Question For Building A DAW / Skyrim Rig

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ShoryuSam

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Jan 6, 2014
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Hey guys,

So its been a long time since I built a PC and that same comp is totally blue screening (hasn't been recently so it might have been just due to heat issues in the summer time).

That being said, I'm looking to spend $600 in January to build another PC.

I currently use Reaper as a DAW and would like to use the computer to do home recording for guitar and keyboard based stuff (a lot of effects so RAM will probably be crucial) and would like to play Skyrim with mods on high (60 FPS) if possible.

If someone can lead me in the right direction to ideas of what parts to get, I would deeply appreciate it.

I can easily get Windows 7 or 8 from work from IT friends of mine, so I could confirm which Windows I can get later on, but have to mention that because I know that's crucial to RAM capacity for certain builds.

Thanks a bunch for reading my post!
 
Reaper doesn´t use alot of resources, so it´d logical to build around good performance for Skyrim and games in general, since that´s your other preference.

At a budget around $600, this is what you´d be looking at:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-HD2 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Pareema 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($66.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($22.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W ATX Power Supply ($43.86 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $569.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-10 09:57 EST-0500

If you spend $100 more on the videocard, you can afford GTX 970 which would enable you to play modded skyrim with close to max settings without intolerable framerates. GTX 960 4GB will do fine for most part, and max settings for alot of other games.
 
Would the micro ATX board be a bad idea though? What limits can I expect with using a smaller motherboard like that?

Also, is a small tower build possible as well? I was always considering this option, but heard the cost is more, plus heating issues are hard to deal with.
 
There´s no difference in mATX and ATX other than, one is obviously bigger than the other.

Generally, you´d expect more PCIe slots in a ATX and more space, minimizing the risk for a videocard blocking drive bays or a cpu cooler blocking ram slots i.e. If the mATX does what you need, then go for it, it´s smaller and usually cheaper.

As for micro cabinets it´s possible, but I´d be more careful here, since airflow is usually worse and it may be too small to fit a big videocard.
 
You just get less expansion slots, that you will most likely never use anyway, with M-ATX. That PSU, in the build above, is a horrible quality unit.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Pareema 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($66.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card ($214.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $601.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-10 10:22 EST-0500
 


Thanks for the correction, I was remembering another unit, and was actually unsure when i picked it. Cheers ~
 
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