So you want to build a PC?

[aeria.]

Just testing this out. Let's see if it gains any momentum.

I have a feeling a lot of members here are interested in building a PC however either is limited by budget or isn't very knowledgable when it comes to choosing the right parts. This is where I can assist you!

Want to build a gaming pc? A cheap computer for your gramps? A strong video editing machine? Anything you want to do, there's a build that can cater your needs. The wide selection and competitive prices of PC parts is what makes PC building a great alternative to building a computer from scratch.

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So you want to build a PC? Answer the following questions:
1) What will you be doing? (Gaming, AutoCAD, Photography, etc)

2) Maximum budget? Is Microcenter an option(check online for your nearest Microcenter)? What state do you live in (to factor in tax)? Is there a retailer you wish to stay exclusive to (not recommended)?

3) Do you need a monitor, mouse, DVD drive, keyboard, new OS, etc?

4) Are you interested in a smaller case? (Good if your room doesn't have a lot of space).

5) Any parts you currently own and expect to re-use?


--------------------

That's essentially all that's needed to make a solid PC build. I'm happy to help make a build list for anyone as it's a rather fun hobby for me

[{PLA}gdh92]

I don't want a new PC just yet but I'm looking at getting an SSD in a couple of months. Which 800 - 1tb SSD would you recommend and how easy is to transfer everything from my old hard drive including windows 7? I know it will be expensive to get a 1tb drive but I would rather have just the one hard drive and all my software/files running fast.

Just for fun which would you say is the 'weakest' component on my PC at the moment?
Mainboard Asus P8P67-m
CPU Intel i7 2600 3.4
8Gb DDR3 RAM
Asus GTX 580 DirectCU II 1536Mb Dual DVI HDMI PCI-e graphics card.
1Tb WD Caviar black SATA hard drive
Antec 300 case
Corsair TX850w PSU
MS Windows 7 professional 64bit
SATA DVD RW drive x2
Internal card reader

[Led]

I recommend you get one of these
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-SATA-Hard-Drive-Duplicator/dp/B003WV5DLA/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1400266366&sr=1-1&keywords=sata+disk+duplicator

It will duplicate one drive to the other.  Put in the SATA connected drives, press a button, and you have a copy of your hard drive.  It beats re-installing the OS and copying individual drives.

If the drives are not the same size, you will need to get some disk re-partition software,  EASUS has some nice free stuff.

[Carbon27]

 So I have been in the hunt for a custom built gaming desktop. I am comfortable paying 800$, but I could get a 1000$ PC. About how many FPS is the difference between an 800$ and 1000$? Will an 800$ PC run 3 monitors at high settings with 40 FPS? Should I get an 800$ PC or wait till I get 1K$?

Do to being on tight budget, are there any cheap 21in monitors?

Some people on the internet say a 800$ - 1K$ isn't much for a gaming PC, while others say it will be a beast. What is true?

I don't think I am ready for a parts list yet, though.

[aeria.]

I agree with Led. I have a cheaper model and it makes disk cloning less of a pain to do.

Having small SSD + large HDD is usually the most cost effective combination. You already know how expensive SSDs can get. Right now my OS and core programs (Premiere, Visual Studio, Steam, Chrome, etc) remain on the SSD. Any big programs I don't use often and almost all my games are put in my 1TB drive. As long as you tell the installers to install to the D: rather than the C: drive, it's a tolerable setup.

Here's a good 750 GB drive at a somewhat fair price.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 750GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($359.99 @ B&H)
Total: $359.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-16 15:13 EDT-0400)

Samsung drives all around are fantastic. I own the 840 Pro series thank to Black Friday sales.


As for your current build, it's very good! There's nothing worth replacing anytime soon. Your video card is the oldest part in your build and only has 1.5 GB of VRAM but even still, it's more than enough for high-end games. Your CPU is not overclockable but it's far from obsolete.

Greetings from a GTX 570 owner!

[aeria.]

You can get a very strong gaming PC for 800 dollars. It ultimately depends on finding the best price for parts and knowing where you can cut down on costs.

Know where to get Windows for free/cheap? You save yourself $100. Don't need another DVD drive? Save yourself 20. Don't need a lot of expansion slots on the mobo? Save yourself 40. PCPartPicker is a fantastic site that looks up the best prices of any part you're looking for. I've used it countless times for making builds.

AOC monitors are very inexpensive. I personally recommend going 23/24in because you're compromising on the gaming experience buy building a fantastic gaming PC, only to play on a small screen. I personally use a 27in monitor from AOC because I know I'm not a stickler for IPS panels yet I needed the large screen real estate. I paid 200 dollars for it.

An $800 dollar PC will NOT run 3 monitor at high quality. Multi-monitor builds usually require multiple GPUs, which is above your price range.

Here's an $800 build including a 23in monitor!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($189.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory:  Avexir Green 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card:  HIS Radeon R9 270 2GB IceQ X² Video Card  ($171.00 @ Newegg)
Case:  Antec GX500 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor:  AOC E2360SD 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $797.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-16 15:59 EDT-0400)



One thing to consider is that this includes Microcenter's in-store only deals + New York tax. There's also no SSD. The money for the SSD went to the Monitor.

As for gaming performance, here's how that video card compares to its competitors in Battlefield 3 @ 1080p + Ultra settings.
[spoiler][/spoiler]

80 FPS at ultra settings sounds great, no?

[{PLA}gdh92]

Thanks for the advice. I was looking at Samsung drives and they seem to be the best quality, it's nice to know that there's a way to transfer drives without spending too much.

[Carbon27]

Oops, I probably should have given answers to info in first post *slaps self in face*

Gaming is all the PC will be used for. No Microcenter near me unfortunately. Wisconsin tax. I guess I need a new monitor, but I have to have a case and OS. No parts from my old PC are going to be allowed within a 50 mile radius of whatever PC I get, much less INSIDE!

Being "newer" (I have played video games my whole life but now taking it seriously) to PC gaming, I have no clue on how to build a PC. Nor do my parents. Is it really hard to do the PC myself? How much extra would a pre-built cost me with the same specs as the one you picked? Still leaning towards building the PC, but my parents seem very against and may decide to forbid me from doing it.

Thanks for the help!

[aeria.]

What's great about PC building is that it has really evolved over the years. Words cannot describe how easy it is now. It is quite literally placing in parts into its respective slots, similar to putting a cartridge of an N64, and then connecting specific parts to the power supply as those specific parts need additional power. A friend once said PC building is LEGOs with cables... and he's right. It's a lot less anti-consumer than people may initially think.

However what separates PC building to purchasing a console is the number of choices you have over what you can buy, which consequentially requires a certain level of knowledge. That's why I made this topic. I've been working on PC builds and I still regularly follow PC hardware releases so I'm more than happy to help in selecting the right PC parts for their budget.

Having an existing case and OS is great! The lack of Microcenter is a bit disappointing but inevitable for most Americans.

Comparing to a pre-built PC:

Instead of giving you an estimate, I'm going to take a real pre-built PC with the same graphics card I chose for you and show how much it would cost part-for-part in comparison to doing it yourself:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229558

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($314.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($90.66 @ Newegg)
Memory:  A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card:  HIS Radeon R9 270 2GB IceQ X² Video Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case:  Azza CSAZ-206 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($57.04 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive:  Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $813.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-20 02:41 EDT-0400)


Part for part (minus their PSU because that thing is atrocious), you're already looking at a ~$200 savings. You can add in a monitor and even an SSD yet you'd still be paying less than buying it pre-built.

However here's where PC building is fun... you can make BETTER part choices that can cost LESS than the ones they chose.

- Buying an i7 4790 does NOT make sense if you only intend on gaming. If you are along the lines of a movie editor or a serious software engineer, the price is then justifiable. Otherwise it's a waste of money. An i5 is more than enough for gaming and it will hardly impact your computer's performance as a whole. That alone saves you ~100 dollars.

- As said before, that power supply is atrocious. The power supply is NOT something you want to skimp out and get from a shady unknown company. I've literally seen them catch on fire or otherwise destroy components. CyberPowerPC's 350W is borderline operational, as shown in the PSU calculator shown on the top right of pcpartpicker.com

- You save on money on not buying a case, an OS, or a DVD drive. No further comments here.

--------------------------------------------------

Here's an updated build with Microcenter removed. It's identical to the older build a gave you minus the case and aftermarket CPU cooler.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($239.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard:  MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($90.66 @ Newegg)
Memory:  A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card:  HIS Radeon R9 270 2GB IceQ X² Video Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor:  AOC E2360SD 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $794.60
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-20 03:06 EDT-0400)

The power supply has modular cables which should make cable management easier and it has enough wattage for a high-end graphics card if you wish to upgrade in the future.

Now let's say you want to hit the $1000 budget. The following are parts I recommend purchasing.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card:  EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card  ($234.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $343.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-20 03:24 EDT-0400)

The Hyper 212 EVO is an aftermarket cooler, allows your i5 to run cooler and quieter. For $30 there's a lot of value here. I definitely recommend it.

The Samsung SSD, coincidentally named EVO, allows your computer to have insanely fast boot and shutdown speeds. My computer boots up in 8 seconds thanks to this great piece of hardware! It'll make your computer very responsive, unparalleled to traditional hard drives.

The Nvidia GTX 760 is a step up from AMD's R9 270X. Naturally it costs more but it's an excellent video card.

--------------------------------------------------

However even with all that said, the $800 build is by no means bad. In terms of gaming performance it's around on par to my current PC, which is a last gen i7 and GTX 570. My video card is 3 and a half years old but I have no intentions of upgrading anytime soon.

Try to convince your parents this is a project you really want to work on because you're getting interested in computers. In addition it'll save a significant amount of money over buying a pre-built.

[Carbon27]

 You misread a very poorly put together sentence. I meant I don't have an OS or case. Sorry, my fault.  But I do know I need windows 8, and I don't mind picking my own case. Since my budget is a tad small, I decided my monitor will be fine for now. But I love the one you picked out. The monitor I have is an AOC so it should be hard to get used to the monitor controls. Will buy that model monitor as soon as I can get the money.

So, that already built PC is comparable to the one you picked out? Incredible!

I don't have much knowledge for PC, so a lot of things where not understandable. I decided to go to PC Parts Picker and I seem to have managed to get parts that are all compatible. Took a couple hours, but I got them all selected. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Pxfp I have no idea if I have an i5 or i7. Can you compare these and tell me how much performance the one I picked will have compared to the one you picked? Mine was kinda "Well, these numbers look high and inside my budget, I will take it" without the ability to know how well one will work with the other parts.

[spoiler]Thank you so much for the help. You have saved me a LOT of money and headaches! [/spoiler]

[aeria.]

Sorry about skimping out on the case and OS! When the link break happened I didn't read the "have to have" part.

Overall you made a decent build, minus the CPU choice. Here's my take matching your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z87-DS3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($106.79 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  PNY XLR8 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.44 @ Amazon)
Video Card:  HIS Radeon R9 270X 2GB IceQ X² Video Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case:  Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply:  Rosewill Hive 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $903.14
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-23 18:21 EDT-0400)

Explanation time:

- For a $900 system I suggest getting an Intel i5. You chose a cheap, however weak, AMD CPU. It's a good CPU if you're on a <600 dollar budget but yours is more than that. The i5 gives you better performance over the Athlon so it's well worth the money.

- The RAM you chose is very fast. Back in the day ram speed was important. Now it rarely makes a difference as they're so fast to begin with. 1600 MHz is more than enough. Swapping with a 1600 MHz ram saves you $15.

- Gave you an SSD and cut down on the HDD size. Even I can't fill up a 1 TB hard drive. Get it if you know that you're going over 1 TB of space. Meanwhile, a 1 TB is enough of a compromise.

- While the PSU you chose is a GREAT one, this one combos with the motherboard for a $25 discount! Only reason why I swapped out.

The mobo, CPU cooler, and video card I changed only to take advantage of newegg combo discounts. They're not any worse or better than what you chose before. The prices are simply cheaper.




Where to save money:
- cut the DVD drive
- Get an i5 without the -k suffix in the number. You cannot overclock for additional performance but if you're on a pressing budget you can save ~50 dollars here and save ~30 dollars on a non-overclockable motherboard. Any motherboard that is Z87 can overclock. The lesser numbers and letters are cheaper but they lose features, depending on the motherboard.
- Get the non -X version of the video card. It's only a slight decrease in performance, which could be gained back in overclocking the video card.
- Be a dirty pirate and get Windows for free and/or ask a college student for a copy, which they can get for free.

[Carbon27]

- Get an i5 without the -k suffix in the number. You cannot overclock for additional performance but if you're on a pressing budget you can save ~50 dollars here and save ~30 dollars on a non-overclockable motherboard. Any motherboard that is Z87 can overclock. The lesser numbers and letters are cheaper but they lose features, depending on the motherboard.
- Get the non -X version of the video card. It's only a slight decrease in performance, which could be gained back in overclocking the video card.
- Be a dirty pirate and get Windows for free and/or ask a college student for a copy, which they can get for free.

Huge help! Huge! I had no clue I could get Windows free. My sister is in college and is home right now. Perfect timing. That saves a bunch. Saving money but not overclocking seems like a better route, 20$ bucks is still something. I really like what you put together. I modified it to the non-overclocking route. I think I found "The One"  ://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Q2kw Wow, and it is UNDER my budget .

Can't wait to get back to PC gaming!

[aeria.]

Huge help! Huge! I had no clue I could get Windows free. My sister is in college and is home right now. Perfect timing. That saves a bunch. Saving money but not overclocking seems like a better route, 20$ bucks is still something. I really like what you put together. I modified it to the non-overclocking route. I think I found "The One"  ://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Q2kw Wow, and it is UNDER my budget .

Can't wait to get back to PC gaming!

https://www.dreamspark.com/

That's microsoft's website that gives windows for college students. I used my college email to get Visual Studio from there


If you get the i5-4460, which is comparable enough to the i5-4670, you'll shrink down the price 50 bucks. That extra 50 dollars can go towards a better graphics card, better storage, a brand new game, etc. Aside from that change, everything seems right.

[BlackScorpion]

Okay, so not necessarily building a PC but I have an OS question.  My notebook is currently dying, though slowly, and I may need a new one.  Looking at Clevo's stuff.  Wondering whether I could use my current notebook's Win7 key so I don't need to bother friends (my school only lets people in certain majors and/or people taking certain classes DreamSpark access) for a Win7 key and if I were to build a PC could I do this as well?

[aeria.]

Any questions goes! Honestly I'm not entirely sure here.

Unfortunately computer manufacturers tie Windows to the computers they come pre-installed with (in what particular way I have no clue how). When you order an OEM copy of Windows, it'll lack fancy packaging but it'll be cheaper! But since it's the OEM version the concept still applies: If you move the hard drive with the install to a different motherboard, it'll recognize it as a different computer. What is specifically does to impact you... I still have no clue.