Do you approve of this PC build?

[Diflexster12]

Hello everyone!

I have decided to build my own gaming computer (for the first time) this november. I have a build that i'm looking to follow through with, I just wanted to post it here for y'all to see and give me any advice if needed.

Case - Corsair Carbide Quiet 400Q Compact Mid-Tower Case

Motherboard - ASUS H170 Pro Gaming 3 Socket 1151 Intel H170 Chipset

Processor - Intel core i5-6500 quad core 3.2 GHz

Graphics Card - Sapphire NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 4GB GDDR5

Ram - G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz

Storage - Seagate Desktop HDD 1TB 3.5" SATA3 64MB Cache

Power Supply - Corsair CX550M Bronze semi modular

Please tell me how it is! Thanks for all your help.

 

[TheRaf2007]

It Good

 

[bignastyid]

Looks ok, but there's no reason for the DDR3 3000, it's only going to run at 2133 with that motherboard.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

I can't find any info on an ASUS H170 Pro Gaming-3. I can find info however on an ASUS H170 Pro Gaming.

I don't believe your RAM will be able to deliver its full potential as it's faster than the motherboard will support. (it will run slower than its advertised speed, matching the speed the motherboard supports 2133. That said, if you got a price on that RAM cheaper than say 2400 or 2133, go for it. Otherwise you can save a few bucks on 2400 or 2133 RAM. (The board supports 2133, but faster speed RAM will slow to that speed with no issues.)

Some can and will argue your choice of HDD (Brand: failure rates) and PSU (model: catastrophic failure upon 3-yr warranty expiration) are bad. Others will say no problems with HDD at all and the PSU is just Okay.

My advice: Seagate can be hit-and-miss. So can other brands for that matter. Just choose carefully. (I prefer Hitachi/HGST and Western Digital (WD) myself.)

As to the PSU, many can cite stories how the CX series is junk, stating how they aren't all that good, failing right after the warranty expires. They are Tier 3, just on the acceptable side, As long as you have a large amount of gap between your expected power draw and the rated power, you should be okay.

Case style is a personal choice. GPU is super for 1080p and medium-light 1440p. currently the i5 sits at the pinnacle of performance for games

Overall a decent build build though.

BTW: a great site to build a list on is PCPartPicker.com
i.e.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($103.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($79.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($156.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB NITRO+ Video Card ($209.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $983.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-01 23:48 EDT-0400

NOTE: The above build is NOT intended to persuade you away from your chosen build, in favor of it, but to show you what the PCPartPicker.com system is capable of.

NOTE II: The particular build list I provided as an example is based on U.S. pricing. Country of origin can be chosen for elsewhere too,

 

[Chugalug_]

@OP, what is your budget?
I can improve it quite a bit in terms of value.
@shrapnel_indie, there are some terrible choices in there such as going for a 650 G2 at an excessive price and undercutting on graphics. A 500GB SSD is also wildy unnecessary, and the RAM is overpriced.

 

[DSzymborski]

I can't find any info on an ASUS H170 Pro Gaming-3. I can find info however on an ASUS H170 Pro Gaming.

I don't believe your RAM will be able to deliver its full potential as it's faster than the motherboard will support. (it will run slower than its advertised speed, matching the speed the motherboard supports 2133. That said, if you got a price on that RAM cheaper than say 2400 or 2133, go for it. Otherwise you can save a few bucks on 2400 or 2133 RAM. (The board supports 2133, but faster speed RAM will slow to that speed with no issues.)

Some can and will argue your choice of HDD (Brand: failure rates) and PSU (model: catastrophic failure upon 3-yr warranty expiration) are bad. Others will say no problems with HDD at all and the PSU is just Okay.

The newer CXMs are on an updated platform - they've ditched the group regulation and are using a higher quality capacitor selection. While they're still not top-class, the CXMs are much better budget recommendations than the old CX series. Also boosted to a five-year warranty.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

I can't find any info on an ASUS H170 Pro Gaming-3. I can find info however on an ASUS H170 Pro Gaming.

I don't believe your RAM will be able to deliver its full potential as it's faster than the motherboard will support. (it will run slower than its advertised speed, matching the speed the motherboard supports 2133. That said, if you got a price on that RAM cheaper than say 2400 or 2133, go for it. Otherwise you can save a few bucks on 2400 or 2133 RAM. (The board supports 2133, but faster speed RAM will slow to that speed with no issues.)

Some can and will argue your choice of HDD (Brand: failure rates) and PSU (model: catastrophic failure upon 3-yr warranty expiration) are bad. Others will say no problems with HDD at all and the PSU is just Okay.

The newer CXMs are on an updated platform - they've ditched the group regulation and are using a higher quality capacitor selection. While they're still not top-class, the CXMs are much better budget recommendations than the old CX series. Also boosted to a five-year warranty.

That is good to know they made improvements. From what I understand, the initial CX units were really decent budget units, then they got cheap and developed the problems and the CM series was to replace them. Glad to see they improved them again.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

@OP, what is your budget?
I can improve it quite a bit in terms of value.
@shrapnel_indie, there are some terrible choices in there such as going for a 650 G2 at an excessive price and undercutting on graphics. A 500GB SSD is also wildy unnecessary, and the RAM is overpriced.

I never said that that build was perfect for him. I didn't say that was the ideal build for anything really, but just posted it for an example of a list the O.P. can create that can track pricing and parts chosen. I do admit that I did not explain details of the example though. In my edit, I hope I made clear that it was just an example. (I can actually do a better build than that if I take more time to do it.) I will also say that I usually try to avoid Tier 3 quality PSUs and other lower quality parts i.e. those that have a history of weak parts or failures/problems. As to the size of the SSD, I find thee 256MB class of SSD/HDD fills up too fast, at least for me by the time I install extra software. with a 500GB SSD I know I got at least 250 GB available for games and don't have to swap out (install...uninstall...install...) for having the privilege having the SSD speed. Also if I follow your statement, then anything on the market beyond 256GB is a waste, especially the newer 2TB and 4TB models (which I will agree with current pricing they are not very good choices outside of bragging rights.)

 

[Chugalug_]

OP, need to know your budget, so just let us know when you can. 😉
(Reminder)

 

[Diflexster12]

@OP, what is your budget?
I can improve it quite a bit in terms of value.
@shrapnel_indie, there are some terrible choices in there such as going for a 650 G2 at an excessive price and undercutting on graphics. A 500GB SSD is also wildy unnecessary, and the RAM is overpriced.

Hi @Chugalug, my budget was $900 CDN, If you could make me another build using the same case (I really like it) that would be awesome, I'm new to building. My budget is $900 CDN but i'll probably be buying the parts and case on black friday online sales.

Thanks,
OP

 

[Diflexster12]

Looks ok, but there's no reason for the DDR3 3000, it's only going to run at 2133 with that motherboard.

Hi @bignastyid I agree, I think I should purchase 2133 MHz Ram or maybe 1600MHz to save $$?

 

[Chugalug_]

DDR4 runs at native 2133, it doesn't go any lower. 😉

 

[Diflexster12]

I can't find any info on an ASUS H170 Pro Gaming-3. I can find info however on an ASUS H170 Pro Gaming.

I don't believe your RAM will be able to deliver its full potential as it's faster than the motherboard will support. (it will run slower than its advertised speed, matching the speed the motherboard supports 2133. That said, if you got a price on that RAM cheaper than say 2400 or 2133, go for it. Otherwise you can save a few bucks on 2400 or 2133 RAM. (The board supports 2133, but faster speed RAM will slow to that speed with no issues.)

Some can and will argue your choice of HDD (Brand: failure rates) and PSU (model: catastrophic failure upon 3-yr warranty expiration) are bad. Others will say no problems with HDD at all and the PSU is just Okay.

My advice: Seagate can be hit-and-miss. So can other brands for that matter. Just choose carefully. (I prefer Hitachi/HGST and Western Digital (WD) myself.)

As to the PSU, many can cite stories how the CX series is junk, stating how they aren't all that good, failing right after the warranty expires. They are Tier 3, just on the acceptable side, As long as you have a large amount of gap between your expected power draw and the rated power, you should be okay.

Case style is a personal choice. GPU is super for 1080p and medium-light 1440p. currently the i5 sits at the pinnacle of performance for games

Overall a decent build build though.

BTW: a great site to build a list on is PCPartPicker.com
i.e.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($103.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($79.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($156.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB NITRO+ Video Card ($209.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $983.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-01 23:48 EDT-0400

NOTE: The above build is NOT intended to persuade you away from your chosen build, in favor of it, but to show you what the PCPartPicker.com system is capable of.

NOTE II: The particular build list I provided as an example is based on U.S. pricing. Country of origin can be chosen for elsewhere too,

Hi @shrapnel_indie

Thanks for the great info, like i messaged @Chugalug about making a pc build for me, do you think you could also make one for me too? The build i made was to do medium gaming and office work. My budget is $900 CDN and i'd like to buy the parts on black friday because I think the prices will be lower (hopefully)

 

[Chugalug_]

Here you go.
I actually found a bargain on a H170 DDR3 board, so that's been included.
Note that above you made a list with US pricing.
Also if you plan to buy on black friday, make a thread then asking about builds, because it is pointless to speculate what will be on sale.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H DDR3 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($70.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.94 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 480 4GB NITRO+ 4G Video Card ($319.05 @ Vuugo)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ NCIX)
Total: $914.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 01:13 EDT-0400

 

[shrapnel_indie]

Hi @shrapnel_indie

Thanks for the great info, like i messaged @Chugalug about making a pc build for me, do you think you could also make one for me too? The build i made was to do medium gaming and office work. My budget is $900 CDN and i'd like to buy the parts on black friday because I think the prices will be lower (hopefully)

Sure thing.

With $900 CDN, it is a tight budget for performance. I realize this is similar to Chugalug's DDR3-1600 build, but for the price point and keeping an i5-6500 on board, I feel like I compromised on the PSU a bit. (Chug's vision of a too expensive EVGA PSU in my earlier post may be too rich for his blood, but the quality puts it above the Corsair CX-M series, even since they got wise and changed the design of it.) I did stick with DDR4 RAM though, and this forced me into dropping down to the RX-480's sibling, the 470, which still is quite good at 1080p, Also, THIS build I offer here doesn't rely on $45.00 worth of Mail-in-Rebates (MiRs) to bring the price down. (It doesn't rely on any MiRs at all.) I personally don't like to include MiRs in calculating my prices because they can take so long to get back to you, if you manage to even get it right and qualify in their eyes... I just think of it as icing on the cake for later.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($107.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($63.52 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $900.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 02:48 EDT-0400

$20.00 CDN in MIRs add up to a savings of ~$18

 

[Diflexster12]

Hi @shrapnel_indie

Thanks for the great info, like i messaged @Chugalug about making a pc build for me, do you think you could also make one for me too? The build i made was to do medium gaming and office work. My budget is $900 CDN and i'd like to buy the parts on black friday because I think the prices will be lower (hopefully)

Sure thing.

With $900 CDN, it is a tight budget for performance. I realize this is similar to Chugalug's DDR3-1600 build, but for the price point and keeping an i5-6500 on board, I feel like I compromised on the PSU a bit. (Chug's vision of a too expensive EVGA PSU in my earlier post may be too rich for his blood, but the quality puts it above the Corsair CX-M series, even since they got wise and changed the design of it.) I did stick with DDR4 RAM though, and this forced me into dropping down to the RX-480's sibling, the 470, which still is quite good at 1080p, Also, THIS build I offer here doesn't rely on $45.00 worth of Mail-in-Rebates (MiRs) to bring the price down. (It doesn't rely on any MiRs at all.) I personally don't like to include MiRs in calculating my prices because they can take so long to get back to you, if you manage to even get it right and qualify in their eyes... I just think of it as icing on the cake for later.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($107.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 470 4GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($63.52 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $900.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-02 02:48 EDT-0400

$20.00 CDN in MIRs add up to a savings of ~$18

Wow! Thank you for the help! I'm going to make a new thread with the updated build that i'm going to tweak a bit 😉