Intel i5-6500 + Gigabyte H170 gaming 3 - Component suggestion Needed

[touchofevil]

Hi All,

Almost after 8 years, my existing 1st gen. i5-760, Gigabyte H55MD2H gave up on me. So now am building a new rig. Main operations would be Gaming (SIMS4, FIFA17, FM16+ etc), Video and photo editing (Premiere/Photoshop) and IDE like, VS13/15. I intend to use existing parts, or at least ones that I can.

Though my requirements are not too high (full fledged gaming monster), I usually buy a new rig with usability of at least 5+ years. Please also note, I am not intending to overclock this machine.

I have following in mind :
1. CPU - Intel i5-6500
2. MoBo - Gigabyte H170M Gaming 3
3. RAM - 16 GB (8*2), DDR4 kingston hyperX fury
4. GPU - Sapphire R7 250X 1 GB DDR5 (Already owned. Will upgrade in couple of months, if needed. Suggestions are welcome for possible upgrade).
5. HDD - Seagate Barracuda 1 TB (Owned. Not sure of RPM, i suspect 5400/7200)
6. PSU - Corsair VS 550 (Owned.)

Is above build a good combo?
Is that a good motherboard choice? I don't understand the minute details, but reading through web, I read that H170 is a fairly good motherboard. Please suggest alternative (even if the model needs to be different), if am wrong.

Now considering this system will be used in India, where average room temperature is about 30-35 Celsius and no room cooling (AC) available, can I please get suggestions on below?

1. If the new machine would require coolers?
2. If yes, what would be recommendation? Please note I would prefer this to be as low budget as possible, while still giving required cooling. So please save me some bucks 😛
3. Considering above, what would be the case I should go for?

And last but not least,
4. What monitor should I choose? (of course I am not very fussy about this, so any value product would do.) I may also look at making my system a dual display in future (early 2017) if I have the need.


Any help suggestions with reasons (brief, so I can understand what makes it better), would be highly appreciated!!

 

[hdgaming]

CPU/mobo: The i5 6500 is a good cpu, though that motherboard might be overkill for your build, the Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H is more than enough and probably cheaper aswell. The stockcooler should be fine even in that temperature, but you can use MSI afterburner to check if the temps are not getting to high.

RAM: 16gb might be too much for the games you play, 8gb is enough and should save you some money again just like the motherboard.

HDD: you already have a 1tb hdd I see, which is fine, you might wanne get a 120gb ssd for windows if it fits your budget? Use the ssd for windows/programs and the 1tb hdd for games. But if it doesn't fit your budget then using the 1tb hdd is fine, it's just slower.

PSU: the corsair vs550 is more than enough, no issues with that. You might even want to look at a 450w psu, it might save you some money and is also more than enough.

GPU: Im not sure what a Sapphire R7 950 is 😛 I think you mean r7 250? it's not that good. If it fits your budget maybe a rx 470 will be a good option for you? otherwise rx 460. Maybe the money saved from getting a cheaper motherboard can be used for a better gpu?

Monitor: I think any decent 1080p 60hz screen will do for you.

 

[Karadjgne]

It's good as is. While I'm not a fan of the VS 550 psu, options in India are limited and its better than many there. Since you'll also be doing editing, Photoshop, light room etc, the 16Gb of ram will be of much greater use than 8Gb. Nice mobo. Has more options than the h110 especially for things like Sata connectors, audio, USB etc. It's also got better heatsinks on the VRM's etc which can't hurt for Indian summers.
While normally adequate for cooling, the stock cooler isn't going to like your ambient temps, either at idle or under load. I'd get the biggest cooler your budget will allow, at least on the level of a cm hyper212. Not sure on the case, you'll have to see what fits, but a downdraft cooler like the Noctua C12/14 or Phanteks ph-tc12LE would be advisable. Keep plenty of intake/exhaust fans 2 in, 2 out is good. Airflow will be key to decent temps.

Yep, gpu gotta go if you want to play those games. Minimum of Rx 460-gtx1050, with a preference on a gtx1060/Rx480. That's good for maximum settings on any decent 1080p/60Hz monitor, or if budget allows a 1440p/60Hz 27" would be best for Photoshop applications and gaming. Slightly more expensive, but if the gpu can handle it, a much better/clearer picture.

 

[touchofevil]

Thanks for the response. I have tried to provide some more information through comments.

CPU/mobo: The i5 6500 is a good cpu, though that motherboard might be overkill for your build, the Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H is more than enough and probably cheaper aswell. The stockcooler should be fine even in that temperature, but you can use MSI afterburner to check if the temps are not getting to high.

I forgot to mention I am not intending to overclock. I have updated in post now.

I had doubts of how many more years before H110M needs an upgrade, and hence had gone for H170M. But if it is truly an overkill, considering premiere and photoshop, then I will again consider that. Any opinions on B150? I read somewhere that H110 does not have HDMI port and that partly put me off.

Would that mean I don't really need to get any coolers and special cases?

RAM: 16gb might be too much for the games you play, 8gb is enough and should save you some money again just like the motherboard.

I needed 16 GB for development activities. This was for DDR3 though. DDR4 is supposed to be faster theoretically, but I have used same measurement. Plus I had some vouchers that make it as good as free for me, so I am sticking here with 16GB.

PSU: the corsair vs550 is more than enough, no issues with that. You might even want to look at a 450w psu, it might save you some money and is also more than enough.

Sorry i forgot to mention but I already own this PSU. I have updated the post.

GPU: Im not sure what a Sapphire R7 950 is 😛 I think you mean r7 250? it's not that good. If it fits your budget maybe a rx 470 will be a good option for you? otherwise rx 460. Maybe the money saved from getting a cheaper motherboard can be used for a better gpu?

Indeed. My current one (R7 950x) seems adequate enough for my immediate requirements, so am not in a hurry to change this. But maybe in a few months or so down the line, i may think of an upgrade. Would it be in that case sensible to invest in a better MoBo?

 

[touchofevil]

Thank you for the response. I have few further questions.

It's good as is. While I'm not a fan of the VS 550 psu, options in India are limited and its better than many there. Since you'll also be doing editing, Photoshop, light room etc, the 16Gb of ram will be of much greater use than 8Gb. Nice mobo. Has more options than the h110 especially for things like Sata connectors, audio, USB etc. It's also got better heatsinks on the VRM's etc which can't hurt for Indian summers.

Any comment on what should I prefer, Gigabyte H170M-D3HP/Gaming 3/D3H? I don't intend to use cross fire either. Just basic gaming, and mostly whats needed for Premiere/Photoshop. So not much graphic oriented. So looking to save on unnecessary spend.

While normally adequate for cooling, the stock cooler isn't going to like your ambient temps, either at idle or under load. I'd get the biggest cooler your budget will allow, at least on the level of a cm hyper212. Not sure on the case, you'll have to see what fits, but a downdraft cooler like the Noctua C12/14 or Phanteks ph-tc12LE would be advisable. Keep plenty of intake/exhaust fans 2 in, 2 out is good. Airflow will be key to decent temps.

I have absolutely no idea about cooling. So any possible shortlist/candidate for both, cooler and case? Is it a must to go for branded cases if rest of the components are of good quality? If not, then any particular suggestions on what to look for in a good case?

This one's on my current list :
http://www.amazon.in/Circle-Gaming-Cabinet-without-SMPS/dp/B00QZF8E3O/

but if possible I will look to save a few bucks on this, but it caught my eye as it supposedly has 3 fans. Does that mean I won't need a separate cooler?

 

[hdgaming]

Thanks for the response. I have tried to provide some more information through comments.

CPU/mobo: The i5 6500 is a good cpu, though that motherboard might be overkill for your build, the Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H is more than enough and probably cheaper aswell. The stockcooler should be fine even in that temperature, but you can use MSI afterburner to check if the temps are not getting to high.

I forgot to mention I am not intending to overclock. I have updated in post now.

I had doubts of how many more years before H110M needs an upgrade, and hence had gone for H170M. But if it is truly an overkill, considering premiere and photoshop, then I will again consider that. Any opinions on B150? I read somewhere that H110 does not have HDMI port and that partly put me off.

Would that mean I don't really need to get any coolers and special cases?

RAM: 16gb might be too much for the games you play, 8gb is enough and should save you some money again just like the motherboard.

I needed 16 GB for development activities. This was for DDR3 though. DDR4 is supposed to be faster theoretically, but I have used same measurement. Plus I had some vouchers that make it as good as free for me, so I am sticking here with 16GB.

PSU: the corsair vs550 is more than enough, no issues with that. You might even want to look at a 450w psu, it might save you some money and is also more than enough.

Sorry i forgot to mention but I already own this PSU. I have updated the post.

GPU: Im not sure what a Sapphire R7 950 is 😛 I think you mean r7 250? it's not that good. If it fits your budget maybe a rx 470 will be a good option for you? otherwise rx 460. Maybe the money saved from getting a cheaper motherboard can be used for a better gpu?

Indeed. My current one (R7 950x) seems adequate enough for my immediate requirements, so am not in a hurry to change this. But maybe in a few months or so down the line, i may think of an upgrade. Would it be in that case sensible to invest in a better MoBo?

You can't overclock the i5 6500, so that's why I suggested a cheaper H110 motherboard, it does not have a HDMI indeed but you connect your screen to your gpu anyway, right? The gpu should have a HDMI port?

If you have the PSU already don't worry, it's fine. It's a waste of money to get an other one then.

16 gb ram might be indeed better, I forgot that you also use Photoshop etc, that's where 16gb might come handy, but for the games you play, 8gb should be enough.

 

[touchofevil]

So what I found out was H170 variations have a fair pricing difference. Latest quotation for 170M-gaming 3 seems out of budget by a bit (I received a new quote as supplier had sent me quote for D3H instead). Considering H170M-gaming3 is an overkill, would you suggest any other board in H170?

Also can you provide opinion on B150 series? It seems to have lots of missing features from 110 but is not as high priced as 170. Which would be a good model in that series?

Last if all above is surely overkill (mind you, think of next 5 years, not just tomorrow), what model of H110 would you suggest?

 

[Karadjgne]

A case is just a place to put all the parts and provide ventilation as those parts give off heat.. It's also a place to shield the system from dust and other contaminants like kids fingers. So that Circle case is fine, you have to look at it after all.

That said, fans on a case provide a breeze, airflow. Cooler air in the bottom, heat out the top. The purpose of a heatsink is to provide greater surface area ti dissipate heat. This is necessary for certain components, more so in hot ambient climates. The voltage regulatory circuitry surrounding the socket is one of the hottest parts of the motherboard, as with the pcie chipset (Northbridge). Without heatsinks, these components will overheat quickly and easily when pushed by heavy usage. So on better boards, they get bigger heatsinks. The cpu cooler is the same, but by far one of the hottest possible components, surpassed only by the gpu. These are of utmost importance to cool. Ambient temps are important here as the higher the starting temp, the lower the effectiveness of the cooler. Imagine you being hot and standing in the sun, vrs standing in the shade, now add a fan blowing over you. The better the fan, the cooler you'll get. Once you start digging a ditch, you'll really need the fan. This is a pc. Same deal. The better the cpu cooler, the lower your temps, chances of thermal shutdowns when working hard (passing out) are lower.

Never heard of an r7-950 gpu. A radeon HD 7950 yes. Which isn't a bad gpu for your purposes, but a little shy on gpu power for newer games.

Anything graphics related will be handled by the gpu, so that's where the hdmi will be, only needed on mobo's that don't have access to a dedicated gpu.

The real difference between the h110 and H170 is in the options. More Sata ports, upgraded audio, more fan headers, access to m.2 ssd etc. If a 110 works for what you will need, the H170 will just have options you won't use. For a locked cpu like the 6500 it's a personal choice more than a component necessity.

A good case is built well, no junky riveting, will have decent airflow options, dust filters on intakes and psu, be sturdy, have panels designed not to buckle when bumped, removable hdd cages for big gpus etc. A good case needs to fit your needs, not the other way around.

 

[touchofevil]

Ohh.. typos.. I meant R7 250x!!

 

[Karadjgne]

The r7 250x is the same basically as the igpu on amd APU's. Yeah, it's gotta go. You'll get pretty much lousy performance.