I need your comments on this build from Cyberpowerpc

[gigahertz20]

Hey guys, I haven't been active on this forum for a long time. I use to keep up with all the new hardware and news but work has kept me extremely busy the last few years, so as a result I really don't know what the the best computer parts are for the money nowadays so I'm hoping for suggestions for the below build.

If this computer was for me I'd obviously build it myself and buy all the parts from Newegg/Amazon, but it's for a family member who has no idea about computers and I'm not going to build it for her because that would mean I'd be her dedicated tech if anything goes wrong with it (I'm sure you guys know how that goes ). She was originally going to buy this Dell computer from the Costco website (http://www.costco.com/.product.1002...geHorizontalTop|PersonalizedClickCPInCategory) but I told her I'd try to find something better.

I first looked around on the Costco website to try and find a better computer for her but there was nothing with a SSD that was decently priced so I went with Cyberpowerpc since I've heard good things but if you guys have suggestions for other custom PC websites I'm all ears.


The computer is going to be used for mostly office work, Excel/Word/Accounting and Finance software. She'll mostly be doing office work and web surfing, and very light gaming here and there. Her current computer is 7 years old so this computer needs to last just as long and have a decent warranty. Her budget is around $1,500, she doesn't want to go much over that. No keyboard/mouse/monitor is necessary.


The build below is what I came up with, comments/suggestions all appreciated. If you click the link below it will load the configuration. It came out to a Grand Total: $1,417.35 after a 5% discount code I found online (SPRING0410) and the $75 shipping charge.


Configuration URL: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1HCALT

Product Name: CyberPower Z170 i5 Configurator (NO MONITOR)

Price: $1,413.00

[FONT=&quot]Gaming Chasis:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Corsair Obsidian 750D w/ USB 3.0, Full Side Panel Window[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Laser Engraving:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Neon Light Upgrade:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Extra Case Fans:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Default case fans[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Noise Reduction Technology:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Sound Absorbing Foam on Side, Top And Bottom panels, and more(1)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]CPU:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Intel® Core™ i5-6600K 3.50GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1151 (Skylake)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Performance Tuning Protection Plan by Intel:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] No Overclocking[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]CPU / Processor Cooling Fan:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Corsair Hydro H90 140mm Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ Copper Cold Plate - Enhance Cooling Performance (Single Standard 140MM Fan)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Standard Coolant[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Motherboard:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] MSI Z170A Gaming M5 ATX w/ USB 3.1, 3 PCIe x16, 4 PCIe x1, 2 SATA Express, 6 SATA3, 2 Ultra M.2[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]NFC:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]RAM / System Memory:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4/2400MHz Dual Channel Memory (GSKILL Ripjaws V)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Video Card:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] EVGA Superclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 (Maxwell) (Single Card)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Sli Bridge:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Freebies:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Video Capture Card:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Power Supply:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 750 Watts - Corsair RMi Series RM750i 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Fully Modular Ultra Quiet Power Supply[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]M.2 SATA SS[/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]D[/FONT] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]INTERNAL PCI-E SSD CAR[/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]D[/FONT] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Hard Drive:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 512GB SanDisk X300 SATA III 6.0Gb/s SSD 530MB/S Read & 470MB/s Write (Single Drive)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Secondary Hard Drive:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Hard Drive Cooling Fan:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]External Storage:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]USB Flash Drive:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Optical Drive:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] LG 14X Internal Blu-ray Burner, BD-RE, 3D Playback DVD+RW Combo Drive (Black Color)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Optical Drive 2:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]External Optical Drive:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]WiDi Router:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Internal Wireless Network Card:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Sound:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]LCD Monitor:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Cables:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Speakers:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Internal Network Card:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Onboard Gigabit LAN Network[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Keyboard:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] AZZA Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mouse:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] AZZA Optical 1600dpi Gaming Mouse with Weight Adjustable Cartridge[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mouse Pad:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Headset:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] ZALMAN ZM-HPS200 Gaming Headset[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Headset Hanger:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Gaming Gear:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Fan Controller/Temperature Display:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Internal USB Expansion Module:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]External Wireless Network Card:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Wireless Routers/Hubs:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Docking Station:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Bluetooth:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Flash Media Reader/Writer:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Video Camera:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Power & Surge Protection:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]USB Hub & Port:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Built-in USB 2.0 Ports[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]External USB ADAPTER:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Operating System:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Windows 10 Pro (64-bit Edition)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Office Suite:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Games:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] None[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ultra Care Option:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect Your Dream System During Transit[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Service:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR [3 Year Labor, 1 Year Parts] LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Rush Service:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Standard Process Time: Ship within 10 Business Day[/FONT]

 

[fourdegrees11]

Seems a bit pricey for only having a 960. You can knock $120 off just from going with a different case and the default cpu liquid cooler. You can take another $40 off with a different motherboard.

 

[gigahertz20]

Seems a bit pricey for only having a 960. You can knock $120 off just from going with a different case and the default cpu liquid cooler. You can take another $40 off with a different motherboard.

For the video card I'll probably knock it down to a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 2GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 that will bring the cost down another $100. She'll never play any advanced games. Do you have a suggestion for a CPU cooler and case? I wanted to go with decent CPU liquid cooler that is very quiet and just picked that Corsair H90 because it had good reviews on Newegg. The Corsair [FONT=&quot]Obsidian 750D has really good reviews on Newe[FONT=&quot]gg as well, I [FONT=&quot]was trying to find a really quiet [FONT=&quot]soli[FONT=&quot]d case.

[FONT=&quot]I really did[FONT=&quot]n't want[FONT=&quot] to go with that Sandis[FONT=&quot]k X300 SSD drive since I don't know much[FONT=&quot] about it[/FONT] but [FONT=&quot]the [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]500GB Samsung 850 EVO Series adds another $123. I want to make sure whatever motherboard I choose is going to be very reliable I went with the MSI one since it seemed decent and had good reviews on Newegg.

 

[frozentundra123456]

That cyberpower system is total overkill for the intended purpose. Some off the shelf i5 or even an i3 with 8gb of ram would be more than sufficient. Stick in a 750Ti for light gaming and you are good to go. The costco system is overkill also, and too expensive, although you do get an extra year of warranty.

I would look for something like this:
dell inspiron and add in a GTX 750Ti.

 

[gigahertz20]

That cyberpower system is total overkill for the intended purpose. Some off the shelf i5 or even an i3 with 8gb of ram would be more than sufficient. Stick in a 750Ti for light gaming and you are good to go. The costco system is overkill also, and too expensive, although you do get an extra year of warranty.

I would look for something like this:
dell inspiron and add in a GTX 750Ti.

Yeah, it's overkill for the intended purpose, but I'm trying to build her something that is blazing fast and will last for 5-10 years. I could drop the memory from 16GB down to 8gb that would save another $88, you don't think that would affect the performance of the computer that much then?

 

[JasonBourne]

I've been out of the tech loop too, but now I'm a little aware of the current development.
Firstly, since the intended purpose is office work, you should look for faster response time. By that I mean get faster storage. That should be your priority. So look for 1TB SSD, Samsung, Sandisk or Crucial it's your choice.
Secondly, liquid cooler is very good if you want to overclock or want a really quite CPU. But if a little purring wouldn't hurt the user then go for fan heatsink. Also if possible go for a lower priced case.
Thirdly, the RAM is way over her needs. Of course 16 Gb is good to reuse in future builds but since it's off the table I'd recommend 8GB.
Lastly, that PSU is too high for her needs. I think anything between 500 to 600 watts should be enough. Semi modular one would be good too.

After saying all these I know it's quite impossible to get the perfect things that you want unless you put it together yourself. Also do ditch the unlocked Skylake i5 and go for an locked i5 at max or an i3. GPU should be 950-ish. Other users did say you the above two points, so I just mentioned them.

 

[gigahertz20]

I've been out of the tech loop too, but now I'm a little aware of the current development.
Firstly, since the intended purpose is office work, you should look for faster response time. By that I mean get faster storage. That should be your priority. So look for 1TB SSD, Samsung, Sandisk or Crucial it's your choice.
Secondly, liquid cooler is very good if you want to overclock or want a really quite CPU. But if a little purring wouldn't hurt the user then go for fan heatsink. Also if possible go for a lower priced case.
Thirdly, the RAM is way over her needs. Of course 16 Gb is good to reuse in future builds but since it's off the table I'd recommend 8GB.
Lastly, that PSU is too high for her needs. I think anything between 500 to 600 watts should be enough. Semi modular one would be good too.

After saying all these I know it's quite impossible to get the perfect things that you want unless you put it together yourself. Also do ditch the unlocked Skylake i5 and go for an locked i5 at max or an i3. GPU should be 950-ish. Other users did say you the above two points, so I just mentioned them.

Thanks for the suggestions! I know the PSU was way more than needed but the price differences between them was hardly anything.

I can downgrade the processor but I wasn't sure how big the performance gap would be between an Intel® Core™ i3-6300 3.80GHz 4MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1151 (Skylake) and an Intel® Core™ i5-6600K 3.50GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1151 (Skylake).

The price difference is only $97 and the i3 is actually clocked faster but the i5 must be better since it costs more. Is the performance difference between the two processors not worth the extra $97?

 

[JackMDS]

Given - "The computer is going to be used for mostly office work, Excel/Word/Accounting and Finance software. She'll mostly be doing office work and web surfing, and very light gaming here and there. Her current computer is 7 years old so this computer needs to last just as long and have a decent warranty. Her budget is around $1,500, she doesn't want to go much over that. No keyboard/mouse/monitor is necessary".

And this - "She'll never play any advanced games".The CyberPower solution seems like the "wish" of Enthusiasts Gamer and not of the "Given" actual indented user.

Thus, every Penney spent over the price of the Costco Dell is a waste.

The current computer is 7 years old! Similarly a computer like the Costco Dell will hold into the future.

So what One can do as Help? Find something similar to the Costco Dell for even less money.

 

[gigahertz20]

Given - "The computer is going to be used for mostly office work, Excel/Word/Accounting and Finance software. She'll mostly be doing office work and web surfing, and very light gaming here and there. Her current computer is 7 years old so this computer needs to last just as long and have a decent warranty. Her budget is around $1,500, she doesn't want to go much over that. No keyboard/mouse/monitor is necessary".

And this - "She'll never play any advanced games".The CyberPower solution seems like the "wish" of Enthusiasts Gamer and not of the "Given" actual indented user.

Thus, every Penney spent over the price of the Costco Dell is a waste.

The current computer is 7 years old! Similarly a computer like the Costco Dell will hold into the future.

So what One can do as Help? Find something similar to the Costco Dell for even less money.

This computer will be less then the costco Dell I linked to once the changes have been made that were suggested in here. Hardly any of the standard computers on costco or other cheap ones you find in stores have a ssd which I think is a must have for any new computer. This computer once it's reconfigured on cyberpowerpc.com will be $1200 or so. I wouldn't consider it an ethusiast pc, it should be a very fast pc for years to come.

 

[OlyAR15]

Honestly, I don't think you are up to the task of advising her about a new computer.

It would be best to get her to sign up to this site, let her state her requirements, and we can provide more useful advice.

 

[gigahertz20]

Honestly, I don't think you are up to the task of advising her about a new computer.

It would be best to get her to sign up to this site, let her state her requirements, and we can provide more useful advice.

Requirements are stated.....I'm just trying to make sure she gets a kick ass computer for the money. Yeah, she could buy a $700 desktop at walmart and it would probably suit her needs but I was trying to get something more premium for her. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Requirements are stated.....I'm just trying to make sure she gets a kick ass computer for the money. Yeah, she could buy a $700 desktop at walmart and it would probably suit her needs but I was trying to get something more premium for her. Do you have any suggestions?

But does she need "kick ass"? Or simple yet reliable? Fast enough to be future-proof for X years? Well then, buy a Dell with more CPU power and RAM.

 

[gigahertz20]

But does she need "kick ass"? Or simple yet reliable? Fast enough to be future-proof for X years? Well then, buy a Dell with more CPU power and RAM.

She needs a computer that will be simple yet reliable and fast enough to be future proof for a number of years. I was trying to find her a Dell on the Costco.com website but they lack a SSD. I went straight to Dell.com to look at options but once you configure them with a SSD they are usually way over priced. Why do that when I can custom configure one on cyberpowerpc.com for $1200 or so with a SSD.

 

[MongGrel]

Given - "The computer is going to be used for mostly office work, Excel/Word/Accounting and Finance software. She'll mostly be doing office work and web surfing, and very light gaming here and there. Her current computer is 7 years old so this computer needs to last just as long and have a decent warranty. Her budget is around $1,500, she doesn't want to go much over that. No keyboard/mouse/monitor is necessary".

And this - "She'll never play any advanced games".The CyberPower solution seems like the "wish" of Enthusiasts Gamer and not of the "Given" actual indented user.

Thus, every Penney spent over the price of the Costco Dell is a waste.

The current computer is 7 years old! Similarly a computer like the Costco Dell will hold into the future.

So what One can do as Help? Find something similar to the Costco Dell for even less money.

But does she need "kick ass"? Or simple yet reliable? Fast enough to be future-proof for X years? Well then, buy a Dell with more CPU power and RAM.

All of the above.

For what she wants to do, you could find something half the price, and a few years from now spend what she saved on this one for another new one.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Get this.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9166/intel-nuc5i7ryh-broadwellu-iris-nuc-review

The Costco Dell is reasonable also, but if you have low-end requirements and a high-end budget, then you might as well get a computer that's tiny-cute-sexy-SFF-goodness.

 

[OlyAR15]

OK, there just seems to be a lot of things that don't make sense, and don't add up. A lot of red flags going up.

First off, given that you described this family member as someone who is not computer savvy, and has a 7 year old computer, I'm assuming that the computer hasn't been upgraded in those 7 years, which means it has a mechanical hard drive, and possibly very low RAM. Yet it sounds like it is still sufficient for her needs. So what does she want to do that her current computer can't do? Indeed, what you listed as her uses for a computer are pretty light weight, something that pretty much any computer built in the last 5 years could handle easily. Yet she is willing to spend up to $1500 on a new computer? That is an awful lot of money for such lightweight computer tasks. Where did this figure come from? What is she looking for?

Next, you keep harping on trying to future-proof the computer, which doesn't really make much sense. What is she going to do in the future that would make the computer obsolete? We are not in the '80s or '90s. Computer hardware has long passed the computing needs of the majority of people. So unless she is going to get into 3D modeling, video encoding, or designing the next space shuttle, a computer that meets her present needs would continue to meet her needs for the foreseeable future.

Then we get to your proposed computer build, and immediately a red flag goes up. A Corsair 750d case? In the immortal words of Leonard McCoy, "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?" Seriously, have you discussed this with her? Does she actually want a full tower case? Especially these days, when computers are getting smaller, it is hard to imagine that your family member would be happy when you drop off this big black behemoth on her desk. And it gets better: 16GB of RAM? High end Skylake CPU? 750W PSU? Blu-Ray drive? Wow, talk about overkill. It really seems you are building a system that suits you, rather than her.

That is why I suggested that she come on here and discuss with us directly, exactly what she wants. How large a box is she willing to tolerate? What about an all-in-one system, or a laptop? For $1500 she could get the new Dell XPS15, which should more than fit her needs and is portable to boot. Alternatively, she could get a cheaper desktop but spend some money on a better keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Those are the components that she will be interacting with, and high quality peripherals would probably make a bigger impact on user experience than a slightly faster CPU.

 

[Yuriman]

Get this.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9166/intel-nuc5i7ryh-broadwellu-iris-nuc-review

The Costco Dell is reasonable also, but if you have low-end requirements and a high-end budget, then you might as well get a computer that's tiny-cute-sexy-SFF-goodness.

This. I plan on giving a NUC to every family member, as they begin to need upgrades.

EDIT: Regarding the i3 vs i5, the i3 has 2 real cores + hyperthreading and can process 4 threads in total. The i5 has 4 real cores and hyperthreading is disabled. An i7 has 4 real cores with hyperthreading, which allows it to handle 8 threads. In light to moderate loads, an i3 will be identical to an i5. In heavy loads that peg all 4 cores at max (e.g. rendering, compression), an i5 will probably have in the area of 50% more raw grunt.

 

[Yuriman]

Some thoughts regarding the build in the first post:

-Not a fan of cases with windows. There are tons of tiny lights inside a PC that are distracting or even annoying, that I would rather have covered up. To each his own, though.

-Again regarding the case, why are you getting a full tower? It'll be practically empty, take up a huge amount of space and be unnecessarily heavy. I imagine that within a few years, it'll probably even be pretty hard to find parts that even fit in one, since everything is going small. Go with a nice mATX or ITX case, or better yet, a NUC.

-6600K is a fine CPU, but I would go with a non-K model for someone who isn't overclocking. I'd rather have the cooler, quieter running CPU with only a few percent less performance, which comes with a cooler (saves money). An i3 is probably more than enough, too, but there's an argument for a true quad in terms of longevity. Simply put, a 6600K is not a cost effective choice if you're not overclocking.

-Liquid cooling is just unnecessary complexity, and more mechanical parts to break down. Pumps don't last forever. I'd take a tower heatsink over an AIO liquid cooler any day of the week. This is coming from someone who ran custom WC loops for close to 15 years.

-Z170 chipset is unnecessarily expensive and provides virtually no benefit for a non-overclocked PC in that role. Go with an H or B chipset and save yourself $50-60, preferably in mATX or ITX form factor.

-16GB of RAM isn't a bad idea for future proofing, but you can easily get away with 8 for the next few years with her use-case. Hell, you could probably get away with 4GB and nobody but you would be any wiser for it.

-You might consider an M.2 SSD instead of a 2.5" drive. M.2 is the next big thing, and would allow you the flexibility to choose a case that doesn't need any 2.5" or 3.5" drive bays. 2.5" and 3.5" form factor are on their way out, albeit slowly.

-Many say a GTX960 isn't good costerformance, but I actually like it because of its excellent power consumption figures. If a 950 will suffice, you might consider that too, but what about a Broadwell NUC, which has integrated graphics which are plenty capable of casual gaming? I only put discrete cards in PCs if strictly necessary, as it's added noise, point of failure, software complexity and expense.

-The PC as-configured will run happily on a 350w PSU, or prossibly even a high quality 250w with strong 12v rails. If you do away with the discrete video card, you probably only need 150-200w. A large PSU like the 750w chosen will was electricity, as it's less efficient to run power supplies unloaded.

-No WiFi? That's going to cause headaches.

-I'd opt for an ergonomic mouse and a typist's keyboard, rather than a gaming keyboard. She's likely to toss the weight cartridge for the mouse in the trash almost immediately.

-You might consider a small set of desk speakers, instead of a gaming headset.

~

This is the case I favor lately for builds that don't require mATX size:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353044&cm_re=diypc-_-11-353-044-_-Product

It has room for any video card that you can buy for under $250 (limited length), 2-3 hard drives in addition to whatever M.2 slots your chosen motherboard comes with, and if you replace the stock fan, is extremely quiet for how effectively it keeps things cool. If you don't need the discrete video card (e.g. you went with an Iris Pro CPU) you could even get something a fraction of this size, and this case is already 1/8 the size of a full tower.

Example of an even smaller case, that you could use without a discrete video card:

^ This case is about the size of a thick paperback book.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Example of an even smaller case, that you could use without a discrete video card:

^ This case is about the size of a thick paperback book.

Got a link for that case? Is it ITX? Looks pretty good.

 

[Ken g6]

Google reverse image search says it's Morex 557 Universal Mini-ITX Case, Fan-less, Compact.

 

[gigahertz20]

OK, there just seems to be a lot of things that don't make sense, and don't add up. A lot of red flags going up.

First off, given that you described this family member as someone who is not computer savvy, and has a 7 year old computer, I'm assuming that the computer hasn't been upgraded in those 7 years, which means it has a mechanical hard drive, and possibly very low RAM. Yet it sounds like it is still sufficient for her needs. So what does she want to do that her current computer can't do? Indeed, what you listed as her uses for a computer are pretty light weight, something that pretty much any computer built in the last 5 years could handle easily. Yet she is willing to spend up to $1500 on a new computer? That is an awful lot of money for such lightweight computer tasks. Where did this figure come from? What is she looking for?

Next, you keep harping on trying to future-proof the computer, which doesn't really make much sense. What is she going to do in the future that would make the computer obsolete? We are not in the '80s or '90s. Computer hardware has long passed the computing needs of the majority of people. So unless she is going to get into 3D modeling, video encoding, or designing the next space shuttle, a computer that meets her present needs would continue to meet her needs for the foreseeable future.

Then we get to your proposed computer build, and immediately a red flag goes up. A Corsair 750d case? In the immortal words of Leonard McCoy, "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?" Seriously, have you discussed this with her? Does she actually want a full tower case? Especially these days, when computers are getting smaller, it is hard to imagine that your family member would be happy when you drop off this big black behemoth on her desk. And it gets better: 16GB of RAM? High end Skylake CPU? 750W PSU? Blu-Ray drive? Wow, talk about overkill. It really seems you are building a system that suits you, rather than her.

That is why I suggested that she come on here and discuss with us directly, exactly what she wants. How large a box is she willing to tolerate? What about an all-in-one system, or a laptop? For $1500 she could get the new Dell XPS15, which should more than fit her needs and is portable to boot. Alternatively, she could get a cheaper desktop but spend some money on a better keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Those are the components that she will be interacting with, and high quality peripherals would probably make a bigger impact on user experience than a slightly faster CPU.

I know the the Corsair 750d is way more then she needs, any mid tower would be fine but the case selection on the cyberpower website had it as not much more then a mid tower Cosair, I think it was like $9 more. I'll probably just go with the mid tower so it's not so huge. Bluray drive was free upgrade from a regular dvd drive so I went with it. I'll end up going with 8gb ram and lower end cpu to save a little bit of money. She always has end peripherals so that's covered. I might have to talk with her about just getting a laptop but she doesn't really travel anywhere so portability really doesn't matter. Thanks for your response!

 

[gigahertz20]

Some thoughts regarding the build in the first post:

-Not a fan of cases with windows. There are tons of tiny lights inside a PC that are distracting or even annoying, that I would rather have covered up. To each his own, though.

-Again regarding the case, why are you getting a full tower? It'll be practically empty, take up a huge amount of space and be unnecessarily heavy. I imagine that within a few years, it'll probably even be pretty hard to find parts that even fit in one, since everything is going small. Go with a nice mATX or ITX case, or better yet, a NUC.

-6600K is a fine CPU, but I would go with a non-K model for someone who isn't overclocking. I'd rather have the cooler, quieter running CPU with only a few percent less performance, which comes with a cooler (saves money). An i3 is probably more than enough, too, but there's an argument for a true quad in terms of longevity. Simply put, a 6600K is not a cost effective choice if you're not overclocking.

-Liquid cooling is just unnecessary complexity, and more mechanical parts to break down. Pumps don't last forever. I'd take a tower heatsink over an AIO liquid cooler any day of the week. This is coming from someone who ran custom WC loops for close to 15 years.

-Z170 chipset is unnecessarily expensive and provides virtually no benefit for a non-overclocked PC in that role. Go with an H or B chipset and save yourself $50-60, preferably in mATX or ITX form factor.

-16GB of RAM isn't a bad idea for future proofing, but you can easily get away with 8 for the next few years with her use-case. Hell, you could probably get away with 4GB and nobody but you would be any wiser for it.

-You might consider an M.2 SSD instead of a 2.5" drive. M.2 is the next big thing, and would allow you the flexibility to choose a case that doesn't need any 2.5" or 3.5" drive bays. 2.5" and 3.5" form factor are on their way out, albeit slowly.

-Many say a GTX960 isn't good costerformance, but I actually like it because of its excellent power consumption figures. If a 950 will suffice, you might consider that too, but what about a Broadwell NUC, which has integrated graphics which are plenty capable of casual gaming? I only put discrete cards in PCs if strictly necessary, as it's added noise, point of failure, software complexity and expense.

-The PC as-configured will run happily on a 350w PSU, or prossibly even a high quality 250w with strong 12v rails. If you do away with the discrete video card, you probably only need 150-200w. A large PSU like the 750w chosen will was electricity, as it's less efficient to run power supplies unloaded.

-No WiFi? That's going to cause headaches.

-I'd opt for an ergonomic mouse and a typist's keyboard, rather than a gaming keyboard. She's likely to toss the weight cartridge for the mouse in the trash almost immediately.

-You might consider a small set of desk speakers, instead of a gaming headset.

~

This is the case I favor lately for builds that don't require mATX size:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353044&cm_re=diypc-_-11-353-044-_-Product

It has room for any video card that you can buy for under $250 (limited length), 2-3 hard drives in addition to whatever M.2 slots your chosen motherboard comes with, and if you replace the stock fan, is extremely quiet for how effectively it keeps things cool. If you don't need the discrete video card (e.g. you went with an Iris Pro CPU) you could even get something a fraction of this size, and this case is already 1/8 the size of a full tower.

Example of an even smaller case, that you could use without a discrete video card:

^ This case is about the size of a thick paperback book.

Thanks for the detailed response, going to look into a NUC on Newegg/Amazon that might be the best option for what she does. Small/very quiet/portable if she ever takes it somewhere.

Anybody have a solid NUC on Amazon/Newegg they can suggest? The one in the Anandtech review (http://www.anandtech.com/show/9166/intel-nuc5i7ryh-broadwellu-iris-nuc-review/8) is on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WAS1FX6/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza) looks like I would just need to buy a M2 SSD, RAM and a Windows 10 copy. Is this the best NUC to get?

 

[VirtualLarry]

TigerDirect has a nice bundle deal going on right now, that you might want to check out.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=9878013&sku=B99-1318

Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core CPU/MSI B85-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard/A-Data XPG V1.0 (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory/OCZ Trion 100 240GB 2.5 SSD/Cougar Solution ATX Case w/500W PSU PC Kit

$380 (AR) + $5 ship

Sell the 4GB stick of RAM, and buy a 16GB kit for $70. Then add OS, and maybe a BR drive.