that you have chosen, unless you would like to get an unlocked SKU. A z170 board is not necessary for what you want to accomplish, and RAM frequency isn't as big of a deal as people think it is. You want to find a balance of frequency and latency, which Linus made a video about here. I would also stick to branded cases, just due to my bad experiences with non branded ones. If you are trying to save money though, they are usually fine, just find some reviews online. If you are going to buy a copy of Windows 10, I would get Pro off of Kinguin.net for much cheaper than MS would charge.

Hope this helps!

Nate

Please quote me if you are replying so that I get a notification. Also, mark my answer as "correct" if I've answered your question :)

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Thanks for your opinion and the link, Nate! They helped. I have not done enough research to know about Kinguin.net so that is telling.

 

Mark

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Generally speaking...

1) Downgrade the mobo chipset to B150, and make RAM capacity higher like 16GB. B150 and H170 has no critical difference.

2) Seasonic PSU is way better than Corsair's.

3) Usually bigger size is easy to upgrade and repair, so choose micro-ATX. Actually mini-ITX mobo costs more money than micro-ATX or ATX.

4) For VGA, I recommend GTX 1060 considering graphics-concentrated tasks like Adobes or 3Ds.

5) Because you are considering upgrade availability, I suggest not to choose LGA1150 based system.

6) You don't have to go for Z170 AT ALL. RAM clocks are only crucial when it comes to the iGPU.

7) If case is thick enough, it will be fine. I mean not width, but the steel itself.

8) If you have a valid license of Windows 7 or 8/8.1, you can upgrade those to Windows 10 and earn 10's license.

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8 minutes ago, markchui said:

 I live in Singapore now and thus pricing will primarily be in SGD.

 

Eyy, a local. Let me do up a build for you tmr, just got off my pc :P

 

9 minutes ago, markchui said:

 

 

- Should I downgrade to an LGA 1150-based chip like the i5-4590? It seems to offer similar performance to the i5-6500. Conversely, should I choose something slightly better like the i5-6600 (non-K)? Or is something like the i5-6400 enough?

- If I decide to stick with an LGA 1151-based CPU, should I go a tier higher and get a Z170 board? I am not sure if a Z170 board is necessary for future RAM upgrades with higher clock speeds (my laptop RAM had a clock speed of 1066 MHz). Or if I should even consider higher RAM speeds in the future (if I restrict my CPU to the i5). What about B150 boards?

- Should I go for branded cases (such as those from Cooler Master or Phanteks) or will lesser-known ones be adequate (e.g. Vios, Tecware)?

- Should I even consider migrating files between hard drives or just buy a copy of Windows 10 Home?

 

I am currently in a slight hurry to put one together so prompt replies are greatly appreciated. The tentative deadline is 2 October. 

 

Thanks!

 

Mark

 

 

 

 

For your tasks, an i7 or equivalent xeon would be better than an i5, i'd recommend that if possible, but an i5 is still fine.

Just get a h110/b150 board. A z170 is too expensive for your pc.

Tecware cases are great for the money, very highly recommended. Vios cases are junk and should be only for very low budget pcs.

If your windows key is a retail key then you can just install windows and it'll work fine.if its an OEM cd-key then you'll need to get a new one.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Heatsink: Gelid Phantom Black GPU: Palit RTX 3060 Ti Dual RAM: Corsair DDR4 2x8GB 3000Mhz mobo: Asus X570-P case: Fractal Design Define C PSU: Superflower Leadex Gold 650W

 

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1 minute ago, PenPoint said:

Generally speaking...

1) Downgrade the mobo chipset to B150, and make RAM capacity higher like 16GB. B150 and H170 has no critical difference.

2) Seasonic PSU is way better than Corsair's.

3) Usually bigger size is easy to upgrade and repair, so choose micro-ATX. Actually mini-ITX mobo costs more money than micro-ATX or ATX.

4) For VGA, I recommend GTX 1060 considering graphics-concentrated tasks like Adobes or 3Ds.

5) Because you are considering upgrade availability, I suggest not to choose LGA1150 based system.

6) You don't have to go for Z170 AT ALL. RAM clocks are only crucial when it comes to the iGPU.

7) If case is thick enough, it will be fine. I mean not width, but the steel itself.

8) If you have a valid license of Windows 7 or 8/8.1, you can upgrade those to Windows 10 and earn 10's license.

Thanks, PenPoint! I think I will be getting a micro-ATX board and case, then. Will look them up but I have been recommended the Cooler Master N200. Will that do or should I stretch my budget a little more for a slightly better case? That question is open to all.

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future proofing is defenetly a thing, but your build for your purposes is pretty future proof.

 

the i5 6500 has really good value, it's basically the same as a 4690.

 

no, just go with the cheapest you can't find, (from a trusted brand) as a z170 is more for overclocking the cup and ram. 

Ram speed does not matter much at all (unless you are using the igpu.

2133 ddr4 is what you want if you are buying 1151

 

with cases the brand doesn't really matter that much, but you should watch a review of the case first so you know it's not some plastic pile of trash.

 

if you are migrating from the hardisk you might still have to buy another key

( I think they changed something with Windows 10) but I am not 100% sure so you would have to look that up.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, markchui said:

Thanks, PenPoint! I think I will be getting a micro-ATX board and case, then. Will look them up but I have been recommended the Cooler Master N200. Will that do or should I stretch my budget a little more for a slightly better case? That question is open to all.

I looked up domestic review website and found out that N200 is okay. So go for it!

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8 minutes ago, Christopher_ said:

future proofing is defenetly a thing, but your build for your purposes is pretty future proof.

 

the i5 6500 has really good value, it's basically the same as a 4690.

 

no, just go with the cheapest you can't find, (from a trusted brand) as a z170 is more for overclocking the cup and ram. 

Ram speed does not matter much at all (unless you are using the igpu.

2133 ddr4 is what you want if you are buying 1151

 

with cases the brand doesn't really matter that much, but you should watch a review of the case first so you know it's not some plastic pile of trash.

 

if you are migrating from the hardisk you might still have to buy another key

( I think they changed something with Windows 10) but I am not 100% sure so you would have to look that up.

 

 

Thanks, Christopher. The list of components I put together actually fits nicely under my budget, with some wiggle room for additional peripherals or a copy of Windows 10 here in S'pore. Your input was still useful!

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8 minutes ago, markchui said:

Thanks, PenPoint! I think I will be getting a micro-ATX board and case, then. Will look them up but I have been recommended the Cooler Master N200. Will that do or should I stretch my budget a little more for a slightly better case? That question is open to all.

Its nice, but the tecware F3 will be better. Good looks and great price of $39.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Heatsink: Gelid Phantom Black GPU: Palit RTX 3060 Ti Dual RAM: Corsair DDR4 2x8GB 3000Mhz mobo: Asus X570-P case: Fractal Design Define C PSU: Superflower Leadex Gold 650W

 

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From SGPCmart.com

Mu6uNi8.png

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Crapware | 4670k | Hyper212X | GSkill RipjawsX 16GB | Sapphire R9 280x VaporX | 840EVO 120GB | 1TB BLACK + BLUE

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Not a single one of the hundreds of us ever use SGpcmart for pc builds :D

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Heatsink: Gelid Phantom Black GPU: Palit RTX 3060 Ti Dual RAM: Corsair DDR4 2x8GB 3000Mhz mobo: Asus X570-P case: Fractal Design Define C PSU: Superflower Leadex Gold 650W

 

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4 minutes ago, antisleep said:

From SGPCmart.com

Mu6uNi8.png

Thanks, antisleep. I did notice, however, that you suggested taking the 2400 MHz Vengeance. If I am not mistaken, the H110M only supports DDR4 speeds of up to 2133 MHz only, making that purchase a waste. Is that true?

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Just now, markchui said:

Thanks, antisleep. I did notice, however, that you suggested taking the 2400 MHz Vengeance. If I am not mistaken, the H110M only supports DDR4 speeds of up to 2133 MHz only, making that purchase a waste. Is that true?

It will work, but will be downclocked to 2133Mhz - the performance won't be noticeable. Also it's the cheapest available 16gb ram in that store.

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4 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

Not a single one of the hundreds of us ever use SGpcmart for pc builds :D

Haha, why so? Also, I based my budget on Fuwell prices after positive recommendations and scouring forums. Heard that PCThemes also offers similar prices but had mixed reviews. Alas, I am new to this so I would not mind having more insights.

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1 minute ago, antisleep said:

It will work, but will be downclocked to 2133Mhz - the performance won't be noticeable. Also it's the cheapest available 16gb ram in that store.

Ah, I see. I have not been on that site yet.

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3 minutes ago, markchui said:

Haha, why so? Also, I based my budget on Fuwell prices after positive recommendations and scouring forums. Heard that PCThemes also offers similar prices but had mixed reviews. Alas, I am new to this so I would not mind having more insights.

All of us use sim lim pricelists, never once did i see anyone use SGpcmart. Use pcthemes, they're very friendly. Fuwell is best for regulars.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Heatsink: Gelid Phantom Black GPU: Palit RTX 3060 Ti Dual RAM: Corsair DDR4 2x8GB 3000Mhz mobo: Asus X570-P case: Fractal Design Define C PSU: Superflower Leadex Gold 650W

 

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Also, I have read reviews on the H110M being flimsy compared to other LGA1151. Anyone else has experience with this board?

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3 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

All of us use sim lim pricelists, never once did i see anyone use SGpcmart.

Hehe... I'm actually Malaysian but will be stationed in S'pore for at least 6 years. :)

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5 minutes ago, markchui said:

Also, I have read reviews on the H110M being flimsy compared to other LGA1151. Anyone else has experience with this board?

Never heard of this before.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Heatsink: Gelid Phantom Black GPU: Palit RTX 3060 Ti Dual RAM: Corsair DDR4 2x8GB 3000Mhz mobo: Asus X570-P case: Fractal Design Define C PSU: Superflower Leadex Gold 650W

 

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1 minute ago, herman mcpootis said:

All of us use sim lim pricelists, never once did i see anyone use SGpcmart.

You're making it sound like not going with SGpcmart would save him hundreds of SGD.

 

Let's see your list then mr local man. Judging by how smug you sound it better be under 800.

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Crapware | 4670k | Hyper212X | GSkill RipjawsX 16GB | Sapphire R9 280x VaporX | 840EVO 120GB | 1TB BLACK + BLUE

Logitech G102 | Corsair K70 MX Brown | HyperX Cloud

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33 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

Eyy, a local. Let me do up a build for you tmr, just got off my pc :P

 

For your tasks, an i7 or equivalent xeon would be better than an i5, i'd recommend that if possible, but an i5 is still fine.

Just get a h110/b150 board. A z170 is too expensive for your pc.

Tecware cases are great for the money, very highly recommended. Vios cases are junk and should be only for very low budget pcs.

If your windows key is a retail key then you can just install windows and it'll work fine.if its an OEM cd-key then you'll need to get a new one.

Either way, herman, thanks for offering to set up a build but don't let it be an obligation, eh? :D I use Sculptris and Revit casually, and found that the old HD 3000 ran them at a rather comfortable average of 20 fps (with only few occassions of freezing). Haha the ol' laptop had a 610m which I hardly used.

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5 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

Never heard of this before.

Haha aight. To be fair, it was only one post I glanced on tomshardware and I forgot to take a screenshot or save the link. :/ 

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11 minutes ago, antisleep said:

You're making it sound like not going with SGpcmart would save him hundreds of SGD.

 

Let's see your list then mr local man. Judging by how smug you sound it better be under 800.

Here you go, antisleep. The prices are all in SGD, and may change. I noticed price declines in some parts after comparing Fuwell's 4th Sept and 10th Sept prices. Let's try to keep this post clean? :)



Fuwell: http://www.fuwell.com.sg/uploads/misc/Fuwell100916.pdf 
PCThemes: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jkxeho7zgvpsnk4/AACr-UH6WqeapkbVF86Fjw0pa/Pc Theme Pricelist.pdf?dl=0 

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12 minutes ago, markchui said:

Here you go, antisleep. The prices are all in SGD, and may change. I noticed price declines in some parts after comparing Fuwell's 4th Sept and 10th Sept prices.

Fuwell: http://www.fuwell.com.sg/uploads/misc/Fuwell100916.pdf 
PCThemes: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jkxeho7zgvpsnk4/AACr-UH6WqeapkbVF86Fjw0pa/Pc Theme Pricelist.pdf?dl=0 

With Fuwell my build totaled $981

PCThemes = $971

 

Whadaya know, not even $100 difference.

 

They do offer wider array of selections and bundles which are great but to make it sound like you're getting ripped off extremely when buying somewhere else is a piece of shit move, especially when he's aware I'm not from SG.

 

Besides, prices are more accurate with parts chosen from any random local store than making a $700 USD pcpartpicker list.

 

Disclaimer to mods(just in case): I clearly didn't start this shit ayt, was just trying to help someone out when he showed up all smug with his *local* knowledge.

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Crapware | 4670k | Hyper212X | GSkill RipjawsX 16GB | Sapphire R9 280x VaporX | 840EVO 120GB | 1TB BLACK + BLUE

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