First time builder, Budget of max $1000 Canadian, How future proof is this?

[thunderfawx]

Hey everyone,

 

First time building a pc, upgrading from a 4 year old laptop.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($226.31 @ Vuugo) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($55.23 @ DirectCanada) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($57.31 @ Vuugo) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card  ($299.53 @ DirectCanada) 

Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($56.25 @ Vuugo) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($110.16 @ DirectCanada) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($22.30 @ DirectCanada) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($44.98 @ Amazon Canada) 

Total: $962.05

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-04 15:55 EST-0500

 

I live in southern ontario, Canada.

 

Mostly used for gaming on a single 1080p monitor at (hopefully) high graphics settings. I want to play games such at GTAV and Fallout 4 but may also be sharing the pc with someone who uses tons of photoshop and other graphic design stuff, and some animation programs as well.

 

I dont want to really change anything for atleast another 3 years (possible SSD in the future). I am also debating between the i5-4690 3.5Ghz and the i5-4460 3.2 Ghz for best bang for buck. I also need assistance in picking a power supply, willing to pay top dollar for that. Lastly is the mother board a good choice, any better recommendations? Not sure if ASrock is the best manufacturer out there.

 

Thanks!

 

EDIT: WHEN I SAY FUTURE PROOF I MEANT LASTS 3 YEARS ATLEAST, I KNOW "FUTURE PROOF" DOESNT EXIST

[Atmos]

i'd get a single 8gb dim instead of two 4. that way you can more easily upgrade to 16 in the future. 8gbs is starting to fade out as a minimum.

[yourdad165]

I'd say go at least a 4690k if you want it to last a bit longer. You can overclock it if you lack the performance you need later on. 

[GlassBomb]

No such thing as future proof. 

 

But that's a fairly good build. The only thing that I would see to get in the future would be an SSD.

[Arcanekitten]

It looks very solid in my opinion and a ssd in the future is something i highly recommend

[Shimejii]

There is no such thing as future proof get that out of your head. You can be set for a few years with that build in 1080p only, until games get even more demanding. You should be fine for at least 2-4 years no problem @ 1080p gaming, save up for an SSD, you wont regret it, even if its just for booting up

[Castdeath97]

Get rid of the optical drive (you can install windows with a usb stick) and get a R9 390.

[thunderfawx]

@yourdad165, the motherboard is h97 though so i cant overclock, and the 4690k + a z97 mobo would be atleast another 200 + tax, from what i can find anyways

[Arcanekitten]

i'd get a single 8gb dim instead of two 4. that way you can more easily upgrade to 16 in the future. 8gbs is starting to fade out as a minimum.

That could be a option for him but to be honest hes probably going to upgrade to ddr4 before he needs 16 gb and then he could upgrade to 16 gb since he has 2 dimms left over. 

[yourdad165]

@yourdad165, the motherboard is h97 though so i cant overclock, and the 4690k + a z97 mobo would be atleast another 200 + tax, from what i can find anyways

 

Oh okay, maybe just a 4690 then? I'm just trying to help you out a bit but to be sure you can get a bit more performance for your money.

 

You don't really need to overclock to be honest. Installing a water cooler is fun though.

[thunderfawx]

Get rid of the optical drive (you can install windows with a usb stick) and get a R9 390.

well the 390 is another $170 + the PSU for it as opposed to the $20 for the optical drive, which isnt only for windows but some other programs the person im sharing the pc with might need (theyll pay for that cd drive)

[Castdeath97]

well the 390 is another $170 + the PSU for it as opposed to the $20 for the optical drive, which isnt only for windows but some other programs the person im sharing the pc with might need (theyll pay for that cd drive)

The 550W PSU will handle it fine, it will pull around 400-450 watts. And with a 170 dollars you can get 1000W power supply, why would you do that with a card that pulls 450W?

[thunderfawx]

The 550W PSU will handle it fine, it will pull around 400-450 watts. And with a 170 dollars you can get 1000W power supply, why would you do that with a card that pulls 450W?

 

sorry i meant the r9 390 will cost me another $170ish ($450 total) ontop of what im paying for the r9 380($300), i wanst sure what PSU i would need. As much as I would love a 390, it isnt in my budget. even then, it feels like the i5-4460 3.2Ghz would become a bottleneck. also seems like overkill for a single monitor 1080p setup

[Atmos]

That could be a option for him but to be honest hes probably going to upgrade to ddr4 before he needs 16 gb and then he could upgrade to 16 gb since he has 2 dimms left over. 

upgrading to ddr4 would require a new cpu and motherboard, which is basically a full system upgrade at that point. Just buying one dim now, and then in a month or so buying another dim for 35$ is just a value addon, not a full system upgrade.

[Castdeath97]

sorry i meant the r9 390 will cost me another $170ish ($450 total) ontop of what im paying for the r9 380($300), i wanst sure what PSU i would need. As much as I would love a 390, it isnt in my budget. even then, it feels like the i5-4460 3.2Ghz would become a bottleneck. also seems like overkill for a single monitor 1080p setup

The i5 4460 will never bottleneck a R9 390, even a 980 ti rarely gets bottlenecked by it! The r9 390 costs a 100 dollars by the way, but sense you are staying at 1080p I guess sticking with the r9 380 4GB is still a wise choice. Though I really recommend a SSD, at least 120GB SSD to old your OS since it significantly speeds launch and boot times.

[thunderfawx]

The i5 4460 will never bottleneck a R9 390, even a 980 ti rarely gets bottlenecked by it! The r9 390 costs a 100 dollars by the way, but sense you are staying at 1080p I guess sticking with the r9 380 4GB is still a wise choice. Though I really recommend a SSD, at least 120GB SSD to old your OS since it significantly speeds launch and boot times.

 

im looking at canadian prices so perhaps thats the difference? (the 13% tax is a killer too). I only have a 4 year old alienware(yea i know...) laptop so no OS to upgrade. Is getting a lower capacity SSD not worth it? like a 60gb for windows only?

[stconquest]

Comparative build:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($226.31 @ Vuugo)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 300 55.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($21.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($77.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($53.54 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($113.31 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($57.31 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB Nitro Video Card  ($291.29 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($46.75 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.45 @ DirectCanada)
Case Fan: Thermaltake CL-F011-PL12BL-A 41.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($6.05 @ DirectCanada)  <<Front Intake
Total: $978.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-04 17:44 EST-0500

 

550W, if the 450W is too scary for you:  http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

[stconquest]

im looking at canadian prices so perhaps thats the difference? (the 13% tax is a killer too). I only have a 4 year old alienware(yea i know...) laptop so no OS to upgrade. Is getting a lower capacity SSD not worth it? like a 60gb for windows only?

 

Why would you not grab an SSD that is actually usable for a few games/programs?  I only have a 240 SSD in my PC 24/7, no mech drive.

 

Another option:

 

$1035

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($226.31 @ Vuugo)

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($77.75 @ Vuugo)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($53.54 @ DirectCanada)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($109.31 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB PCS+ Video Card  ($391.98 @ Newegg Canada)

Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($46.75 @ Vuugo)

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ NCIX)

Case Fan: Thermaltake CL-F011-PL12BL-A 41.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($6.05 @ DirectCanada)

Total: $991.68

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-04 17:58 EST-0500