My First PC Build

[kidyankee764]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming, Emails

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$500-$600

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
Intel, Western Digital, Corsair

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
All new parts

6. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Overclock

7. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
1920x1080 (perferebly Dell Monitor)

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
A few months

This is my first gaming build...I have always been buying PCs until I learned about the building industry.

 

[Charlie98]

You mention gaming... what kind of games do you intend to play? Also, is your monitor included in your $5-600 budget?

 

[VirtualLarry]

OP, you need to answer Charlie98's question about the monitor. a 24" 1920x1080 Dell monitor is what, $130-180? That takes a significant chunk out of a $600 total budget for a gaming rig, and will really limit what possibilities for performance you have with a gaming rig.

The lowest I would go for an acceptably decent gaming rig would be around $600 for just the box itself. Otherwise, you tend to have to compromise too much. (i3, 7770 level).

Edit: Also need to answer whether or not you need OS and mouse/keyboard. There's another $150 chunk out of the budget if necessary.

 

[kidyankee764]

You mention gaming... what kind of games do you intend to play? Also, is your monitor included in your $5-600 budget?

I plan on playing Bioshock, Minecraft, Sims, Simcity, FarCry 3, etc.

OP, you need to answer Charlie98's question about the monitor. a 24" 1920x1080 Dell monitor is what, $130-180? That takes a significant chunk out of a $600 total budget for a gaming rig, and will really limit what possibilities for performance you have with a gaming rig.

The lowest I would go for an acceptably decent gaming rig would be around $600 for just the box itself. Otherwise, you tend to have to compromise too much. (i3, 7770 level).

Edit: Also need to answer whether or not you need OS and mouse/keyboard. There's another $150 chunk out of the budget if necessary.

I own the OS, keyboard, and mouse. I have an extra $200 for a monitor that will not be put into the PC Build.

 

[Morbus]

My suggestion is spend 170/200USD on the VGA, 2x4GB 1600MHz and an i5. Don't buy a SSD just yet, but do plan to install one later down the line. Games like The Sims (specially with loads of expansions and CC) really benefit from an SSD.

I'll now try to build some template with PC parts picker. BRB.

 

[Morbus]

How about this?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31JeM

Prices will vary of course, and you may be able to get some discounts. And I do advise you to get a GTX760, if you can get the cash. It may also require 10 additional bucks spent on the PSU, but I'm sure that one will handle the 760 just fine.

Hope it helps.

 

[mfenn]

How about this?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31JeM

Prices will vary of course, and you may be able to get some discounts. And I do advise you to get a GTX760, if you can get the cash. It may also require 10 additional bucks spent on the PSU, but I'm sure that one will handle the 760 just fine.

Hope it helps.

Given that the OP didn't list any CPU-heavy games, I'd be tempted to go for an i3 and a better GPU. Also, that RAM is 1.65V instead of 1.5V.

Here's what I'd do:

i3 4130 + Gigabyte GA-H81.Amp-UP combo $180 AR
Team DDR3 1600 8GB $65
ASUS GTX 760 $240 AR - single PCIe 8-pin power
WD Blue 1TB $60
CX430 $25 AR - GTX 760 with an overclocked i7 is only 293W
Some cheap case $24
Total: $594 AR

 

[Morbus]

an i3 and a better GPU will be better in the short run, but it will cost more to upgrade later down the line. The i3 is likely not to be enough in 3 or 4 years time, where a i5 should last twice that without issue. The better GPU he'd get now with the savings on the i3 will just as long as the 750Ti, and he'll need to upgrade in 3 years anyway. Better do it so he just needs to upgrade the GPU, and not the whole thing.

 

[mfenn]

an i3 and a better GPU will be better in the short run, but it will cost more to upgrade later down the line. The i3 is likely not to be enough in 3 or 4 years time, where a i5 should last twice that without issue. The better GPU he'd get now with the savings on the i3 will just as long as the 750Ti, and he'll need to upgrade in 3 years anyway. Better do it so he just needs to upgrade the GPU, and not the whole thing.

First off, I think the assertion than an i5 will last twice as long as an i3 for gaming isn't a foregone conclusion. Certainly you have not presented enough data to back it up. "Longer" probably, "twice as long", I'll need to see some data or at least reasoning.

Giving up performance now for a chance of a less expensive upgrade in the future is not a good plan IMHO. The future of computer parts is way too murky to try to plan three years into the future. Get the best that you can get now.

 

[kidyankee764]

I went to PCPartpicker and this is what I came up with:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/32kVE

Intel Core i5-4670K
ASRock H87 Pro4
8GB Corsair RAM
EVGA GTX 650
1TB Western Digital
Corsair 200R
Corsair 430Watt
Lite-On

 

[gammaray]

personally i would invest more than 600$ on a new computer for gaming purposes. around 800$, which is 5-6$ a month more over 3 years, will get you something good instead of so-so gaming experience. Also, if you don't need lot of hard drive space, get a 256gbs ssd for 130-140$ instead of a 1 Tb HD, it is much faster, and just nicer in windows, whatever you do or click on.

the gtx650 you picked up will disapoint honestly, you won't be able to play any games at high or max settings. Lower i would go is a 7850, R9 270, or GTX660 on nvidia side.

 

[Morbus]

If you're going to buy a weaker VGA just so you have 20 bucks to spend on a USELESS optical DVD drive, I don't know what to tell you.

kidyankee's build is pretty much the same as mine, except that I don't like his for the following reasons:
- single RAM isn't going to take advantage of dual channel, so it will be slower than 2x4GB
- a top of the line i5 is not advised for a budget PC
- buying a K series processor with a H series motherboard is like buying a turbocharger for your kitchen table. Either you get a K series CPU and a Z series motherboard, or you go with a H series motherboard with a locked CPU
- DVD drive? What for?
- Western Digital HDD? Don't forget to backup your data!

Anyway, I stand by my build, I think it's a fantastic computer for 600USD. And you'll be able to upgrade it easily without losing any of your investment. Get a SSD in a year, a new VGA in two/three years and maybe another 2x4GB of RAM later on, if you need it, and you get a PC that will satisfy your gaming needs for many years to come.

Let's see if we can make our points without resorting to name-calling.

mfenn
General Hardware Moderator

 

[mfenn]

the gtx650 you picked up will disapoint honestly, you won't be able to play any games at high or max settings. Lower i would go is a 7850, R9 270, or GTX660 on nvidia side.

I agree. OP, get at least a GTX 750 Ti like Morbus pointed out if not the GTX 760 from my build.

 

[ultimatebob]

I'm not sure if I would be ready to put the $20 DVD drive out to pasture yet. I still occasionally get stuff shipped to me that comes on DVD, not to mention my big collection of legacy games that I might want to reinstall some day.

 

[lehtv]

Giving up performance now for a chance of a less expensive upgrade in the future is not a good plan IMHO. The future of computer parts is way too murky to try to plan three years into the future. Get the best that you can get now.

And it's not like you couldn't simply upgrade to an i5, Xeon or i7 down the road. The board should support Broadwells too.

 

[mvbighead]

And it's not like you couldn't simply upgrade to an i5, Xeon or i7 down the road. The board should support Broadwells too.

For me, personally, I tend to like the better CPU, lesser GPU approach. Part of that is that it is far easier to offload a GPU to a friend or to a lesser computer for someone else to use than the CPU. Reason? CPU sockets change all the time. By the time 2-3 years goes by, there will be a new wizbang CPU socket that will out perform any option you have to upgrade CPU only. I tend to keep a CPU with the original board it came with. I upgrade to a new board/CPU every once in a while, and when I do, the old platform gets repurposed so that I don't have spare CPUs just lying about. Usually I upgrade, and the wife gets my old parts. It makes a lot more sense to me than trying to upgrade our stuff with brand new stuff all the time, especially when she needs considerably less than I do.

The graphics cards are a bit easier to move around.

Granted, one could simply sell off the old parts through forums and what have you, but I do generally keep a plethora of used parts about for this or that. And generally speaking, older graphics cards aren't worth selling if you hang on to them too long (which I generally do).

 

[gammaray]

I'm not sure if I would be ready to put the $20 DVD drive out to pasture yet. I still occasionally get stuff shipped to me that comes on DVD, not to mention my big collection of legacy games that I might want to reinstall some day.

and besides, if one needs to back up something OUT and away from the computer, dvd or cd are still very practical

 

[Morbus]

20$ is effectively 3.5% of a 600$ build. It is not a necessary element for everyone, and so I consider it a luxury. But if it's a necessity, a 3.5% increase on the budget shouldn't justify downgrading any of the remaining specs, which will amount to a larger than 3.5% decrease in performance.

In my view, if you need to read/record DVDs every now and then, get an external drive, and use it for all the PCs in your house.

 

[kidyankee764]

What about the XFX Radeons? There are good deals on them. Also, I am looking at a $150 EVGA 650 ti Boost with 2GB of GDDR5 RAM. But, I heard the 650s aren't good. One more thing, is the hassle of building a PC worth it? Should I just buy a $500 gaming PC with a core i5, 8GB RAM, Geforce GTX 645...?

 

[gammaray]

What about the XFX Radeons? There are good deals on them. Also, I am looking at a $150 EVGA 650 ti Boost with 2GB of GDDR5 RAM. But, I heard the 650s aren't good. One more thing, is the hassle of building a PC worth it? Should I just buy a $500 gaming PC with a core i5, 8GB RAM, Geforce GTX 645...?

it's a gaming pc, if you go with a 150 ish card, you will game, but the experience will be so-so. Unless you can find a 7870 2gbs on sale or a gtx 660 around 150.

 

[mfenn]

What about the XFX Radeons? There are good deals on them. Also, I am looking at a $150 EVGA 650 ti Boost with 2GB of GDDR5 RAM. But, I heard the 650s aren't good. One more thing, is the hassle of building a PC worth it? Should I just buy a $500 gaming PC with a core i5, 8GB RAM, Geforce GTX 645...?

OP, please listen to what people are telling you. You need to spend more money on the GPU like in my and Morbus's builds because the GPU is the most important component of a gaming PC.

 

[FAQdaworld]

Why does everyone hate so much on optical drives these days, I still use mine relatively frequently (ok, like 2 - 3 times a month, burning stuff) but seriously they do have some use!

 

[Morbus]

I only ever use mine when my "friends" ask me for favors...

OP, please listen to what people are telling you. You need to spend more money on the GPU like in my and Morbus's builds because the GPU is the most important component of a gaming PC.

I'm not sure he really wants our help...

 

[mvbighead]

it's a gaming pc, if you go with a 150 ish card, you will game, but the experience will be so-so. Unless you can find a 7870 2gbs on sale or a gtx 660 around 150.

Why not a 750 around 175:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125502

At $25 difference, ought to be easy to include at the budget already mentioned.

 

[kidyankee764]

Okay, here is what I came up that costs about $608.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/34Q9M

Intel Core i3-4130: $113
MSI Z87-G41 Motherboard: $70
8GB DDR3-1600 Crucial Ballistix Sport (2x 4GB): $70
Western Digital 1TB HDD: $60
Samsung 840EVO 120GB SSD: $90
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 1GB: $120
NZXT Source 210 Elite: $50
Corsair CX 430W: $30