New computer build need some help

[ninjacore]

2. DEFINITELY GET AN SSD

I will never use another PC which does not have an SSD. Period.

If you want to go with a cheaper one, pick up a Crucial MX100 or basically anything but the Kingston V300. 128GB will fill up fast. OS, 2 modern games, maybe 10-20GB free after that.

How about this:

i5 4590 - $180
matx H97 - $60
2x4GB - $40
250GB 850 EVO - $85
430W Corsair - $30
GTX960 - $155

Windows 7 (upgrades to 10 for free) - $40
Thermaltake V31 - $60

If you want a bigger PSU, I'd go with the Seasonic I linked over the Corsair. That's an extra $25, though, and you won't need it if you go with a GTX 9xx GPU.

If you take the GPU out of mine, you're at $495.

You can play with it, but personally, I think the i5 is worth the $60 over the i3 and I wouldn't take the SSD out.

I'll leave you to it. Let us know what you end up with

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Like that i5 build ninja that's making me really think on that on . And is that thread with the windows 7 stuff legit? He sells the keys would I need a disk? And what do you mean by micro center?

Seems legit (people in thread getting what they pay for, no one complaining in the "complaints" subforum). You need 100 posts at hardforum to post in classies, but only have to be a member to send PMs to a seller (and everyone has classifieds access). I don't by any means prefer them over our own classifieds, but there is a LOT MORE traffic there.

You can download any version of Windows from Microsoft for free. Just need to have a key (matching the version you download/install) to activate. I just did it three days ago actually (not with a key from that thread, but with another key and a downloaded iso from MS.

Microcenter is a PC retailer. They have very good deals on CPU/mobo combos and average deals on everything else. Only in certain states, though, and their combo deals are in-store only.

I just looked and the 4690K and H97MPro4 combo, for example, would be around $240. They actually used to be even cheaper than that before the Skylake CPUs launched. Used to be around $220 for that same combo.

 

[ninjacore]

Thermaltake V31 - $60

This case is ATX, by the way, and the H97MPro4 is mATX.

The board will work in the case, you'll just have some "dead space" between the mobo and PSU.

I was thinking of the V21, which is mATX, but is $10 more.

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

Yeah I may change up the case not sure just like the large window to show off my work bit not really nessesary. And are you saying the 4690k and mobo is 240? Cause I've only seen the 4690k by its self for 240. I like your i5 setup probably go someway in that direction. Seems you have good luck with the evega GPU and they have good reviews so likeing that for 155 as its like 45 less then the other 2gb I was looking at. And without an operating system currently o. The machine how would I download the windows 7 pro on to it? Separate comp?

 

[ninjacore]

Yea, you would need a separate PC to download the OS from microsoft. They also have a free app to use the iso you download and create a bootable USB stick (you'll need one of those as well or a DVD burner...).

Yep, $240 for the combo, but the catch is they only have stores in some states and it's in-store only.

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

Oh ok yeah I'm in NY and I've never heard of the place sadly cause that's a good deal

 

[ninjacore]

http://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

Yeah there all by NYC I'm like 7 hours from there lol

 

[ninjacore]

Yep, great deals if you live nearby. Splinter in your eye if you don't.

It's not a huge loss. I'm surprised the i5 4590 is so much cheaper, actually. I think that build is solid.

One thing to keep in mind with that H97 board. It's very finnicky about ram. Get 1600Mhz C9. Anything more, it will downclock it to 1333 and won't let you adjust anything. Runs 1600 C9 perfectly, but everything else will downclock. I have the same board in a build for my mom. Tried 1866 C9, 2133 C9, and 1600 C7. All of them downclocked to 1333 and system wouldn't boot with any modified timings (couldn't even set it to 1600 C9, manually).

XMP profile for the kit has to be 1600 C9 (did I repeat that enough? ). Not that it matters with your locked i5, but I remember hearing at some point that overclocking on H97 was possible with a bios update. Never investigated it, though.

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

http://m.newegg.com/Product/Details?itemnumber=20-145-345

So that ram would work fine with the h97 then correct? Cause that's what I plan to use

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

Looking at 2 new cases now too the cheap deepcool tesseract in black and blue for only 30 bucks and the xigmatek vanguard at a cheap 40 bucks. I like the tesseracts for the blue accents but really like the vanguard for the carry handles as this would help a bit with mobility if its needed and the clear side window is a bit more appealing too looks cleaner also has some halfway decent dust screens on the bottom

 

[ninjacore]

You can find 2x4GB of 1600 C9 for $10 cheaper than that. Plus, you run the risk of heatsink clearance issues later on with the fins on that kit...


Those cases are ATX, correct? Your mobo will be mATX. It'll fit, but there will be that gap I mentioned earlier.

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

They are mid tower but the vangaurd says its made specifically for just matx or mitx

 

[ninjacore]

Cube, mid tower, full tower... Those are classifications of the external size (although, I don't think there are strict guidelines as to what particular dimensions land a case in one of the categories).

Each case will also have a "maximum motherboard form factor supported" attribute. That is determined by the the largest motherboard which will fit in the case's motherboard tray.

As I mentioned, a mATX board will fit in an ATX case, but there will be a gap at the bottom of the board (which an ATX mobo would extend to fill). Generally, it's desirable to match a motherboard to a case so as to most efficiently utilize the space.

Another factor here is that if you are buying an ATX case, then you could also be buying an ATX motherboard as well. In general, the larger the board, the more features it will have. With a limited motherboard budget, it probably won't matter for you since the cheaper ATX mobos will have about the same features as the cheaper mATX ones.

Do you want a smaller mATX case? I think I remember seeing the carrying handle one you mentioned and thinking it looked good at that price range. I'll look again in a bit. Is portability something you desire?

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

Mobility isn't a neccesity it just seems that most of the cases with handles tend to have nicer styling and more custom looks. I don't want to spend a decent chunk of money and put it all in an average case that looks like I just went to best buy and bought a computer is all

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I really like the cubiod style they just seem to be higher price wise. Really like the thermaltake core x2 just seems fairly large for a strictly matx case since its more of a custom water cooling case

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

I do like the diypc cuboid in black and blue too. A lot of the cuboid designs seem to be micro itx too

 

[ninjacore]

Are the handled cases you mentioned the Apex brand? If so, they're gray inside. Yuck!

Picking a case for someone else is just about impossible as it's about 60% looks. I haven't had to buy a cheap case for a while. If I'm on a budget, I will usually look on eBay for a deal on a used "quality" case. I will usually restrict my searches to Corsair, Phanteks, and Fractal Design (I'm sure I'm missing a couple - basically, I look for $100 cases in the 50-60 range).

I took a look on newegg, sorting by price, and these are a few which seemed interesting below $60 (some have rebates to get them there).

ATX (support ATX mobos):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811853002&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811124147&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133253&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133254&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811553019&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811553013&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811124156&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139040&ignorebbr=1

I'm not crazy about any of those, to be honest. Features are just meh. Plus, I much prefer smaller builds.

So, on to some matx options. These will be a perfect fit for the H97M Pro4 mobo.

mATX (do not support ATX mobos):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815044&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133274&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353062&ignorebbr=1

That xigmatek has its quirks, but also has some cool features (really like the rubber grommets on the cable routing holes).
The V21 with the $20 rebate is also a good buy.
You mentioned the cuboid. I don't particularly like it, but I threw it in the mix just so you can easily look at it side by side with the others.

Take some time and research them (read reviews!). I'd probably go with one of the first two matx options at your budget. If you end up going with an ATX case, I'd look again at mobos and probably pick a full ATX one.

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

Thanks a lot ninjacore again you've been a huge help! So far the vanguard is looking like the one. Unique look with the handles dust screen on the bottom nice side window and the rubber gromets make it very appealing. I do really like the cuboid but in the one build video I saw on YouTube the guy had to cut wholes in the side window because Hus GPU was so close it couldn't get air and I really don't like the idea of a 200ish dollar part not getting the air to cool itself I'm going to continue looking a bit more and as soon as I get a full list together I'll post links to make sure its all looking good thanks again for all the help

 

[ninjacore]

That's the one I'd go with for the money. Rubber grommeted cable mgmt, dust filters on intake areas, carrying handles, 180mm or 2x140mm fan support on top, 170mm CPU cooler clearance in matx...

That's a great feature set for $43, no rebate

There a couple dings on it: AIO cooler compatiblity issues (which could probably be worked around) and only 1 pre-installed fan. Just check the classifieds in these forums when you gain access or in other forums or eBay. You can grab a couple nice ones for probably $15. And that could be something you do down the road. You'll be running a non-power-hungry CPU, which you won't be overclocking, and a Maxwell GPU. Heat dissipation isn't going to be something that will cause you any problems


Definitely re-check prices on everything linked above before you buy them. Things fluctuate rapidly (already saw a couple of them have changed). What I usually do when I have a particular part on which I'm ready to pull the trigger: pull up amazon.com, newegg.com, froogle.com, and ebay.com; search the exact part on all of them and go with the cheapest.

 

[One_Nasty_PC]

Yeah I've noticed that the part prices change a good bit. And I was considering running a voolmaster 212 evo CPU cooler but not sure I'd even need that. As far as fans go I'll probably use all the rebate cards to get a few nice blue led ones

 

[ninjacore]

You can wait on the CPU cooler. The stock Intel one isn't great, but you won't be overclocking so it will certainly do the job until you can spend money on something quieter.