CPU

Mother Board

GPU

8GB of RAM

1TB HDD for way more storage space then a console. You could drop the storage space to match a console and save a bit of money, but we won't do that.

PSU Cheaper/lower wattage for this build is possible, but it's better not to skimp

Disk drives are dying out and everything is going digital. Even consoles are showing massive growth in direct game purchases and downloads from PSN/XBL. But here it is if you want one.

Here's a few cases 1 2 3 4. Pick your case based on style, USB ports, whatever. All of those are 30 dollars or less and are mATX, meaning smaller form factor.

So now peripherals. Need a monitor? No you don't, plug it in to your TV. HDMI just like a console and consoles don't come with displays. You might have a monitor already.
Controller/input devices? PCs can use the old controllers you have laying around. Here's a keyboard and mouse recommendation anyway if you want one or don't already own them since most people own a computer for stuff outside gaming. That costs around half the price of an OEM console controller and KB+M is a more accurate input method. Controllers are a comfort thing and are best suited for driving games, but point and click with a high DPI sensor is much more intuitive and accurate than a controller with bad input filtering and clunky auto aim. Microsoft tried cross platform and keyboard and mouse destroyed gamepad/controller players. The only real cross platform right now is Rocket League because controllers are the better input method for driving so it's equal footing. But if you're playing Rocket League on PC, you load in faster. You'll be sitting on an empty field while you wait for other players to connect before the countdown and stuff starts, kinda neat. Also, that one I recommended has a button to change DPI/sensitivity on the fly, no need to bother with settings menus. Seamlessly go from sniping to roaming to driving. The keyboard is back lit and has a few color options.

Operating system? GNU/Linux is free and is getting more and more gaming support every day. It's not as hard as people make it out to be. Get a basic/user friendly distro like Ubuntu and all you really have to do is install. If you're a masochist, a developer, or a masochistic developer get a tougher distro like Gentoo. Funny thing as well, games with Linux support run better on Linux since it's such a great operating system on the software level. SteamOS is also free. Want Windows? Download the OS and put it on a disk or flash drive, install it on the new computer and enter the product key. Where do you get a product key? Don't buy it from a big box retail store for 100 bucks or likely more, you're getting gypped. You can buy 100% legit product keys online. r/microsoftsoftwareswap sells them for 20-25$ and the keys are straight from Microsoft

Also, all of those listings are from Amazon and are Amazon Prime eligible (for the other guy that replied to you that wants to complain about rebates/shipping/living next to a MicroCenter). You can find a lot of those parts cheaper and/or with free shipping. I recommend NewEgg. So you can do even better than the price I'm about to give you (which also means you can get better hardware for better performance):

Here's the itemized list with the prices: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QBVRNG

$448.51 total for a PC that is massively better than current gen consoles. Drop the unnecessary DVD drive and the keyboard+mouse combo and the PC itself comes in at $402.93.

So... brand new parts from a large online retailer with a great support system. You can get even better deals on the parts if you checked other great online retailers like NewEgg. Ten years ago consoles absolutely made sense, but now leaps in hardware design have made better hardware cheaper and the tables have turned.

Does that "come close without cheating"?

Here's a few more kickers now that we have the hard price set:

AMD and Nvidia are about to launch a new line of GPUs, meaning current prices will drop (better performance at lower cost on that build I just gave you) and AMD is specifically focusing on lower/mid range market with higher performance and efficiency. It's going to be great for mainstream gaming rigs.

PC gaming is usually cheaper over time because Intel/Nvida/AMD don't charge development fees (they can't), neither can EVGA/ASUS or whoever makes the parts, neither can Microsoft. Steam takes a cut, but so do stores like GameStop. Stuff like that is why Steam can have massive sales consoles can only dream of and the developers can still profit from a sale. The only reason PC games are 60 dollars like their console equivalents is because it's the standard and they can "get away with it" (especially if you're Microsoft trying to expand Windows 10 and not alienate XBox), but they can make the same or more per sale at a lower cost.

PCs also have the largest game library of any platform and the massive free to play library that comes with it as well. And it's really free, not 'pay 50 a year for a subscription and get to play a game for a month' free

PC is, in theory, forever backwards compatible. Want to play CoD4? Don't shell out the money for Infinite Warfare, just install CoD4 and play on the servers PC still hosts. Games that came out upwards of 10 years ago can still be installed and run with no issue.

You don't have to double spend. No buying a console and a computer for work/school. Put your 300 dollar home computer and 400 dollar console prices together and you made a huge leap in budget to built a killer PC. You also get a much more versatile platform capable of running much more stuff and you get so much more control over your experience.

Looks like a really good build. I will put part links in the end of the post. Here's some tips to save a bit of money if you're open to it:

1. Power supply: 550 watts is a great amount for this system. You could save some money by passing on the 80+ gold rating (although it's great to have a super efficient power supply, you don't need 80+ gold) and get a power supply that has an 80+ bronze efficiency rating. A power supply being fully modular isn't a must either, for me at least. A good semi-modular pick would be the Rosewill Hive 550, I have it and it has has sleeved black cables for about $55. If you want to save more money on the PSU, though, the EVGA basic 550W unit has all black cables and goes for around $43. Otherwise, the 600B from EVGA is a great 600W unit for around $50. Changing your power supply with these options might save you around $30-$40.
   
2. RAM: there are 16GB kits out there that are cheaper than the ones you selected, some are even in red to match your color scheme. I know there is a kit from Corsair that goes for around $80, so that might save you $20-$30 there. Otherwise, if you can't afford 16GB at the beginning of the build, 8GB will suffice until you upgrade. Just make sure if you get 8GB, get a single stick so you can throw another one in later. 8GB instead of 16 GB may save you $30-$40.
   
3. CPU cooler: The i5 6500 comes with its own stock cooler, so you can save around $25 by not paying for a CPU cooler right away. Otherwise, the 212 Evo is a superb cooler and also comes in a red LED fan version for a few bucks more :D
   
4. GPU: The GTX 1060 is a great option for a video card, but the RX 480 from AMD might be able to save you a few bucks right now and down the road. When you look to purchase another monitor, options with FreeSync (AMD adaptive sync) are normally cheaper than monitors with G-Sync (Nvidia adaptive sync). Adaptive sync monitors will make your gameplay smoother. Also, if you get a motherboard that supports crossfire, you can throw another RX 480 in your rig in the future. I will recommend you a motherboard for this at the end, and it won't cost you much more than your current one. An RX 480 8GB starts at around $230. Also, RX 480's are said to be better in DX12, another "future proofer".
   
5. Motherboard (minor): H110 is a budget chipset, and a Micro ATX one will save you a bit of money. BUT, if you want another RX 480, you'll need a motherboard with 2 PCIe slots to house them. An ATX motherboard will fill your case better, not look as awkward as a mATX one, and will let you put another RX 480 card in your rig in the future. A good ATX motherboard that would work for this build would be the Asus B150-PLUS for $95. This may be a bit expensive, but you could spend your saved money on this part. I highly suggest you exercise this option.
   
6. Storage: if 250GB is enough for you, then you could save some money by not getting a Samsung SSD. An SSD comparable to this would be the Crucial MX300 275GB for around $80. Also, the SanDisk z400s is $75 and is 256GB. If you want more storage, though, I would recommend a 120GB SSD like the PNY CS1311 for $40 and a 1TB hard drive like the WD Blue for $50.
   
   TL;DR: cut back on PSU efficiency ratings, look for different 16GB or even 8GB RAM kits, ditch CPU cooler (or keep if you want), get an RX 480 for saving money on future monitors, you can also put another RX 480 in your build in the future with a different motherboard; an ATX motherboard would fill your case and add capability for a second RX 480, a non-Samsung SSD could save you some money, while for $100, you can get an SSD and a 1TB hard drive.
   
   Links:
   EVGA 550W "basic" http://amzn.to/2gbEbeQ
   Rosewill Hive-550 http://amzn.to/2gbBtGe
   EVGA 600B http://amzn.to/2gtvZcH
   Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO LED http://amzn.to/2fJ7mHM
   RX 480 http://amzn.to/2gbIUgI (choose which one you like)
   Asus B150-PLUS http://amzn.to/2eVnuqj
   Crucial MX 300 275GB http://amzn.to/2fidOoq
   SanDisk Z400S 256GB http://amzn.to/2fifFtk
   WD Blue 1TB http://amzn.to/2fJcPhK
   
   I hope my advice helped you and that this didn't overwhelm you. If you save enough money, you could throw in a red LED PWM fan, which adjusts its speed based on your computer's needs. I had a lot of fun making this, thanks for posting, and happy gaming :D
   
   
   

>-Previous threads here-
>
>
>Objective:
>Going back to the original - The $500 build from /u/JDM_WAAAT. Since then, many of those parts prices have drastically increased in price or are unavailable. So new objective, build it better, for less! And oh man did we ever.
>
>
>Rules for buying used server-grade parts on eBay:
>
>1. Buy from highly-rated, reputable sellers
>2. When "Or best offer" is available, use it. Sellers will likely discount parts, often up to 30%.
>3. Shop around. There are many resellers selling the same exact parts on eBay, find the one with the best price.
>4. Scrutinize the details of the auction. For example, make sure CPU stepping / revision is correct to what you need. Make sure components are listed as functioning and not "for parts only".
>5. Do not, under any circumstances buy QA/QC/QS/ES labled CPUs. Only buy official used / refurbished Intel Xeon CPUs. Chips with this label are not guaranteed to work, and might break functionality with something as simple as a BIOS update.
>6. Check sources other than Ebay. /r/buildapcsales can be a huge help with this. Amazon or Newegg often have huge sales on some of the new parts. Shop around people!
>
>Build
>
>http://i.imgur.com/X1NzK7Z.png
>
>http://i.imgur.com/r2d3lQp.png
>
>http://i.imgur.com/AHQJmto.png
>
>Type|Item|Price (eBay) | OBO? | OBO price
>:----|:----|:----|:---- |:----
>CPU | 2x Intel Xeon E5-2650 2.00GHz, 8 core 16 thread | Incl w/ MOBO | |
>Motherboard | Supermicro X9DRi-LN4F+ Dual Socket | $281.98 | YES | $260
>RAM | 16GB (4X4GB) DDR3 ECC REG x 2 | $29.89 ea | YES | $25.00 ea
>CPU Cooler | 2x Arctic Freezer i11 CO | $19.22 ea | |
>PSU | EVGA 450W BT | $24.99 | |
>EPS Splitter | 8 Pin to Dual 8 Pin EPS Splitter | $6.00 | |
>24 Pin Extention | 12" 24 Pin Power Extention | $9.99 | |
>Case | Phanteks Enthoo Pro | $79.99 | $15 MIR | $64.99
>Thermal Compound | Gelid GC Extreme | $12.99 | |
>Other | Tax, shipping, fees | $3.60 | |
>Total | | $517.76 | after OBO | $471
>Optional Extras | Sata cable 6 pack | $7.49 | |
>Optional Extras | Sata power splitter | $6.27| |
>
>---
>
>About this build:
>
>There you have it. If you recall, the original $500 build actually used this same CPU. BUT ONLY 1!. Here, we used 2, gave it more RAM, and all for over $50 less!
>
> General: I recently completed almost this exact build, same mobo, case, etc. Just ended up with different RAM config, and used dual E5-2630L CPU's that i got for a steal. This build will be using two Intel Xeon processors on Intel Socket 2011 motherboard with Quad-Channel DDR3-ECC RDIMM memory. It does not include specifications for SSD or HDD.
> CPU: The Intel Xeon E5-2650 is a high power, 8 core, 16 thread CPU that came out Q1 2012. 2.0Ghz clock, 2.8 Ghz turbo. It has a counterpart, the E5-2600L series who are also 8 cores, but low power. If you don't need quite as much Passmark power, these are also a power saving option at a slightly lower price point. MSRP when it was released was around $1100.00 USD Each. Plex Transcoder has true multi-threaded support and will take advantage of all 32 threads. So while this CPU might not be clocked as fast as what most of you are used to, the sheer amount of cores/threads will more than make up for it. Dual E5-2650's will score 15000 on passmark. Another thing to consider is that since the CPU is so cheap, you won't have to worry about it when it comes time to upgrade in the future. You can replace it with any V1 or V2 E5-2600 series cpu's. Dual E5-2660 V2, 10 core 20 thread, 2.20GHz base / 3.00 Ghz turbo in the future for about +4000 extra passmark score.
> Motherboard: Supermicro X9DRi-LN4F (Link to Supermicro Product Spec Page) This motherboard has dual 2011 sockets with a whopping 24 DIMM slots. With this build we'll be using only 8 of those available DIMMS, so there's a possible future upgrade. 6 SATA ports are standard, along with 2 SAS ports, for a total of 14 available SATA connections. Quad Gigabit NIC is also standard, plus IPMI.
> RAM: Here, we're using 8x4GB DDR3 ECC REG for quad channel support, and a total of 32GB of available memory. 32GB is a good value here. Another 2 sets would fill all 24 slots, for a total of 96GB.
> CPU Cooler: There's not much to say here. It's compatible, it's quiet, and it works. We won't be overclocking, so there's not much to worry about so long as it works. Also designed for continuous operations.
> PSU: It's cheap, powerful enough, and works. Not much more to say.
> Case: This case has full SSI-EEB+ (E-ATX with specialized mounting) support. Supports 6 3.5" hard drives two 2.5" SSDs, and two 5.25" bays natively. It's an all-around wonderful case, and it's really well-constructed (I have one, it's great). Also, one of the few cases that actually will fit this massive MOBO. In the front is a MASSIVE 200mm intake fan. Didn't even know they made them that big.
> Splitter/Extension These are necessary with the parts listed above to work. The power supply listed only has 1 8 Pin EPS connection for the CPU. Since we have 2, need a splitter. If you use a different PSU, check on the # of EPS connections. If it has 2, this part is not necessary. This board BARELY fits in the case. I know, I have both! Here's some pictures to show. Because of this, wiring the power can be a bit tricky, and to get it done in a clean way, need the 12" extension.
> Thermal Paste This is the best non-liquid metal thermal compound out there, hands down.
>
>Cautionary notes, other details
>
>1. Server equipment is stripped down to the bare minimum for compatibility and reliability. Because of this, features you are used to having might be missing - for example, some server motherboards don't have onboard audio. Also, most will use VGA onboard.
>2. Use a SSD for your host OS. This is likely where your Plex metadata will live, so if you're going to generate thumbnails and you have a sizeable library, make sure to get an appropriate size. I have about 20TB of media with thumbnails turned on, and 500GB is starting to feel tight. About 250GB is a good start for most people.
>3. Familiarize yourself with the BIOS options. Some may be different than consumer models. Make sure Hyper-threading is turned on in the BIOS. When in doubt, clear the CMOS / reset to default. You should verify that all 24-threads are showing in your host OS.
>4. Almost any OS will work. Includes ESXI, unRAID, FreeNAS, Linux, and Windows of course.
>5. Evaluate your RAID options. This motherboard has capabilities for onboard RAID, but that isn't for everyone.
>
>Upgrades, other parts
>
>1. Cheap storage in the form of $33 refurbished 2TB Hitachi Ultrastar hard drives. These are Enterprise level drives, great for use with RAID arrays.
>2. Sell the pair of E5-2650's & get Dual E5-2660 V2, 10 core 20 thread, 2.20GHz base / 3.00 Ghz turbo for 19,000 Passmark score. At time of posting these were $249.99 OBO w/ free shipping, extremely great value currently. If you're more concerned about power consumption, consider a pair of E5-2650L's for $41.50 each OBO at the time of this post, for a sweet ~14k passmark at only 70w TDP each.
>3. MORE RAM!
>4. Liquid cooling - If you plan on upgrading to V2's this is a good idea. Can get Corsair H55's for $60 each.
>5. DO IT ALL! If you want more power right now, sell the CPU's that come with the mobo for ~80 and grab a pair of E5-2660's for $240. Triple the RAM for an extra $100. Liquid cool the PSU's for an added $80. Finally, upgrade to a 550w semi modular 80+ gold psu for an extra ~$30 (one's on sale @ Newegg for $55 after MIR currently). Grand Total: around $840.
>
>FAQ
>
> Q: Aren't used parts unreliable?*

Note: we use affiliate links, it doesn't add anything to your price but it does mean that if you buy these parts through the links below, it helps us out!

**


So about as close as I can get to that sort of price, giving you more performance for your money (just by building yourself) is as follows:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
  
  Rather than a 6-core, 6-thread CPU in the your above build, we've gone instead for a 8-core, 16-thread CPU. This will give you far more performance for productivity and is one of the main keys with Adobe. The more CPU performance you can throw at it the better, so this is a bit of a no-brainer. AMD also provide a really good quality cooler in the box, so no need to get an extra one.
  
  
• RAM: G.SKILL Sniper X 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200MHz
  
  
  So we're very specifically jumping up here again to a lot more RAM (32GB) and it's a lot faster too. Again, this is a must with Adobe as when it renders video it'll dump the files through the RAM, so the more you have the better. Plus having this much helps with caching in general as well as overall multitasking performance.
  
  
• Motherboard: MSI B450-A PRO
  
  Pretty much comes singing and dancing. However, when you purchase, make sure this has the recent BIOS update for the newer CPU you're buying. Newegg support are usually good for confirming this before your purchase just through their chat service, so if you ask them if this item of stock has the update to use the above linked CPU, they'll confirm that for you. (99% of new stock out there has had updated BIOS already now, so it's not really an issue, yet it's always worth double checking).
  
  
• GPU: GTX 1660
  
  This part we can leave the same really. Adobe isn't super GPU intensive, preferring CPU over anything else, so this is powerful enough for anything your camera can chuck out. If you ever feel like doing a LOT more color grading, 3D animation work down the line, then this is the part you'd need to look at upgrading to something a bit more powerful. Yet until then, this is perfectly fine.
  
  
• Main Storage: WesternDigital 2TB HDD
  
  A large traditional storage as believe you me, you'll end up using it once you've finished with projects. Only use this for storage of files after you're done with them as well as installing your software onto this. This drive gives you double what you had in the above build alone, so it's more to fill up ;)
  
  
• Performance Drive: Intel 660 1TB SSD
  
  This is your "work" drive. So when you're working on video, store it on this. When you're saving your projects, save it on this. When you're doing the initial render (before storing it) do it onto this. This has a 1800MB/s read and write speed, so while budget is a bit of an issue we're going with a larger drive so you can use it for a lot of purposes. You'll eventually find your bigger upgrade here is having multiple M.2 drives rather than just 1, so you can run them in RAID for even better performance and data security but as that'd normally be in a much bigger build than the budget, this is plenty for now and gives far more fast storage than the original build.
  
  
• PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G3
  
  An improved power supply to provide more overheads and power protection against things like surges and sudden power loss. Also fully modular, so it's again really easy to build with.
  
  
• Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400
  
  I'm more than a little impartial with this case as my current gaming build is in this but it's such a nice sleek looking case for everything.
  
  
• OS: Windows 10 Home
  
  Last piece of the puzzle. This just comes on USB so once you've built the PC, you just plug this into one of the USB ports on the front of the case and your system will go through the installation for you. Nice and simple :)
  
  Total Price: $1262.92
  
  
  That's about as good as I can do at first glance. The thing about PC building yourself is that it's very customization friendly! So although I've given this build, you could probably post in other places and get slightly different answers. Main thing is the CPU, RAM and giving you enough storage.

Your upgrade looks like it will be way cheaper than mine was.

I got the Rift on sale for $350, but my PC was like 10 years old with only a new SSD in it.

Ended up getting an i5-9600K + MSI Z390 Gaming Edge for $470, 16 GB of RAM, Cooler Master 212 EVO which turned out to be huge and a huge pain in the ass to install (I recommend watching the video on that page that I didn't notice until after I installed the thing with only it's Ikea-like instructions.), but that big fan means it's far quieter than the tiny stock fans processors usually come with. The i5-9600K does not come with a fan either, so I had no choice and this was the most popular one on NewEgg.

Also got myself an MSI Gaming X GTX 1070 used on Ebay for $270. And because it only has one HDMI port, I decided to use that for the RIFT because it was less risky, and got a Displayport to HDMI cable which supports audio for my monitor which has the speakers built in and does not have a Displayport connector. Only afterward while taking my PC apart however did I realize I had the HMDI cable plugged into my old card with a DVI adapter, and the Gaming X has a DVI port as well, so I could have saved the money on the cable. :(

Also at the last minute I had to run out and grab a Corsair 750W power supply because my perfectly good Coolermaster 750W power supply did not have an 8 pin connector for my CPU. Of course, when I got it home it did not have the 4 pin connector and the motherboard has both a 4 pin and 8 pin and I assumed both would be needed, but I gave it a shot and just having the 8 pin was fine. But now I wonder if just having the 4 pin would also have been fine. The damn manual doesn't have a thing to say about it being okay to just use one of them, but being an electrical engineer I have to assume they're both tied to the same rail on the board, so I'm just gaining a bit more copper to lower the voltage drop if I were to connect a 4 pin as well, and the system seems perfectly stable, so perhaps they included the second connector to help with overclocking. I dunno.

Anyway, final tally including the Rift without a third sensor was $1,339.

And if you're wondering why I didn't go with AMD, well, I could have but when I priced it out, I wasn't actually going to save that much. And the Intel seemed like it would perform better with both games and applications and would just be less likely to have any issues like the Vive and its wireless solution do with AMD processors.

Part of the reason the AMD was not much cheaper is the same MSI motherboard would have been more expensive as an AMD variant and while the AMD included a cooler, the Cooler Master one was only $30 and had a bigger fan which meant it would likely be quieter. Though the AMD does run at a lower wattage, so it could be a toss up. All I know is my old PC sounded like a jet engine when I started doing any heavy lifting with 3D graphics, and it was still kinda noisy otherwise, but now its super quiet and even when running 3D apps that MSI card which I specifically chose because it's one of the quietest, was indeed really quiet.

Speaking of the 1070, my god that is a monster of a card! I barely fit it in my case. And my case is a full size tower. But it has extra 3.5" bays down the bottom where I have my hard drives installed and I had to move them down some more to get it to fit and it only barely slid in behind the metal frame of the drive bay.

Only other thing to mention is while I had no problem fitting my two ram sticks on the motherboard, that Cooler Master cooler's fan would probably collide with one of the ram sticks if I were to install four in there. I think the fan can slide up and down on the cooler though, so perhaps as long as you have low profile ram, you could slide it up a smidge or two to make it fit. Something to consider if you think you may eventually want 32 or 64GB of ram.

So there's a few things with this.

Firstly, you're not going to be able to get a great gaming PC for $400. You'll be able to play stuff with it but don't come into this expecting super max graphics ;)

As far as your PC parts go, so long as you feel your HDD is OK, that's the only thing to keep for a new build. That being said, if you're currently using it as the main OS drive for your current PC, consider doing a clean OS install onto the drive when you build the new one, assuming you have any important things backed up etc. first.

CPU: Intel G4560 ($70)

GPU: RX 460 ($90)

Motherboard: ASRock B250M Pro4 ($74)

RAM: 8GB DDR4 ($55)

PSU: [Seasonic S12II 520W](https://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-S12II-520-BRONZE-SS-520GB /dp/B00390P1NO/) ($45)

Case: HAF 912 ($60)

Total Cost: $394

Just using mostly Amazon and Newegg for you. Keep an eye on pricing, I've quoted full prices yet these parts do have rebates on from time to time, which could save you more money :)

So my main choices for the parts was based like this. Firstly, you're not going to get a better CPU without spending another $50 onto the i3 7100. Because of the choice in CPU, the RX 460 is the best performance for the price. You could spend more onto a more powerful GPU but you're not going to see the benefit with that CPU. Motherboard is a modern board for the current Intel chipset, so you should be comfortably able to get upgrades for this for a good number of years to come. As part of that, I've given you a single 8GB stick of DDR4, leaving you plenty of free slots on the board to upgrade your RAM in the future. DO NOT USE YOUR OLD RAM. The PSU is powerful enough to be able to handle bigger CPU and GPU's if you want to do bigger upgrades to those in the future and the HAF 912 case gives you plenty of flexibility for size and design internally to cover that too.

All told, that's about as good as you're going to be able to do for $400.

First suggested upgrades would be to spend around $50 on a SSD to use as an OS boot drive to make the system a little bit more snappy. Next upgrade would be for a more powerful CPU some point down the line, followed by GPU.

CPU - This is a perfectly fine CPU for gaming and there isn't any reason to change it.

Motherboard - This is a solid board, and it's a plus that it's a Gigabyte board. Make sure to keep in mind that this board doesn't support SLI, so if you ever plan on getting a second GPU you should go a different route.

Memory - You should seriously just get the cheapest RAM you can find since you can't utilize XMP. RAM is the only computer components that is actually created equal, other than manufacturers with high failure rates.

SSD - Don't get that SSD. It's faster than any HDD out there, but at the same time slow for an SSD. I know it's tempting to cheap out on a few parts like the SSD, but it's certainly worth it to spend a bit more. I'd recommend this SSD.

HDD - Do you really need 2TB of storage? I don't hear many bad things about Hitachi, but I still think you'd be better off with a Western Digital HDD. If you really do need/want the 2TB hard drive, it looks like it's quite a nice deal for that price and I wish you luck with it.

GPU - You're gaming at 1080p60 and expecting "high settings". This card is overkill. Do yourself a favor and get an RX 480 or a GTX 1060. On the other hand, if you don't plan to upgrade for 4-5 years, the GTX 1070 is perfectly fine. As far as aftermarket cards go: For AMD, I'd recommend PowerColor/XFX and for NVIDIA I'd recommend EVGA.

Case - Solid case, but I think you could stand to spend a bit more for a Fractal Design Define R5 if you decide to buy a less expensive GPU. I'd recommend it anyways, but the less you spend the better, I assume.

PSU - At this point, I recommend no PSU other than this one. The PSU is a very important PC part that you shouldn't cheap out on, and this PSU in particular is one of the best.

Looks pretty good to me but I think a few small changes could get a little better value.

I'd suggest getting the 3000 or 3200MHz versions of your RAM instead of 2666. It's literally two dollars more on Amazon. for 3000.

You could possibly save a bit of money with a different motherboard, but if you like that particular one it should work great. I don't have any specific recommendations because I don't know if there's anything specific you needed that that board has.

Personally I don't like having have two different drives for OS and any programs, so I'd just go with a single 1TB 970 Evo for $228 and a HDD with no 2.5" SSD. Or to save a bit go with a HP EX920 for 38 bucks less. With either choice, enough super fast NVMe storage to fit the OS and every single program you'd realistically ever install is worth the loss of 250GB space total when you are also getting a massive storage HDD with several TB.



You could definitely save on the PSU unless you plan on getting a second 1080ti in SLI. A high end 8700k/single 1080ti system running CPU, GPU, and storage stress tests simultaneously would still be unlikely to ever hit 500W, and in real world usage would rarely pull over 400W. You could definitely save on the PSU while still having plenty of headroom. I definitely wouldn't go lower than 500 or 550, but there are plenty of top-tier brands of 650 and 750W Gold or Plat rated PSUs for much less than $140. EVGA's Supernova G2 and G3 are around 90 bucks for top quality with a 10-year warranty and gold efficiency.
Even the normal black colored 850W Corsair RMx is thirty bucks cheaper thatn the $140 white one you picked, which would pay for the other upgrades, and you usually don't even see the PSU or its wiring any more as most cases have a PSU shroud including the SPEC-OMEGA RGB you chose.

I'm not a fan of that case's plastic Transformers look, but if you like it, other than aesthetics it seems like it has every feature you'd want in a case. IMO NZXT's H500i looks a lot cleaner while still having built in controllable RGB and a glass side panel and is also 20 bucks cheaper without having to fill out a rebate form. If you do that though, I'd suggest getting one of NZXT's AIO CPU coolers instead of Corsair's to work with their LED sync software. Usually makes sense to try and keep sync-able RGB stuff the same brand for compatibility.

Everything you already have selected should work great together but some tweaks would get you a better deal for what you're paying.

I bought an i3x at the beginning of June. Some thoughts are below. The tl;dr: Not the prettiest parts, and a subpar hotend, but I wanted an aluminum frame (humidity in my state is horrid) and knew I was buying a long-term project anyways. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions or whatever.

• They had some minor supply chain issues that delayed the shipping of my printer by a week or so, since their source for fasteners was backordered. Mine were drop-shipped, and got to me a few days after the rest of the parts. They also had to send me a few printed parts that got left out of the kit, but since it was just the brackets that attach the bed to the Y-rails, I was able to improvise temporarily with some bits from home depot so it didn't set me back at all.
  
  
• As mentioned, I mainly went with them over some of the other budget i3 options because my budget was limited and I wanted an aluminum frame. Having built the printer now, I'd feel comfortable with an acrylic frame, although I'm glad I didn't go with wood for my region.
  
  
• Expect to be buying a long-term project. While it's pretty dependable so far, I've got a handful of improvements I'm working on (listing those below), and would really like to upgrade to another hotend in the near future. I was expecting this, and it's why I bought a reprap kit instead of a commercial printer - It lets me make incremental upgrades along the way and experiment with it instead of trying to find the perfect printer out of the box now.
  
  
• Printed parts aren't the prettiest: most holes needed drilling with the proper drill bit, some minor sanding. Only really frustrating bit were the parts that hold the belt on the X or Y carriage, which required a lot of sanding to get the belts to fit (and I didn't want to risk a higher power tool, since too much room would be bad). Nothing has broken in about a month of use, with about 2kg of filament used.
  
  
• All the metal parts and fasteners are sufficient - galvanized steel for the threaded rod isn't the prettiest, but is perfectly functional for a frame. Fasteners are all quality and nothing has stripped or misbehaved.
  
  
• The hotend is the one thing you'll see consistent complaints about - I don't think anyone really likes it. I got the 1.75mm / .5mm version. It works ok (as mentioned above), but has a tendency to ooze from the joint between the brass and the PEEK, and last time I had it apart the PTFE tube inside had started to mushroom slightly - I'd save the $50 on the printer price and go ahead and buy another compatible hotend if I were you. The slot on the extruder is a standard size, so installing another hotend shouldn't be hard at all. I decided to go with their hotend since I didn't know anything about the standards involved, and was concerned I'd end up with a hotend that wouldn't quite fit, without a working printer to make a replacement mount - which was a somewhat unfounded concern. Go ahead and buy a JHead or e3d, it'll be worth the effort, and the cost isn't much different.
  
  
• Print Quality is pretty good - some ooze as mentioned, but I think at least some of that can be blamed on my retraction settings (still working on ironing out those..). I had access to a non-functional 3d printer at my office (early mendel variant) that I am currently working on rehabilitating, and the print quality on my printer is better than my coworkers were ever able to get out of the office printer. There's room for improvement, but mainly in aesthetics and how much cleanup is required - mechanically they're perfectly sound.
  
  
• Electronics are a bit of a mixed bag - the RAMPS board is nice (glad I went with a RAMPS board instead of one of the other single-board solutions), but the stepsticks are of questionable quality (PCB material is oddly rounded on the edges like it was snapped by hand, and the trimpots don't behave like they're described on the wiki articles about the pololu-style drivers). I also suspect that the 'Arduino' is a Chinese knockoff instead of a real Arduino, but it looks and functions just fine. The heated bed supplied works great, kinda wish they included a Power Supply (I sourced mine here.
  
  
  Things I want to improve include:
  
  
• Endstops: i3x uses little clips that friction-fit on the smooth rods, but they're a bit too loose for my tastes, and aren't very easy to adjust small amounts. I'm planning on trying this out for my z-axis at least, which will hopefully solve that problem.
  
  
• Extruder/x-carriage: The slot that the hotend mounts in is covered by the large gear on the extruder, so I have to unmount that gear to remove the hotend. I had some crappy filament snap off just out of reach (testing some of the old PLA stockpile that was purchased with the work printer a few years back), and had to remove the hotend to get it out - since that gear attaches to a locknut, it's a massive pain to remove. Looking at alternative x-carriages, but should be solvable since everything is standard sizes.
  
  
• I'm gathering materials to rework the wiring harness. Some of the wires are slightly shorter than I'd like, the thermistor wires are too short to bundle up with the extruder motor wires running over the top of the frame, and I really don't like the crimp connectors that they sent along for the motor wires - they're functional, but I've never had much luck with crimp connectors holding long-term, and they don't look good.

Graphics Card
It looks like you want to play at 1080p resolution(which is great btw) @60fps or higher. You also seem like you might want to try VR later. Your best options for a graphics card is the 1070 or a 1060. The 1060 is a cheaper option with VERY good performance. Depending on the model you get, you can achieve close performance to a 1070 for under $300.
CPU
To be completely honest with you, an i7-6700k sounds nice and all, but in terms of gaming, its not all that. You want to do streaming and stuff right? Well an i5 6600K would do fine for streaming most games. It really just depends if you're willing to cut cost by looking at performance efficiency. If you don't mind then by all means go with the i7, its a great cpu of course.

Motherboard
*I'm not really sure, if you're getting a k-cpu then you should probably get a z170 board. If you care for aesthetics, I suggest this https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-LGA1151-Intel-Motherboards-GA-Z170X-Gaming/dp/B012N6E996/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482194155&sr=1-2&keywords=z170+motherboard, and https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Performance-Z170A-Motherboard-3X/dp/B01CX4VJP0/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482194948&sr=1-6&keywords=z170+motherboard. I'm not an expert on motherboards but a good msi z170 that looks this nice can't be bad.

You should know that if you decide to go 1440p, you're only gonna be getting 60hz unless you want to spend $500< on a higher refresh rate monitor.

Here's a Gold-Certified 650W thats only about $5 more than the one you have listed. https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Modular-Warranty-120-G1-0650-XR/dp/B00K85X2AW/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482195157&sr=1-2&keywords=gold+certified+power+supply.

If you decide to go with an i5 and 1060 instead, then you end up saving a couple hundred which you can use for things like a better case or custom sleeves for aesthetics. If you keep that monitor, then I recommend keeping the i7 and getting a 1060 instead.https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Gaming-GV-N1060G1GAMING-6GD-Graphics/dp/B01IEA1IMQ/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482195400&sr=1-8&keywords=gtx%2B1060&th=1

All and all its a pretty good build and I wish you the best of luck

I have a comment about the GPU. I would highly recommend a EVGA gtx 1070. It looks great, runs quiet and cool. ACX 3.0 is a hell of a lot better than ACX 2.0 imo. Wait a second. I was about to say to go with the SC instead of the FTW because the performance gains are pretty minimal. The cards are the same price on amazon lol. The only downside I see to the FTW would be if you had a case with a window it can be harder to make the second power connector not look terrible if both your PCI power adapters are on the same wire like mine are. EVGA is great though. I got a 1070 SC and I can push a 90 mhz overclock all day. I'm not into overclocking at all, I've never touched the power offset on my 1070. The FTW is marketed more towards overclocking but I just don't think it going to be a whole lot better. The factory overclock (boost) is only 13 mhz higher. If you don't mind the second pci power connection go for it. They are the same price and the FTW has RGB. Your going to love your build. Have fun!

Okay, I looked through your parts and I think there are a few ways to save.

CPU: Microcenter, they have the i5 6500 for $20 less and I believe they will give you $20 off a compatible motherboard

SSD: Amazon my friend, I honestly cant tell the difference between two ssd's unless one is SATA and the other is PCIE or M.2. The Samsung 850's are overhyped I think

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=500+gb+ssd&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A500+gb+ssd

Power supply: I got a 600 watt bronze evga for like $50, I wouldn't even bother with gold certification, I got the bronze and it works fine. But like someone else commented you could probably get away with a 500 Watt. 600 is an awkward spot. At 600 Watts you have a lot of power for your rig, but not enough to go SLI.
here it is $46:

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-BRONZE-Warranty-Tester-100-B1-0600-KR/dp/B00EON40CS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473099540&sr=8-1&keywords=600+w+evga+psu

Operating system: if your in school you can get it through your school, its a nice way to save.

And finally, the monitor: try ultrawide, 34401440 is a bit costly but you could always do 25601080
That AOC just seems a little expensive, I'd look around for one with a higher refresh rate

Hi there!

It'd be super cool if we could get a PCPartPicker on this, so I went ahead and made one for you based on what parts you listed :)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $329.88 @ OutletPC
CPU Cooler | Swiftech H220-X 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler |-
Motherboard | MSI Z170A XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM EDITION ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $269.00 @ SuperBiiz
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | $82.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $164.99 @ Jet
Storage | Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $118.88 @ OutletPC
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card | $629.98 @ B&H
Power Supply | Thermaltake 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $144.99 @ SuperBiiz
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1740.71
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-05 23:03 EST-0500 |

My thoughts, first off, what are you planning to do with this? I'll tell you off the bat that the PSU is waaaaay overkill for what you're doing. You could probably go for a PSU at the 650W level and meet all of your requirements. If you're overclocking everything, maybe go tops 750W. EVGA makes good PSU's, here's one as an example! Amazon EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G2

Also, based on your usage, I'd guess that the i7 might be overkill, and you could probably get away with an i5-6600k, but it depends again on your usage (although, in MOST cases, this will be a sufficient CPU)

Also, liquid cooling solution? Any reason for that over the typical air-based cooler? It won't necessarily be any quieter than some air-based options available, and the one you've got is a bit... on the robust side. It's a really good one from what I've been made to believe, but I'm not 100% sure it's necessary (unless you really, really want to go the liquid cooling option, then it's probably close to being the best one you can buy).

HDD wise, technically black performs better than the blues, but you might be able to find a more affordable blue option as an example, and pay half the price. And in terms of performing better, in most cases, depending on your use, you will probably not even notice the difference.

SSD is solid, I love the EVOs.

What are you thinking for a case? Didn't see it listed, unless I just looked over it.

Let us know! Hopefully I've been of some help!

Your 450W is probably fine. The 970 lists 500W as the minimum, but the rest of your system is pretty low power. The FX-6300 is not a very power hungry CPU, and a link to your actual motherboard model would be helpful, but only a little. It's a small board, and they don't consume much. You should be maxing out at <400W, and you should be running your PSU between, oh, say, 60% and 85% load (it's fuzzy, and newer PSUs have wider peak efficiency curves than older supplies for the most part) at all times so it runs most efficiently. If it's running too far under load or too close to its max load, your PSU is losing efficiency and running hotter and wasting electricity, and wearing out faster as a result. Many newer, higher end supplies, like EVGA's Gold- and Platinum-certified models, can even maintain peak efficiency up to 95% of their max output - we don't know your actual power supply model.

Note, if shopping for these, that their efficiency certifications apply within their peak efficiency curve - not above or below it. Therefore, most supplies that are advertised as something along the lines of "80+% efficiency" means they run that efficiently between somewhere around 60%, and somewhere around 85%, of their max output - so, roughly, between 270W and 380W on a 450W supply (and even 400W is not far above it).

If you are dead set on upgrading, you'd be best suited not putting one in with a much higher capacity unless you're going to be upgrading more on your system to more power hungry components or adding a second video card in SLI (which is losing software support as time goes on and not many people would recommend). I would not shop for more than a 600W PSU, or you're wasting your money twice over - once in buying an overkill power supply, and again in wasted electricity on your utility bill every month.

I would not say that your 450W is plenty or more than enough, but I would say a decent 450W PSU is correct for your system. I don't see a reason for you to replace it.


As a side note, you may want to check that your motherboard actually has a PCI-e 3.0 slot to use with the 970, or your motherboard could be slowing your graphics card down pretty hard. Prebuilt systems like that are usually not made with upgradability in mind - they usually contain the minimum specs for the included components, as anything else would be a waste of money.

If you do the install and find you really need the new PSU, or you're just not confident without the upgrade and want it regardless, here are two I'd recommend: 500W and 600W. You are almost certainly fine with the 500W model, but the 600W is still a good pick for you, and will allow for future major system upgrades. The 600W model also has an equivalent that's semi-modular for an extra $5, if you want easier cable management. EVGA's PSUs are extremely robust and absurdly reliable, and yes I'm shilling, because their products, warranties, and support are top notch. And they'll actually hold up consistently to whatever they're rated for.

Assuming you are talking about R-Pi, v3b.

All 32 bit and lower works flawlessly. This includes but is not limited to Genisis, GB, GBC, GBA, NES, SNES, PSX.

N64 is the most commonly discussed as it has a large library of great games that are also often 4x multiplayer. Most games work very well (e.g. Mario Kart), while some do not (in particular 007 Goldeneye).

Hardware:

• Raspberry Pi 3 - $36
  
• Samsung EVO 32GB Class 10 Micro SDHC - $11
  
• CanaKit 5V 2.5A Raspberry Pi 3 Power Supply - $10
  
• Addicore Raspberry Pi Heatsink Set - $5
  
• AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable - 3 Feet - $5
  
• Official Raspberry Pi 3 Case - $8
  
  
  Total cost so far, $75. You can get a less expensive case that also comes with the heat sinks bringing your cost down to ~$65.
  
  Cheap right? Well, the one thing that is going to cost you the most in any of these builds is the controllers.
  
  I like:
  
  
• 8BITDO NES30 Pro Wireless Bluetooth Controller - $49 (x4).
  
  When I first bought them, they were $36 each, and I love them. They work really well via the Pi's built in Bluetooth.
  
  Another great option that works really well are the XBOX-360 controllers. Wired ones run you $27 each brand new, and wireless are $34/each, plus one adapter for the set.
  
  
  In other words, four good controllers are going to run you $100-$200. Which is the bulk of most builds. In a childs-only build, I am considering either wired XBOX-360 controllers because of their awesome cord break-away feature, or going even less expensive with the $12 SNES clones, though that eliminates the ability to play N64 and PSX.

I've been helping people pick computer parts a lot lately, and here's my go-to current build (as in, where I feel price/performance is optimized)--it's usually around $1000, NOT including monitors. I built two for my company (minus the video card), and they are wonderful. If you want to compare: CPUs, GPUs.

>Case: Corsair 200R, $73

>http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-200R-Compact-CC-9011023-WW/dp/B009GXZ8MM/

>Cases cheaper than this price point will become flimsy, break, literally cut you, and otherwise fall apart over time. I like the way the 200R is, too--no LEDs, no weird shapes, and 2.5" drive slots.

-

>Motherboard: Asus Z97-A, $145

>http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Z97-A-DDR3-2600-Motherboards/dp/B00K2MAU5Q/

>This is a medium range motherboard with PWM case fan pins: an extremely quiet combo. It's more important than you think.

-

>CPU: i7-4790K, $336

>http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-4790K-Processor-Cache-BX80646I74790K/dp/B00KPRWAX8/

>While we're on CPUs: GHZ MEANS ALMOST NOTHING FOR PERFORMANCE. My 2Ghz i7 in my Mac outperforms my 4Ghz 2500K in my desktop. It's annoying that it's even mentioned in anything but overclocking guides.

-

>Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance (2x8GB), $130

>http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Desktop-Memory-CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10/dp/B006EWUO22/

>I find myself always using >8GB. Task Manager tells me I'm at 9GB with lots apps but no actual games open.

-

>Graphics Card: EVGA GTX 960, $210

>http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Dual-Link-Graphics-02G-P4-2966-KR/dp/B00SC6HAS4/

>The 960 was recently released, but the 750 and the 900 series are very powerful and power efficient, and EVGA makes great cards.

-

>PSU: Corsair CX 600W, $60

>http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Builder-Watt-EPS%C2%A0-CX600/dp/B0092ML0OC/

>I skimped on a PSU once (it was "Diablotek"). It took my motherboard and a stick of RAM with it when it died.

-

>SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB, $135

>http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OAJ412U/

-

>OS: Windows 8.1 Full Version (not OEM), $100:

>http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-8-1-Full-Version/dp/B00EDSI7QO/

Current total: $1189 + tax, way over budget, so...


>The PSU can be replaced with a 500W EVGA for $17 less:

>http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-80PLUS-Certified-ATX12V-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU

-

>The SSD can be replaced by a 2TB 7200RPM drive, where you won't need a 2nd HDD but booting will be much slower, for $60 less:

>http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Deskstar-3-5-Inch-7200RPM-Internal/dp/B003GSLDRC/
(and get the sata3 monoprice cable)

-

>The GPU can be replaced by a GTX 750 Ti, for $65 less, but at a ~30% loss to graphics power (although it's still a great card):

>http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclock-Dual-Link-Graphics-02G-P4-3753-KR/dp/B00IDG3IDO

-

>The CPU can be a non-K version (at very little/no performance loss), for $36 less:

>http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i7-4790-Processor-BX80646I74790/dp/B00J56YSLM

>The next step down in terms of CPU is an i5-4690, at ~30% less CPU power, for $80 less. I personally wouldn't go there.

This is at $1015 + tax--still over budget, but going much cheaper really starts to bite into your experiences (and if anyone here can recommend anything to save money, I welcome it).


As for monitors, if you're playing EVE, honestly I'd recommend a 2560x1440 monitor because spreadsheets. However, since those start around $300, my go-to cheaper monitors are the not-bad 22" 1080p ones that can be had for around $140.

>BenQ 24" flicker-free (for comfortable viewing) 1080p TN panel (for faster response times), $140:

>http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-GL2460HM-24-Inch-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B00IKDFL4O/

-

>Dell 22" 1080p IPS panel (for better colors and viewing angles), $134:

>http://www.amazon.com/Dell-CFGKT-IPS-LED-21-5-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B009H0XQPU/

Source: I've done IT for the past few years, and done dozens of computer purchases/builds.

Notes: I don't buy AMD or ATI unless it's an extreme budget build. I don't buy off-brand because I've had parts break and then not have an RMA available; I've had good experience and RMA support with Corsair and EVGA. You don't really need a CD/DVD drive; you can install Windows from a USB key, but if you're unsure, CD/DVD drives are like $15. If you go with Intel/nVidia Maxwell, you won't really need a >500W PSU.

I don't like to skimp on computers much because, economically, if you're spending even 5-10% of your time waiting for your computer and you earn $10-25/hr, $1000 is paid for in somewhere between 2000-250 hours of use, yet the computer will last at least 3-5 years.

I reaally didn't expect this to blow up while I was asleep. I appreciate everyone with the same sentiments. Alright. I've read your comments. I'm going to address all the common stuff.

If anyone cares about my pc specs and the game settings I used I'll list them at the bottom of this comment <3

​

1. "WTF just get better wifi?? You don't have fiber dude? what are you ? Poor?"
   
   I actually lol'd at these. I have the best wifi where I live at 70mbps download. It's pretty damn expensive, but I use my computer a lot. Homework, games, youtube, etc., so ultimately it's super worth it. I have spectrum and I live on the west coast. This means that the game is constantly at 80 ping. No, I don't use an ethernet cord. Mainly because I haven't found the time to route it through my house, and honestly I'm not really focused on that right now. My wifi works perfectly fine with everything else. But I mean yeah I guess you guys are right, I should just move to a different state./s
   
   ​
   
   
2. "Uhh, your pc has nothing to do with your wifi smh idiot lol"
   
   That's the joke homie.
   
   What I'm referring to is the fact that after working $8/hr at a fast-food restaurant as a high school student and building a $1000+ computer solely for this game, shit like this still happens. Why does it happen? Because of bluehole's shitty servers and net-code. Something that is completely out of my control.
   
   ​
   
   
3. "people still play this game?? ? Go play something else"
   
   I enjoy this game. It's brought many good memories, and it keeps on bringin' 'em. I'm aware of all the downfalls it has. Trust me I'm more than 120% aware. Just because it's not your style, or it's hard, or the randomness gets to you, it doesn't mean it can't be fun for other people. I've got tired of this fucking game too. Many times lol. It's still enjoyable to me however, so I'll still play it.
   
   My specs & game settings:
   
   I used this gaming laptop up until roughly 800 hours.
   
   CPU: Intel i7-8700 - Link (out of stock as of October/6/19)
   
   RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8) DDR4 3000 - Link
   
   GPU: MSI Geforce 1660ti - Link
   
   Motherboard: MSI Z-370 Pro - Link
   
   Monitor: MSI Optix MAG 24" 144hz 1ms - Link
   
   Power Supply: EVGA Supernova 650w 80+ Gold - Link
   
   Storage: ADATA 2TB SSD Link
   
   Fan and cooler are pretty easy to find.
   
   - Graphic settings

I just spent a full hour writing about this but it got deleted by my mistake :-:
I recommend these parts

https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-LGA1151-Intel-Motherboard-GA-H110M/dp/B0165YUDTM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1491086662&sr=1-1&keywords=h110m
https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Skylake-Desktop-Processor-BX80662I56500/dp/B010T6CWI2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1491088199&sr=1-1&keywords=i5+6500
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Support-Graphics-03G-P4-6160-KR/dp/B01KUADE3O/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1491087663&sr=1-2&keywords=1060&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-2400MHz-Memory-Black/dp/B01ARHBBPS/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1491086759&sr=1-3&keywords=8gb+ddr4
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-WHITE-Power-Supply-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU


The CPU is good enough for the game you will be playing, the motherboard is good enough and more expensive ones sell you feature you don't need. The RAM will do you fine and is enough for any game you want and the GPU will be perfect for 1080p with 3GB of VRAM. For storage, go with a cheap 500GB HDD but I would certainly recommend an SSD for the future. The power supply will do you fine no matter what anyone else says, trust me (powers my R9 280X which is a LOT more power hungry).
I would recommend looking round Ebay, Facebook selling sites etc etc for any used components or 'starting points' with Ebay being the best bet in my opinion due to the massive amounts of sellers. If you see a 6600 or a 6600k for the same or less than on Amazon, snag it up and make sure to have a CPU cooler with it (stock will do you again, I have experience with 6600/6500 running on stock coolers and it's perfectly fine)

Sorry if the response looks rushed, I had a better one but I clicked something and it deleted :'(
Would love to hear about how the build goes, may your frames be high and temperatures at a low enough level!

EDIT BEFORE POSTING : 'Bomba' recommended an 8GB RX 470 - that's pointless for 1080p in my opinion and having a Pentium Dual core isn't something anyone would crave. I also have bad experience with Corsair PSUs but I haven't tried the 450W.

Sorry in advance if this is a bit of a spammy post, it's been growing in each topic I put it in as I assemble more and more info for people.

I've posted about this in a couple different threads so I'll just copypasta some of it here.
The cost for my setup, not including the drives (of which I had quite a few laying around from other builds) and an unRAID Pro License, was about $800 all together.

(UPDATE 11/27/17 - Prices have fluctuated a bit higher since it seems that these setups are in somewhat high demand right now. That may or may not be due to me posting this info in several places for people, but hopefully my attempts to help people aren't pricing this setup out of their reach)

It can do pretty much everything except maybe Live TV PVR, but that's only because of a limitation in the Plex unRAID Docker itself. So if you plan on running Plex in the Docker that's gonna be the case no matter what you end up running it on hardware wise.

I have about 40 friends around the globe who regularly access my server and the only real bottleneck I've encountered is my upload speed when too many streams are pushing out at once.

__

You can make a good unRAID rig for FAR cheaper if you simply use older server components, for example:

SuperMicro X8DT3-LN4F Motherboard ($89.99) ($115.99 - as of 11/27/17)

2x Intel Xeon X5650 LGA1366 CPU's ($43.48 each) ($40.00 each - as of 11/27/17)

EVGA SuperNOVA 650 Watt 80 Plus Gold Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99) ($93.57 - as of 11/27/17)

Some DDR3 ECC Server RAM, Usually pretty cheap ($24.00) ($30.00 - as of 11/27/17)

Then you just need any EATX capatible case, any two LGA1366 coolers, and any drives you want. All together your probably looking at no more than $600-700 for a system that will likely preform the same if not better than the setup you posted but will have 12-Cores (24 Hyper-threaded) @ 2.66Ghz


I should point out that I ALREADY have this style of setup working with unRAID, so this is not theory but a proven concept. I found as many of the original sources that I used as I could, but I made this a while ago so not all were current. Either way tho, the price for doing this kind of setup only tends to go DOWN over time, so it will only get easier to put together. Heck I've seen some sales of the X8DT3-LN4F Motherboard that come with RAM & CPU's already, so you might be able to pick up a complete setup for about the same cost as getting it piece by piece.

__

The only thing I would really add to the above is that the SAS module on the above motherboard actually has issues with operating Drives larger than 2TB, so If you want to add more than the 6 SATA 3TB+ drives that the Mobo nativly supports, your gonna need a PCIe SATA expansion card, such as This One that I ended up using.

I also have had some boot issues with the SAS function enabled in general, so if you do end up going with the above board I would just leave it disabled.

Also I would highly recommend watching most of Space Invader One's unRAID tutorial videos. Especially the ones about Docker CPU pinning and optimization plugins.

__

On my current setup I am running:

Dockers --
Plex, PlexPy (Plex Statistics and Notifications, I'm using it to run a Discord Bot that announces when new things are added on the server to friends), Omni (Plex Request System), Radarr, Sonarr, Jackett (Lets Radarr & Sonarr search private & public torrent trackers automatically), Deluge (Bittorrent Client), OpenVPN (For secure remote access over VPN) & Krusader (File Manager, Booted on Demand)

VMs --
Windows 8.1 VM (As a VNC GUI remote interface and to run ExtractNow to automatically deal with rared or zipped media torrents) & Windows 10 VM (Passing through a GTX970 and being used as a Steam In-Home streaming Client. Hooked directly up to a 4K TV so I can stream games from my main High End Gaming Rig to my TV. Booted on Demand)

Plugins --
A Bunch from the Community Applications Suite (Auto Turbo Write Mode, Auto Update Applications, Backup/Restore Appdata, Cleanup Appdata, Config Editor), Several Dynamix Plugins (Cache Directories, File Integrity, SSD TRIM, System Information, System Statistics), Fix Common Problems, Nerd Tools, Tips and Tweaks, Unassigned Devices, unBALANCE, User Scripts

Drives --
Nine 3TB HDDs (1 For Parity & 8 For Storage), One 120GB SSD (Cache)

__

Looks like you can get a refurbished X8DT3-F for about $120. The only real difference between the X8DT3-F and X8DT3-LN4F is if they have 2 or 4 Gigabit Ethernet Ports.

I actually have all 4 of mine connected to a high speed switch then into my router as a load balanced bond (effectively getting 4xGigabit speeds, at least within my LAN, which IS useful when streaming 4K games from my gaming PC to the server's client VM) but for most setups both boards are effectively equivalent.

Hello, I've worked with artists on similar projects and I think that I understand what you are asking for.

There are some good answers here, but I think you need to clarify your vision a bit more as there is some ambiguity in your specs and this can mislead people.

Sometimes it helps to specify what you want, instead of suggesting the solution. e.g. you say "LEDs" but you want "white lights and coloured gels".

LEDs are mono-colour. There are devices which combine several LEDs called an "RGB LED", which combines Red, Green and Blue, and this will give you a white-ish colour when you switch on all the LEDs on at once. It wouldn't make sense, from a technical point of view, to switch all the LEDs on and then use a gel to change the colour. Most likely, you'd want to adjust the relative balance

The good thing is that you can buy strips of RGB LEDs for a fairly low price these days and they're easy to control from an Arduino, as people have suggested. This would be the easiest way to go as it's almost a ready to go solution and there are loads of examples.

e.g. https://www.adafruit.com/category/183

If you want bright white, then you would want to look at a circuit which switched on, say, banks of halogen lights or 12V white LED bulbs. e.g. http://www.ledkia.com/uk/buy-g4-led-bulbs/578-g4-15w-led-bulb-12v.html This is certainly more complicated as you'd be looking at custom circuitry.

Next up is your power consumption.

Your image shows 13 columns, with 12 rows per column and you said up to 12 LEDs per bar. That's roughly 2000 LEDs. Each RGB LED unit consumes about 0.25Watts at medium brightness. Therefore you need 0.25W x 2000 = 500 Watts of power.

But that's only if you were to switch on every single LED at full brightness. If you don't, then you only need a fraction of this. This is a worst case scenario. Reduce the number of lights per bar, and your power requirements will go down accordingly.

Say you use 12V, so you would need 500W / 12V = 41Amp power supply. e.g. a PC power supply like https://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-100-W1-0500-K3-500W-Power-Supply/dp/B00H33SFJU The spec for this power supply says, "Supporting 40A on a single +12V rail".

But I think most of the RGB addressable strips need 5V.

So you'd need 500W / 5V = 100A power supply. This is a lot of current for a single power supply, and you'd need several 5V power supplies. e.g. You can have one power supply for column.

e.g. https://www.adafruit.com/product/658

The approach I'm taking on my Pi 3-based "field computer" project is to use a buck converter to supply constant 5V to a 20000mah battery pack, in turn being fed by a cheapo 12V 30A switching PSU. That battery pack can pump out more than enough current for my purposes, but for higher amperage loads you could simply inject USB power directly from the buck converter rails.

Total cost of approximately $30 is competitive with a quality 5V 10A AC adapter. The benefit with this setup over an adapter is that by skipping the PSU stage and feeding straight off the buck converter, I can run off of essentially any common DC source, including car and motorcycle batteries. Of course, if the input voltage isn't 12V, you'll have to dial it in with the buck converter, but that's a small price for the ability to tap into all those 18V power tool batteries and even 36V golf carts & wheelchairs.

Note that there are a BUNCH of those "DROK" brand converters on Amazon. Some are boost only, some buck only, others have both stages on the same board for greatly increased flexibility at the cost of some conversion efficiency. Watch the voltage and amperage specs, assume that any stated thresholds are optimistic, and plan to do thermal testing and add additional cooling if needed for your application. If you can find them, and they are getting hard to find, the MingHe D3806 is pretty much the best, and is actually the one I'm using.

Note also to take care with wire resistance! Most especially, be mindful not to end up with a design that's got all 6 amps flowing over some generic USB cable with 28 gauge 5v strands.

Oh my god please don't do a prebuilt from here and not likes Dell prebuilt like someone built it here. You can learn so much but buying the parts, and researching it can be a bonding experience with your son!
Edit: SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR A WALL OF TEXT!
anyway lets get this build started!
Idk what you want but for a case that looks super sexy the NZXT S340 would be a good start, cheap and nice.
CASE:NZXT S340 Mid Tower Case CA-S340MB-GR Matte Black/Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T4BWUUY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wR12xbKDZPNE8
Note: $74 Jet.com has it cheaper. (GET THE BLUE AS I MADE IT A BLUE BUILD)
CPU:Intel Core i7-2600 Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80623I72600 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EBUXSU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nT12xb7BECNJC
Note: $164
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM R2.0 LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008NA1K0S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_b112xb1T6M7HK
Note: $94
RAM: PNY Anarchy 8GB Kit (2x4GB) DDR3 2133MHz (PC3-17000) CL10 Desktop Memory (BLUE) - MD8GK2D3213310AB-Z https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012DT0IB6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_h412xb3VC5JNW
Note: $45
POWER SUPPLY: EVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W, 3 Year Warranty, Power Supply 100-W1-0500-KR https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_E512xb56068FP
Note: $37
GRAPHICS CARD: ASUS ROG STRIX Radeon RX 460 4GB OC Edition AMD Gaming Graphics Card (STRIX-RX460-O4G-GAMING) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K1JVQI4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_z712xbFGF2Y2T
Note: $140

TOTAL: $554

Edit 2: As your budget is $600 and I don't know how lenient you are with going over or what, but an Asus RX 470 would be a better graphics card and would increase the total to around $650.

Edit 3:
AFTERMARKET CPU COOLER:Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_E-12xbR7ZCHBK
Note: $28

Edit 4: If you want peripherals that's gonna be around $1000 in total for decent crap. I would suggest a 1080p 60hz monitor, a mechanical keyboard ( I use a G. Skillz KM780 RGB and it is fabulous), a nice pair of headphones HyperX cloud 2, and a nice set of speakers Logitech Z506. Also idk what you have but get a wifi adapter as well unless you can hook up to Ethernet which is highly recommended.

Edit 5: If any other questions just PM me glad to help you out more.

Edit 6: shit I forgot drives and OS. I'm too tired to link things anymore so I suggest getting a 128gb Samsung PRO SSD for your OS and main shit then get a Seagate 1TB HDD and you're good to go. Hopefully I covered everything.

Honestly 500-600 wouldn't make a very decent computer for a first rig. You can make one and well I made one just right now but that doesn't take into account peripherals. If you wanted 500-600 WITH peripherals that would have been the hardest budget build of my life. To maintain quality and performance, I'm cringing just thinking of it.

You should switch the 1070Ti for a Vega 64 that is going for $400 now. Then buy a monitor with the same specs as yours except add FreeSync. With the money you save, you can buy a 1TB ADATA XPG 8200, That is 3x the speed of an 860evo.

https://www.rakuten.com/shop/adata/product/ASX8200NP-960GT-C/ - $157.00 w/code CYBER20.

This is a way better SSD. Secondly, I'd get this monitor: https://m.newegg.com/products/0JC-0081-00016?ignorebbr=true&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile-_-pla-_-Gaming+Monitors-_-0JC-0081-00016&gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=CjwKCAiA0O7fBRASEiwAYI9QArke4IV60srQdwSQext8pHe-xCFr1FEmt9RtQKenrCscC52QtJxlIhoCS-sQAvD_BwE
You'll save ~230$ or so with FreeSync. You'll save another $70 with this Vega 64: https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16814202326
You also get 3 FREE games worth $150.
With all this money saved, drop the wifi adapter for another $60 saved. Then pick up a Ryzen 2700x. https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-Processor-Wraith-Cooler/dp/B07B428M7F/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543247961&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=ryzen+2700x&psc=1
This deal is only 65$ more. Then pick up a X470 motherboard: https://www.amazon.com/TUF-X470-Plus-Gaming-Ryzen-Motherboard/dp/B07C5YR3KS/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1543248089&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=x470+motherboard+wifi&dpPl=1&dpID=51F37Nfqa0L&ref=plSrch
This is a great motherboard with WiFi. You can find a different one either wifi, and probably get a better deal. This will run you 130$, so around $60 more. Your PSU is meh. This one is the same price and is AMAZING. https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Supernova-Modular-Warranty-220-G3-0650-Y1/dp/B01LYGFRL6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543248296&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=evga+supernova+650
Great deal for $5 less. You save around $250 for a much better build overall.

The PSU is probably not very good, and I don't really understand AMDs naming scheme, but the CPU looks okay, the GPU is perfectly fine, the case looks pretty cool, and AFAICT it should be fine for cooling, if it ever seems to be under performing, or less than six months after you get it, I suggest putting in a better PSU, at least rated for 400 watts, any name brand should be fine, because I'm not in europe I can't really tell you which one would be both cheap and good, but in america this one is pretty much the best PSU on a budget.

I'm sorry Automod, pcpartpicker's referral links are the bane of my existence.

Total: $1,401

$380 Monitor 27GL83A-B https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YGZL8XF

$490 GPU EVGA 2070 Super 8 GB https://www.microcenter.com/product/609535/evga-geforce-rtx-2070-super-black-gaming-overclocked-dual-fan-8gb-gddr6-pcie-30-video-card

$199 CPU 3600x https://www.microcenter.com/product/608319/amd-ryzen-5-3600x-38ghz-6-core-am4-boxed-processor-with-wraith-spire-cooler

$115 Mobo MSI B450 MAX Tomohawk ATX https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Arsenal-Crossfire-Motherboard-Tomahawk/dp/B07WF6ZQST

$70 RAM Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory https://www.amazon.com/Ballistix-Single-PC4-24000-288-Pin-Memory/dp/B07M9HZFP2/

$72 Case NZXT H510 https://www.microcenter.com/product/606972/nzxt-h510-tempered-glass-atx-mid-tower-computer-case---black-white

$75 PSU EVGA GQ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017HA3SQ8

EDIT: I have the following 1TB SSD but it's unopened and within the return window if there's advice on another SSD or NVMe: https://www.microcenter.com/product/502942/samsung-860-evo-1tb-ssd-3-bit-mlc-v-nand-sata-iii-6gb-s-25-internal-solid-state-drive

Notes:

GPU - I was also considering the 5700XT which gets pretty cheap at Micro Center. I feel like the 2070 Super is worth the upgrade, but I'd like some input here.

Mobo - I was also looking at the Asrock B450 which is $65 cheaper at Micro Center when combined with the CPU. I was reading that you need a 2nd Gen Ryzen to flash the BIOS though? Also that it's not as good for overclocking.

Windows - Is this guide for free windows legit? https://www.windowscentral.com/you-do-not-need-activate-windows-10

Cooling - Are there any cooling concerns with this build? Aftermarket coolers I should buy or fans I should add to the case?

General advice - I've built a PC in the past but just kind of plugging everything in and hoping it worked. Any guides that you could give me would be appreciated. Voltages to check, how to overclock the CPU, overclocking the RAM, any fine tuning for the GPU, testing to make sure the IPS monitor doesn't have backlight bleeding, I've never used a modular power supply before, etc.

> I am not sure about the motherboard, b150m seems to be fine though, cheap, I don't need overclocking, are there similar but better ones?

B150M is perfect for something like this. I prefer the one in my build below for its M.2 slot without being more expensive.

> Is the PSU Overkill?

600W is more than needed, but a bigger problem is that 76€ is way too expensive for that psu. It is solid, not great, and for that price you already get great psus.

> Is there any Case out there, without optical drives or cages and low cost?

You can look at the Kolink Satellite, if your gpu fits in there. Otherwise I'd suggest simply getting a cheaper normal case.

pc-kombo shared list

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i3-6100 | EUR 109,00 @ Mindfactory
Motherboard | GIGABYTE B150M-DS3H | EUR 77,57 @ Amazon.de
Memory | Crucial CT8G4DFD8213 (8 GB) | EUR 26,36 @ Amazon.de
Case | Cooler Master N300 | EUR 45,80 @ Amazon.de
Power Supply | Seasonic G550 (550 W) | EUR 87,00 @ Amazon.de
| Total | €353.72
| Generated by pc-kombo 21.06.2016 |

Note that the 550W psu is only for the GTX 580. The GTX 970 uses less energy and would also work perfectly fine with a 450W psu, like this superflow which is 20€ cheaper. If the GTX 580 will run in there only for a short time period, then the 450W psu will handle that as well without a problem and you can get it instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | $203.37 @ Amazon
Motherboard | MSI H110M PRO-D Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $47.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory | $28.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $49.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card | $299.40 @ Amazon
Case | Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case | $43.38 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $79.98 @ Amazon
Optical Drive | Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer | $17.59 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) | $85.97 @ Amazon
Monitor | Sceptre E248W-1920 60Hz 24.0" Monitor | $99.99 @ Amazon
Keyboard | AmazonBasics KU-0833 +MSU0939 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse | $14.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $971.64
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-24 03:49 EDT-0400 |

All Amazon, so you can take full advantage of that sweet, fast, free Prime shipping! Other vendors had slightly lower prices but I have the feeling that Hawaii shipping would kill the savings.

Webcam: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008ZVRAQS/?tag=pcgedit-20&ascsubtag=bestwebcam

"Gaming" kb/m combo if you like LEDs, only $5 more: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A7WHWE2

I went slightly overkill on the PSU. It has flawless stability and is fully modular. I feel like a build of this price deserves a top notch PSU, but since you're not overclocking, it's not entirely necessary. You could save $30 by going down to this one, and be fine with no performance impact.

One last thing: The GTX 1070 is coming out on June 10 at $379. It's expected to be more powerful than the 980 Ti (which a $600 card), making it much stronger and a much better value than the 970 I put in the build. It does put you over budget, and supply is likely to be an issue when it launches, so you may end up waiting longer than you'd prefer. I would personally wait, but if you'd like to dig in ASAP, I suggest buying EVGA. They have a step-up program that lets you upgrade within 90 days of purchase, provided you register your product within 15 days. Check it out and think it over!

So, presumably, you're going to want different sections to have lights which operate independently from each other. Lights in this "room" lights in another "room" lights somewhere else yet. And also, presumably, you don't want it to be "all on" or "all off," but different sections that turn on when players are there, leaving the other sections off.

All sections will require power in order to operate, but it won't be necessary to run power cables willy nilly all over the board for this. Instead, you can run two lines - one positive, and one negative - back to your power source. It's similar to a breadboard in that you have power lines running the full length so you can tap power wherever you need it. I personally would run something like 14AWG wire to a series of screw down terminals, which will be where you connect any "room" circuits up.

I personally would change your design to use LEDs instead of incandescent bulbs. The incandescent bulbs will require a much higher voltage, which will require more expensive reed switches, and will also pose more hazard to work with and for the players. It definitely can be done safely at 120V, but it will be less work for better results (that will also last longer) if you switch. Using say, 12V DC for power, you can leave your power rails exposed if you want and it won't be a risk even if someone is touching them.

Here is a hastily drawn wiring schematic for you, which shows one light that would be activated by standing upon 6 different tiles. The black and red lines up top are your power rails. On one end, each of those is connected to a + (red) and - (black) on a power source. I would recommend something like this or even like this depending upon what your actual power requirements end up being. My overwhelming suspicion is your entire board, even if every fixture was lighted, would still be consuming less than 24W (if you go LED!). The cluster of 6 of the same item to the left are a bank of switches. Power is drawn off the + rail, and if any one switch is closed, power will continue to flow to the LED (purple), which is attached to the - rail to close the circuit. This can be scaled up or down almost infinitely - more LEDs on from one switch or switch bank - no problem - more or less switches - no problem. You can make as many of these set ups as you want, and attach them to the same rails - no problem!

To be honest, reading your post it sounds like still have some work to go to reach even a fundamental understanding of electrical circuitry. That's of course ok and not intended as a diss. This is partially why I recommend switching to a lower voltage of DC power (although it is what I would do personally as well), but also I would recommend you continue working on the fundamentals - it will make designing your project a lot easier. Here's a kinda whack video for kids but it's the most digestible one I was able to find in quickly searching. I also found this really cool lab software which will allow you to create simulations of the concepts you've learned about. If you need help or have specific questions, feel free to ask. Also, if you've got a design of your board laid out in a grid and you know where you want lights, switches, etc, I can help you turn that into a wiring diagram.

With the chassis you chose, and the socket, these coolers will work (I have the same case and similar socket): https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16835608042

Technically, the 120mm version of that cooler will fit, but only if you get lucky. The top of the 120mm cooler has heat pipes that have been crimped off and sealed. If one of those heat pipe crimps is too high, you wont be able to close the lid on the chassis (speaking from experience).

Don't skimp on power, it is the lifeblood of the system. Get something like this instead: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IKDETOW The link you provided for the Xeons is for the RAM, so I don't know how much power consumption you will have, or how many drives you wish to spin up. The 750w power supply will be sufficient, and give you some headroom in case you want to fill all 15 drives bays, 2x HBA cards, and a 10g NIC later down the road. .

Word of warning on the case; it's awesome for the price, but has ZERO cable management. It will be tough to have a neat build. Also, the weight of the case by itself, is enough to bend/bow the long side of the case. Always properly support the case when you pick it up. Aaaaaaaaannd, the fans are absolute trash.

Budget wise, if you have too choose, spend more on the power supply than the coolers.

Good luck!

after doing some research of your psu, it seems to be fine... i take back my statement about it burning out. but if you still want to upgrade. i recommend better or best.

good http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EON40CS

better http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151118

better http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104199

best http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010HWDPKW

Hey p_orsk,

So glad to hear that we have another HomeLabber in our midst. I just thought I would take a minute and share with you my current build that has suited me very well. It is completely silent and power efficient, while still powerful enough to do what you want plus more. My build was also built to be small profile so this build is built around a Micro-ITX case. This build cost me $500 in the US in 2017, don't quite know what the price would be now.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler
  
• Motherboard: ASUS PRIME A320M-K AMD Ryzen AM4 DDR4 HDMI VGA M.2 USB 3.1 Micro-ATX Motherboard
  
• PSU: EVGA 430 W1, 80+ WHITE 430W
  
• RAM: HyperX FURY Black 16GB Kit (2x8GB) 2133MHz DDR4
  
  As I said, this build should be completely silent. I went into the BIOS settings and turned it on Power-Saver mode for good measure, which makes things run a bit warmer, but keeps fan speeds down.
  
  I didn't list storage here, as it sounds like you got that covered. This motherboard also supports M.2 if you want to add that later.
  
  If I can make one suggestion, I would highly recommend getting into Virtualization. My poison of choice is Proxmox. I could really get into this, but it really helps when you are trying to expand.
  
  If you have any other questions, feel free to comment on this post, or shoot me a DM. I would be happy to help!
  
  [EDIT] This is just my experience. You will get 110 different answers from 100 different people in this world. You kinda just have to tinker to get what works for you.

Here it is with better formatting, for all the other peeps :)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor | $57.33 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | MSI B150M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $49.89 @ OutletPC
Memory | Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory | $26.90 @ Amazon
Storage | Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $54.00 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $47.78 @ NCIX US
Case | DIYPC P48-W ATX Mid Tower Case | $31.97 @ Newegg
Power Supply | Thermaltake TR2 500W ATX Power Supply | $42.79 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit | $88.58 @ OutletPC
Wireless Network Adapter | TP-Link TL-WDN4800 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter | $34.98 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $454.22
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| Total | $434.22
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-15 19:35 EDT-0400 |

Btw are you not going with G4560 because the newer gen mobo's are expensive? If budget is not that much an issue get the newer G4560 and the B250M mobo for like $20-30 more :)


PSU: Can someone confirm if this is a viable option for OP, if it is go for it instead.

SSD is a really nice touch kudos on that.

For case, I would recommend this instead and buy the PSU from amazon as well with code EARTH10 that way you will get an instant $10 off.

P.S. here is what I build for around the same price :)

Edit: Get CPU, ram, SSD and HDD from jet.com with TRIPLE15 or SPRING15 for discounts :)

-1070/7700 is a great combo. I went for the 7600k and wish I spent the $100 or so more on the 7700. You'll be able to play 90% of everything at max settings and push 100+ FPS. The z270 series mobo's are sweet. You may need to do xmp to get the RAM to work @2400.

-I don't know if it's available by you but this motherboard comes with a free wifi/bluetooth card.

-I was looking at the Noctua fan, decided against it as it looked like a pain in the ass to install. Cryorig H7 is straight forward and relatively quiet (once I adjusted fan curves)

-Consider upgrading the PSU to a gold version. EVGA makes some very nice units like this which is modular, so cables are easier to work with.

Other than that, everything is solid; I'd maybe upgrade the SSD to an M.2 NVME for faster boot speeds, etc, but that's just me.

Check out https://pcpartpicker.com/ It's a great utility to let you know if everything is compatible, while also showing links for pricing.

1. Yes, but actually no. The ROG X470-F doesn't support USB BIos Flashback, which would allow you to update your BIOS to the current Ryzen 3000 series BIOS. You can also upgrade the BIOS through a retailer such as Frys or the Microcenter and they will update it at little cost. This list here will show you the motherboards compatible with USB Bios Flashback if that isn't an option. X570 boards are also an option but start at $169.99.
   
   https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/bvfo57/list_of_b350_b450_x370_and_x470_motherboards_with/
   
   
2. Yes. When benchmarked against a 100$ AIO 360mm cooler, it yields 4.125GHz vs 4.2Ghz. A totally overlooked part of AMDs value proposition.
   
   
3. Yes, its a very well built PSU, but there are alternatives for cheaper: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LYGFRL6/?tag=pcpapi-20 Own this unit myself, and is silent, and steady 12V rails for OC.
   
   
4. Look at youtube tutorials. Even though it may sound dumb, those really help if you get stuck on something, but manuals are 10000% useful.
   
   
5. Yes, and the boards I recommended (Get a higher quality B450 board if you want to stick with it for a long time) will be able to upgrade through the next generation Ryzen as Ryzen's next-gen CPU's will be compatible on your mobo.
   
   
6. No, it's a very balanced build in fact.
   
   
7. Yes, but the Focus G is Arcylic and doesn't have the best build quality compared to other cases for a bit more.
   
   Here are two I enjoy recommending: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/qZjJ7P/corsair-carbide-spec-06-atx-mid-tower-case-cc-9011145-ww
   
   https://pcpartpicker.com/product/zHndnQ/phanteks-eclipse-p350x-blackwhite-atx-mid-tower-case-ph-ec350ptg_dbw
   
   
8. Nothing I didn't mention above :)
   
   Hope you have a wonderful night!

Yes
XFX's powersupplies, as those are made in the same factories as Seasonic.



Seasonic arguably makes the best powersupply units in the world, I have nothing but praise for their units.
I've worked a lot of times with the G -Series 550watt and that would be perfect for you. It's quite a bit more expensive than your current PSU, I'm always a big advocate to spending a good chunk on a PSU as it's a really important component.

this XFX TS shares tons of components with the Seasonic units.

EVGA's Supernova G2 550watt also gets a lot of praise.

I'd go with one of those models. Buy good PSU now and have nothing to worry about for years to come :)

1. CPU - Ryzen 7 2700X
   
2. Cooler - Included with cpu, pretty good ,can manage a small overclock as well(so I have read)
   
3. GPU - If possible, tell your friend to get this gpu- Evga rtx 2070 utlra
   
4. Motherboard - MSI B450 pro ac
   
5. RAM - I have two options here which I will choose depending on budget
   
   

• G.Skill 16GB DDR F4-3200C16D-16GVKB (11.2k)
  
• 16gb is the sweet spot according to me.
  
  

1. SSD - ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 256GB PCIe M.2 2280 3D NAND Solid State Driv
   
2. HDD - WD Blue 1 TB (3k)
   
3. PSU - If possible ,tell your friend to get you this psu-Evga g3 650w gold fully modular psu
   
4. Cabinet - Antec P7 (~4k)
   
   Total:-105247
   
   I listed the evga gpu and psu to tell your friend to bring from the usa as the company offers global warranty.
   
   Hope I wrote nothing wrong,lol!Can somebody please crosscheck the post?
   
   ​
   
   Congratulations to OP on their first pc build!

SanDisk as a brand isn't bad, but COULD BE better. See if you can spring for a Samsung drive. It's not like it's C or D tier, but Sandisk isn't A tier that's for sure. The MSI board you've chosen is probably fine; but we've seen some issues with reliability over time - especially with the more budget-focused sub 100 dollar boards.

GPU is a bargain. Great cooling on it. Phanteks is kicking butt in the case market these days. Corsair always amazing -- BUT their TXM line is NOT high quality. It's built by a third party manufacturer last I checked.

See if you can spring for an EVGA G3. Worlds better quality.

I tried using an older Pi to host my pi-hole and compared it to a newer 3b+ and found no real difference in DNS lookups, but updates and the web interface were a lot slower and some things would run out of memory on the really old Pi. Ordered a second 3b+ and replaced the old Pi.

Power supply quality is critical, get a good one from Adafruit or Canakit.

A case is important to protect the Pi from damage, something simple is good enough, a dog-bone style works well and is a bit cooler if you have a safe place to mount the Pi, a more fully enclosed one is safer if the Pi is going to be banging around with a bunch of other stuff. Cooler really doesn't matter in a home install unless you are going to add something to your Pi that will cause it to run hot, fans, heatsinks and such really aren't needed.

SD cards are cheap, Samsung or Sandisk 32 GBs are excellent and you save pennies by going cheaper or smaller.

For Ethernet there is little difference in cables for the lengths you'll be using, and standard cable will work, get one a couple feet longer than the minimum and you'll have slack to work with.

So Pi, power supply, case, SD card and Ethernet cable will get you set up with a very nice Pi-hole.

EVGA Bronze 500W PSU. $56 as I type this. If you want cheaper, here's the same Bronze supply but with a 'fluid dynamic' fan bearing which probably is noisier. $46. Both of these supplies come with a 3 year warranty.


I hear only great things about EVGA's customer support. If you want to step up to their bulletproof line, the 550W G2 Supernova is a fantastic PSU but doesn't come in under your price range. I have the 850W G2 supply and I love it.

Then your choices for a case are only limited to itx, nearly every tower case you come across will support mATX and ATX, then you have Full Tower cases that would make that little motherboard seem out of place. Tons and tons of good options from $60 and up.

As others have touched on, a good modular power supply unit will not only be more efficient/reliable (especially if you want to OC anything!), it will help take care of cable management. I have always went for "full modular", semi modular will have a 'pony tail' with the motherboard, cpu, and gpu connectors rolled into one. It's nice to be able to route each PSU cable where you want imo.

So then there are your two main issues, cable management and airflow. You have a decision to make regarding the case, I understand liking how a prebuilt case looks because some do look nice. If you want to stick with that case you need to figure out how to mod it to increase airflow. Generally speaking, switching to a aftermarket case will be simple and increase your cooling performance twice over without having to mod a thing.

I use and always recommend EVGA PSU's because they generally perform great in benchmarks and come with a 10yr warranty: 550w Gold

If it were me I'd build in this case just for the hell of it for $40: CM Masterbox

Here's another case that would be good in your situation: Corsair Air 240

All depends on your budget.

The power supply needs to be a micro USB one (sorry I forgot to mention that). So like a phone charger. I find my Samsung phone charger works fine - it is only something like 2.1A so occasionally I get slowdown (a little lightning symbol appears on the screen which means "Low voltage"), so ideally find a 5V micro USB charger at 2.5A for optimal performance. On the USA Amazon site, this one is good: https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Supply-Adapter-Charger/dp/B00MARDJZ4 But if you have a micro USB phone charger already, you could just try it and see if it works.

For the control pads, yeah if they work with a PC through USB then it should hopefully work on the Retropie as well. It's pretty much plug and play - when you put a new controller in, it asks you to press some keys and it is all set up automatically.

Don't know which websites in Canada would be good sorry. Where I am from I just went into a local electronics shop and got everything (Raspberry Pis are actually pretty common, you don't even have to go to a dedicated computer shop).

Yeah. For example, You can get Asus M32 pre-built from Amazon for 399$. Its a rig with i5-6400, 8GB of RAM, 1TB 7200 HDD, and Windows 10 bundled. Also has basic keyboard and mouse. The case is kinda meh, but it has 80mm exhaust fan, and Skylake CPUs are very cool running anyway. A perfect fit for it would actually be a reference RX 480 - because of blower cooler design, it will not cause a buildup of heat inside the case, and thus the subpar airflow is not much of an issue.

So, thats 399$ for the rig, 199$ for RX 480 4GB version, and 40$ for a decent 600w power supply. You don't actually need 600w for that rig - but PSU is a good investment, watts don't get obsolete so you can re-use it in the future, and 500-400w units are not that much cheaper anyway. Thats 650$ in total for a rig with i5, 8GB of RAM, RX 480 - a perfect set-up for 1080p gaming.

You can then buy a VX2257-MHD - which is a 1080p-60Hz monitor with FreeSync. Thats another 150$.

So, we have a fully working gaming rig now, for 800$. Which means - there is still 100$ free in the budget. So, 240GB SSD for 65$ is an obvious choice at this point.

Total cost ~865$. For a rig that can max out pretty much any game at 1080p, with FreeSync.

This is more or less how you do it.

Compatible? Yes. Recommended for an 8700k system? No.

The "Haswell" compatibility thing had to do with a change between 3rd gen and 4th gen processors and how 4th gen handled power in certain scenarios (the C7 sleep state, in particular). It's mainly to say that you shouldn't really use a PSU from earlier generations on a system 4th Gen or later (though, technically, there isn't anything that could stop you, as they have the same plugs and pinouts).

For an 8700k/1070 system, I would recommend nothing less than 600w Bronze rated, particularly if you want to overclock (which, with a k series processor, you likely do). Even then, while adequate, I would really recommend something 600w or more, and Gold rated.

The 80+ "Colour/Metal" rating on power supplies is in regards to efficiency, and with that, overall quality of the PSU (compared to other PSUs from that manufacturer). There's 80+ White, 80+ Bronze, 80+ Silver (which isn't common), 80+ Gold, 80+ Platinum and 80+ Titanium, going from lowest efficiency (and typically lowest component quality and warranty length) to highest efficiency. The one you linked is of the lowest efficiency rating

It's all about how much power a PSU draws from the wall in order to give you the power your computer needs. The extra power drawn is generally bled off as heat waste. So, the more efficient the PSU is rated, the less "extra" it needs to pull from the wall, and ultimately the less heat it generates in the process. So, while they cost more, the higher rated the PSU, the less it'll cost you on your power bill (compared to the same wattage at a lower efficiency rating), the less heat will radiate into the system, and the less the fan will need to run (which means less noise).

It can also affect overclocking, as the more efficient units will also typically supply a cleaner (more even, less spiky) power delivery to the components, which helps stability when pushing your speeds.

As a minimum I would recommend something like this EVGA or Corsair, and would personally choose something like these Gold rated EVGA or Corsair units.

I would also recommend looking up the PSUs on ca.pcpartpicker.com, as they will pull pricing from a number of different Canadian PC part retailers (including Amazon) and allow you to see the difference and pick the lowest option (though, they don't always factor in shipping costs, and it doesn't always immediately update if it's out of stock at a particular retailer).

I posted below, but if you're looking for a solid switching power supply for ~$30, here you go: http://amzn.com/B00D7CWSCG <- I have specifically purchased this one from this vender several times to great success. There are a number of people in my go kit group that have tested these as well and they provide clean 12VDC.

• You'll have to wire up an electrical plug and 12V out.
  
• Always exercise caution when dealing with household current.
  
• Make sure you understand household wiring (black =hot, white = neutral, green/bare = ground).
  
• Don't trust the colors to be correct.
  
• Make sure the power supply is set to match your house (115 in US)
  
• Use a multimeter to check each wire before attaching to the power supply.
  
• Use a power strip to test plugging in, they have their own circuit breaker
  
• User a multimeter to check 12V is coming out.
  
• There is a screw you can turn to adjust output voltage. I suggest you keep it above 12V, but as low as will run your equipment. If you find equipment turning off on transmit, raise it up. The higher you raise it, the more the fan will run. I optimize for quiet because these run on my desk. If you don't mind the fan noise, set it at 13.8V.
  
  

Yup, gold is definitely the way to go. For your build, a 550W or a 650W be enough for a lot. I've tried EVGA, they are a great company!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LWTS2UL/ref=twister_B01LXKQ07C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Above is the G3, fairly new line of EVGA's modular 80+ Gold Black cables. Only $5 more than the G2.
Why choose this, you may ask? It's new, it's modular, it's 80 Gold, and it got black cables so your cable management can look super nice over your preferred case.

Also, the Sandisk SSD is okay, but I would much rather get a WD blue or a Crucial MX300 for the price. Unless it's a hand-me down, it's fine. https://www.amazon.com/250GB-Internal-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B01LXDQX35/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1496963328&sr=8-8&keywords=crucial+mx300

You're a really nice guy, congrats!

I going with a red and black theme, not important but figured I would mention it. I was given this case, power supply, 4 1tb seagates, and a bunch of red LED corsair fans from a friend to "start me off".

EDIT: this is the model of the PS

EDIT2: so everyone seems to be pushing for the cheaper Mobo and the better processor, this doesn't make sense to me at all and has me really confused. I was always taught (granted my knowledge is outdated) that getting the better Mobo is the best thing you can do because things like CPUs and Cards can always be updated and switched out later on. Isnt the Mobo the backbone of the build? why would you want to skimp in the heart of the PC?

1st off on the case, the case I recommended had fans with it already as well. The Rosewill had more and better fans, but is smaller. I think that would be good as it would save you $50.

As for PSU, if you get the cheaper case, I would recommend Corsair RM Series 650 Watt 80+ gold certified.

If not, for $77/$80 the EVGA Supernova 650w g1 or Corsair CS Series 650 Watt

Really though, any 80+ gold certified 650W PSU will do very nicely. Maybe a little too much if you would like to get other things, you could could save by getting a 80+ bronze certified one. As long as it's 650W. Some brands to note are Rosewill, Corsair, and EVGA

I would get [this water cooler instead of yours] (http://smile.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Performance-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B00A0HZMGA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1407431857&sr=1-1&keywords=liquid+cooler) it's cheaper and I believe it'll be better overall. If you want to save more money, AMD right now has a better price/performance ratio than Nvidia does at the moment, so I'd recommend a [R9 290] (http://smile.amazon.com/XFX-Double-947MHz-Graphics-R9290AEDFD/dp/B00HHIPM5Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1407431962&sr=1-2&keywords=XFX+R9+290) or even a [R9 290x] (http://smile.amazon.com/XFX-Double-1000MHz-Graphics-R9290XEDFD/dp/B00HHIPN5A/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1407431986&sr=1-1&keywords=XFX+R9+290x). Unless you have a strong Nvidia preference I would go with AMD, better bang for your buck. I have the XFX R9 290 and it is an amazing card for the price. For your PSU go with a better brand like [this Corsair one] (http://smile.amazon.com/Corsair-Modular-Bronze-ATX12V-EPS12V/dp/B00ALK3KEM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1407432062&sr=1-1&keywords=PSU) it's cheaper and has more power to offer. Otherwise it looks good.

So you tried without the power strip and on a different circuit and it didn't go away? The problem your running into here is it's a fairly old system, so even if you're willing to spend some, is it worth it?

You could invest in a PSU tester they're pretty cheap. But I've never used one before so I can't say if it would show a fault related to your problem. Or take it in to someone, but the cost more than likely doesn't really justify it. You could phone around and see if any shops will diagnose for free. Doubt they will, but it's worth a shot I guess.

Do you have any geek friends. I know I have a couple of backup PSUs just kicking around, so maybe a geek friend would have an extra one to troubleshoot with. Are you interested in eventually upgrading your system or is it still pretty useful?

If you are, you could always use the PSU in the future build. And to be quite frank, trying to replace that MB will be more trouble than it's worth IMHO. It'd be ebay and finding one that wasn't faulty would be hard. Or at least 50 bucks for brand new, if you can find a AM3+ board.

Edited: posted before I was finished writing. lol

Here's the basic parts list to build a bucket like this:

• 2x 5 Gal buckets with lids (one for res, one for light top.) More buckets for spacers. (check your home improvement store of choice.)
  
• A big roll of black duct tape. This
  
• A roll of FlexFix tape. This
  
• A couple of space blankets. This
  
• A can of 3M spray adhesive. This is the good stuff
  
• 5x light sockets with plug ends. These
  
• 5x Philips SlimStyle LED "75w" 2700k. These
  
• Some heatshrink tubing. Looks good
  
• Some lamp cord and hookup wire. This, And This
  
• A roll of flux/rosin core solder. Your Choice, this looks okay
  
• An airpump. This one is awesome, This will do
  
• Some airstones. [This] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JLA83C/)
  
• A distribution manifold. At least a 3 way
  
• Some air lines. This, Or This
  
• A length of 3/4" pvc pipe and a plug (check your home improvement store of choice).
  
• A water dripper system. [This] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002JAY6E/)
  
• Either a netpot and a bucket lid with a hole cut in it OR a premade netpot/bucket lid. This if you want to save some work
  
• Some PC fans. [These are nice and cheap] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NTUJZ36/)
  
• A PSU to run the fans and LED strip side lights you might add on spacers. This. It's 80+ at least. I had a few extra PSUs around. I wouldn't use one that isn't at least 80+ since it will be running 24/7.
  
  Lots of this stuff can be had cheaper at a home improvement or pet store. Check around. You'll need a soldering iron (I like my adjustable 40w), a drill and drill bits up to 3/4" (I like step bits for work on plastic), a heatgun or lighter to shrink that heatshrink tubing. An infrared thermometer is nice to have and can tell you the temp of your nutrients, the plant itself, your lights, etc...Just make sure to calibrate it first, all the cheap ones are inaccurate by at least a few degrees.
  

GET THIS MOTHERBOARD INSTEAD AS IT HAS A WAY BETTER VRM THAT CAN HANDLE A 3950X OC https://www.amazon.com/Asus-Prime-X570-P-Ryzen-Motherboard/dp/B07SW925DR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UOR2QTMTWTID&keywords=asus+x570p&qid=1572971920&sprefix=asus+x570+%2Caps%2C358&sr=8-1

OR THIS IF YOU NEED WIFI

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-TUF-X570-Plus-Motherboard-Lighting/dp/B07SXF8GY3/ref=sr_1_2?crid=UOR2QTMTWTID&keywords=asus+x570p&qid=1572971920&sprefix=asus+x570+%2Caps%2C358&sr=8-2

RYZEN IS NOTORIOUS FOR HAVING ISSUES WITH CORSAIR RAM SO GET ONE OF THESE INSTEAD

https://www.amazon.com/G-Skill-Ripjaws-PC4-28800-CL16-19-19-39-F4-3600C16D-16GVKC/dp/B07X8DVDZZ/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2XCCYAGMPGNW6&keywords=ddr4+3600&qid=1572972012&sprefix=DDR4+3600%2Caps%2C381&sr=8-5

OR

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WVT8SGF/ref=dp_cerb_2

SSD

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Rocket-Internal-Performance-SB-ROCKET-1TB/dp/B07KGMBCKD/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=NVME%2BSSD&qid=1572972195&s=electronics&sr=1-6&th=1

THAT BEQUIET PSU IS WAY OVERPRICED GET THIS INSTEAD

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Modular-Warranty-220-G3-0650-Y1/dp/B01LYGFRL6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=FGOJGR74XJKV&keywords=evga+650w&qid=1572972243&sprefix=EVGA+6%2Caps%2C369&sr=8-1

GPU WISE WHY ARE YOU GETTING A 2060S, IF ITS FOR RTX THEN PLS DONT, MY 2080 SUCKS AT RTX.

https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Graphics-256-Bit-Gv-R57XTGAMING-OC-8GD/dp/B07W95D5V3/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1FK3863HZDJT1&keywords=5700+xt&qid=1572972451&s=electronics&sprefix=57%2Celectronics%2C364&sr=1-5

GET THE 5700XT AS IT PERFORMS CLOSER TO THE 2070S FOR THE SAME PRICE (THIS ONE IS 10$ CHEAPER)

COOLER WISE,

IF YOU WANT AN AIO THIS ONE IS BETTER

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Liquid-Cooler-Cooling-400-HY-CL28-V1/dp/B01N16CAKN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OCFL4DYDBT86&keywords=evga+clc+280&qid=1572972539&sprefix=EVGA+CL%2Caps%2C345&sr=8-1

I'D PERSONALLY STICK WITH THE WRAITH PRIZM AS THERE IS NO NEED TO UPGGRADE UNLESS YOU WANT THAT SWEET 4.4GHZ OC. IF YOU WANT TO OC GET THE COOLER ABOVE

IF YOU WANT AN AIR COOLER, GET THIS

https://www.amazon.com/NOCTUA-NH-D15-chromax-Black-Dual-Tower-Cooler/dp/B07Y3CTQNT/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1QU9QXYJISXDX&keywords=noctua+nh-d15+ltt&qid=1572972675&sprefix=noctua+nh-d15+L%2Caps%2C338&sr=8-3

IF YOU LIVE NEAR A MICROCENTER YOU CAN GET WAY BETTER DEALS THERE.

Hello!

After some reading (mostly of /u/JDM_WAAAT's posts) I decided to build my own (instead of buying one). I used the $135 build as a base with some modifications (mainly, case).

Goal: Server with UnRAID, will run Plex with a couple of transcodes (no more than three, but I need the transcodes for subtitles), maybe to learn about VMs on my own, and as a place to keep my data centralized (and easy to back up SOMEWHERE ELSE).

CPU X3450 - $24.00


Mobo X8SIL-F - $44.99


RAM 2x4GB PC3-10600E - $39.95


CPU Cooler - $10


PSU EVGA 500 W1 - $40


Case Cooler Master N400 - $60

I bought two WD EasyStores last weekend that I intend to shuck, and I will look in BuildaPCSales for some good SSDs for a cache pool.

My main question is: any other motherboard recommended that would support HDDs and SSDs? The final goal would be three SSDs (one unassigned just for plex, two for a cache pool) and six HDDs (2x8GB parity, 4x8GB storage). As is right now the build is $219, I'm willing to push up to $250, or $300 if necessary, unless what I want is a wild dream and need to learn more before making these kinds of decisions.

As a fellow Mac user, who also has a prusa mendel; I would highly recommend you use OctoPrint + a Raspberry Pi 3. This may not be a just starting out configuration but it makes life a lot easier in controlling the printer.

I use Slic3r for Mac configured to talk to the OctoPrint server through an API call, and I can send gcode to my printer across the network from the Slic3r application. With the RPi camera installed I can keep an eye on my prints without having to be in the same room.

Also you may be happier with:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D7CWSCG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ME5YAPK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This PSU is a bit cheaper than your standard ATX PSU, it may be a good choice if you're looking to try this hobby out as cheaply as possible. It is a more difficult way of going because you will need to print something like:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:199089

To keep live 120VAC from being exposed on your bench.

Path of least resistance to getting started:

Slic3r > Repetier Host or PronterFace or Cura > Printer

The best way I've found (easiest):

Slic3r > OctoPrint

Seeing as I have the same printer and host OS configuration, feel free to DM me and I'll answer any questions you may have.

So i made an alternate pcpartpicker list for you that is more focused on intel. the 9600k is much better for gaming than 2700x, just keep that in mind (Despite it having less cores)

Here are my thoughts. Just know im a little biased towards intel over ryzen at this budget

would you consider a slightly faster processor. My build was the same except I got a 9700k with a noctua nh-d15

the 9700k will make your computer much more upgradeable in the future and you wont have to rebuild as often


Other notes: Powersupply is def too expensive

if you are student try and see if you can get student version of office. all you need is a .edu address

Big One: CHECK AMAZONWAREHOUSE for used monitors. A lot of times they run the used price -20% of base price of total monitor after you put it in shopping cart. i got ASUS ROG PG279Q for like 280 on there. the ASUS ROG PG279Q does not have that special deal right now but another 1440p 144hz+ monitor might.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00N2L5CXO/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

for monitor you picked on amazon used deals (there is no special 20% off on that monitor right now)

Ram: Your RAM is massively overkill but it is a good choice for 2700x.. Only get that RAM if you get an AMD. I still would recommend 9700k or 9600k imo over that, but i am biased towards intel so keep that in mind. just remmeber you can save some money on ram if you get intel. Also, I only have 8 gb of ram and it works fine with my build and things i do (Gaming)

-That motherboard seems a bit pricey for ryzen, but I dont really know about ryzen boards. I just know that htey are generally cheaper than intel boards and that MB is running hte same price as my intel board

-don't get that cooler. just use stock cooler. I think someone else already said it but the stock cooler is fine with ryzen. only get a cooler for ryzen if you get a good one

Note: power supplies are really cheap on amazon warehouse right now

check out used version of this power supply
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IKDETOW/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A2L77EE7U53NWQ&psc=1#

it is much higher quality and is same price as your power supply but is

Overall pick this build if you are primarily gaming imo

Hey, good build!

• It's possible that the price of cryptocurrencies change in a way that makes 1060's and RX cards lose demand, but honestly it's impossible to know with certainty.
  
• The 3GB performs very similarly to the 6GB 1060. On a tight budget I would definitely recommend the 3GB card or the 1050 ti that you have selected.
  

• There aren't really any changes you could make that would decrease the cost while also having minimal impact on speed (other than a smaller HDD)
  

  
  

  Here's your build but with a few changes:
  

  
  

  PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
  

  
  

  Type|Item|Price
  

  ----|:----|:----
  CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor | $269.99 @ Amazon Canada
  Motherboard | ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard | $109.99 @ Newegg Canada
  Memory | G.Skill - Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $159.99 @ Memory Express
  Storage | Kingston - A400 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $74.99 @ Memory Express
  Storage | Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $79.99 @ Amazon Canada
  Video Card | Zotac - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card | $169.99 @ Mike's
  Case | Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case | $64.99 @ Amazon Canada
  Power Supply | EVGA - 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $49.99 @ Amazon Canada (Not listed on PCPartPicker)
  | |
  | Total | $979.92
  | Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-02 22:09 EDT-0400 |
  
  

• Changed your motherboard to the B350 chipset. This will allow you to overclock your processor for greater performance. If you are really against overclocking, you can stick with the motherboard you had originally selected.
  
• Swapped out your RAM for a faster set, only adding $5 to the overall cost.

Best I can recommend is the EVGA 650 SuperNOVA G3 here. However, it is $100 right now which is a bit expensive for it. I only like fully modular power supplys and love the eco switch on the G3, however, if you want a lower cost go for the superNOVA NEX here. Good luck!

edit: Please note the NEX does not have a eco switch, which keeps the fan not running in low power idle situations. The G3 has it. I recommend 650 for future upgrades.

edit 2: That moment I notice you're Aussie

Great motherboard for your build ! Best in class for the b450 platform IMO.

Few suggestions:

Cheaper yet more than decent keyboard

Take a safer/better SSD from a reputable brand: At least a DRAMless drive like a Crucial BX500 or a Kingston A400.

Here is a better, safer PSU for long term: the EVGA Supernova G2 550W

The stock Ryzen 2600 cooler is more than fine unless you plan on overclocking your stuff. You could save a little bit there instead of getting a single-fan AIO solution.

For the RAM, I can't really speak as I've never looking into 2x4Gb kits. Somebody else could review that.

Sorry, I worded a lot of this wrongly for I was quite rushed. I also left out some info for fear of the text box disappearing when I left my tab since I'm using my mobile device atm since I'm away from my desktop.

The power supply is the EVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W, which was one that EVGA reccomended after I used the tool they have for picking which one to use, but I'll also look into the one you selected since it seems to be decent.

When I said "plug into my Alienware," I meant the graphics card because, not lying, I used to plug my monitor into the Intel graphics card instead because I didn't understand that that HDMI port was the wrong one. This time, I meant that I don't know how my case works and whether the tower/case comes with a way to plug in a DisplayPort cord since I know that DVI-D and HDMI don't allow 144hz.

I'm strictly Nvidia, sorry, but I'm not into AMD. Also, I want to try out ShadowPlay (I currently use DxTory) and the GTX 555 sadly doesn't support that. I know AMD has amazing products, but I am the type of person that sticks with what they're used to unless something different is so much better that it would totally blow my mind (why I switched from iCancer to Android phones (the OnePlus 3T is such a phenomenal phone for such a low price, like woah)).

That whole optimization thing was something from a long time ago that I don't quite remember, but I think he said something along the lines of having to mess around with the processor or something to get the most out of the RAM I installed. Idk, I just know I took the old RAM sticks out and replaced them, turned my PC on, and it said I had 16 GB, so I was happy (although Chrome uses a good 30-50% depending on how many running tabs I have).

Also, I'm not 100% about the power supply I currently have. I just know the unit is probably about twice the size of an Xbox 360 power supply unit, if not 1.5x bigger.

Oh, and lastly, with the SSD partition or whatever it's called, I just know that it is the stock that it came with, so I think it's just an internal HDD. I would actually love to get an SSD for Windows and applications to work faster and speed up copying times, but I don't think I'll spend money on that yet. I'll probably upgrade that once I do a full upgrade to my PC, processor and everything. I'll probably do that in 3-5 years time or whenever 4K replaces 1080p in the gaming standard and 120 fps becomes the new basic benchmark for PC and even console gaming if the peasants decide to actually put effort into making their gaming experience more than just mediocre. Although mouse and keyboard will always beat controllers unless you're talking about Rocket League since that's a bit easier on controller.

So yeah, thanks for the extra help and listening to my elementary knowledge in the field of PC gaming rigs. Other than the AMD vs Nvidia change, do you think you can change anything from my change list that could potentially help my rig last for even more years to come?



Here are the links to the various upgrades I was looking at before making the original post:

GTX 1060 SC
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Support-Graphics-06G-P4-6161-KR/dp/B01IPVSLTC?th=1&psc=1

Acer 144hz monitor w/ G-Sync
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B2HH7G0

EVGA 500W Power Supply
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-WHITE-Warranty-Supply-100-W1-0430-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU?th=1&psc=1

And yes, I'm not a true Redditor since I don't know how to do hyperlinking and other things to these links on mobile version or even desktop tbh. Sorry about the shitty links.

Hey, not really sure why nobody else chimed in about this but I'm hoping I'm not too late on this suggestion. If you're getting a 2600 and looking to overclock at all (which is highly recommended), you'll want a motherboard with LLC available in the bios. That ASRock motherboard does not, to my knowledge.

This motherboard does, and has better VRMs. The trade-off would be that MSI doesn't have voltage offset available in their bios, but that's only relevant for Ryzen x series chips. So, for example, if you were buying a 2600x, I'd be more inclined to recommend your currently selected ASRock mobo over the one I linked.

This is without getting into any of the other feature differences between the boards, as the bios options / overclocking potential is a pretty notable divide between the two for your cpu.

Edit: Oh also, there have been some really good PSU deals over the last few days where I wouldn't recommend paying ~$80 for a 550w G2. While 550w is plenty for your build and more isn't necessary by any means, I'd recommend this as you'll be saving ~$20.

Definitely do not need a Z class motherboard for a locked CPU. You'll be paying money for too many features you wont be using.

Also, I see you removed it, but just to clarify, you won't need that 212 Evo CPU cooler if you aren't overclocking the CPU, either. (there are some caveats there, such as if the ambient air temperature of where you will have this computer is relatively high, or if airflow to the inside of your case is restricted, an aftermarket cooler might be smart. Otherwise the stock cooler the CPU comes with will be fine.)

That N200 case is meant to be real nice. I might have gotten it for the build I just finished if it were a bit more aesthetically attractive, but that's highly subjective. It's features/quality for price is good.

Your PSU is fine. Definitely go 80+ certified. You can save some money going for Bronze over Gold and staying with a standard design over modular. The N200 case offers some decent cable management so dealing with the attached bundle of cables from the PSU won't be too big of an issue. I got this one.

Solid build.

But you might want to consider not getting a Z97. Try to find a better deal on something else. You don't need it but if you can't it's fine to keep it cause it is a nice deal.

GPU will be suffice for what you want it for. Good price too.

Maybe this PSU to save 10 bucks.
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Continuous-Warranty-Supply-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU

There are little things that you can do to save a little here and there, but other than that you're good.

Yes, you will need a new PSU, as using an adapter introduces the risk of fire not only of the PSU itself, but of the cable as well.

Here are 2 suggestions for upgrades:

for something that is cheap, but still a good design for the price, this 500W Bronze-Rated PSU is a good start: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438012&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=


For about $20 more, you can get this Gold-Rated PSU that is excellently designed and will last you a long time: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0106RDI3W/?tag=pcpapi-20

*Bronze-rated means 80% efficiency at ~50% load (250W in this case), and Gold-rated means 90% efficiency at ~50% load.

This is my favorite set up to give friends. Looks good and mostly foolproof hardware wise!

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B

Rasptendo SNES Case (IMO, connect the power button as intended, but either solder the reset button as per the method mentioned in there or don't connect it at all. This way there's no way for the user to do a non-safe shutdown of the OS)

Dual fan heatsink

Bluetooth adapter (more reliable than built-in bluetooth, change /boot/config.txt to disable onboard Bluetooth)

PS3 SIXAXIS Controller (Dualshock 3's work too, but I like the legit OEM ones, and those are hard to find. The convincing bootlegs/fakes are usually impossible to tell apart from legit ones when ordering online. That's why I look for used SIXAXIS controllers - no bootlegs. Also, I use PS3 controllers because pairing can be done or re-done entirely by connecting up mini-USB cables. No menus necessary once you set it up the first time!)

Sandisk 64GB MicroSD

Canakit PSU

HDMI cable, Mini-USB cable.


-----

For a more serious, less user-friendly but more overclockable setup, ditch the case/heatsink above and go with these instead:

Some kind of heatsink, I'm using one from the Kintaro case but I suspect the cheap stick-on heatsinks are probably fine too

this open-air case (throw out the fan as it's way too loud... I'm sure other open-air cases will work but I like that this one has the 40mm setup for the below fan and the little grille to prevent curious fingers from getting in there at least)

this Noctua 40mm 5v fan (expensive, but quiet and provides solid cooling)

Everything he said is spot on. I have 4 cheap Chinese printers and those are all the recommended upgrades regardless of the brand.

I recommend this power supply. It can provide 50% more power and has a cooling fan.

These mosfets have worked very well for me and lowered bed heating times significantly as well as make your printer a lot safer.

Personally I haven't had any issues with the bed connector, but maybe some epoxy or hot glue would keep the wires from moving around too much.

One of the best upgrades I did was to flash Marlin onto the board as the stock firmware is kind of crappy.
This also allows the use of a Inductive proximity sensor which makes leveling the bed significantly easier.

The bearings he recommended, the Drylin ones, will make the movements of your printer a little smoother and a lot quieter.

The belts stretch. The ones from China are rarely reinforced. I'm lazy so i just tighten them every so often. But it would be worthwhile to just start with the higher end reinforced belts.

That aside, once your printer is up and running and somewhat calibrated, head over to thingiverse and search for your printer. There are thousands of upgrades available.

Good luck!

> Seems like a unbelievable price to performance return point.

It really is, ever since AMD released Ryzen 1000 series, Intel's been feeling the heat. Well priced products that perform great is always good for competition.

As far as cases, I've been eyeballing this one because it has good cooling, with an acceptable price. Only real drawback is that it doesn't have a slot for an optical disk drive. Coolermaster has one with an ODD, but it isn't sold in the USA.

You may be able to re-use your case, unless it's from a prebuilt computer (particularly Dell / Alienware) your new board should fit in it just fine.

I was going to recommend This mATX case, but decided against it because I don't think your video card will fit. If you've got a stubby / short 1060 it might work, but I wouldn't bet on it.

This case is the cheapest case I can find that I'm confident will fit everything you have. $40ish.

8 GB RAM is what you need if you're gaming. 4 GB will bottleneck. If you get a 2X4 GB combo now, you can upgrade to 16 GB later with an additional 2X4 GB kit. In the meantime, look up how to take advantage of "Dual Channel RAM" on your motherboard. Also, make sure you get 3000mhz RAM, the speed makes a considerable difference on AMD CPUs.

2X4GB (8 GB total): [link] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0157UPYZ8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WXmiDbH8KM7MB). You can select 2X8GB (16 total) if you want, but you don't need it for most games now, and if you prefer older games anyhow, it's a waste of your budget.

If you're going to splurge on anything in your new build, I highly recommend it being your PSU, especially since your old PSU likely killed your motherboard. A modular PSU will look much more tidy, since you can unplug cables that you don't need. I personally trust Corsair's RM series, though the lowest wattage (cheapest) one is still $130: Link.

If that's too much, or if your case doesn't have a Window and aesthetics don't matter, and old 500 watt PSU will do fine. 600 watts if you want some breathing room. Keep a look out for anything with a 3-5 year warranty from the manufacturer (look on their website for this info, don't trust Amazon); those are typically built better and are less likely to fail.

This is the cheapest PSU that I'd personally recommend. 500 Watts is fine for what you have, I think 450 watts is pushing on the "too low" side though.

Edit: All my links are ugly, give me a few minutes to tidy up.

Edit of edit: links tidied up. Also, 450 watts, not $450. (Near the end.)

Sorry for the super-delayed response....life got in the way.

In looking for stuff compatible with the 4870 series, it looks like it may be a mid-tower with a standard ATX power supply. If so, you can use just about any power supply you like. I would get something local that you can return just in case they did put something proprietary that you can't easily replace (doesn't look like it though). People online seemed to have a 250-300W PSU in theirs by default though....you may be able to get away with that using just power adapters if your graphics card is reasonably efficient.

I haven't built a machine in a while (I'll be honest). But back in the day, FSP (Fortron Source) and Seasonic made some of the best PSUs you could get. I think FSP sold some as PowerMan. Antec, Corsair, EVGA, etc were good value-for-dollar options as well.
I would just make sure to do your research on whatever particular models are available nearby within your budget and then get something based on that. If you need a starting point though, something like this Tom's article should be decent.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-psus,4229.html

If I were to order something online, this one seems like a decent option.
Tons of reviews, lots of connectors, 40A on the 12V rail, and a good warranty from a known company.
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-WHITE-Warranty-Supply-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU

Haven't had any issues with my China 5v 3A adapter -- but I'm not OC'd - try reverting back to standard clock and see if the bolt goes away - if it does you might need to get a larger/better power supply ( I've seen a few reports saying the Canakit supply doesn't actually provide 2.5A @ 5V )

For example this review on Amazon by Chris Satterleeon April 4, 2016 ( https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Supply-Adapter-Charger/dp/B00MARDJZ4 )

He does some Testing and includes a chart which shows it and says :

"
An interesting point is where the curves cross their rated current values. The Kootek 2.0A supply crosses 2.0A at about 4.6V (2.04.6 = 9.2W). The Canakit 2.5A supply crosses 2.5A at about 4.5V (2.54.5 = 11.25W). Both of these are well below 5V. Probably high enough that the RPi won't crash, but cutting it close.

Another interesting point is where the curves cross 5.0V. The Kootek 2.0A supply crosses 5.0V at about 0.8A (0.85.0 = 4.0W). The Canakit 2.5A supply crosses 5.0V at about 1.0A (1.05.0 = 5.0W).

People who are claiming that this supply doesn't deliver 2.5A are correct - if they are expecting it to deliver 2.5A at 5.0V. But what is important is whether the supply is sufficient for the RPi 3. All I can say for sure is that it does deliver proportionally more power than a 2.0A-rated power supply that has worked fine for me with the Gen 1 RPi B+. For that reason, I'm giving it four stars. "


So by the time it hits 2.5A the voltage has dropped to 4.5V which may be the reason the lightning bolt is showing if the case adds even a small amount more of drop by using the GPIO pins for the power in !

All very good components. You should have no problem hitting 60fps on any of the latest titles at 1080p on high-ultra settings.

Also worth noting, I have the same tesseract case. It's very easy to build inside of, lots of room for cable management, and the drive bays are great to snap in and out of.

You could save a few bucks on your PSU if you wanted; unless you planned on doing some serious upgrades in the future, a 500W or even 430W PSU should be plenty for that build; you can find a quality 430W PSU for $30 regularly.

I bought a refurbished 1TB WD drive from amazon here and saved a few more dollars as well. I haven't had any issues with it; it's up to you if you felt it was worth it though.

This is excellent information, thank you. It's been a bit overwhelming looking at all the mods out there which are a "definitely do this before you print anything or you'll burn your house down" and "this helps but can probably wait for now".

I've already soldered the wires to the heated bed and started installing a mosfet for the bed as well. (Sounds like one isn't really needed for the hot end?)


Do I need something like the 500w ATX PSU, or can I get away with something like this (recommended by the Punished Props Anet safety upgrade page)

Can you tell me more about that fix for the heater block with kapton tape? I saw it recommended that I switch to one of these? (recommended by the letsprint3d.net Anet safety mods page)

Rule of thumb:

Any mother that has a Z like a Z97 is meant for overclocking whereas H series are just standard.

Like I said I built a pic last weekend with an i5 4690 and an ASRock H97 Pro4 and it went flawless so you wouldn't be disappointed there.

Edit: plus it would match your RAM.

Second edit: you might be pushing it with 450watt and a r9 380. If you can afford it, I can recommend the EVGA G2 series enough. Top tier in terms of quality and fully modular so cable management is a breeze. I would look for other builds and see if anyone has gone 450watt with that video cards.


Power supply recommendation:
EVGA 220-G2-0550-Y1 80 PLUS GOLD 550W ECO Mode Fully Modular NVIDIA SLI Ready and Crossfire Support Continuous Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-438-053

Another edit:
Even better, the 750watt version of the G2 is the same price as the 550watt version on Amazon.

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 80+ GOLD, 750W ECO Mode Fully Modular NVIDIA SLI and Crossfire Ready 10 Year Warranty Power Supply 220-G2-0750-XR https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKDETOW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_qsyHwb8X08VYH

Hey /u/MattLDesigns - Dude. I just wrote a long response to you in your other post...

It's not good Rediditiquette to start a NEW post on the SAME subject.

It's confusing for the people who are trying to help you, OK?

Glad you found it's the power supply. But did you find out WHY it blew? I'm a Electronics Tech. You found a symptom, not necessarily the cause.

These power supplies do, indeed sometimes just self combust. They don't use the highest grade parts in these machines :-(

But you need to take a good hard look at the wiring and get someone with electronics repair experience to check the bed heater board. If THAT board shorted out, it would take out the power supply like this.

You get a new one, carefully transfer the wires, put it together and POOF! ZZZxZZtt! Blown power supply again.

You would be less than happy I'm sure ...!

You said the voltage is 220 there. Did you make sure the switch on the side of the power supply was set to that?

Also, that means you're not in the US, so this link is of limited use, but I'm sure Amazon or Ebay can get you the same thing.

Replacement power supply: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D7CWSCG

Let me know if you need any help, OK?

PuterPro

single fan GPUs are cheaper to produce (saved cash on 2nd fan and use of shorter heatsink) and okay buy if you dont want to overclock at all. Dual or tripple cooled versions can be overclocked and resulting performance increase is bigger than the price increase from such cooling.
I thin you should still keep the cpu and motherboard, you may even delay adding extra ram for now. 8GB is still fine, especially if you dont use some beasty i7. Storage can be always managed, but getting 1TB 7200RPM hard drive would be over all good step up in every direction. 500GB hdd is likely very old and slow.
In UK, RX470 makes much more sense, as for 30 pounds extra you get a lot stronger and dual cooler GPU.
I highly recommend you get new Power supply. In UK any decent unit seems overpriced, but you would be able to re-use them in future computers. Your current one is ticking timebomb. I suggest this one.
for Monitors, you should focus on 1080p. 24 inch may be the sweet spot for gaming in your situation. Prices and quality differ widly. I would only recommend if I knew exact budget for this.

Nvidia recommends at least a 400 watt PSU for GTX 1060, it's generally a good idea to go a bit above that. I'd recommend a 500-600 watt PSU.

A good option for example is the 550W EVGA SuperNova. It's powerful enough, reliable, efficient and EVGa has excellent customer service and warranty in case of any issues. Another good option is the 500W PSU that /u/Daedus already recommended.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Pentium G4620 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor | $92.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-B250M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $73.98 @ Newegg
Memory | G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | $57.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $93.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | Asus Radeon RX 480 4GB Dual Video Card | $201.95 @ Amazon
Case | Deepcool DUKASE V2 ATX Mid Tower Case | $54.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $62.89 @ Newegg
Monitor | Acer R240HY bidx 23.8" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor | $129.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $768.77
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-05 13:21 EDT-0400 |

- The G4560 is back-ordered everywhere. You can wait a few weeks and hopefully get one or you can get a G4620 right now.

- Your motherboard can only run RAM at a max frequency of 2400 mHz, so I switched it out for a cheaper kit.

- RX 480 will give you better performance than a 1060 3 GB. It also has a $20 rebate that PCPartpicker is not showing for some reason.

- Better looking case that is easier to work in.


- Cheaper PSU. If you really want a gold efficiency PSU, get the Supernova G2 instead of the GS. Better quality series for the same price.

Re seat all of your power connections, and try to boot back up. If it's still a no-go It's always handy to have one of these around:

https://www.amazon.com/Insten-24-pin-Power-Supply-Tester/dp/B005CTCD6S

I have had breaker trips destroy power supplies. It sucks, but the PS SHOULD have absorbed the issue and hopefully your hardware is safe.

I would recommend that you hook your machine up to a UPS. Even if it can only give you 10 mins or so of backup battery, it will clean the power (most of them have voltage regulation and sine wave regulators) and if you drop a breaker, it will keep everything alive.

Good Luck

hey guys, my current PSU(Corsair CXM) is dying so I need another one so I am thinking of buying this EVGA! i'm pretty set on it as it has been getting rave reviews, from users and Johnnyguru as well just wanna make sure this PSU would be good before I push the button. I am using 2 1080p monitors, gaming, and eventually planning on doing 144hz monitor for gaming as well

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor | $218.55 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard | $94.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $122.99 @ Best Buy
Storage | Crucial - MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $94.68 @ OutletPC
Storage | Crucial - MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $149.21 @ NCIX US
Storage | Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $47.45 @ OutletPC
Video Card | Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card | $341.73 @ Amazon
Case | Corsair - Crystal 460X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case | $139.99 @ B&H
Power Supply | EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $73.98 @ Newegg
Wireless Network Adapter | TP-Link - Archer T8E PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter | $52.49 @ OutletPC
Case Fan | Corsair - Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition 62.7 CFM 120mm Fan | $15.84 @ Amazon
Keyboard | Corsair - K70 LUX Wired Gaming Keyboard | $108.69 @ OutletPC
Mouse | Corsair - Sabre RGB Wired Optical Mouse | $49.89 @ OutletPC
Speakers | Cyber Acoustics - CA-3602 30W 2.1ch Speakers | $39.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1560.47
| Mail-in rebates | -$10.00
| Total | $1550.47
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-05 14:50 EDT-0400 |

Follow the power is the best method of troubleshooting.

First check if the power supply works. You can do this by either getting a power supply tester or shorting out pins 14 and 15. If the power supply doesn't start, it's dead.

If after replacing the power supply, your computer still doesn't start, take out your motherboard and start looking for black stains on or near the surface and through-hole mounted components. Start at the power connectors on the motherboard (CPU and ATX) and work your way from there. You will need good lighting and good eyesight (or magnifying glass).

Any black stains means an exploded component and should be replaced.

The same will hold true for any other peripherals, especially video cards which take power directly from the power supply.

Good luck!

That console is pretty low end to be honest. The problems are the RAM (only 4GB), and the graphics for this says "Custom Nvidia Maxwell GTX CPU". I would go custom build, but you don't want to :(. There are very few good cheap prebuilt PC's

This is an ok prebuilt PC

Try pcpartpicker, ask on /r/buildapc. Custom built are really the way to go nowadays :).

Check this out:

GPU

CPU

RAM

HDD

CASE

PSU

It's a pretty decent build. Not great, but inside your price range. I know it's definitely better than that console.

If you want a decent gaming PC, check out the subreddit buildapc.

Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3

ATX, Z170 (which supports Intel K-series overclocking), and supports AMD Crossfire (which is AMD equivalent of SLI). It's $90 on Amazon.

B150M Mortar

Sub-$100, but MicroATX. It has Crossfire support, but it'll be a tight fit on MicroATX.

Also, as /u/Panayotes mentioned, ASRock motherboards are usually sub-$100 with features that over-$100 motherboards would have.
Just search for ASRock motherboards with LGA1151 socket and Crossfire compatibility in PCPartPicker.


To answer your question, no. The RX 480 is supposed to consume 150W of power, so two would take around 300. A 750W power supply would be needed for peace of mind with 2x RX 480s.

A 650W power supply could work, but I wouldn't recommend it. And, if you're even considering using 2x 480s, you may as well buy a GTX 1070. That would work much more comfortably at 650W.

Yo what is this article, it's made a list of the top 5 pre-built gaming PC's and they are all by the same brand, are they just the only competitive pre-built manufacturer?

Anyway, quick amazon US search (amazon isn't even the cheapest place for a lot of these parts) shows that all those parts are worth maybe 460 dollars (plus a case and windows which you can get for free) they also don't list any of the models/brands so I assume that means they are terrible, on the amazon search I get legit brands like EVGA for the PSU. See for yourself: https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GAMING-GTX-960-2G/dp/B00SAYDRP8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473949393&sr=8-1&keywords=Nvidia+GTX+960+2GB+GDDR5+Video+Card

https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-DDR3-Micro-Motherboard-GA-78LMT-USB3/dp/B009FC3YJ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473949409&sr=8-1&keywords=amd+760g

https://www.amazon.com/AMD-FD6300WMHKBOX-FX-6300-6-Core-Processor/dp/B009O7YORK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473949427&sr=8-1&keywords=fx-6300

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Ballistix-PC3-12800-240-Pin-BLS8G3D1609DS1S00/dp/B006YG9E7O/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1473949445&sr=1-2&keywords=8gb+ram

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-WHITE-Warranty-Supply-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473949459&sr=8-1&keywords=500w+psu

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Cache-Desktop-Drive-WD10EZEX/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1473949474&sr=1-1&keywords=1tb+hdd

You said you don't have a lot of money so I would definitely just build your own, other people have linked to subreddits that can tell you what components are best for the money for what you're going to be using it for, wouldn't be surprised if you could be playing CS:GO at 300 fps on a 450 dollar computer. When you buy a pre-built you are basically paying the manufacturer an extra 30% for them to build it for you, which is like 150 dollars in this case, for what would take you a couple of hours, idk anyone who's time is worth that much, you also lose the ability to save money by cutting costs in certain areas, you don't need a sick GPU to play CS:GO afaik for example.

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Modular-Warranty-220-G2-0550-Y1/dp/B01LWTS2UL?th=1

I got the 750w G2 a few years ago and it is still going strong through several builds. Modular so you can swap cables for color or troubleshooting. The G3 model is newer with what appears to be a better fan (correct me if I'm wrong, folks).

Can't speak on the customer service experience with EVGA, but from what I've seen they're pretty good. The products speak for themselves.

I had an Antec EarthWatts prior to this and it held up very well for a lower end build (not much power consumption) so that may be another brand you could look into if you don't need a beefy PSU.

However, the PSU is the major component of PC builds - DO NOT go cheap! Get the best model for your consumption, and if you plan on a beefier build later on, go ahead and spend a few extra bucks for more wattage with that good brand. Some PSUs can go through several builds before becoming obsolete.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFAFRW6

The EVGA B2 is just a bit more expensive, but many times better. And it's actually 80+ silver efficient, despite being advertised as bronze.

I would recommend the R9 390 as well. Cheaper, and arguably better. Games are eating up more and more vRAM all the time, and the 970 is already falling behind in games like GTAV, where more than 3.5 is being utilized. As of right now, not much difference can be seen, but I'm sure it will grow bigger as time goes on.

Will this EVGA 600B 80PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V/EPS12V Active PFC 600W Power Supply 100-B1-0600-KR fit in this [Raidmax Raptor No Power Supply ATX Mid Tower Case (Black) ATX-823BR] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008X199N2/?tag=pcpapi-20)

I'm really new to pc building, so bare with me.

[This is my soon to be rig] (http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcforme/comments/220ism/cheap_below_1000/) the ones I'm chaging are the Memory and Tower because they're not available in amazon (international shipping) so if you guys can recommend for memory and tower, that would be great, but if the tower I linked is, hopefully, good enough. Then recommend a good memory.

This is what I do!!

I got a used Z400 (Win7professional -> Win10, 2.5Tb, 8Gb, Xeon W3570 @ 3.20GHz) for $300 in fall 2013 and have been upgrading it piecemeal. A friend gave me two GTX 555s for free so I got a new $65 750W PSU ^(had to create a $5 adapter because HP has their MB wires in a weird configuration), but I bricked one of the 555s ^(trying to enable SLI on an MB that didn't support it...). I just added a refurbed ASUS GTX 970 SSC for $110, and a $90 1080p/60Hz monitor and it is all in all fantastic: constant 60fps @ <70°C! A 2GB RAM stick just pooped out so 4 more are on the way! I don't know what else I might improve about it =D ^(cough headphones and SSD cough)

Should I buy this drive ^x2 and put my 1TB SATA drives ^x2 in a different computer?

I'm looking to replace my PSU but have it ready for a i7/high end mobo within the year. I definitely don't need anything more than 750/850 as I intend on going with one GPU probably about a 970.

I haven't much experience with Seasonic, and my last PSU is a Antec which has held up remarkably well.

Money isn't really a big deal as I want to make sure I have a solid PSU. What would you recommend EVGA or Seasonic. I'm looking at the G2 which is around 99$ on Amazon. Any recommendations?

Is this the model you have? http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Crossfire-Warranty-220-G2-0750-XR/dp/B00IKDETOW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457031186&sr=8-1&keywords=G2+750W

I'd personally pay 10 dollars more and get the SuperNOVA 750 G2, but only because I've made good experiences with it. The GS should be an excellent choice too, and the price is also good. The G2 series is based on the Super Flower Leadex platform, while the GS series is based on a Sea Sonic platform. Both are well-known for their reliability.

Sorry for the delay. Didn't have time to test last night but I got it done today. I installed an RX 560 in an Optiplex 3010 and tested it. It worked just fine with my Windows 10 test image. I chose a 560 because it pulls all its power directly from the PCIe slot, which I measured at ~60 watts peak. That's far above the 25-35w limit I've seen on some of these so I'd say you're good to go. Grab a good quality ~500W PSU and throw a used RX 570/580 in there. Keep an eye on those temps if you're going to close the side panel though-- RX cards get hot!

​

Cheers-- and happy bargain hunting!

​

P.S. - This EVGA PSU fits that case with no modifications. (tip: remove the optical drive and use the empty 5.25" bay for cable managment) Optiplexes make great budget gaming machines if you can get around the quirks!

Depends on what you want to do in the future. For your current build, you could use any 500 watt bronze rated power supply with good reviews.

But if you want to future proof your system (maybe you want to run some 290's in CROSSFIRE later on), I recommend an ~800 watt gold rated PSU.

Generally, the higher wattage you need, the higher rating your PSU should be (bronze, gold, platinum, etc)

Here are some examples of good ones

500 watt bronze:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ALK3HF4/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1414173887&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40

750 watt gold (recommended for systems with nvidia SLI setups)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IKDETOW/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1414173817&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70


860 watt platinum (for ppl who want to run 2 power hungry cards like the 290x) - I bought this one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A0HZMKG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1414174127&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40

Remember that your PSU is an investment. Play your cards right, and it will be good for 10 years or more. Get something modular in the 500-750 watt range that's modular, with good reviews.

The EVGA G2 series seems to be a really solid design. It's a season if design with some nice fan functions that make it super quiet. The 1060 and current gen i5's and everything else in your build are super low power nowadays. You could honestly go with a 450-550w PSU easily. Here's a link to the EVGA g2 550w that I just ordered for a similar build but with a 1070 instead of the 1060. Not sure how much more it is compared to yours in £ but it's a nice PSU. I'd personally recommend gold ratings as they'll save you electricity costs in the long run.

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Modular-Warranty-220-G2-0550-Y1/dp/B0106RDI3W

Why don't you get a 1440p display, cheaper sata ssd, cheaper cpu and mobo (ryzen 2, since you'd be playing on a higher res than 1080p ryzen 2 won't bottleneck and you won't need an aftermarket cooler) and you can step down to a 600/650w psu

you'll save: $176.88 on the cpu and cpu cooler (you'll also save some on the mobo). you'll save around $30 depending on the sata ssd you get (possibly more). save more than $30 and get this psu. So a total of around $295

you can get an Acer G247HYU for $230, you can find better deals on 1440p monitors tho

You'll get an overall better experience for slightly less money

All in all the parts below are pretty damn nice and not overkill for what you need. Very good cpu imo (using one in a current build), quality msi mobo, not a crazy power supply (most people go overboard with their psu) and the case.... don't even get me started. So good! Best of luck to you and your build

Motherboard:http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Motherboards-Z97-PC-MATE/dp/B00K23BW70/ref=zg_bs_1048424_43

CPU:http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i5-4690K-Processor-BX80646I54690K/dp/B00KPRWB9G/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1417246859&sr=1-4&keywords=cpu

PSU:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H33SDR4/ref=twister_B00NCZND2C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Case:http://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Design-Define-Cases-FD-CA-DEF-R4-BL-W/dp/B008HD3E6Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1417247326&sr=1-1&keywords=fractal+design+define+r4

Thanks for the speedy reply dude. Love the analogy. I still have a remaining 12gb of unfried Ram so Could I still use that? Also would a PSU like [this] (http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Continuous-Warranty-Supply-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1464990927&sr=1-1&keywords=psu) work fine? The cost is significantly less is why I am wondering.

Lastly, I don't just play CSGO haha, although I do play way too much of it. I also play a bunch of normal games like Overwatch and the total war franchise. Do I have any options for a low cost GPU that would be able to run those games at mid to high at 60fps? Could I reuse my GPU from my burnt computer, because I don't think it was affected, and was sort of running those games. it was an AMD Radeon HD 5870.

Thanks again for the quick response though. Appreciate it.

Powering it and powering it safely are very different though! lol. I am using the evga 600b out of my old PC to power it at the moment, and it is "working". But I would be scared trying benchmarks and stuff as it is. I believe the recommended size is 750+ watts, so I would be a little uncomfortable going much less, even if I know it "works".

It does look like options under $100 are pretty slim though. Considering spending $18 over that and getting the EVGA Supernova 750 on amazon. Reviews seem pretty good overall, and my previous evga PSU has been fantastic for me

PSU - $42 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_POl4CbC1QDRBZ

CPU - $67 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0741DN383/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KPl4CbWWJH0CT

Mobo - $70 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FJ8V8FV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ARl4Cb1E4KQJP

These are definitely not the best options, but at the price limit you have I think it's probably the best you can do. I'd run it by someone else though just to make sure. Never trust just one stranger's suggestion on the internet!

Edit: I just realized you don't have a GPU. Is that why you were going for the 2200g? If so, then it's gonna be another $20 or so. But the budget you have is pretty limited for the best bang for the buck.

That's a common occurrence. It was fighting, but, 400watts probably couldn't power that computer for a long time.:p i had a 430 watt power supply when i was younger in a PC with a GTX 660. Fried my motherboard, thank GOD the 660 was okay. If you want to future proof your power supply, honestly, a 750 watt is the way to go.

It's a bit more money, about 30 bucks more. For your case, i'd go modular. Here's a perfect example:

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-Modular-Bronze-ATX12V/dp/B00ALK3KEM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420363350&sr=8-1&keywords=Corsair+Power+supply

Appreciate all of the help. truly, thank you. Just ordered a new PSU, and 16 GB of ram (from amazon, all in one pack.) I'm sure that will resolve all my issues!

​

​

p.s I'm so happy I dont have to put more thermal paste on my cpu hehe

​

pp.s is this a good wattage for the 1070 + 4 fans?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-6700 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $297.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler | CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler | $34.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard | MSI Z170A KRAIT GAMING 3X ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $149.99 @ Amazon
GPU | Evga GeForce 980 Ti | $419.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Corsair Dominator Platinum Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz | $109.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $49.99 @ Amazon
SSD | Kingston SV300S37A/240G | $67.86 @ Amazon
Case | Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case | $54.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $94.74 @ Amazon
Monitor | ASUS 23" 1920x1080 2ms | $128.99 @ Amazon
Windows | Windows 7 Professional | $88.97 @ Amazon
Optical Drive | LG Optical Drive | $13.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | ~$1512.57
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-24 17:28 EDT-0400 |
Just a tad over budget but you can easily bring it down to $1400 if you feel like it by going with an i5 for $200. And I have the optical drive needed to install windows, etc. With this GPU you should be more than good for now and the near future. glhf!

Yes, you can install that graphics card.

Yes, you could, but I'd prefer that you get a better quality power supply. One that isn't a fire starter. A power supply powers your whole computer - definitely don't cheap out on this component. I'd recommend this one if you're on a budget: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-BRONZE-Continuous-Warranty-100-B1-0600-KR/dp/B00EON40CS . I've used it personally and it's quite solid. Reviewed decently on JonnyGuru.

Cleaning your computer with compressed air or a balloon pump probably won't help much, but a good cleanup can reduce the amount of noise since the fans don't have to work as hard dissipating heat from crud-infested heatsinks.

you're spending too much on a CPU considering you only have a 1060

I would say downgrade the CPU to an i5-6600 ($220), i5-6500 ($200), or an i5-6400 ($180). (Dont get anything with a K, K means it's ready to be overclocked. You will need to have a Z170 motherboard to overclock intel cpus) and either upgrade something else or pocket the extra money

• I would personally get an i5-6400 for this build but I can see you value a good cpu so feel free to get the i5-6500
  
  
• you'll save about $100-150 and see basically no change. You will also need a lot more than $122 for a keyboard, mouse AND monitor so I would use that extra 100 for those things.
  
  Also you really don't need a 650W power supply. I would get something like the EVGA 500 B1, 80+ BRONZE 500W to save another $40 for your monitor and peripherals.

Just finished assembling my first build with the help of a friend and my MB is giving me some beep codes that don't seem to correspond to any that are listed on the website (for some reason, the manual doesn't have them listed).

Whenever I turn the computer on, it will proceed to emitt 5 LONG beeps then shut off and boot up again just to beep 5 more times. I am 99% sure it is long beeps because they last just over a second or so each. There is just no way those are short beeps. I have already tried booting without ram and with only 1 of the 2 sticks of ram each. I made sure they were seated properly also. I am just completely out of ideas and the internet seems to have no help.

Here are some of my specs:
MB: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128843

CPU: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZZJ1P0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

RAM: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013H7Q86C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Video Card: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IPVSGEC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

PSU: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K85X2AW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Prebuilt machines are almost always specifically manufactured to only have the parts/specs/connections necessary to run the parts it comes with. The fact that your motherboard has a PCIE slot probably means that there was an "upgraded" package for your system with a better video card, OR the video card it came with did not require additional power; like the 750ti, and 950s

That being said, yes you DO need another power supply... luckily though you can get some pretty cheap ones that are more than "good enough" for your system. THIS one is $35, and should do just fine.

If it's useful, I too just got started, and built a similar drone. When it came to charging, I had to read a ton of stuff. Here's what I did (all non-referral Amazon links. you may find cheaper on banggood if you want to wait forever):

ISDT Charger

12v Power Supply

Balance Charger

To connect these up, it may be useful to have some extra XT60 plugs since the power supply won't have XT60, and neither does the balance charger.

With these optional parts, I was able to make a nice looking (and more safe) charger from the power supply, along with a 3d print available here


Voltmeter

Power plug

I found this to be a pretty fun project, and wasn't as expensive as some options I saw on HobbyKing or everywhere else. To be fair, it wasn't the cheapest option either.

I know you probably want a fast solution, but if you do not have a power supply you can substitute you will need something like this: http://www.amazon.com/eForCity-24-pin-Power-Supply-Tester/dp/B005CTCD6S/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I do not have personal experience with that one, but I do own this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002R06PGE/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Even if you don't need a tester right now, I advise having one on hand, especially if you have multiple PCs to maintain. In my case, I have lotsa family and friends I help, and a PSU tester has come in handy over the years.

Here is a list of things that people will always need, I understand you can't stock everything as overhead is an issue with retail, and storage as well, but most of these are small enough that they can occupy the shelf space you currently have. As for the larger things, like the 2020 extrusions, you could sell them in common lengths of 500mm and 1000mm and let the customer cut them down to the size they need, or just don't carry these at all. It's not a niche item, but for a retail store like you it would be hard to store and maintain, but man, would it be nice to be able to get those locally if i needed a piece for a project instead of having to wait on mail order.

• PSU 12v/24v
  
• Fans 30mm/40mm in 12v/24v
  
• PEI 200mm, 250mm, 300mm for Deltas and 300x300 for Cartesian, CoreXY.
  
• E3D Hotends
  
  • v6
    
  • Volcano
    
  • Titan Aero
    
  • Nozzle Variety Pack
    
  • Thermistors
    
  • Pro Socks
    
  • Heater Cartridges
    
  • Volcano Nozzles
    
  • Heat Breaks
    
• Boro Glass
  
• Spatulas similar to this style
  
• Plastic Razor Blades
  
• Capricorn PTFE Tubing 1.75/3mm variants
  
• Screws, Cap head, M3, M4, M5 etc.
  
• 2020 Extrusion, 2040 Extrusion etc
  
  this is just a basic list, others have listed other things as well, Steppers, Belts, Pulleys, Bearings etc. If you want 3d printing as a reason for other people to go to your store, these items will satisfy the need. Just keep prices fair, I have no issue paying a bit more compared to amazon to get it today.
  

For the love of god, don't SLI on a CX model PSU, or any of the virtually identical VS/CS models either.

Either just get a good unit and use one GPU, or get a better unit simply put.

This unit is essentially the best in terms of price-performance (or quality for that matter), has 4x PCI connectors (they're 8 pins, but the final 2 split off if necessary), and it's a superb quality unit so you can be near certain that it won't explode under heavy load, unlike the CX line.

If you're going with a single GPU,

If I were you, the first step I would take is to get rid of the PSU. I will come to that later.

If you are a casual gamer, then 60hz will be more than enough. The rest depends on you. You also need it for graphics, so an IPS panel is a must. Price will depend on what screen size you want.

Now coming to the important thing, discard that PSU. Don't cheap out on an important component. I will list you good PSUs with room for future upgrade from one of my recent comment. These are all good PSUs, and you can blindly choose any of them. Prices will be low if you check out local sellers. You can buy 520/550w PSU, but that is purely your choice. I suggested 650w cause you will have ample room if you decide to buy even more powerful Graphics card. Don't go for any 450w PSU.

If you are sure you might try SLI in near future, then you must get at least a minimum of 850w.

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-RM650x-Modular-Supply-Certified/dp/B015YEIBJ8

http://www.amazon.in/Seasonic-SSR-550RT-S12G-Power-Supply/dp/B00FW6EICS

http://www.amazon.in/Seasonic-M12II-620-M12II-620-Watt-Modular/dp/B003HE260I

Or

http://www.amazon.in/Seasonic-S12II-620-BRONZE-SS-620GB/dp/B003BIEOCI

This is a bit of an overkill, but a great PSU from EVGA
http://www.amazon.in/SuperNOVA-750WSemi-Modular-Crossfire-110-B2-0750-VR/dp/B00KFAFRW6

Well, technically it's a $1056 build and you get some money back after mailing it in and waiting months :S So it's not exactly a fair competition - if my system is allowed the same rule (spending 1060$ upfront) then it beats yours:

|Part type|Name|URL|Price|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|motherboard|ASRock B450 Pro4|https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813157841|88.15|
|processor|AMD Ryzen 5 2600|https://www.amazon.com/-/dp/B07B41WS48/?tag=envybits-20|164.99|
|memory|Team Vulcan 32GB 3000MHz CL16|https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820313886|159.99|
|video_card|Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Windforce 8GB|https://www.amazon.com/-/dp/B07JBTS8HR/?tag=envybits-20|479.99|
|drive|ADATA XPG SX8200 480GB M.2-2280 SSD|https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIADF17442135|84.99|
|power_supply|EVGA SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold|https://www.amazon.com/-/dp/B01LWTS2UL/?tag=envybits-20|79.99|
|total|-|-|1058.10|

I mean sure - you would still need to get a case but you could pick that up and decrease amount of RAM to 16GB. But you do get a better SSD and a PSU in this variant.

​

I am not saying this system is perfect or whatever mind you. Just that while it does have hiccups it can build fairly good systems too if you check through other options you are given by it upfront so calling it "random parts" is kinda uncalled for.

As you said no beeping, then it's not a memory issue. If the motherboard works, your next step is to check your power supply.

I recommend getting a cheap but efficient power supply tester and see if the throughput is correct. Otherwise, a replacement power supply doesn't cost too much.

If that doesn't work, it's most likely a CPU issue, which will be pretty expensive if you have to replace it, I recommend taking your computer in to a respected hardware shop to see what they can do or have to say about it before making any expensive moves.

ah cool, thanks. - For comparison, The Gtx 660 has a TDP of 140W and the GTX 970 has a TDP of 145W. It seems as if a GTX 970 would work off the bat without you needing to upgrade your PSU.

However, if you do feel like getting a new PSU - My suggestion in your price point (based on what I can see on Amazon.com, I'm from the UK so not so familiar with pricing or good PC part shops in the US) the $60 Modular Corsair CX500 is a good shout. I myself have used both the Corsair CX600 and CX750 myself, and am currently using the Corsair RM850 at the moment.

Of course, Corsair isn't the be all, end all of PSU's, but they're the ones I've a lot of experience with and have had a positive experience with. EVGA and Coolermaster do great PSU's too. This one from EVGA and is $40 and more than meets your power requirements. It isn't modular, however, which means more cable clutter (though makes no performance difference as far as I am aware)

> Can buy them new for $110 on amazon right now and 115 + a $20 rebate new from Canada Computers.

Hello, those prices are for the Semi-modular 750W and with 80+ bronze efficiency. I can see that Canada Computers has a cheaper PSU in stock.

Amazon


Canada Computers

You are welcome to drive to Hamilton by August 10th, pay $109.99 plus tax ($124.29), save the receipt, pay $0.63 to mail the rebate form, and then two months later enjoy your $20 gift card from EVGA with your PSU with less efficiency, less cables, and half the warranty.

Ryzen works great with Nvidia graphics cards. No issues there.

For powering your rig, the GTX 1060 is rated at roughly 120W and your CPU is ~130W at load. So, I would recommend you a quality 550W to 650W power supply for plenty of room to overclock and remain efficient. E.g. The EVGA SuperNova G3 550W Gold

Excellent choice of CPU/GPU for the games you play. Should be a very good experience.

To finish my build, I'm looking at:

ADATA XPG SX8200 480GB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe (129.99)
https://m.canadacomputers.com/product.php?id=123218

EVGA SuperNOVA 750W G3, 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular (97.00 = 117.00-20 MIR)
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B005BE058W/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

These prices seem pretty good. I'm thinking at best it'll be $20 off the current price on BF/Cyber Monday. Do you guys think it's worth waiting? I want to save every penny.m

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> Anyone have any good USB C expansion card recommendations? (one slot is fine, but 2 would be nice)

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/5j6jog/daily_simple_questions_thread_dec_19_2016/dbelgpn

----

> Can someone tell me the name of that build your own keyboard case that has led lighting around the border of the case?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/5j6jog/daily_simple_questions_thread_dec_19_2016/dbec10e

----

> I fairly like this psu for cheaper builds, and johnnyguru.com gave it a good review
> https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-WHITE-Warranty-Supply-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU
>
> Is the 600w version the comparable in quality? Can't really find any info on it other than bestbuy
> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/evga-80-plus-600w-atx-12v-eps-12v-power-supply-black/8511029.p?skuId=8511029&ref=212&loc=1&ksid=aff34c1d-0cd9-4fa3-9b29-996470c0c8c2&ksprof_id=3&ksaffcode=pg218887&ksdevice=m&lsft=ref:212,loc:2&gclid=CjwKEAiAp97CBRDr2Oyl-faxqRMSJABx4kh9zbbksL7U6tVH-8NjTvBFQ950Jpci76etzv2Z4MQnThoCLPzw_wcB

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/5j6jog/daily_simple_questions_thread_dec_19_2016/dbebk99

----

> Should I get a used Logitech G410 Atlas Spectrum for 45€, strictly for gaming? It's a TKL keyboard, price new is 69€
>
> Games are gonna be Overwatch and Siege

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/5j6jog/daily_simple_questions_thread_dec_19_2016/dbduhlm

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Your build is pretty good, but I would definitely get a 550w power supply here's my recommendation.

And it depends, how much is he selling the GTX 760 for? Other than that, your build looks pretty good.

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-80PLUS-Certified-ATX12V-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395235437&sr=8-2&keywords=EVGA+500W+80+PLUS

Ended up grabbing this one, I believe it is the one you suggested. For the price I am very satisfied, and know it will work with my card, and love the quality of EVGA products.

Thank you everyone for your help, it is much appreciated!

If you can buy from Amazon, get this Crucial BX100 instead. It's a vastly superior SSD.

The Tacens doesn't have a very good reputation either. A servicable, inexpensive PSU from Amazon would be the EVGA 500W. It's a lower quality unit than I would normally recommend for your build, but it's better than either of the other two. A better quality unit, though more expensive, is the SuperFlower GoldenGreen 450 HX.

Edit: I don't speak or read Spanish, so I hope these parts are actually available :)

With that power supply, you're really limiting yourself.
You need to get a cheap, reliable 500W PSU. Something like the EVGA W1 is your friend in this realm.

You're CPU is a real limiting factor. Ideally, you want an i5, which you can buy an i5-3550 or an i5-3570, but those will take up the rest of your budget. If you were buying a new CPU, I would recommend getting a new motherboard as well (full system upgrade to Skylake). That's too much as it's a new CPU, mobo and new DDR4 RAM.

Stick with the CPU for now and upgrade the GPU.

Head over to /r/hardwareswap and find a used 280, 280X, 290, 290X. Here's a 290X for $240, but it might be out of your price range, since you need to buy the $40 PSU first. You can find 280X for $120-$140. A 290 is around $175-$200 and a 290X is between $200-$240 on that subreddit.

With that in mind, I would recommend making a post on /r/hardwareswap looking for a 500W PSU for $25 shipped and a 290 for $170 shipped. You should find a PSU for that price, but might be hard pressed on the 290 and might need to settle for a 280X for around $140 shipped.

Last, but not least, if you get an SSD (say a 128GB), you install your Windows on it and maybe some of your games. You should notice a big speed boost from reduced loading times.

Cool, that's the best one to have.

You can put a standard ATX size power supply in there if you needed. Something like an EVGA 500B would be good and won't cost too much.

CDN$ 190.70 -GTX 1050 Ti

CDN$ 64.99 - EVGA 500B

The GTX 1050 Ti only needs a 300W PSU. It may already have that. I've seen people run it even off of something like a 240-260W PSU and be ok. May not need to upgrade the PSU.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079JSKCW3/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075SBFGRB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VB3Y89E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BP7RQTT/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013JPLOQQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJ6A88G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYGFRL6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSMTN31/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0759FTRZL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ARGXM0Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Total as of right now for available purchase is around $800 with out taxes! I spent $742! I just put things i want into my cart on amazon and when the price drops i buy! I do shop around other websites and amazon still was the better choice and with free non-prime shipping! who cares if it comes two days later than normal. shoot ive had things come after two days with the free shipping.

IKR!?! I got a Samsung 850 EVO 120GB for $50 the other day on Ebay, an RGB/Mechanical Keyboard for $9, I'm eyeing this BUDGET EVGA MODULAR PSU:: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZY55HPT/ref=twister_B01G69E69E?th=1

Which is at $50 OR the non modular version for $27 (which I have seen dip to as low as 22) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9X3F8F/ref=twister_B01G69E69E?th=1

For the case I think I'm gonna go with the P400S, black/white. However not sure if I can get this on sale anytime soon. Phanteks/Bitfenix showcased some pretty dope RGB/TempGlass budget cases @ Computex but they won't be out until Q3.

RAM - well u know, buy whats cheapest

GPU - Aorus RX 570 is the best price/performance for 1080p. but fuck those miners, hope the sweet sweet 4XX sales return but for the 5XX series.

CPU - G4560 or a cheap i5-K processor (Skylake).

Ughh still so much time to wait :/

My first thought would be to get these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MG9KYCD?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DTOAWZ2?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00XFSNKXS?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D7CWSCG?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title

You’ll get 10 DMX channels of RGB control that can support 10ft of LED strip each. Put a few inches of LED in each lantern then connect to the next, so you’d be able to link together about 15-20 lanterns or more on a single channel. Won’t be “individually” controllable, but you’ll have control over the groups of lights that are connected. Do this for each of the 10 channels and you could easily fill a room.

Super interested to hear everyone else’s approach for this

I am currently picking parts for my new Build....and this monitor for the price looks like a good deal..any other feedback for anyone that has bought it out there...

I was wondering is this monitors have some sort of firmware update or if that is even a thing for monitors (sorry i have been using gaming laptops for the last 7 years).

I am looking to pair it with this:

- MSI Performance Gaming AMD X470 Ryzen 2 AM4 DDR4 Onboard Graphics CFX ATX Motherboard (X470 Gaming Plus)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CF31C1Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

- AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler - YD260XBCAFBOX

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B428V2L/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

- MSI RX Vega 64 AIR Boost 8G OC Computer Graphics Cards

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DH7S1X1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

- WD Blue 3D NAND 1TB PC SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, M.2 2280 - WDS100T2B0B

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073SB2MXT/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

- Patriot Memory VIPER 4 Series 3000MHz (PC4 24000) 16GB Dual Channel DDR4 Kit PV416G300C6K

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0157UQ5A6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A26PVB3960EU85&psc=1

- Phanteks PH-EC300PTG_BR Eclipse P300 Tempered Glass Steel ATX Mid Tower Case Black/Red .

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079QGZZXG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

- EVGA Supernova 750 G3, 80 Plus Gold 750W, Fully Modular, Eco Mode with New HDB Fan, 10 Year Warranty, Includes Power ON Self Tester, Compact 150mm Size, Power Supply 220-G3-0750-X1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005BE058W/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

- Redragon K552-BB Gaming Keyboard and Mouse, Large Mouse Pad, PC Gaming Headset with Microphone Combo 87 Key Mechanical Keyboard with Blue Switches for Windows PC Games-Keyboard Mouse Pad Headset

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06ZYH9WB5/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AXZ7TDMJNMJSZ&psc=1

It depends, what are you building it for? For video editing? Perfect!

For Gaming not su much, your 8700k will never be your bottleneck, now that GPU price has calm down I recommend saving the $150-200 from the 8700k to an i5 and a non K motherboard, if you go with an i5 stock cooler will be more than enough saving you even more.

For Gaming more 8gb ram is more than enough. I would go 2x4GB

I would (personally)

Get a 650 PSU (EVGA HAS AMAZING DEALS RIGHT NOW), and upgrade to a 1070 That is the perfect balance between productivity and gaming! A 1070 will give you 144hz no problem 1080p a 1050 is kind of a weak card if you want this to last you several years of AAA gaming.

Hope this helps, you can get a cooler and more ram down the line :)

This PSU: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005BE058W/

This card: https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=08G-P4-6674-KR

Look at /r/retropie - it's more focused on these projects.

At minimum, you'll want: a [Raspberry Pi 3 ($35)](
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CD5VC92/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Sb.pzbAZKNASG), a case ($7-$20), a power supply ($10), an HDMI cable ($7), one or two controllers ($15-$30 each), and a micro SD card ($22 for a Class 10 64 GB). There are a lot of threads about which controllers are best - I'm a fan of the wireless 8bitdo SNES30 / SFC30 (usually cheaper on eBay).

You don't need any programming experience to set it up, though you may need to edit some configuration files to set certain things up properly. I've built 2 of these to date - they play anything up to and including PlayStation 1 consistently well. N64 is very hit and miss, though Mario Kart 64 and Kirby 64 work well.

Do you have any motherboard recommendations given what I'm looking to put on it?

What about this one? – http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128881

 

The Windows version was Win 7 Home Premium and yea it was OEM.

EDIT: Where can I get Windows 7/8.1 "cheap" as you mentioned - from what I can see they tend to be more expensive than just getting 10 itself. (one Im looking at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416804)

 

For the power supply, what about something like this – https://amzn.com/B0106RDIN2

 

Here's the markup from pcpartpicker

---

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $314.99 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler | $59.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-B150M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $65.38 @ Newegg
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | $59.88 @ OutletPC
Storage | A-Data Premier SP550 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $108.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $79.99 @ Best Buy
Video Card | PNY GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card |-
Case | Xigmatek Asgard II Black/Orange ATX Mid Tower Case |-
Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $69.99 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM 64-bit | $199.89 @ OutletPC
Monitor | Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor | $119.99 @ Newegg
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1109.09
| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00
| Total | $1079.09
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-20 11:20 EDT-0400 |

Get a decent PSU, at least 500w. Look at the specifications to make sure it has a single 12-volt rail, then make sure it has at least 40A on that rail.

This one is pretty cheap and can do up to 40A on the 12v rail, even though it doesn't say it on amazon.

You can get a "500w" power supply for as cheap as $20 (e.g. Logisys and cheap Thermaltake) but I honestly don't trust those. This is about as cheap as I'd be willing to go.

Sometimes the Corsair CX500 goes on sale for $20, which is awesome at that price. Unfortunately, it's $65 at the moment. I'd trust it more than the EVGA, but I don't think it really justifies the price difference.

EVGA puts out some great quality ones for really cheap. Here is a great example, if youre not overclocking, bronze are really gonna be the best ones you'll need. Just make sure double check your wattage lines up (you can check that on PCPP)

Thank you for taking the time to help me with this build. I appreciate the help from someone who is experienced with building PCs. I have a couple of new questions about the parts in the list you provided:
Why did you upgrade it to 16GB of RAM? I'm not planning on doing VR gaming, and I've learned through doing some online research that the most RAM that a large majority of games need is 8GB.
Since this configuration consumes only 230W, could I just downgrade the PSU to this one?
I noticed that none of the vendors in your list are Amazon. My original thinking was that it would be cheaper to ship these parts all at the same time using Amazon Prime. Do these other vendors offer better support/customer service?
Here's a new list that I came up with, based on your recommendations:


Part | Name | Price ($)
---|---|---
Motherboard|MSI Pro Series Intel B250 LGA 1151 DDR4 HDMI USB 3.1 micro-ATX | 79.99
GPU|MSI GTX 1050 TI 4GT OC | 139.99
CPU|Intel Boxed Pentium Processor G4500 FC-LGA14C 3.5 1 LGA 1151 BX80662G4500 | 70.09
RAM|Corsair LPX 8GB DRAM 2666MHz C16 memory kit for Systems 8 DDR4 2666 (PC4 21300) DDR4 2666 | 65.09
HDD|WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Desktop Hard Drive | 49.99
SSD|WD Blue 250GB PC SSD - SATA 6 Gb/s M.2 2280 Solid State Drive - WDS250G1B0B | 72.65
Case|Rosewill Micro-ATX Mini Tower Computer Case with Dual USB 3.0, Dual Fans and 12.5-Inch Card LINE-M Black | 39.95
PSU|EVGA 430 W1, 80+ WHITE 430W Power Supply | 34.99
Price with Shipping and tax estimate| | 608.10

Thanks for your reply! I agree about the PSU and now that you mention it, I have been getting the Blue Screen of Death randomly lately. Would this PSU work with this setup: https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-WHITE-Warranty-Supply-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499139936&sr=1-2&keywords=psu?
Maybe I'll forget about the DVD drive and upgrade the PSU.

And yeah I know my budget is super low but it's all I can afford at the moment. As for performance, I plan on playing pretty casually once in a while so hopefully this fits the bill. Thanks again!

Thanks for the response!

I'll look into the Z270 and try and see what kind of prices I can find. Thanks for the suggestion!

In regards to the PSU, I found these two options on sale as well:

• https://www.amazon.ca/Corsair-Modular-Efficient-Supply-CS650M/dp/B00GH9NA2I/ref=sr_1_3?s=prime-day&psr=PDAY&ie=UTF8&qid=1499794107&sr=1-3&keywords=power+supply
  
  
• https://www.amazon.ca/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Modular-Warranty-220-G3-0550-Y1/dp/B01LWTS2UL/ref=sr_1_4?s=prime-day&psr=PDAY&ie=UTF8&qid=1499794107&sr=1-4&keywords=power+supply
  
  The second one is A SuperNOVA G3, but it's only 550W - would that not cut it?
  
  Lastly, the ram choice is due to the fact that an ITX mobo is only going to have 2 ram slots, and while I think I'll only ever need 16gb, I was trying to leave the option open to splurge for a second piece. I did look around for 2 x 8gb, but I didn't see any sales that would save me anything major. Are there performance concerns when using just one stick?
  
  Thanks again!

With that case almost any psu should work.

1. This one is an EVGA 500W and is 80+ bronze, which would allow you a bit of room if you get a better gpu in the future. It's $50 with a $15 mail in rebate.
   
   
2. This one, another EVGA, is only 80+ which is still better than what you have currently, and is also a 500W. This one is $39 from Amazon and is prime elegible which would eliminate the shipping cost.
   
   
3. [This] (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027) one is a Corsair instead of EVGA, which the other 2 were. This is one is also 80+ bronze, and is $50 with a $20 mail in rebate. I have this one myself and it works great.
   
   The 80+ basically refers to level of efficiency. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus

Well you'd need a new graphics card and cpu.. but to upgrade cpu... you'd need a new motherboard which means new ram aswell... and on top of that a new psu to power it all .. which basically the entire computer.. so costly
~~
Unless someone can think of a decent cpu that fits the same socket..~~

Edit: ok after some digging this is what we got:

~~CPU: Intel X6800
(http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=152054248661&alt=web )
£40 ish~~

~~RAM: 4gb Ddr2
(http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=191857898668&alt=web )
£20 ish~~

~~GPU: this is very flexible let's throw in a gtx 970 for now (it mightnt be supported this can be checked later)
(MSI NVIDIA GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr HDMI DVI-I DP Graphics Card (4GB, PCI Express, DDR5, 256 Bit) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NOP536Y/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_tKtkxbGQRE3JA)
£275~~

~~Psu: 500w
(EVGA 100-W1-0500-KR - 500W 80 Plus Power Supply (100-W1-0500-KR) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_fLtkxb3Q3SQ76)
£35~~

You might want to consider a bigger hard drive maybe an ssd, also the gpu I suggested is most certainly overkill for everything else and mightnt work but it's only to give an idea for now.. I'm not even sure how well the x6800 will perform, hopefully someone more in the known can add to this

edit: i was talking rubbish

Thanks for the thoughts!

I figure $20 on fans isn't making or breaking the budget regardless, and if I have one or 2 left over as spare parts it's not the end of the world.

Do you think it makes sense to go down to an H170 chipset for the motherboard? Maybe something like this (~$120)

PSU selection has given me the biggest headache as I really don't know what to look for beyond a high enough wattage to support the needs of the machine and an efficiency rating. Detailed guides I've read have thrown me for a bit of a loop. Anything in particular to look for? Does this seem reasonable? Is it more a brand trust thing between SeaSonic and EVGA?

I just built one today. The popular 2.5A power adapter is this one, which is probably on your list

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MARDJZ4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then I bought this case, which acts as a giant heat sink and was shown to cool the CPU more then the little heatsinks

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QB6F9I0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I followed the instructions that others posted and I've been trying it out all night, with a few hiccups for certain systems (Neo Geo, Family Computer Disk System), but Google searches fixed those issues.

I'm using my Xbox One controller, which has been working great and has extra buttons for different things (like save states, which I don't think can be done an an SNES controller)

Never even heard of that brand before. Sounds like it might be pretty cheap and is the source of the problems. Is there anyway you can get a picture of it? I'd suggest you purchase a new/better power supply. I would say get a PSU greater than 500 watts. Around the 700 watt range should be good for your system. EVGA makes great power supplys, something like this

A RetroPie is a better value. It can play thousands of Atari, NES, SNES, N64, PS1, Amiga, and Dreamcast games. Many games are Netplay capable; you can play Mario Kart 64 with someone on the opposite end of the country!
After you get it configured it is just plug and play. Even includes box art, descriptions, and ratings.

RetroPie : $0

Raspberry Pi 3: $36

Power supply : $10 (or use a spare cell phone charger)

SD Card: $10

Wired SNES controller: $12

Bluetooth SNES/NES/Analog contoller: $37 (optional)

Raspberry Pi case: $7

3D printable NES Raspberry Pi case: $0

3D printable SNES Raspberry Pi case: $0

Total: $75 ($48 if you can print your own case and use your own charger and SD card.)

• An SSD would be nice, but I'd look at it as your first upgrade. Alternatively grab a 240/256GB SSD and then grab an HDD when you need to extra space. I'm currently only running a 256GB SSD and while it's pretty full (~80%), I still have 5 games installed on it.
  
  
• A quality 550w PSU is enough for most single cards builds. Next gen cards are more likely to consume less power, not more. There are good 650w options for about the same price though. A 650w GQ would be a good option...
  
  http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Modular-Crossfire-Warranty-210-GQ-0650-V1/dp/B017HA3SQ8

So for the CPU, I chose an i7-7700k for you, since this will be extremely beneficial to VM running due to hyper-threading capabilities, and for server level applications. As for the Cooler, I choose the Coolermaster 212 since you don't plan on overclocking just yet, using air cooling for now is acceptable. I chose the MSI

MSI Z270I GAMING PRO CARBON AC Mini because it has Wifi built in, along with your optical audio output, however you might need to invest in a sound card that has an optical audio input. The RAM chosen was the best price for the speed and capacity. SSD was chosen based on lowest cost per dollar (Crucial is also a very reputable brand), along with a 1TB HDD for whatever. GTX 1070 because they are awesome. The Case was the most budget friendly, and has a window (also allows for side panel air intake which I'm a huge fan of), Price for the PSU isn't listed, but this $90 one would be my recommendation. I picked budget friendly peripherals, but these can always be upgraded.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | $483.00 @ Shopping Express
CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler |-
Motherboard | MSI Z270I GAMING PRO CARBON AC Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard | $289.00 @ Mwave Australia
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $155.00 @ Centre Com
Storage | Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $189.00 @ Centre Com
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $64.00 @ Shopping Express
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card | $649.00 @ Umart
Case | Deepcool TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case | $55.00 @ Mwave Australia
Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply |-
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit | $128.00 @ Shopping Express
Monitor | Asus VC239H 23.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor | $175.00 @ Umart
Keyboard | *Gigabyte GK-KM6150 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse | $14.00 @ IJK
Keyboard | Cooler Master OCTANE Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse |-
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $2201.00
| *Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-09 21:47 AEDT+1100 |

Power supply was 50% off on amazon, perfectly suitable for my needs, already purchased as it was a 3 day sale.

I tried to sell Dad on one 8Gb stick, but he knows my gaming rig has 16Gb and he wants to be cool like me so we splurged for the rest. If my budget was tighter, that would be the 1st thing to go, but we have room to play since we saved alot by not needing an SSD or Case.

Edit: I just realized that the linked Power Supply was actually not the one I purchased, mine has sleeved black cables and is the 450 BT Model which for some reason doesnt show up on PC partpicker.

I have the gigabyte z170 gaming 7 and it is a fantastic board!! It is very good looking and has every feature I would need in my mobo. The only bad thing about these motherboards are the UEFI BIOS it is just okay nothing fancy or amazing and easy to move around with so since u have a windowed case Id go for what you find more pleasing to look at and matches with your build! Other than that I would get a different power supply an evga gs/g2 psu will do you just fine and there is one on sale right now at amazon! http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Crossfire-Warranty-220-G2-0750-XR/dp/B00IKDETOW

Another thing you may consider is getting an r9 390 unless you are set on nvidia the 390 will be a smarter buy (whichever one is cheaper is better but if they are both the same price the 390 is a better buy).

The samsung evo 850 is also cheaper than that SSD

I'm willing to stretch my budget a little bit, nothing too drastic though. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I also have this power supply laying around unopened if that helps.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H33SFJU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01


And most importantly, thank you for your help! I really appreciate it.

Some of the more recent reviews for it on NewEgg say that people get it and it fails or has coil whine. This sub inparticular is a huge fan of the EVGA power supplies since their customer support is great and they have a big range of options that tend to be very reliable. Don't skimp on the PSU unless you have to. You can get the EVGA equivalent of what you have here for only a bit more. The deal is pretty good though and I'd say if your budget is tight it should be good.

PSU: Please do not get 1200W PSU. You do not need that much. I understand building a dream build and all, but that's just throwing money out the window at that point. The only benefit is that it will be completely silent most of the time, but even then, a good PSU is very quiet when the fan is running. Can just get a 650W/750W for $90~, which is plenty.

MOBO: Your current mobo is fine, though a bit pricey/flashy.

RAM: Same problem with your PSU. Way too expensive. Your case doesn't even have a window, so shilling out money for fancy looking RAM is just a waste. Go with a simpler 2x8 DDR4. Here is a set that is faster, and cheaper. Could go even cheaper than that too, which I'd suggest.

Monitor: Get a better one if you're wanting a dream setup. 1080p 60FPS on a 1070 with this budget is a waste IMO.

Storage: You're over paying way too much here. Why do you have an HDD, SSD, and a hybrid? Drop the hybrid, and swap to a 2TB HDD from Western Digital. I would also go for Samsung 850 EVO instead. Twice the storage, great speed/quality, for only $40 more.

OS: Why do you think you need a Windows 10 PRO? It is not at all necessary for a majority of PC users. Windows Home is half the price, and will have everything you'll likely need.

Now I don't know what your setup is, but unless you are running a dual GPU setup, I don't think you will need more than 500W

Honestly, I would just get the SuperNova G2 550W, should be better than those two

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Modular-Warranty-220-G2-0550-Y1/dp/B0106RDI3W/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1480084447&sr=1-1&keywords=EVGA+G2+550W

That beeing said, both are good, can't go wrong either way

A VR build doesn't have to be stupid expensive anymore. Just keep in mind that no matter what you buy is going to replaced with bigger and better parts in a year or two. It's just how pc building works. Doesn't mean what you build will become shitty though. I'm a big fan of setting myself a budget and staying well below it. I prefer to keep my extra money in my pocket, but that's just me. I honestly think a 1080 or 1080TI is overkill unless you want to do some 4k gaming, but then that requires a 4k monitor. Not worth it if you're building a VR rig. Just my opinion.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor | $339.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler | Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $107.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | MSI - Z370 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $109.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | $164.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Samsung - 860 Evo 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $129.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $42.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card | MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Video Card | $499.99 @ Amazon
Case | Deepcool - DUKASE V2 ATX Mid Tower Case | $34.99 @ SuperBiiz
Power Supply | EVGA - SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $69.99 @ Amazon
Monitor | Asus - VG278Q 27.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor | $294.50 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1795.21
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-21 18:50 EDT-0400 |

Sounds like a Power Supply Issue to be honest. Easiest way to verify it's not a power supply issue is to buy a power supply tester like this ( http://www.amazon.com/Insten-24-pin-Power-Supply-Tester/dp/B005CTCD6S ) for about $7. So helpful in diagnosing issues when you can be sure if the power supply is working or not.

If the power supply passes at that point, it's either the Motherboard or the CPU. From then look at your capacitors and make sure they all look good and see if you can spot anything wrong.

Typically based on my experience it's usually the motherboard and not the CPU, but without testing your Power Supply (or Using a known good Power Supply). You won't know for sure.

Also as an additional note I have seen power supplies still turn on when they were not working correctly so just because the fan spins does not mean it is working properly.

If you're a student in high school or college, see if your school or college department has a Microsoft Imagine subscription, which could get you your windows license for free. That'll save a lot.

The K55 isn't mechanical, just a heads up. It's not half bad as a membrane keyboard though If you want mechanical with white backlighting, the Logitech G610 has sold on amazon for $60 a few times and uses Cherry MX Reds. There's also the Gigabyte Force K83, which lacks dedicated media and volume keys and backlighting, but is a steal at $40 (an LED desk lamp can kinda solve the lack of a backlight. I use the Logitech in my home office and the Gigabyte Force at work.

Logitech G610 Red: https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Backlit-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B01CDYB8AG/

Gigabyte Force K83: https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Mechanical-GK-FORCE-K83-RED/dp/B01BMJ0Y4O/

You can get the SuperNOVA 650 G3 for $10 less:
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Modular-Warranty-220-G3-0650-Y1/dp/B01LYGFRL6/

Otherwise, the only other thing I could think of is getting a Micro ATX board (shorter and usually 3-4 PCIe slots as opposed to ~7, most people don't use more than 3) to get the price to around $90. The ASRock AB350 Pro4 is around $90, despite being an ATX board:

https://www.amazon.com/ASRock-AB350-PRO4-ATX-Motherboard/dp/B06WWF165R/

NewEgg has it in stock at the same price with a guarantee that it's Ryzen 2000 ready.

Whatever you choose, I hope you enjoy it.

i appreciate you answer: after digging around i come up to some good HW i would like you to rate it:

​

CPU:

Intel Matching Pair Xeon E5-2670 Eight Cores Processors 2.60GHz 20MB Smart Cache 8.00 GT/S QPI TDP 115W SR0KX BX80621E52670

​

MB:

ASRock Motherboard ATX DDR3 1066 Intel LGA 2011 EP2C602-4L/D16

*On board 4 port ethernet

*SW raid

*14 sata ports (MIX speed)

​

RAM:

Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3/DDR3L 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) DR x8 ECC UDIMM 240-Pin Memory - CT2KIT102472BD160B

​

CPU cooler:

2x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

​

PSU:



EVGA Supernova 750 G3, 80 Plus Gold 750W, Fully Modular,

​

Fans:

EZDIY-FAB 12cm 120mm 200CFM 4000RPM CPU

​

Case:



http://www.coolermaster.com/case/ultra-tower/cosmos-2/

or

http://phanteks.com/Enthoo-Primo.html

​

Hypervisor:

Proxmox

​

​

​

As per your questions



>we might not share the same definition of cloud

rsync if you know it running raid 1

​

> depending on how much transcoding you need to do and the number of concurrent streams, you'll want a sufficiently new processor and/or a GPU

i don't think i will use transcoding i will just stream 1080P



what are you going to do here? It doesn't really give hints on the power you'll need

I might host a website or a DB for my app

​

​

thanks alot for your time

Some updated links from 7/12/17

---

unless you already have the i3-7100, i'd suggest taking a look at some of the Build Recomendations. Specifically probably the $297 or $350 ones. If you're super concerned about CPU power draw, go with an e5-2630L, only has 60w TDP vs the 54 of the i3-7100, plus passmark gets bumped up to almost 8000 vs 5600, and gets 6 cores vs 2. Likely will end up cheaper that what you're planning also. And, bonus, up to 14 SATA drives are supported by the mobo there. I recently even found alternative links to most of the items, see below. Notice you mentioned CAD, so may not be able to find as good of deals on used server parts as here.

---

Build

Type|Item|Price (eBay)

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Xeon X5670 2.93GHz, 3.33GHz Turbo 6-Core, 12-Thread | $35 $24.98
Motherboard | Supermicro X8ST3-F LGA1366 (comes w/ 6 SATA cables) (PSA: Always make an offer!)| $105 $110 |
RAM | 3x 4GB 2GB DDR3 NON-ECC 1333MHz | $22 $19.99 |
CPU Cooler | Intel 1366 Heatsink/Fan for Xeon | $23.85 $19.99 |
PSU | EVGA 430W White 450W Bronze PSU | $37.14 $24.99|
Case | NZXT Source 210 (white) | $54.99 |
Tax, shipping, other fees | | $15.99 $24.59
Total | | $294.87 $279.53

Ebay Cart
Amazon Cart

I am going to expand storage at a later date, my short term goal is around 12tb with a parity disk. The case has space for 9 3.5" drives and I hope to fill those. Also a little extra room for a video card is helpful. Thus the reason for a 600w power supply. How about this PSU?



I have been looking into flashing the 460 into it's quadro counter part to eliminate issues with the gpu pass through.

Performance wise would running a Linux host be faster? I wanted to pass a GPU through to Windows because when the VM is off the card will be off so I will be able to save power. The windows VM will not be running very often.

The laptop won't be used, because I already got an laptop for school, but I might use the gaming laptop for travel etc. I could take either the SSD or HDD from the laptop, so the laptop still has one of them? Example take the SSD, and leave the HDD's behind, Or take the HDD's and leave the SSD behind, or maybe even take one of the HDD's and the SSD and leave one HDD behind? Which sounds best?

And with the money I saved there, I can buy a 650w gold PSU from EVGA for only like 30$ more ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B017HA3SQ8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495055549&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=evga+gq+650w&dpPl=1&dpID=51EyCz-JKoL&ref=plSrch )

I've pasted links to all the items from amazon below. There's a lot of tutorials out there, but here's a good one that has all the information you need:
https://www.google.com/amp/www.pocket-lint.com/news/137374-can-t-buy-a-nes-classic-mini-how-to-build-your-own-retro-console-for-just-50.amphtml?client=safari

Official Raspberry Pi 3 Case - Red/White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CK3XTIE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KLsyybK7JT1C8

Retro NES Nintendo Entertainment System Original Console Art Video Game Vinyl Decal Skin Sticker Cover for Original Nintendo 3DS System https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VMU8ZRW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nMsyyb955DVQ4

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Motherboard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CD5VC92/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0MsyybX4SA6RR

CanaKit 5V 2.5A Raspberry Pi 3 Power Supply / Adapter / Charger (UL Listed) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MARDJZ4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_CNsyybASXJXZA

Samsung SDXC 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card w/ Adapter, (MB-MC64DA/AM) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01273JZMG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_6NsyybQ5ADHJF

Retro-Link Wired NES Style USB Controller https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GWKL3Y4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pOsyybP1FPB3K

Oh, you'll also need an hdmi cable.

For a budget build planning to expand in the future, you need some good bones to work with. I would put a case towards the top of the list. It's something you're going to keep for years so don't feel bad about $100 to $150 here. Next most important is the power supply. If you plan on getting a second video card in the future, you're going to need a better power supply. Buy something nice now so that when you go to get a second card, or even just a nicer one, you don't end up having to buy another PS first. For less money and better quality I would recommend this one. http://amzn.com/B00K85X2AW Not only is it cheaper, but it's more watts AND it's fully modular. If you stick to the same price point, you could get 750W which is what you will need as a bare minimum to SLI/Crossfire with some cards. Motherboard is the third priority. You can get a few years out of a solid MB. Plus MBs determine what upgrades you can get in the future. Case, MB and PS to me are the most important, all the others you can upgrade your will.