First time Micro-atx gaming pc build rerview

Durz0 Blint

1. What is your budget? [c.a. €1,500 - I have also budgeted €300 for Internet, peripherals, and internet installation, which is not included but I could dip into if necessary]

Monitor: 210
Mobo:46
Graphics: 340
PSU: 65
CPU:260
Case: 100
Ram:50
SSD (can reduce size): 170
Optical:80
Windows: 135

Total: 1456

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer?

Games are far and away the primary purpose, although I would also like to upgrade the ram to 16gb in the future for video editing. I would also like to hook the pc up to a tv in the future and use it to play blu rays, stream netflix etc...
I also might experiment with SLI in the future (if possible with this motherboard) to further increase performance.

Main titles I wish to play (ideally at 1440p on the 27 inch monitor I intend to buy):
Atilla total war/ warhammer total war
Crysis
Far Cry 4
BF4
Future Games
Europa Univeralis




3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes]
This will difficult for me as I am living in France, but want to buy an English copy of Windows.

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No

5. Do you need a monitor? [No] One of those hit-or-miss Korean monitors is included in this budget.


6. Do you need any of these peripherals? I intend to spend €100 euro (not included in this budget) for a mouse, keyboard and headphones.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? I am not 100% against the idea, but would prefer not to.

8. How can you pay? [Credit card]

9. When are you purchasing? [Been waiting a few years to get this pc, so as soon as possible]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [eh, Paris I would like to learn, as when I was younger I picked the parts for a pc and my uncle built it for me]


Hi everyone

I'm looking to purchase the following parts for my first ever solo pc build.

I was wondering if someone more experienced would be able to comment on my parts selection, whether they will work together, or would have some advice on how I can save money/increase my performance.

I plan to use a micro atx case as I want to place it on my desk, and I absolutely love the pc case I have picked out. So without further ado, here is the intended build:

Monitor
QNIX QX2710 LED Evolution ll Matte Off-grade 27" 2560x1440 PLS Panel PC Monitor
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/QNIX-QX2710-LED-Evolution-ll-Matte-Off-grade-27-2560x1440-PLS-Panel-PC-Monitor-/111520558751?hash=item19f724ae9f
c.a. €210

You seem to run the risk of dead pixels with cheap Korean screens, but the price cannot be beat.

Graphics card:
Gigabyte GV-N970IXOC-4GD - GeForce GTX 970 4 GB
http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00178336.html
€340

Geforce gtx 970 seems to be able to run Atilla total war at 1440p, as well as some other demanding titles as per this video test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wEOK6Hf4h8

CPU
Intel Core i5-4690K (3.5 GHz)
http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00168846.html
€260

Tom's hardware recommends nothing higher than an i5-4690k for gaming:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-4.html

Ram
HyperX Fury HX316C10FK2/8 Mémoire RAM 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM Kit (2x4Go) Blue

http://www.amazon.fr/HyperX-HX316C10FK2-M%C3%A9moire-1600MHz-2x4Go/dp/B00J8E8ZLK/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1442770524&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=HyperX+Fury+HX316C10FBK2%2F16+M%C3%A9moire+RAM

€50

I plan to get 16GB in the future for video editing - I picked this because it seems a good price, although I know almost nothing about ram types or speeds.


Micro atx Motherboard
MSI H81M-P33
€46
http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00152567.html

I originally planned to go for a more expensive motherboard, but I don't know much about motherboards, and needed to bring the cost of this build down. I really hope this accepts everything I plan to order.

SSD
Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 480 GB
http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00155914.html
€170

I plan to get a HD drive in the future to compliment my build, but for now I will use just this.

Power Supply
Antec vp600p 600W Alimentation 600W Puissance continue silence 120 mm
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Antec-VP600P-600W-Power-Supply-600W-Continuous-Power-120-mm-Silence/371276279543?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140620074313%26meid%3D48546ec4c2044fc6ac22ee74a3a6dcf8%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D111568026553

€65
Hopefully enough for this rig

Operating system:

Windows 10
€135 from the microsoft store
(I am really struggling to find an English copy of windows - if one is needed, or if I can set the language of a French version, I do not know - but I imagine I could save a lot of money here if I could find a cheap copy of an older version of windows and get the free windows 10 upgrade.

Cooling - plan to use stock cooling with CPU

Case
Raijintek STYX Micro-ATX - blue
https://www.caseking.de/en/raijintek-styx-micro-atx-gehaeuse-blau-gert-024.html

€100

Great looking micro atx case. Hopefully everything fits as planning my first pc build is stressful enough, with plenty of things to consider in my build, without the added dificulties from using a smaller than motherboard size.

Optical drive
I've been really struggling to find a slimline slot drive optical drive that can play blu ray and dvd's. The case has space for one, but I cannot find any for sale? Ideally, I would like to spend no more than €80 on this part.

Any advice on this build would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time

Digital Solitude

Have you a store you're buying from?

If you want to get such a cheap motherboard I'd go for either an i5 4460 or Xeon 1231v3

The i5 you've chosen will last longer than both, but if video editing is a priority then the Xeon will be much better. i5 4460 is still a perfectly fine chip, it'll be a while before they're obsolete.

Otherwise, I'd drop to a 250gb SSD for €90, like a Crucial BX100, get a Z97 motherboard so you can overclock in time without bothering with a new board, and put the rest of the savings into a 1tb HDD, though you mightn't need it anyways.

For the next year or two, the Xeon and i5s will be virtually identical for gaming.

Don't think any mATX boards support SLI due to space restraints, I certainly wouldn't fancy air cooling them in such a small case if I had to.

A 450w PSU is loads for this build, Intel and nVidia pieces sip juice.

Other than that, looks like a solid build.

You could get a Global Windows key from Reddit for €20 and install whatever language you wanted

Digital Solitude

There's a bunch of slimline bluray drives.

http://geizhals.de/?cat=dvdram&xf=578_Blu-ray%7E5011_2#xf_top

They're all German retailers, fairly cheap. If getting the rest of the PC elsewhere pick where has cheapest delivery

Durz0 Blint

Thanks for the advice.

No particular store - I have included the links for everywhere I plan to buy from.

Is a cheap motherboard really that bad - I don't know enough about motherboards to see what the difference between a 40 euro motherboard and a more expensive one would be?

Digital Solitude

Not at all, but you can only over clock on Z series boards, and you're paying a premium for an overclockable chip, that's what the k at the end of the name means, so generally it makes sense for a H series or a k chip to be mutually exclusive.

As per merchants, I'd say you're better buying all off the same seller to keep delivery costs down. Mind factory and computer universe are both fairly cheap German retailers. They should stock everything you need, if not, they'll have good alternatives

Stormhawk88

If you're not interested in overclocking as you haven't posted a cpu cooler and its a locked motherboard I would do with i5 4690 it will save E20

http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00166696.html

Also I would only use one 8gb stick of Ram if you are planning on upgrading to 16gb as the motherboard only has two ram slots

http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00164448.html

Also Pc partpicker might give you an idea of the different prices. There is no french one but there is a german one.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/

Durz0 Blint

Just thought I would update this as I have decided to switch to an atx build and completed changed everything.
Any thoughts would be appreciated as I will be buying this next week.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jMgqFT

Digital Solitude

Don't get a V300

600w PSU is enough too

After that it's fairly sound