Final check please

bobbyspangles · 5 Jul 2016 at 18:31

Could some please check this over before I pull the trigger. I am upgrading the family PC from socket 775. I only need CPU/MB/RAM, a SSD and case and my budget is £350.

The PC will be used mostly for browsing, a little photo editing and some occasional WoW.

So far I've come up with,
Intel i5 6500 £170
Asus H170M-Plus £86
8GB (2x4GB DDR4) 2133MHz memory £34
Sandisk Plus 120GB SSD £35
Fractal Designs Core 1500 £40
Total: £365

I'm undecided between that motherboard and the MSI H170M A-Pro which seems to be more feature rich for a similar/lower price. I understand MSI get some stick, but the current system has an MSI board which is 9 years old now, and apart from a few bloated caps, is still running fine. Opinions?

bobbyspangles · 5 Jul 2016 at 19:45

I have a relatively new (about a year old) Corsair CX430W which I plan to use until I stick a better graphics card in somewhere down the line.

I was looking at a 6600K last night at £195 but the price has jumped to £225 over night! Anyway, even at the lower price, once I added an aftermarket cooler and a more expensive Z170 board I was £80 over budget

I will look at a 250GB SSD. Is there any particular brands to go for?

bobbyspangles · 5 Jul 2016 at 20:02

Another possibility,

i5 6600K £200
Asus Z170M-Plus £99 - £17 cashback
8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 3000MHz memory £42
Sandisk Plus 120GB SSD £35
Fractal Core 1500 £40
Raijintek Themis cooler £20

£420

Quite a bit over budget - is it going to be worth it?

bobbyspangles · 5 Jul 2016 at 21:09

Thank you Borealis. I think I will go for the 6600K for longevity. It's unlikely the system will be upgraded for another 5+ years so the ability to overclock it now or in the future has got to be worth it.

There's not much price difference after cashback between the Asus Z170M-Plus and the MSI Z170M Mortar. Is there much to choose between these two board?

bobbyspangles · 5 Jul 2016 at 21:30

Thanks again Borealis. I think I'm going to go for the Alpenfohn Matterhorn instead. It's a little more but I prefer the styling and the all copper block

I assume it will fit 1151, it only says 1150 in the item description?

The case has 160mm clearance and the cooler is 158 so it'll be tight but doable, hopefully!