Planning Tech Channel

Scarymonkeys · March 9, 2015

So I've decided to add some tech stuff to my YouTube channel. I decided for the first one I'd do a $700 PC. I figured maybe you guys could help me improve it and its prices?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rPpnFT

brob · March 9, 2015

Some suggestions that I will explain.

A better cpu because the budget allows for it and it is not that much more
A less expensive motherboard. The motherboard is not going to be taxed, so little need for anything fancier.
An ssd. Even though the Kingston V300 is not a great performer, it is still vastly superior to hdd for booting, browsing, and general work.
A slightly better gpu, mostly to get the power requirements down.
A less expensive, but decent case.
A pedestrian psu that is pretty good for the price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($51.88 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($199.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($47.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $695.75
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-09 15:26 EDT-0400

Scarymonkeys · March 9, 2015

Some suggestions that I will explain.

A better cpu because the budget allows for it and it is not that much more

A less expensive motherboard. The motherboard is not going to be taxed, so little need for anything fancier.

An ssd. Even though the Kingston V300 is not a great performer, it is still vastly superior to hdd for booting, browsing, and general work.

A slightly better gpu, mostly to get the power requirements down.

A less expensive, but decent case.

A pedestrian psu that is pretty good for the price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Adorama)

Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($51.88 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.97 @ SuperBiiz)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($199.00 @ NCIX US)

Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($38.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($47.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $695.75

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-09 15:26 EDT-0400

Drive bays may be blocked..I agree on the motherboard, no need in getting a slow SSD; and it generally isn't needed. I agree completely on that GPU to be honest, but the last thing is that the CX units are not the greatest quality, and that certainly wouldn't leave room for future upgrades. The XFX unit is quite a bit better for the same price.

Scarymonkeys · March 9, 2015

Updated build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MnmjK8

Thanks for the help. It should be quite a bit better with that CPU. I may change the motherboard to the Anniversary edition. This is also around the same price now.

vembutech · March 9, 2015

You can refer this for help

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/7m3Ff7

Scarymonkeys · March 9, 2015

You can refer this for help

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/7m3Ff7

Thanks man! I like that Arc 100.

brob · March 9, 2015

Drive bays may be blocked..I agree on the motherboard, no need in getting a slow SSD; and it generally isn't needed. I agree completely on that GPU to be honest, but the last thing is that the CX units are not the greatest quality, and that certainly wouldn't leave room for future upgrades. The XFX unit is quite a bit better for the same price.

The Shinobi case is ATX. The motherboard is mATX. It would be better to either switch to an mATX case or select an ATX motherboard.

SSD make systems much more responsive. Even a "slow" ssd is significantly faster than an hdd. The only reason not to include one in a build is because there is no way to squeeze it into the budget. If the budget allows a better ssd would be a good idea.

Many people malign the CX psu. They are in fact quite good. Especially at their price point. http://www.legitreviews.com/corsair-cx430m-modular-power-supply-review-what-25-can-buy_2169/8.

The XFX psu is non-modular which is why I don't particularly like it. It is also $9 more expensive. (The non-modular CX-430 is almost $20 less expensive than the XFX. But you are right, the XFX unit does provide a little more room for upgrades and is good.

Scarymonkeys · March 9, 2015

The Shinobi case is ATX. The motherboard is mATX. It would be better to either switch to an mATX case or select an ATX motherboard.

SSD make systems much more responsive. Even a "slow" ssd is significantly faster than an hdd. The only reason not to include one in a build is because there is no way to squeeze it into the budget. If the budget allows a better ssd would be a good idea.

Many people malign the CX psu. They are in fact quite good. Especially at their price point. http://www.legitreviews.com/corsair-cx430m-modular-power-supply-review-what-25-can-buy_2169/8.

The XFX psu is non-modular which is why I don't particularly like it. It is also $9 more expensive. (The non-modular CX-430 is almost $20 less expensive than the XFX. But you are right, the XFX unit does provide a little more room for upgrades and is good.

I'll change the motherboard to the ATX version.