Mostly new build, 7000 SEK/780$ budget

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WickedVixoftheWest

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Nov 16, 2016
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Hello!
I'd like to start by apologizing for the length of this post, it's perhaps overly detailed, but I've spent a lot of time thinking about all of this and I wanted to be thorough. So, sorry about that.
I'm new here (full disclosure: I joined to get help with this) and I have a little experience putting together computers. It's not my main interest, I much prefer to just have a working PC than to constantly keep fiddling with one, but I'm thinking it's cheaper in the long run to build my own? So I'm after longevity and stability, but I can't just buy the best things available because sadly my budget is pretty limited.
My current build is a patched up mess to be honest, assembled from stuff left over from my previous one, pieces I got from friends, and whatever I could find that would work with the rest. I've been putting off buying something more solid since forever, but seeing as how my motherboard appears to have died, I figured I would use some savings to make a new, more coherent build.

Short summary: My gigabyte mobo is dead. It, and thus also my cpu, uses the 1366 intel socket, which seems to be practically obsolete. I currently only own ddr3 memories, but for longevity I want ddr4 mobo, so new memory is also needed. I've been meaning to buy a new video card anyway, since my HD 6870 doesn't really do new games. My case is a million years old and not in the best shape so I figured I'd start fresh with that too. I have a rubbish aerocool 750w psu, but it works at least. So I need a practically new build. I have an idea, listed near the end, but I need help to decide.

Approximate Purchase Date: I'm ready to buy practically right away, I just need help to decide.

Budget Range: 7000 SEK in total (after rebates and shipping), roughly 780 USD.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: 3D modelling, graphic design, gaming, watching movies)

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: Case, Motherboard, CPU, RAM, GPU. I have an aerocool templarius imperator 750W PSU, it's not a particularly good one, but I'm hoping I can put off buying a new one for a little while due to budget constraints.

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.komplett.se, www.dustinhome.se, www.netonnet.se, www.siba.se, www.inet.se, www.cdon.com, www.webhallen.com, www.misco.se
As you can tell I'm not particular. It's hard to choose a single one since no one has everything, and no one is consistently cheaper, but if you need me to narrow down the list I will.

Location: Gävle, Gävleborgs län, Sweden

Parts Preferences: I prefer Intel CPUs, but otherwise I'm not particular. I've got the impression that ASRock, Asus and Gigabyte are generally the better brands for motherboards, but I could of course be mistaken.

Overclocking: Maybe. I haven't done it before, but if it makes the build last longer I could do it.

SLI or Crossfire: No. I can't really afford two cards at this point. Maybe if I could use my current card as one of them, not sure if that would work.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I need to be able to run (i.e. run smoothly) Maya and Blender, Adobe Creative Cloud (mainly Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign) and Paint Tool SAI.
As for games... I am really looking forward to Dishonored 2 and Dawn of War 3, plus I'm itching to play Warhammer: Total war. For my budget, I don't exactly expect a card that can run these at 50fps on the highest setting, but it would be nice if they were at least playable.
I would prefer a white/transparent case that looks nice, but that's not priority number one.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My motherboard is broken and my cpu uses an old socket. Basically, I want a new build

This following list is a possible build that I have thought about. A few items I already have and need to reuse; they are in green. Items I need to buy are highlighted red, along with possible parts, also in red.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core (2149 SEK here)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A SLI PLUS ATX LGA1151 (1449 SEK here) (I chose a Z170 in case I want to do SLI or overclock sometime, but maybe I should go for a H170 instead. Though as far as I could tell they were about the same price. Again, I could be wrong)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 (701 SEK here)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint Hd103UJ 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal HDD
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB GAMING (2290 SEK here)
Case: Zalman Z9 NEO White (699 SEK here) (chose this purely for aesthetic reasons, can switch if it's crap/incompatible/similar)
Power Supply: Aerocool Templarius Imperator 750W 80+ Silver ATX (the rubbish psu I mentioned, link is to amazon cause I couldn't find it on pcpartpicker)

So what do I want help with? Well, mainly I want someone more experienced than me to take a look and give comments. I am the worst at deciding stuff, I can't stop worrying I'm missing something, so even if the only comment you have is "sounds good, go for it", that would still be immensely valuable to me.
Also, the above build goes a bit over my budget. Not by much, but even the budget limit is hurting my wallet so to speak. So if anyone should happen to know of or find a suitable part that saves me a bit of cash, then hugs aplenty for that person.

Finally, a list of peripherals and the like that I currently own and plan on reusing

LG 24" TFT W2453TQ-PF Monitor
https://www.inet.se/produkt/2203585/lg-24-tft-w2453tq-pf#specs
BenQ GW2250 21.5" Monitor
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/Z9g323/benq-monitor-gw2250
Logitech G105 Wired Gaming Keyboard
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/jsw323/logitech-keyboard-920003371
Logitech G400 Wired Optical Mouse
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/y96BD3/logitech-mouse-910002277
Netgear WNDA3100 USB 2.0 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-fi Adapter
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/bp7wrH/netgear-wireless-network-card-wnda3100100nas
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit License
I don't need to link to that do I? =)

Anyway, I hope you can offer some advice, cause I'm stuck. Sorry for any typos, and for the lengthy post again.
/Vix
 
Solution
Aeacus
There are only 2 reasons why go with mini ITX buid over micro ATX build.
1. Main reason: There's not enough free space where to put the mATX case. Many mITX builders also use the HTPC case to keep the PC's footprint as minimal as possible.
example: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/KMjG3C/lian-li-case-pcc37busb30
2. Some people just like the small cases, even when they have enough free space to house the mid-tower ATX case.

Do note that the EVGA GPU you picked isn't full size GPU. It's also a small from factor (mini) as Zotac is.
EVGA pcpp: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/HWtWGX/evga-geforce-gtx-1060-3gb-gaming-video-card-03g-p4-6160

The only difference in size is that mini is smaller and fits better into the cases where space is...
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How about this nice little cube PC (color theme: white).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($190.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR ARCTIC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($91.34 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SK hynix SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB Mini Video Card ($194.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake CORE V1 Snow Edition Extreme Mini ITX Cube Chassis CA-1B8-00S6WN-01 ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $748.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-17 08:54 EST-0500

Few words.

Since you already picked preferred parts, i refined your build a bit.
Didn't change the CPU.
But did change the MoBo. B-series, so no OC (overcloking) but you'll get a nice white themed MoBo while having 4 RAM slots for future upgrade.
RAM is 2x 8GB at 2133 Mhz.
Went with a great SSD as an OS drive. Reason why: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-ssds,3891-2.html
GPU is same you picked, GTX 1060 3GB but this time a smaller version.
Went with a nice white cube case. Hope you like it.
And lastly, put in a good PSU that comes directly from the best PSU OEM, Seasonic. 80+ Gold efficiency with semi-modular design to ease the installation.

Note: for OC you need Z-series MoBo and K-series CPU (like my Skylake build, specs in my signature). But proper OC build costs more than you currently have, so, i don't suggest going for OC build.
 
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Hey, thank you so much for replying! I realize now that, like an idiot, I didn't actually state that I live in Sweden, and am looking for parts from local stores, due to the prohibitive tolls and taxes that come with importing.
All that being the case, I do like the look of your build, and I can't believe I didn't think of getting a cube case; it looks adorable! The parts are all available here too, so that's no problem, although the pricetag for the psu climbed quite a bit to 1150 SEK / 125 USD.
I'm wondering about one thing though: the cube case says it's for Mini ITX, but the motherboard is Micro ATX; does that work?
 
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I messed up picking the case. My bad.

Initially, i wanted to go with Thermaltake Core V21 case,
specs: http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002559
pcpp: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/QMp323/thermaltake-case-ca1d500s1wn00

But realized that it doesn't come with a white color. Went on and picked the Thermaltake Core V1 Snow Edition without ever looking if it does support the mATX MoBo i put in the build. Sadly, it only supports the ITX MoBo. Again, my bad.

To keep the current white MoBo, i suggest Corsair Carbide 240 Arctic White,
specs: http://www.corsair.com/en/carbide-series-air-240-arctic-white-high-airflow-micro-atx-and-mini-itx-pc-case
pcpp: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/LgYXsY/corsair-case-cc9011069ww

Or, if you want to go with ITX build and use the Thermaltake Core V1 Snow Edition case, MoBo needs to be smaller.
Here i suggest MSI H110I PRO AC that comes with built in Wi-Fi adapter and has plenty of white accents.
specs: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/H110I-PRO-AC.html#hero-overview
pcpp: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/wTnG3C/msi-motherboard-h110iproac

As far as PSU goes, you don't have to go with Seasonic G-550. If Seasonic M12II-520 EVO is cheaper, you can use it instead. M12II-520 EVO has 80+ Bronze efficiency and it has fully modular design.

Edit:
Actually you did state that you live in Sweden and you shop from the local stores.
But since i don't speak Swedish (all your preferred sites are in Swedish) i decided that i give you the part list in pcpp, so, you can look up the suggested parts from local stores.
 
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Haven't had time to reply until now, sorry. Alright, feels like I'm homing in on a build here. I like the Mini-ITX build more and more; if I'm not overclocking or running two video cards I don't really need all that much space. It only has 2 memory slots though, so I haven't thrown the Micro-ATX build out of the window yet.
Basically, I have three questions right now:

1. There are mini-itx versions, (as well as the smaller Zotac version you mentioned) of the gtx 1060 video card; however they are currently more expensive than the standard one by EVGA that I originally picked, and pcpartpicker says that the EVGA will fit both Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX. So: are there any reasons why buying a smaller one is better? Cable management? Or number of slots the card uses vs how many the mobo has?

2. The Mini-ITX has 32gb maximum supported memory, and only 2 slots. So if I buy 2x8gb now and later need to upgrade, I have to go for 2x16, and take the 2x8gb out, which is a bt of a waste, and I should probably go for the Micro-ATX instead. My question is if 16gb memory is going to be far to little in a year or two?

3. Currently, both builds are a bit over of 8000SEK / 860$. This is including the SSD and the PSU, which weren't in my original calculations,, so I think I can manage it. There are really only two ways I can see this getting any cheaper, and that is if I go for a smaller SSD and a non-modular PSU. But I'm thinking the modular PSU could really help with cable management in a smaller case, and a 128gb SSD could possibly be a little small if I'm using it for the OS. I guess the question is, am I right in these considerations?

You know, just writing about it helps actually. I said in the beginning that I liked the mini-ITX, but after writing this I'm leaning more towards the Micro-ATX. Anyway, if you have time to answer again I would be much obliged, I don't think I really understood just how many people write in this forum until now. So thank you for all your help, it's been very reassuring :)

/Vix

Edit: Oh, one more thing, I'm thinking of getting Crucial memory instead of Corsair cause they were way cheaper and otherwise identical (https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pkkD4D/crucial-memory-ct2k8g4dfd8213), unless you happen to know that that brand is crap or something?
 
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There are only 2 reasons why go with mini ITX buid over micro ATX build.
1. Main reason: There's not enough free space where to put the mATX case. Many mITX builders also use the HTPC case to keep the PC's footprint as minimal as possible.
example: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/KMjG3C/lian-li-case-pcc37busb30
2. Some people just like the small cases, even when they have enough free space to house the mid-tower ATX case.

Do note that the EVGA GPU you picked isn't full size GPU. It's also a small from factor (mini) as Zotac is.
EVGA pcpp: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/HWtWGX/evga-geforce-gtx-1060-3gb-gaming-video-card-03g-p4-6160

The only difference in size is that mini is smaller and fits better into the cases where space is limited. Common full-size GPU is about 290mm long, where mini GPU is usually under 200mm long.

There's also no difference about PCI-E x16 slot usage. All GPUs use one PCI-E x16 slot to connect to the MoBo.

As far as the card's width goes, it can be either a single slot or dual slot card. With dual slot card, your PC case has to have 2 expansion slots.

Performance vise, there's no difference between mini and full-sized GPUs.

But cooling vise, there is difference. Full-sized GPUs are either blower type (image) or open-air type with 2 or 3 fans (image). Do note that all mini GPUs are also open-air type.
Blower type GPUs exhaust the hot air from GPU directly to the outside of the case, whereby open-air type GPU dissipates the hot GPU air inside the case. In cases where the PC cooling is limited, blower type GPUs are best used.
Since mini GPUs have only 1 fan, they can run hotter than the full-sized GPUs that have 2 or 3 fans cooling them.

Power connection can also differ between mini and full-sized GPU. Usually, mini GPUs use 1x 6-pin power cable to power it's fan while full-sized GPU uses 1x 8-pin power cable to power it's dual or triple set of fans. More powerful cards can use even more power connectors. For example, MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X 8G uses 1x 8-pin and 1x 6-pin power cable.

Only reason to go with mini GPU is when you don't have enough length clearance inside your case to house the full-sized GPU. Another reason would be the cheaper cost. Smaller GPUs aren't as expensive to make as the full-sized GPUs are and therefore cost less to buy.

About RAM.
At current date, most games use about 4GB of RAM, while few newer AAA games can use up to 8GB of RAM (e.g Deus Ex: Mankind Divided). 16GB of RAM is more than enough for today's games.
Also, i don't think that in 2 to 3 years time you need to upgrade your RAM amount from 16GB to 32GB. But if you do, do note that RAM (and all PC hardware) prices will drop as time goes on. In 3 years time, 2x 16GB RAM set can cost less than the 2x 8GB RAM set costs at current date.

Don't go with fully wired PSU, especially in the small case. My AMD build has fully wired PSU in a midi-tower ATX case and cable management is terrible, despite i having more free space inside the case. The worst part about fully wired PSU is that you will have leftover power cables without any ability to remove them from the PSU. You have to find free space where to house those extra power cables. In my AMD build, leftover power cables are partially blocking the bottom intake fan.

Having 128GB SSD for OS is a bit small space. It can work if you only put your OS, applications and 1 or 2 games that you currently play on the SSD, while housing your music, videos, images, and other games on the HDD.
My Skylake build has 240GB SSD and currently i'm using 90GB of it. Besides OS (Win7) and applications, i also have about 3 to 4 games on my SSD while all the other data (images, music, videos) are on my HDDs. Since i'm planning to put all my games on SSD (for faster loading times), the 240GB SSD is getting small for me and i'm thinking to replace it with 500GB M.2 SSD. (Got 2x M.2 slots on my MoBo.)

About Crucial RAM.
The only reason why most people doesn't go for cheap Crucial RAM is because how the RAM stick looks. Most RAM sticks have nice heatsinks (covers) on them that can be matched with the build theme. While the Crucial RAM is just green with visible chips.
Performance vise, there's no difference. And there's no use of RAM heatsink if you don't OC (overclock) your RAM to run at speeds of 3000 Mhz or above. Fancy heatsinks on stock speed (2133 Mhz) RAMs are just for eyecandy.
 
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