A Budget Build

[djmixer36]

So I'm upgrading my Pentium 4 to a G3258. My P4 is integrated so I know I have to change the motherboard. I've currently purchased the combo of a G3258 and a MSI H81M-P33 LGA 1150 board. I purchased that specific combo because it is supposed to be able to allow a future upgrade to a i3/5 or even 7 and also, for right now, that combo could support a GTX 950 (my most likely option). In contemplating this build, I've ran into a few questions so I thought I'd ask them here. My first question is will my motherboard even fit into my case? I'm willing to buy a new case if that's absolutely necessary but even that extra $40 could get me to the 950 faster. My current case is from an OEM build from WalMart, which is exactly what has me worried. I've heard things like sometimes the manufacturers will put the screwholes in a specific spot for just that motherboard as to only allow a replacement of the current motherboard and not a new one entirely. Here is a link to the case I'm talking about: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114040. And that's also the computer that I'm pretty much using right now, my updated specs are:

PSU: Dynex 400W
VC: GeForce 210
HDD: Seagate 1TB

But the rest of the specs should be what the page says. Back to the case, let's say that the screwholes aren't a problem, would the dimensions match up? The case's dimensions are: 16.00" x 14.25" x 7.25" and the motherboard's dimensions are: 8.90" x 6.81". It seems like it would be obvious, but you can never be too sure. If that's all fine, them my next question has to do with my PSU. I'm half-basing my build off of one from the GeForce website in which they make a budget PC that can power the 950. In that build they are using a 430W PSU. It has 30W more than mine, but it's also powering a 950, so I should be fine with just the 400W and integrated graphics right? I'll look into purchasing a 600W one when I do pickup the 950, but in the meantime if I can keep using my Dynex that would be great. One caveat is that I have 2 HDDs where their build had one. The main one is 1TB and the other one is 160GB, I don't use it at all so if that's something that would restrict the 400W I can just take it out.

And while we are talking about graphics cards: should I just retire my G210 in lieu of the Intel HD graphics? I'm pretty sure the HD graphics would smoke the G210, but maybe there's still some use for it as it's dedicated (probably not though).

The next thing is cooling. I want to OC the G3258 and a lot of people say that you can get good enough results while sticking with the stock cooler. Is the stock cooler just a heatsink fan or something in addition to that? If not, would my system be getting enough air? Currently it has a 60mm blowing air out of the back and then there's the 80mm that's currently attached to the P4, but I'm guessing that that can't be reused as just a standalone fan.

My final specs will be:

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258
Motherboard: H81M-P33 LGA 1150
PSU: Dynex 400W
VC: Intel HD Graphics or GeForce 210
HDD: Seagate 1TB & Hitachi 160GB
RAM: (2x2GB) 4GB Crucial @ 1333mHz
Monitor: 42" Vizio HDTV

And my final question is this:

I know this is a longshot, but could this rig play 4k videos (even if it's just youtube)? I ask because currently I'm running an Intel P4 with the 210 and 1.5 GBs of ram and that was able to load up a 4k video and everything on youtube, but it was really laggy and stuttered. So if that was the case, would this new build have better results?

 

[batuchka]

Frankly the smarter though pricier play would be to invest in a solid reliable PSU immediately along with a new casing? I say this because the PSU u mentioned sounds dodgy and even worse we have no idea how long it's under use. GTX 950 isn's a power hungry GPU but even so why take chances with a suspect PSU? Secondly i suspect a new mATX motherboard may fit but consider conditions under load when gaming? Do you really want to have your brand new components housed in an ancient, dusty/rusty hotbox when even with a humble budget one could hit a reasonable case with 120/140mm fans intake/exhaust? For your last question : i would really stick to 720p youtube for now until you upgrade to the G3258/GTX 950

 

[BadActor]

I agree with batuchka. The PSU is old and very low quality. A recipe for disaster. In actuality, it's probably more like a 300 watt PSU. The motherboard may or may not work, depending not only on where the screw holes line up, but also the location of the rear IO, front panel connectors, and other things. Air flow will be poor no matter what due to the case design. No matter what you do with the PSU, get a good quality one that will be suitable for future upgrades so you don't have to buy it again.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Corsair Carbide SPEC-M2 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $90.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-02 06:00 EST-0500

 

[djmixer36]

So would this PSU do? http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16817438014

 

[djmixer36]

Also, should I go with the 950 or 960?

 

[BadActor]

The PSU I linked to is one of the best you can get for the price. Anything cheaper isn't going to have enough watts keeping in mind a future upgrade or will be lower quality. An overclocked GTX 950 will give a 960 a run for it's money if you want to save a little there and put it towards the PSU or something else.

 

[djmixer36]

Thank you both for taking the time to answer, it's much appreciated. Bad, I decided to go with that PSU you linked and I just had one question. Would that PSU be able to handle the g3258, 10gbs of ram, and the 950? And if so, would it eventually be able to support an i5/7 with the 950 and 16 gbs? Thank you in advance.

 

[BadActor]

No problem handling any of that. You can run a GTX 970 with that PSU if you chose to.

 

[djmixer36]

Ok, thank you very much.