Project budget build noob

millermilla · 24 Jan 2016 at 13:56

There are some very impressive builds in here that are a credit to the people that put them together, the attention to detail amazes me. Most are way beyond my budget so I thought I would share with you my budget build that although modest in comparison I am very pleased with.

I have been lurking in the background of the forum for a couple of years never committing to a build. My old gaming PC was bought as a complete gaming system and was quite expensive at the time. I had no clue really what I had bought or how it all worked I just picked the biggest numbers to fit my budget if you know what I mean.

This time around I really wanted to build my own system for the satisfaction and a much better understanding of how all the components work. It was difficult to decide on a budget, I'm sure for some it's just as much as you can afford but for me I was looking for something that fits my needs and gives value. I'm a casual gamer and work away from home lots so there would be no point in spending £3K as my usage would not justify the expense.

I has a few components salvageable from the old setup, speakers, 1080p monitor, 2 320GB HDD's and peripherals. I set my budget at about £700 and started looking and asking lots of questions. I got lots of very useful advice on here.

For the £700 I wanted something that I could continue to upgrade in the future so for example I didn't mind spending £150 on a GFX card now and upgrading in 6 months time.

OCUK Build. I stretched the budget a bit to £775 but it was worth it.

CPU: 8Pack Approved - Intel Core i5 6400 @ 4.4GHz Overclocked Quad Core
RAM:Kingston Fury Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-21300C15 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (HX426C15FBK2/8)
CPU Cooler:Alpenföhn Brocken 2 CPU Cooler
SDD: Crucial BX200 240GB SSD SATA 6Gbps Solid State Drive
OS: Windows 10 64 bit
Optical drive: Samsung SH-224FB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter
Wifi: TP-Link 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter
Graphics card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 OC 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
Power supply: SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold"
Case: Aerocool Aero 1000 Midi Tower Case

Carried over from my old setup:

HDD: 2 X Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 320GB
Monitor: HP Elite Display E231
Speakers: Creative Inspire T7900 7.1 Surround sound
Peripherals: Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick

millermilla · 24 Jan 2016 at 14:00

The build itself was pretty straight forward, again I took lots of advice on here, read some magazines and watched a few YouTube videos. I just took my time and very much enjoyed it. It's a great feeling when you hit the on switch the first time and it just works!

I removed one of the HDD bays so the front fans are a bit more effective

I am a bit OCD, I like my cables neat and tidy

Case lights came off an auction site for a few quid. Not convinced on them but it looked way to plain with no lighting

millermilla · 24 Jan 2016 at 14:08

Performance wise I am very happy, I don't understand benchmark scores very well, i'm still learning but it does everything I ask of it with no problems which is what I wanted.

millermilla · 24 Jan 2016 at 14:25

Now I've been using it for a few weeks and I know far more now than I did when I placed the order I'm still very pleased.

The case was a last minute choice once I was advised how big the CPU cooler was. I have to say for a last minute decision it was a good one. I'm very pleased with the case, it's well put together, solid and there is plenty of room for future upgrade or water cooling.

I think I should have maybe bought a bigger PSU but glad I bought a quality unit, not sure if it will be up to a future upgrade of the GFX card.

It would have been nice to have bought a better GFX card but from what I see the price difference from a GTX960 to a 970 is quite significant so it would have blown the budget. It should be simple enough to replace the card later and give a decent performance increase, I guess my current card is below the capabilities of the system. I can see me upgrading to a 970 or even 980 before the end of the year, just not sure the PSU will be up to it?

PhoenixUK · 24 Jan 2016 at 15:13

That's a really nice case for the price indeed!
That PSU will take any single card you put into it :-)

, don't worry about it!
Pretty sure it could even handle 2 mid end cards in SLI.

I wouldn't bother too much about upgrading GPU unless you find that it really struggles with the games you want to play (and small change in settings won't fix it). The 960 is a very capable card for that resolution.

I only hope that you don't have your speakers set like in the picture as it's pretty much against the point of having a surround system! Invest in some stands or shelves instead :-)

. Also, might be worth getting a proper sound card - it really makes a difference if you like your sound clear and crisp.

jbh110tdi · 24 Jan 2016 at 16:33

nice first build. love the cable management its really tidy. wish I could get mine as good in the rear.
Im the same as you I dont have the budget to build a monster system like others on here. I love to look at them and dream..

Ive built my own system its just a 4690k with a 970 in it and it keeps me happy and plays the games I want. like you mines was built on a budget and I had been planning on going to a newer platform but my AMD CPU died so I needed to upgrade sooner than I wanted to so went with the 4690k.

faheemrazzaq · 24 Jan 2016 at 21:57

You have done a very tidy job with cables there for a first build. Puts many to the shame. Well done

Luggs · 25 Jan 2016 at 08:08

Good work pal, very nice build indeed. As other have mentioned, excellent cable work too!

Petelock · 25 Jan 2016 at 08:55

Nice work.

I went for an led strip for my lighting (2m worth) so that it wraps around the window. Perhaps something to consider down the road.