First time building a computer

[Thecount96]

Hello all, I am planning to build my first computer. 

 

Budget & Location: I am trying to build a gaming computer for around $700 (+/- $100 if need be). I live in Ohio, so it will be in American dollars. 

 

Aim: 

I plan on playing many different games, the more intense games would include Far Cry 3 & 4 and Metro 2033. The resolutions I will be playing at will be either 1366x768 or 1920x1080.

Since this is my first time building a computer, I figured I should check with others to make sure that I didn't make a mistake in the build or missed a good opportunity part-wise. If you believe that I should invest a little bit more money in a certain component, feel free to comment. 

 

My parts are here: 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qjpWvK

Although the current build says it will cost $700, I live close enough to a Microcenter, so I will be able to get the i5 for $30 off, making the actual cost $670.

 

I wanted to go with a micro-atx board because the cases a little smaller than the atx cases, even if it is just barely. I didn't think that I would be able to cram the cooler and graphics card in a mini tower, so I went with mid. 

 

Also, do you guys have any recommendation as to when I should look for deals? I heard August and November are good months for computers, but I wasn't sure. I am not in a huge rush to build the computer, so I can wait a month or two to buy a few of the pieces. 

As for monitors, and peripherals, I will be using the ones I already have. 

Thank you very much

 

 

[Nonco]

Hello all, I am planning to build my first computer. 

 

Budget & Location: I am trying to build a gaming computer for around $700 (+/- $100 if need be). I live in Ohio, so it will be in American dollars. 

 

Aim: 

I plan on playing many different games, the more intense games would include Far Cry 3 & 4 and Metro 2033. The resolutions I will be playing at will be either 1366x768 or 1920x1080.

Since this is my first time building a computer, I figured I should check with others to make sure that I didn't make a mistake in the build or missed a good opportunity part-wise. If you believe that I should invest a little bit more money in a certain component, feel free to comment. 

 

If you wont be overclocking or doing much else other than gaming you wont need that good of an i5. You could go for like a i5 4460 and then use the money you saved and go for maybe a gtx 970.

 

EDIT: heres a part list with the changes i suggested: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YQq9dC

[noob pc gamer]

This would be a Better build for this budget

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($267.95 @ Amazon)

Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $694.64

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-08 01:53 EDT-0400

CPU: this i5 in locked so you can't OC but for a lot less money it's still great card to fit in your budget!

CPU cooler: because this isn't a overclockable CPU. Getting a cooler is a waste of money and won't get better performance.

Mobo: the h81 boards are becoming out dated, and a h97 board is a much better choice. This board has 4 ram slots for upgradability and plenty of other features.

Ram: this ram has plenty of reviews, and is plenty enough for your gaming needs. It takes advantage of dual channel mode which is a plus. Definatly recommended.

Storage: 1tb is plenty enough and this hhd has lots of good reviews and is actually a pretty good hard drive.

GPU: this is the best card at this price point. With this budget it's not worth it to cut back on other components to fit in a nicer card like the 970. It's better to get a altogether good build with this great card.

Case: this case has excellent airflow and really good cable management. It also comes with a windowed side so you can display you parts from the outside. And it looks sleek and awesome.

Power supply: the right wattage from a trusted company. You can't go wrong there.

This is altogether a great build which you should consider.

Good luck!

[Thecount96]

 

If you wont be overclocking or doing much else other than gaming you wont need that good of an i5. You could go for like a i5 4460 and then use the money you saved and go for maybe a gtx 970.

 

EDIT: heres a part list with the changes i suggested: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YQq9dC

 

I wasn't sure if I needed to overclock the processor or not, thank you very much for that. That means that I won't need the cpu cooler either, thanks

[noob pc gamer]

^^^

Look at what I wrote above

[noob pc gamer]

Much better build that you will enjoy a lot more.

Better performance and looks

[noob pc gamer]

If you have abit more money you can spend get a more expensive GPU

[Thecount96]

GPU: this is the best card at this price point. With this budget it's not worth it to cut back on other components to fit in a nicer card like the 970. It's better to get a altogether good build with this great card.

Do you believe that using the 4460 will heavily bottleneck the 970?

[noob pc gamer]

No, it's just that with $700 you can't fit a 970 in

[noob pc gamer]

If you had more money, the 4460 and the rest of the build would be fine, just add in a 970, and maybe a 600watt power supply. (Evga 80+ bronze 600w)

[noob pc gamer]

Or you could get a r9 290/290x

[Thecount96]

So, is this better?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zDq9dC

I can go with the extra $50

 

Well, I guess since you already said that above

Thank you very much

[noob pc gamer]

Also you don't need 16 gb of ram for gaming. 8 is plenty enough

[noob pc gamer]

This is what your looking for

And it's only $760

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($267.95 @ Amazon)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $760.24

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-08 02:34 EDT-0400

[noob pc gamer]

You can spend the extra money on a ssd

[Thecount96]

Also you don't need 16 gb of ram for gaming. 8 is plenty enough

Oh, are you talking about in the first post? I may have completely have forgotten about the whole dual channel thing and only used one 8 gb stick .Oops, thanks for saving me from that mistake   

[Thecount96]

At the time, I was thinking,  "In the future, if 16 gb of ram is actually needed for some reason, I can just buy another stick."

[noob pc gamer]

Also the mobo supports 4 sticks of ram so get 2x4 now and you can get 2x4 again later if you need.

This would be taking advantage of you full budget

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.37 @ Amazon)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($334.99 @ B&H)

Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $823.65

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-08 02:42 EDT-0400

Have fun!

[Thecount96]

Ok, thank you very much for all of your help noob pc gamer!!!

[noob pc gamer]

Wish I could change my name doesn't fit rily anymore