Needs some advice for PC building

[Kurlyy]

Uhm so I'm pretty new to this forum and I just want to ask for some advice in the PC that I'm planning to build. Please bear with my English if it's not good enough.

So I already have my CPU and Motherboard and a monitor
CPU: Intel core i5 6600 3.3-3.9 GHZ 4 cores
Motherboard: Gigabyte H170 D3HP
Monitor: Asus VC239H (Sorry it's all that I can afford)

and I need some advice on what to get for the remaining parts. Basically I am willing to spend around $1000-1300 for the remainder of the PC (not including peripherals and gamer blings). I am also from the Philippines so prices here are way higher than you folks (sad life 3rd world country problems)

My aim is to get a balance of performance and looks with my budget (particularly GPU and Casing) although I already looked into different components. I wanted to get that Corsair Vengeance 760t and MSI GTX970.. I also want some good but cheap SSD (possibly two in raid 0) and 1tb of storage will do. I want to know if there are better and cheaper choices out there. and your help/advice will be appreciated.

[Guest]

R9 390 8G should be at a similar price point from what I see  (although tbh I know nothing about PC parts in Philippines and I'm just trusting whatever Google gives me, and it will be better than GTX 970, mostly due to more VRAM, which will be useful in the future if you'll ever upgrade your monitor. Otherwise it's similar in performance to the 970.

 

As far as the rest is concerned - 8 or better, 16 gigs of any DDR4 RAM, for SSDs you can go for Sandisk Plus series, or if you wanna go cheaper - A-Data will do just fine. Just make sure that you have a good PSU (EVGA G2 for example, Corsair RM series and so on, don't settle for something of worse quality, like CX series - your rig depends on it). For HDD - you can't go wrong with WD Blue series, although honestly, there are what, 3 HDD manufacturers out there?

 

Can't really provide a parts list right now, as I'm on a mobile, sorry.

[Kurlyy]

R9 390 8G should be at a similar price point from what I see  (although tbh I know nothing about PC parts in Philippines and I'm just trusting whatever Google gives me, and it will be better than GTX 970, mostly due to more VRAM, which will be useful in the future if you'll ever upgrade your monitor. Otherwise it's similar in performance to the 970.

 

As far as the rest is concerned - 8 or better, 16 gigs of any DDR4 RAM, for SSDs you can go for Sandisk Plus series, or if you wanna go cheaper - A-Data will do just fine. Just make sure that you have a good PSU (EVGA G2 for example, Corsair RM series and so on, don't settle for something of worse quality, like CX series - your rig depends on it). For HDD - you can't go wrong with WD Blue series, although honestly, there are what, 3 HDD manufacturers out there?

 

Can't really provide a parts list right now, as I'm on a mobile, sorry.

Thanks for the insight. I just looked at R9 390. It has 8gigs of VRAM compared to 3.5 of GTX 970. But I'm not planning on upgrading my monitor for around 2 years or so. I'm a little bit of an NVIDIA fanboy but I have no problem with AMD (in fact my laptop has AMD gpu). I need to rethink that one. and also the 390x is just 20$ more expensive than the GTX 970 so I'm a a little interested. about the RAM is it better to have a single stick 16gb of ram or a dual 8gb? about SSDs is Sandisk an ok brand for SSD? or should I get Samsung EVO? . About the PSU RM series is like double the price of the CX ones will it justify by it's performance?? . HDD yeah I think i'll get WD's blue series..

thanks bruh

[stconquest]

Thanks for the insight. I just looked at R9 390. It has 8gigs of VRAM compared to 3.5 of GTX 970. But I'm not planning on upgrading my monitor for around 2 years or so. I'm a little bit of an NVIDIA fanboy but I have no problem with AMD (in fact my laptop has AMD gpu). I need to rethink that one. and also the 390x is just 20$ more expensive than the GTX 970 so I'm a a little interested. about the RAM is it better to have a single stick 16gb of ram or a dual 8gb? about SSDs is Sandisk an ok brand for SSD? or should I get Samsung EVO? . About the PSU RM series is like double the price of the CX ones will it justify by it's performance?? . HDD yeah I think i'll get WD's blue series..

thanks bruh

 

390X for $20 more is definitely the way to go.

 

2x8GB is what you want.

 

Sandisk Ultra II is just as fast as the Samsung EVO.

 

Stay away from Corsair PSUs, they are usually overpriced or bad quality.  Seasonic, Superflower, XFX(Seasonic), EVGA G2(Superflower) or GS/PS(Seasonic).  Antec has mostly good quality units as well.

 

Question:  Why did you not get the 6600K?

[Kurlyy]

390X for $20 more is definitely the way to go.

 

2x8GB is what you want.

 

Sandisk Ultra II is just as fast as the Samsung EVO.

 

Stay away from Corsair PSUs, they are usually overpriced or bad quality.  Seasonic, Superflower, XFX(Seasonic), EVGA G2(Superflower) or GS/PS(Seasonic).  Antec has mostly good quality units as well.

 

Question:  Why did you not get the 6600K?

I think I'll get that 390X

any brand of RAM will do?

ok I think I'll go with the sandisk because it's cheaper by around $9.

Unfortunately I can only find Seasonic with the ones you listed so I think I'll go with that. What wattage do you recommend though?

about the 6600K. when I ordered they said that it was out of stock so I just took the 6600. I probably wont overclock my CPU anyway.

and oh what do you recommend about the Cooling system? would stock CPU fans and Corsair 760t fans do or do I need an upgrade?

[stconquest]

I think I'll get that 390X

any brand of RAM will do?

ok I think I'll go with the sandisk because it's cheaper by around $9.

Unfortunately I can only find Seasonic with the ones you listed so I think I'll go with that. What wattage do you recommend though?

about the 6600K. when I ordered they said that it was out of stock so I just took the 6600. I probably wont overclock my CPU anyway.

 

 

For gaming, overclocking is not that important.  Skylake has decent BCLK overclocking, the 6600 might OC just fine if you ever need it.

 

Corsair's RAM is usually the best deal here... 2133MHz @ 13 CAS// 2400MHz @ 14 CAS... Any RAM will do, I think the worst timings are around the 15/16(2133) mark.

 

Wattage?  500W will work, 550W gives you some room... but make sure it is a good quality unit.  Find good tech reviews.  850W if you want to crossfire.

[Guest]

-snip-

 

If 390x is only 20$ more, just get a 390x. It blows 970 out of the water. 

 

Go with 2x8GB - it's not like you're going to upgrade to 64GB in a foreseeable future. 

 

As far as PSUs are concerned, a better PSU is always worth it - better build quality, better components, and most importantly - better power quality and more safeguards in case things go south. Look around for PSU tier list and just get something cheap enough from tier 1/2a

 

As far as RAM is concerned - all RAM is made equal. Get whatever you like the most (except for overpriced stuff with LEDs, additional fans and so on, but hey, whatever floats your boat, mate! )

[Kurlyy]

For gaming, overclocking is not that important.  Skylake has decent BCLK overclocking, the 6600 might OC just fine if you ever need it.

 

Corsair's RAM is usually the best deal here... 2133MHz @ 13 CAS// 2400MHz @ 14 CAS... Any RAM will do, I think the worst timings are around the 15/16(2133) mark.

 

Wattage?  500W will work, 550W gives you some room... but make sure it is a good quality unit.  Find good tech reviews.  850W if you want to crossfire.

How about the Seasonic M12II 550 Watts 80 plus bronze efficiency.

I wont be able to afford crossfiring right now and my monitor is kinda shitty as it is (I bought it without researching dumb me)..

I mostly play games so would 8gb of RAM be enough? although 16gb wont be a problem DDR4s are pricey right now. 

and oh what do you recommend about the Cooling system? would stock CPU fans and Corsair 760t fans do or do I need an upgrade?

[Kurlyy]

If 390x is only 20$ more, just get a 390x. It blows 970 out of the water. 

 

Go with 2x8GB - it's not like you're going to upgrade to 64GB in a foreseeable future. 

 

As far as PSUs are concerned, a better PSU is always worth it - better build quality, better components, and most importantly - better power quality and more safeguards in case things go south. Look around for PSU tier list and just get something cheap enough from tier 1/2a

 

As far as RAM is concerned - all RAM is made equal. Get whatever you like the most (except for overpriced stuff with LEDs, additional fans and so on, but hey, whatever floats your boat, mate! )

oh unfortunately the 390X is tad more expensive if I won't be able to pay them in cash. for now I can only afford paying through credit cards so I'm in a pretty tight space right now. The other shop offers GTX970 discounted even with credit cards so I'm pretty much doomed right now. I want that 390X but I don't know if I can find a decent shop right now. 

 

[stconquest]

How about the Seasonic M12II 550 Watts 80 plus bronze efficiency.

I wont be able to afford crossfiring right now and my monitor is kinda shitty as it is (I bought it without researching dumb me)..

I mostly play games so would 8gb of RAM be enough? although 16gb wont be a problem DDR4s are pricey right now. 

and oh what do you recommend about the Cooling system? would stock CPU fans and Corsair 760t fans do or do I need an upgrade?

 

The 550W M12II is a great unit.

 

A single 390X is fine, a 390 is fine, a 970 is fine.  All great cards.

 

A single stick of 8GB is fine if it puts money towards other parts.

 

Stock cooling is fine if it puts money on other parts.

 

The Corsair 760t is not a cheap case.  Do you have cheaper options?  The Phanteks Enthoo Pro ($99 USD/$140 CDN) is much cheaper here, but just as well built as the 760t, maybe even better quality.

[Kurlyy]

The 550W M12II is a great unit.

 

A single 390X is fine, a 390 is fine, a 970 is fine.  All great cards.

 

A single stick of 8GB is fine if it puts money towards other parts.

 

Stock cooling is fine if it puts money on other parts.

 

The Corsair 760t is not a cheap case.  Do you have cheaper options?  The Phanteks Enthoo Pro ($99 USD/$140 CDN) is much cheaper here, but just as well built as the 760t, maybe even better quality.

I just fell inlove with the 760t I really dig that case. I set aside a budget entirely for the 760t I mean man it's so sexy. Maybe I just went for a beastly cosmetics and a decent quality there. If you can recommend me a set of cooling fans that I can consider that will be appreciated (I specially want those led lit fans but I can't decide which ones to consider, and I'm thinking of water cooling my CPU just because water cooling looks sick in my eyes) Do you have anything in mind?

[stconquest]

I just fell inlove with the 760t I really dig that case. I set aside a budget entirely for the 760t I mean man it's so sexy. Maybe I just went for a beastly cosmetics and a decent quality there. If you can recommend me a set of cooling fans that I can consider that will be appreciated (I specially want those led lit fans but I can't decide which ones to consider, and I'm thinking of water cooling my CPU just because water cooling looks sick in my eyes) Do you have anything in mind?

 

Yeah, if you are on a budget:  Don't do those things

 

Cheap Low RPM fans are fine.

[Kurlyy]

Yeah, if you are on a budget:  Don't do those things

 

Cheap Low RPM fans are fine.

I'll spend about $1230 with GTX 970 and about $1304 with R9 390X. So I still have around $400 left for peripherals. I think I still have some leeway for led fans but I think I'll skip the liquid cooling part.

[stconquest]

I'll spend about $1230 with GTX 970 and about $1304 with R9 390X. So I still have around $400 left for peripherals. I think I still have some leeway for led fans but I think I'll skip the liquid cooling part.

If you are going to do LEDs, strips are much better for showcasing the PC.  More control, better coverage, and pretty cheap.

[Kurlyy]

If you are going to do LEDs, strips are much better for showcasing the PC.  More control, better coverage, and pretty cheap.

Ohh I see. I often see Linus recommending the Alchemy strips I think I'll go with that

[Jykos]

If you are going to do LEDs, strips are much better for showcasing the PC.  More control, better coverage, and pretty cheap.

 

Ohh I see. I often see Linus recommending the Alchemy strips I think I'll go with that

 

The only time LEDs in fans look good is through a front-panel mesh on a non-window case. Otherwise their pretty ineffective. Cheap LED strips, however, are much more effective (just be sure that they are not directly visible.)

[Jykos]

I just fell inlove with the 760t I really dig that case. I set aside a budget entirely for the 760t I mean man it's so sexy. Maybe I just went for a beastly cosmetics and a decent quality there. If you can recommend me a set of cooling fans that I can consider that will be appreciated (I specially want those led lit fans but I can't decide which ones to consider, and I'm thinking of water cooling my CPU just because water cooling looks sick in my eyes) Do you have anything in mind?

If looks matter to you then feel free to splash out a bit on them. Your case will last multiple builds and (unlike CPUs/GPUs) the "performance" won't degrade so don't be too worried about making an investment.