£1000 - £1200/1300 - Please help with my first and (possibly) only build

Kux

Kux

Kux

Associate
Joined
15 Oct 2016
Posts
4
Hello, I'm looking for some guidance with my first and possibly only build, I'd be really grateful for some opinions.

My budget is around £1000, up to £1200-£1300. However, if there are worthwhile/more valuable upgrades then I'd be willing to consider it. The PC will be used for gaming, working (making websites + digital media), video editing, music production - and over its lifetime any new hobbies that I pick up :D The reason I decided to go for i7 is because I believe I will be making use of the multithreading.


PC

CPU - Intel i7-6700k 4.0GHz (Skylake)

CPU cooler - CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo

Motherboard - Asus Z170 Pro Gaming Intel

Memory - Kingston Fury Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4

Storage - Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
Western Digital 1TB 7200rpm

Graphics Card - Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express RGB

Case - BitFenix Nova Midi

Power Supply - Corsair VS 550W '80 Plus'

OS - Microsoft Windows 10


Things to consider/my questions
  1. Can you see any problems with compatibility?
    (Now or in the future - I'd like the option to swap out parts that need upgrading, will this likely be compatible?)
  2. Does this build have longevity?
    (are they quality parts, will things get updated (substantially) very quickly?)
  3. Should I consider a full tower case or will midi be ok?
    (For now and in the future - enough space?)
  4. Are there any parts you would consider swapping out?
    (better value, better quality?)
  5. What's missing that I would need to get up and running?
    a) I need to be able to use both ethernet and wifi, do I need separate adapters for these?
    b) I'm absolutely clueless with any cables or adapters I would need, or whether they are included in the parts I'm getting.



Monitor
The budget is excluding a monitor, but again I'm pretty clueless. These are some that I have seen which are around the size/price range. I read that IPS is better than TN? I think these are TN but how much does it matter?

BenQ GL2450HM 24 inch 2ms

Asus VS248HR 24 inch 1ms

Acer G246HL 24 inch 1ms



Please assume I know very little about this and if I have missed anything off the build/out of the message then I don't know about it :)

Thank you so much for your time in reading this message and any help you can give me

x
 
Last edited:
For media production and gaming I would get a 29 inch ultrawide Freesync such as this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lg-2...e-widescreen-led-monitor-black-mo-143-lg.html
Bit on the pricey side with it being around £100 more than your 3 but trust me, ultrawide is amazing for any type of content, gaming, movies, media. It has an IPS screen aswell and the colours are amazing!

To answer your questions:
1) Depends how far in the future we are talking

2) Things ALWAYS get updated quickly in terms of computer components tbh

3) Midi will be fine for that setup

4) If you arent overclocking, get the 6700, if you are, then get the 6700k :) (I would always get the K even if you just do the Mobo OC its worth it!)

5) Get a wireless card, if you have an AC wireless router, get one of these: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/tp-l...-dual-band-pci-express-adapter-nw-160-tp.html I have one myself, get that baby on Virgins top package and the AC router, thank me later!
 
The psu is rubbish. The Corsair VS series is their overpriced bargain basement range with cheap internals. We don't even recommend the CX series on here and that's the next series up in Corsairs range. Never, ever skimp on the psu. It's the single most important component in a pc and is not the place to save money. Buy a good one and it will last you several years. Take a look at these, yes they are more expensive but they are high quality.

Non modular (fixed cables)

My basket at Overclockers UK:


​

High quality Platinum rated Superflower unit with a single 12v rail of 550w and a 5 year warranty.


Semi-modular (A couple of fixed cables, the rest are removeable)

My basket at Overclockers UK:


​

The EVGA GQ series is a FSP built unit with the whole 650w available on it's single 12v rail. It has a 5 year warranty. Review here.

The Superflower Golden Green HX semi modular has 746w on a single 12v rail and a 5 year warranty.


Fully modular (all cables removeable)

My basket at Overclockers UK:


​

The Superflower Leadex Gold series are single 12v rail designs and the 550w has all of it's 550w available on the 12v rail while the 650w version has 649w on it's 12v rail. Both have a 5 year warranty. Be aware that this range has bright white led's where you plug the cables in and cannot be turned off. 550w review here and 650w review here.

The EVGA GS series are Seasonic built units with a single 12v rail. The 550w version has 540w on it's 12v rail while the 650w version has 648w on it's 12v rail. Both have a 5 year warranty. 550w review here and 650w review here.

The EVGA G2 series are amongst the best psu's available today. They are built by Superflower and are basically the Leadex Gold series with a different fan, no tacky led's and a longer warranty. The 650w version has a single 12v rail of the whole 650w and a 7 year warranty. Review here.

There is a 550w version of the EVGA G2 but for some reason it has never been sold on here. It is widely available in the UK though so it is well worth tracking one down. Review here.

The Corsair RMx series are one of the best psu's that Corsair sell. They are built by CWT and are a single 12v rail design. The 550w version has all of it's 550w available on the 12v rail while the 650w version has 648w on it's 12v rail. All Corsair RMx psu's have been upgraded to a 10 year warranty now. 550w review here and 650w review here.

The XFX XTR 650w is a Seasonic built unit with a single 12v rail of 648w and comes with a 5 year warranty. Review here.
 
Last edited:
pastymuncher said:
The EVGA G2 series are amongst the best psu's available today.
Click to expand...

Hello

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my message, and also for the detailed advice. As I stated I'm pretty clueless so this is exactly what I need :D Based on your advice, and having a look at the reviews, I would be pretty tempted by the EVGA G2 Gold. I managed to find the 550w on Amazon for £80, which seems reasonable?

Which leads me to another question, for this build is 550w sufficient or should I look at getting the 650w instead?



Other than the PSU, would you be happy if this was your build?

I have been advised that I should look at the 1060 Nvidia graphics cards instead of the Radeon RX480. Could you see this being a worthwhile upgrade, perhaps one of these?:

MSI GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming X 6144MB GDDR5

Asus GeForce GTX 1060 Turbo 6144MB GDDR5

EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6144MB GDDR5

Thank you again :) xx
 
Last edited:
That is a very good price for the G2 550w, pity they have no stock though. You had better remove the link as well as they are a competitor and links to competitors are not allowed on here as the shop pays for the forum. A 550w psu is more than enough for the spec you are looking at. My pc (specs in siggy) doesn't quite hit 300w max load when benching measured at the wall.

Either gpu will be good for 1080p. It's more personal choice really. I would probably go for the RX480 due to the 1060's ridiculous price. They are of a similar performance after all.

I would change the memory to this because it's cheaper and faster. If you wanted a big jump in speed then these are the same price as the kit you selected but 3000mhz. The heatsinks are of questionable style though and may interfere with a large cpu cooler. I would have suggested the Teamgroup Delta or Black Pro 3000mhz kits but they are all out of stock at the moment, probably to do with the good pricing on them.

I would really go for a nicer case. It seems a shame to buy all those good components and put them in a cheap and nasty case. I would be looking at something like the excellent Phanteks Enthoo Pro M. For the money it's hard to beat and puts a lot of the more expensive cases to shame. It's a very well designed case with excellent cooling options (filtered fan positions too) and they have really thought about cable management. I guess the only downside is that it only comes with a single 140mm fan in the rear exhaust position so if you have no fans lying around you have to buy some of those too.


Welcome to the forums by the way. :)
 
Last edited:
Link removed thanks for the heads up. Managed to find the G2 550 cheaper and in stock elsewhere :D

Had another shop around for memory and found Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3000MHz for £77, seems like the best of both worlds?

pastymuncher said:
It seems a shame to buy all those good components and put them in a cheap and nasty case.
Click to expand...
Ok point taken :D
Love the Enthoo Pro M, definitely worth the extra tenner for this sexier edition

Thanks :) no longer a lurker since I finally have a reason to post!
 
Snap the memory up at that price. Now get ordering and get building!! :D:p:D


***Edit*** If you go for the AMD RX480 gpu then it's probably worth going for a Freesync monitor as well. There is one 24" monitor in the price range of the ones you linked to in your first post and it does seem to get good reviews as well. This one. Review here and here.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom