Part Suggestions

[Marzchu]

In my 'current' build I have a Core i7-4770 with a generic cooler, MSI RX 570 Armor OC 4GB, 2x4GB of generic green Samsung DDR3 RAM at 1600MHz, WD Blue 1TB, Lenovo K450's blue and green motherboard, the K450's case and Thermaltake Smart 600W 80+ White.

 

I'm aiming for a white and black build.

 

What kind of a motherboard should I use for my CPU? Or should I just upgrade to LGA 1151 or AM4? Do you have any suggestions? H81 and H87 seems to be the only options; Z87 does exist but I'm using a non-overclockable CPU. Looks are the 'thing'; I am mainly gaming..

 

My RAM of choice could be Black HyperX Fury 1600MHz. There are tons of black and white ATX cases in Finland (well, Europe). SSD choice could be an 860 EVO 250GB.

 

Any ideas?

 

This is my first post here, so please forgive me.

[BigRom]

Location Finland I guess, budget? Use case (gaming, workstation etc.)? Need peripherals (mouse, keyboard, monitor etc) included in the budget?

[Marzchu]

Location: Finland

Budget: around 200€, (around 220 USD). Focuses on the motherboard and the case. More RAM and SSD can be added later if staying on the DDR3 line?

Use case: Mainly gaming, possibly streaming in the future

Peripherals: Done already. (keyboard, headphones, monitor, mouse, mousepad)

[trevb0t]

34 minutes ago, Marzchu said:

Location: Finland

Budget: around 200€, (around 220 USD). Focuses on the motherboard and the case. More RAM and SSD can be added later if staying on the DDR3 line?

Use case: Mainly gaming, possibly streaming in the future

Peripherals: Done already. (keyboard, headphones, monitor, mouse, mousepad)

To clarify, you're wanting to change out parts to make the build fit a black and white color scheme?

[Boinbo]

Nzxt H500 or any of the phanteks P series will have that sleek black and or white look. As for the motherboard, I'll let someone else help you with that. I'm not sure really which to pick

 

[trevb0t]

MOBO might be hard, since these are older parts. I'm not sure what the ebay situation is in Finland. That said, here's a great black and white MOBO option for your 4770k.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/CwPzK8/msi-motherboard-z97sslikraitedition

 

For the case, the popular B&W option is the H500, since it looks really nice and neat. The airflow isn't spectacular, though it's not horrible either.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/tpVD4D/nzxt-h500-white-atx-mid-tower-case-ca-h500b-w1

 

Between those two parts, you're likely over 200E.

Realistically, I would look at enhancing your performance out of your chip, since it's the nicest piece in your build.

Look around on the local market at Z97 series boards, and see what you can find at a decent price. (We are talking used parts.) Come back with what you find, and we will let you know if your options are good, or a pass. (Feel free to tag me!)

 

That said, once a decent MOBO is laid out, grab a solid cooler, and a case that will fit it. 

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/PnPKHx/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-cpu-cooler-acfre00061a

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/YhzZxr/fractal-design-focus-g-white-atx-mid-tower-case-fd-ca-focus-wt-w

 

Solid MOBO + solid cooler + solid airflow case = Ready to start overclocking that CPU to get really nice gaming performance!

 

Note: The SMART series PSUs aren't great. You may look at upgrading to something like a Corsair CX series sometime, especially if maybe you can return that one still.

[Marzchu]

18 hours ago, trevb0t said:

To clarify, you're wanting to change out parts to make the build fit a black and white color scheme?

Exactly.

 

Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO looks nice and costs only 39.90€ at Jimm's PC Store (around 45 USD); affordable and seems to be the kind of cooler that I could use (design- and color scheme-wise). No questions about that.

 

Case: That NZXT H500 looks also pretty nice; however, it costs 84.90€ (around 95 USD). Few things: Is it worth the money? I mean, it has all the necessary, but I guess I could look for something similar, but for more affordable price. Used cases are not a problem in the mainstream AND used market. That said, the Fractal Design Focus G costs roughly 50€ (55 USD) which feels a bit more "safe" and fits into the budget. Also, I did not confirm about the NZXT case but FD's case has white LED fans. Focus G's only problem is the front pattern; H500 is just plain white, which looks better in my opinion.

 

Kolink Stronghold is a case I found at the Jimm's PC Store for around 45€ (50 USD). H500 still looks better.

 

Motherboard: I checked around used market for some H81, H87, Z87 and Z97 boards. The Z97S SLI Krait Edition fits the white and black color scheme. Thing is, it seems to be a bit rare around my location; eBay and Finnish auction sites are options, where I might find it. GIGABYTE GA-H87-HD3 (or DH3 or D3H, there seems be different revisions of the same board...) seems to be relatively common at eBay; aforementioned motherboard is still possible to find at Finland's used market, too. The reason I thought about GA-H87-HD3 is its availability, price and it looks pretty nice (well it is gray...): MSI's board is a bit pricey, rare and requires K processor to get most value out of, but has the "required" color scheme; it seems to be a waste if used with a non-K CPU... I will continue searching.

 

My processor is the non-K Core i7-4770 4-Core 3.4GHz (Sorry for not specifying). I don't think it is worth it to upgrade from 4770 to 4790K; if I can find it cheap, then yes, but replacing Processor and overclocking it AND Graphics Card may need new power supply like a Corsair CX.

 

[trevb0t]

22 minutes ago, Marzchu said:

My processor is the non-K Core i7-4770 4-Core 3.4GHz (Sorry for not specifying). I don't think it is worth it to upgrade from 4770 to 4790K; if I can find it cheap, then yes, but replacing Processor and overclocking it AND Graphics Card may need new power supply like a Corsair CX.

My apologies, for some reason I thought you had the unlocked chip. Yeah, the GA-H87-HD3 may be a solid enough option considering an overclock isn't a factor to be considered.

25 minutes ago, Marzchu said:

Design Focus G costs roughly 50€ (55 USD) which feels a bit more "safe"

It's a well built case with 2 intakes and an exhaust included. My only issue with it is a lack of a PSU cage. Aesthetically I personally have issues with that.

BitFenix has a slough of clean white cases at a lower/midrange price point. May be some leads there. Though I'm unsure about fan inclusion. A 3 pack of reasonable case fans shouldn't cost too much over the top.

 

 

My only issue with this picture is that we are putting 200 Euros into aesthetic upgrade for a locked 4th gen chip. 

At that point, save your 200, save another few hundred, sell what you've got for a couple more hundred, and let's build anew!

[Marzchu]

On 7/26/2019 at 9:03 AM, trevb0t said:

My only issue with this picture is that we are putting 200 Euros into aesthetic upgrade for a locked 4th gen chip. 

200€ is only a magical, imaginary value which is a cap which works as a "maximum" cap. It can be 150 or 100. Cutting corners is not a real problem. 

 

On 7/26/2019 at 9:03 AM, trevb0t said:

BitFenix has a slough of clean white cases at a lower/midrange price point.

BitFenix Nova series caught my attention: some cases do include fans; if a case does not, separate fans can be bought which are not expensive. PSU cage is not a deal-breaker for me personally.

 

I will start searching different sites and sales for parts mentioned in the topic. Thanks.

[trevb0t]

12 hours ago, Marzchu said:

PSU cage is not a deal-breaker for me personally.

Then grab the Focus G. Airflow / fan inclusion-wise it's a great option.

 

A few other white options I really like (pricing... idk. You could look out for sales if you like one especially. I love the Meshify series.)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/BBrmP6/fractal-design-meshify-c-white-tg-atx-mid-tower-case-fd-ca-mesh-c-wt-tgc

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JGjJ7P/cooler-master-mastercase-h500p-mesh-white-atx-mid-tower-case-mcm-h500p-wgnn-s00

 

Quote

if a case does not, separate fans can be bought which are not expensive.

I grabbed a 3 pack of Cooler Master RGB fans with a controller for $30 on an amazon sale. Solid set! There are sets of off-brand stuff for like $12. The quality of airflow and noise factor are unknowns though.