First Time builder, this is very daunting

BrookerMG

BrookerMG

BrookerMG

Associate
Joined
25 Nov 2015
Posts
1
Location
Ipswich
Hi All,

I've always bought Prebuilt machines before, but really want to have a go at building my own gaming machine. But from my technical background this is quite a prospect. I am therefore reaching out for some advice.

I have done a fair bit reading up on the subject, but still not confident enough and somewhat nervous about jumping in and forking out a large amount of cash.

Below is my proposed build

Corsair Graphite 780T Full Tower Case - Black
MSI Z170A Gaming M5 Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard
Intel Core i5-6600K 3.9GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor
MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Corsair Hydro H110i GT 280mm Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-21300C16 2666MHz
Corsair CS650M 650W Semi-Modular 80+ GOLD Certified Power Supply

Intentionally I have not added a HDD/SSD. Due to financial restrictions, I am planning on using my existing 1TB HDD from my current machine, along with the network and sound card. Not Ideal I know, but unless I win the lottery over the coming weeks, I will have to replace these over time. Also, I was trying not to have to install windows.

Is this a sensible thing to do, or should I scrap that plan and switch parts around and buy an SSD?

I am looking to build a machine I can upgrade easily in the future and not have to spend thousands on every couple of years.

Any thoughts and/or suggestions?

Many thanks
 
If you've got a prebuilt machine you may find that the windows licence won't allow you to swap it out in to a new build - they're usually locked to the motherboard
 
If you are prepared to make a few compromises then you can get a better GPU and also fit an SSD into the build.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £929.58
(includes shipping: £14.70)
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BrookerMG said:
Also, I was trying not to have to install windows.

Is this a sensible thing to do, or should I scrap that plan and switch parts around and buy an SSD?
Click to expand...

Listed your build below to see total cost.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £944.63
(includes shipping: £14.70)
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It's better to do a fresh install with new parts.

And it would be an easy thing to switch around some parts in that spec to fit in a nice 250GB SSD which will make things feel snappy and proper with that set-up. I would recommend you swap parts anyway, so that you can aim higher than a GTX 960 for a 390/970.

A £100 case is already an expensive choice for your budget, let alone £150 of the 780T. And a good air cooler will give you cooling performance to within a few degrees for half the cost, and last longer than an AIO. SSD and better GPU would be my priority, personally, but the nice thing about building yourself is that you can choose to go about it any way you want.

At any rate, do make sure to swap that PSU for a better unit. Corsair RMx/RMi, EVGA G2/P2/GS, SuperFlower Leadex Gold/Plat.

By now I see Lee has put together a nice spec. Here's one I was preparing too (850W can go down to 650W if you are sure you won't use two GPUs):


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £990.08
(includes shipping: £14.70)
​


​
 
a pc will be crippled without an ssd/os drive,that should be high on your priority list imo

and build it yourself
 
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