First Build: ~[US]$1500 Budget

[NikonJR]

Hello! I have been assembling the plan for my first build for 5 months now, and it's getting near that time to act. This is intended to be a gaming PC. I thought I'd drop the link here and see what you all have to say about it! Without further adieu, here it is!

 

Updated Build Links:

• Original
• 09/22/15
• 09/23/15
• 09/24/15
• 09/26/15
• 09/28/15
• 10/03/15
• 10/05/15
• 10/06/15

 

Further information (updated based on what comments say):

• This build will be  what I am taking to college. I am currently a senior.
• I have access to various tools I might need at the school's IT room, as I work there with the IT guy. 
• I already have a keyboard [steelseries Apex (wired)], headset [Logitech G930 (wireless)], and mouse [Logitech G502 (wired)]
• I have the OS covered. 
• I am located in the US.
• I plan on using a VGA monitor I have now until I can buy a monitor with a displayport, then I will use that as the primary monitor, and the old one as a secondary.

[themctipers]

Seems cool.

[Muffinmaddness]

props for 750D i have that case is awesome! 

[Atmos]

I'd get the 390 over the 970, its all around better, and costs the same.

 

And don't buy corsair fans, especially those; they're so loud i might mistake them for a jet engine in the distance. Look towards bitfenix, noctua, be quiet, or noiseblockers.

[Darth-Marius]

seems solid

[NikonJR]

I'd get the 390 over the 970, its all around better, and costs the same.

 

And don't buy corsair fans, especially those; they're so loud i might mistake them for a jet engine in the distance. Look towards bitfenix, noctua, be quiet, or noiseblockers.

Would the other brands of fans work with the Corsair Co​mmander Mi​ni?

Should I replace the three "AF140L high performance 140mm fans" as well?

[CullenMoorhead]

hi, heres what i think you could get 

 

CPU: intel core i7 4790K- $329.99

MB: ASUS Z97-A ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97-A - $142.48

RAM: Kingston HyperX FURY 16GB Kit (2x8GB) 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM- $82.97

PSU: Corsair CX Series 750 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Bronze ATX12V/EPS12V 744 Power Supply CX750M -$84.99

HD: WD Blue 1TB Desktop 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm Internal Hard Drive- $52.99

SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD -$96.18

CPU COOLER: Cooler Master Seidon 120V - PC CPU Liquid Water Cooling System, All-In-One Kit with Compact 120mm Radiator and Fan -$49.99

CASE: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-02 Mid Tower Gaming Case -$69.99

OPTICAL DRIVE: Asus 24x DVD-RW Serial-ATA Internal OEM Optical Drive -$29.95

WIFI/BLUETOOTH: Gigabyte Bluetooth 4.0/WiFi Expansion Card Components -$38.99

total w/ out GPU: $938.52. that leaves you with $561.48 for a gpu
what i think you should do with that money is get a Nvidia geforce gtx 980 from EVGA. this will set you back $499.99 . in you budget and you will have enough power to run the card.

total cost w/ GPU: $1438.51

i hope that i helped you in your decision and happy building!

[NikonJR]

[snip]

Thanks for the option! I'll consider that build. 

[Atmos]

Would the other brands of fans work with the Corsair Co​mmander Mi​ni?

Should I replace the three "AF140L high performance 140mm fans" as well?

 

It appears to be just a PWM and LED controller. I can't say for sure, but I would hazard a guess at saying, yes, but there could be problems such as incorrect starting or default voltage, which should be able to be changed. 

 

And yes, if you can, get rid of ALL corsair fans from your build and replace them with basically ANYTHING else. Corsair makes pretty fans, but that's all they have going for them, is looks. They have terrible acoustics, half-decent performance, and mild voltage control.

[EddieHero]

hi there,

 

i think the corsair power supply is a bit expensive, as well as the corsair h80i gt,

you can get a cheaper power supply with similar quality and get a better performing air cooler,

also you can get a samsung 850 evo 250gb for cheaper than samsung 840evo 120gb.

i think getting the r9 390 is a good choice too as its cheaper.

you may also consider getting a motherboard with wifi onboard

 

sorry if i said anything wrong >.<

[NikonJR]

hi there,

 

i think the corsair power supply is a bit expensive, as well as the corsair h80i gt,

you can get a cheaper power supply with similar quality and get a better performing air cooler,

also you can get a samsung 850 evo 250gb for cheaper than samsung 840evo 120gb.

i think getting the r9 390 is a good choice too as its cheaper.

you may also consider getting a motherboard with wifi onboard

 

sorry if i said anything wrong >.<

Awesome advice!

I previously had a motherboard with WiFi, but I decided to go with the card instead. The big reason is I wasn't sure of the quality of on-board WiFi.

EDIT: Also, I had trouble finding an air cooler, as there were just so many. Do you know the best one? Thanks for that tip about the Evo!

 

It appears to be just a PWM and LED controller. I can't say for sure, but I would hazard a guess at saying, yes, but there could be problems such as incorrect starting or default voltage, which should be able to be changed. 

 

And yes, if you can, get rid of ALL corsair fans from your build and replace them with basically ANYTHING else. Corsair makes pretty fans, but that's all they have going for them, is looks. They have terrible acoustics, half-decent performance, and mild voltage control.

Could I get away with simply not using a fan controller and just using some software? Main reason I have it is for the LED strip.

[Atmos]

 

Awesome advice!

I previously had a motherboard with WiFi, but I decided to go with the card instead. The big reason is I wasn't sure of the quality of on-board WiFi.

EDIT: Also, I had trouble finding an air cooler, as there were just so many. Do you know the best one? Thanks for that tip about the Evo!

 

Could I get away with simply not using a fan controller and just using some software? Main reason I have it is for the LED strip.

 

 

A good cheap cooler, is the Hyper 212 Evo, but it won't perform as well as the H100i, you could get a Be Quiet Dark Rock 3, which has great acoustics, and pretty solid performance compared to AIO's. The h100i with a set of noctua fans though, is still going to beat it marginally when at higher overclocks in terms of performance.

[EddieHero]

A good cheap cooler, is the Hyper 212 Evo, but it won't perform as well as the H100i, you could get a Be Quiet Dark Rock 3, which has great acoustics, and pretty solid performance compared to AIO's. The h100i with a set of noctua fans though, is still going to beat it marginally when at higher overclocks in terms of performance.

 

The hyper 212 evo can handle some overclocking but i feel that the be quiet dark rock 3 is a good solid choice

 

EDIT: one of the best air coolers is Noctua D-15, it performs as well as some 240mm AIO and should be barely audible...

Edited September 23, 2015 by EddieHero

[Atmos]

The hyper 212 evo can handle some overclocking but i feel that the be quiet dark rock 3 is a good solid choice

 

EDIT: one of the best air coolers is Noctua D-15, it performs as well as some 240mm AIO and should be barely audible...

 

Aye, the h100igtx is still at the tops of cpu cooling, but its also pretty much at the top of price too, so the d-15 is an awesome choice up there with the dark rock 3

[NikonJR]

The hyper 212 evo can handle some overclocking but i feel that the be quiet dark rock 3 is a good solid choice

 

EDIT: one of the best air coolers is Noctua D-15, it performs as well as some 240mm AIO and should be barely audible...

 

 

Aye, the h100igtx is still at the tops of cpu cooling, but its also pretty much at the top of price too, so the d-15 is an awesome choice up there with the dark rock 3

The air cooler will make me feel safer, knowing that my rig wont die if a crack forms, or something along those lines.  :lol:

[NikonJR]

So what about the fans and the controller? From what I've been told, I should not use the Corsair. That means I need to replace 3 fans, and possibly the 2 fans that come with the D-15 as well. The theme is blue, so either the front two fans will glow blue, only the back one, all three, only the two for the D-15, or any other combination. Which combination should I go with? Should I even replace the D-15 fans just because the color doesn't match? 

Now what should I do about the lighting strip? Is there a better option that definitely does not need the Commander? Should I just get glowing fans and not get a lighting strip? 

[NikonJR]

My bad, the D-15 only comes with one fan.

[EddieHero]

Well, first, I went to look up pictures and i see that the noctua d-15 has two fans. noctua fans perform quite well so theres no need to replace them unless you really cant take the color. if you really want to have your whole system color matched... im not sure what cooler has blue in it but maybe you could go for the bequiet one as it works perfectly fine as well and it doesnt really stand out like the noctua one. or if you are willing to invest in a liquid cooler but you said that your more comfortable with a air cooler so maybe this option is not viable... there is other LED strips available that should be cheaper and do not need the commander. i think nzxt has a lighting kit but i may be wrong.. anyways all the best and choose what fits your budget and your needs:)

 

EDIT: im not sure how to paint fans but it might be possible or not.. bitfenix has lighting kits but its not RGB and there are other company with RGB LED stripes that can be controlled via a controller i think.

Edited September 24, 2015 by EddieHero

[NikonJR]

Well, first, I went to look up pictures and i see that the noctua d-15 has two fans. noctua fans perform quite well so theres no need to replace them unless you really cant take the color. if you really want to have your whole system color matched... im not sure what cooler has blue in it but maybe you could go for the bequiet one as it works perfectly fine as well and it doesnt really stand out like the noctua one. or if you are willing to invest in a liquid cooler but you said that your more comfortable with a air cooler so maybe this option is not viable... there is other LED strips available that should be cheaper and do not need the commander. i think nzxt has a lighting kit but i may be wrong.. anyways all the best and choose what fits your budget and your needs:)

 

EDIT: im not sure how to paint fans but it might be possible or not.. bitfenix has lighting kits but its not RGB and there are other company with RGB LED stripes that can be controlled via a controller i think.

I'm confused now if the D-15 has two or one fan... I have seen some places it's one, and others it's two. I'll look on Newegg. 

Anyway, I think I might have to change my color to red... So many parts come in red by default. Sad... Blue is my favorite color. 

I think I'll just use fans with lights. 

 

Question to everybody: what fans should I replace the 3 case fans with? Must be relatively cheap and have lights. I'd like them to preform well. 

 

EDIT: Can't do a red build because my board is blue. #firstworldproblems

[Guest]

I'm confused now if the D-15 has two or one fan... I have seen some places it's one, and others it's two. I'll look on Newegg. 

Anyway, I think I might have to change my color to red... So many parts come in red by default. Sad... Blue is my favorite color. 

I think I'll just use fans with lights. 

 

Question to everybody: what fans should I replace the 3 case fans with? Must be relatively cheap and have lights. I'd like them to preform well. 

 

EDIT: Can't do a red build because my board is blue. #firstworldproblems

 

The D15 has two fans. There is also a D15S version which has a single fan (You can add a 2nd fan).

 

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=68&lng=en

 

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=112&lng=en

 

 

 

Phanteks do a very good cooler which you can get in various colours

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709002&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

[NikonJR]

The D15 has two fans. There is also a D15S version which has a single fan (You can add a 2nd fan).

 

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=68&lng=en

 

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=112&lng=en

 

 

 

Phanteks do a very good cooler which you can get in various colours

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709002&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Does the Phanteks drop in performance much due to the paint coating and one less heat pipe? 

[NikonJR]

[Not sure what the rule is on bumping posts, but everywhere I've been it is 24hrs. Sooooo.... bump.]

[EddieHero]

Does the Phanteks drop in performance much due to the paint coating and one less heat pipe? 

Well theoretically, lesser heat pipes = less heat transfer to the fin array? (im not so sure so dont blame me >.<)

Not so sure about the performance as well.. but if it matches your build color why not get it? anyways its your personal opinion

[NikonJR]

Well theoretically, lesser heat pipes = less heat transfer to the fin array? (im not so sure so dont blame me >.<)

Not so sure about the performance as well.. but if it matches your build color why not get it? anyways its your personal opinion

Well you have a good point. I'll do the colored one.

Do you know a good fan to replace the case fans with? Preferable with blue LED.

[Guest]

Does the Phanteks drop in performance much due to the paint coating and one less heat pipe? 

 

Nope   The Phanteks is a very good high end cooler. Just make sure you can fit it in your case as it is pretty tall at 171mm. If you are going with the 750D as per your opening post then it should just fit. 

 

The review of the 750D below shows it with the Phanteks cooler.

 

http://www.kitguru.net/components/roald/corsair-obsidian-750d-case-review/3/