Value Build

[DarkCisum]

I've been wanting to build a relatively cheap PC which will also be able run some games nicely even if not at the maximum settings.

Since I'm not very experienced with all the hardware, I thought to share here my currently planned build and hope to get some useful feedback.

 

Important note: I live in Switzerland, so not every is as cheap as in the USA.

• Raijintek Arcadia - I really don't care about looks, so this is the cheapest case I could find that looked okay-ish
• Corsair CX430M - I think this is one part that might need an upgrade. Are 430W enough?
• Corsair CX500M - The CX430M has only one 8 pin PCIe connector, i.e. not very future proof.
• Corsair RM550 - Don't save on the PSU!
• ASUS B85M-G - Small mATX board with 4 RAM slots, if I ever want to upgrade. Should I rather aim for an ATX?
• Intel i5 4440 3.1 GHz - I really want a good Intel CPU. Are there better alternatives to this one?
• Intel i5 4460 3.2 GHz - Faster and cheaper, so no brainer.
• Kingston Value RAM 8 GB - The cheapest DDR3 RAM I could find.
• ASUS GTX 960 STRIX - Personally I want to go with an Nvidia card, but if you think that's a big mistake let me know.
• Club 3D R9 280X Royal Queen - Seems like the R9 280X is more powerful. But is that a good model?
• Samsung 850 EVO 500GB - I choose one big SSD, because all my other important data is on network drives (server).

Currently this sums up to about CHF 870 ($ 920) which seems quite fine. If possible I wouldn't want to go higher, but if there's a bigger issue with the build, I'd still be willing to.

 

Thanks for all the feedback!

[JamesX]

Uhm Im not really sure what to say about this because of the 500GB SSD but heres what i think. ATX is only really needed for SLI/Crossfire, try and do a I5 4690k if you have some extra money and if you can get away from that SSD maybe a 970?

[SkywardKkalox]

 

I've been wanting to build a relatively cheap PC which will also be able run some games nicely even if not at the maximum settings.

Since I'm not very experienced with all the hardware, I thought to share here my currently planned build and hope to get some useful feedback.

 

Important note: I live in Switzerland, so not every is as cheap as in the USA.

• Raijintek Arcadia - I really don't care about looks, so this is the cheapest case I could find that looked okay-ish
• Corsair CX430M - I think this is one part that might need an upgrade. Are 430W enough?
• Asus B85M-G - Small mATX board with 4 RAM slots, if I ever want to upgrade. Should I rather aim for an ATX?
• Intel i5 4440 3.1 GHz - I really want a good Intel CPU. Are there better alternatives to this one?
• Kingston Value RAM 8 GB - The cheapest DDR3 RAM I could find.
• ASUS GTX 960 STRIX - Personally I want to go with an Nvidia card, but if you think that's a big mistake let me know.
• Samsung 850 EVO 500GB - I choose one big SSD, because all my other important data is on network drives (server).

Currently this sums up to about CHF 850 ($ 890) which seems quite fine. If possible I wouldn't want to go higher, but if there's a bigger issue with the build, I'd still be willing to.

 

Thanks for all the feedback!

 

 

Get rid of the SSD buy a 600W PSU, get an R9 280 and you are good to go.

EDIT: Get a Western Digital Blue 1 tb or get a 128-256 gb ssd if you have a NAS.

[Comessy]

All looks good

 

The whole thing will use less than 300w so that power supply is fine

 

 

[DarkCisum]

ATX is only really needed for SLI/Crossfire, try and do a I5 4690k if you have some extra money and if you can get away from that SSD maybe a 970?

That's what I thought about ATX as well. I'll take a look at the i5 4690k but it seems to cost a bit more.

What exactly did you mean with "a 970?

 

 

Get rid of the SSD buy a 600W PSU, get an R9 280 and you are good to go.

EDIT: Get a Western Digital Blue 1 tb or get a 128-256 gb ssd if you have a NAS.

How does the R9 280 compare to the GTX 960?

Was the 600W PSU calculated for the R9 280 or in general?

 

 

 

The whole thing will use less than 300w so that power supply is fine

Thanks for the comment!

 

Edit: I changed the PSU now anyways, but less because of the power consumption and more because the CX430M only has one PCIe connector, so if I ever upgraded my GPU it might have not been enough. Though I wonder whether it's worth it to get the CX500M instead of the CX500?

[JamesX]

That's what I thought about ATX as well. I'll take a look at the i5 4690k but it seems to cost a bit more.

What exactly did you mean with "a 970?

Yes it does cost a bit more but it OC's like a boss and is used a lot when it comes to gaming orientated builds and a Geforce GTX 970 would be a step up from the GTX 960.

[DarkCisum]

Ah okay! I thought you were still referring to the SSD. Yeah, better CPU and GPU are always nice, but also cost quite a bit more.

 

Edit: Changed the CPU to an i5-4460 since its faster and cheaper.

[SkywardKkalox]

That's what I thought about ATX as well. I'll take a look at the i5 4690k but it seems to cost a bit more.

What exactly did you mean with "a 970?

 

 

How does the R9 280 compare to the GTX 960?

Was the 600W PSU calculated for the R9 280 or in general?

 

 

Thanks for the comment!

 

Edit: I changed the PSU now anyways, but less because of the power consumption and more because the CX430M only has one PCIe connector, so if I ever upgraded my GPU it might have not been enough. Though I wonder whether it's worth it to get the CX500M instead of the CX500?

The Windforce edition of the R9 280 is reccomended to have at least 600w to work and to have some room for overclocking.

[MLGNOSCOPEHEADSHOTGETREKT]

Get a 280 and your off to a grat gaming adventure

[DarkCisum]

• ASUS GTX 960: CHF 212.- (current)

What brand would you suggest for an 280/280X?

• Club 3D 280X: CHF 231.-

Gigabyte AMD Radeon R9 280WF3: CHF 249.-

Asus RADEON STRIX-R9280: CHF 250.-

XFX RADEON R9 280X: CHF 255.-

ASUS R9 280X: CHF 273.-

Sapphire R9 280X: CHF 273.-

Sapphire AMD Radeon Vapor-X R9 280X: CHF 345.-

 

So should I upgrade the PSU to some 600W if I picked an R9 280X?

[DarkCisum]

For now I picked the Club 3D R9 280X Royal Queen but I wonder whether this model is okay. There are so many different R9 280X out there.

[JonnyKennedy]

go pc part picker, select your setup and see your max produced wattage

[DarkCisum]

go pc part picker, select your setup and see your max produced wattage

It seems to be at around 408W.

[JonnyKennedy]

You should go for +80 gold 500w PSU

[DarkCisum]

You should go for +80 gold 500w PSU

Thanks! I read up on it a bit and the RM550 seems to have a better quality over the CX500 and if it's something you should save on, it's the PSU.

 

Anything else?