Pass my first build the test?

[Anthony86]

Hello!

I would like to ask you for this build. It’s my first one, so I’m afraid about some compatibility or important weakness I have not seen.

I will use it for gaming (with no excessive demands), some Photoshop and mainly a general use: Internet, movies...

Specially I have two questions: Is the motherboard good enough? And the PSU, or I need more power?

Because I live in Spain I put the prices in euros, but I hope you can get an idea.

Thanks!

CPU: Intel Core i-5 4440 (143 €)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (53 €)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (71 €)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (50 €)
Video Card: VTX3D R9 270 V2 X-Edition - 2 GB GDDR5 (150 €)
Case: Zalman Z9 (40 €)
Power Supply: Corsair VS550 (45 €)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (15 €)

Total: 567 €

 

[Ken g6]

Not bad. The main issue I see is that with Photoshop you might want more RAM in the future, but that mobo only has 2 RAM slots. B85 with 4 RAM slots would probably be a good level for you if you can afford it.

PSU should be fine.

I’m afraid about some compatibility or important weakness I have not seen.

Got Windows?

 

[Puppies04]

What games are you going to be playing, also what resolution screen will you use.

If you want to maintain 60FPS on certain games at 1080P you will have to lower the settings a little. Might be worth saving up a few more euros and getting the next card up the ladder.

 

[Anthony86]

Thank you both!

Not bad. The main issue I see is that with Photoshop you might want more RAM in the future, but that mobo only has 2 RAM slots. B85 with 4 RAM slots would probably be a good level for you if you can afford it.

PSU should be fine.

Mmm I didn't realise about the RAM... Would be the Asrock B85M Pro4 ok? Any other recomendation?

Got Windows?

I will install it, but I'm not sure if 7 or 8.

What games are you going to be playing, also what resolution screen will you use.

If you want to maintain 60FPS on certain games at 1080P you will have to lower the settings a little. Might be worth saving up a few more euros and getting the next card up the ladder.

I'm not sure what games I'm going to play, because the last years I only have played with the Xbox 360 and don't know much about PC games... But I like specially like action (Batman, Batterfield) and RPG (Skirym), I guess.

About the monitor, I want to buy a 1080p, but I don't mind not playing at highest quality. Also with a better GPU I would be out of budget...

 

[Charlie98]

Mmm I didn't realise about the RAM... Would be the Asrock B85M Pro4 ok? Any other recomendation?

The alternate would be to get 2x8GB RAM kit now... if your budget can handle it.

If not, the ASRock board you list looks pretty good; if you wanted to stick with Gigabyte, the B85M-DS3H or B85M-D3H would be an equivalent to the ASRock board with 4 RAM slots and basically equivalent features. I have a B75M-D3H in my HTPC, I like it very much.