Advice on building PC

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Howe-Oh

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Jun 5, 2015
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Hi, I'm looking to build a PC, as I can't upgrade the graphics card on my new one (The PSU and case aren't big enough and the motherboard doesn't support the card I want). So I've got some of the hardware from my current PC which is an Acer Aspire XC-605 - 8GB RAM, 2TB hard disk drive and an Intel i5-4440 (I've got the Intel HD Graphics 4600 as the current graphics card). The hardware I've managed to find is as follows:
Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard - http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87a
Antec VP450P 450W Quiet Power Supply - http://bit.ly/1HtwJje
CiT Vanquish Blue Gaming Case USB3 Toolless Side Window 2 x 12cm Blue LED Fans - http://bit.ly/1HtwRiP

And the graphics card I want is the AMD Radeon R9 280X - http://bit.ly/1I5NSmK.

Can someone please tell me if these parts will all work together? Any advice to save money, time or effort would also be greatly appreciated!
 
Solution
DonkeyOatie
I think that PSU has only one 6 pin PCIe power connector for the GPU, and you need two. Also, 450W is less than I would want to use for that system. I'd start with a 520W Seasonic or an Antec 520 HCG or XFX TS 550.

I'm guessing that you are outside the US. Where are you buying from?


Can you put your build into PCPartPicker. It's easier to work with there.
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I think that PSU has only one 6 pin PCIe power connector for the GPU, and you need two. Also, 450W is less than I would want to use for that system. I'd start with a 520W Seasonic or an Antec 520 HCG or XFX TS 550.

I'm guessing that you are outside the US. Where are you buying from?


Can you put your build into PCPartPicker. It's easier to work with there.
 
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Solution
GTX 960 is a bit weaker than r9 280X, but this would be alot cheaper but if you still want r9 280X, get it but you will also need to change PSU to XFX 550w if you get r9 280X

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£56.36 @ Scan.co.uk)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card (£147.43 @ Aria PC)
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£25.29 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£36.40 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £265.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 17:51 BST+0100
 
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Yeah, I'm from the UK. At the moment the XFX TS Series P1-550G-TS3X Power supply (http://bit.ly/1W3XHJg) looks like the best choice as it's the cheapest.

Hardware I've got:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54440

Hardware I want:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87a
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-vp450
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn960ixoc2gd (I've changed that, turbopiki said it would be cheaper and it is by about £20, and it's got a higher rating as well. I'm assuming I can use the 450W PSU with this?)
I can't find that case on PCPartPicker
 
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What else would you need? I'm not really great at this kinda stuff, so sorry 'bout that.
 
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The motherboard you want is old model and you dont need Z chipset because you cant OC NON-K CPUS.
Also the PSU i suggested is better than the one you want
And yes 450w is enough for GTX 960

For complete build you need :

CPU
Motherboard
RAM
GPU
HDD/SSD
PSU
CASE

OS (Windows)

peripherals:

Keyboard
Mouse
Monitor

So which of these parts you still need and list the parts you already have, and last what is your budget ?
 
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Things I have (I haven't opened up my PC, I can if really needed):

CPU: Intel i5-4440 (http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54440)
Motherboard: No idea
RAM: 8GB don't know manufacturer
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4600 (http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu/Intel+HD+Graphics+4600/review)
HDD: 2TB, don't know manufacturer
PSU: No idea, sorry
Case: Acer Aspire XC-605 case

Things I want:

CPU: Same as above
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87a)
RAM: Same as above
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 (http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn960ixoc2gd)
HDD: Same as above
PSU: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply (http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-vp450)
Case: CiT Vanquish Blue (http://bit.ly/1HtwRiP)

I think all of the original stuff came to £150 without the graphics card, and about £300 with it, so anything cheaper than this would be great!
 
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Thanks.

You don't need the Z87 motherboard. It's last generation and it has features that you do not need. Is there a particular reason for choosing it?
450W is plenty for this build. Are you buying the Antec for budget reasons? The XFX 450 Pro is better for this system and only a little more expensive.

Cases are a personal choice. Research and get one you like and can afford.
 
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No, there wasn't a reason for choosing the Z87, I just got recommended it :)
Sure, the XFX 450 Pro looks better and only a tiny bit more expensive (I found this one).
I looked into cases and I'm pretty sure the CiT Vanquish is one of the cheapest, whilst also looking pretty good.
 
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Yeah, that makes sense! I wanted to make sure everything I bought actually worked together and was pretty much the most economic I could get without sacrificing on power and the like. Thanks for all the help, both you and turbopiki!
 
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I just looked at the differences between the two, and apparently the 3DMark06 score of the R9 280X is almost three times better than the GTX 960, but the opposite for their 3DMark11 scores. I've also found that in some places the R9 280X is cheaper, but I guess it's not as good on modern tests? Any further advice?
 
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Those are different sorts of benchmark. Look at the modern ones. 3DMark is a more modern version of 3Dmark11 which is more modern than 3DMark06 and includes Fire Strike, Sky Diver, Cloud Gate and Ice Storm benchmarks. It is a gaming synthetic.

http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu/AMD+Radeon+R9+280X/review
http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu/NVIDIA+GeForce+GTX+960/review

You can see how close they are. A lot depends on specific games and circumstances. The R280X will require a 550W PSU

The R390 which is similar to the old 285, but better, is also in your budget.

The GPU will be the limiting factor in your build, and it is also the thing that will become obsolete the fastest, so you want the best one you can't quite afford :)
 
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Oh, okay. I'll probably go with the GTX 960. Thanks for the help!
 
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