First Ever Attempt At Gaming PC

[zaccyp]

So 7 year old laptop is dying on me, ps3 is dead, left with nothing to game on. Instead of buying a new laptop and ps4 i have decided to build my very own pc (well i know a guy who builds pc's and i offered him beer and pizza in exchange for his services). I am pretty dense when it comes to this stuff so sorry for any mistakes or stupidity in advance. 

 

Some info.

• Budget is 1500 Australian dollars roughly, little over wont hurt, as far under as i can go would be great. 
• I hope to be able to play most games (mainly play any and all rpg's, arpg's to be honest) at 1080p, 60 fps, on Ultra. Or any game actually with the exception of some obvious games like just cause 3 and what not. 
• I live underneath my uncles house in a small sort of one room apartment (like some sort of troll) whilst i am studying there, so i don't want some monster tower taking up loads of space. The room is relatively cool in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. It is very very dusty though, no matter how much i clean.

This is something i got help throwing together and wanted to hear some opinions from people who know what they're doing. Also is the case i chose a good one? How should the fans set up to optimize cooling and reduce dust build up? Would a cpu or gpu aftermarket cooler be necessary? 

Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor

 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

 

RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory

 

SSD: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

 

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

 

Graphics Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card

 

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case

 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

 

OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)

 

Wifi Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter

 

Total: $1409.00

[MoonlightSylv]

That's actually really good for a first build.

[Crushaderdk]

you won't need an aftermarket cooler for that cpu. Good build. I would go R9 390 instead of GTX 970 for future proofing. R9 390's are really good. I have one myself.

[Guest]

Switch to a R9-390

[IsaacDaGrazin]

That's actually really good for a first build.

better than my current pc

[zaccyp]

I won't lie, between pointers from this guy i know, pc part picker website and forums, and some guys i know on reddit, it was made up. So props to those guys really. Been saving all summer (well winter for now that i am back home because it was summer in Australia) so figured why the hell not. 

[Philcat101]

I won't lie, between pointers from this guy i know, pc part picker website and forums, and some guys i know on reddit, it was made up. So props to those guys really. Been saving all summer (well winter for now that i am back home because it was summer in Australia) so figured why the hell not. 

BTW, You should build on PC Part Picker and share the link with us to edit.

[MoonlightSylv]

better than my current pc

me too lol

[Lotus]

Not bad, but if it were me I'd do this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($294.00 @ Umart)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($94.00 @ IJK)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($67.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($479.00 @ Centre Com)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($108.50 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($119.00 @ Umart)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($139.00 @ CPL Online)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($19.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1487.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-25 05:04 AEDT+1100

[zaccyp]

BTW, You should build on PC Part Picker and share the link with us to edit.

I tried but i kept messing it up, this is on part picker thing lmao. 

 

OK is it a vast improvement over the 970? Is it cheaper? what about power usage, heat, noise and what not?

[Philcat101]

This one is WAY better: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NXXgkL

EDIT: NO THIS IS USD AND NOT AUSTRALIAN

derp!

[Philcat101]

I tried but i kept messing it up, this is on part picker thing lmao. 

 

OK is it a vast improvement over the 970? Is it cheaper? what about power usage, heat, noise and what not?

The R9 390?

It has 8GB of fast usable VRAM (As opposed to the fast 3.5GB and slow 0.5GB on the 970)

It is in the $310 range (As opposed to the $330 for the 970)

It is faster in most games

Runs cool, but consumes more power and outputs more heat.

[zaccyp]

Not bad, but if it were me I'd do this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($294.00 @ Umart)

Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($94.00 @ IJK)

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($67.00 @ IJK)

Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.00 @ Centre Com)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.00 @ Centre Com)

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($479.00 @ Centre Com)

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($108.50 @ CPL Online)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($119.00 @ Umart)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($139.00 @ CPL Online)

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($19.00 @ CPL Online)

Total: $1487.50

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-25 05:04 AEDT+1100

 

Thanks for the input dude. So what are the benefits of your version, because i know basics and what not but the technical stuff to me is all Greek as far as im concerned... which is funny because i actually speak it lol (well Cypriot but its the same thing sort of).

[zaccyp]

The R9 390?

It has 8GB of fast usable VRAM (As opposed to the fast 3.5GB and slow 0.5GB on the 970)

It is in the $310 range (As opposed to the $330 for the 970)

It is faster in most games

Runs cool, but consumes more power and outputs more heat.

 

OK OK, did some googleing and yes i see what you mean. The thing is though Nvidia has a massive market share and i am worried that games will start being tailored towards them. Or is that a dumb concern? 

[zaccyp]

This one is WAY better: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NXXgkL

EDIT: NO THIS IS USD AND NOT AUSTRALIAN

derp!

Checked it out looks awesome but i dont think i can afford the jump to an i7 and still be able to eat that month and buy second hand textbooks haha As much as i would love to. 

[Lotus]

Thanks for the input dude. So what are the benefits of your version, because i know basics and what not but the technical stuff to me is all Greek as far as im concerned... which is funny because i actually speak it lol (well Cypriot but its the same thing sort of).

The CPU is stronger, the memory is faster yet there's an open slot for future expansion, the GPU is better cooled, the PSU is of higher quality, and the case is still great without being so pricey. It lacks the sound dampening of the Define series, but I wouldn't worry about it, and lastly the wifi card is less susceptible to interference. The SSD is just cheaper with only minor performance loss. Overall the minor improvements should increase longevity by a lot, especially considering the better CPU platform and open DIMM.

[zaccyp]

The CPU is stronger, the memory is faster yet there's an open slot for future expansion, the GPU is better cooled, the PSU is of higher quality, and the case is still great without being so pricey. It lacks the sound dampening of the Define series, but I wouldn't worry about it, and lastly the wifi card is less susceptible to interference. The SSD is just cheaper with only minor performance loss. Overall the minor improvements should increase longevity by a lot, especially considering the better CPU platform and open DIMM.

 

See this is why i came here to get answers like that lol Thanks man, the benefits you mentioned far out way the extra 80 odd bucks. Still a little confused as to the amd vs nvidia card suggestion but ill just do more homework on that and try see what i come up with. 

[Lotus]

The R9 390 is the better card, but not by a lot. The problem is your local prices don't match up with prices here in the US. If they were the same price, I'd pick the R9 390, but according to pcpartpicker, the GTX 970 was cheaper by a non-trivial amount, which is why I went with it. Here in the US you have to be ignorant (or only play NVidia GameFail games or other weird circumstances) to buy a GTX 970 because the R9 390 is always cheaper here.

[Mr.Meerkat]

I would recommend a 390 over a 970 but it's your choice and the define r5 is a good "dust-proof" case. Make sure you have a positive airflow to reduce dust build up (more fans does not mean more air is being taken into the case) and make sure all intakes are filtered (pretty sure the r5 already have all the intakes filtered). 

 

Edit. the r9 390 is better in terms of raw processing power, usually better slightly than the 970 in games, more vram, seems to do better in dx12 (this isn't confirmed until real dx12 games comes out but due to AMD having already designed their cards for mantle and having dx12 so similar, it probably will do better) but there's also the negatives of higher power consumption, more heat (but not hotter as that really depends on the cooling solution).

[zaccyp]

Ye i see what you mean. Well right now i am working for my uncles law firm and this budget was based on what i will have made when i go back to Australia (not getting paid that much to be honest). Hopefully he gives like a small token of his appreciation for me working there lol, god knows they can afford it, then i can throw more money at this pc!! Again thanks man. I guess i should mark this as solved then.