First Build Check

[Roby]

Hey all,

 

I'm wanting to put together my first build and could use some help to making sure I'm on the right track.

 

Goals:

• Have a decent PC to last me for a while - the most demanding game I'll be playing is Guild Wars 2.
• Ideally spend somewhere around $1200 CAD total (prefer to purchase from Amazon, Newegg, NCIX, Canada Computers). Hoping to cut costs where I can without hindering too much performance.
• Have the build potentially be able to stream in the future (not a requirement but if it's possible then it's welcomed).

 

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($286.98 @ DirectCanada) - I figured I would get something from this series as it's new.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($37.75 @ Vuugo) - Definitely want to air cool and this is highly regarded for it at the price.
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($205.00 @ Vuugo) - This is my biggest ? It was the one I thought fit the build best but I feel like I may be overspending here.
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($89.99 @ NCIX) - I could bump this down to 8. This seemed to be a fairly popular brand.
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($189.99 @ Newegg Canada) - I'm not 100% sure on how the SSD/HDD setup works. If the games run off the HDD and the load times are based on the HDD speed, I'd rather just grab one SSD. If that's not how it works I'm open to alternatives.
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($354.99 @ Memory Express) - This is almost a guaranteed lock. I like what I've heard about EVGA and the 1060 sounds like the sweet spot for me.
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($149.99 @ Newegg Canada) - Another area where I feel I could cut some cost, but I do want a nice looking and practical case.
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($106.99 @ NCIX) Open to suggestions - went EVGA because of the good things I've heard about their PSUs. I also don't want to cheap out here.
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter  ($39.99 @ NCIX) I believe this is needed with the motherboard I have selected right now. I would prefer to have the latest gen of wifi.
Total: $1461.67
 

Thanks so much for any and all advice!

[EPPHO]

-2 options: Get i5 6600k OR get H170 motherboard since you can't overclock i5 6600

-ALSO if you ALREADY go with i5 6600 then i would save some money by going with i5 6500 since there is no difference between those two

-8 GB RAM is enough

 

[MrTzXk]

4 minutes ago, Roby said:

Hey all,

 

I'm wanting to put together my first build and could use some help to making sure I'm on the right track.

 

Goals:

• Have a decent PC to last me for a while - the most demanding game I'll be playing is Guild Wars 2.
• Ideally spend somewhere around $1200 CAD total (prefer to purchase from Amazon, Newegg, NCIX, Canada Computers). Hoping to cut costs where I can without hindering too much performance.
• Have the build potentially be able to stream in the future (not a requirement but if it's possible then it's welcomed).

 

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($286.98 @ DirectCanada) - I figured I would get something from this series as it's new.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($37.75 @ Vuugo) - Definitely want to air cool and this is highly regarded for it at the price.
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($205.00 @ Vuugo) - This is my biggest ? It was the one I thought fit the build best but I feel like I may be overspending here.
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($89.99 @ NCIX) - I could bump this down to 8. This seemed to be a fairly popular brand.
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($189.99 @ Newegg Canada) - I'm not 100% sure on how the SSD/HDD setup works. If the games run off the HDD and the load times are based on the HDD speed, I'd rather just grab one SSD. If that's not how it works I'm open to alternatives.
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($354.99 @ Memory Express) - This is almost a guaranteed lock. I like what I've heard about EVGA and the 1060 sounds like the sweet spot for me.
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($149.99 @ Newegg Canada) - Another area where I feel I could cut some cost, but I do want a nice looking and practical case.
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($106.99 @ NCIX) Open to suggestions - went EVGA because of the good things I've heard about their PSUs. I also don't want to cheap out here.
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter  ($39.99 @ NCIX) I believe this is needed with the motherboard I have selected right now. I would prefer to have the latest gen of wifi.
Total: $1461.67
 

Thanks so much for any and all advice!

Thats a pretty solid build but i would probably swap out the cpu cooler for a h100i and i would get a 1tb WD HDD so you have more space as that SSD may fill up and especially if you want to record any videos in the future you will need a lot of space. other than that this is a solid build and you will for sure be able to stream with no problem and probably with high settings on most games. 

 

for cutting costs... you could lower the SSD to a 250gb SSD which if you have a HDD is all you will really need. depending on how close you are to your modem you could potentially drop the network adapter and you should also reconsider that case! do you really want to spend 150 on a case? why not check out NZXT H440 or NZXT S340? they are beautiful cases and the H440 has great airflow. the cooler is pretty solid so you can just stick with that to save money and you could also potentially go for the rx480 gpu rather than the 1060? its worse in performance for current and past games but the rx480 will be much better for future games. the rx480 is 'futureproof' and also cheaper. 

[Lehti]

Looks rather good to me. I have the R4 as well (albeit the white version) and I love how it looks with white neons. The good thing about this case is that you don't need a modular power supply to do a proper cable management, so you can save a few bucks and get something like a TFX TS 550 Gold, which retails for almost 3/4 of that price. The memory is fine if your plan is to future-proof your build as much as possible: 8 gigs are fine in my experience except if you need to run memory-demanding applications like glossary/translation memory imports or Premiere.

You're spending a lot for that motherboard. That model doesn't usually retail for that much. I've seen it for about 150 €. And VAT in my country is absurdly high.

Are you really sure you want to go wireless, though? I believe that a Powerline will be a lot better for a desktop build.

[antisleep]

Here's how I'd spend $1200 CAD. You can save a lot by going with an mATX build.

 

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($409.99 @ NCIX) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($44.99 @ Amazon Canada) 

^Add another 8gb stick later
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($90.99 @ Amazon Canada) 

^May not be as good as the EVO, but you're getting 275GB for a cheaper price

^Starting off with just a 500gb SSD then adding an HDD later on is also a good idea
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 6GB WINDFORCE OC 6G Video Card  ($349.99 @ Newegg Canada) 

^Picked this over the EVGA SC for the dual fan and backplate
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($55.99 @ NCIX) 

^One of the best budget mATX cases
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.98 @ NCIX) 

^From the Tier 1 EVGA G2 to a Tier 2/3 CX Grey. Is based off of old Gold RM series, semi modular and all black cables.
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter  ($39.99 @ NCIX) 

^Why the need for this? Don't you have access to an ethernet cable?
Total: $1196.90

[Roby]

Thanks for the replies! Ok so I've changed out the mobo and I was looking at other PSU's. I found this one by EVGA and this one by Corsair which are much cheaper. They still quality components or should I be looking elsewhere? They're both 80+ Bronze which from what I understand should be good enough and they're both from reputable brands.

 

I decided to keep the SSD the way it is - my game library is very small so I'm not so worried about running out of space. If I did need space for videos and such if I started streaming in the future, I'll pick up an HDD for sure for that. Everything else will fit comfortably with that 500GB based on my current setup.

 

Spoiler

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($287.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($37.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus H170-PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($139.98 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($189.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($354.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($149.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($106.99 @ NCIX)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter  ($37.98 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1395.64