PC Build Advice

Billy86

Yeah, on second glance I was looking up the wrong item, they don't seem too clunky at all - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166117&cm_re=wifi_pci_card-_-33-166-117-_-Product . But would probably just play it safe and put the extra $20-30 or whatever into a motherboard with the Wifi already in.

Pretty damn excited most of the pieces seem in place already though! Very tempted to buy 1-2 cheaper parts this weekend just to get myself 'pot committed' to getting the rest of the pieces ASAP, because I'm an awful cretin for putting things like this on the long finger. Once I've a toe dipped in though I'm all in.

Also highly excited for getting something like MediaPortal up and running on this when it's done (not so much looking forward to all the chunks of hair I will lose trying to configure it though ) .

K.O.Kiki

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.88 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($36.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Momentus 640GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.69 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone Sugo SG13B Mini ITX Tower Case ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $677.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-30 16:03 EDT-0400

K.O.Kiki

Alternatively,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6300 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor ($157.49 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.88 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($36.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Momentus 640GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.69 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone Sugo SG13B Mini ITX Tower Case ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $741.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-30 16:05 EDT-0400

The CPU is weaker, but the GTX 970 is a much, much better graphics card.

This system would blow the prior suggestion out the water in most games.

Billy86

Nice suggestion Koki! It seems your one is in $USD however while mine is in $CAD, so your first one and mine come out the same price wise while your seconnd is approx $950 Canadian (exchange rate right now is approx $1 CAD = $0.75c USD = €0.70c). Curious how the two might stack up though, because having HDD & SSD both off the bat while by no means a necessity would be nice.

The cheaper motherboard also appears to have wifi (albeit with tricky installation but not bothered by that) which is good and coupled with no need for the $20 USB sound card is doing a great job taking a bit dent out of fact I'll need to spend $130CAD or so on Windows 10.

I would probably still stick with the case I have though; trying to get it as small (and thus portable) as possible is a very high priority for me.

K.O.Kiki

Billy86 wrote: »

Nice suggestion Koki! It seems your one is in $USD however while mine is in $CAD, so your first one and mine come out the same price wise while your seconnd is approx $950 Canadian (exchange rate right now is approx $1 CAD = $0.75c USD = €0.70c). Curious how the two might stack up though, because having HDD & SSD both off the bat while by no means a necessity would be nice.

The cheaper motherboard also appears to have wifi (albeit with tricky installation but not bothered by that) which is good and coupled with no need for the $20 USB sound card is doing a great job taking a bit dent out of fact I'll need to spend $130CAD or so on Windows 10.

I would probably still stick with the case I have though; trying to get it as small (and thus portable) as possible is a very high priority for me.

I would suggest Sugo 13 over Sugo 05.

The Sugo 13 is barely larger in volume (11.5l vs 10.8l) but has extra mounting points for 2.5" HDDs/SSDs, a front fan/radiator mount, and fits ATX power supplies (to 150mm). Its front USB ports are also 2x USB3.0

Billy86

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

I would suggest Sugo 13 over Sugo 05.

The Sugo 13 is barely larger in volume (11.5l vs 10.8l) but has extra mounting points for 2.5" HDDs/SSDs, a front fan/radiator mount, and fits ATX power supplies (to 150mm). Its front USB ports are also 2x USB3.0

You might have a point; I checked the measurements of the Sugo 05 and it's almost exactly the size of a piece of A4 paper (with 6 inches in height); smaller than I thought. I think the case and power supply will be the last things I buy though, to give myself some extra time to mull on it.

Billy86

OK, first purchase today... a little help please!

Just want to make sure this is worth the extra few dollars, but it seems it for the overclocking -
Intel i5 6600K, Quad Core, 3.5 GHz, 6M... $290 / 198 Euro (includes shipping)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117561&cm_re=intel_i5_6600k-_-19-117-561-_-Product

It seems a really good deal at basically $100 off, just wanted to be sure before jumping in! I'm back to Ireland in late September/early October so won't be buying the case or some of the cheaper parts until then, but will be keeping an eye out for deals which is a nice advantage of not being in a rush. Think I'll try to do the same if I see a GTX 950 or better for around the $150 mark (100 Euro) too, should have a small bit of spare luggage space for them.

Digital Solitude

I personally don't consider K chips worth the extra money, putting that money into a GPU will get you better gains.

If there's a sale then go for it though

Billy86

Yeah I was figuring the same, though on a few benchmark test comparisons kind of pushed me over the edge. The i5 6500 standard is only about $20 less (because of the sale) and so I'm reckoning the overclocking could come in handy in terms of lifespan of the processor (e.g. while it seems pretty close to top of the line right now, it will get caught up on so with overclocking it should last a bit longer in that sense while also giving me a better gauge on when it needs replacing). Wasn't considering getting a 6600k at all, but the fact I won't have the whole thing up and running for about 2 months and that it's so little in the price difference is too hard to turn down.

Xenoronin

I say go for it. You may never use the overclocking but it's there as an option You could get a cheap Z170 board to pair with it if you find something on sale over there.

Billy86

Xenoronin wrote: »

I say go for it. You may never use the overclocking but it's there as an option You could get a cheap Z170 board to pair with it if you find something on sale over there.

Will give it a look! I think I've done an OK job getting my head around CPUs, GPUs, etc but motherboards for the most part are still confusing me so I've been following Digital Solitude's (if I recall) advise of not getting too caught up in the extras, etc with them. Can I ask what the advantage of a Z170 would be over a more basic/standard motherboard?

EDIT: Actually I think I remember reading that only some motherboards support overclocking, would that be it?

K.O.Kiki

You can only overclock Intel Core i*-****k chips on their Z*** chipset motherboards.

Chipset differences:

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z170-H170-H110-B170-Q150-Q170---What-is-the-Difference-635/

Without overclocking you won't see tangible difference between Core i5 at 3.3GHz vs 3.5GHz

Xenoronin

I know what you meant, but using '*' makes it look like swearing :L

I went looking at the price of the Z170 chipset. It's still ridiculous.

Billy86

How does these two look? They're a little more than I would have liked but again, due to moving and having 2 months or so to fund this, it's not a major issue.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128847&cm_re=z170_motherboard-_-13-128-847-_-Product - $180 / 123 Euro
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813157681 - $200 / 136 Euro.

Thought I stumbled on a great little bargain here, but it was for ATX and not MITX - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157681&cm_re=z170_motherboard-_-13-157-681-_-Product $85 / 58 Euro.

Billy86

Well... balls. I misread one of the discounts which added on about $20... then saw the sneaky f***ers never mentioned the sales tax until the end, that added on another 40-50. That's that out the window for the moment. Think I'll just scour around during the week and see if I find any bits on sale.

I've also seen GTX 980 cards on kijiji (Canada's DoneDeal.ie) for $350-400 CAD and slightly lower. I am a little iffy about making a big purchase like that online but would make sure the seller is in Toronto so I can go and pick it up from their gaf which should lower the risk of dodgy business on their end (I'll bring a barb wire baseball bat to be sure ) and a good few of them are still in warranty. €240-275 and cheaper for a GTX 980 considering they seem to cost about double that (way beyond my price range) before postage & packaging.

I've read that if you are going to buy second hand, GPUs are one of the better things to do so with (as opposed to CPUs or HDDs/SSDs), just curious on some feedback if that's the case. I'm on the edge, it's a lot of money to take a risk with, but then again... a GTX 980 for €240-275!!

Billy86

First of the two major components down. Last night just before going to bed I took a quick look on kijiji.ca, and came across this. Now I know some would warn against getting components second hand, but the guy offered to do a test run, and in the end we wound up doing about 20 mins each of GTA Online, The Witcher, Just Cause 3 and Fallout 4 - all worked perfectly. He looked early 20s and told me he had bought it a few months back but hadn't got around to playing much because of studying. His setup was quite a beast which may have helped, and he had upgraded to a 1080 which is why he was selling this at a low cost (he wanted a quick sale and to avoid hagglers, I sold some furniture on kijiji a few months back and some people on it are ridiculous).

Anyway... $270 CAD / €185 for a GTX 970, 4GB DDR5 RAM, OC, and 3.0 PCEI (whatever the **** that means! ).

Billy86

Two more additions (finally!) made, after a move back from Canada delayed things a little. Secured a job back in Ireland today so I should looking to get all the bits bought by Halloween as planned! I'll obviously price check a few places before buying each, but this Brexit really is doing wonders to the Amazon.co.uk prices and (at least on the order I just made) they're giving free shipping!

Added so far:
GPU - €185 - MSI GTX 970
SSD - €125 - Crucial MX300 525GB - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01IAGSD68/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
RAM - €28 - Crucial 1x8GB - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BIWLFGQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Still go get:
CPU - i5 6600k - €240

Motherboard - ASUS Z170I Pro - €155 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Z170I-Pro-Gaming-Motherboard/dp/B015FY4HLS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470554103&sr=8-1&keywords=ASUS+Z170I
*Worth the little bit extra I reckon as I would need one with overclocking anyway, and all the inputs etc over more basic units should come in handy.

Case - Silverstone Sugo SG13B - €60 - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811163274
Fits 500W PSU units as instructed by someone earlier in the thread. Still a good size, almost identical width & length to an A4 sheet of paper and just an inch taller and a Samsung Note smartphone.

PSU and Cooler I have not settled on just quite yet, good thing with the Sugo case is it fits standard PSU units and the GTX970 (with about 5mm to spare apparently!). PSU will be modular, cooler I might wait until I have everything else put together to see what I can fit into the case.

So in total it's looking like it's going to come in around €900 rather than my €660 hopes after factoring in the PSU and cooler assuming I can get some bits on discount, but I'm pretty confident that this is going to last me a good, long while so well worth it!

Billy86

Some more bits arrived in the mail today, only the CPU, RAM and cooler left (all are due to arrive tomorrow or Wednesday). Spent some of the weekend getting my head around Mediaportal and I have to say I'm getting proper excited now! Almost there and thanks a mill for all the help!

For anyone curious about the Sugo SG13B size, it perfectly fits an MSi GTX 970 with all of about 0.75cm to spare - there's also a nifty little spot for an SSD located on the bottom, which makes installing a 3.5" HDD later on far, far easier. And as for overall size, it is 99.5% perfectly the same size as an A4 sheet of paper and about 7" tall. Would definitely recommend, for the look of it so far.

MRedd

hi guys im looking to buy a new pc, so that i pick each component. Irish firms seem to expensive, scans.co.uk don;t make the components into a pc. Any advice?

Billy86

MRedd wrote: »

hi guys im looking to buy a new pc, so that i pick each component. Irish firms seem to expensive, scans.co.uk don;t make the components into a pc. Any advice?

I went Amazon all the way (apart from the GPU) - with the £ sterling at the moment, it's excellent value and they didn't charge me a penny for any postage if I took the longer option (only 2-3 days more).

Also, I've got this fella built! Will put up pictures in a small bit, the Sugo SG13B case gives decent space, it has not been running hot with only a standard air cooler for the CPU, and oh my god it's fecking time!!

So much thanks to everyone for their help in this, I genuinely do mean it when I say I couldn't have got this built without you (or without spending double the amount after ordering loads of incompatible parts!)

MRedd

what about the shipping when the product goes bad and you have a warranty if you buy from amazon or UK?

Billy86

MRedd wrote: »

what about the shipping when the product goes bad and you have a warranty if you buy from amazon or UK?

Off Amazon you would have a warranty, I would be sure. Most items like this would also have maufacturers too - that said, having never built a PC before and going only on the manuals and youtube videos it was a pretty pants-sh*tting experience when it came to anything related to touching the motherboard.

Digital Solitude

How did you find it in the end Billy?

Shipping to the UK is still much cheaper than buying in shops or Irish stores. Probably like €10 and item which is fine imo, that's a total guess though

Billy86

And the final result...

First off, massive thanks to everyone in this thread for the help. Not only was it a huge time saver and gave me confidence in what I was getting, but most importantly it stopped my from buying incompatible parts which I had never even considered!

Everything arrived in bits and bobs over the last week or two, and to say handling a motherboard properly for the first time was a terrifying experience in terms of worries over something going wrong was an understatement .

CPU: Intel i5 6600K
GPU: GTA 970 (MSi)
Motherboard: Asus Z170I Pro Gaming
SSD: Crucial MX300 525 GB SATA 2.5-Inch SSD
RAM: Crucial 8GB (8GBx1) DDR4
PSU: SilverStone SST-SX500-LG V 2.0 500 W Strider SFX Gold
Cooler: Nocturna NH-L9i
...last but not least...
Case: Sugo SG13B

Not much to say on the CPU, GPU or RAM as they are standard or well known. The GPU as I said was second-hand-barely-used and has given me not the slightest issue anywhere, and I've been playing quite a bit (mostly GTA Online) and on very high settings. Oh the grass, the glorious, glorious grass!



The motherboard is absolutely incredible by the way, even with my very limited knowledge on them, space and inputs for so many other things including m.2 pcei/ssd inputs and something just feels very... secure about it. The bios stuff on bootup was also easily navigable again for someone with very little experience on it, and there appear to be tonnes of options for overclocking etc, though for the games I currently have, there is no need on my system. At least not yet, I've done the crawling, now for the walking before running so to speak. If anyone has read the rave reviews on this motherboard - and again I am a complete novice so grain of salt time - but it does seem to absolutely live up to the billing.



The whole computer - and I guess this is a testament most of all to the PSU & cooler - are utterly silent, I can hear my laptop on the far side of the room louder than I can this thing only 2-3 feet away from me. I am aware that the PSU is upside down in the case :pac: but it was to have the fan blowing upwards, rather than the CPU & PSU fans just blowing hot air into each other. It was also a modular PSU to keep things tidy, especially given the small case. And on that note...



Lads, the Sugo SG13B is amazing. It's dimensions are basically identical to an A4 sheet of paper (about 1.5cm longer, 1cm narrower if I recall) and it is one inch taller than my Note 3. Despite this, and playing for a few hours at a go, heat is not an issue - it's a lovely feeling putting your hands by the mesh and feeling that warm air just rush it's way straight out of the case . I got a cheaper air cooler and was a bit concerned that I might need to upgrade to a liquid cooler - to be honest, I don't think there'll be any need for it - even underneath the box is absolutely fine, and it has tiny rubber 'legs' of a sort to give breathing space. There is a slick little place in the bottom corner to slot in an SSD card which is great - this thing really does leave absolutely no dead space whatsoever, and it has allowed me to leave the metal rack out of it altogether until I get a 4-6TD HDD in the Christmas or Black Friday sales. And again, if I need anything additional to that I have the m.2 slot for another SSD. Amazing how it almost seemed a tiny bit... roomy... by the time I was done considering just how small this case is.



I can confirm for anyone considering, that the GTX 970 does fit in... with maybe 1cm to spare, max! They have a special compartment that you screw off to slot the card in as it will not go in from the top, which was a tight fit an nerve racking, but it got there. I have read that larger 970's have been an issue though (MSi is 269mm if i recall)

---

Now comes the next step... getting Mediaportal set up (have this worked out on laptop while I was waiting on the parts so just a matter of reinstalling), getting all the media set up on it once I get the HDD, getting a TV tuner and getting Kodi up and running, and figured out. Having Steam, emulators (snes, megadrive, dreamcast, n64, gamecube), silly amounts of TV shows & movies as well as MP3s, multiple streaming services (netflix, spotify, etc) and god knows how many TV channels all in the one place and ready to go is going to be unreal!!

The end plan is to make this a complete front end system from start up as I am likely moving back to Canada in 9-10 months, and Toronto tends to be -20c for 4+ solid months of the year. With cabin fever and all, this hibernation device could really prove to be a lifesaver! Then in the summer, one of the lads back there in an Aussie to fashioned a projector and amazing soundsystem out of an 'eskie' cooler box not too long ago, with a big white wall on their high rise apartment building rooftop. The FIFA/beat 'em up/Mario Kart tournaments to end all tournaments, will absolutely be had!

Genuinely don't think I've been this excited about any device or purchase etc since I first got the original Xbox as a 14-15 year old! Friday week it's time to get Witcher 3, Doom and Civ VI all in one go because f*** it!

Again, a million thank yous to everyone who gave advise as I had absolutely no clue what I was doing back in the OP, it is amazing how helpful everyone has been and I'm absolutely taken aback by the hidden gem and genuinely constructive haven that is this forum.