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My First Build

gridiron504
Level 7
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!
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7 REPLIES 7

drop4205
Level 12
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
Maximus XI Formula, I9-9900k, Phantex Evolove X, Seasonic Titanium 850W, Custom loop PE360+SE360 Rad, G.Skill Trident Z F4-3200C14 32g, Nvidia Reference RTX 2080 TI, Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1Tb, Windows 11

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
Level 12
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
Maximus XI Formula, I9-9900k, Phantex Evolove X, Seasonic Titanium 850W, Custom loop PE360+SE360 Rad, G.Skill Trident Z F4-3200C14 32g, Nvidia Reference RTX 2080 TI, Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1Tb, Windows 11

Chino
Level 15
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

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
Level 12
Nice find Chino. I have never used PCPartPicker before but I like it.
Maximus XI Formula, I9-9900k, Phantex Evolove X, Seasonic Titanium 850W, Custom loop PE360+SE360 Rad, G.Skill Trident Z F4-3200C14 32g, Nvidia Reference RTX 2080 TI, Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1Tb, Windows 11

drop4205
Level 12
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
Maximus XI Formula, I9-9900k, Phantex Evolove X, Seasonic Titanium 850W, Custom loop PE360+SE360 Rad, G.Skill Trident Z F4-3200C14 32g, Nvidia Reference RTX 2080 TI, Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1Tb, Windows 11