Help Building PC (first time builder)

[kaddle]

Intro

Hello, i will be building a pc hopefully early next month and i'm intending for it to be mainly used as a gaming pc, but i'll also be using it a lot for general things like: browsing, photoshop, maybe some stencyl and unity, etc. the budget i'll be working with is $1100 CAD.

I don't know much about building pcs and a lot of key details about all of the hardware involved, but the thought of building a pc is fun and i have been learning (i'm a fast learner). the issue i am having right now is figuring out which parts i want to buy for this pc, and then how to build the pc. i'm doing research on youtube and google, but i also need help from a forum community, which is why i'm here.

My current intention is that this thread will run until i successfully build and start using the pc. until then i will keep updating the information here and seek new information. i understand that everyone is saying "ohhhh, pc building is so bad these days". fortunately for me, anything will be a massive upgrade.

Some optional background info in the tab.

Spoiler

Currently i am using a $570 pc i bought roughly 4 years ago, but the model may be even older than the time i bought it. this pc runs like absolute garbage even if i am just browsing. i can only play lower tier games but i have to turn the graphical settings and resolution down, and even then i get less than 30 fps.

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Parts/Software

The full build is in the link below. i'm always looking for alternatives, especially less expensive alternatives. please offer any information. other than solidifying the choices in this build, the goal is to bring the total price down to the budget.

Current Full Build: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/yfXp9J

OS:
windows 10 Home because it's the most modern windows OS, and maybe the best windows OS. i'm a little bit confused about purchasing it. prices online range from about $30-$120. i've been told that more expensive is better. should i buy it online or in store? i think i'd prefer buying in store.

Antivirus:
Norton Security Deluxe. right now it's on sale for $50. i might purchase it as early as next week just in case.

Purchased: $56
Saved: $52

Case/Tower:
I have pretty much settled on the cooler master masterbox lite 3.1. it's low cost, looks good, good quality, good to build with, good cooling. the build contains the lite 5 for the price point.

if you have any other case recommendations, please make sure it is: less than $100 price, at least two usb 3.0 ports and a headphone port on the upper front area of the case, a good amount of space but not too much, well made, at least some cable management, good fan placement (pre-installed fans is a good bonus), preferably darker in color but not too important.

Case Fans:
I may not need to buy any if the case comes with all of the fans i need

Motherboard:
for this build i chose the ASRock - A320M-DGS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard. it seems to have a good price and is compatible with the cpu. there are other motherboards of similar price or less, but this one has reviews and information on it.

i'm still open to other motherboard suggestions of similar cost.

CPU Processor
ryzen 3 1200. high prices are stressing me out, and i'll be satisfied with entry level.

i'm currently not interested in overclocking since i'm new to pc building and would rather stick with the basics this time around.

CPU Cooler:
apparently the ryzen 3 1200 comes with its own fan, and the fan has thermal paste pre-applied.

Hard Disk Drive:
Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive seems to be a good price. i don't have any experience with this, and i'm still open for better choices.

RAM:
i believe 8gb will be able to cover my uses. i'm even willing to close background programs if necessary. why isn't there a 12GB option though? my current pc contains 10GB of RAM.... would it work if i use 3 sticks of 4 GB?

Graphics Card:
Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB D5 Video Card. i'd rather not deal with any higher prices.

i am still open for suggestions, especially if there is better performance at similar cost.

Power Supply:
Rosewill - 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply. i chose a lower watt psu since the build currently has some less powerful parts than before.

Wifi Adapter:
i selected a placeholder wifi adapter for this build, since i don't know too much about wifi adapters yet. i think the odds are good that any one i buy will be better than the one that is currently in my pc.

on my current pc i have the antenna pointing downwards to the general direction of the modem which is downstairs. this is correct?

Screw Driver:
I'm assuming this will cost about $20. i'll ad that to the cost for build.

Current items bought: 1/12
Amount Spent: $56
Amount saved: $52
Budget: $1000
Cost for Build: $974 + possible tax

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so this is entry level pricing..............

also, i will probably be asking about actual building advice and details on installing the OS and maybe other software after i have all of the parts selected. i'll be looking to youtube and google for help too.

 

[jimthenagual]

Here is a great website for picking out parts. I'd recommend using template like the one I linked below and making changes.

Looking forward to seeing your build completed!

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/T3Xscf/entry-level-amd-gaming-build

 

[geofelt]

Some thoughts for you:

1. windows 10 home is current and that is probably what you should buy
The pro version has few benefits for the home user.
But, one biggie for me is the better control you have as to when windows does updates.
Do not buy a cheap copy of windows. A legitimate copy from a reputable vendor will be more than a 10% discount. Plan on $100.

2. Antivirus. There are many opinions, but if you are careful, the free windows defender does just fine.
It is low impact and gets updated by normal windows updates. You can always change later.

3. Buy a case you love. Looks count, you will be looking at it for a long time. I like the looks of the corsair spec series.
My personal criteria is that it have at least two front 120/140mm intakes.
That will supply cooling air for anything.
If it is filtered, your case will stay cleaner.

4. Your main decision is the cpu. I am not a fan of ryzen if your main usage is for gaming. Intel will have faster cores which is what games need most. Ryzen offere many, but slower cores which are good for multithreaded apps like editing.
Budget about 2x the cost of the cpu for your graphics card.

5.
I will never again build without a ssd for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do much quicker.
120gb is minimum, it will hold the os and a handful of games.
But, many things default to the "C" drive.
When a SSD nears full, it will lose performance and endurance.
240gb is the recommended minimum.

If you can go 240gb, or 500gb you may never need a hard drive.

You can defer on the hard drive unless you need to store large files such as video's.
It is easy to add a hard drive later.

Samsung EVO is a good choice for performance and reliability.

6. Modern parts are going to use DDR4 ram; no real option there.
Buy all the ram you might ever want up front. Adding disparate ram later is not supported by any ram seller.
a 2 x 16gb kit would satisfy most anybody. Speed is not as important as quantity for the most part.
If you are truly budget constrained, a 2 x 4gb kit will let you game well, provided you are not doing much multitasking at the same time.
But, whenever you want 16gb in the future, be prepared to sell your 2 x 4gb kit in favor of a 2 x 8gb kit.

7. On the graphics card, again, budget 2x the cpu cost for a balanced gamer.
You might want to consider using intel integrated graphics initially until this shortage of good graphics cards eases.
You will not play fast action games with integrated graphics, but there are still many games that will do ok.

8. The psu you need will be determined by the graphics card.
Here is a nice chart:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
550w is probably right.
650w will handle any modern graphics card.
It will only use the power demanded of it, regardless of max capability.
DO NOT try to go cheap on the psu.
Try to buy a tier 1 or 2 unit
Here is one list:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
I particularly like the new Seasonic focus power supplies.

If you need wifi, plan on buying a wifi adapter card for a pcie x1/x4 slot with a nice antenna.
A USB wifi dongle can work, but they are weak.

9 . Do not go overboard on a cooler, particularly if you do not buy an overclockable processor.
I might suggest planning on a cryorig H7 for about $35.

10. FWIW:
MY build process:

Before anything, while waiting for your parts to be delivered, download
and read, cover to cover your case and motherboard manual.
Buy a #2 magnetic tip phillips screwdriver.

1. I assemble the critical parts outside of the case.
That lets me test them for functuonality easily.
A wood table or cardboard is fine.
2. Plug in only the necessary parts at first. Ram, cpu, cooler, psu.
Do not force anything. Parts fit only one way.
Attach a monitor to the integrated motherboard adapter.
3. If your motherboard does not have a PWR button, momentarily touch the two pwr front panel pins
4. Repeatedly hit F2 or DEL, and that should get you into the bios display.
5. Boot from a cd or usb stick with memtest86 on it. memtest will exercise your ram and cpu functionality.
6. Install windows.
7. Install the motherboard cd drivers. Particularly the lan drivers so you can access the internet.
Do not select the easy install option, or you will get a bunch of utilities and trialware that you don't want. Drivers only.
7. Connect to the internet and install an antivirus program. Microsoft security essentials is free, easy, and unobtrusive.
8. Install your graphics card and driver.
You will need to remove the graphics card later to install your motherboard in the case.
Make a note of how the graphics card latches into the pcie slot.

9. Update windows to currency.
10. Only now do I take apart what I need to and install it in the case.
11. Now is the time to reinstall your graphics card.

 

[ohenryy]

If your budget is around 800$ you will be lucky to do much better than this..

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FwNDr7
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FwNDr7/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - A320M-DGS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($181.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi - 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card ($379.89 @ B&H)
Case: Thermaltake - Versa H21 Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $860.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-02-11 08:09 EST-0500

If you game, I woudn't recommend anything less. The 1050ti are too basic.
You can either wait for the prices to drop, which is most likely or increase $. 😛

 

[kaddle]

hey guys thanks for your information so far it's helping a lot. i made drastic changes to the OP and i used that website to start putting together a build with your information (https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2HTttg). also i have some questions.

i'm considering trying to get used versions of the parts i choose like for example if the GPU and RAM are so expensive and people are selling used versions for much less, but buying used parts seems a bit risky. like for example if i'm buying used parts from someone on craigslist or just an acquaintance. there's no telling how used the part is or if it's defective.
i've seen youtube videos of people talking about getting great deals on the used parts they buy and using those parts in a build they show in the youtube video.

is it reasonable for me to consider buying used parts? if so, is it more likely that i'll be ripped off than to get a good deal? also, are there ways i can test to see if the used part is working properly or not damaged before actually paying for it?

also is it necessary to buy the cpu fan? i was originally under the impression that they all came with a stock fan in the box.

 

[USAFRet]

If this is the first system you're building, I'd recommend against used parts.
If you're not 110% sure of what to look for, its easy to get ripped off.

You can't test until you pay for it and have it in hand with ALL the other parts.

 

[kaddle]

you make a good point. i'll avoid used parts.

i made some more critical changes to the build (https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2HTttg).

also, i think there might be a big problem. apparently there isn't enough space in the case for a cpu fan as well as the two fans for the top of the case. in most builds i see people using some water cooling solution from the top fans that attach to the cpu. i looked at a lot of these and they are over $100 which will throw the budget off.

the best compromise i can think of is to pass on the top two fans and make up for it with the other fan locations, and at least i can have a fan on top of the cpu. if this is not good for the air flow, then i can simply cover the top of the case so that the only outflow of air is from the back. this way, i can remove the dust filter from the top of the case and somehow put it on the front of the case for those fans. any advice?

aside from this, all i can think of is to get a different case with more space, similar quality, and similar price.

 

[kaddle]

hey guys, i think i have a cooling solution but i'll need some advice about cooling in general, since i don't have any experience when it comes to cooling a pc. with the current build, a complete cooling solution would require a total of 6 fans. the two fans at the top of the case would have to be something like the corsair hydro cooler which also cools the cpu. this would be necessary because there would not be enough space for the fans at the top as well as another fan over the cpu. either that, or i could pass on the top fans and get a fan over the cpu. the first option would be an extra $100 at least. the second option might ruin the air flow.

another solution i have is to change the case to the cooler master masterbox lite 3.1. this might work if i am overestimating the amount of heat that the system will generate. this way, i can buy a new outtake fan for the back of the case that also has a cooling attachment for the cpu. this might save me quite a bit compared to the current build if this is reasonable.

any advice?