[SOLVED] Building a new PC for my brother

[xBrownboy]

Approximate Purchase Date: probably next month. May/2019.

Budget Range: Around 1500 - 2000 after shipping. It cost me 150-200 dollars to ship my PC since the case was heavy.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Playing games and surfing the web.

Are you buying a monitor: No.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg since its the best that ships to my country.

Location: Saudi Arabia.

Parts Preferences: I'm not too familiar with AMD so I would prefer Intel.

Overclocking: No.

SLI or Crossfire: No.

Your Monitor Resolution: Probably 1080 @ 120Hz

Additional Comments: A mini ITX build would be best.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: He's had his PC for 4 years and when he built it he was buying low-end hardware.

 

[WildCard999]

Since your more familiar with Intel and for a faster refresh rate and ITX build this is what I'd suggest. This would handle 1080P/120hz+ or 1440P/100hz fairly easy on higher settings.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($264.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Scythe - Mugen 5 Rev. B 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z390-I GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($199.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: ADATA - XPG GAMMIX D10 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($77.90 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($69.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB XC BLACK EDITION GAMING Video Card ($494.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Metallic Gear - NEO MINI Mini ITX Tower Case ($68.24 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1349.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-10 08:47 EDT-0400

If your brother isn't too tech savvy then you may want to overclock it before shipping it to him.
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/intel-temperature-guide.1488337/

 

[xBrownboy]

Since your more familiar with Intel and for a faster refresh rate and ITX build this is what I'd suggest. This would handle 1080P/120hz+ or 1440P/100hz fairly easy on higher settings.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($264.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Scythe - Mugen 5 Rev. B 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z390-I GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($199.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: ADATA - XPG GAMMIX D10 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($77.90 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($69.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB XC BLACK EDITION GAMING Video Card ($494.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Metallic Gear - NEO MINI Mini ITX Tower Case ($68.24 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1349.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-10 08:47 EDT-0400

If your brother isn't too tech savvy then you may want to overclock it before shipping it to him.
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/intel-temperature-guide.1488337/

I didn't mean a mini ITX bored specifically he just likes to put his PC on his desk and he's always going on about how he likes his small PC rather than a mid tower. The case you listed would be perfect for that, although I never built in a case where the psu is on top. Plus wouldn't RGB RAM be better in a build like this or do you think that's wasted here?

 

[WildCard999]

The case is small but with the fully modular PSU cable management should be fairly easy. As for RGB you could swap the memory to the RGB version as the case side is clear. That case also has room for more fans so if you wanted to improve airflow and add in more RGB then you could go that route as well. You could even go with a 240mm AIO in the front however I wouldn't recommend that as you'd be dumping warm air into a small case and that GPU is going to give off a bit of heat. Putting a couple of fans in the front as intake, 1-2 as exhaust and a high end air unit for the CPU would be the better setup. The Scythe I put in works excellent and is quieter then most AIO's.

 

[xBrownboy]

The case is small but with the fully modular PSU cable management should be fairly easy. As for RGB you could swap the memory to the RGB version as the case side is clear. That case also has room for more fans so if you wanted to improve airflow and add in more RGB then you could go that route as well. You could even go with a 240mm AIO in the front however I wouldn't recommend that as you'd be dumping warm air into a small case and that GPU is going to give off a bit of heat. Putting a couple of fans in the front as intake, 1-2 as exhaust and a high end air unit for the CPU would be the better setup. The Scythe I put in works excellent and is quieter then most AIO's.

Thank you very much for the build and the explanation. I think this build would be pretty good, I was just a little skeptical of the RAM since I wasn't familiar with them but everything else looks perfect!

 

[WildCard999]

Thank you very much for the build and the explanation. I think this build would be pretty good, I was just a little skeptical of the RAM since I wasn't familiar with them but everything else looks perfect!

Your welcome, if desired you can change the memory as that board will support most DDR4 kits. For RGB I'd probably grab this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Team - T-Force Delta RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $90.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-10 09:53 EDT-0400

 

[xBrownboy]

Your welcome, if desired you can change the memory as that board will support most DDR4 kits. For RGB I'd probably grab this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Team - T-Force Delta RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $90.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-10 09:53 EDT-0400

I was thinking corsair since their whole Eco system with their fans and stuff and he wouldn't need multiple programs just to color his system the way he wants it, but that would add a pretty penny to the build so maybe just a non led one since there isn't an led in the cpu area which might make it look lackluster. what do you think?

 

[WildCard999]

I was thinking corsair since their whole Eco system with their fans and stuff but that would add a pretty penny to the build so maybe just a non led one since there isn't an led on the cpu which might make it look lackluster. what do you think?

The CPU cooler is a little bit bland but for the price it's on of the better out there for cooling/noise. Next choice I'd go with is the Be Quiet Dark Rock 4 which is jet black and looks great. You could probably put a RGB strip around the inside of the case where the side panel is to give it a bit more aesthetics. Corsair's RGB stuff is impressive but like you said it's quite expensive. Thermaltake Riing RGB fans are good for the price and then there's Cooler Master's stuff but it's a bit on the lower end and some don't like that full fan color unless you pay more for the ARGB versions. I have the regular RGB ones and like them for what I paid (like $80 all together including CPU cooler).

 

[xBrownboy]

The CPU cooler is a little bit bland but for the price it's on of the better out there for cooling/noise. Next choice I'd go with is the Be Quiet Dark Rock 4 which is jet black and looks great. You could probably put a RGB strip around the inside of the case where the side panel is to give it a bit more aesthetics. Corsair's RGB stuff is impressive but like you said it's quite expensive. Thermaltake Riing RGB fans are good for the price and then there's Cooler Master's stuff but it's a bit on the lower end and some don't like that full fan color unless you pay more for the ARGB versions. I have the regular RGB ones and like them for what I paid (like $80 all together including CPU cooler).

There was a cool looking cooler (air cooler?) that had a ring around the fan and it kinda resembles the stock Intel coolers but i'm not sure what it was and how efficient it is either, but if it was decent id probably pair it with the RGB RAM and fans.

 

[WildCard999]

There's this but it would be terrible cooling for that CPU (similar to stock cooler).
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...V0pCfCh3DTwVkEAQYAiABEgId5PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I suppose you could always grab a larger air cooler and just replace them with the RGB fans you'd like.

 

[xBrownboy]

There's this but it would be terrible cooling for that CPU (similar to stock cooler).
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...V0pCfCh3DTwVkEAQYAiABEgId5PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I suppose you could always grab a larger air cooler and just replace them with the RGB fans you'd like.

Would that heatsink be enough for the cpu? I don't even know if I want to overclock the PC since he's not a power user.

 

[WildCard999]

Would that heatsink be enough for the cpu? I don't even know if I want to overclock the PC since he's not a power user.

Not at all, it's really just a fancy Intel stock cooler which is not even close enough to cool that CPU. For a very mild overclock or non at all (at least for now) grab the CM EVO 212 Black RGB, I have it on my Ryzen 2600 and it works great and is fairly quiet.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($36.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $36.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-10 11:03 EDT-0400

If you look at my PCPer link below it shows that cooler as well as the RGB CM fans.

 

[xBrownboy]

Not at all, it's really just a fancy Intel stock cooler which is not even close enough to cool that CPU. For a very mild overclock or non at all (at least for now) grab the CM EVO 212 Black RGB, I have it on my Ryzen 2600 and it works great and is fairly quiet.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($36.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $36.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-10 11:03 EDT-0400

If you look at my PCPer link below it shows that cooler as well as the RGB CM fans.

Last question. Would there be a difference between a i5-9400 and the unlocked processor you mentioned or is it just the ability to overclock?

 

[WildCard999]

Last question. Would there be a difference between a i5-9400 and the unlocked processor you mentioned or is it just the ability to overclock?

The 9400F doesn't have the ability to overclock nor a iGPU so it requires a GPU to have a display.

 

[xBrownboy]

The 9400F doesn't have the ability to overclock nor a iGPU so it requires a GPU to have a display.

I wasn't thinking of overclocking honestly since even the system I have I haven't overclocked, and nowadays there aren't much systems without a GPU so I don't think that lacking an IGPU would be much of a problem unless i'm troubleshooting the hardware, in that case I can use my GPU.

 

[WildCard999]

So if you go with the 9400 I would try to find a B360 or H370 motherboard with updated BIOS as that should save a bit of money over the Z390.