My First Build

[gridiron504]

Hey everyone!

I just want to start off by saying thank you for letting me be a part of the community and I cannot wait for this build!

So I have been an avid gamer since I was a little kid, now 22 years old. I've always had consoles, just hit the ten year mark on my xbox live membership. The point is, that I love gaming, but I have yet to try PC gaming. I have a couple hours of PC gaming under my belt from Gaming Cafés and such. But I do not know much about the internals and hardware, and just actually building a PC. So I started researching for the past week or so, and read the building guide here, which is a really good pamphlet. Now I'm confident enough in myself to start ordering parts. So last night I began ordering the main components. I ordered a Corsair Air 540 case, a WD Caviar Blue 1TB, and a Crucial XB200 SSD. Here is some quick info on my build.

Budget: $500-$1,000
Main uses of intended build: GAMING
Parts required: MOBO, RAM, GPU, CPU, PSU, additional cooling?.
Previous build information (list details of parts): This will be my first build
Monitor resolution: Not Complete
Storage requirements: atleast 1TB hard drive
Will you be overclocking: I don't fully understand this concept.
Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): Upgradeability, I don't fully understand motherboards yet.

Extra information about desired system: I have a budget that is easy to work with, but that doesn't mean I have to spend every dollar in my budget. I have only a couple concerns. One, I don't want un-reliable equipment. Although I want budget priced equipment, I don't want the quality lacking. Basically, I want my hardware to be budget oriented, quality, and reliable. Two, I game for long periods of time. So cooling is important to me. Three, graphics and framerate mean as much to me as any real enthusiast. I don't need ultra graphics, but I want to enjoy the game still. Four, I want upgradability. I don't want to have to scrap all my hardware in 6 months, I want something that I can work with.

Ive heard a lot of things about motherboards, which is what I'm on the fence about. I know I want to go intel, and I was thinking about getting the SKylake i5-6400 with either an ASUS, MSI, or AsRock motherboard. As far as graphics card I was thinking of the MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4G. Then I was going to buy a monitor, keyboard, and mouse after the build because I already have equipment that could work for now, until I know my build operates properly.

The above components I want or have purchased seem ,to me, to be the best bang for your buck. I'm sure I am not fully correct, as I'm a complete n00b. So please correct me, guide me, and help me transition into the PC world. I take constructive criticism well. Again, thanks for letting me be a part of this community, and I cant wait for this build and to share it with y'all!

[drop4205]

Welcome
just did a build for a friend with this motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1N83UD9904 along with this cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117563&cm_re=i5-_-19-117-563-_-Product . It was a nice build. The i5 cpu is prob gonna be more than enough for gaming. GPU is up to you but a gtx960 or gtx970 card would do great. As for ram the motherboard is using ddr4 and either 2 4 gig or 2 8 gig sticks would be enough for gaming. Gskill has done me no wrong on ram for the past 4 years. As for a cpu cooler you can use the standard small fan that comes with the cpu or get a bigger cpu fan cooler for better cooling performance just not sure what can fit in that case height wise. Power supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139143&cm_re=corsair_650-_-17-139-143-_-Pro... would be nice as its fully modular and only use what connectors to the board you need to keep the build neat and clean. Others will chime in

[gridiron504]

drop4205 wrote:
Welcome
just did a build for a friend with this motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1N83UD9904 along with this cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117563&cm_re=i5-_-19-117-563-_-Product . It was a nice build. The i5 cpu is prob gonna be more than enough for gaming. GPU is up to you but a gtx960 or gtx970 card would do great. As for ram the motherboard is using ddr4 and either 2 4 gig or 2 8 gig sticks would be enough for gaming. Gskill has done me no wrong on ram for the past 4 years. As for a cpu cooler you can use the standard small fan that comes with the cpu or get a bigger cpu fan cooler for better cooling performance just not sure what can fit in that case height wise. Power supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139143&cm_re=corsair_650-_-17-139-143-_-Pro... would be nice as its fully modular and only use what connectors to the board you need to keep the build neat and clean. Others will chime in

I like the look of everything you showed me. I just have a few questions, what are the comparison of the gtx960 and gtx970, because the difference in price is $100+

[drop4205]

970 is going to be better performance wise but either would be good. EVGA I have used in the past and the ASUS Strix series is what I am running for the past year. Both great cards Here is a 960 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487164 and here is a stix 970 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121899. If you can swing the 970 or even a 980 for the long run would be great. Out of the 960 or 970 I would suggest 970. here is some nice ram that I have used in the last 2 builds for friends http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-2666c15d-16gvr

[Chino]

If I was trying to build a gaming PC for under $1000 and I don't plan on overclocking, this is what I would buy.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.00 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T2 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus B150 PRO GAMING/AURA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($122.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($47.73 @ Amazon)
Storage: Kingston Savage 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($325.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($62.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $929.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-23 12:05 EDT-0400

[gridiron504]

Chino wrote:
If I was trying to build a gaming PC for under $1000 and I don't plan on overclocking, this is what I would buy.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.00 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T2 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus B150 PRO GAMING/AURA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($122.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($47.73 @ Amazon)
Storage: Kingston Savage 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($325.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($62.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $929.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-23 12:05 EDT-0400

did you just do a quick search and find this or is this a build you have done before? No matter the case, thankyou, I'm looking at the options now!

[drop4205]

Nice find Chino. I have never used PCPartPicker before but I like it.

[drop4205]

Chino knows a thing or 2. Hes very informative and responsive on these forums and wont steer you wrong if you ask a question. Hell theres a few on here that have helped me when i got started like you are now. I didnt know much at all on computer stuff. Now it kinda addicting as you can upgrade things later on without buying a whole new computer. You can learn a lot on this forum and a few others out there