Desktop Build

[cbwharris]

Hi all.

I am in the market for a desktop PC and would appreciate more knowledgeable opinions than my own before I make any serious decisions or mistakes. I plan on using this machine for gaming, software development, and some animation/photo editing. 

 

My parts list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2xzQWZ

 

I apologize if I have overlooked something or made any frustrating mistakes, this is my first time attempting to build a PC. 

 

Thanks very much for your time. 

[Amazingasian]

Hi all.

I am in the market for a desktop PC and would appreciate more knowledgeable opinions than my own before I make any serious decisions or mistakes. I plan on using this machine for gaming, software development, and some animation/photo editing. 

 

My parts list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2xzQWZ

 

I apologize if I have overlooked something or made any frustrating mistakes, this is my first time attempting to build a PC. 

 

Thanks very much for your time. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($71.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($45.89 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($70.59 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.49 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card  ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Gunmetal/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($92.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1039.52

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-09 01:05 EDT-0400

[sms1202]

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($71.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($45.89 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($70.59 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.49 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card  ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Gunmetal/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($92.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1039.52

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-09 01:05 EDT-0400

 

This is better though I would prefer Skylake

[Amazingasian]

This is better though I would prefer Skylake

I could make a skylake build for you if you can spend 1200

[sms1202]

I could make a skylake build for you if you can spend 1200

I prefer skylake build because you get ddr4 on the mainstream and you can reuse the RAM for many yearsin future builds

This is something many people overlook but is really important

 

I already got an x99 build planned for myself 

[CyberneticTitan]

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($71.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($45.89 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($70.59 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.49 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card  ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Gunmetal/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($92.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1039.52

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-09 01:05 EDT-0400

 

 

Edited your build:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($75.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($45.49 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($70.59 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.49 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card  ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Gunmetal/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($92.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1000.21

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-09 01:21 EDT-0400

 

Slightly better motherboard with better heatsinks

Matching RAM

Cheaper PSU.

[cbwharris]

Thanks for such quick responses everyone, I really appreciate it. 

 

I was wondering if you guys could explain some of the alterations you made in more detail. I want to understand where my decision-making process went wrong so I can make better selections in the future. 

[The Official Czex]

Hi all.

I am in the market for a desktop PC and would appreciate more knowledgeable opinions than my own before I make any serious decisions or mistakes. I plan on using this machine for gaming, software development, and some animation/photo editing. 

 

My parts list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2xzQWZ

 

I apologize if I have overlooked something or made any frustrating mistakes, this is my first time attempting to build a PC. 

 

Thanks very much for your time. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($199.99 @ Micro Center) 

Motherboard: MSI Z87M GAMING Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($174.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Red 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($82.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($97.84 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($70.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card  ($239.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: BitFenix Prodigy M Arctic White MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($90.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1037.66

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-09 01:37 EDT-0400

 

Upgrade:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($89.99 @ Best Buy) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($83.99 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card  ($239.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $413.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-09 01:39 EDT-0400

[CyberneticTitan]

Thanks for such quick responses everyone, I really appreciate it. 

 

I was wondering if you guys could explain some of the alterations you made in more detail. I want to understand where my decision-making process went wrong so I can make better selections in the future. 

 

Well since you asked:

 

Intel has bested AMD in the CPU market. Core efficiency trumps core count

Overly expensive motherboard. Money can be saved for something like an SSD which is much more beneficial than some "thermal armor"

There are much better and reliable PSUs in the price range that you picked.

R9 390 is slightly faster or equally the same than the GTX 970 at the same or lower price with better compute performance and twice the VRAM.

 

I'm afraid you'd have to familiarize yourself with each individual category of parts and selections and the best/worst of each.

[cbwharris]

Well since you asked:

 

Intel has bested AMD in the CPU market. Core efficiency trumps core count

Overly expensive motherboard. Money can be saved for something like an SSD which is much more beneficial than some "thermal armor"

There are much better and reliable PSUs in the price range that you picked.

R9 390 is slightly faster or equally the same than the GTX 970 at the same or lower price with better compute performance and twice the VRAM.

 

I'm afraid you'd have to familiarize yourself with each individual category of parts and selections and the best/worst of each.

 

I understand that the barrier to entry for computer parts is somewhat steep. Thanks for helping me understand what I am getting into. 

 

Side note: I currently use passmark to compate GPUs/CPUs, is that a reliable source of data or am I looking in the wrong place?

[CyberneticTitan]

 

I understand that the barrier to entry for computer parts is somewhat steep. Thanks for helping me understand what I am getting into. 

 

Side note: I currently use passmark to compate GPUs/CPUs, is that a reliable source of data or am I looking in the wrong place?

 

That site would give you a rough estimate of how well a part would perform to another. However those benchmarks are synthetic and do not represent the comparisons one might see in a real use case which is why most users use benchmarks performed by real people using real world loads to compare CPUs and GPUs. (Although many would include other synthetic benchmarks in their review just for the sake of completion and base coverage.)

[cbwharris]

Is there a reason I shouldn't be shooting for a processor with more than 3.2 GHz?

[CyberneticTitan]

Is there a reason I shouldn't be shooting for a processor with more than 3.2 GHz?

No there isn't, but it would depend what processor you are shooting for and shooting from.

Example: i5 4590 is 0.1Ghz higher than i5 4460 but at $20-30 more. Performance increase? Minimal. Worth it? Probably not.

[cbwharris]

No there isn't, but it would depend what processor you are shooting for and shooting from.

Example: i5 4590 is 0.1Ghz higher than i5 4460 but at $20-30 more. Performance increase? Minimal. Worth it? Probably not.

Okay, so would an i7 be a better option? I get that it would be more expensive but is the cost/performance ratio passable?

[CyberneticTitan]

Okay, so would an i7 be a better option? I get that it would be more expensive but is the cost/performance ratio passable?

4460 is sufficient for a lot of CPU intensive tasks like rendering. You will only want an i7 if you want faster completion times for these tasks. Makes almost no difference in games.

Also Xeon 1231v3 is basically a locked i7 that's cheaper.

[Thunder Down Under]

Well since you asked:

 

Intel has bested AMD in the CPU market. Core efficiency trumps core count

Overly expensive motherboard. Money can be saved for something like an SSD which is much more beneficial than some "thermal armor"

There are much better and reliable PSUs in the price range that you picked.

R9 390 is slightly faster or equally the same than the GTX 970 at the same or lower price with better compute performance and twice the VRAM.

 

I'm afraid you'd have to familiarize yourself with each individual category of parts and selections and the best/worst of each.

What are you talking about? Thermal armor? This board does not have those stupid gimmicks wait a sec. I have the X99 Sabertooth.Shit! haha.

 

Hi all.

I am in the market for a desktop PC and would appreciate more knowledgeable opinions than my own before I make any serious decisions or mistakes. I plan on using this machine for gaming, software development, and some animation/photo editing. 

 

My parts list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2xzQWZ

 

I apologize if I have overlooked something or made any frustrating mistakes, this is my first time attempting to build a PC. 

 

Thanks very much for your time. 

AMD is just fine by the way but it depends on what programs you use for you editing that will make a difference but choosing AMD or Intel will not inhibit you from doing what you want to do and will only effect the speed in which you can do it. As far as gaming the difference between the 8320/8350 and the i5 4460 is negligible. So here are two good options.

 

Intel=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pkkpwP

 

AMD=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dVtzTW