The Ultimate 'Build-A-PC' Thread. Complete With Pricings & Recommendations (06/06/10)

You are probably out of your mind. Chances are, there won't be space to put a discreet video card. That PSU is also overpowered for that setup, even with the 960.

Edit: Looking at the customer photo, it looks like it actually has room for the video card. You could probably do it.

 
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Elessar should I take measurements of the inside of my computer prior to buying them. I know the PSU is overpowered as I think I read you only need 500 Watts and if you get one that is over 80 Bronze I should be fine. Most people I talked to said your power supply is the last thing you should skimp on so I figure its something I could also take to my next build down the road which was why my choice was this one.

 
Yes, I would measure it. Or buy it and return if it doesn't work. It probably will though.

Sometimes, pre-build cases will have PSU sizes that aren't normal, or mounting holes that aren't where they usually are (like a lot of older HP desktops). I don't think it's the case for you here.

Not skimping on the power supply doesn't mean get a 1000W supply. Any quality one that's enough for your system is fine. In your case, 500W or 650W would both already be plenty. Do go for modular if possible, cause it looks like there's not good cable management in the case.

 
I'm also in need of upgrading my PSU.  I'm thinking a 750W or maybe a 650W one.  One online PSU calculator said I needed at least 500W.  Another said 750W.  I have a 500W one right now and it is not enough.  I recently added more fans to my set up and more drives so I think that's why.  I had to disconnect some stuff to get it going.  What's the best I could get for around $50?  I saw some Thermaltake ones, but they seem to get mixed reviews. 

 
Kind of sort of a building a pc but not quite question. I figure you geniuses can probably answer it though. I want to upgrade to Windows 10 on my laptop with a fresh install but put in a ssd at the same time so what do I need to do?

Obviously I need to back up some stuff, documents and the like. Steam saves should be backed up online right? I should dl windows 10 drivers before hand for everything and put them on a flash drive to save time later. Probably the same with any vital programs I know I will want, Firefox etc.

Also anyone have links to disabling the privacy invasion tools Microsoft preloads plus the bandwidth draining peer-to-peer update bit. I am on slow ass dsl so that's right out the window.
 
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So I did the upgrade (Thanks Elessar) so I had a question. What software does everyone use to make sure your PC is running at a good temp? 

 
None. I used to, and try to lower it by a couple degree C when it runs above like 43-45C, but I don't care that much any more.

Edit: On a whim, I went to check. GPU 37C, System 24C, CPU 30C... yea, I'll continue to not care about monitoring.

 
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McFryyyyyy said:
So I did the upgrade (Thanks Elessar) so I had a question. What software does everyone use to make sure your PC is running at a good temp?
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coretemp and HWmonitor is one of the fews, i can think of. unless u plan to overclock ur pc. i doubt ur pc will be running hot enough to cause damages or issues on stock settings.

if u want more help with it, go to overclock.net forum, and seek it
 
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Vinny said:
Does anyone know of a way to connect an Xbox 1 controller wirelessly to Windows 7?

MS released a new adapter, but it only works with Win 10... which I have no interest in. And I can't find any actual info as to whether or not the old 360 Wireless adapter works with the Xbox 1 controllers.

Kinda sucks playing with USB cable, since it just seems to get in the way all the time. And the Xbox 1 controller just feels so much better than the 360 controller, and has a better D-pad.
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Sorry, if I would have seen this I would have told you that you were crap out of luck. Win 10 only. Need to get a 360 controller for previous versions.

 
Alright, after some "fun" issues.....I realized it has been a while since I built a new system.  Running a i7-860 with a H55 MB and my performance is starting to suffer some.  I realized that upgrading to SSD has suffered simply due to my motherboard.  While a lot faster, there are a lot of things that could be better so here we go....

Going with a Skylake processor....while I really do not have the patience to mess with overclocking any more, I'll consider doing it if it is not too much of a headache.  Simply have too many other things to do to really mess with this.

i5-6500 is what I am thinking - good price / performance.  Someone feel free to chime in otherwise.

I'll be getting 16GB of RAM, preferably in an 2x8 configuration since I do have some side projects where I utilize VMs and the memory helps.

The motherboard is where I am stuck.  I am not a big fan of SLI as I would probably just get better video card.  H170 or Z170 is my main question.

Case - Mini or Mid tower only.  Smaller is better but I do not necessarily need to do Mini-ITX.

No graphics card needed for now as I have a GTX 970.  However I would like a power supply capable of handling a 980/980ti mainly for triple monitor gaming.  The 970 is lacking at 5760x1080 but is awesome if I am just doing gaming at regular 1080. 

I'll get a SSD for booting and games while I will probably throw everything else (video, VMs, etc...) onto one of the three or four 1-2 TB drives I have laying around.

Open to any and all ideas as long as they involve a skylake processor.  Price for performance is my main concern.

 
evilw0n said:
Sorry, if I would have seen this I would have told you that you were crap out of luck. Win 10 only. Need to get a 360 controller for previous versions.
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Microsoft released updated drivers a month ago so you can use a Xbox One controller wirelessly on Windows 7 now just fine. I played about 40 hours of Fallout 4 like that.
 
evilw0n said:
Sorry, if I would have seen this I would have told you that you were crap out of luck. Win 10 only. Need to get a 360 controller for previous versions.
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AceFan84 said:
Microsoft released updated drivers a month ago so you can use a Xbox One controller wirelessly on Windows 7 now just fine. I played about 40 hours of Fallout 4 like that.
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Yeah, just found this out a few weeks ago and immediately ordered the adapter. Works great, no issues whatsoever.

I'm wondering, does that adapter also work with Xbox 360 controllers? B/c if it does, that would be nice for multiplayer and whatnot for emulators. I'd try it myself but my 360 stuff is at my parents.

 
Vinny said:
Yeah, just found this out a few weeks ago and immediately ordered the adapter. Works great, no issues whatsoever.

I'm wondering, does that adapter also work with Xbox 360 controllers? B/c if it does, that would be nice for multiplayer and whatnot for emulators. I'd try it myself but my 360 stuff is at my parents.
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I just looked this up yesterday actually and no it doesn't unfortunately. If you want to use 360 controllers you need the older adapter and if you want to use One controllers you need the new adapter.
 
evilw0n said:
i5-6500 is what I am thinking - good price / performance. Someone feel free to chime in otherwise.

I'll be getting 16GB of RAM, preferably in an 2x8 configuration since I do have some side projects where I utilize VMs and the memory helps.

The motherboard is where I am stuck. I am not a big fan of SLI as I would probably just get better video card. H170 or Z170 is my main question.

Case - Mini or Mid tower only. Smaller is better but I do not necessarily need to do Mini-ITX.

No graphics card needed for now as I have a GTX 970. However I would like a power supply capable of handling a 980/980ti mainly for triple monitor gaming. The 970 is lacking at 5760x1080 but is awesome if I am just doing gaming at regular 1080.

I'll get a SSD for booting and games while I will probably throw everything else (video, VMs, etc...) onto one of the three or four 1-2 TB drives I have laying around.

Open to any and all ideas as long as they involve a skylake processor. Price for performance is my main concern.
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If I were you, I'd go with the H170 and i5-6600. It's very little money going from the 6500 to 6600, and you basically get the best non-overclockable i5. Since you're not getting a K chip, the biggest benefit of Z170 goes out the window. There is the 20x PCIe, but I have no idea if anything will use that in the near future.

As long as RAM is cheap, go with 2x8 GB.

Don't go for Mini-ITX. That's my biggest regret with my fiancee's build. The cooling is piss poor, so the fans kick up really quickly. And that's with just a 660. Can't really add more fans without removing a hard drive. Great for entertainment centers, but not if you stick a high range video card in.

Also, GeForce Pascal cards should be arriving this year. I'd wait on the 980 if you can. Especially since you have a 970 already. Might be cheaper in the short term to SLI another 970, but that's up to you. I personally wouldn't.

Edit: Not here or there, but I think I'll build my next PC after Cannonlake/Pascal are both out.

 
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AceFan84 said:
I just looked this up yesterday actually and no it doesn't unfortunately. If you want to use 360 controllers you need the older adapter and if you want to use One controllers you need the new adapter.
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Ah.. that's some weak shit right there. Thanks for saving me the trouble.

 
Went ATX, 16GB Ram, z170 board (trying ASRock as the price was right & it has USB 3.1), and the i5-6500.  Didn't see the cost justification for 100Mhz bump for $30 as I would've tried justifying the additional $35 for the k.  That $65 just about paid for the RAM or the power supply.  

 
detectiveconan16 said:
Heard that if you're going to upgrade your computer with intel's fancy new processors, you're gonna need to use Windows 10. https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/01/15/windows-10-embracing-silicon-innovation/

What's with all the 16GB ram builds? I've read that most computers top out at 8GB, unless one's gonna go full hog with the pricey cards.
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I believe they are not enforcing that for a while yet..was it mid-year 2016 or 2017?

You ask why 16GB? Cards rarely have anything to do with it. 64-bit processors can address far more and there are several reasons such as:

Running virtual machines

Running multiple applications at the same time

Less page swapping

Programmers should (* by that) be getting better and be able to utilize more of the RAM since all processors going forward will be 64 bit (or more)

If you are just surfing the web and playing a few games, 8GB will probably do you fine. However the newer boards will support (most and generally here) 32GB or 64GB of RAM. Plus, RAM is still relatively cheap, even most of the DDR4 stuff.

 
Looking into building my first PC, will not be used for latest releases or expect crazy stats.I will play some older games, indie / early access games. Shogun Total War, Contagion, Valve stuff etc.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/hsYXTW

How does this look? There is a compatibility notes of "some AMD A88X chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Kaveri CPUs." I don't know what this means...

I'd like to buy the Fractal Core 1000 case which is £29 + Windows 10.

 
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thenexus6 said:
Looking into building my first PC, will not be used for latest releases or expect crazy stats.I will play some older games, indie / early access games. Shogun Total War, Contagion, Valve stuff etc.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/hsYXTW

How does this look? There is a compatibility notes of "some AMD A88X chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Kaveri CPUs." I don't know what this means...

I'd like to buy the Fractal Core 1000 case which is £29 + Windows 10.
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I don't know much about AMD processor/MBs, but there is a discussion on that same site that lists the BIOS issue, along with some links to other people who ran into that problem.

Would definitely recommend bumping that GPU up to the 750ti at minimum for any type of gaming. Those *40 series cards are a waste of everything.

 
indef said:
I don't know much about AMD processor/MBs, but there is a discussion on that same site that lists the BIOS issue, along with some links to other people who ran into that problem.

Would definitely recommend bumping that GPU up to the 750ti at minimum for any type of gaming. Those *40 series cards are a waste of everything.
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Someone built this on Neogaf for me to consider, http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ptmxnQ

I have looked into the parts online and they seem pretty solid.

 
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I concur....at least the 750ti.  Honestly, if you plan on playing anything newer, I'd ditch the SSD and upgrade the video card.  Just my 2 cents.  Maybe the 270x if you can find one and the case has the room & I think that power supply will handle that.

 
Hey guys,

Unfortunately, I bricked the motherboard on this build:

https://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/343278-show-your-build/?p=13208718

I was trying to update the BIOS to get some more overclocking features, but I guess it didn't take and now it won't POST.  The system turns on and all the fans spin, DVD drive works, etc., but that's it.  I sent an email to Gigabyte, but I'm not very hopeful.

Anyway, what would be my best option here?  I want to spend as little as possible (
 
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Holy shit, I think you can buy Raspberry Pis with more computing power than that thing.

Edit: I think the only in-stock mobo with DDR2 support only has 2 slots, so you'll be left with 2 GBs, since you have 4x 1 GB cards. And it's an AMD. I think it's a waste to spend money on that thing.

 
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^^ That's what I was afraid of.  If the replacement board was $20, I'd be ok with that.  But $50-$60 seems like a waste on such old tech when I can buy a new board for that amount.  I guess I'll keep an eye out on combo deals.

It sucks too since this build was perfect for what I needed and it didn't cost too much to get it up and running.

 
I was telling one of my coworkers about my plight and I think he took pity on me because he gave me his old PC. I didn't get to really check it out, but it's a Cyberpower PC with an ASUS M4N68T-M V2 motherboard and 4 gigs of RAM. I didn't get a chance to look at the video card or CPU, but I think I should be all set now :)

Edit: it's a Athlon II X2 270 and a GT520 video card. It's certainly enough for what I want to use it for.
 
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encendido5 said:
I was telling one of my coworkers about my plight and I think he took pity on me because he gave me his old PC. I didn't get to really check it out, but it's a Cyberpower PC with an ASUS M4N68T-M V2 motherboard and 4 gigs of RAM. I didn't get a chance to look at the video card or CPU, but I think I should be all set now :)

Edit: it's a Athlon II X2 270 and a GT520 video card. It's certainly enough for what I want to use it for.
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Sweet. I'm currently trying to build a PC out of spare parts for my other brother in law. I should be pretty set, all I should need now is some RAM, an optical drive, and an OS.

Edit:

And I guess I should ask here, but what is the best/cheapest way to get Windows? I think any of them (7/8/10) would work. I could try to load Linux or SteamOS but then he'd limited in the games he could potentially play.

 
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FoxyPie said:
Sweet. I'm currently trying to build a PC out of spare parts for my other brother in law. I should be pretty set, all I should need now is some RAM, an optical drive, and an OS.

Edit:
And I guess I should ask here, but what is the best/cheapest way to get Windows? I think any of them (7/8/10) would work. I could try to load Linux or SteamOS but then he'd limited in the games he could potentially play.
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I have a spare sata optical drive I can give you. I have spare DDR2 RAM too, but you probably need DDR3.

Amazon has Win 7 Pro 64 bit for $44. I don't know how legit it is though.
 
encendido5 said:
I have a spare sata optical drive I can give you. I have spare DDR2 RAM too, but you probably need DDR3.

Amazon has Win 7 Pro 64 bit for $44. I don't know how legit it is though.
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Sweet. The drive will save me some money. Someone linked me to a subreddit where they sell cheap Windows so I will likely go with that.

I do think I need DDR3, but I will double check the MOBO. The card I have is a 6750 or something around there. Would 4GB of RAM be enough? Would 8 GB of RAM give any major benefit?

 
I think the card is going to be limiting him to not the absolute latest games.  The board has 4 memory slots so I could always do 2x2GB and he could always add two more later on if he wanted.  

Edit:

But looking at the prices, you're right, you might as well pay $5 to get double the memory.  

Double Edit:

But if I do one stick of 4GB it would be around half price. 

 
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Looks like I'm going to need to re-apply the thermal paste on the 212 Plus.  The Athlon is idling at 45C and went up to around 58C while playing SW Battlefront II last night.  My i5 with the 212 Plus doesn't get up that high so I must have done something wrong.

 
I doubt it. Athlons run hotter.

Edit: Looked it up. It's on the high side, but not too unusual. I doubt it's the thermal paste, cause that typically means much higher idle temperatures. Could also be poor airflow (if you have a lot of fans all blowing out and none in, for example).

 
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I think I definitely put too much paste looking at some installation videos.  I put a pretty fat bead on each copper pipe.  I just bought some MX-4 to see if that helps.  I only have one intake fan and one exhaust fan so if anything, I can add another intake or exhaust.  

I hope the new paste helps since I wanted to overclock the thing to 4GHz.

My poor 8800GT is also running at 56C on idle so that probably isn't helping.

 
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Can I get a graphics card recommendation? I've always been a console gamer, but I've always wanted to take advantage of PC deals when the price was right. I'm not too picky and my end goal is to play games with graphics that match (at least in most cases) consoles. I'm looking to spend around $100 - $150.

Dell 0478VN mother board (from a Dell 660s)

i5-3550 ivy bridge

8gb ram - Crucial Ballistic Sport

700w psu - Evga 700B

I was thinking of the MSI GeFoce GTX 950. Right now it's $124.99 at Newegg after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127904&cm_re=msi_gtx_950-_-14-127-904-_-Product

 
CitizenOne said:
Can I get a graphics card recommendation? I've always been a console gamer, but I've always wanted to take advantage of PC deals when the price was right. I'm not too picky and my end goal is to play games with graphics that match (at least in most cases) consoles. I'm looking to spend around $100 - $150.

Dell 0478VN mother board (from a Dell 660s)

i5-3550 ivy bridge

8gb ram - Crucial Ballistic Sport

700w psu - Evga 700B

I was thinking of the MSI GeFoce GTX 950. Right now it's $124.99 at Newegg after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127904&cm_re=msi_gtx_950-_-14-127-904-_-Product
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The GTX 950 is terrible if you want to game. You should search ebay or local craigslist for a cheap 680, 770/780 or even a 960. I still have my 680 and it's far better than a 950, usually a 680 goes for $75-80, a 770 would run around 120-140. Those two cards eat the 950 for lunch.

 
s0undwav3 said:
The GTX 950 is terrible if you want to game. You should search ebay or local craigslist for a cheap 680, 770/780 or even a 960. I still have my 680 and it's far better than a 950, usually a 680 goes for $75-80, a 770 would run around 120-140. Those two cards eat the 950 for lunch.
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Where the hell do you see 680s for $75-80? They're $150-200 used.

A reference 770 also runs $170-200 used.

Of course those two cards eat the 950 for lunch; the 950 should be compared to the 760 and 670. I can say a Titan will eat the 770's lunch, and it'd be as irrelevant -- it's not in his price range.

 
My local microcenters each have those cards on clearance for those prices all the time.  Where I live in a metro area I've picked up 3 680's in the past year all in the range between 75-80 each.  2 were Galaxy white pcb boards and 1 was a Zotac.  I still have all 3.

Basically craigslist people tend to want to get rid of old hardware and don't get many offers on those - they list between 100-125 and I have usually got them to agree to 75-80.

right now one of my microcenters has a 770 clearance open box for exactly $179.95.  Its an eVGA as well.

 
In today's Monoprice email I learned about Cherry's Low-Profile keyboards the JK-0800 and the G85. I know they aren't anything like the DAS stuff where everything is sticking out like those old IBM keyboards. I am wondering if I should get these over those bright gaming keyboards.

 
encendido5 said:
Looks like I'm going to need to re-apply the thermal paste on the 212 Plus. The Athlon is idling at 45C and went up to around 58C while playing SW Battlefront II last night. My i5 with the 212 Plus doesn't get up that high so I must have done something wrong.
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The new thermal paste definitely helped. I'm down to 39C idling. It started to idle at 49C so I figured the new paste would help.
 
Hi, I'm a brit so it'd be in pounds, but I'm looking to build a new PC since my current one is 4+ years old

I want it to be able to play the latest games in 1080p 60fps, basically equivalent to consoles or better. I'd also like it to be future proof (Upgradeable)

Any advice? Thanks

 
Intel i5 and Nvidia 970 seem to be the basic recommendations.  Without a budget, it's hard to be more specific. *They* say that a new GPU standard is coming soon (isnt it always), but I think that any PC you build based on the above CPU/GPU would serve you well @1080p.

 
Built my first ever PC yesterday, and typing this on it.. so I guess I did okay!

9qvwP8P.jpg
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Haven't been able to download or play any games yet because the 2TB drive I ordered was faulty so waiting on a replacement later this week.

I should take some pictures of inside, but I am a little ashamed of my cable management.. It's very difficult to do.

 
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Unless you have completely blocked all air flow with it, cable management is highly overrated except for the cosmetic appeal.  I'm not saying to be sloppy with it but you really do not need to worry about it hindering performance with your system.  

 
thenexus6 said:
I should take some pictures of inside, but I am a little ashamed of my cable management.. It's very difficult to do.
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It can't be worse than Fox's. Welcome to the PC-Building Club!

Also, I want to know which component came from Victoria's Secret :whistle2:

 
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