need opinions on this build

[Guest]

A friend of mine is wanting to build a desktop in the future. She plans on using it for basics (internet and office work) and gaming, will not be over-clocking. She hasn't set a budget but wants it to be as little cost as possible. She also doesn't want to upgrade often.

Here is what I have picked out.
cpu: Intel Core i5-3570
mobo: GIGABYTE GA-H77N-WIFI
graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB
memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM
psu: CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 500W
optical: LITE-ON DVD Burner
case: COOLER MASTER N200

If she does need an after-stock cpu fan, I have a ZALMAN 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler just sitting on my shelf that she can have along with an internal card reader.

She just told me an ATX build would be fine but she wants to use the Fractal Design Define R4 or NZXT Source 210 Elite.

I'm pretty sure she will be playing Skyrim. She plays pretty much everything except a majority of first-person shooters. She does like Metro Last Light, so yeah. I picked the i5 because she wants it to be something that won't need updating for more then 4 years. She originally thought that she was going to be paying over $1000. She was surprised when I showed her this list.

 

[X79]

What kind of "gaming"

Because that i5 doesn't say "as little cost as possible".

 

[X79]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4-M Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Mushkin Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($21.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($26.75 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $432.65
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-21 23:51 EDT-0400)

Done. Heh. Until you elaborate on "Gaming" at least.

 

[Whiteheadc37]

For a price similar to the build you have you can get the new Haswell Intel processor and a much more up to date motherboard in the MSI Z87-G45 because if you buy the combo on newegg you get $80 off (making them the exact same price as the processor + motherboard you have) Also i changed the RAM to a little bit cheaper of one that accomplishes the exact same thing. Both graphics card and storage are fine but for the same price you can get a more up-to-date motherboard and a cooler master HAF (High-Air-Flow) Mid-tower case. The benefit of runnign with that options is you get a case that is guaranteed to keep all your parts cool that has additional cooling options should you want to (goes up to a max of like 7 or 8 fans) and gives your friend a lot more room so that they can expand in the future should they want (like runnning a dual-SLI GPU for improved game performance. Other than that great build. As for the processor fan if you don't plan on overclocking you should be fine with the stock fan. If you have any other questions let me know.


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/18WAc
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/18WAc/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/18WAc/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($47.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $712.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-21 23:37 EDT-0400)


With the deals you get from here and the awesome quality of being easily upgradeable i would highly recommend this build.

 

[Guest]

What kind of "gaming"

Because that i5 doesn't say "as little cost as possible".

I'm pretty sure she will be playing Skyrim. She plays pretty much everything except a majority of first-person shooters. She does like Metro Last Light, so yeah. I picked the i5 because she wants it to be something that won't need updating for more then 4 years. She originally thought that she was going to be paying over $1000. She was surprised when I showed her this list.

 

[Guest]

For a price similar to the build you have you can get the new Haswell Intel processor and a much more up to date motherboard in the MSI Z87-G45 because if you buy the combo on newegg you get $80 off (making them the exact same price as the processor + motherboard you have) Also i changed the RAM to a little bit cheaper of one that accomplishes the exact same thing. Both graphics card and storage are fine but for the same price you can get a more up-to-date motherboard and a cooler master HAF (High-Air-Flow) Mid-tower case. The benefit of runnign with that options is you get a case that is guaranteed to keep all your parts cool that has additional cooling options should you want to (goes up to a max of like 7 or 8 fans) and gives your friend a lot more room so that they can expand in the future should they want (like runnning a dual-SLI GPU for improved game performance. Other than that great build. As for the processor fan if you don't plan on overclocking you should be fine with the stock fan. If you have any other questions let me know.


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/18WAc
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/18WAc/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/18WAc/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($47.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $712.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-21 23:37 EDT-0400)


With the deals you get from here and the awesome quality of being easily upgradeable i would highly recommend this build.

She lives in a very small apartment so she decided on a Micro-ATX build or smaller. We also put together a similar list, this one is based off it, but it uses SilverStone Sugo Series SG05BB instead. We also decided on dual bios because we know to many people that had corrupted bios after flashing. I couldn't find info on the msi board if it had dual bios or not.

 

[lfrz93]

A friend of mine is wanting to build a desktop in the future. She plans on using it for basics (internet and office work) and gaming, will not be over-clocking. She hasn't set a budget but wants it to be as little cost as possible. She also doesn't want to upgrade often.

Here is what I have picked out.
cpu: Intel Core i5-3570
mobo: GIGABYTE GA-H77N-WIFI
graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB
memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM
psu: CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 500W
optical: LITE-ON DVD Burner
case: COOLER MASTER N200

If she does need an after-stock cpu fan, I have a ZALMAN 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler just sitting on my shelf that she can have along with an internal card reader.

My advise is to ditch the 3570 and that motherboard, and go for an FX8350 solution. Since she won't be overclocking, the AMD CPU provides with the highest stock clock and the 8 cores will also come in handy in the next few months as we see the PS4 and XBoxOne hit the market. Speculations are that since those system are packed with 8 core gpu's, games will be made and able to take advantage of more than 2-4 cores. It also costs less or about as much as that 3570.

That motherboard is fantastic, mainly because it has everything you need and a nice bonus with the onboard WiFi/Bluetooth (if she even cares for it), but if she decides to go with an AMD alternative, you might have a few more options.

Another good thing to note, is that for same exact price, she could potentially get a 4670k with a nice MSI G45 because of newegg's combo deals. Clicky!

Also, ditch that RAM. Get something like this Kingston Blue Red 2x4gb 1600. She saves a good 20 bucks, and has great memory with same latency, just less extravagant.

Stay away from those PSU's! I have read horrible things about them. Try the Rosewill Capstone PSUs which have much better reviews and are semi modular, which is a plus if she plans on a mATX build.

One last thing, is that a 1TB HDD is not necessary unless she has A LOT of stuff to store. Most people get by with less than 350gb. I would recommend a small 60gb or less SSD to cache a 500gb HDD if she goes with the Intel build.

Here's 3 builds she might enjoy a lot. I'm leaving the case up to you, since that's always a matter of personal taste, and with the money I shaved off the HDD and RAM put a nice little PSU that will power the system with no problem.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 450W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $670.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-22 00:31 EDT-0400)
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 450W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $625.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-22 00:43 EDT-0400)
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 450W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $555.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-22 00:54 EDT-0400)


Feel free to mix and match the AMD systems since I just wanted to show you some better vs cheaper alternatives

EDIT: Just saw your post of 10 mins ago. I say go with the AMD solution with the cheaper motherboard. Make sure to read extensively on the MoBo before you decide, I did some of the research for you and it seems like a solid board. It is your call though.

 

[lfrz93]

Another thing to note is that the 650 Ti Boost is much more expensive (and also better) than the regular 650, though a 650 will run most games with nice settings, and save you 80 dollars.

 

[Guest]

Another thing to note is that the 650 Ti Boost is much more expensive (and also better) than the regular 650, though a 650 will run most games with nice settings, and save you 80 dollars.

Besides Gigabyte, is there any other mobos with dual bios. I understand that bios might go bad at anytime without warning. I have the GA-Z77X-UP5 TH and love it. The only downfall is that it keeps telling me my USB 3.0 port is having voltage issues. I was able to fix this by flashing the bios. I probably wouldn't have flashed it if I didn't have dual bios.

 

[lfrz93]

If you went with an Intel build, the Asus Z87-Pro (which is part of the combo deal as well, but more expensive) has a bios that can be removed and replaced if it went bad. The ASRock Extreme6 Z87 also has dual bios.

Honestly, you should not worry about that, even if you brick your bios, you just have to clear the CMOS by either a button on the mobo or just removing the bios battery for a few minutes. The trick usually works on most mobos.