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[Cheeseman Battitude]

What do you guys do with your old hardware?

- Old working parts that you've replaced with upgrades

- Full still-working old PCs

- Partially-cannibalized old PCs

- Parts that don't work anymore

I set out with the best of intentions to reuse my old kit when I get a new PC and I do carry over stuff like optical drives, sound cards and stuff. But when I build a new rig the old mobo, cpu psu and maybe memory go in the loft for use later. But then I realise I got rid of it for a reason and I just send it to the tip.

 

[Dunfisch]

Mobo: ASRock H97 Pro4
CPU: i5-4460 FC-LGA4
RAM: G.Skill DIMM 8 GB DDR3-1600, F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL, Ripjaws
SSD: MZ-75E250B 250 GB SATA 600 850 EVO Basic
Tower: SilverStone RV03B-WA

Actually, by helpful magic of PCPart Picker, I've been able to cut the bill by about a full 100 €. So we have the above mentioned shell (sans OS) for 480 €, maybe a little bit more with shipping. Doesn't solve the GPU, but I might actually be able to squeeze in a better i5 K series, so I can overclock some. Probably need a slightly better Mobo in return, I'd switch to a MSI Z87-G43 to begin with, though.

It occurs to me that technically I could also reuse my old tower... that'd cut off another 125 € from the bill, as it currently stands. Man, it'd be one mean Frankenstein of a PC. Reuse Reuse Reuse!

Naturally, my intial post still stands. Any input is welcome.

 

[RGM79]

Hoping to get some feedback on this build.

Your Current Specs:
Q6600, 6GB DDR2, GTX 460, the original Antec Sonata, Antec TruePower New 750W Blue PSU, Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3Gb/s, and some Kingston HyperX crap that disconnects too much for me to install my OS on.
Budget: Canada. Aiming for roughly $1100 before tax. Avoiding MIR. Could go up to $1200 if it would really help
Main Use: Gaming: 5, General Usage: 5, Streaming: 3, Emulation (PS2/Wii/Linux VM): 2, Video Editing: 1
Monitor Resolution: 1920 * 1080. Not planning on a new monitor.
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: DOTA2/Source games, Witcher 3, generally any modern game at 60fps on high or max settings.
Looking to reuse any parts?: Internal storage and the TruePower New 750W if it's suitable for the new build
When will you build?: Soon. I'd like to make use of the Witcher / Arkham Knight promotion.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes.

This is what I picked based on reading about other builds. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Not sure if my old PSU is fine but it seems okay for a single card setup? I am favouring the GTX970 over the R290 due to lower heat output / power consumption, access to PhysX gimmicks, and the double game promo.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($38.95 @ DirectCanada)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Cooling MX-2 4g Thermal Paste (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($102.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($384.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower New 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (32/64-bit) (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $1122.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-29 11:09 EDT-0400

Going from what you said.. did you already purchase the MX-2 thermal paste and WIndows 8.1 license? The cost of the parts in total already comes to $1100 before taxes, so it'll be over $1200 with taxes. I'm guessing you'll want to lower costs.

I'd recommend the Crucial BX100 250GB ($117) just to save money over the MX200, it holds up extremely well in reviews despite being marketed as "budget" and you won't be able to tell the difference.

Ideally you'll want 2x4GB of RAM instead of 1x8GB so it can run in dual channel mode, but the loss of dual channel mode isn't that big of a deal. You picked a good kit though, $55 for 1600MHz at CL9 is pretty good, I can't find any 2x4GB kits at as low a price and latency.

The MX-2 thermal paste isn't really needed as the 212 Evo heatsink already comes with a small tube of paste. That tube is less than half the size of the 4 gram MX-2 tube, but still enough for a few applications. It's up to you if you want extra paste on hand for the future. Performance-wise there's not that much of a difference, just less than 2 degrees.

I suppose the easiest way to cut costs would be to get a cheaper case. You can stick with the Fractal Define R5 if you like as it's a very good case, but if you want to lower the cost of the build then consider these alternatives:

Antec One for $44 after rebate - the cheapest case I'd recommend. Spartan, but gets the job done.
Corsair 200R for $60 - One of Corsair's cheapest offerings, feels a bit better built and has some more options.
Fractal Define S for $95 - newer and cheaper than the R5, mainly internally different in that it emphasizes airflow over extra hard drive and optical bays.

I need a new video card...in the $200-300 CDN range, preferably. If I wait a week or so, will there be some better deals due to these new video card announcements?

Better deals aren't guaranteed, owing to Canadian prices.. Nvidia won't be releasing anything new in that price range and AMD's R9 3XX midrange models that will fit into that price range won't be launching for another 3 weeks or so.

 

[Vitor711]

Anyone know why the PC I just built won't let me choose the Nvidia DSR option? Like, it's not even that I can't select it - it just doesn't appear at all under the list within the control panel.

Shame as I was looking to try using it with DOTA.

 

[TronLight]

Anyone know why the PC I just built won't let me choose the Nvidia DSR option? Like, it's not even that I can't select it - it just doesn't appear at all under the list within the control panel.

Shame as I was looking to try using it with DOTA.

Look into the "general" tab, not the game specific one.

 

[Vitor711]

Look into the "general" tab, not the game specific one.

Well I feel silly. Shame that I can't just enable it for one game though. Don't see myself using it for anything other than DOTA.

EDIT: Now I'm getting an access denied message when trying to change ANY option in the control panel... Is this because I'm running MSI Afterburner with an OC?

 

[Fourth Storm]

One more question: Is thermal paste and/or a cpu cooler necessary if I don't intend to overclock initially?

The 4790k should be fine at stock speed for most games I'm thinking, no?

 

[TronLight]

Well I feel silly. Shame that I can't just enable it for one game though. Don't see myself using it for anything other than DOTA.

You have to choose the resolution in-game, it's not going to force every game to play in the higher resolution you activate.

 

[TronLight]

One more question: Is thermal paste and/or a cpu cooler necessary if I don't intend to overclock initially?

The 4790k should be fine at stock speed for most games I'm thinking, no?

Necessary, no. A good investiment, hell yeah.
My i5-2500 stock was reaching 80° in some games with the stock "cooler". Those thing aren't really made for such heavy loads, even at stock clocks. 30$ for a good cooler are money well spent IMHO. You don't need to buy espensive thermal paste.

 

[Windtrick]

Apologies, this is most likely incorrect usage of the thread and I will take my inquiry through the proper avenues.

 

[Fourth Storm]

Necessary, no. A good investiment, hell yeah.
My i5-2500 stock was reaching 80° in some games with the stock "cooler". Those thing aren't really made for such heavy loads, even at stock clocks. 30$ for a good cooler are money well spent IMHO. You don't need to buy espensive thermal paste.

Thanks for the advice. Any you can recommend around that price? I really want this baby to last.

 

[TronLight]

Thanks for the advice. Any you can recommend around that price? I really want this baby to last.

The Cooler Master Hyper 212+ or EVO.

It should also give you some room for overclocking, unless you want to go for an extreme overclock.

 

[Fourth Storm]

The Cooler Master Hyper 212+ or EVO.

It should also give you some room for overclocking, unless you want to go for an extreme overclock.

Not going for extreme OC any time soon. I'm coming off a real junker, so I'm probably in for quite the initial shock even without. Thanks again!

 

[dolabla]

Nearly any ATX power supply will work in that case. However, PSU problems rarely result in lockups -- random BSODs, reboots, and drop-outs are more common.

If your motherboard supports it, you can use HWmonitor to check the voltages on each of the rails. That will tell you if your PSU is in good condition.

Gotcha. I think they did say there have been random reboots, but I'll have to ask again.

See the power supply that's currently in it was taken from another computer which was one of my buddy's broken computers. I don't really know what type of condition the power supply was in. It was just a temporary fix for them at the time and I just never got around to getting them a new PSU.

 

[Nostremitus]

Not going for extreme OC any time soon. I'm coming off a real junker, so I'm probably in for quite the initial shock even without. Thanks again!

If you ever plan on overclocking or installing a better cooler I'd suggest doing so during the initial build. It's a pain to take everything apart to install a large cooler later on.

 

[Drop]

Post

Going to bump this since I've switched case and psu to these:

Case: Cooler Master N300 ATX Mid Tower Case (€39.99 @ Amazon Italia)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€65.58 @ Amazon Italia)

Still looking for an opinion on the build.

 

[Fourth Storm]

If you ever plan on overclocking or installing a better cooler I'd suggest doing so during the initial build. It's a pain to take everything apart to install a large cooler later on.

Yeah, I've thought that would probably be the smart thing to do. I'll have to mull this one over during the next pay period.

Regardless, looking forward to this build complimenting my Wii U.

 

[Xtyle]

finally got my computer up and running. 5820k OC to 4.3ghz...not bad.
thanks to RGM79 for helping with answering my hardware questions. I feel much better buying 5820 than going for the next one up (would not be worth it for little gain).

I guess I was over worried...temperature seems to be stable and low, although I have not stressed it at all.

I did change the spec a bit but I am happy! now I just need a new GPU.

 

[paskowitz]

EVGA just released this:

http://www.evga.com/articles/00935/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-TITAN-X-HYBRID/

Yes, there is a back plate included. Also there is an upgrade kit for existing Titan X owners.

Introducing the EVGA GeForce GTX TITAN X HYBRID, an “all in one” water cooling solution that significantly lowers the GPU operating temperature. Best of all? The water cooler is completely self-contained, with an included 120mm radiator and fan. No filling, no custom tubing, no maintenance. Just plug in and play! The EVGA GeForce GTX TITAN X HYBRID is available as a complete unit, or upgrade kit.

 

[Xtyle]

btw, question!

my rig now has 16gig ram and it runs on an SSD. I set it to not use paging file. That's ok?
Most things I do probably won't ever go over 16...even when I do Photoshop or media editing.

 

[GatticusFinch]

One more question: Is thermal paste and/or a cpu cooler necessary if I don't intend to overclock initially?

The 4790k should be fine at stock speed for most games I'm thinking, no?

You need both no matter what. Even if it's just the stock cooler that has the paste already on it. I'm sure the other poster assumed you meant stock cooler and not stock speeds when he said it wasn't necessary. You always need a HSF on your CPU.

If you are going to overclock, the HSF you buy will probably come with a tube, though some people swear by certain brands. I will say this: think long and hard about what kind of cooling you want on your CPU and do it all now so you can avoid the pain in the ass of removing it, cleaning it, re-seating it, etc.

If you go with the Hyper, you can put a second fan on the other side to do a push/pull which will lower temps a little bit more. If you are able to spend some more money, you can go with a closed-loop water cooler.

 

[mkenyon]

EVGA just released this:

http://www.evga.com/articles/00935/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-TITAN-X-HYBRID/

Yes, there is a back plate included. Also there is an upgrade kit for existing Titan X owners.

Just get a waterblock

 

[Fourth Storm]

You need both no matter what. Even if it's just the stock cooler that has the paste already on it. I'm sure the other poster assumed you meant stock cooler and not stock speeds when he said it wasn't necessary. You always need a HSF on your CPU.

If you are going to overclock, the HSF you buy will probably come with a tube, though some people swear by certain brands. I will say this: think long and hard about what kind of cooling you want on your CPU and do it all now so you can avoid the pain in the ass of removing it, cleaning it, re-seating it, etc.

If you go with the Hyper, you can put a second fan on the other side to do a push/pull which will lower temps a little bit more. If you are able to spend some more money, you can go with a closed-loop water cooler.

I'm definitely gonna think this one over some, thanks. And yeah, I always planned on using the stock fan/paste. I was just hoping that overclocking wouldn't be necessary to get good performance w/ current games.

 

[mkenyon]

I'm definitely gonna think this one over some, thanks. And yeah, I always planned on using the stock fan/paste. I was just hoping that overclocking wouldn't be necessary to get good performance w/ current games.

It really depends on how sensitive you are to inconsistent frame delivery. Once you get in the 4.0 GHz range, things generally start to smooth out a lot. Especially in older engines that only use a few threads, as well as most multiplayer games.

It'd be especially noticeable on a 120/144Hz display.

 

[paskowitz]

Just get a waterblock

And pump, and reservoir, and tubes, and fittings, and solution, and this and that and 3 hours of assembly.

Or...

 

[Zeyphersan]

What's the opinion on DDR4 at the moment? I'll be doing my build sometime between October and December, with Skylake and everything, would it be beneficial to hop on DDR4 or stick with DDR3?

 

[mkenyon]

And pump, and reservoir, and tubes, and fittings, and solution, and this and that and 3 hours of assembly.

Or...

Shhhhhhhhhh little things

What's the opinion on DDR4 at the moment? I'll be doing my build sometime between October and December, with Skylake and everything, would it be beneficial to hop on DDR4 or stick with DDR3?

It has not been demonstrated to be noticeably helpful in gaming, to my knowledge. Are you asking if it's worth upgrading to Skylake just to get DDR4?

 

[Zeyphersan]

It has not been demonstrated to be noticeably helpful in gaming, to my knowledge. Are you asking if it's worth upgrading to Skylake just to get DDR4?

No no, I'm getting Skylake regardless. But Skylake and it's mobos have the option of using either DDR3 or DDR4

 

[FaintDeftone]

So tomorrow I'm going to drive over to a Micro Center that has some pretty awesome deals on PC components right now. I'm going to grab a socket 1150 motherboard and a Corei7 4790k and rebuild this aging Phenom II X4 system I'm rocking.

I grabbed a EVGA GTX 970 today with the Batman: Arkham Knight promo (didn't get Witcher 3 unfortunately; they were out of codes). I'm not even going to bother until I get the rest of my parts since my Phenom II will bottleneck the shit out of that card.

 

[mkenyon]

No no, I'm getting Skylake regardless. But Skylake and it's mobos have the option of using either DDR3 or DDR4

Oh right. I'd wait to see what's what. They may have the high end Z series boards DDR4 only, who knows?

Definitely make that decision when the stuff is out.

So tomorrow I'm going to drive over to a Micro Center that has some pretty awesome deals on PC components right now. I'm going to grab a socket 1150 motherboard and a Corei7 4790k and rebuild this aging Phenom II X4 system I'm rocking.

I grabbed a EVGA GTX 970 today with the Batman: Arkham Knight promo (didn't get Witcher 3 unfortunately; they were out of codes). I'm not even going to bother until I get the rest of my parts since my Phenom II will bottleneck the shit out of that card.

hyyyyyyyyyyyyyype

 

[GatticusFinch]

I'm definitely gonna think this one over some, thanks. And yeah, I always planned on using the stock fan/paste. I was just hoping that overclocking wouldn't be necessary to get good performance w/ current games.

Depends what you mean by "good" and "necessary." Almost all games are GPU bound at modern resolutions, and a 4790k already has a high turbo clock that you aren't squeezing that much more performance out of it.

Back in the day, you used to be able to turn cheap processors into beasts with pencil tricks, overclocks, etc., and the performance difference was massive. Now that we have locked chips, you can't buy a cheap model and overclock it to a high end chip, because the unlocked model is already the high end. You won't lose that much by staying at stock and you won't see the ridiculous gains we used to see on some of these overclocks.

We used to turn cheap celerons and durons into top-end processors at a fraction of the cost, but those days are over. Everyone I know got into overclocking when we were broke and trying to get our money's worth, but Intel has pretty much done away with that and turned overclocking into an expensive, extreme endeavor, rather than a frugal one.

 

[Lockjaw333]

Just got my first IPS monitor, the Dell U2414H:

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2414H-24-Inch-Monitor/dp/B00GTV05XG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432942594&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+U2414H

Holy crap why didn't I get an IPS monitor sooner? I was using an Asus TN panel for the last 4 years, and the U2414H is WAY better. Of course the viewing angles are superior, but the PQ and color reproduction are outstanding. This monitor comes factory calibrated in the sRGB mode with an included calibration report. Gamma is spot on 2.2 and the grayscale tracking is almost exactly at 6500K throughout (slightly lower/warmer).

Really blown away by the PQ, its actually fairly close to my Panasonic plasma. Games look incredible. Its a 8ms GTG monitor and I barely notice a difference from my 2ms TN panel. Highly recommended.

 

[Zeyphersan]

Just got my first IPS monitor, the Dell U2414H:

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2414H-24-Inch-Monitor/dp/B00GTV05XG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432942594&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+U2414H

Holy crap why didn't I get an IPS monitor sooner? I was using an Asus TN panel for the last 4 years, and the U2414H is WAY better. Of course the viewing angles are superior, but the PQ and color reproduction are outstanding. This monitor comes factory calibrated in the sRGB mode with an included calibration report. Gamma is spot on 2.2 and the grayscale tracking is almost exactly at 6500K throughout (slightly lower/warmer).

Really blown away by the PQ, its actually fairly close to my Panasonic plasma. Games look incredible. Its a 8ms GTG monitor and I barely notice a difference from my 2ms TN panel. Highly recommended.

This just secures my desire for that 4K IPS G-sync monitor that is coming out.... eventually...

 

[Fourth Storm]

Depends what you mean by "good" and "necessary." Almost all games are GPU bound at modern resolutions, and a 4790k already has a high turbo clock that you aren't squeezing that much more performance out of it.

Back in the day, you used to be able to turn cheap processors into beasts with pencil tricks, overclocks, etc., and the performance difference was massive. Now that we have locked chips, you can't buy a cheap model and overclock it to a high end chip, because the unlocked model is already the high end. You won't lose that much by staying at stock and you won't see the ridiculous gains we used to see on some of these overclocks.

We used to turn cheap celerons and durons into top-end processors at a fraction of the cost, but those days are over. Everyone I know got into overclocking when we were broke and trying to get our money's worth, but Intel has pretty much done away with that and turned overclocking into an expensive, extreme endeavor, rather than a frugal one.

Hehe, I only read about those days. I'm way late on the scene. The last time I had a serious desktop PC, I was rocking a GeForce 4 just to give you an idea.

How do you think the 4790k will hold up once devs start utilizing more of the CPU cores in PS4/Xbone? I know intel completely outclasses AMD right now, but dedicated cores vs SMT seems like it might wind up in the consoles favor. Then again, there's still over a 2x difference in clock speed.

 

[opticalmace]

Hehe, I only read about those days. I'm way late on the scene. The last time I had a serious desktop PC, I was rocking a GeForce 4 just to give you an idea.

How do you think the 4790k will hold up once devs start utilizing more of the CPU cores in PS4/Xbone? I know intel completely outclasses AMD right now, but dedicated cores vs SMT seems like it might wind up in the consoles favor. Then again, there's still over a 2x difference in clock speed.

The 4790k will last you as long as you want it to. Easily 5 years imo.

 

[Fourth Storm]

The 4790k will last you as long as you want it to. Easily 5 years imo.

Thanks for the reassurance. Feels nice to have a CPU that hits the 4 Ghz mark. I've been messing around w/ databases a bit too, so the extra cycles/threads should come in handy there.

 

[GatticusFinch]

Hehe, I only read about those days. I'm way late on the scene. The last time I had a serious desktop PC, I was rocking a GeForce 4 just to give you an idea.

How do you think the 4790k will hold up once devs start utilizing more of the CPU cores in PS4/Xbone? I know intel completely outclasses AMD right now, but dedicated cores vs SMT seems like it might wind up in the consoles favor. Then again, there's still over a 2x difference in clock speed.

DirectX 12 will supposedly make life much easier for PC developers to get multicore performance.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2900814/tested-directx-12s-potential-performance-leap-is-insane.html

 

[shiftplusone]

I'm needing a new CPU cooler situation

I have a cooler master silencio 550

I was gonna get the corsair h110 but I don't have the dual fans on my case like that

I can get the h80 which is a water cooling+ single fan solution or I can go with the noctua NH-D14 which is a high rated air cooling solution

Thoughts?

 

[opticalmace]

I'm needing a new CPU cooler situation

I have a cooler master silencio 550

I was gonna get the corsair h110 but I don't have the dual fans on my case like that

I can get the h80 which is a water cooling+ single fan solution or I can go with the noctua NH-D14 which is a high rated air cooling solution

Thoughts?

What CPU and how much of an overclock are you going for?

 

[Saprol]

Going from what you said.. did you already purchase the MX-2 thermal paste and WIndows 8.1 license? The cost of the parts in total already comes to $1100 before taxes, so it'll be over $1200 with taxes. I'm guessing you'll want to lower costs.

I'd recommend the Crucial BX100 250GB ($117) just to save money over the MX200, it holds up extremely well in reviews despite being marketed as "budget" and you won't be able to tell the difference.

Ideally you'll want 2x4GB of RAM instead of 1x8GB so it can run in dual channel mode, but the loss of dual channel mode isn't that big of a deal. You picked a good kit though, $55 for 1600MHz at CL9 is pretty good, I can't find any 2x4GB kits at as low a price and latency.

The MX-2 thermal paste isn't really needed as the 212 Evo heatsink already comes with a small tube of paste. That tube is less than half the size of the 4 gram MX-2 tube, but still enough for a few applications. It's up to you if you want extra paste on hand for the future. Performance-wise there's not that much of a difference, just less than 2 degrees.

I suppose the easiest way to cut costs would be to get a cheaper case. You can stick with the Fractal Define R5 if you like as it's a very good case, but if you want to lower the cost of the build then consider these alternatives:

Antec One for $44 after rebate - the cheapest case I'd recommend. Spartan, but gets the job done.
Corsair 200R for $60 - One of Corsair's cheapest offerings, feels a bit better built and has some more options.
Fractal Define S for $95 - newer and cheaper than the R5, mainly internally different in that it emphasizes airflow over extra hard drive and optical bays.

Oh, sorry. I was a bit rushed in the morning making a post on both GAF and Reddit. I left out here that the purchased stuff is what I already had before planning out a new PC. Didn't buy it for this build so it's not in the budget. The MX was for when I took apart my 460 cause the shroud fans broke down. Windows was free from Microsoft Dreamspark.

I'll look into the BX100 if the differences aren't that big. I picked the 1x8gb as it beat every 2x4gb 1600mhz CL9 in price. Thanks for the case suggestions. The Fractal Define line is tempting so probably splurging on either the R5 or S.

 

[shiftplusone]

What CPU and how much of an overclock are you going for?

I have a 2500k and I would like to squeeze out what I can but I think 4 would be safe? Haven't looked into it beyond initial prodding

 

[GatticusFinch]

I have a 2500k and I would like to squeeze out what I can but I think 4 would be safe? Haven't looked into it beyond initial prodding

Depends on the chip, but that's a pretty mild overclock for your average 2500k. Normally see them between 4.4 to 5.0 for the real top end.

 

[shiftplusone]

Depends on the chip, but that's a pretty mild overclock for your average 2500k. Normally see them between 4.4 to 5.0 for the real top end.

Like I said, I've only casually looked into the overclock. My current heatsink has rubber bands holding the fans, and one of the bands has snapped so it needs replaced.

Let's say 4.5, then.

 

[Daria]

I have a challenge for you which is a little unrelated to a gaming PC. I recently sold my i5 MBP, was going to pick up my buddies 11' Air (Core 2 Duo) for $200. Then I decided something else. Maybe I could maybe build something a bit more powerful, let me run Windows & Linux, allow me to do college coursework (general and CS) and maybe allow me to play some sort of game for roughly the same price. be realistic when telling what type of games these will run, and I don't care about ultra settings tbh.

A quick hand at it and I came up with this. I'm not a professional budget builder so please help. If I can get the bare minimum right now (GPU mostly) but have the MB and whatnot be expandable for the future, I'll be happy. If not, then I'll stick to my console.

Slim me done PCGaf. Price is after rebates but I'd prefer to have it without them at all.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rLw8qs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rLw8qs/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GT 730 1GB Video Card ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($22.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $216.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-29 21:08 EDT-0400

 

[Nostremitus]

Yeah, I've thought that would probably be the smart thing to do. I'll have to mull this one over during the next pay period.

Regardless, looking forward to this build complimenting my Wii U.

Yep, That's exactly what I did this gen.

 

[opticalmace]

I have a 2500k and I would like to squeeze out what I can but I think 4 would be safe? Haven't looked into it beyond initial prodding

Just get a hyper 212+ or Evo or whatever the current one is. You can easily get into the 4-4.5 range with a cheap cooler.

 

[Trojita]

I'm getting a really good price on a 4790K chip so I decided to build a new PC. Now I'm learning the chip isn't really that much better than the 3770K I have? lol I'm wondering if it was a waste to build a new pc now.

Anyways, can someone look over my config?

For reference my current PC is

i7-3770K Intel Chip
Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
GTX 670 (I recently upgraded to a Nvidia GTX970 Reference which I will be just putting into the new PC)
G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Fractal R4 Case
Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

My GPU is made by Nvidia. I would have really liked to have had the option to upgrade after the whole memory fiasco to the 980GTX by paying the difference, but since I didn't get it from a third party I doubt this is possible. I was thinking about doing SLI for the first time ever, but the memory problem will still be there.

Also the deal I got with the 4790K also extended to a really good price on the 5930K, but I decided to pass on that one. Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake? I know the X99 motherboard and memory would have costed more and a hexcore really doesn't have any performance benefits in games at least.

 

[opticalmace]

I'm getting a really good price on a 4790K chip so I decided to build a new PC. Now I'm learning the chip isn't really that much better than the 3770K I have? lol I'm wondering if it was a waste to build a new pc now.

Anyways, can someone look over my config?

For reference my current PC is

i7-3770K Intel Chip
Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
GTX 670 (I recently upgraded to a Nvidia GTX970 Reference which I will be just putting into the new PC)
G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Fractal R4 Case
Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

My GPU is made by Nvidia. I would have really liked to have had the option to upgrade after the whole memory fiasco to the 980GTX by paying the difference, but since I didn't get it from a third party I doubt this is possible. I was thinking about doing SLI for the first time ever, but the memory problem will still be there.

Also the deal I got with the 4790K also extended to a really good price on the 5930K, but I decided to pass on that one. Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake? I know the X99 motherboard and memory would have costed more and a hexcore really doesn't have any performance benefits in games at least.

The 5930k is a real upgrade, 4790k not so much IMHO. I wouldn't build a brand new pc just to go from the 3770 to the 4790.

 

[Trojita]

The 5930k is a real upgrade, 4790k not so much IMHO. I wouldn't build a brand new pc just to go from the 3770 to the 4790.

The hexcore doesn't really have an advantage on single threaded applications though does it?

Ugh now I'm thinking I'm wasting my money. How much better is Skylake supposed to be?

 

[Garfias]

Hi PC Gaf. I'm looking to upgrade from a 660ti to something in the $200-300 range. Is there any card you can recommend for me? I'm not in a rush to upgrade, so I wouldn't mind waiting a few months if some better mid range cards are around the corner.