Build for a m8

[Jerakl]

So I'm working on a build for a friend that I will most likely be doing this weekend.
So I'll start off with parts list (NO PCPARTPICKER FOR YOU!)

 

 

I use Excel because I can make a running total of Price Matches etc.

 

 

Purpose: To play games at ultra settings at either 1050p or 900p. I don't quite remember. He already has a case and a PSU I got him for his birthday.

PS. His monitor is pretty trash (hence why I can't remember what res it is) so if you can tone down any parts so that he could be able to get a cheap 1080p monitor, that would be great.

 

PSU he has is EVGA 430W.

Case he has is SilverStone PS08 (mATX)

 

 

Thanks for any recommendations

 

 

This is his first PC coming from console and I demand nothing less then 60FPS at Highish settings. 

[Syntaxvgm]

If you are not getting an unlocked i5....you could go with an i3 if you want. 

[Jerakl]

If you are not getting an unlocked i5....you could go with an i3 if you want. 

He'll be playing games like BF4, which I've heard likes to use lots of cores. So I figured more Physical cores would be better then 2 cores/2 threads. He's newb and doesn't know what overclocking is, so it wouldn't make sense to get an unlocked CPU anyways.

[ImBleu]

He'll be playing games like BF4, which I've heard likes to use lots of cores. So I figured more Physical cores would be better then 2 cores/2 threads. He's newb and doesn't know what overclocking is, so it wouldn't make sense to get an unlocked CPU anyways.

 

IF BF4 is one of his main games, go for an AMD GPU. 

[Jerakl]

IF BF4 is one of his main games, go for an AMD GPU. 

Good idea lol. I thought of that, but thought he might want shadowplay.

 

He decided he wanted to finish his PC because he wanted to play BF4 with me

 

Decided on a R9 270x from MSi

 

 

Also, I think I would be fine with a stock cooler?

[MasonIsPurple]

Good idea lol. I thought of that, but thought he might want shadowplay.

 

He decided he wanted to finish his PC because he wanted to play BF4 with me

 

Decided on a R9 270x from MSi

Decided? the MSI 270 non x is just as good if you can OK it for him. Luke said he just moved all the sliders and it was perfect. 

I'm a huge fan of the Acer H236HL. 1080p, IPS, 5ms for $130 on ebay. 

[hawaiims]

Good idea lol. I thought of that, but thought he might want shadowplay.

 

He decided he wanted to finish his PC because he wanted to play BF4 with me

I would go used for some used parts and then use the money saved for a nice cheap IPS monitor (ask him first of course)

 

you could get some used memory for example (one of the best components to buy used) :

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/vengerance-8gb-1600mhz-/321563357622

 

Otherwise i5-4460 is a great choice

 

There is absolutely no reason to go with windows 7 at this point. Support for W7 will probably end in only a couple years and if you have windows 8 you might get a free upgrade to windows 10. Seriously, the improvements are well worth it and the people bitching are mostly does who don't even use windows 8 to begin with. There were some minor annoyances but they were fixed by 8.1 or third party apps and it hasn't been a problem for years.

 

For the GPU, get a 280. More powerful than a 760 in nearly any scenario and currently selling for very cheap AR at NCIX:

 

http://www.ncix.com/detail/xfx-radeon-r9-280-933mhz-cd-95214-1053.htm

 

Plus your friend will also get the never settle forever bundle so he'll get free games such as company of heroes 2, tomb raider and saints row 4. 

 

A 280 is just a radeon 7950 so it has very good power consumption as well so you need not worry about it (unlike a 290)

[Jerakl]

I would go used for some used parts and then use the money saved for a nice cheap IPS monitor (ask him first of course)

 

you could get some used memory for example (one of the best components to buy used) :

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/vengerance-8gb-1600mhz-/321563357622

 

Otherwise i5-4460 is a great choice

 

There is absolutely no reason to go with windows 7 at this point. Support for W7 will probably end in only a couple years and if you have windows 8 you might get a free upgrade to windows 10. Seriously, the improvements are well worth it and the people bitching are mostly does who don't even use windows 8 to begin with. There were some minor annoyances but they were fixed by 8.1 or third party apps and it hasn't been a problem for years.

 

For the GPU, get a 280. More powerful than a 760 in nearly any scenario and currently selling for very cheap AR at NCIX:

 

http://www.ncix.com/detail/xfx-radeon-r9-280-933mhz-cd-95214-1053.htm

 

Plus your friend will also get the never settle forever bundle so he'll get free games such as company of heroes 2, tomb raider and saints row 4. 

 

A 280 is just a radeon 7950 so it has very good power consumption as well so you need not worry about it (unlike a 290)

Decided? the MSI 270 non x is just as good if you can OK it for him. Luke said he just moved all the sliders and it was perfect. 

I'm a huge fan of the Acer H236HL. 1080p, IPS, 5ms for $130 on ebay. 

 

I buy local only.

[Syntaxvgm]

He'll be playing games like BF4, which I've heard likes to use lots of cores. So I figured more Physical cores would be better then 2 cores/2 threads. He's newb and doesn't know what overclocking is, so it wouldn't make sense to get an unlocked CPU anyways.

2 cores 4 threads total...unless you meant 2 threads plus 2 cores.

You might want to try to find a 7970 or 280x on ebay. You can get them from 125-175 usd.

[Jerakl]

2 cores 4 threads total...unless you meant 2 threads plus 2 cores.

You might want to try to find a 7970 or 280x on ebay. You can get them from 125-175 usd.

mmk

 

I buy local only. Memory Express.

[hawaiims]

mmk

 

I buy local only. Memory Express.

So you'll use their price match I take it?

 

In that case it has to be items that are sold at ME, so here's what I recommend for you. I made sure all the items are sold at ME so you shouldn't have trouble with this:

 

 

CPU: keep it as is

Mouse: keep it as is or see if there's any cheaper decent optical mice on clearance in store (they have 30% off clearance items in store, so can't tell the price by looking at their site)

Motherboard: go with gigabyte, in my experience they are more reliable and have better customer support. Will save you a couple $ too

Memory: doesn't really matter honestly, kingston, g-skill etc.. are all good. If you can get them to price math the $80 RipjawsX from Direct Canada though I think it's a better deal than the Kingston HyperX

Video card: Asus or MSI R9 280 $233 or $234 CAD with price match. Both faster than the 760, cheaper and on top of that come with 3 games of choice. A 430W PSU will power them no problem since they are very efficient cards and there will be no CPU OC involved

Optical drive: whichever's cheapest. In this case Lite-on had the cheapest drives also stocked at memory express so if you price match, it's the best deal.

CPU cooler: CNPS5X. $15 at ME, and it's the cheapest cooler that's significantly better than the stock cooler while not breaking the bank. Since the CPU won't be OCed there's no need to go overboard. Even the stock cooler isn't that bad if money is tight. 

OS: Windows 8. Price match them so they drop the price to $99 instead of the $120 on their website. Do not use ebay or any other websites for cheap $40 windows keys. Those are illegal keys from the windows dev program and while they will work and seem legitimate, MSFT might block the keys a couple months down the line when they realize some guy in their dev program was selling the keys that he was supposed to use for testing.

 

PCPP link for pricematch info: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/THD6K8

[Jerakl]

So you'll use their price match I take it?

 

In that case it has to be items that are sold at ME, so here's what I recommend for you. I made sure all the items are sold at ME so you shouldn't have trouble with this:

 

 

CPU: keep it as is

Mouse: keep it as is or see if there's any cheaper decent optical mice on clearance in store (they have 30% off clearance items in store, so can't tell the price by looking at their site)

Motherboard: go with gigabyte, in my experience they are more reliable and have better customer support. Will save you a couple $ too

Memory: doesn't really matter honestly, kingston, g-skill etc.. are all good. If you can get them to price math the $80 RipjawsX from Direct Canada though I think it's a better deal than the Kingston HyperX

Video card: Asus or MSI R9 280 $233 or $234 CAD with price match. Both faster than the 760, cheaper and on top of that come with 3 games of choice. A 430W PSU will power them no problem since they are very efficient cards and there will be no CPU OC involved

Optical drive: whichever's cheapest. In this case Lite-on had the cheapest drives also stocked at memory express so if you price match, it's the best deal.

CPU cooler: CNPS5X. $15 at ME, and it's the cheapest cooler that's significantly better than the stock cooler while not breaking the bank. Since the CPU won't be OCed there's no need to go overboard. Even the stock cooler isn't that bad if money is tight. 

OS: Windows 8. Price match them so they drop the price to $99 instead of the $120 on their website. Do not use ebay or any other websites for cheap $40 windows keys. Those are illegal keys from the windows dev program and while they will work and seem legitimate, MSFT might block the keys a couple months down the line when they realize some guy in their dev program was selling the keys that he was supposed to use for testing.

 

PCPP link for pricematch info: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/THD6K8

Thanks, I'll look into the cooler for sure.

 

I'm also thinking of getting him a decent monitor.

 

I actually pricematch using shopbot.ca , so useful.

 

The i3-4370 is also looking like a viable option at this point, I checked some benchmarks and it's performance is pretty close to the 4460's. Or at least in the benchmarks, real world performance is a different story.

[hawaiims]

Thanks, I'll look into the cooler for sure.

 

I'm also thinking of getting him a decent monitor.

 

I actually pricematch using shopbot.ca , so useful.

 

The i3-4370 is also looking like a viable option at this point, I checked some benchmarks and it's performance is pretty close to the 4460's. Or at least in the benchmarks, real world performance is a different story.

I would go for the i5 if he will be using for things other than gaming. If it's gaming only, then sure go for the i3, but the i5 actually makes a difference in general use scenarios. And the i5 will be more "future proof" if your friend plans on keeping it as is for 4-5 years. 

[Jerakl]

I would go for the i5 if he will be using for things other than gaming. If it's gaming only, then sure go for the i3, but the i5 actually makes a difference in general use scenarios. And the i5 will be more "future proof" if your friend plans on keeping it as is for 4-5 years. 

Just for gaming. He has a butt ton of money because he's had to work a lot lately, but it'll mostly be for games like BF4/L4D2/Gmod/F2P RPG/etc.

 

He'll probably upgrade a year or 2 down the line, maybe 3.

He has a laptop he uses for web browsing and school, but it uses HD4000 iGPU. He uses that for general use, so this is almost a console, kinda.

[hawaiims]

Just for gaming. He has a butt ton of money because he's had to work a lot lately, but it'll mostly be for games like BF4/L4D2/Gmod/F2P RPG/etc.

 

He'll probably upgrade a year or 2 down the line, maybe 3.

He has a laptop he uses for web browsing and school, but it uses HD4000 iGPU. He uses that for general use, so this is almost a console, kinda.

If money's not really an issue, then why not go for the i5?

 

Since CPUs don't really get much faster over the years I would get the i5 and then keep it for 3, 4 or 5 years. The price difference is well worth it IMO and some games will benefit from the i5.

[Jerakl]

If money's not really an issue, then why not go for the i5?

 

Since CPUs don't really get much faster over the years I would get the i5 and then keep it for 3, 4 or 5 years. The price difference is well worth it IMO and some games will benefit from the i5.

He doesn't want to spend a ton of money.

[hawaiims]

He doesn't want to spend a ton of money.

The thing that I didn't think about but now realize is that an i3 will certainly bottleneck some games with an r9 280 or even a 760. That's one of the reasons why I would go for the i5 instead.

 

The price difference is only about $70 CAD, so maybe to make that gap smaller I would just use the free CPU cooler.

 

Also, I've found some new components you could get to price match that are cheaper:

 

You can get Memory express to price match the H87M-P33 motherboard for around $50 CAD

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/3LYyLk

[Jerakl]

The thing that I didn't think about but now realize is that an i3 will certainly bottleneck some games with an r9 280 or even a 760. That's one of the reasons why I would go for the i5 instead.

 

The price difference is only about $70 CAD, so maybe to make that gap smaller I would just use the free CPU cooler.

 

Also, I've found some new components you could get to price match that are cheaper:

 

You can get Memory express to price match the H87M-P33 motherboard for around $50 CAD

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/3LYyLk

Thanks m8! We're going tomorrow, so I'll check what's in stock in town and adjust accordingly. I forgot I gave him a CD drive a while back, so I'll just remove it

[hawaiims]

Thanks m8! We're going tomorrow, so I'll check what's in stock in town and adjust accordingly. I forgot I gave him a CD drive a while back, so I'll just remove it

No problem man! Don't forget that they have this sale going on in store:

 

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Clearance

 

make sure you don't miss it tomorrow, since the prices are not marked on their website but only in store. 

[Jerakl]

No problem man! Don't forget that they have this sale going on in store:

 

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Clearance

 

make sure you don't miss it tomorrow, since the prices are not marked on their website but only in store. 

K thanks, I saw some cheap mobos there.

[Jerakl]

No problem man! Don't forget that they have this sale going on in store:

 

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Clearance

 

make sure you don't miss it tomorrow, since the prices are not marked on their website but only in store. 

I'm going to Assume B85 is compatible with said i5?

[hawaiims]

I'm going to Assume B85 is compatible with said i5?

B85 is just a business oriented chipset but that doesn't really mean much for the regular user. It'll work just as well as H81 and in fact it's a little superior to the H81 in some ways.

 

The fact that it's a business motherboard doesn't mean that it will be any slower when gaming or worse. 

[Jerakl]

B85 is just a business oriented chipset but that doesn't really mean much for the regular user. It'll work just as well as H81 and in fact it's a little superior to the H81 in some ways.

 

The fact that it's a business motherboard doesn't mean that it will be any slower when gaming or worse. 

mk thanks, I think I'll pick up a Gigabyte one on sale for like 40$ off