PC Build Opinions Needed

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no-cheating

Commendable
Mar 30, 2016
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1,510
I'm building a PC for myself, the first time completely by myself. So far I came up with 2 builds: budget and more expensive one. I imagined that the final build would be a mix of parts from both. I'll welcome any opinions - maybe some parts are overkill for my needs (described below), or some of them mismatch or there are better alternatives in similar price range. The builds are below.

Builds
I entered the price for every component manually - the cheapest price I could find locally in Poland (including the shipping costs). As there was no PLN (Polish currency) currency to select, I chose Canadian Dollars instead. Bottom line: every price listed in $ is actually PLN. It makes the more expensive build cost ~5000PLN and the cheaper one ~3450PLN. I'd like to lower the costs to no more than 4000PLN (reduce the more expensive one by 20%). The first cut I'll do is not buying GPU (700PLN) now, which isn't in fact reducing the costs, but postponing them for a few months is enough for me.

I also have few questions about things I feel unsure about:

  • ■RAM: Do I really need 16GB RAM or I should stick to 8GB? If I'll be fine with 8GB for a year, but may need to upgrade it next year, I'd rather stay with 16GB.
    ■CPU: I could save a lot of money by sticking with i3 instead of i5. Do you think it's worth investing in i5 at these prices?
    ■CPU Cooler: Having a quiet PC is one of my priorities, but I'm unsure if I'd really gain anything significant by buying Noctua NH-U12S instead of a cheaper fan like Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. Do you think Noctua is worth it?
    ■Case: I could also save a lot of money by forgetting about premium aluminium-bodied Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX and stick to a more modest case like Phanteks Enthoo Pro M. I must say that EVOLV has really caught my eye and I'm quite willing to spend extra bucks on it, as long as it will serve me for the future builds. Do you think a case like that could get quickly outdated?
    ■Power Supply: Will I be fine with 500W? Or maybe I should go even lower than that?

About Me
I'm computer programmer but my knowledge about hardware is limited.

Uses
I'll use the computer mostly for web surfing, programming (both professional work and learning/experimenting with new programming languages/technologies), watching movies, listening to music (my PC is my main home music setup). I'd like to emphasize that good quality of music and movies experience is very important to me, so I'll have quality external amplifier and speakers connected to some internal DAC. I don't play games that much, but every year I play a few adventure games (some of them old/lo-fi) which catch my eye (last year: Riven, Kentucky Route Zero, Year Walk. I'd like the setup to be able to play a modern game, if any catches my eye (now The Witness did).

Characteristics
I'd like the machine to be relatively powerful, but not in a gaming-powerful way; also I'm not too impressed by cutting-edge technology. Being very reliable/stable is important for me. Being extensible (buying more RAM, installing internal sound card, maybe also graphical card, strong WIFI adapter) as well. Also, I'd like it to be quiet. GPU in my current PC was so loud that I removed and sold it (and was left with a poor integrated one).

No Peripherals
I don't need a monitor, mouse nor keyboard - I already have them (though I plan to upgrade my keyboard to a mechanical one very soon).

Operating System
I'll be running some Linux distribution 98% of the time. I'll be also having a Windows copy on one partition, but only to be able to run a game whenever I need it.

Additional Info
If that matters for availability of parts, I live in Europe: Poland.
 
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Those are both good rigs, i would try to go for a combination of them;

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.39 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.79 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($86.86 @ Amazon)
Total: $878.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 12:23 EDT-0400

Not too expensive, very reliable, stable and powerful.
 
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Thank you.

[strike]Can you explain your choice of CPU Fan: CRYORIG H7? Why did you choose it over Noctua NHU-12S and CM Hyper 212 Evo? Is it as quiet as Noctua? Quietness is one of the most important issues for me.[/strike]I've read some reviews and I see it's the quietest and best performing cooler in it's price range. Thank you for pointing it out for me.

I need at least 3TB HDD. What would you recommend? Reliability is the most important for me. For some time (around a year) that HDD will also be likely to work along WD Red 3TB I'm now having and which is almost full. Would buying a second Red give me any benefits over buying some other disk?

Do you know if Seasonic S12II 520W power supply is a quiet one? As I said quietness of the whole build is one of the most important issues for me.
 
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The Noctua is probably more quiet, i just put the H7 there from impulse.

WD Reds are great HD's optimized for NAS use but work fine in PC's as well. Black series are the best WD has to offer optimized for 'normal' use.
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd4003fzex

The S12II is more of a budget PSU, but still a great unit. If you're not concerned about cost, then i would suggest you to check out a fanless PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182169
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151122&cm_re=fanless_psu-_-17-151-122-_-Product
Or semi-fanless (fan only spins when PSU is under load)
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20550y1
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cp9020090na
 
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Ok. So assuming you are looking to spend a maximum of 4000 PLN (Polish Zloty) that would give you about 1,060 USD. This build will pretty much max that budget out and give you a very powerful PC. I encourage you to shop online and find these parts cheaper where you can to save some money. If you can do without the SSD then I would say to drop it in order to save some money.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Pro4S ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($32.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($295.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $941.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 14:53 EDT-0400
 
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Good build, but i would recommend getting a cheaper GPU, as OP won't be doing a lot of gaming, and spending the money on an SSD. The SSD just makes the whole system snappier and more responsive.
 
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lol. totally spaced the non gaming part. here is an updated version of the build to adjust to the lesser need of a gpu and has more storage. so after taxes and shipping on whatever you find around the same price range as whats on pcpartpicker you will come out to paying right up on your 4,000 PLN

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Pro4S ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($32.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($103.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $932.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-30 16:07 EDT-0400
 
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Would I really need 750W power? I was looking into 550W supplies and thought it enough. I used some online calculator and it told me that my setup would use ~350W.

MSI GeForce GTX 950 2GB (700PLN) is not that much more expensive (100-150PLN) than GeForces GTX 750 Ti. I guess I'll go with GTX 950 though I realize it might be a bit overkill for my modest gaming needs.

You made me also consider the choice of the power supply line. Would it really be beneficial to invest into EVGA Supernova over Seasonic M12SII?
 
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I would keep it if you ever planned on getting into video editing or gaming or anything that would require a beefier gpu. otherwise you can save some cash by going lower on the PSU. here is one for you. it's non modular so the cords are not fully sleeved and pretty looking but it will get the job done nonetheless.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10500kr
 
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I guess serious gaming nor video editing isn't something I'm likely to get engaged in the near future. So I'll stick to 500-550W.

But am still unsure why you recommend better line of PSU (Gold EVGA Supernova) for 750W than you did for 500W (Bronze EVGA 500B) . I could buy EVGA Supernova G2 550W: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20550y1, which is said to be a great PSU (http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=440). But I wonder if it's worth paying those extra 100PLN over Seasonic M12SII 550W or 150PLN over EVGA 500B 500W. What do you think?
 
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when you get into performance of PSU you are looking at whether or not it'll properly supply power to the whole build but mainly the GPU since that's the most intensive component on a PSU. the 500w I linked you is going to be perfect for the lower end GPU spec with everything else. but if you really want you can totally go for the seasonic if you want to spend the extra cash on the "assurance" of better long lasting quality.
 
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I ended buying EVOLV in silver. I feel I won't be disappointed.
 
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