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[CraigerGamer]

Turns out my video card was too big for the case I purchased. The size of the case was fine but the case had inserts for an SSD which made the area smaller than expected.
I purchased the Sapphire R9 390 which is a huge card, and the Tesseract Deepcool case.

So it looks like I am back on the market for (smaller) video card. Will probably stop by Frys this afternoon and find a smaller 390 unless I can find a better deal on a GTX 970. I just really like the idea of more VRAM. Everyone raves about the 970's performance so it probably doesn't really matter. A part of me still wants to find a cheaper card still after reading that Pascal thread yesterday because I'll probably upgrade pretty quickly upon release.

Also. Motherboards are scary things. I feel like everything I do or touch on it may break it and render the whole build worthless. Guess we shall see tonight once all the power cables are in.

 

[bomblord1]

Neweggs current Shell Shocker deal is an AOC 34" 3440x1440 Ultrawide for $549.99 this is the cheapest I personally have ever seen a 3440x1440 34" Ultrawide

http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=Homepage_SS-_-P4_24-160-254-_-02182016

I cannot comment on the quality of the actual product but that is dang cheap.

Really leaning towards buying it does anyone have any opinions on it?

 

[IconGrist]

Okay GAF, I am absolutely positive you have been through this a hundred times but I have $1,000 flat (and can't budge a penny more) to spend and I finally want to jump in on a gaming PC. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never built a PC before but I'm not a moron and I'm sure I can figure it out. I do not currently own any sort of desktop so I don't have anything like a case, a monitor, a mouse or keyboard. I don't care about running everything and anything on ultra (I can upgrade later, right?). I just want a competent machine that will do medium to high with little to no problems.

If you think you can help, great, if you'd rather tell me to fuck off and do it myself, that's fine too.

 

[theRizzle]

Okay GAF, I am absolutely positive you have been through this a hundred times but I have $1,000 flat (and can't budge a penny more) to spend and I finally want to jump in on a gaming PC. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never built a PC before but I'm not a moron and I'm sure I can figure it out. I do not currently own any sort of desktop so I don't have anything like a case, a monitor, a mouse or keyboard. I don't care about running everything and anything on ultra (I can upgrade later, right?). I just want a competent machine that will do medium to high with little to no problems.

If you think you can help, great, if you'd rather tell me to fuck off and do it myself, that's fine too.

We didn't get to almost 14,000 posts in this thread by telling people to fuck off and do it themselves.

Check out the OP. The builds there are more or less current, and there's a template (called Basic Desktop Questions) that will help us get an idea of what you are looking for, as well as what country you are in.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Okay GAF, I am absolutely positive you have been through this a hundred times but I have $1,000 flat (and can't budge a penny more) to spend and I finally want to jump in on a gaming PC. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never built a PC before but I'm not a moron and I'm sure I can figure it out. I do not currently own any sort of desktop so I don't have anything like a case, a monitor, a mouse or keyboard. I don't care about running everything and anything on ultra (I can upgrade later, right?). I just want a competent machine that will do medium to high with little to no problems.

If you think you can help, great, if you'd rather tell me to fuck off and do it myself, that's fine too.

Read the 1st page of the thread

 

[RealityCheque]

Okay GAF, I am absolutely positive you have been through this a hundred times but I have $1,000 flat (and can't budge a penny more) to spend and I finally want to jump in on a gaming PC. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never built a PC before but I'm not a moron and I'm sure I can figure it out. I do not currently own any sort of desktop so I don't have anything like a case, a monitor, a mouse or keyboard. I don't care about running everything and anything on ultra (I can upgrade later, right?). I just want a competent machine that will do medium to high with little to no problems.

If you think you can help, great, if you'd rather tell me to fuck off and do it myself, that's fine too.

Gonna suggest you go with a 970 when you choose a graphics card. Best bang for your buck card around IMO.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Okay GAF, I am absolutely positive you have been through this a hundred times but I have $1,000 flat (and can't budge a penny more) to spend and I finally want to jump in on a gaming PC. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never built a PC before but I'm not a moron and I'm sure I can figure it out. I do not currently own any sort of desktop so I don't have anything like a case, a monitor, a mouse or keyboard. I don't care about running everything and anything on ultra (I can upgrade later, right?). I just want a competent machine that will do medium to high with little to no problems.

If you think you can help, great, if you'd rather tell me to fuck off and do it myself, that's fine too.

As others suggested, the OP has everything you need. I would say your PC has a budget ofr 750-800, 200 for monitor, keyboard and mouse. If you go used with the periphels you would be able to get to 850-900 on your PC alone.

You could go with this build posted by RGM:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($305.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $839.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-18 11:43 EST-0500

 

[Brandon F]

Okay GAF, I am absolutely positive you have been through this a hundred times but I have $1,000 flat (and can't budge a penny more) to spend and I finally want to jump in on a gaming PC. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never built a PC before but I'm not a moron and I'm sure I can figure it out. I do not currently own any sort of desktop so I don't have anything like a case, a monitor, a mouse or keyboard. I don't care about running everything and anything on ultra (I can upgrade later, right?). I just want a competent machine that will do medium to high with little to no problems.

If you think you can help, great, if you'd rather tell me to fuck off and do it myself, that's fine too.

The Monitor, GPU, and CPU(to a lesser degree) will be the biggest cost variables. The rest can come fairly cheap and still deliver strong performance and $1000 is plenty to fit your needs. I suggest using PC part picker and just tooling around with options within your budget. There are even build guides others have already used on the frontpage to give a good headstart.

https://pcpartpicker.com/

Oh and don't forget you will need to factor in the cost of a Windows license key as well(~$100).

 

[RGM79]

According to tracking all my parts will arrive tomorrow. Im scared GAF!

Time to utilize my natural ability to fuck things up to fuck up my first PC build =) If work/time allows im even tempted to stream the trainwreck. Also i made an adjusted version of my build for a friend. Is this gonna work?

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jY9Y4D
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jY9Y4D/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($111.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($314.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax ATX-321WB (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $862.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-18 02:51 EST-0500

No HDD until he has the extra $ to throw in a TB later on.
and hes throwing in win 10.
The only reason im asking is because theres this odd disclaimer at the bottom of the page that wasnt present on my build which states:

"Some physical dimension restrictions cannot (yet) be automatically checked, such as cpu cooler / RAM clearance with modules using tall heat spreaders." Ok?

Looks okay, but there are ways to make it cheaper and include a 1TB hard drive. I'm not sure why you've set that Zotac GTX 970 to be purchased from Newegg if you're already going to be ordering from OutletPC which has the lowest price for that graphics card.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($305.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $839.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-18 11:43 EST-0500

Don't worry about the small print warning. It's always there, I think. Just a small disclaimer that although PCPartPicker can check size compatibility, it doesn't have exact and complete information on every case, CPU cooler, and set of RAM. Just in case people happen to put parts together in a list that don't actually fit.

After 10 years, I was going to build a new PC in December, but I really didn't have the budget.

I'm thinking about getting the following and then get a 980Ti in March:

I'm not sure if I'm making the right decision regarding the case, motherboard, and CPU cooler. I'm just looking for something smallish, overclockable, but as silent as possible. (I want it ALL!) LOL

The reason I chose that motherboard is because of the form factor, it supports proper USB 3.1 Gen 2 (and it has a USB type C port too, lol), and seems to be a good board. It supports M.2 2280 drives right? I should check that before buying anything. Now that I think about it I should check the RAM sticks too, cause I have no idea if they're any good.

What I'm not sure though, is if the fan is if the Noctua is worth it. I've read that this brand is pretty good, but I haven't read about the NH-D15S before. This is the silent variant, with the displaced heatsink, and just one fan. I'd like to know if it is any good.

I'd consider water cooling, but aren't all pumps noisy, or eventually get noisy?

And the case, is there anything better in the same price range? I just want something silent, with decent cable management, good airflow, front ports, and small.

Reviews for that motherboard are good. According to the official specs, it'll support M.2 SSDs up to 22110, so 2280 support is included. Crucial is a great brand for memory, not much to worry about there.

Noctua's great. That CPU cooler will handle overclocking, although you may want to consider the NH-D15 instead of the S model. The standard NH-D15 ($79) comes with a second fan, but isn't shifted over to make extra room for one slot. While NH-D15S is meant to be extremely silent, the NH-D15 already had a reputation for being very silent. I'm just saying, one's geared for even greater silence while the other has somewhat better cooling capacity due to the second fan. If you look at this tweaktown article, you can see the difference between the S model and the original. I'd rather just get the one with the extra fan, that can always be taken off anyway, right? I figure the second 140mm fan costs more than $10 extra anyway. However...

The Arc Mini R2 is a more standard case that doesn't have soundproofed foam lining the case. If you want a mATX size soundproofed case, you want Fractal's Define Mini, or the the Nanoxia Deep Silence 4. There is a problem though, neither the Define Mini or the Deep Silence 4 are large enough to fit the Noctua NH-D15 or NH-D15S. You'll have to consider a smaller cooler, maybe.

 

[IconGrist]

We didn't get to almost 14,000 posts in this thread by telling people to fuck off and do it themselves.

Check out the OP. The builds there are more or less current, and there's a template (called Basic Desktop Questions) that will help us get an idea of what you are looking for, as well as what country you are in.

I don't recall seeing builds already set up inthe OP but I'll double check. I have a bunch of people throwing tons of info at me and I feel a bit overwhelmed.

Gonna suggest you go with a 970 when you choose a graphics card. Best bang for your buck card around IMO.

I've been told this many times already so I will definitely look into it.

As others suggested, the OP has everything you need. I would say your PC has a budget ofr 750-800, 200 for monitor, keyboard and mouse. If you go used with the periphels you would be able to get to 850-900 on your PC alone.

You could go with this build posted by RGM:

Good thing I bought a bunch of Steam games during sales or else I'd have a PC and no games to play.

The Monitor, GPU, and CPU(to a lesser degree) will be the biggest cost variables. The rest can come fairly cheap and still deliver strong performance and $1000 is plenty to fit your needs. I suggest using PC part picker and just tooling around with options within your budget. There are even build guides others have already used on the frontpage to give a good headstart.

https://pcpartpicker.com/

Oh and don't forget you will need to factor in the cost of a Windows license key as well(~$100).

Yes, I definitely need Windows.

 

[Branson]

Ok I'll probably be coming back here a lot because my gf is wanting to build a PC. She wants to build it up over a few months here and pick parts out. She has about $200 right now to spend on something. Any suggestions? I know it's vague but i don't really know what to go for right now. I built mine by myself but just built it all at once.

Should I just suggest to put the money back and do it all at once?

 

[mkenyon]

I'm using the H60 2nd edition, and the pump is not noisy or anything. Cooling temperatures are good too. So they seem to have improved the pump and cooling solution.

Yep, the H60 redesign fixed some of the pump issues.

It's really important to power the pump off of molex rather than a fan header on the motherboard.

 

[andrerobot]

Reviews for that motherboard are good. According to the official specs, it'll support M.2 SSDs up to 22110, so 2280 support is included. Crucial is a great brand for memory, not much to worry about there.

Noctua's great. That CPU cooler will handle overclocking, although you may want to consider the NH-D15 instead of the S model. The standard NH-D15 ($79) comes with a second fan, but isn't shifted over to make extra room for one slot. While NH-D15S is meant to be extremely silent, the NH-D15 already had a reputation for being very silent. I'm just saying, one's geared for even greater silence while the other has somewhat better cooling capacity due to the second fan. If you look at this tweaktown article, you can see the difference between the S model and the original. I'd rather just get the one with the extra fan, that can always be taken off anyway, right? I figure the second 140mm fan costs more than $10 extra anyway. However...

The Arc Mini R2 is a more standard case that doesn't have soundproofed foam lining the case. If you want a mATX size soundproofed case, you want Fractal's Define Mini, or the the Nanoxia Deep Silence 4. There is a problem though, neither the Define Mini or the Deep Silence 4 are large enough to fit the Noctua NH-D15 or NH-D15S. You'll have to consider a smaller cooler, maybe.

Thanks for reviewing my part list! I'll take a look at the other cases during the night.

Is there anything similar in terms of performance and noise to a D15, but with a smaller footprint? I'd go for water-cooling if there was something silent (no annoying pump noise).

 

[TonkatsuAddict]

Ok I'll probably be coming back here a lot because my gf is wanting to build a PC. She wants to build it up over a few months here and pick parts out. She has about $200 right now to spend on something. Any suggestions? I know it's vague but i don't really know what to go for right now. I built mine by myself but just built it all at once.

Seems like it would be better to just set the money aside until you have enough to buy everything. At least then it'll be picking up interest in a back account. What does just having a motherboard sitting in your closet do for you? I guess if you want to take advantage of sales, but it's not like sales are rare.

 

[fantomena]

Im not sure if this is thre thread, but what the hell.

So Ive got this tower: http://www.techspot.com/review/408-gaming-case-roundup/page8.html

And the usb ports in the font is damaged. The lower one does not work and the higher one is very loose.

Is this fixable?

 

[opticalmace]

Turns out my video card was too big for the case I purchased. The size of the case was fine but the case had inserts for an SSD which made the area smaller than expected.
I purchased the Sapphire R9 390 which is a huge card, and the Tesseract Deepcool case.

So it looks like I am back on the market for (smaller) video card. Will probably stop by Frys this afternoon and find a smaller 390 unless I can find a better deal on a GTX 970. I just really like the idea of more VRAM. Everyone raves about the 970's performance so it probably doesn't really matter. A part of me still wants to find a cheaper card still after reading that Pascal thread yesterday because I'll probably upgrade pretty quickly upon release.

Also. Motherboards are scary things. I feel like everything I do or touch on it may break it and render the whole build worthless. Guess we shall see tonight once all the power cables are in.

Can you just remove the SSD mounts? SSDs can be pretty much anywhere, just shove 'em in there.

 

[mkenyon]

Im not sure if this is thre thread, but what the hell.

So Ive got this tower: http://www.techspot.com/review/408-gaming-case-roundup/page8.html

And the usb ports in the font is damaged. The lower one does not work and the higher one is very loose.

Is this fixable?

Cooler Master has HAF X replacement parts, you'll need to contact them.

account.coolermaster.com

 

[TheExodu5]

Man, part availability for micro-ATX or mini-ITX sucks right now.

I had to build an office PC for someone on short notice yesterday.

Intel G4400 and G4600 are not stocked anywhere at retail (NCIX, CanadaComputers). Only the G3258 was available. But then there were no LGA1150 mini-ITX boards at retail. Had to go MicroATX as a result. MicroATX case availability is dysmal as well...I was really hoping for a Fractal Define Mini, but it seems that everyone stopped carrying it.

In the end, I went with a Cooler Master N200, which is a solid case for the money. But still, mATX case options are pretty terrible right now. What gives? Are Lian-Li and Silverstone the only companies bothering to create form factors that suit a variety of uses? Why are there no decent low-profile mATX cases out there?

 

[RGM79]

Turns out my video card was too big for the case I purchased. The size of the case was fine but the case had inserts for an SSD which made the area smaller than expected.
I purchased the Sapphire R9 390 which is a huge card, and the Tesseract Deepcool case.

So it looks like I am back on the market for (smaller) video card. Will probably stop by Frys this afternoon and find a smaller 390 unless I can find a better deal on a GTX 970. I just really like the idea of more VRAM. Everyone raves about the 970's performance so it probably doesn't really matter. A part of me still wants to find a cheaper card still after reading that Pascal thread yesterday because I'll probably upgrade pretty quickly upon release.

Also. Motherboards are scary things. I feel like everything I do or touch on it may break it and render the whole build worthless. Guess we shall see tonight once all the power cables are in.

I thought you were getting that Thermaltake case?

Thank you, no wonder I couldn't find them, the name is obtuse as hell o.o Though I have a ASRock z77 PRO 3 and upon closer inspection it wouldn't support that anyway:

ftp://europe.asrock.com/Manual/Z77 Pro3.pdf

It has a HDMI_SPDIF connector but the number of pins don't seem to match :/

Are there any recommended cheap soundcards with a optical input? I mean it wouldn't have to do much other than accepting the signal for my X-Fi to handle.

What country are you in? Asus sound cards were decent, the last time I checked.

Ok I'll probably be coming back here a lot because my gf is wanting to build a PC. She wants to build it up over a few months here and pick parts out. She has about $200 right now to spend on something. Any suggestions? I know it's vague but i don't really know what to go for right now. I built mine by myself but just built it all at once.

Should I just suggest to put the money back and do it all at once?

I'd suggest saving up and buying everything at once. It's not like there are any exceptional sales going on right now, and buying a new custom PC piecemeal over the course of several months has its own issues. For the parts you buy first, you'll be letting the warranty run out sooner. Also, If you find out that one of your parts is defective but you weren't able to test it because it was lying around for a couple of weeks before you had everything together, you're gonna be in for a bad time. Most retailers like Newegg have a policy where they will accept returns in the first 30 days after purchase, after that you're on your own and you will have to go deal with manufacturer's warranty. It's always easier and usually cheaper to get a return or exchange from the place you bought the part from, rather than making a warranty claim with the company that manufactured the part.

 

[opticalmace]

Ok I'll probably be coming back here a lot because my gf is wanting to build a PC. She wants to build it up over a few months here and pick parts out. She has about $200 right now to spend on something. Any suggestions? I know it's vague but i don't really know what to go for right now. I built mine by myself but just built it all at once.

Should I just suggest to put the money back and do it all at once?

Save up and do it all at once.

 

[mkenyon]

Man, part availability for micro-ATX or mini-ITX sucks right now.

I had to build an office PC for someone on short notice yesterday.

Intel G4400 and G4600 are not stocked anywhere at retail (NCIX, CanadaComputers). Only the G3258 was available. But then there were no LGA1150 mini-ITX boards at retail. Had to go MicroATX as a result. MicroATX case availability is dysmal as well...I was really hoping for a Fractal Define Mini, but it seems that everyone stopped carrying it.

In the end, I went with a Cooler Master N200, which is a solid case for the money. But still, mATX case options are pretty terrible right now. What gives? Are Lian-Li and Silverstone the only companies bothering to create form factors that suit a variety of uses? Why are there no decent low-profile mATX cases out there?

long time no see!

Everyone is trying to appeal to folks who want to liquid cool with mATX, so there really isn't a whole lot of choices when it comes to super small mATX stuff.

Phanteks, Corsair, and Fractal would be the other ones to look at besides Lian Li and Silverstone.

I'm partial to the Node 804.

*edit*

Oh, and the Thermaltake Core X2 is really well designed and thought out (because they completely stole the design from CaseLabs), but with cheap materials. Still a very solid case nonetheless.

 

[Branson]

Ok great thanks guys. I'll let her know. That's where I was heading too, about waiting, but just getting some more opinions.

 

[TheExodu5]

long time no see!

Everyone is trying to appeal to folks who want to liquid cool with mATX, so there really isn't a whole lot of choices when it comes to super small mATX stuff.

Phanteks, Corsair, and Fractal would be the other ones to look at besides Lian Li and Silverstone.

I'm partial to the Node 804.

*edit*

Oh, and the Thermaltake Core X2 is really well designed and thought out (because they completely stole the design from CaseLabs), but with cheap materials. Still a very solid case nonetheless.

Heh, yeah people requesting builds from me has kept me around. Sadly, prices are too terrible in Canada right now for me to consider anything for myself.

It's just a little disappointing to see little has happened to the case market in the last few years, besides the proliferation of the cube mATX form factor (which, to be honest, doesn't appeal to me much due to it's rather large footprint).

I'm still using the last case I bought. Lian-Li PC-V700. Damned ingenius case design...mATX form factor but fits a full ATX board. I was hoping to see similar innovation from other companies, but alas, it doesn't seem like much is going on.

From the little research I've done, my current favorite cases on the market are the Cooler Master H200 and Cooler Master Silencio 352 (basically the same case, but one is built with sound dampening). Not so much for their looks...but their design and flexibility are pretty damned incredible for the price.

 

[Rodin]

Ordering a Netgear A6210-100PES to replace my old wifi usb adapter (LAN doesn't work on my PC thanks to W10 and there doesn't seem to be a solution), reviews are excellent but does anyone have it? Are there better options for the price (45€)? I have to decide between this one and the TP-Link Archer T4U but the latter seem to randomly disconnect from the internet so i'm leaning towards the former (which seems to be a better all around product).

 

[TheExodu5]

Do you have any PCI-E slots available? In my experience, PCI-E wi-fi far outperforms USB.

I'm using an Asus PCE-AC68 and it's been stellar. Definitely above your price point though, but I'd almost lean towards a wireless N PCI-E solution over a USB wireless AC solution. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in.

 

[mkenyon]

I was hoping to see similar innovation from other companies, but alas, it doesn't seem like much is going on.

This one is pretty neat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Mso3V5SAw

But yeah, the major design push has been towards cube-ish cases. Stuff like the Node 804, the Air 240/540, and even the PC-08X. I'm a big fan of the cube stuff, so I'm pretty happy with it.

Lian Li also released their "Wall Mountable" cases, which are pretty inspiring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU2dvJJwveGTPM9CXLnSLPqA&time_continue=1&v=ucNne8-yc5w

*edit*

Almost forgot about the NZXT S340 too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRqRc64yqM8

 

[TheExodu5]

Lian Li also released their "Wall Mountable" cases, which are pretty inspiring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU2dvJJwveGTPM9CXLnSLPqA&time_continue=1&v=ucNne8-yc5w

Whoa! That PCI-E slider is amazing. I didn't know that was possible. I'm very, very curious to see what high end builds would like like in these cases.

 

[TheExodu5]

I need this case. I really, really wish I had an mATX motherboard right now...I'd go ahead and get it and put my current build in there.

Sadly, I'm not ready to move on from my 2500K just yet.

 

[mkenyon]

Whoa! That PCI-E slider is amazing. I didn't know that was possible. I'm very, very curious to see what high end builds would like like in these cases.

Here you go:

I need this case. I really, really wish I had an mATX motherboard right now...I'd go ahead and get it and put my current build in there.



Sadly, I'm not ready to move on from my 2500K just yet.

They make it in ATX form factor. PC-07S, my linked photo is one.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

What country are you in? Asus sound cards were decent, the last time I checked.

I'm from Germany. Well I found a cheap 25€ USB sound-card with Optical In, I guess that should do the job unless someone know of something even cheaper.

 

[Taco_Human]

I got a $100 amazon gift card from work today. I was looking into upgrading and buying a cheap solid state. I already have a 1TB Seagate hybrid drive that will remain as storage, so I'm looking into a 250GB SSD to use as my main.

Anyone know what the process is to transfer over my W10 key? I thought about also buying a Apricot cloning cable to keep alongside my tools for PC things. I thought about cloning my current drive to the SSD I buy.

Halp?

 

[TheExodu5]

They make it in ATX form factor. PC-07S, my linked photo is one.

Yeah, it's tempting. But then again, I don't see myself going full-ATX in the future, so I feel like maybe I'm better off waiting until I'm ready to get a new motherboard/CPU.

 

[TheLegendOfMart]

Looking for a cheap and cheerful monitor replacement.

I've seen the Acer K242HQK 24" IPS 4K monitor.

I only have 780Ti and I know I wont be playing in 4K but if I used display scaling in windows at 125% or 150% how big would a game in windowed mode at 1080p be on the screen, 1/4 of it?

 

[mkenyon]

Looking for a cheap and cheerful monitor replacement.

I've seen the Acer K242HQK 24" IPS 4K monitor.

I only have 780Ti and I know I wont be playing in 4K but if I used display scaling in windows at 125% or 150% how big would a game in a 1080p be on the screen, 1/4 of it?

24" 4K is an odd size, and not very fitting for gaming, IMO.

I'd advise a 1080p/144Hz or a larger 1440p/60Hz at that price, depending on which you prefer.

 

[TheLegendOfMart]

4K one is only £200 though. All the 1440p monitors are £40-50 more expensive at least.

 

[Bloodember]

I got a $100 amazon gift card from work today. I was looking into upgrading and buying a cheap solid state. I already have a 1TB Seagate hybrid drive that will remain as storage, so I'm looking into a 250GB SSD to use as my main.

Anyone know what the process is to transfer over my W10 key? I thought about also buying a Apricot cloning cable to keep alongside my tools for PC things. I thought about cloning my current drive to the SSD I buy.

Halp?

Just put it in and it will be fine. If its an upgrade from 8, use the 8 key in windows 10.

 

[mkenyon]

4K one is only £200 though. All the 1440p monitors are £40-50 more expensive at least.

Where are you getting it that cheap? It's $350 here, and £290 from what I've seen.

 

[usp84]

Hey so a friend of mine is making a new PC so i was wondering if there is a site where you can get a Key for Windows or something with a cheaper price than buying Windows at the shop.Is this even possible/legal?

 

[TheLegendOfMart]

Where are you getting it that cheap? It's $350 here, and £290 from what I've seen.

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/236...0-4ms-300cd-m-1000000001-speakers-dp-dvi-hdmi

Looks like Scan has description wrong. K242HQ only has VGA/DVI/HDMI, the K242HQK has Displayport.

Shame. Might just stick with my 24" 1080p one then.

 

[mkenyon]

How does it output 4K with only a DVI? Must be dual-link DVI?

 

[TheLegendOfMart]

TBH I don't have a clue. I watched the video in the description and it didn't have displayport. It says DP in the title but not in the specifications.

I am confused.

 

[CraigerGamer]

Can you just remove the SSD mounts? SSDs can be pretty much anywhere, just shove 'em in there.

I tried that last night but I couldn't get to the screws properly with the tools that I own. Also, one of the front fans seems to depend on there being part of that case there and I didn't want to mess with it in case I screwed something up. I do wish i could just remove that portion of the case.

I thought you were getting that Thermaltake case?

I switched out cases because I was using Amazon Prime so the deal was better. All of this is new to me so mistakes were made, but nothing that can't be remedied pretty easily.

Frys has the XFX Radeon 8GB Dual Dissipation Cooling (R9-390P-8DFG) for $329 that I can just go and pick up. I think that's the direction I am leaning. The card is 29.5 cm long and my case can handle anything up to 31 cm so I should be ok. Still cutting it pretty close though. Will this be a problem?

 

[bomblord1]

How long do Newegg's Shell Shocker Deals last? Are they over at the end of the day?

 

[RGM79]

I'm from Germany. Well I found a cheap 25€ USB sound-card with Optical In, I guess that should do the job unless someone know of something even cheaper.

What USB sound card did you find? Geizhals.de is a great place to look for computer parts. Here's their list of internal sound cards with optical TOSLINK connector, and here's their list of external sound cards with optical TOSLINK.

I got a $100 amazon gift card from work today. I was looking into upgrading and buying a cheap solid state. I already have a 1TB Seagate hybrid drive that will remain as storage, so I'm looking into a 250GB SSD to use as my main.

Anyone know what the process is to transfer over my W10 key? I thought about also buying a Apricot cloning cable to keep alongside my tools for PC things. I thought about cloning my current drive to the SSD I buy.

Halp?

Around here, we tend to recommend Samsung and Crucial SSDs. Namely the Samsung 850 Evo and the Crucial MX100/MX200/BX100. The newer Crucial BX200 exists and is usually available at for a very low price per GB, but it's a disappointment compared to the BX100. Sandisk and some Kingston SSDs are also decent. As far as I see right now, the Crucial BX100 250GB model can be had for $70. If you don't mind going over $100, then consider the Samsung 850 Evo for $149 (you pay $49).

Windows doesn't care about what storage drive it's installed on. If you're gonna reinstall Windows, you'll just be typing in your existing Windows product key to activate it, no need for any fancy transferring. If you're going to clone the OS to the SSD instead, then no transferring or reactivation is required at all as the cloning process is seamless to Windows. See here for a guide.

I tried that last night but I couldn't get to the screws properly with the tools that I own. Also, one of the front fans seems to depend on there being part of that case there and I didn't want to mess with it in case I screwed something up. I do wish i could just remove that portion of the case.

I switched out cases because I was using Amazon Prime so the deal was better. All of this is new to me so mistakes were made, but nothing that can't be remedied pretty easily.

Frys has the XFX Radeon 8GB Dual Dissipation Cooling (R9-390P-8DFG) for $329 that I can just go and pick up. I think that's the direction I am leaning. The card is 29.5 cm long and my case can handle anything up to 31 cm so I should be ok. Still cutting it pretty close though. Will this be a problem?

I think you'll be fine.

 

[theRizzle]

Frys has the XFX Radeon 8GB Dual Dissipation Cooling (R9-390P-8DFG) for $329 that I can just go and pick up. I think that's the direction I am leaning. The card is 29.5 cm long and my case can handle anything up to 31 cm so I should be ok. Still cutting it pretty close though. Will this be a problem?

1.5 cm in a PC case is more than enough. In the build I just did, I am dealing with 1mm (give or take 0.1mm) clearances in some cases.

I don't recall seeing builds already set up inthe OP but I'll double check. I have a bunch of people throwing tons of info at me and I feel a bit overwhelmed.

It's an image of an Excel Spreadsheet, but it was last updated about 8 months ago.

I know you said not a cent over $1,000 but I took the build RGM posted and added to it since you said you don't have anything at all to re-use, as well as a copy of Windows 10.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($305.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VX238H 23.0" Monitor ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Keyboard: Logitech MK120 Wired Slim Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($14.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Speakers: Logitech S120 2.3W 2ch Speakers ($11.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1064.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-18 14:50 EST-0500


The keyboard and mouse combo is pretty well the cheapest new thing you can get that I wouldn't consider unusable. I use them all the time for computers at work. The speakers were the cheapest I could find that you can get anything that I would consider acceptable. But for all of those things, understand that you are paying $27 for a keyboard, a mouse and a pair of speakers and set your expectations accordingly.

I also added a monitor which is cheap, fairly good and has pretty good build quality. It is kind of the "standard" for a cheap-ish 1080p monitor. Go check around, almost all the reviews are very good.

This is $64.12 over your budget but I would urge you to try and find that money somehow. I tried to cut out that and what I ended up with was so much less machine than this one was. For example, the 120gb version of that SSD is only $20 cheaper. So half the space for only a $20 savings. It's possible to make it work with 120gb but I guarantee you will wish you had 240gb. I have put a 240gb or 256gb in the last 3 PC's I've built and I'm still happy with it. It's a perfect OS + a few games that I regularly play only drive for me, provided there is other storage available.

I don't really know where else to get the other $44.12 from other than the power supply, which again I found that anything else that's available right now is going to be of lower quality or less "bang for the buck" or value. So your only other choice is to drop the 970 to a 960 or a R9 380 which I would definitely not recommend. That is a good system RGM put together for your price range.

 

[IconGrist]

It's an image of an Excel Spreadsheet, but it was last updated about 8 months ago.

I know you said not a cent over $1,000 but I took the build RGM posted and added to it since you said you don't have anything at all to re-use, as well as a copy of Windows 10.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($305.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VX238H 23.0" Monitor ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Keyboard: Logitech MK120 Wired Slim Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($14.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Speakers: Logitech S120 2.3W 2ch Speakers ($11.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1064.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-18 14:50 EST-0500


The keyboard and mouse combo is pretty well the cheapest new thing you can get that I wouldn't consider unusable. I use them all the time for computers at work. The speakers were the cheapest I could find that you can get anything that I would consider acceptable. But for all of those things, understand that you are paying $27 for a keyboard, a mouse and a pair of speakers and set your expectations accordingly.

I also added a monitor which is cheap, fairly good and has pretty good build quality. It is kind of the "standard" for a cheap-ish 1080p monitor. Go check around, almost all the reviews are very good.

This is $64.12 over your budget but I would urge you to try and find that money somehow. I tried to cut out that and what I ended up with was so much less machine than this one was. For example, the 120gb version of that SSD is only $20 cheaper. So half the space for only a $20 savings. It's possible to make it work with 120gb but I guarantee you will wish you had 240gb. I have put a 240gb or 256gb in the last 3 PC's I've built and I'm still happy with it. It's a perfect OS + a few games that I regularly play only drive for me, provided there is other storage available.

I don't really know where else to get the other $44.12 from other than the power supply, which again I found that anything else that's available right now is going to be of lower quality or less "bang for the buck" or value. So your only other choice is to drop the 970 to a 960 or a R9 380 which I would definitely not recommend. That is a good system RGM put together for your price range.

I can do over $1,000, I just didn't want do like $1,100+. Just easier if I say the limit is a specific number, know what I mean?

But this is definitely great. Thank you so much for this. I'll spend some time looking at this (I'm like a retarded monkey when it comes to this stuff so I have to look it over, lol) and get back to you if this is what I go with. Again, thank you.

EDIT: Unless I'm missing something does this still need a CD/DVD drive? Or is there a way for me to install Windows without one?

 

[Lonely1]

Is buying a Mobo now and CPU ~4-5 months from now a bad idea?

My position, I'm looking to upgrade my motherboard more than my CPU. I need SATA-III connectors for my SSDs, I'm also planning on buying a M.2 PCi-E disk for main drive. I have two GPUs so I would like to have as many PCie lanes as possible. Faster memory wouldn't hurt. My conclusion is that I'm looking into a X99 mother board.

The problem is that the current CPUs for the slot are nearly two years old! I don't feel comfortable in paying so much for older tech. The solution would seem obvious, wait until the new Broadwell-E CPUs release this summer. But the thing is, I don't live in the USA. The dollar has been in an upwards trajectory for the past two years and the retailer (Amazon Mexico) is honouring older exchanges rates on older inventory, plus a 10% discount with my bank for this month only. If I wait until June, I'm looking at expending considerably more unless we have a surge in oil prices.

In short, my options are:
1) Buy the motherboard, M.2 Drive and RAM sticks now, wait ~5 months for the CPU while the rest sits idle.
2) Buy all of above along with an old-ish i7-5930K (for the 40 PCIe connectors)
3) Settle with 6700k build, even though it wouldn't be as big as an upgrade from my 2600k build.
4) Keep riding my 2600k build for a few more years.

What would you guys do?

 

[luoapp]

Is buying a Mobo now and CPU ~4-5 months from now a bad idea?

My position, I'm looking to upgrade my motherboard more than my CPU. I need SATA-III connectors for my SSDs, I'm also planning on buying a M.2 PCi-E disk for main drive. I have two GPUs so I would like to have as many PCie lanes as possible. Faster memory wouldn't hurt. My conclusion is that I'm looking into a X99 mother board.

The problem is that the current CPUs for the slot are nearly two years old! I don't feel comfortable in paying so much for older tech. The solution would seem obvious, wait until the new Broadwell-E CPUs release this summer. But the thing is, I don't live in the USA. The dollar has been in an upwards trajectory for the past two years and the retailer (Amazon Mexico) is honouring older exchanges rates on older inventory, plus a 10% discount with my bank for this month only. If I wait until June, I'm looking at expending considerably more unless we have a surge in oil prices.

In short, my options are:
1) Buy the motherboard, M.2 Drive and RAM sticks now, wait ~5 months for the CPU while the rest sits idle.
2) Buy all of above along with an old-ish i7-5930K (for the 40 PCIe connectors)
3) Settle with 6700k build, even though it wouldn't be as big as an upgrade from my 2600k build.
4) Keep riding my 2600k build for a few more years.

What would you guys do?

Looks like your main concern is the exchange rate, is changing all the fund to dollar now and wait an option?

 

[Water]

Finally building a new PC, but man it's been a day of surprises. It never occurred to me that a 3.5" HDD might be incompatible with every 3.5" disk mount in a case that has four of them. Thus the improvised angled mounting. I hope it won't hurt the drive.
Also, Noctua listed the ROG Impact VIII as compatible with the U12S, but the fit was so tight that I was sure the cooler would twist the sound card crooked on the mobo. Ended up installing the cooler sideways at least for now. It just barely clears everything that way.

SSD and PSU going in tomorrow. For the GPU I'm getting a cheap used GTX770 to tide me over, planning to upgrade to Pascal (980Ti caliber or faster) immediately when it's out.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

What USB sound card did you find? Geizhals.de is a great place to look for computer parts. Here's their list of internal sound cards with optical TOSLINK connector, and here's their list of external sound cards with optical TOSLINK.

Thanks that's handy I found this one: https://www.alternate.de/Digitus/7-...0-Soundkarte/html/product/692598?tk=7&lk=8583

Seems like it won't get much cheaper than 25€. If I go for an internal one, I can stick a 1x PCI-E card into my second PCI-E x16 slot right? Because I feel a sound-card won't fit right above my GFX card since it has a metal bracket. Then again I guess I could get a PCI one too.