Uni Student Build

[Mudgee1994]

Hello people of Linustechtips.

 

I bought my case earlier last year (2013) which has unfortunately been sitting unloved until recently. The case is a Thermaltake Chaser Mk-1 and is currently housing my dad's old computer parts which are about 5 years old. As a Uni student (studying mechanical engineering) it can be quite hard to aquire money to build a computer that will not need upgrading for some time. So in my down time I have come up with a list of parts (with the help of Linus' vids) that should do the job just nicely.

 

A brief description of my dad's parts:

Core 2 Quad Q6600

Asus P5N-D

4Gig DDRII Kingston budget Ram

2x nvidia 9800GT's (ECS branding)

Cheap D-link network card 

Soundblaster Xfi extreme

1200W Shaw power supply

 

Anyway, now that I've been saving a bit of money up from my job at Aldi I've come up with a list of parts that I think ought to do the job for a 'sort-of' budget range PC.

 

Parts List includes:

- MSI G45 Gaming

- I5 4670 

- 8gig geil dragon RAM (1333mhz)

- 120gig Kingston HyperX (for boot)

- 2TB Seagate Barracuda

- Shaw Evo 875 PSU

- MSI GTX 760

- Thermaltake NIC C5 Cpu cooler

 

For future upgrades I will sli the GTX 760 and increase the ram to 8gig. The case will unfortunately be replaced as I have found a much nicer one since I bought the Chaser. It will eventually be swapped out for the Corsair 750D.

 

This is going to start me off but I would like to upgrade these parts fairly quickly. Especially because the PSU is unrated and quite cheap. I'd like to hear what others think on these parts and what experience they've had with them. Hope to upload pics soon.

[Erik4boss]

Get two cheap 2x4 gb 1600 mhz RAM instead. You can get it for like almost 50$

[Mecami]

First off welcome to the forums!

 

Second I would invest the extra few dollars to get a 4670k.

Also I would get at least 1600 Mhz RAM.

And at last I had very bad experiences with Shaw PSUs, get a corsair, seasonic, bequiet etc. with ~700W at least 80+ bronze. That will be enough for 2x 760s in the future.

Shaw PSUs are too damn cheap and are not even 80+

[Panda of the Shadow]

Hello people of Linustechtips.

 

I bought my case earlier last year (2013) which has unfortunately been sitting unloved until recently. The case is a Thermaltake Chaser Mk-1 and is currently housing my dad's old computer parts which are about 5 years old. As a Uni student (studying mechanical engineering) it can be quite hard to aquire money to build a computer that will not need upgrading for some time. So in my down time I have come up with a list of parts (with the help of Linus' vids) that should do the job just nicely.

 

A brief description of my dad's parts:

Core 2 Quad Q6600

Asus P5N-D

4Gig DDRII Kingston budget Ram

2x nvidia 9800GT's (ECS branding)

Cheap D-link network card 

Soundblaster Xfi extreme

1200W Shaw power supply

 

Anyway, now that I've been saving a bit of money up from my job at Aldi I've come up with a list of parts that I think ought to do the job for a 'sort-of' budget range PC.

 

Parts included are:

- MSI G45 Gaming

- I5 4670 

- 8gig geil dragon RAM (1333mhz)

- 120gig Kingston HyperX (for boot)

- 2TB Seagate Barracuda

- Shaw Evo 875 PSU

- MSI GTX 760

- Thermaltake NIC C5 Cpu cooler

 

For future upgrades I will sli the GTX 760 and increase the ram to 8gig. The case will unfortunately be replaced as I have found a much nicer one since I bought the Chaser. It will eventually be swapped out for the Corsair 750D.

 

This is going to start me off but I would like to upgrade these parts fairly quickly. Especially because the PSU is unrated and quite cheap. I'd like to hear what others think on these parts and what experience they've had with them. Hope to upload pics soon.

So many things are wrong with this build. 1. Why a Z87m mobo and non k PSU? 2. That's the worst PSU i have seen in a while. I don't think it  will run 1 760. 3. A 60$ cooler in a build like that?! I feel like you already bougth that stuff and now i feel bad for you. Not even kidding. 

[Mudgee1994]

So many things are wrong with this build. 1. Why a Z87m mobo and non k PSU? 2. That's the worst PSU i have seen in a while. I don't think it  will run 1 760. 3. A 60$ cooler in a build like that?! I feel like you already bougth that stuff and now i feel bad for you. Not even kidding. 

Nah man I haven't bought anything. I know the PSU is cheap/shotty that's why it's getting upgraded to a corsair in my next pay check. The mobo I found is a decent price and provides more than enough features that I need (sli compatible and a decent price) not going a K model is because I really have no need to OC. The Thermaltake cooler is still better than a stock cooler and will also be upgraded at a later point in time. 

 

This build is for a beginning and wont be my final/end product. 

[Mudgee1994]

First off welcome to the forums!

 

Second I would invest the extra few dollars to get a 4670k.

Also I would get at least 1600 Mhz RAM.

And at last I had very bad experiences with Shaw PSUs, get a corsair, seasonic, bequiet etc. with ~700W at least 80+ bronze. That will be enough for 2x 760s in the future.

Shaw PSUs are too damn cheap and are not even 80+

Thanks for the welcome

The reasoning behind the 1333MHz is because I've been watching Linus on Youtube and in his testing he's found that the bandwidth doens't make too much of a difference in gaming and because of that I can save about $20 by dropping the bandwidth. 

Yeah I know right. Shaw's are pretty average but I only want it to get something started (only needs to hold out for a month *crosses fingers*) Cos I get paid monthly I will probs get the Corsair CS 750 or TX 850 then. 

I'm kind of considering the Unlocked model just on the off chance that I decide to OC. 

[Mudgee1994]

Get two cheap 2x4 gb 1600 mhz RAM instead. You can get it for like almost 50$

Unfortunately in Australia its a bit more than that. Its cheaper for me to get the 2x4gb at 1333 ($84 i think instead of $105ish).

I really like the Aesthetic of the Dragonram too.

[VulsaviiK]

So many things are wrong with this build. 1. Why a Z87m mobo and non k PSU? 2. That's the worst PSU i have seen in a while. I don't think it  will run 1 760. 3. A 60$ cooler in a build like that?! I feel like you already bougth that stuff and now i feel bad for you. Not even kidding. 

 

Dude seriously? For starters look at his location. That's why the cooler. It's summer here at the moment, and we're expecting weeks of 40 degree days. That 40 degrees in celsius, we had a week not too long ago where it peaked out at 45 degrees+ for 3 days straight.

 

Second, there's no reason to spend the money on an unlocked processor (Which by the way, I think you meant to say CPU not PSU) when you aren't planning to overclock and are on a tight budget.

 

Third, he does mention the PSU is a tie-over until he can upgrade it. Bear in mind this is Australia, so parts also cost significantly more

[Panda of the Shadow]

Dude seriously? For starters look at his location. That's why the cooler. It's summer here at the moment, and we're expecting weeks of 40 degree days. That 40 degrees in celsius, we had a week not too long ago where it peaked out at 45 degrees+ for 3 days straight.

 

Second, there's no reason to spend the money on an unlocked processor (Which by the way, I think you meant to say CPU not PSU) when you aren't planning to overclock and are on a tight budget.

 

Third, he does mention the PSU is a tie-over until he can upgrade it. Bear in mind this is Australia, so parts also cost significantly more

I was saying that it's a fucking 60$ cooler. Get a Hyper 212 evo for 25$ and spend the 35$ more on a PSU that isn't gonna burn down your pc. Also i was saying that he should save money on the Mobo because a Z87 mobo is usless (You could also just go H87) if you can't oc. And yes i meant CPU. 

[Mecami]

Thanks for the welcome

The reasoning behind the 1333MHz is because I've been watching Linus on Youtube and in his testing he's found that the bandwidth doens't make too much of a difference in gaming and because of that I can save about $20 by dropping the bandwidth. 

Yeah I know right. Shaw's are pretty average but I only want it to get something started (only needs to hold out for a month *crosses fingers*) Cos I get paid monthly I will probs get the Corsair CS 750 or TX 850 then. 

I'm kind of considering the Unlocked model just on the off chance that I decide to OC. 

Cheap PSUs can be very scary and destroy your pc parts, I wouldn't take the chance.

[Mudgee1994]

Cheap PSUs can be very scary and destroy your pc parts, I wouldn't take the chance.

Fair enough, I might try and squeeze a few more bucks together to get the Corsair CS750 or the TX850-V2. I've dealt with non modular PSU's before and they're so messy with cable management. Is there any one you'd reccomend in particular around $150?

[Mudgee1994]

I was saying that it's a fucking 60$ cooler. Get a Hyper 212 evo for 25$ and spend the 35$ more on a PSU that isn't gonna burn down your pc. Also i was saying that he should save money on the Mobo because a Z87 mobo is usless (You could also just go H87) if you can't oc. And yes i meant C

Ok, now that you've elaborated on what you mean I understand where you're coming from.

I'll actually take that cooler you mentioned into consideration and do some research on benchmarks.

The mobo is what it is because I'll be using it in later builds and I'd like to have the option to overclock with the board, it has the slots that I require and the colour scheme suits my final build goal.

The reasoning for not going the K model CPU is because if I do overclock I'll be doing on a 4770K when I can afford to upgrade. 

[brob]

Fair enough, I might try and squeeze a few more bucks together to get the Corsair CS750 or the TX850-V2. I've dealt with non modular PSU's before and they're so messy with cable management. Is there any one you'd reccomend in particular around $150?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Memory:  Avexir Core series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($89.00 @ PLE Computers)

Power Supply:  Silverstone Strider Plus 750W 80+ Silver Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($149.00 @ CPL Online)

Total: $238.00

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-05 13:35 EST+1100)

 

An 850W version is available for AU$20 more. Reviews for the 750W http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/911, http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=183.

[Mecami]

Fair enough, I might try and squeeze a few more bucks together to get the Corsair CS750 or the TX850-V2. I've dealt with non modular PSU's before and they're so messy with cable management. Is there any one you'd reccomend in particular around $150?

http://au.pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/ <-How about this?

The Mobo in there isn't the best choice, but there aren't any other viable options on pcpartpicker available.

Get a decent H87 Mobo, instead of a Z87. Since you are getting a non-k processor, you don't really need a Z87 and you can save some money there.

[Mudgee1994]

http://au.pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/ <-How about this?

The Mobo in there isn't the best choice, but there aren't any other viable options on pcpartpicker available.

Get a decent H87 Mobo, instead of a Z87. Since you are getting a non-k processor, you don't really need a Z87 and you can save some money there.

Nothing showed up on the link except an empty build list.

I'd like to keep the mobo listed because I've got a theme that I'm going for with the case (will be moving to a Corsair 750D). I'm now upgrading to a K model CPU as I have some extra money to cover that and a better power supply. 

I'd like a Corsair PSU maybe the RM750 (80 Plus Gold), but then the Silverstone Strider Plus (80 Plus Silver) is a bit cheaper. Is it worth paying for the gold rating at all just to have extra efficiency?

[brob]

Nothing showed up on the link except an empty build list.

I'd like to keep the mobo listed because I've got a theme that I'm going for with the case (will be moving to a Corsair 750D). I'm now upgrading to a K model CPU as I have some extra money to cover that and a better power supply. 

I'd like a Corsair PSU maybe the RM750 (80 Plus Gold), but then the Silverstone Strider Plus (80 Plus Silver) is a bit cheaper. Is it worth paying for the gold rating at all just to have extra efficiency?

 

There are actually a couple of RM750 models that are indistinguishable except by serial number. The earlier one had very mixed reviews - http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/13/corsair_rm750_750w_power_supply_review/#.UoPM-D93vKs, http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/RM750/.

 

The Silverstone ST75F-P on the other hand has uniformly excellent reviews.

 

The 80+ rating categorizes electrical efficiency. It is not a comment on quality. The ST75F-P may cost a few pennies more a year to operate but it is well built and has sterling (no pun intended) power delivery.

[Mudgee1994]

There are actually a couple of RM750 models that are indistinguishable except by serial number. The earlier one had very mixed reviews - http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/13/corsair_rm750_750w_power_supply_review/#.UoPM-D93vKs, http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/RM750/.

 

The Silverstone ST75F-P on the other hand has uniformly excellent reviews.

 

The 80+ rating categorizes electrical efficiency. It is not a comment on quality. The ST75F-P may cost a few pennies more a year to operate but it is well built and has sterling (no pun intended) power delivery.

I do enjoy a good pun every now and again.

 

Thanks for linking those reviews on the RM750, safe to say I'll be steering clear from it now. I'll be getting that Silverstone PSU from Scorptec within the next week.

 

As for Ram is there much of a benefit of going 1600MHz over 1333Mhz? I've watched a few vids (including Linus' ones) and there doesn't seem to be much of a performance boost in gaming, like 0.2 fps which would be in margin of error. Is there any specific instances where I'd need more bandwidth?

[Mudgee1994]

Build update

 

Thanks to some helpful members of the Linustechtips forum the parts list has changed to include:

 

- i5 4670K

-  Silverstone ST75F-P

 

Ram is still a bit undecided on going to 1600MHz, I know its the standard but I know people with computers running 1333MHz with no problems and I've found that in gaming at the moment there is maybe a 0.2 frame difference between clock speeds.

 

Parts will be purchased in another 12 days after I've been paid and manage to get home so that I can pick the parts up from MSY and Scorptec. Pictures will be uploaded of the PC being built and the final product (which will be changing). Then from there I'll be looking at what to upgrade over the next few months (ie 2nd GTX760, Corsair 750D or H100i).

 

Thanks for the help to those who have posted on here and have been friendly in their responses.

[brob]

 

As for Ram is there much of a benefit of going 1600MHz over 1333Mhz? I've watched a few vids (including Linus' ones) and there doesn't seem to be much of a performance boost in gaming, like 0.2 fps which would be in margin of error. Is there any specific instances where I'd need more bandwidth?

 

In gaming the difference may be small. In general usage the difference is apparent, but subtly so. Anandtech did a study of memory speeds and Haswell, concluding that higher speed memory can make a noticeable difference. You can read the conclusions at http://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell/10 to see if any of their concerns might affect you.

[Mudgee1994]

In gaming the difference may be small. In general usage the difference is apparent, but subtly so. Anandtech did a study of memory speeds and Haswell, concluding that higher speed memory can make a noticeable difference. You can read the conclusions at http://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell/10 to see if any of their concerns might affect you.

Ah, so just in everyday performance running windows and general applications is where a higher bandwidth will help.

[brob]

Ah, so just in everyday performance running windows and general applications is where a higher bandwidth will help.

 

People do use computers for more than browsing and gaming.   CPU based rendering tasks for example are very sensitive to faster memory.

[Mudgee1994]

People do use computers for more than browsing and gaming.   CPU based rendering tasks for example are very sensitive to faster memory.

hahaha yeah I keep forgetting the other portion that computers are used for. I might actually go with the 1600Mhz just to be on the safe side, but later down the track I'll upgrade the kits if I need to.

Nearly everything in this build will end up in another case as the part get replaced with better ones. 

[WoodenMarker]

http://au.pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/ <-How about this?

The Mobo in there isn't the best choice, but there aren't any other viable options on pcpartpicker available.

Get a decent H87 Mobo, instead of a Z87. Since you are getting a non-k processor, you don't really need a Z87 and you can save some money there.

You need to post the permalink and not the url.

[Mudgee1994]

Bought all the parts and all been assembled. Just getting it running before I upload photo's.

[Mudgee1994]