Hello, I'm a student this is my first post here and I've been following many threads on how to build a computer. I've been saving up some money and planning how how much money I could spend and I've been formulating a build for myself. I'm planning on building this any time from late August to December 2015.
I plan on keeping this computer on for very long sessions and I'd use it mostly for playing games on their highest settings within reason and streaming videos and downloading content.
Games I plan on playing:
- League of Legends
- osu!
- Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, Legacy of the Void (coming out eventually)
- Hearthstone
- Dota 2
- Team Fortress 2
- Probably a few more Steam games I find interesting
I ended up choosing a Mini ITX build because I thought that I would probably not even consider upgrading any of my parts for the next years to come. To try to counter that lack of adaptability that Mini ITX builds give, I tried to use high end components. I also noticed I have a cool red/black colour scheme going on! If you guys could give some constructive criticism, that would be great!
Dream Machine Build - Mini ITX
CPU (Intel) - Intel Quad-Core i5 4690K
Reason: One of the best quad-core CPUs on the market today and good for overclocking.
CPU Cooler (Liquid) - Corsair H100i
Reason: Liquid cooling is quiet and great for a Mini ITX build. Also has Corsair link which I can connect my other fans to.
Motherboard (Mini ITX) - Asus Maximus VI Impact
Reason: One of the best Mini ITX boards out there with great features and multiple enticing included add-ons. Comes with bluetooth connection (I can't buy an Ethernet cable or Powerline), SupremeFX sound card, great colour scheme, etc.
Memory - Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) (Red)
Reason: Fits colour scheme and CAS of 9. Very reliable RAM.
Storage (SSD) - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB
Reason: Recommended SSD by many and good reliability.
Storage (HDD) - Western Digital Black Series 1TB (64GB Cache)
Reason: Best of the Western Digital HDDs for gaming and really good warranty.
Video Card - Asus GeForce GTX 970 Strix
Reason: Fits colour scheme and 970 is one of the best price/performance GPUs and I am very interested in it's passive cooling and its 0dB mode.
Case (Mini ITX) - Corsair 250D
Reason: Can fit everything in my build and looks great and very functional. I am also planning to put in an optical drive later on down the line. *Not completely sure if there is enough clearance to fit my GPU as the Strix needs extra space on the PCIe area to get optimal cooling.
Power Supply - Corsair RM 450W (Fully modular)
Reason: Fully modular and Gold Plus certified so it has very good performance an it is very quiet and has 0 RPM mode. *Not sure what is the best wattage for the build I'm using.
Case Fan (Front of case) - Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (x1)
Reason: Can connect through Corsair link and I'd prefer a dedicated cooler over the stock fans. Quiet series for less noise and it has the advantage of the rubber corners and customizability of rings. Air flow series for good overall case airflow.
Case Fan (Radiator) - Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (x2)
Reason: Can connect through Corsair link and I'd prefer a dedicated cooler over the stock fans.Quiet series for less noise and it has the advantage of the rubber corners and customizability of rings. Static pressure series to move that air from the radiator.
I'm planning on installing Windows 8.1 through USB.
Link to build on PCPartPicker: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/RiceHulk/saved/cMvmP6
My budget is not set in stone, but I hope to get it under or around $1250-1750 CAN because I could always save up for a longer amount of time or wait until Cyber Monday later this year.
Sorry if this was like a novel, but I just felt like I should have explained everything and all my thought processes. Please give constructive criticism if you can. Thank you!
I plan on keeping this computer on for very long sessions and I'd use it mostly for playing games on their highest settings within reason and streaming videos and downloading content.
Games I plan on playing:
- League of Legends
- osu!
- Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, Legacy of the Void (coming out eventually)
- Hearthstone
- Dota 2
- Team Fortress 2
- Probably a few more Steam games I find interesting
I ended up choosing a Mini ITX build because I thought that I would probably not even consider upgrading any of my parts for the next years to come. To try to counter that lack of adaptability that Mini ITX builds give, I tried to use high end components. I also noticed I have a cool red/black colour scheme going on! If you guys could give some constructive criticism, that would be great!
Dream Machine Build - Mini ITX
CPU (Intel) - Intel Quad-Core i5 4690K
Reason: One of the best quad-core CPUs on the market today and good for overclocking.
CPU Cooler (Liquid) - Corsair H100i
Reason: Liquid cooling is quiet and great for a Mini ITX build. Also has Corsair link which I can connect my other fans to.
Motherboard (Mini ITX) - Asus Maximus VI Impact
Reason: One of the best Mini ITX boards out there with great features and multiple enticing included add-ons. Comes with bluetooth connection (I can't buy an Ethernet cable or Powerline), SupremeFX sound card, great colour scheme, etc.
Memory - Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) (Red)
Reason: Fits colour scheme and CAS of 9. Very reliable RAM.
Storage (SSD) - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB
Reason: Recommended SSD by many and good reliability.
Storage (HDD) - Western Digital Black Series 1TB (64GB Cache)
Reason: Best of the Western Digital HDDs for gaming and really good warranty.
Video Card - Asus GeForce GTX 970 Strix
Reason: Fits colour scheme and 970 is one of the best price/performance GPUs and I am very interested in it's passive cooling and its 0dB mode.
Case (Mini ITX) - Corsair 250D
Reason: Can fit everything in my build and looks great and very functional. I am also planning to put in an optical drive later on down the line. *Not completely sure if there is enough clearance to fit my GPU as the Strix needs extra space on the PCIe area to get optimal cooling.
Power Supply - Corsair RM 450W (Fully modular)
Reason: Fully modular and Gold Plus certified so it has very good performance an it is very quiet and has 0 RPM mode. *Not sure what is the best wattage for the build I'm using.
Case Fan (Front of case) - Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (x1)
Reason: Can connect through Corsair link and I'd prefer a dedicated cooler over the stock fans. Quiet series for less noise and it has the advantage of the rubber corners and customizability of rings. Air flow series for good overall case airflow.
Case Fan (Radiator) - Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (x2)
Reason: Can connect through Corsair link and I'd prefer a dedicated cooler over the stock fans.Quiet series for less noise and it has the advantage of the rubber corners and customizability of rings. Static pressure series to move that air from the radiator.
I'm planning on installing Windows 8.1 through USB.
Link to build on PCPartPicker: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/RiceHulk/saved/cMvmP6
My budget is not set in stone, but I hope to get it under or around $1250-1750 CAN because I could always save up for a longer amount of time or wait until Cyber Monday later this year.
Sorry if this was like a novel, but I just felt like I should have explained everything and all my thought processes. Please give constructive criticism if you can. Thank you!