New Build

[GodsLt]

Hey guys, GodsLt here! So i finally got enough money (and courage!) to begin building my very own gaming PC.

I'M SO PUMPED. I've been researching parts for months now, I even popped up at NCIX to help with some aspects

of the build. After long months of research (and waiting...), I've managed to come up with this:

My budget is $1700 CAD plus or minus $25.

Monitor: Asus VEH247H 23.6inch

Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 650M 80+ Gold

Keyboard: Microsoft Sidewinder X4

Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5

Memory: G.SKILL RIPJAWS x-series 8GB (2133mhz CL9)

Motherboard: ASROCK Z87M Extreme4 LGA1150

Processor: Intel Core I5 4670K

Cooler: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme

SSD: Samsung 840 EVO SSD (120gb)

Case: Corsair Obsidian 350D

Graphics Card: Asus Direct CUII R9 280x

 

Cost comes to about $1426.00 CAD

Total cost (including tax and shipping): $1673.00 CAD (BC tax ftl....)

 

I'm ordering from newegg.ca! 

 

This computer will be used entirely for gaming (I have a 500gb laptop that's still going strong for school stuffs) so I think 

for BattleField 4, Strike Fighters, Bad Company 2, Combat Arms and BattleField Play4Free will fit neatly into 120gb.

I also have access to Windows 8.1 and Office 2007 for free due to my bachelor's program, so that's sorted!

 

Any comments, opinions, etc will be greatly appreciated!

[DoubleY]

Maybe want to post this in the "Build Logs" section? 

 

Other than that, looks like a good build!

[Coombzy]

you do not want to put everything on the SSD it will slow it down get a storage drive as well something like a 1TB WD Black

[GodsLt]

Maybe want to post this in the "Build Logs" section? 

 

I thought about it, but this isn't exactly a "build" yet...I'm just getting all the parts sorted before I buy them. Once I buy them, I can start a build log thread

[DoubleY]

I thought about it, but this isn't exactly a "build" yet...I'm just getting all the parts sorted before I buy them. Once I buy them, I can start a build log thread

Oh ok Sounds good!

[GodsLt]

you do not want to put everything on the SSD it will slow it down get a storage drive as well something like a 1TB WD Black

 

Hmm, interesting. I thought that only after you used 80+% of your SSD did performance take a hit....

I might add a 500gb WD Blue later on then....

[ManOfDisguise]

change sidewinder x4 for a mechanical keyboard

 

also if that monitor isnt IPS then i suggest an IPS for better colors

[Elven]

Hey,

 

First off, congrats on taking the plunge to build your own computer from scratch with your own 2 hands 

 

You've done some good research and picked a few good components that will compliment others well. I do have a couple of points I would like to address as advisement.

 

The PSU I am not awfully confident with. I personally try to go with well respected companies that have a good history with PSUs. Such as Seasonic, Corsair or Be Quiet!. They are a little more expensive but very much worth the cost. Something like a Corsair 80+ bronze PSU around the 500 watt range will be great.

 

Also, I would recommend some "cheaper" RAM. As to be honest, extreme speed RAM (anything above 1600/1866) tends to be a bit of a waste. 1600Mhz will do you just fine for gaming and will save you a good deal of money which you can invest into a top notch PSU 

 

I hope this has helped and good luck on your build!

 

Elven

[GodsLt]

change sidewinder x4 for a mechanical keyboard

also if that monitor isnt IPS then i suggest an IPS for better colors

Any recommendations for a good keyboard?

Or any Monitor recommendations would be appreciated!

Hey,

First off, congrats on taking the plunge to build your own computer from scratch with your own 2 hands

You've done some good research and picked a few good components that will compliment others well. I do have a couple of points I would like to address as advisement.

The PSU I am not awfully confident with. I personally try to go with well respected companies that have a good history with PSUs. Such as Seasonic, Corsair or Be Quiet!. They are a little more expensive but very much worth the cost. Something like a Corsair 80+ bronze PSU around the 500 watt range will be great.

Also, I would recommend some "cheaper" RAM. As to be honest, extreme speed RAM (anything above 1600/1866) tends to be a bit of a waste. 1600Mhz will do you just fine for gaming and will save you a good deal of money which you can invest into a top notch PSU

I hope this has helped and good luck on your build!

Elven

Hey Elven! Thanks for your input!

I chose this particular type of RAM because it's running for $54 on newegg right now...as opposed to $70+ for lower frequency memory!

And as to the power supply, I chose it based on Anandtech's recommendation! Now, you guys probably know much better than me, so any

recommendations would be awesome!

[Elven]

 

 

I chose this particular type of RAM because it's running for $54 on newegg right now

 

Ah, in that case! Go for it   saving money always a win win.

 

I've personally not had experience with their PSUs so I am always a bit skeptical about them. If it has got an recommendation, then it should be all good 

 

Elven

[Joshyy]

Go with a brand that's not ASrock, many of there motherboards have huge issues (Sudden death etc)

 

ASUS Z87-K is a good one.

[GodsLt]

Go with a brand that's not ASrock, many of there motherboards have huge issues (Sudden death etc)

From what I read online, ASrock is known for awesome motherboards, especially in the mATX form factor...

Any other options that you know off could be awesome to read though!

 

As for the monitor...

Which one would you guys recommend:

VE247H or VS239-P?

The VS239-P is $10 more expensive, but apparently it's an IPS screen. Is it that big of a difference to justify the price?

[ManOfDisguise]

Any recommendations for a good keyboard?

Or any Monitor recommendations would be appreciated! 

matters on what switch type u want. the IPS that im getting is the AOC i2369vm, it is 23.6 inches and it has a very good price(150 euros here) and has a very thin bezel which makes it look sooo sexy

[GodsLt]

matters on what switch type u want. the IPS that im getting is the AOC i2369vm, it is 23.6 inches and it has a very good price(150 euros here) and has a very thin bezel which makes it look sooo sexy

I'll stick to the sidewinder for now (its up for 30 bucks!) On the other hand, how much of a difference does an IPS monitor make?

[GBBnero]

I'll stick to the sidewinder for now (its up for 30 bucks!) On the other hand, how much of a difference does an IPS monitor make?

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQsg8DZdV-s

 

There is a difference and even though I don't own one myself yet, I heard basically, that if you had one, you never want to go back to 1080p

[WoodenMarker]

First off, congrats on taking the plunge to build your own computer from scratch with your own 2 hands 

You've done some good research and picked a few good components that will compliment others well. I do have a couple of points I would like to address as advisement.

The PSU I am not awfully confident with. I personally try to go with well respected companies that have a good history with PSUs. Such as Seasonic, Corsair or Be Quiet!. They are a little more expensive but very much worth the cost. Something like a Corsair 80+ bronze PSU around the 500 watt range will be great.

The Rosewill capstone 650w is a great psu. 

you do not want to put everything on the SSD it will slow it down get a storage drive as well something like a 1TB WD Black

The Caviar black is not worth the extra money over cheaper options like the barracuda or the blue.

 

@GodsLt are you only shopping from newegg?

[Elven]

 

 

The Rosewill capstone 650w is a great psu. 

 

I've not heard much about their PSUs, so I tend to be a little skeptical about unfamiliar brands. If you say they're good, I'll trust your opinion 

 

Elven

[WoodenMarker]

I've not heard much about their PSUs, so I tend to be a little skeptical about unfamiliar brands. If you say they're good, I'll trust your opinion 

Well if you want a trusted reviewer's thoughts, I'd point you to JonnyGuru: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=266

It's not the exact 650w psu but it comes from the same line so it should be comparable.

[GodsLt]

The Rosewill capstone 650w is a great psu. 

The Caviar black is not worth the extra money over cheaper options like the barracuda or the blue.

 

@GodsLt are you only shopping from newegg?

2 things:

1: can I just use the ssd?

2. Shopping from newegg mostly due to my unfamiliarity with anything else out there! I wouldnt checking over any other sites!

[WoodenMarker]

2 things:

1: can I just use the ssd?

2. Shopping from newegg mostly due to my unfamiliarity with anything else out there! I wouldnt checking over any other sites!

You can but don't you need more storage?

There are other good sites like Amazon. Newegg is nice but you can get better prices if you shop around.

[GodsLt]

You can but don't you need more storage?

There are other good sites like Amazon. Newegg is nice but you can get better prices if you shop around.

I thought so at first...but since this computer is purely for gaming, mostly in BF4, I thought 120gb would be enough. As it stands right now, my collection of computer games doesnt weigh over 50gb...and that includes games I havent played in years! But I think later on, I might add a second SSD, and run it RAID0 (the high performance RAID) when january/february comes around

[WoodenMarker]

I thought so at first...but since this computer is purely for gaming, mostly in BF4, I thought 120gb would be enough. As it stands right now, my collection of computer games doesnt weigh over 50gb...and that includes games I havent played in years! But I think later on, I might add a second SSD, and run it RAID0 (the high performance RAID) when january/february comes around

Making a raid would wipe everything you had on the drives. It's also really not worth the hassle for just gaming.

Games take up quite a lot of space and I'd imagine your library would grow when you have a decent system to game on. I'd recommend just grabbing a 1TB hdd along with a 120GB ssd instead of a single larger ssd unless you're sure you won't be getting many more games.

[GodsLt]

Making a raid would wipe everything you had on the drives. It's also really not worth the hassle for just gaming.

Games take up quite a lot of space and I'd imagine your library would grow when you have a decent system to game on. I'd recommend just grabbing a 1TB hdd along with a 120GB ssd instead of a single larger ssd unless you're sure you won't be getting many more games.

 

But if I store my games in the 1TB HDD, don't I loose the performance advantage that the SSD offers while gaming? (faster boot times and the like?)

Or can intel's SRT help in that regard? (without proprietary SSD's of course)

[WoodenMarker]

But if I store my games in the 1TB HDD, don't I loose the performance advantage that the SSD offers while gaming? (faster boot times and the like?)

Or can intel's SRT help in that regard? (without proprietary SSD's of course)

Ssd's will really only improve boot times for games. Performance won't be affected unless you're playing something like very, very heavily modded Skyrim.