PC build thread

[marurun]

I'm gonna put in a nod to Gigabyte. I have a mobo and GPU by them, and both are excellent. The GPU has a larger fan that is very quiet and the motherboard has stuck with me through quite a bit.

[Jmustang1968]

I havent had good luck with Gigabyte.

I basically only stick to evga and asus these days

[s1mplehumar]

I think you'll find a lemon here and there across the board. I've had great luck with Asus, but YMMV.

Once thing worth mentioning is the RMA process for faulty boards...God forbid. EVGA is probably the cream of the crop in that regard. They still/used to offer an advance RMA (cross-ship) to get a new MOBO in advance. Who wants to wait 30+ days when you've got stuff to build, and more importantly, PLAY.

[Frag Mortuus]

I agree with Jmustang and S1mple:

Both EVGA and Asus offer exceptional customer service. I'm not sure if this is the same thing that S1mple is referring to, but once EVGA sees your RMA has been shipped, they will put your replacement in the mail. No more waiting for them to get your item and wait more time for them to inspect, repair, and whatever. Asus has always been great too.

[marlowe221]

I know others have given you advice as to which parts to buy, but I would do this:

Buy the cheapest versions of things you can replace cheaply later on. Such as mouse, keyboard, speakers, monitor, case and hard drive (HDD). I would sink the most money into your CPU and GPU. The motherboard is something that you can go cheap with if you don't plan to overclock. If not, then I would invest in an inexpensive yet highly rated board. The two things that are going to determine performance are primarily your CPU and GPU. I remember you saying that your limit was around $800 for the whole deal. Here is a suggestion as to a build:

CPU: i5 4690K $239
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819117372

Motherboard $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130699

GPU $209 ($189 after MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814202099

PSU: $45 ($35 after MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817438016

RAM: $48
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231277

Hard Drive: $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148840

Case: $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811139041

Monitor: $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824009437

Mouse: $9.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 4N51MC6111

Keyboard: $6.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6823201010

Total: $832-$30 MIR = $802 (without Windows license).

This pushes your budget to the max. However, this gets you an amazingly good CPU and GPU for the money. Also, you could shave a little off by getting a friend or family member to give you an old keyboard and mouse for free. Lastly, there were cheaper choices in both case, motherboard, and PSU. But the cost savings is far outweighed by the cheap quality of the less expensive parts. Like others have mentioned, you may be able to scrounge around for a Windows License for free. I know several folks on this board have said that they have sever keys that aren't being used so you may be able to strike a bargain with some of them. Or, you may be able to get a key off of an old laptop that you plan to stop using.

Just my $.02

EDIT: Give me a bit to re-evaluate this build, I just realized that the CPU doesn't come with a cooler, so I will have to include that and I can spend some more time to evaluate the various parts to see where money could be saved.

Oh wow, thanks! I will definitely check all those parts out. I figured I would have to spend $150 or so for a monitor that didn't make me want to vomit immediately.

Quick question on windows stuff: I've read that I might be able to reuse the windows 7 product key that came with my laptop on a new computer if I can get an ISO of the correct version of the OS. I was planning to give my wife my laptop to use since there is nothing wrong with it, it just sucks for gaming.

If I reuse the product key somehow, will she still be able to use the laptop normally? Will windows update stop working or something?

[Jmustang1968]

I also would not go cheap on a motherboard. The mobo and chipset pulls everything together and sets up the 'frame' for your build. A nice mobo also makes it easier to upgrade and expand on later.

Same for hdd. I used to go cheap and had them fail and lose data. You can usually get a higher quality model for an extra 10-20 which is well worth the investment.

[s1mplehumar]

I also would not go cheap on a motherboard. The mobo and chipset pulls everything together and sets up the 'frame' for your build. A nice mobo also makes it easier to upgrade and expand on later.

Yes. Granted once you pony up beyond enthusiast boards you're basically paying for extra features (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) and not performance.

My advice, don't skimp on the power supply. That truly is the one piece that ties everything together. Protect your baby. If you're going to skimp, skimp on the silly RAM gimmicks, strobe lit mice, and overpriced non-mechanical keyboards with 50 macros and LCD readouts.

[isiolia]

Quick question on windows stuff: I've read that I might be able to reuse the windows 7 product key that came with my laptop on a new computer if I can get an ISO of the correct version of the OS. I was planning to give my wife my laptop to use since there is nothing wrong with it, it just sucks for gaming.

If I reuse the product key somehow, will she still be able to use the laptop normally? Will windows update stop working or something?

Maybe?

AFAIK, most OEM stickers on the bottom of laptops and such aren't actually the key in use. Rather, they tend to be using a bulk license key, and the one on the sticker may not even be active. In turn, it may require manual activation if you actually try to use it.

That said, if that key is in use, then it's only supposed to activate one machine at a time. Additionally, an OEM key isn't supposed to be able to transfer from one machine to another (actual results vary).

[Frag Mortuus]

Quick question on windows stuff: I've read that I might be able to reuse the windows 7 product key that came with my laptop on a new computer if I can get an ISO of the correct version of the OS. I was planning to give my wife my laptop to use since there is nothing wrong with it, it just sucks for gaming.

If I reuse the product key somehow, will she still be able to use the laptop normally? Will windows update stop working or something?

Maybe?

AFAIK, most OEM stickers on the bottom of laptops and such aren't actually the key in use. Rather, they tend to be using a bulk license key, and the one on the sticker may not even be active. In turn, it may require manual activation if you actually try to use it.

That said, if that key is in use, then it's only supposed to activate one machine at a time. Additionally, an OEM key isn't supposed to be able to transfer from one machine to another (actual results vary).

I have been able to use a laptop key on different machines in the past, but things change and it may not be able to be done anymore.

[Frag Mortuus]

I also would not go cheap on a motherboard. The mobo and chipset pulls everything together and sets up the 'frame' for your build. A nice mobo also makes it easier to upgrade and expand on later.

Same for hdd. I used to go cheap and had them fail and lose data. You can usually get a higher quality model for an extra 10-20 which is well worth the investment.

What I meant about "cheap" was a solid board without a lot of features like strong OC abilities. A lot of times you can get a MoBo that is in the same line as the high end over clockers but has a lot of the necessary parts stripped out and your left with the same PCIe slots, chipset, etc, but the huge heatsinks may be shrank down and the BIOS is much more basic. So, in that sense you're still getting a solid board, but for half the price or less.

As far as HDDs, I meant spend around $50, get a smaller capacity drive. I never really recommend getting cheap quality parts, ever. Especially if it will be an internal part of your PC. You can get high quality but inexpensive parts, if you don't insist of getting the most high end parts.

Other's have mentioned that I only started him with 4GB of RAM and that is too low. I agree that you ideally you would want more than that. However, he can jump from 4GB to 8GB for ~$50. Which a lot of people can swing if they save for about a month, depending on how much you make. However, 4GB will be enough to get him up and gaming in the mean time.

Every one places importance on different parts. My theory is just to spend the most money on the parts that cost the most money while you have it to spend. It's usually cheaper to replace a MoBo as your needs change than it is to replace a CPU or GPU. You will get high end performance on a high end CPU and GPU on a cheap board, but you will get low end performance on a low end CPU and GPU on a high end board. Ideally you don't want to cheap out on any parts, but I say spend it on what will give you the biggest returns. Just my opinion.