First PC Build. Please critique.

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TechEnthusiast88

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Oct 24, 2014
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Got tired of bad graphics and sluggish performance...

I originally wanted a good gaming laptop, but I can't spend $2,000+ right now. So I went with the next best option: building my own PC.

I would appreciate any feedback (both positive and negative) on my desktop configuration. I'm still working on a laptop configuration (for portability reasons).

CPU - Intel Core i5-4690K Unlocked Quad-Core, 3.50GHz (3.9GHz Turbo), 6MB Cache, LGA1150 CPU

Motherboard - Asus Z97I-Plus Mini-ITX

RAM - Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL10 LP Vengance Desktop RAM

Storage Devices - Seagate 500GB Barracuda 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ST500DM002

Case - CoolMaster Elite 344 Blue 420W PSU included / USB3.0

Solid State Drive - Samsung 840 EVO Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive MZ-7TE120BW

CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Seidon 120v CPU Water Cooling Kit

Monitor - 19.5" Samsung 1600 x 900 5MS HDMI/VGA Widescreen

Network Adapter - TP-Link TG-3269 Gigabit PCI Network Adapter

Graphic Card - Gigabyte GTX 750 OC 2GB GDDR5

Sound Card - Asus Xonar DGX PCI Express 5.1-channel Gaming Audio Card

Microsoft Windows - 8.1 64 bit OEM - ENG INTL (WN7-00614)


Total Cost: $1405.00





UPDATE in response to member's reply

Revised budget: Preferably less than $800.

Seeking desktop configurations and pre-built laptop recommendations.

Thank you for your detailed and insightful reply. Actually, I'm not a hardcore gamer. I play only one or two games, MapleStory being the main one. However, I also watch videos, surf the internet, and use applications that require a lot of RAM (e.g., PDFs, video editing/converting). So, in reality, I'm a very, very simple gamer. Perhaps I was wrong to think that a "high-performance gaming PC" could serve all of my needs and finally put an end to the intermittent lags and pauses in MS Word, Adobe, Chrome, Firefox, MapleStory, and so on.

With regard to storage, I usually burn videos from the internet onto DVDs and then delete them. I also do a lot of research and typing. So I believe I don't need terabytes of storage. Just to give you (and everyone else who reads my post) an example: I've owned a Dell laptop with only 283 GB since 2008, and it still has 29 GB left. However, I feel as if most of it is comprised of Windows Updates.

By any chance, and I hope you don't mind, could you please recommend another build that could meet all of my needs for less than ... $800 without sacrificing too much on quality? My goal is seamless performance (i.e., responsive, no lag, and non-sluggish).

These are the recommended settings for the particular game I play, so I'd like something "considerably" better for ~$800:

OS - Windows 7 or later
Processor - Pentium Dual Core or equivalent
Memory - At least 2GB RAM
Hard Drive - At least 8GB of free space
Graphics - GeForce FX5000 / ATI Radeon 9600 or higher (any video card with Shader model 2.0 or higher)
Sound - DirectX compatible sound card
Network - Broadband internet connection

Again, I hope my request isn't too much of an imposition. You and everyone on this forum are the experts.

Oh, and the ability to upgrade whenever possible is important, especially with the CPU, RAM, graphics card, storage, and so on--at least for me. I loath how all the computers I've bought had everything integrated on the motherboard. I learned my lesson.

PS: I understand that it takes a great deal of expertise to build a laptop, but portability is also important since I frequently travel overseas. A pre-built laptop recommendation would also be greatly appreciated.
 


One giant issue on your laptop configuration, you cant build a laptop at the moment. While possible, it requires a huge level of technical experience. There is a reason Amazon doesn't sell laptop GPUs and CPUs. Now, to get to the build. 8GB is plenty for playing any modern game, and should be fine for what you are building. You can always add more RAM when it becomes necessary in the future. Also, for a gaming PC (assumption), 500GB isn't going to be enough (some games over 50GB), so i recommend upgrading.
I am going to assume that your budget is $1500, so here it was I recommend.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($203.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($349.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1348.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 18:52 EDT-0400

For the resolution that you are playing at, this is complete overkill and should run everything maxed at over 100FPS, so I recommend picking up a 1920x1080 monitor and doing a multi-monitor setup with games set to play on the 1080P monitor. Just insert a case of your choosing and make any accommodations you deem necessary.
 
Thank you for your detailed and insightful reply. Actually, I'm not a hardcore gamer. I play only one or two games, MapleStory being the main one. However, I also watch videos, surf the internet, and use applications that require a lot of RAM (e.g., PDFs, video editing/converting). So, in reality, I'm a very, very simple gamer. Perhaps I was wrong to think that a "high-performance gaming PC" could serve all of my needs and finally put an end to the intermittent lags and pauses in MS Word, Adobe, Chrome, Firefox, MapleStory, and so on.

EDIT: With regard to storage, I usually burn videos from the internet onto DVDs and then delete them. I also do a lot of research and typing. So I believe I don't need terabytes of storage. Just to give you (and everyone else who reads my post) an example: I've owned a Dell laptop with only 283 GB since 2008, and it still has 29 GB left. However, I feel as if most of it is comprised of Windows Updates.

By any chance, and I hope you don't mind, could you please recommend another build that could meet all of my needs for less than ... $800 without sacrificing too much on quality? My goal is seamless performance (i.e., responsive, no lag, and non-sluggish).

These are the recommended settings for the particular game I play, so I'd like something "considerably" better for ~$800:

OS - Windows 7 or later
Processor - Pentium Dual Core or equivalent
Memory - At least 2GB RAM
Hard Drive - At least 8GB of free space
Graphics - GeForce FX5000 / ATI Radeon 9600 or higher (any video card with Shader model 2.0 or higher)
Sound - DirectX compatible sound card
Network - Broadband internet connection

Again, I hope my request isn't too much of an imposition. You and everyone on this forum are the experts.

EDIT: Oh, and the ability to upgrade whenever possible is important, especially with the CPU, RAM, graphics card, storage, and so on--at least for me. I loath how all the computers I've bought had everything integrated on the motherboard. I learned my lesson.

I understand that it takes a great deal of expertise to build a laptop, but portability is also important since I frequently travel overseas. A pre-built laptop recommendation would also be greatly appreciated.
 


No, it isn't at all. People looking to do video editing and light gaming are very common on this site, and have given some experience into building office PCs (basically). Here is what I recommend for $800, which by the way, is plenty to get rid of dem lags in Photoshop and Revit. Remember, I am here on my own time for free to help you, ask whatever you please. Also, do you need a CD Drive?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($298.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($61.67 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($159.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GT 640 2GB Video Card ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $843.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 21:24 EDT-0400

 


Thank you for the desktop configuration. My price range for laptops would be under $1,000. I've been on the BestBuy website for a while now, and I've found three that interest me:

1. MSI ($849.99)
Model: 9S7-16GH11-010
SKU: 8711054

2. ASUS ($999.99)
Model: Q551LN-BBI706
SKU: 7289029

3. Lenovo ($899.99)
Model: EDGE 15 - 80H10001US
SKU: 8618442

* Click here to view a comparison of all three on the BestBuy website.

Admittedly, each one has only 8 GB of RAM, but the DDR3L system memory is expandable to 16 GB. At the moment, I'm leaning toward MSI on account of battery, cache memory, expandable system memory, type of memory, hard drive, graphics, video memory, audio, and optical drive. It would be very convenient to have DVD±RW/CD-RW.

I did this search out of curiosity, but I look forward to reading your recommendations. Again, thank you for your time and expertise.
 
Eli is making some pretty solid builds. Just the PSU on the 2nd one is a little sketchy.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($298.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $828.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 23:43 EDT-0400
 
When it comes to gaming on laptops be prepared to spend A LOT of money for not that much performance. Out of the ones you selected I would go for the Lenovo. Reason being the customer support and the i7 over the i5 from the MSI. That i5 is not a quad core which sucks. And the ASUS is not worth $100 more than the Lenovo. Mobile i5's arent quad cores which sucks. Thats a huge strike against the msi.
 


Initially, I wanted to spend $2,400 on a gaming laptop; however, I later realized--thanks in part to Eli Little--that I can do what I want on the PC for much less. I'm not a hardcore gamer, so I don't require a full-on gaming PC. Just enough to edit/covert videos, research, create PDFs, write documents, play MapleStory, and so on without any sluggishness.

The Lenovo doesn't include an optical drive or the MPEG, but I suppose I could rely on an external optical drive.

I prefer SSDs, as you recommended in your link. Two questions about the Lenovo Y50.

(1) Is an 8 GB SSD enough?
(2) Is it a great multi-tasking computer (i.e., can it simultaneously handle a number of rigorous non-gaming applications)?

EDIT

I just noticed that the Lenovo in your link is an i5, not an i7. Did you mean this one? (Link) According to its specifications, this one has a 1TB Flash Memory SSD and an external DVDRW. What do you think?

EDIT

The item # on Amazon (59425944) is inconsistent with the item number(s) listed on Lenovo's website (cheapest option, 59421945). However, Amazon does have one of the Lenovo item numbers (link).

Could you please clarify why this may be?
 
I am not sure why that is.. You can spend the extra 150 for the i7 one but its up to you. I honestly would but the question is if you can afford it. For gaming the i5 should be fine but I'm not sure about editing. That 8gb ssd is a joke and you'd be lucky if it could hold maple story and that's it. I have an alienware m14x r2 and it has a 32gb ssd and it is equally useless.
 


Okay. I'll go with the i7, that is, if I ultimately decide to purchase a pre-built laptop. The problem now is whether to buy it on Amazon or on Lenovo's website. The dissimilar item numbers concern me, and I'm guessing it'd be wiser to buy this laptop on the manufacturer's website. However, after researching the quality of Lenovo's customer support, I'm not sure I want to purchase a Lenovo computer. In the past, I never needed customer support, but reading how unhappy people are with Lenovo makes me want to look elsewhere.

With regard to the 8 GB SSD, I agree that it seems...insignificant, and I'm not willing to pay $1,599 for a 520 GB SSD. On top of that, a lot of people are unhappy with the Lenovo Y50 screen.

Would you buy it from Amazon or Lenovo, even though the item numbers on Amazon don't match the ones on the manufacturer's website?
 
Are you serious about the customer support? Lenovo used to be the best (Tied with Dell) for customer support. Thats weird. Dont go with them then.. I only suggested it because I was under the impression that their support is the same is it always had been.
 


Evidently, they went downhill after 2010.

Eli Little said he or she could provide me with laptop recommendations. I'm wondering--if it's not too much of an imposition--whether you could also offer recommendations on suitable laptops for under $1,000? Your expertise would be greatly appreciated!
 

No problem! :) If you are scared of Lenovo I understand that. Two great alternatives:

http://store.acer.com/store/aceramer/en_US/pd/ThemeID.35703000/productID.308686600 This one offers support for future M.2 which is a huge bonus.

But if you want an outstanding laptop both in performance and looks one really does stick out:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/438187/ROG_GL551JM-DH71_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black_Aluminum
 


Thank you for the awesome recommendations. The Acer's 128 GB SSD is enticing. So you'd choose ASUS over Acer?
 

Yes. But you really cannot lose with either.
 


I'm currently using an ASUS laptop, and I've been quite happy with it for the last two years. By any chance, is there an SSD version of that ASUS Rog you could recommend?
 
I dont think it exists. You could put an SSD in it after the fact. There is no benifit in game performance with an SSD only thing it will do for you is boot times(if you reinstall windows on it) and also game start times.
 


I understand, and thank you for bringing that up. It does annoy me when apps take too long to start.

After watching this compelling YouTube video, I think it'd be in my best interest--at least for the long term--to go with a gaming PC that, in addition to a SATA hard drive, has an SSD (128 GB or more).

The ASUS and ACER are still on my list, but do you have alternative recommendations for the ACER (i.e., ones with a similar configuration and price but have larger SSDs)?

EDIT

After watching this video, I finally realize what you're saying. Overall, 7200 rpm is better than 5400 rpm, regardless of whether you have an SSD. As a result, I hope you don't mind me revising my request.

Could you please provide an alternative to the ASUS, preferably ones with the same price, quality, and configuration but with an SSD?
 
It seems as if I was editing my post while you were posting yours.

This is my revised request from the previous post:

After watching this video, I finally realize what you're saying. Overall, 7200 rpm is better than 5400 rpm, regardless of whether you have an SSD. As a result, I hope you don't mind me revising my request.

Could you please provide an alternative to the ASUS, preferably one with the same price, quality, and configuration but with an SSD?



Would you say the same thing for the ASUS? It'd be nice if a similar configuration has an SSD for around the same price.

EDIT

Actually, according to ASUS (link), upgrading the RAM & hard drive is a simple task.

Could you please clarify whether it'd be better for me to buy an SSD and install it myself?
 


According to the guide,

"Under the cover, you will find the 2.5-inch SATA hard drive/SSD bay on the left, which has four screws (red) holding it down (to reduce the total number of screws, one screw also secures the cover which we already took out). In the middle is the WiFi/Bluetooth module. Next to that is the RAM (blue). There’s a small square window on the right which reveals the optional 24GB SSD cache, but this is inaccessible and must be purchased pre-installed if you want it."

Also,

"In this model [G551] we have a Solid-State Hybrid Drive (SSHD) connected via the SATA connector (blue) in the drive bay. You can swap it out for an alternative like a pure 2.5-inch SSD if you wish, but remember all your data is stored on the one drive."

In addition,

"There is a WLAN / Bluetooth combo card (purple) and a slot for the optional mSATA Mini SSD for cache (green)."

Based on this information, could you please elaborate on what you mean by "a really large SSD"?
 
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