First Build Review

[Unnamed RedShirt]

So I'm currently a student who has saved up about $800 for a new computer and decided to try my hand at building it myself. I game on occasion but nothing too demanding. Most of the software I use are CPU intensive so I decided to forgo a GPU for the time being (And put one in next time I get a paycheck) as to allow room for a better CPU. As I said, not sure if this is a good idea because this is my first time building. I went with a non-K processor because I don't want to risk overclocking so why waste money one a feature I probably won't use (since I'd honestly wouldn't have a good enough idea about how to do it safely to risk an $300 processor). I'll also put another 8GB stick in soon. But my current computer (a cheapo laptop that's been pushed way past its lifespan) finally gave out I decided now is as good a time as ever to at least get started. Again, this is my first time so I'm not sure if one of these decisions is idiotic so I wanted to run it by some seasoned builders before I spend more than $800.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/srw4M8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/srw4M8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($304.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($100.66 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($40.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Acrylic ATX Mid Tower Case  ($87.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($126.83 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $773.43 ($809.77 before rebates because I can't OD my account)
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-16 23:17 EDT-0400

[Guest]

Get a h170 or b mobo instead since you don't oc. z 170 is for overlocking. h or b mobo will be cheaper anyway

Add a HDD too? 120GB is too small. I suggest get an HDD and add an SSD later on.

 

 

[Brooksie359]

4 minutes ago, Unnamed RedShirt said:

So I'm currently a student who has saved up about $800 for a new computer and decided to try my hand at building it myself. I game on occasion but nothing too demanding. Most of the software I use are CPU intensive so I decided to forgo a GPU for the time being (And put one in next time I get a paycheck) as to allow room for a better CPU. As I said, not sure if this is a good idea because this is my first time building. I went with a non-K processor because I don't want to risk overclocking so why waste money one a feature I probably won't use (since I'd honestly wouldn't have a good enough idea about how to do it safely to risk an $300 processor). I'll also put another 8GB stick in soon. But my current computer (a cheapo laptop that's been pushed way past its lifespan) finally gave out I decided now is as good a time as ever to at least get started. Again, this is my first time so I'm not sure if one of these decisions is idiotic so I wanted to run it by some seasoned builders before I spend more than $800.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/srw4M8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/srw4M8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($304.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($100.66 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($40.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Acrylic ATX Mid Tower Case  ($87.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($126.83 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $773.43 ($809.77 before rebates because I can't OD my account)
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-16 23:17 EDT-0400

the k version has a 4.0ghz base clock. 

[Guest]

Just now, Brooksie359 said:

the k version has a 4.0ghz base clock. 

it will go over his budget

[Brooksie359]

Just now, dexxterlab97 said:

it will go over his budget

not if he gets a non z170 motherboard as he isnt overclocking

[Watermelon_Jesus]

I saw you went with a Z170 board but went without the 6700K because you didn't want to risk overclocking. Do you plan on, later in time, to buy a 6700K or just stick with your 6700. If you plan on sticking with the 6700 then I think you shouldn't have gone with a Z170 board because you don't plan on overclocking. Everything else looks pretty good though, definitely get that other 8GB stick of RAM and a GTX 1070 or even a 1080, try to get a 1440P monitor if not a 1080P monitor will do excellent with one of those GPUs I mentioned, and I would recommend getting a 1TB HDD for extra storage for gaming or whatever else you plan on doing. Other than that, your build looks pretty solid.

[Unnamed RedShirt]

3 minutes ago, dexxterlab97 said:

Get a h170 or b mobo instead since you don't oc. z 170 is for overlocking. h or b mobo will be cheaper anyway

Add a HDD too? 120GB is too small. I suggest get an HDD and add an SSD later on.

 

 

What's the difference between the h and b?

[Zyndo]

Just now, Brooksie359 said:

not if he gets a non z170 motherboard as he isnt overclocking

he will then have to buy an aftermarket cooler since k series chips don't come with one. he will still be over budget.

[Guest]

Just now, Unnamed RedShirt said:

What's the difference between the h and b?

not much. get one that is cheaper

[Zyndo]

Just now, Unnamed RedShirt said:

What's the difference between the h and b?

H stands for "home" B stands for "business". B series boards tend to have more business oriented chipset features and H series tend to have more home pc oriented features. Realistically though you can use either for either purpose.

[Unnamed RedShirt]

Just now, dexxterlab97 said:

not much. get one that is cheaper

The absolute max is about $820 before rebates

[Brooksie359]

1 minute ago, Zyndo said:

he will then have to buy an aftermarket cooler since k series chips don't come with one. he will still be over budget.

yeah i guess. i was just trying to say that the i7 6700k is still worth it even if you dont plan on overclocking that being said if you cant afford it then you cant afford it

[Guest]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($294.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($76.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($40.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.88 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Acrylic ATX Mid Tower Case  ($87.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($126.83 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $798.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-16 23:31 EDT-0400

[Unnamed RedShirt]

3 minutes ago, Watermelon_Jesus said:

I saw you went with a Z170 board but went without the 6700K because you didn't want to risk overclocking. Do you plan on, later in time, to buy a 6700K or just stick with your 6700. If you plan on sticking with the 6700 then I think you shouldn't have gone with a Z170 board because you don't plan on overclocking. Everything else looks pretty good though, definitely get that other 8GB stick of RAM and a GTX 1070 or even a 1080, try to get a 1440P monitor if not a 1080P monitor will do excellent with one of those GPUs I mentioned, and I would recommend getting a 1TB HDD for extra storage for gaming or whatever else you plan on doing. Other than that, your build looks pretty solid.

Ok, thanks. And HDD was definitely planned, I forgot to mention it. although I think I might also get a larger SSD in the future but I'm not sure if the OEM windows will transfer over (I've heard all kinds of builders having trouble with Windows licensing)

[Zyndo]

Just now, Unnamed RedShirt said:

Ok, thanks. And HDD was definitely planned, I forgot to mention it. although I think I might also get a larger SSD in the future but I'm not sure if the OEM windows will transfer over (I've heard all kinds of builders having trouble with Windows licensing)

OEM is tied to your motherboard. You should be able to switch pretty much anything else without issue.

[Watermelon_Jesus]

Just now, Unnamed RedShirt said:

Ok, thanks. And HDD was definitely planned, I forgot to mention it. although I think I might also get a larger SSD in the future but I'm not sure if the OEM windows will transfer over (I've heard all kinds of builders having trouble with Windows licensing)

It can have problems, I would talk to someone who is more experienced with technology about transferring Windows from one SSD to another. You could also keep Windows on that SSD and buy another SSD to go along with it and put the games/programs you would use most on the second SSD.

[Legolessed]

15 minutes ago, Unnamed RedShirt said:

So I'm currently a student who has saved up about $800 for a new computer and decided to try my hand at building it myself. I game on occasion but nothing too demanding. Most of the software I use are CPU intensive so I decided to forgo a GPU for the time being (And put one in next time I get a paycheck) as to allow room for a better CPU. As I said, not sure if this is a good idea because this is my first time building. I went with a non-K processor because I don't want to risk overclocking so why waste money one a feature I probably won't use (since I'd honestly wouldn't have a good enough idea about how to do it safely to risk an $300 processor). I'll also put another 8GB stick in soon. But my current computer (a cheapo laptop that's been pushed way past its lifespan) finally gave out I decided now is as good a time as ever to at least get started. Again, this is my first time so I'm not sure if one of these decisions is idiotic so I wanted to run it by some seasoned builders before I spend more than $800.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/srw4M8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/srw4M8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($304.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($100.66 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($40.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Acrylic ATX Mid Tower Case  ($87.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($126.83 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $773.43 ($809.77 before rebates because I can't OD my account)
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-16 23:17 EDT-0400

my first build was a 1.6 ghz single core celeron cpu and a gt 420. i feel like yours might be a little bit more powerful . Good luck!

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Zyndo said:

OEM is tied to your motherboard. You should be able to switch pretty much anything else without issue.

even so you can still swap mobo as microsoft now support hardware changes for Win10

[Unnamed RedShirt]

4 minutes ago, Brooksie359 said:

yeah i guess. i was just trying to say that the i7 6700k is still worth it even if you dont plan on overclocking that being said if you cant afford it then you cant afford it

What if I drew back on the PSU. after all, I don't really need a fully modular one. I only went with it because it came highly recommended. Then again there's a lot of risk with PSUs and I definitely don't know enough about them to make my own call

[Unnamed RedShirt]

1 minute ago, Legolessed said:

my first build was a 1.6 ghz single core celeron cpu and a gt 420. i feel like yours might be a little bit more powerful . Good luck!

Well I've been saving for a long time to blow most of it on this so... lol

[Legolessed]

Just now, Unnamed RedShirt said:

Well I've been saving for a long time to blow most of it on this so... lol

mine was a total of $25 also make sure you have some sort of anti static protection. i bought a $2 anti static wrist strap on amazon. Or you can touch the power supply frequently to discharge static

[Brooksie359]

6 minutes ago, Unnamed RedShirt said:

What if I drew back on the PSU. after all, I don't really need a fully modular one. I only went with it because it came highly recommended. Then again there's a lot of risk with PSUs and I definitely don't know enough about them to make my own call

what do you plan on doing with your pc?

[Unnamed RedShirt]

Just now, Brooksie359 said:

what do you plan on doing with your pc?

Some video editing is my main thing (which I talked to the IT guy at out school and he told the the software is very CPU intensive). Some 3D work which is probably better done on a GPU but I've found ways to run it decently on this CPU. At least for a couple of weeks until I get a decent GPU. Also going into computer engineering (not quite sure what exactly that will entail with a personal rig). Some other various video encoding. Other than that not much that will put a heavy enough workload on it to take into account. But that's why I decided to get a GPU later and use the extra for an i7.

[Zyndo]

4 minutes ago, Unnamed RedShirt said:

What if I drew back on the PSU. after all, I don't really need a fully modular one. I only went with it because it came highly recommended. Then again there's a lot of risk with PSUs and I definitely don't know enough about them to make my own call

You could.... but a PSU is not a place to cheap out in your PC. you don't need a 650W one though. If you intend on only getting a single GPU in your system you could go with a 450-500W PSU and still have PLENTY of headroom. However, wattage and power efficiency aren't the only things to consider in a PSU. There is a good reason to buy slightly overkill and higher quality units. You might be able to save like 20-30 bucks by getting a cheaper PSU, but if 20-30 bucks isn't critically important to your life I would recommend sticking with what you have (or some other similar quality unit).

 

This PSU would be a good alternative to your current selection if you think you need to cut back. it has enough power to run your CPU and most any GPU on the market today if you wanted to throw one in at some point. good quality too, and a bit cheaper than your RM650x. Its not quite as good quality, but its still plenty good for your needs.

 

 

 

Compared to your original build, and at a similar price but with more performance and similar features (with the exception of a USB type C port), you could get this computer:

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/4z9DZ8

 

I would also recommend maybe perhaps getting a different case? there are cheaper options out there for you if you need to be more budget focused. nothing wrong with the case though if you have your heart set on it. I definitely appreciate wanting a computer that you like to look at as much as you like using it. Also, for about 20 bucks you could get a good CPU cooler (not a bad idea if you plan on using the iGPU since its going to add heat to the whole processor, plus this one looks alot better than the stock intel cooler). Should you decide you want an aftermarket cooler (will keep your computer quieter and cooler) I would recommend this one for you:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/LPVBD3/cryorig-cpu-cooler-m9i

[Brooksie359]

1 minute ago, Unnamed RedShirt said:

Some video editing is my main thing (which I talked to the IT guy at out school and he told the the software is very CPU intensive). Some 3D work which is probably better done on a GPU but I've found ways to run it decently on this CPU. At least for a couple of weeks until I get a decent GPU. Also going into computer engineering (not quite sure what exactly that will entail with a personal rig). Some other various video encoding. Other than that not much that will put a heavy enough workload on it to take into account. But that's why I decided to get a GPU later and use the extra for an i7.

then you may want to get the 6700k