1. Download ComboFix, HitmanPro, Malwarebytes, Bitdefender Rescue CD, and the Bitdefender free 30-day trial of Bitdefender Internet Security or Bitdefender Total Security. (If you want to know the difference between the versions of Bitdefender, check the comparison chart.)
   
   
2. Install ComboFix, let it run the scans, remove anything bad it finds, and restart the PC.
   
   
3. Install HitmanPro, let it run the scans, remove anything bad it finds, and restart the PC.
   
   
4. Install Malwarebytes, let it run the scans, remove anything bad it finds, and restart the PC.
   
   
5. If there was anything that couldn't be removed in regular Windows, restart the PC in safe mode and run the scans again.
   
   
6. Burn the Bitdefender Rescue CD to a CD, DVD, or a USB drive. Boot the PC from the Bitdefender Rescue CD before Windows starts and let it run the scans, remove what it needs to, and then restart the PC. Here are instructions on how to make the Bitdefender Rescue CD. If you need more directions on how to use the Bitdefender Rescue Disk, check these instructions from Bitdefender or these instructions from How To Geek.
   
   
7. Install the 30-day free trial of Bitdefender Internet Security or Total Security and let it run a full scan just to make sure everything is clean.
   
   
8. Purchase Bitdefender Internet Security, Bitdefender Total Security, or another good, paid anti-virus program (Bitdefender is the best though.) According to tests, research, and my personal experience, Bitdefender is the best antivirus for home Windows users. (No, I do not work for Bitdefender or any antivirus or software company, nor do I get any kickbacks for promoting them and never have. I just recommend what I've found is the best option.) I use Bitdefender Internet Security or Total Security on all my 6 computers and recommend it to all my clients. There's no reason to pay $50+ for a paid antivirus. I always buy mine on sale and have never paid more than $10 per PC per year. Sometimes I even get paid antivirus programs for free after the rebate. Watch the sales from different retailers like Newegg: Antivirus & Internet Security, Amazon: Antivirus & Security, Best Buy: Antivirus, Security & Utilities, eBay: Antivirus & Security Software and most importantly, check the Bitdefender promo codes and sales because they always have promo codes/sales to reduce the price of their products. There are always sales or rebates so there's no reason to pay full retail price for any antivirus. (If you would like to see the links and research proving the Bitdefender is the best antivirus, feel free to PM me or comment on here and I will be happy to share them with you.)
   
   
9. Make sure you're using either Chrome or Firefox as your internet browser. Make sure they are up-to-date and use the proper ad blocking extensions to prevent malware from infecting your PC again. I will include a list of some good browser extensions/add-ons below. (How to Update Google Chrome and How to Update Firefox)
   
   
   
10. Backup your PC or at least your important files. If you don't have an external hard drive, use a free cloud service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive to back up your most important data. Every computer owner should have an external hard drive and perform weekly backups. If you have a laptop or prefer portable storage, a Western Digital My Passport (Amazon link for My Passport) or Western Digital My Passport Ultra (Amazon link for My Passport Ultra)are great choices. If you have a desktop computer or need more storage space, check out the Western Digital My Book (Amazon link for My Book).
    
    Browser Extensions
    
    

• Tom's Guide: Best Ad Blockers and Privacy Extensions
  
  
• Raymond CC: 10 Ad Blocking Extensions Tested for Best Performance
  
  Chrome Extensions
  
  
• Chrome: AdBlock
  
  
• Chrome: Adguard AdBlocker
  
  
• Chrome: Adblock Plus
  
  
• Chrome: Adblock Pro
  
  
• Chrome: uBlock Origin
  
  
• Chrome: Ghostery
  
  
• Chrome: HTTPS Everywhere
  
  
• Chrome: WOT: Web of Trust
  
  
• Chrome: Avast Online Security
  
  Firefox Browser Add-ons
  
  
• Firefox: AdBlock Plus
  
  
• Firefox: uBlock Origin
  
  
• Firefox: Adguard AdBlocker
  
  
• Firefox: AdBlocker Ultimate
  
  
• Firefox: AdBlock for Firefox
  
  
• Firefox: NoScript Security Suite
  
  
• Firefox: Web of Trust, MyWOT/WOT: Website Reputation Rating
  
  
• Firefox: HTTPS Everywhere
  
  
• Firefox: Smart HTTPS
  
  
• Firefox: Smart HTTPS (revived)
  
  
• Firefox: Ghostery
  
  I believe I covered everything. If you have any questions or are still having issues, feel free to let me know. I work as a tech and this is the same process that I use on a regular basis to clean infected PCs.
  
  EDIT: Just a quick search on eBay for Bitdefender and I found a 5 PC/1 Year Bitdefender Total Security for around $40 here. Always check eBay and you can save a lot of money, just make sure you only buy from sellers with lots of good feedback.

/u/paulatreides0, /u/jetjaguar124, u/WeAreAwful

This is not my best guide, but it is a guide. Refinements welcome.
I wish I knew where to post the refined version, because it seems wasted
on the ephemeral DT.

PC building notes, 2019 Q3

Introduction

This post is a a "guide" to PC building in late 2019. It is incomplete
in two senses. First, I make no special claims to authority or objectivity.
I'm just an enthusiast. I have only personally tested a fraction of the parts
listed below. Second, I am writing this before the Intel 10th-gen refresh
and before the release AMD's flagship 3950X. Those new parts may impact some
of the advice given below.

This guide is extremely opinionated. I will simplify and exaggerate to
keep things simple.

This post was written while drinking whisky and listening to
enka.

Internals

What's inside your PC

A PC has seven core components. They are,

1. CPU: the central processing unit. The thing that does calculations.
   
2. Motherboard: the bit that all the other bits slot into
   
3. GPU: the graphics processing unit. For frames in games.
   
4. RAM: Random Access Memory. Fast, volatile, short-term storage.
   
5. Storage: longer-term storage. Comes in several flavors, mainly solid state
   and hard disk.
   
6. PSU: the power supply unit. The bit that delivers power to the other bits.
   
7. Case: a steel box that you put the other bits in.
   
   A word first on compatibility. The skeleton of the build is the motherboard,
   and you have to make sure that every other bit is compatible with your board.
   There are two CPU manufacturers, AMD and Intel; each has their own CPU
   design and thus has their own motherboard type. RAM, storage, PSUs, and GPUs
   are all cross-compatible with either AMD or Intel motherboards.
   Motherboards come in different sizes. A case will be compatible with certain
   size ranges. From small to big, these are ITX, m-ATX, ATX, and
   E-ATX. You'll want to check that your motherboard can fit in your case.
   
   

   CPUs
   

   
   AMD's most current CPUs are the 3000-series Ryzen chips. There are a bunch
   of them, but the only two you have to care about are the
   
   

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600 ($200)
  
• AMD Ryzen 7 3700X ($330)
  
  The other options are the 3600X, the 3800X, and the 3900X. None of these
  are interesting compared to the two listed above, and can be safely ignored.
  
  Intel's current CPUs are the 9th-gen Core chips. I would only seriously
  consider two of these chips,
  
  
• Intel i7-9700K ($380)
  
• Intel i9-9900K ($450-$500)
  
  and I'd ignore the rest. If you want to spend less than $350 on a CPU,
  then go AMD. If you want to spend more than $350 on a CPU,
  go Intel.
  
  A word about prior-gen chips. The AMD 2000 series (2700X, 2600) and the
  Intel 8th gen series (8700K) are still viable at the right price. Look at
  benchmarks. More on that later.
  
  A word about lower-spec CPUs. AMD sells cheap CPUs that have integrated
  graphics. That means you don't need to buy a graphics card with these chips.
  As such, a build with the 3400G or 3200G can be extremely inexpensive. Consider
  them for office use or basic builds that don't require heavy graphics.
  I have personally tested them and they play 4K video flawlessly; they should
  be perfectly adequate for basic tasks.
  
  For scientific workloads, ask me to write another post. I can't cover
  everything here.
  
  
  

  Motherboard
  

  
  Motherboards only accept either AMD or Intel CPUs, but not both, so you must
  choose a board that is compatible with your CPU.
  Once you decide between AMD or Intel, you can proceed to figure out which
  motherboard you want. There are approximately six billion boards. For AMD,
  skip the hassle and just buy the
  
  

• MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX
  
  Note the "MAX." The Tomahawk was released during the 1000- and 2000-series
  of AMD processors. The MAX variant is compatible with 3000-series chips
  out of the box.
  
  For Intel, I know far less. Any Z390 board should be acceptable.
  
  For AMD, the new X570 boards are available as well. They are pricey and
  overkill for 90% of desktop users. Feel free to skip them. Look out for the
  B550 boards that are to be released in 2020Q1.
  
  
  

  GPU
  

  
  There are two main manufacturers of GPUs: AMD and Nvidia. Confusingly, they
  do not sell GPUs themselves, but market them through partners like MSI,
  EVGA, PowerColor, Sapphire, etc.
  
  The GPU stack is a little confusing.
  That chart lists all of the main GPUs on the market, and if you count, there
  are over 25 GPUs listed. Multiply 25 GPUs by 10 or so board partners,
  multiplied again by the fact that each partner sells multiple types of the same
  GPU, and you have a recipe for an absolute nightmare of a market.
  The prices are only approximate.
  
  Let me cut through the fog. You should buy one of
  
  

• AMD RX 570 ($130)
  
• Nvidia 1660 or AMD RX 590 ($220-$280)
  
• AMD RX 5700 XT ($400-$430)
  
• Nvidia 2080 Super ($700)
  
• Nvidia 2080 Ti ($1200)
  
  Pick your price point.
  
  
  

  RAM
  

  
  RAM is distinguished by its generation. We are currently on DDR4, with
  DDR5 to come in either 2020 or 2021. This part is easy. Just buy
  16GB of DDR4 3200-speed RAM and be done with it.
  This kit
  will set you back $75 to $85 depending on the day of the week and will perform
  adequately for 99.98% of users.
  
  

  Storage
  

  
  In 2019, there is no excuse for not buying fast solid-state storage.
  For 90% of users, you should buy either the 500GB or 1TB variant of the
  Intel 660p and call it a day.
  This reviewer
  is 100% paid off by Intel, but he's also right on this topic. Buy a 660p
  and rest easy.
  
  For enthusiasts, the 660p uses new, cheap, somewhat fragile QLC NAND technology
  and you might want to go with a Samsung 970 instead.
  
  That does it for your boot drive. If you need further long-term storage for
  music, movies, videos, games, etc, look into either Seagate or WD's 8TB to
  12TB options.
  
  I personally have a few WD Gold 12TB drives. They're pricey, but they're
  enterprise-grade and haven't done me wrong yet. My firm, which buys storage
  by the truckload, loves these things. They rarely fail.
  
  I personally am using a 660p for OS, a second SSD for
  some of my media, and HDDs for long-term storage.
  
  

  Power
  

  
  I have neither the time nor the expertise to get into a deep discussion of
  power supplies. The topic is apparently very complicated. You should buy
  something in the 550W to 750W from a manufacturer like Corsair, EVGA,
  or CoolerMaster. Make sure it has the number of VGA connectors that your GPU
  requires.
  
  

  Case
  

  
  The case is the place to really personalize your build. Try not to spend
  more than $100, though; at the end of the day, it's just a steel box.
  
  

  Peripherals
  

  
  In some ways, the bits outside the computer are more important than the bits
  inside. After all, these are the bits you interact with on a daily basis.
  
  

• Monitors
  
• Keyboard
  
• Mouse
  
• Headphones or speakers
  
• Chair
  
• Desk
  
  

  Monitors
  

  
  Monitors are distinguished by size and resolution.
  
  The resolutions available are 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. I recommend the following.
  
  

• 24" 1080p for entry-level gaming and for most office work
  
• 25" or 27" 1440p
  
• 32" or higher 4K
  
  You may also care about refresh rate; the most common refresh rates are 60Hz
  and 144Hz. These only matter for gaming.
  
  One particular sweet spot is the "1440p, 27", 144Hz refresh rate" class. Look
  up benchmarks and comparison videos.
  
  

  Keyboard
  

  
  Pick to taste. Some swear by mechanical keyboards. Others buy standalone
  keyboards that mimic the laptop keyboard that they're used to.
  
  

  Mouse
  

  I have used the Logitech G500 and Logitech G403, and both are fine. They're
  somewhat expensive and will run you about $70.
  
  

  Sound
  

  
  There are a million ways to fulfill your sound needs. For wired headsets,
  the bone-stock recommendation is the AudioTechnica ATH-M50x.
  For speakers, I can recommend the Klipsch 2+1.
  
  For more earphone and headphone suggestions, ask me for an extended discussion.
  
  

  Chair and desk
  

  
  Don't neglect these. You'll be sitting at that chair for several hours per
  day, and you'll use that desk forever. Measure how wide your monitors will be
  and buy a desk accordingly. Go to an office supply shop and sit in a few chairs;
  pick one that you like. Your desk and chair will last forever, so don't be
  afraid to spend a little money here.
  
  

  Advice
  

  
  Read Logical Increments in its entirety.
  
  Watch videos from real, serious hardware reviewers. I recommend
  Gamers Nexus, Paul's Hardware, and Hardware Unboxed. Anyone else is either
  subpar or bought out or provides worthless advice.
  
  Do research, think for yourself, and ask me questions. I'll either give you
  advice or point you to reliable resources if I think my advice would be lacking.

I believe [removed] means the mods removed it, not the user

Here's the post from google cache by /u/xtraveler192

>
> I've installed a bunch of accessories and thought I'd write up some quick notes. No reason for long reviews on most of these products.
>
> ​
>
> Wireless Charging Pad: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q9L6DJN/
>
> -- Fits in nicely, but doesn't seem to support fast charging despite contact with the seller. (Yes, I've connected it to a QC 3.0 Adapter for fast charging)
>
> -- Might return it and just go wired charging with a QC 3.0 Power Bank.
>
> -- Still undecided
>
> ​
>
> Front/ Rear Seat Floor Mats: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0792RW471/
>
> Picture: https://imgur.com/a/wr6sC87
>
> -- I first thought they looked cheap, but once installed the lines are so clean it fits seamlessly
>
> -- The hexagon shape is great for catching dirt, verus having it slide around the mat before it hits the edges
>
> -- Highly recommend
>
> ​
>
> Center Console/ Cup Holder Liner: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FN6X5QS/
>
> -- Fits really nicely, easy to remove and clean, keeps everything from sliding around
>
> -- Highly recommend for a basic liner, splash of color
>
> ​
>
> Trunk/Frunk Liner: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KZJMV5V/
>
> Pic: https://imgur.com/a/ZHTkrSn
>
> -- Clean lines, easy install, but doesn't fully cover every inch of the trunk space
>
> -- Tougher to get to lower compartment with items in trunk, but a small inconvenience
>
> -- Recommend for the price
>
> ​
>
> Door Open Stickers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MXYBPYH/
>
> Pic: https://imgur.com/a/cpn0QB7
>
> -- Day 1 & 2 showing people the car they all pulled emergency handle before I could catch them
>
> -- Since installing this no issues, and most people think it's a factory decal
>
> -- Highly recommend
>
> ​
>
> USB for DashCam/ Sentry Mode: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D7PDLXC/
>
> -- Everything has been great so far, plenty of storage
>
> -- I followed this instruction and had no issues at all: https://teslatap.com/articles/usb-flash-drives-for-tesla-dashcam/
>
> -- I formatted using GUIFormat (link in article) and it was quick and easy
>
> -- Recommended
>
> ​
>
> Key Card Holder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QPKW4Y9/
>
> Pic: https://imgur.com/a/0uCNAtc
>
> -- I don't like Tesla's phone connection, since I can't get text messages or any notifications, so I use my card often
>
> -- Placing this on top of the console wrap (see below), seems pretty seemless and prevents my card from sliding around
>
> -- Recommend for those that use the card often, or might use valet
>
> ​
>
> White Carbon Fiber Center Console Wrap: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MHYLGD7/
>
> Pic: https://imgur.com/a/8KGLycF
>
> -- This is awesome, take your time with install, the videos on evwraps.com are prefect and very clear
>
> -- The one mistake I made noone notices, so I don't point out (cup holder piece is the hardest to install FYI)
>
> -- BUY THIS NOW!!! (Especially if you have the white interior, I think it's the best accessory I have
>
> ​
>
> Screen Protector: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GKGDC5M/
>
> -- Easy install, it basically suctioned itself to the screen after placing 1 corner
>
> -- My fingers slide easily on the screen, and cleaning it is a breeze
>
> -- Highly recommend, can't beat the price
>
> ​
>
> Center Console Organizer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M8NRLV8/
>
> Pic: https://imgur.com/a/kC8CTCx
>
> -- Great organizer, great price, easy to pop in and out
>
> -- Make sure you put the organizer in, and then lower the phone holder, reverse order to take it out
>
> -- Highly recommended
>
> ​
>
> Dash Phone Holder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RVB24W1/
>
> -- I bought this to wireless charge and use Waze (normally key for my commute)
>
> -- It didn't fit well on the dash, and the cable run was going to get in the way of the clean interior lines
>
> -- Not recommended
>
> ​
>
> I'll answer questions that come up.
>
> (I wish I had set up an Amazon Associate Account to get a cut of these products, lol)
>

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.

I am using the MSI B450I and can confirm that it is working just fine with a non beta, stable bios. In fact, for the ITX boards the beta bios was working alright for me long before other boards were working well (looking at you Asus). The only downside is you need it flashed if you don't already have an older zen CPU.

I helped a friend build with the Gigabyte X570 and it's working just fine as well, it's a really great board. However, keep in mind you could really save some money and get the MSI board. Also, in terms of VRM's is the best you can buy. The fact that it just plain works (once you update the bios), is an added bonus considering how new everything is.

Concerning GPU, if you are willing to wait until next month, you will be able to buy open air coolers from other manufacturers. I don't have a 580, but my understanding is that it's fine. However, the 5700xt is much more powerful. I imagine that an open air Gaming X version from MSI will run basically silent. I'm sure other brands will produce silent amazing cards as well.

For memory, consider getting some Micron E-die, they overclock VERY well, and are only ~1mm taller than the LPX you have listed. Mine are running at 3600 cl 16 via MSI's "Memory Try It!" functionality. Basically, it's a single button overclock on your memory so you don't have to do it yourself. It's rock solid stable too.

Finally, concerning the NVME drive you have listed, it's 100% true that Samsung makes amazingly fast NVME drives and are arguably the best you can buy. However, are you really going to notice fractional seconds of load time over say a 1 or 2TB intel 660p? I'm currently running the 2TB 660p that I got for $200, and you can get a 1TB model for $95. That's double the space, for essentially the same performance. I understand the Samsung numbers are much higher, but those only really apply to specific applications like heavy database I/O. For day to day users and gaming, you won't be able to tell the difference. If you really want the 970 Evo because you want it, go for it, buy what you want. If you want more space for effectively the same performance, buy the 660p, I can confirm that it flies, and is amazing. I am so happy I bought it over the Samsung, because I have double the space for the same price and effectively the same speed.

​

Hope this was helpful, and enjoy your Dan Case, it's an amazing case.

As it stands you're on the right track with upgrading your CPU/mobo now. Your GPU is currently around low/mid range, being the same as the current R9 270X. You definitely don't need a RAM upgrade right now, unless for whatever reason you really wanted to move to 16GB.

However, you can get a very nice upgrade to a Haswell i5 and motherboard for less than half your budget around $250, like so:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | $176.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard | ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $67.98 @ Newegg
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $244.97
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-07 19:56 EST-0500 |

Now, since that leaves you with $250 left in your budget, I've got a few potential upgrade options you might consider:

Your PSU is still perfectly adequate to handle these new parts and a new GPU, but you might consider moving to a newer modular version with higher efficiency and a quieter fan. I'd recommend either the EVGA 750 B2 which is quite good, or for one of the best the EVGA 750 G2 with fully modular cables, semi-passive cooling, and gold efficiency.

If you do upgrade to a newer/higher wattage PSU and want the ability to run a second GPU down the line, swap the motherboard out to something like this MSI Z97S SLI Plus for $110.

If storage is starting to feel a little tight, you might consider putting down $100 for a new 3TB HDD like this Toshiba or this Seagate.

You mentioned you're in the market for a new monitor as well. If you haven't checked them out yet, I recommend taking a look at the new ultrawide 21:9 panels like this LG 25" 2560x1080 IPS panel for $230 on sale right now. If that doesn't really appeal to you, there are lots of great more standard 1920x1080 IPS panels around for less like this Acer 23" model, which is one of my favourites.

* And of course, I should also mention GPU upgrade options. As it stands, to really get a large and noticeable performance upgrade I'd recommend looking towards something like an R9 290 at minimum. This Diamond 290 at $270 is a solid deal, but with the current rumours of AMD's new Rx 300 series lineup coming out quite soon I'd say it's definitely not a bad plan to wait. Your current 7870 should be able to max out Skyrim without an issue, and should be able to run GTA IV even with ICEnhancer just fine. If you keep an eye out you'll find some really great deals pop up on these cards from time to time.

I agree with u/idunowat23 on quite a bit, but I'd recommend this build with a 240 Hz monitor:

[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Qnh7YH)

​

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----

**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jLF48d/amd-ryzen-5-2600-34ghz-6-core-processor-yd2600bbafbox) | $129.30 @ Amazon

**Motherboard** | [ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/RD97YJ/asrock-b450m-hdv-r40-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-hdv-r40) | $64.99 @ Amazon

**Memory** | [Patriot Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/p4cMnQ/patriot-viper-4-8gb-2-x-4gb-ddr4-3000-memory-pv48g300c6k) | $39.99 @ Amazon

**Storage** | [HP EX900 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7stQzy/hp-ex900-500mb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-2yy44aaabc) | $52.99 @ Amazon

**Video Card** | [MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB VENTUS XS OC Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/RGyV3C/msi-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-6-gb-ventus-xs-video-card-gtx-1660-ti-ventus-xs-6g-oc) | $269.99 @ Amazon

**Case** | [Zalman S2 ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Bcprxr/zalman-s2-atx-mid-tower-case-s2) | $44.99 @ Amazon

**Power Supply** | [SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Qb8j4D/seasonic-focus-gold-450w-80-gold-certified-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-ssr-450fm) | $64.90 @ Amazon

**Monitor** | [Acer XF250Q Cbmiiprx 24.5" 1920x1080 240 Hz Monitor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/nyMwrH/acer-xf250q-cbmiiprx-245-1920x1080-240-hz-monitor-xf250q-cbmiiprx) | $249.99 @ Amazon

**Keyboard** | [Corsair K63 Wired Gaming Keyboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bJDzK8/corsair-k63-wired-gaming-keyboard-ch-9115020-na) | $49.99 @ Amazon

| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |

| **Total** | **$967.13**

​

CPU - A Ryzen 5 3600 is ideal to sustain a higher framerate, I'm personally a big fan of it, but I'd argue its not the best value, especially if you're going to be using it for mostly Esports titles. My suggestion would be to get the 2600 and use the extra money for a 240 Hz monitor. You should be able to sustain 240 fps on low settings in all titles while only dropping slightly during complex frames.

​

Storage - IMO 500 GB is the sweet spot, but if you want a different amount:

250 GB - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B319VG2/?tag=pcpapi-20

1 TB - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GCL6BR4/?tag=pcpapi-20

​

Video Card - MSI's "Ventus XS OC" has a solid cooler that allows the card to sustain it's high clock speeds. Excellent value if you can get it for ~$270.

​

Case - While the description says 1 fan, mine came with 3, and a few of the reviews also mention this, plus it has front ventilation. Excellent airflow, excellent value.

​

Power Supply - Total system power draw is around 225 Watts, which means you're sitting at around 50% of the PSU's rated load (450 Watts)

Power used by system---------------225 W---------------225 W

80+ Certification-----------------------Bronze---------------Gold

Efficiency-----------------------------------85%------------------90%

Power drawn from wall--------------265 W---------------250 W

In this situation an 80+ Gold PSU will draw 15 less Watts from the wall than an 80+ Bronze PSU because of it's higher efficiency, and while this may not seem like that substantial, I think the extra up front cost is worth it taking into consideration the long term energy savings.

​

Monitor - 240 Hz is really nice, the only downside is that it's a TN Panel, which means your color accuracy is absolute dogs**t. TN panels are unfortunately the standard for 240 Hz monitors though. It doesn't really affect gaming, it's mainly going to be a factor if you ever decide to do content creation in the future. You're just gonna have to use your 2 LG monitors for that stuff.

​

Keyboard - My personal keyboard.

1 - Cherry MX Red Switches are linear with no tactile feedback which I prefer because I'm not a big fan of loud clicky switches.

2 - Tenkeyless - There's no number pad on the right so its smaller which allows for more desk space for your mouse.

3 - Audio Controls - Kind of a personal preference I guess, but it has Stop, Back, Pause, Forward, Brightness (of the lights on the keyboard itself, not your monitor), Mute, Decrease Volume, and Increase Volume on the top of the keyboard.

​

I left out the mouse because it's hard to pick 1 mouse that a bunch of people will like, I'd let the players choose individually if possible. But one feature I think you shouldn't overlook is On-Board Memory, which allows you to save all of the user's controls and sensitivity settings for games onto the mouse so that if you ever move to another computer, all your settings move with you.

Did I miss anything?

It's a great machine. Only problem I've had is the forced updates from Microsoft that have kind of broken my automatic controller functionality in a lot of games. I've seen other issues, though they all seem to be repairable/reversible issues. This specific issue has made it difficult for some of my games to easily see there's a controller available.

I have a 128 GB Samsung Ultra Fit USB flash drive that sits in the back. It's very low key and not noticeable. It does make it difficult to move the screen back completely but the position it is in is just fine with me. There is also a common issue with the USB 3.0 port that makes it sometimes not readable but it just takes a little move and the system recognizes its in there. Just seems to be a cheaply made port, is all. It works most times and has never randomly disconnected on me. This just usually becomes a problem when I remove it and put it back in. Currently there doesn't seem to be anything this small to allow for portability and ease of putting in your pocket, etc. that's above 128 GB. I paid like $30 for it at a local store. That has all of my games on it with Skyrim being the only game I have installed on the internal memory.

In addition to that, I have a 64 GB Micro SD card that is in there and I've just started using it for anything extra I have. 256 GB Micro SD cards are pretty pricey at $150+ for a decent one that will work with your gaming needs.

If you truly stick to emulators, I think that 128 GB USB flash drive will be suffice for you for everything while helping you save money and allowing you time to save up for a 256 GB Micro SD card like I'm doing.

The GPD Win is pretty pricey on its own but you can get lucky if you don't mind getting one used. I got one in superb condition for $300 off eBay (the number 1 key doesn't work, but that's okay) as they are about $439 brand new starting and they take longer to ship because they come from China. I've also read some people having issues where customs opened their box thinking it was drugs. There are also people on this sub selling theirs, one guy today posted one asking $250 and saying it's brand new in the packaging. Doing that may help you save money to put towards an expensive, good SD card too.

In the words of so many here, "Jesus Fucking Christ" is the first thing I have to say! It's so awesome to see everyone pumped up over the build. If I had known there would be so many comments, I'd have posted the pictures with some context, but I'll try and answer your questions now.

Are you posting more pictures?

Definitely! As soon as I get stuck into the meat of the build (this weekend maybe?) I'll take a few snaps during the build and the final result.

What are you going to do with this thing?

Play Minecraft on the lowest resolution possible with the particle effects and clouds turned off of course!

But seriously, there are several use cases intended for this rig, some personal, some work related:

• Multi-platform virtualized workstation (KVM, Windows & Linux guest OSes, PCI Passthrough, SLI configurations adjusted as needed)
  
• Game development (that's what I do for a living, not saying who I work for though!)
  
• Virtual reality game development / HMD gaming (all the cool PCMR kids will be doing it soon enough)
  
• Static lightmap rendering (3DS Max)
  
• Monitor Gaming (Minecraft in glorious 320x240, smooth lighting disabled)
  
• Keeping me company during the long winter nights
  
  Why four Titan X cards? Give 980 Ti some love!
  
  Originally I considered two Titan X cards and two 980 Ti cards for this build, but that idea was discarded for a few reasons and considerations, some more logical than others:
  
  
• In the event of the KVM workstation setup going horribly wrong, being able to fallback to a 4-way Titan X system running a single host OS would at least give me some use of all the cards.
  
• Is 6GB VRAM going to be sufficient 2 or 3 years down the line? I'm not so sure. 12GB of VRAM puts my mind at ease for a build that I intend to still be using 4 or 5 years from now with minimal upgrades.
  
• Purchasing four Titan X cards is equivalent to purchasing 5 980 Ti cards, which in the grand scheme of things, is not an insane premium to pay to build out a system with current generation top of the line hardware.
  
• I would have been buying watercooling equipment designed for the Titan X regardless of what I chose.
  
  
  For those asking about PALIT branded cards, they offer a reference design card for Titan X, which is fine, because most other vendors do the same. I will of course be dismantling the cards to add waterblocks to them, and possibly doing other crazy, potentially warranty-voiding overclocky things to them.
  
  That Sandisk Ultra II..it's so peasantly compared to the 950 Pro.
  
  I should have mentioned that I also have a 1TB 840 Evo that I'll be bringing over from my current workstation, which has a fairly negligible performance benefit over an 850 Evo and Pro in a practical setting.
  
  The Ultra II was a Cyber Monday deal, much cheaper than an 850 Evo or Pro for reasonable performance and storage capacity, and more than enough for infrequent secondary storage.
  
  De-ionized water, why not distilled?
  
  I didn't list it in the pictures because it hasn't arrived yet, but I am expecting a delivery of distilled water tomorrow for filling the loop. The de-ionized water will be used to flush water blocks and radiators as it is a cheaper source of purified water to obtain here in the UK (unlike distilled water, which stores don't stock like in the US).
  
  Biocide, coolant, anti-corrosives?
  
  I have decided to start with distilled water and a couple of drops of Mayham's Biocide (a copper sulphate concentrate), and keep a close eye on the loop for the first few months to see how it works out, and introduce corrosion inhibitors if needed. I am fortunate that my loop mostly consists of copper, with brass and nickel plated/brass fittings, so at this point, my main concern would only be the tin/lead solder inside the radiators as being a potential corrosion hazard.
  
  If anyone has information on corrosion inhibitor bases that can be added to water that don't contain a glycol mixture and dyes, and that are designed to protect copper/nickel/brass/tin/lead, I'd love to hear from you!
  
  You better have awes-mazing monitors for that rig!
  
  Baby steps...it has been five years since I built my last workstation, and everything will eventually have to be replaced, which includes five 21.5" 1080p 60Hz monitors. Replacing those is a financially crippling research project in itself, but for now, the tower is the first replacement to be dealt with.
  
  Are you going to trick this thing out with LEDs, chrome rims and a sexy lady lounging over the case?
  
  No, the tower isn't really all that visible in practice as it would be sitting behind a monitor (and not repositionable as the whole desk is covered in monitors!), so I did not intend on going crazy with lights, colored tubing and platinum case trim, instead directing the budget towards more practical components.
  
  How much did the rig cost to build?
  
  I'd better leave the number crunching to my rich daddy and his solid gold, diamond encrusted calculator.
  
  Parts list, I demand it!
  
  Component | Product Name | Quantity | Product Info URL
  ---|---|----|----
  Motherboard | Asus X99-E WS | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/X99-E-WS-Workstation-Motherboard-Capacitors/dp/B00NJGJJE0
  Processor | Intel Core i7 5960X | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Extreme-Processor-Socket-2011-V3/dp/B00N1O4RRY
  Graphics Card | Palit NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X | 4 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Palit-Graphics-DisplayPort-Dual-link-PCI-Express/dp/B00UXOGCP0
  Case | Phanteks Enthoo Primo | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phanteks-PH-ES813P_BL-Enthoo-Primo-Tower/dp/B00EB0A6FE
  Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA 1600W G2 | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-Supernova-Modular-Power-Supply/dp/B00MGPJHPQ
  Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 64 GB (8x 8 GB) DDR4 2400 MHz | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMK64GX4M8A2400C14-Vengeance-Performance-Desktop/dp/B00PLERJ7M
  SSD | SanDisk Ultra II 960GB | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Ultra-Sata-2-5-inch-Internal/dp/B00M8ABHVQ
  SSD | Samsung 840 EVO 1TB (From Previous Build) | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-2-5-inch-Basic-Solid-State/dp/B00E3W16OU
  CPU Waterblock | EK-Supremacy EVO – Acetal | 1 | https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-supremacy-evo-acetal
  GPU Waterblock | Titan X/GTX 980Ti Copper Acetal Water Cooling Block EKWB | 4 | https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-fc-titan-x-acetal
  GPU Backplate | Black Aluminum TITAN X/980Ti Water Block Retention Backplate | 4 | https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-fc-titan-x-backplate-black
  GPU Bridge | EK-FC Terminal QUAD Semi-Parallel - Titan READY | 1 | https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-fc-terminal-quad-semi-parallel
  Tubing | TUBE PrimoChill PrimoFlex™ Advanced LRT™ 15,9 / 9,5mm (1 meter) | 3 | https://shop.ekwb.com/tube-primochill-primoflextm-advanced-lrttm-9-5-15-9-mm-crystal-clear
  Compression Fitting | EK-ACF Fitting 10/16mm | 20 | https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-acf-fitting-10-16mm-black
  90 Degree Fitting | EK-AF Angled 90° G1/4 | 6 | https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-af-angled-90-g1-4-black
  Ball Valve Fitting | EK-AF Ball Valve (10mm) G1/4 | 1 | https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-af-ball-valve-10mm-g1-4-black
  Pump Top | Alphacool HF D5 TOP - Black Acetal | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alphacool-HF-D5-TOP-mounting/dp/B00L5J1YIC
  Reservoir | Alphacool Repack Dual 5.25" Drive Bay Reservoir | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alphacool-Repack-cooling-pressure-monitor/dp/B007ENAVCI
  Pump | Alphacool VPP655 D5 Pump | 2 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alphacool-VPP655-PWM-Single-cooling/dp/B00LLR40OI
  Radiator | Alphacool 35281 NexXxoS UT60 Radiator 480 | 2 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alphacool-NexXxoS-Copper-480mm/dp/B007P05Y18
  Radiator | Alphacool 35279 NexXxoS UT60 Radiator 240 | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alphacool-NexXxoS-UT60-Copper-240mm/dp/B007P05XUU
  Radiator Fans | Corsair SP120 PWM Quiet Edition (Dual Pack) | 5 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CO-9050006-WW-SP120-Quiet-Pressure/dp/B007RESFR2
  Fan Controller | Phobya PWM 8 x 4Pin Fan Splitter | 2 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phobya-PWM-8x-4Pin-Splitter/dp/B00OD7MO6E
  Biocide | Mayhems Biocide 10ml | 1 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mayhems-Solutions-Ltd-Biocide-10ml/dp/B007WDOKAE
  
  If you made it this far through the rambling, thanks for reading, keep an eye out for more pictures, and keep on being glorious!

Hi /u/TaurusKing,

in the following I am going to explain the differences of the Mac minis 2018 to you. As a first step, I think it makes sense to look at how they perform, compared to each other. To that end, I am going to use their respective Geekbench scores measuring CPU performance in the following:

Mac mini 2018, 3.6 GHz Intel Core i3-8100B Quad Core:

4680 Points (Single-Core Score)

13949 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/435

Mac mini 2018, 3.0 GHz Intel Core i5-8500B Hexa Core:

5149 Points (Single-Core Score)

20239 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/436

Mac mini 2018, 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8700B Hexa Core:

5652 Points (Single-Core Score)

24242 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/434

-----

As you can infer from the numbers above, there are vast performance differences between the individual Mac minis 2018. The i5 and i7 machines are much more powerful than the i3 machine, as the i5 and i7 machines both have 2 more physical cores in their respective CPUs: They offer 6-Core chips instead of the 4-Core chip in the i3, hence the large gap in Multi-Core performance. The Multi-Core Score is the more relevant score to look at, as modern programs are - for the most part - designed to make use of multiple cores in a CPU. Thus, a higher Multi-Core score directly translates into better general performance. There is also a performance gap between the i5 and the i7 version of the Mac mini 2018, but this gap is much smaller, albeit still considerable.

The tasks you mentioned...

> I work with photoshop at weekends a lot, but my main activity is study medicine (Microsoft word and PowerPoint daily, so lots of new data coming every day + Google Chrome and lots of tabs in it).

...are not very processing-intensive, so the i3 version of the Mac mini should do just fine. However, I don't recommend to buy the i3 version for two main reasons:

• As programs and macOS itself get more and more demanding, better performance ensures that the machines ages well and is still up to the task for years to come.
  
• The price / performance ratio of the i3 version is not that great: The i3 version is $799 at the Apple website, while the i5 version is $1099. Yes, the i5 version is $300 more, but take a look at the large performance gap between the devices. In my opinion, the i5 version has the better price / performance ratio in the long run.
  
  Next you say something about your storage needs:
  
  > 1Tb of storage is completely needed,
  
  Well, there are different strategies to achieve this. The first one is to pay Apple a ludicrous $600 for upgrading the SSD from 256 GB (default in the i5 version) to 1 TB:
  
  
• https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/mac-mini/3.0ghz-6-core-processor-with-turbo-boost-up-to-4.1ghz-256gb#
  
  This is not a sound strategy. The Mac mini is a desktop machine, meaning it is confined to one place in your home. You won't carry this thing around with you. Therefore, it makes more sense to keep the 256 GB internal SSD in and add a bigger external SSD for a far cheaper price. Look at this SSD for example:
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T5-Portable-SSD-MU-PA1T0B/dp/B073H552FJ
  
  At the time of this writing, it is $218 for the 1 TB version, and $428 for the 2 TB version. As you can see, there is an extremely large gap between Apple's SSD upgrade prices. In my opinion, for a desktop machine, it doesn't make sense to opt for greater internal SSD storage, mainly for price reasons. Also, the 1 TB / 2 TB external SSD is there on top of the 256 GB internal SSD. Furthermore, you can plug the external SSD into your MacBook Air if need be, so file transfer becomes easier than it would be with a larger internal SSD in the Mac mini 2018. Some know-it-all might tell you now that internal SSDs are faster, and I agree with that because it's a fact, but at the same time the read / write and transfer speeds are more than sufficient for everything short of huge video project and massive game titles.
  
  Note that the internal SSD cannot be exchanged later on, as it soldered in (not a concern really, external storage exists).
  
  Next you talk about your memory needs:
  
  > I'm guessing something like 16gb of RAM...
  
  Yeah, 16 GB RAM it is. 8 GB RAM should work fine for the stated purpose of the machine, but for . the sake of future-proofing it I think you should opt for 16 GB RAM at least. However, as with the SSD, the price for the RAM upgrade is ludicrous at the Apple website. $200 for 16 GB RAM upgrade? Are they serious?
  
  The RAM in the Mac mini 2018 - contrary to its SSD - is user-serviceable, so you can extend its RAM capacity at any given moment. The Mac mini 2018 supports up to 64 GB RAM (2 x 32 GB RAM modules). It has two RAM slots, so two RAM modules in total fit in.
  
  This is the RAM specification you need for the Mac mini 2018:
  
  PC4-21300 2666 MHz DDR4, 260-pin
  
  These are RAM modules which work flawlessly in it:
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Adamanta-Upgrade-2666Mhz-PC4-21300-Notebook/dp/B07H9K5L5L
  
  Here you get 32 GB RAM (2 x 16 GB modules) for $195 as of the time of this writing, which is roughly the same amount of money Apple charges you for 16 GB RAM(!). And this is not even accounting for the resale value of the 2 x 4 GB modules the Mac mini comes with by default.
  
  That being said, while the RAM in the Mac mini 2018 is user-serviceable, the upgrade is not trivial. So, if you are not technically inclined and also don't want a repair service to perform the upgrade for you, then yes, buy the Mac mini 2018 with 16 GB RAM. I just wanted to let you know that there are cheaper ways to receive the same or better results with the machine.
  
  My recommendation:
  
  
• Mac mini with i5/i7 CPU (get the i7 if you go down the external SSD and / or RAM-upgrade-on-your-own route)
  
• 256 GB SSD (if you go the external SSD route) / 1 TB SSD
  
• 16 GB RAM (if you pay Apple's RAM prices) / 32 GB RAM (if you perform the upgrade yourself or let some repair technician perform it for you).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor | $199.99 @ Microcenter
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard | $128.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory | $57.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk | $92.99 @ NCIX US
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card | $249.99 @ Amazon
Case | BitFenix Prodigy Mini ITX Tower Case | $79.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply | Silverstone Strider Plus 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply | $74.99 @ Amazon
Optical Drive | Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer | $17.98 @ Outlet PC
Monitor | Acer G246HLAbd 60Hz 24.0" Monitor | $129.99 @ Newegg
Keyboard | Microsoft Keyboard 200 Wired Standard Keyboard | $9.99 @ Amazon
Mouse | Microsoft Optical Mouse 200 for Business Wired Optical Mouse | $7.12 @ Amazon
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $1050.01
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-10 19:32 EDT-0400 |

I didn't include an OS. I imagine your school might offer something for discount or even free.

This build has some room for upgrade:

I left a RAM slot open so you can cheaply upgrade it to 16GB at a later point. Make sure to get the same RAM when you upgrade to ensure dual-channel compatibility.

This build also doesn't have a hard disk, only a solid-state drive. This may be sufficient for you. If you ever need more space, the Seagate Barracuda 3TB ST3000DM001 ($122) gives you the most storage for the price. If you need something cheaper, the Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB ($63) is a pretty good deal.

I think this is a pretty good build. It's what I plan on getting myself in a month or so. It has the latest, most powerful Intel Core i5 processor that is the standard on /r/buildapc. It has the GTX 760 graphics card, which is nearly as powerful as the GTX 670 from the previous generation, only it's $100 cheaper. It has built-in Wifi and Bluetooth. It has a fully-modular, 140mm PSU which should fit really well in this case. The BitFenix Prodigy case is a gorgeous case and is available in many colors. I think the Samsung 840 SSD is supposed to be pretty good, and it has great reviews on NewEgg. This build should also be pretty compatible for use as a Hackintosh once Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks is released in a month or two in case you ever want to mess with that.

If you don't plan on overclocking, you should not only try the stock cooler first, but also get an i5-6500 instead, which has in games almost the same performance.

You do not necessarily need thermal paste, but it can be useful to have it if something goes wrong.

A GTX 980 Ti is totally overpowered for 1080p even if you want good settings. A R9 390 is a better fit, and a lot better in terms of price/performance

You can get a HDD indeed later.

Even though I understand that you want a good mainboard, there is no need at all to get a 200€ mainboard. Evaluate carefully what you need, which connectors and which features, and I'm pretty certain you will realize that a 110€ Z170 will be fine as well – or 140 if SLI support is a must.

If already being ready to invest much in a PC, get faster ram to gain some fps.

pc-kombo recommendation

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-6500 | EUR 219,90 @ Caseking
Motherboard | MSI Z170A PC-Mate | EUR 116,47 @ Cyberport
Memory | G.Skill 16GB DDR4 3000 (16 GB) | EUR 111,50 @ Amazon.de
SSD | SanDisk Ultra II 480 (512 GB) | EUR 139,00 @ Amazon.de
Video Card | Radeon R9 390 | EUR 319,90 @ Caseking
Case | Fractal Design R5 | EUR 109,11 @ Amazon.de
Power Supply | Antec Edge 550 (550 W) | EUR 107,89 @ Amazon.de
| Total | €1123.77
| Generated by pc-kombo 29.01.2016 |

Of course, just switch out the parts you are set on, like the case or the PSU. Though 750W would be too much for one R9 390.

Have you checked Amazon? They usually have these SSDs along the same price tag. I’ve seen them 85-100$ USD. There’s a Western Digital version of that SSD for about 88$ USD. There’s also a Crucial version of that SSD for about 88$ USD on Amazon. Not sure if it’s more expensive in AUS on Amazon. Hope I helped.

Edit: I’ll link you the items I’m talking about

This is the WD model
WD Blue 3D NAND 500GB PC SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s 2.5"/7mm Solid State Drive - WDS500G2B0A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073SBZ8YH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_I9xPBb4VDW1BD

I personally own the WD one and it’s been pretty good so far.

Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD - CT500MX500SSD1(Z) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0784SLQM6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_N.xPBb0HSAM8T

My friend owns the Crucial model and has told me good things about it.

Here is the Samsung model you’re looking for
Samsung 860 Evo 500GB 2.5 inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E500B/AM) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0781Z7Y3S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AbyPBbF2HH21P

The WD and Crucial models read and write faster than the Samsung model according to the info on Amazon. And they’re cheaper. WD also has a M.2 2280 version of the SSD which is easier to install IMO and it’s the same price.

This is an awesome contest, thank you! All of mine are under $100!

1. Atop my list are these sinfully comfortable and cute flats. I've posted about them on this sub before. They're all rubber/silicone (so they're not stiff anywhere at all), made from recycled materials, completely waterproof, easy to wash and clean (they can be washed in the dishwasher), and unbelievably comfy. They won't hurt your ankles and they have a "massage arch" so that they don't hurt the bottoms of your feet. Everyone needs a pair. This company makes flats, sandals, sling-backs, wedges! Even if I don't win this contest, I wholeheartedly recommend that you check these out.
   
   
2. Next would be this jar of fiber. Lol so glamorous. Seriously, fiber is so good for you. For your heart, for your system, for your cholesterol, etc. I try and get most of my recommended fiber everyday and I rely on a supplement for that.
   
   
3. Then this hard drive! This one will mostly be for my work/internship stuff. I'm so afraid to lose the work that I do on my laptop v. on my desktop, so this will be nice peace of mind!
   
   
4. This super cool cutting board that extends to fit over a kitchen sink! And a silicone pouch for separating the food! Too cool and a kitchen staple! I've seen these in use and they're so handy.

1 TB Western Digital $58

1 TB Seagate $53

2 TB Seagate $83.50

3 TB Seagate $102.80

Any of those would be good choices. Like others mentioned, WD Blues only go up to 1 TB. WD blacks are pretty much over priced, so Seagate is the better choice above 1 TB. The Seagate 1TB drive actually performs a little better than the WD 1 TB. As for WD being more reliable than Seagate, I don't really know if that's true or not.

Things to consider: Cache size, RPM and platter density. Seems like 64MB cache, 7200 RPM and 1 TB platter size is the best bang for the buck right now. All those drives above share those specs.

Case: Rosewill, NZXT, and CoolerMaster are good places to start. Its mostly an aesthetic choice.

CPU: Intel i5 or i7. If you're budget is tight go i3.

GPU: This is the most important!! If your budget is tight I'd go with AMD R7 265X, R9 270, or Nvidia GTX 750 Ti. If not my pick would be the AMD R9 290 non-reference. It's cheaper than most yet is very powerful.

Motherboard- I use a Asrock Fatal1ty Killer. Most common brands are Asrock, MSI, Asus, and Gigabyte.

RAM- I use Kingston HyperX. Other good brands include Corsair, Crucial, G-Skill. Be sure to get 8GB or more RAM memory.

Power Supply Unit- The two highest reviewed brands are Seasonic and XFX (I use 1050watt XFX). Other good brands include Corsair, EVGA, CoolerMaster. You will want probably at least 700W PSU but I would recommend a !000W. It will give you headroom for any components you want to add.

Wifi- If you want/need this: TP-Link WDN-4800

SSD- This is for your operating system, doesn't help much with games. Samsung 840 Evo, Kingston HyperX, and AMD R7 (just released, only read reviews) are all good and affordable brands. You shouldn't need more than 120GB. If you have a M.2 socket on the Motherboard you choose, go with an M.2 SSD such as the Crucial M500, or if you can find it at an affordable price, the Samsung XP941.

HDD- Seagate Barracuda 3TB is a cheap, yet reliable choice.

Optical Drive- I've only used mine once, but you can find a DVD-RW on Amazon for like $12. (Internal not external)

Miscellaneous:

Keyboard: RAZR, Logitech are good brands

Mouse: too many to count, just browse "gaming mouse" on Amazon or Newegg.

Monitor: I prefer Asus. Go with an IPS monitor. They are gorgeous. !440p if you have the money, if not, 1080p.

Headphones- AudioTechnica or Sennheiser

non-reference are graphic cards with after-market coolers on them. I like XFX and Gigabyte.

Links to Parts:

CPU: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-4790K-Processor-Cache-BX80646I74790K/dp/B00KPRWAX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1408495033&sr=1-1&keywords=intel+i7

GPU: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GDDR5-4GB-2xDVI-Graphics-GV-R929OC-4GD/dp/B00HS84DFU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1408495068&sr=1-1&keywords=R9+290

Case: http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-PHANTOM-Tower-White-PHAN-001WT/dp/B003WE9WQO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1408495102&sr=1-1&keywords=nzxt+phantom

MOBO: http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-FATAL1TY--LGA1150-CrossFireX-Motherboard/dp/B00KG5T4C4/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1408495154&sr=1-2&keywords=Asrock+z97+fatal1ty+killer

RAM: http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-HyperX-FURY-2x8GB-1600MHz/dp/B00J8E8XT4/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1408495201&sr=1-6&keywords=Kingston+RAM

SSD: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE120BW/dp/B00E3W15P0/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1408495329&sr=1-3&keywords=samsung+840+evo

HDD: http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Desktop-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST3000DM001/dp/B005T3GRLY/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1408495357&sr=1-3&keywords=Seagate+Barracuda

Good Luck ascending brother!!

Samsung SSD warranty has been shit for years.

If anyone's looking for SSD makers with good service, I'd recommend WD. I've done several WD HDD RMAs painlessly and successfully. They're located in the GTA area so you don't have to pay too much for shipping. The turn around time were around 3-5 business days each time.

WD sells NVMe m.2 SSDs as well as SATA in 2.5 form factor and m.2. They are priced better than the Samsungs as well. I don't know too much about long term quality, but so far the reviews for these units are quite good. I personally run a WD Blue m.2 SSD as my game drive/storage. And clarify that I'm not a shill, I use a Samsung EVO 960 512GB as my main boot drive. I'm very happy with my Samsung EVO as well as my WD. I just don't like Samsung's warranty service.

I have the same 13” mid 2012 MBP and am running 16gb of RAM w/ a 1TB SSD. I also have the same version of Ableton as you. The official specs from Apple list 8gb RAM as the max but it can for sure support 16gb. Based on the specs you provided I’d guess you have the i5 version which comes stock with 4gb of RAM and the 500gb HDD. Your model will support 16gb and you’ll see a significant boost in performance, with Ableton and the computer in general, if you add 16gb and an SSD. If you leave the standard 500gb HDD, I'd assume you'd only see a moderate boost in performance since that's really the big driver of slow performance. I can't speak to the performance of Omnisphere as I don't have a working copy but I do know it made a significant boost for pretty much everything in Ableton and otherwise.

​

My recommendation would be to add 16gb of RAM plus an SSD. They are both relatively straight forward processes as well (links below), just need the right tools and to take your time. Watch YouTube tutorials. Attaching links to the items I have in mine. I'd recommend getting the Crucial RAM and Samsung SSD (which is what I have and has a higher performance rating), but the Crucial SSD will be adequate as well.

​

Let me know if you have other questions on it.

​

INSTRUCTIONS

HDD Swap - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive+Replacement/10378

RAM Swap - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+RAM+Replacement/10374

​

PRODUCTS

Crucial SSD - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0784SLQM6/

Samsung SSD - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0781Z7Y3S/

RAM - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008LTBJFW/

Tool Kit - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IVKPTP6/

Alright, the long and short of it is you need a decent processor, but a higher priority on RAM

Here's a $600 budget build we'll use as a baseline. It's a gaming build

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/pvttt6/entry-level-amd-gaming-build

You do not need the video card, and we'll switch to a faster processor with onboard video

https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-3400G-8-Thread-Processor/dp/B07SXNDKNM/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=ryzen+3400g&qid=1570838032&s=electronics&sr=1-1

You go from 88 to 144 on the processor, but you save 130 on the graphics card.

Current rolling total is 445 and you have a 'capable' machine but one that can be better optimized for your needs

You keep the 2 TB hard drive as your 'backup and media storage' disk, but a much better/bigger SSD can drop in. Remove the 240 brick and put in one of these
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-NAND-2280SS-Internal/dp/B0784SY515/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=660p&qid=1570838233&sr=8-6
Suddenly you're looking at a $524 total with 3 tb of storage, one of which is SSD.

At that price, you are already at a decent system for your use case with lots of storage and decent speed.
Re-adding a discrete GPU like the one removed would give you decent gaming performance

a nicer case would probably be a good idea. Aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder, find one from a good brand name (Corsair, Cooler Master, NXZT, Phanteks, Fractal Designs.. there's lots of options) with at least an output fan (some just have an intake. Speaking from experience this sucks with ryzen). You have plenty of budget and a case can last between builds, find one you like.

You could theoretically buy a $20 DVD burner if that would be useful for you. Make sure the case has a spot for it.

TL;DR: I'd suggest you get a 4TB USB3 external 2.5" for about $110.

---

I have used the heck out of these machines for work; really liked 'em. Was the server model, though, and have upgraded both the HDDs in these many times. Running the OS off an SDD and sticking a big second drive in (and maxing the RAM to 16GB) made for just an awesome Windows 7 machine. In addition to four USB2 ports, it also sports a FW800 port and a Lightning port, but I'm ignoring these (to keep my answer shorter).

I'd break your question down into PLEX and non-PLEX questions.

The big PLEX question, I think, is performance. This is the last model of Mac Mini that had USB2. You say yours currently, "runs great throughout the house." It sounds like you use multiple clients? But do any of them run concurrently? As u/RX-Zero pointed out, you should get ~30MB/s throughput via USB2 (the HDD itself supports more but USB2 is the choke-point here). This is a marked step down in speed from any internal storage, but is it enough? We'll, it theoretically supports dozens of 1080p streams, so it will probably reveal a different choke-point before proving to be one itself.

The second PLEX question I might ask is one of portability; does your storage being portable make a difference for usability and/or recovery, for you? If you wanna take (rather than stream—for whatever reason) your content on the road with you, an external is easy. If your Mac mini fails, you could move your content to a replacement machine more quickly/easily. Mirrored backups are easier too.

The non-PLEX questions include cost, complexity, capacity and location. By location I mean location of the external storage. Do you have the space for an external HDD? Maybe a 2.5" with a short cable is easy. Maybe a single 3.5" will fit (don't forget that additional power socket though!). Maybe space isn't an issue? What about how it looks? Would adding an external upset the aesthetic?

By complexity I mean this (or this if you have a server model). I've changed the drives in these machines many times but I take it nice 'n' easy, every ... single ... time. ;)

Your capacity is limited by the 9.5mm tall (2.5") space, internally. You can fit a 2TB HDD in there (heck, even a 4TB SDD if money is no object) but that's it. Externally you can attach a 5TB 2.5" HDD or a bazillion-PB RAID enclosure. My point simply being that going external is unlimited.

Oh, cost. The good news? Storage is always getting cheaper. And, keeping it simple, it's a similar cost to go internal versus external (for the same storage capacity).

> I've added your lens to my purchase list and I will be buying it soon.

Glad I could help!

> would you place [the BMPCC 4K] above something like the GH5?

Yes. I am a GH4/BMPCC shooter who has rented the GH5 and seriously considered upgrading to the Panasonic, but decided to to get the $1295 BMPCC 4K instead [Referral Links].

Here's why:

• the BMPCC 4K delivers 13 stops of dynamic range (advertised) - while, according to Panasonic, the GH5 needs the $97 V-LOG upgrade to get 12 stops
  
• the BMPCC 4K records 12-bit Blackmagic RAW internally - while the GH5 is limited to 10-bit h.264/h.265 compressed
  
• the BMPCC 4K has a 3.5mm mic jack plus a built-in mini-XLR mic input with phantom (you can adapt a pro mic with a $19 cable) - the GH5 has a 3.5mm mic jack, but needs a $398 adapter to record directly to camera with a phantom powered pro mic
  
• the BMPCC 4K can record RAW externally to inexpensive SSD drives via USB-C - the GH5 needs a relatively expensive HDMI recorder to record externally to compressed 10-bit.
  
  The GH5 is a great camera, and I'll miss its electronic viewfinder, articulated LCD, 180fps slow motion, 20.3MP still photos, 4:3 anamorphic mode, waveform, vectorscope and in-body image stabilization - but at $1295, the Pocket is a much better value for the money.
  
  Although Blackmagic cameras have a steeper learning curve than consumer DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, and color grading in post is pretty much mandatory - in my view, they are the best pure filmmakers' cameras in this price range and well worth the money.
  
  Again, hope this is helpful!

Thank you for this contest, you have a generous boss and are super generous yourself.

I really need this [hard drive] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T3GRLY?colid=3H4BZNET2W15O&coliid=I2RX9V0EGNQ9E2&psc=1&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl) to replace the one that died on my desktop computer. I miss having an actual desktop to work with.

I would really love [this blanket] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014TTDCRU?colid=3H4BZNET2W15O&coliid=I2Z14OKOF997I6&psc=1&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl)... I'm tired of "throws" they just aren't doing it for me any more... I want something that covers me from feet to neck when I'm sitting on the couch. It's cold!

[Birthday cards!] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006J7DH0I/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3H4BZNET2W15O&coliid=I1IM44XIM9JI2J) I want to start sending them out because I know how much it means to me when people remember my birthday.

Okay, I love me some [Cholula] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FDGEIRC?colid=APY6TDVDV6K7&coliid=IN436X04JSH73&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl) and I wanna bring it everywhere I go.

Fish oil is good for you and I've checked out both of [these] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OV5M7G?colid=3APJQJG63AMCR&coliid=ILZ4GSPTGN2P6&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl) [brands] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FEG9NXK?colid=3APJQJG63AMCR&coliid=I3H00MXNPRC987&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl) and I don't know which is best, so I put them both, I hope that's okay!

Thank you again! :-D

>1) SATA vs NVME (I've read that the 9360 is capped at around 1.8Gb/s), would it be worth it to go for the NVME drive?

Quick little correction, it tops out at around 1.8 GB/s (with a big B). This is a big difference (1 byte (B) =8 bits (b))

As for if it's worth it, that's still about a 3x improvement over most SATA SSDs, but from personal experience, I can say that the switch from a SATA SSD to an NVMe one (even one running at full speed, usually ~3000MB/s (3GB/s) range for reads) is minor when it comes to overall system responsiveness, and even for game load times. When working with big files, the difference is much more noticeable however.


>2) I'm currently looking at the 970 Evo, but it has an "M key" slot, while in this teardown, the SSD installed seems to be a "B & M key" slot. Would something like the 970 Evo fit?

There is no such thing as an B & M key slot. B&M is found only on the drive side of things, just so SATA/PCIe 2x drives can fit in bot B and M slots. As for the slot in your device, I'm 99% sure it's an M key slot, so the 970 Evo should fit. (B key slots are generally only used for SATA only slots, and for things like Wi-Fi cards)


>3)From my (very) limited understanding it seems like the 860 Evo would be a good option, as it has the same connectors and has double storage for the money of the NVME drives. I'm also considering the marginally cheaper WD Blue 3D SSD as this is the one used by the poster of the teardown and it may help minimize any unforeseen issues I may have.

If you want to play it safe/save a buck, either of these would indeed be good options. As I said before, any real world difference (not counting working with large files) should be very minor, and to be entirely honest, I personally think it would be a waste of money to shell out the money for an NVMe drive, as you won't able to use it to it's full potential. (you'd loose about a third of the theoretical performance)

First year graduate student here. Just ordered (yesterday) a Lenovo Thinkpad W540. It cost about $2,000. I ordered it custom from their website which is currently giving 10% off (until Nov. 3). The laptop is overall very well rounded. It has 16gb of RAM to run quickly and a solid state drive so programs and files are quickly accessible.

I recommend the following specs for architecture, as they're specs I chose and with good reason:

500GB Solid State Drive (I actually ordered the laptop with the base 500gb HDD and am pulling it out and replacing with a 500GB Samsung 840 EVO Solid State Drive...$240 off Amazon)-The solid state drives through Lenovo are very pricey and not as highly praised and rated as many solid state drives out there. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E3W19MO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

16GB RAM (2 Dimm) - More RAM is always better to run more things quickly at the same time. 2 Dimm is better than 4 dimm as it is more stable and less likely to cause software to freeze/crash/whatever.

3K IPS Screen- Super high resolution screen with superb display of colors. The screen is similar to those on MAC's to give you an idea of display quality.

K2100M Graphics Card- There are a couple different types of graphics cards, I recommend the K2100M as it is well rounded in regards to Adobe Suites (Photoshop, Illustrator), Autodesk (CAD, Revit) and 3d programs like Rhino, Vray, 3DS MAX. There are graphics cards that are better for rhino and Photoshop, however they are not nearly as good in Autodesk products.

i7-4800qm processor- I recommend upgrading to the highest i7 processor in your budget, every upgrade will add a fair amount of performance to the machine.

I wish I already had it so I could give you my feedback on it. It may not be the best machine out there, but overall it will be very well rounded in terms of software compatibility and in terms of operating speed it competes with laptops that are $3,000-$4,000.

Edit: The only thing that I wish I could change would be the screen size, I've always preferred the 17.3" screen but 15.6" still includes the number pad and plenty of viewing space. The plus side to 15.6" is it will easily fit into more backpacks than the 17.3" while weight a significant amount less.

I got the oculus go for $200 because I only have a cheap laptop and with that you don't need a computer. If you have a good PC then Idk, you should ask in /r/oculusnsfw . Everyone is saying nowadays that the current best headset is the Pixmax 8k which goes for $900, but you need a good PC for that one. Obviously paying for the best one you can afford is what you want to do because there is really a huge difference in quality.

The best website in my opinion is czechvr. 6 months of that is $85 I believe. I love any of their threesome or foursome videos, anal videos, face sitting, anything with Jennifer Jane, etc.

I also recommend getting a 4TB external harddrive. This one is $100.

To address your main concerns;

1. The PSU you have is nearly a decade old, however it seems like at the time of release it was a fairly good unit. TweakTown gave it a 9 out of 10. If you're worried about it because of its age, you could upgrade if you needed.
   
   
2. 2/3TB HDD's aren't that expensive, and would probably help free up a lot of space for you. Probably worth looking at; something like this or this
   
   
3. Your monitors are definitely quite outdated, very old and with a pretty low resolution. You could replace them both with 1080p monitors, maybe these or replace both with a single 1440p monitor if you don't mind spending a little extra for far more real estate like this one
   
   
4. Your RAM is perfectly fine, you can always add in another 1x8gb of the same stick if you feel like 8gb is holding you back.
   
   Everything else looks perfectly fine
   

Unraid OS runs off USB key like this one . All hard drives are for data only.

Take a look at their site for details, but basically you can mix and match your drives. So you can have 8TB + 6 + 2 + 1 + 320GB drives if you want. Eventually you can toss smaller drives for bigger and grow total space you have available. It's a very simple process. Once again Unraid has a pretty good wiki on how to do all that. I want to mention that each drive has it's own filesystem and all files are always intact (no striping), so technically you can yank a drive and put it in enclosure to move/recover files.

Your parity drive needs to be as large as the largest one in the array and it's the one that provides data loss protection if one of the drives shits the bed. Parity drive is optional, but you really should provision one drive for that.

Your parts look fine. I haven't heard of Avexir RAM brand before, but RAM is RAM as long as it works. Don't bother with CPU cooler. Pretty sure that i3 comes with stock cooler, stick with that, it's fine. You can always get that SSD later, it's not required.

You only need SSD (or just a dedicated drive in general) if you want cache drive and/or want to have docker containers for things like torrent client, plex, etc. It's a pretty nifty system. It's optional too. I didn't have SSD for a couple of months until I got sata expansion card to get more SATA ports. Speaking of which, your mobo only has 6 SATA ports, so you might need to get one too if you fill case with drives and want cache drive too.

Sorry it took so long to respond, PCpartpicker has been having problems for a couple hours now. :/ First, some notes:

• You can find the Microcenter bundles here. You should buy the CPU-MOBO combo there. RAM and HDD should have comparable prices, so you can get them there too. They have a good selection of cases, but you want to look for a decent mid-tower that'll fit your graphics card and looks aesthetically pleasing. I think the one in my part list is good (plus it's cheap) and they might not have it at your price, so probably order that online. If you can get anything else there for the same prices, you could do that, but they might not have the deals that you can find online, so order everything for the cheapest you can find.
  
  
• For $60 more, you can go with the i5-4690K, arguably the best value CPU for gaming right now. The i3 in this list is still fine for gaming, but it might be better to go for the i5 and drop the; upgrading to an SSD is easier than upgrading the CPU since you don't have an leftover part to worry about. I strongly recommend an SSD.
  
  
• SSD- Crucial MX100 is only $10 more here. Read speeds are better, write speeds are worse. Either is fine.
  
  

• PSU- You can find good deals here, and you don't need the modular 620W I recommended, but I always thought the MIR are a bit of a hassle. You can cut down the price by finding a good 500W PSU non/semi modular.
  

  
  

  PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
  

  
  

  Type|Item|Price
  

  ----|:----|:----
  CPU | Intel Core i3-4370 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor | $139.99
  Motherboard | ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $90.00
  Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $63.99 @ Newegg
  Storage | Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $53.99 @ NCIX US
  Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $49.88 @ OutletPC
  Video Card | Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card | $278.99 @ SuperBiiz
  Case | NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case | $41.99 @ SuperBiiz
  Power Supply | SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $54.99 @ Amazon
  Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) | $89.98 @ OutletPC
  Monitor | Acer G246HLAbd 60Hz 24.0" Monitor | $139.99 @ Micro Center
  Keyboard | Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator - OEM Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse | $17.99 @ Newegg
  | | Total
  | Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1021.78
  | Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-16 13:47 EST-0500 |

Thanks for these answers, but I guess I didn't make it clear what what needed. Basically their main computer has either a massive SATA drive or just uses external hard drives connected via USB (my guess would be large external hard drives), while the DJ computers are all laptops that have very little data actually stored on them, and pull all songs/videos from the external hard drives that should all be updated weekly, and they have a lot of these external hard drives.

From what you linked those look like great solutions for cloning internal drives but a)I don't think the owners would be comfortable removing the internal drives and b) we're talking about over 4 TB of data and I don't know of many laptops that have that type of internal storage.

If I was reading those products incorrectly please let me know but it seemed like they wouldn't work for a typical external hard drive cloning. Like WD 4TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBU6Y0040BBK-WESN https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0713WPGLL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_wuiJBb4Z7FANR is the most common way they transport the music to the venues. Then the plug it into the laptop and it's good to go.

Yeah but If you would want to have really sweet loading times and have a storage device as big as the PS4 HDD then that's £166 down the drain just for faster loading times.

[[SSD] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-500GB-2-5-inch-Basic-Solid/dp/B00E3W19MO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417404964&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung+500gb+ssd)] But really SSD prices are going down a lot might be worth it if you are a huge "likes the comfort of their couch but won't use a PC with a wired controller kinda guy/girl"

And if I sounded like a PCMR drone then sorry I do understand that people have friends on console and or like the exclusives but that doesn't mean I need to like it!

Is LoL really as intense as the gaming requirement gets? In that case, you really don't need a gaming laptop at all. League of Legends can run fine on an integrated graphics system. If you really want something with a dedicated GPU, then the ASUS N550JV is a well built option. It has an i7 4700MQ quad core processor, 8GB ram, 1TB HDD 5400RPM, an IPS 1920x1080 15.6" touchscreen and a GT 750M GPU. We recommend you replace the hard drive with a Samsung 840 EVO, which would still keep you comfortably within your budget.

For integrated systems that can easily handle LoL (there are many that could), Intel Iris graphics provide the best performance. These can be found on systems like the ASUS Zenbook UX301LA or the Macbook Pro 13" Retina version or the 15" Retina version.

Finally, if you can wait until around May, the Lenovo Y40/50 systems will be available, which may be better choices than the options you have today.

I was in the market for a Chromebook a few months ago, but was holding off to see what came out in Q4. Then I saw the HP Stream and got excited, but it wasn't available in any local stores yet. (I didn't want to just order it online because I like to touch laptops before buying them.)

Then I saw the X205 at Best Buy last weekend, played with it for a bit, and snatched it up hella-fast. My wife has a Lenovo Yoga 2 and (minus the touchscreen) they are quite comparable.

Speakers on the X205 are super loud and sound great for the size of the laptop. Off to Windows is about 12-15sec. I bought one of those nano USB keys in 32GB to increase my storage of files too.

I'm looking to expand the storage on my Dell XPS 9360 (i5 7200u, 8GB RAM) with an M.2 SSD. To be honest the M.2 slot is a pain to wrap my head around, and I wanted to check with you guys if I understood correctly. I have a few questions:

1. SATA vs NVME (I've read that the 9360 is capped at around 1.8Gb/s), would it be worth it to go for the NVME drive?
   
   ​
   
   
2. I'm currently looking at the 970 Evo, but it has an "M key" slot, while in this teardown, the SSD installed seems to be a "B & M key" slot. Would something like the 970 Evo fit?
   
   ​
   
   3)From my (very) limited understanding it seems like the 860 Evo would be a good option, as it has the same connectors and has double storage for the money of the NVME drives. I'm also considering the marginally cheaper WD Blue 3D SSD as this is the one used by the poster of the teardown and it may help minimize any unforeseen issues I may have.
   
   ​
   
   I really hope to get some of you guys's input on this as I really want to make sure I'm making the right buy. Thanks!

So on one hand, I agree with ponlork about NOT deleting the games or games_cache folders within hakchi, as there are .desktop and .json files hakchi depends on to display your library properly. You would think deleting it wouldn't do anything because it was empty when you first unpacked hakchi, but trust me ... it matters. (found out the hard way once.)

On the other hand I agree with JW_Pepper_Sheriff about the time involved. I use the drive linked below, and it only takes 45-50 minutes to upload my entire collection of 1,111 games which total about 96GB or so. (Got to leave room for those save states.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D7PDLXC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not that anyone asked, but IMHO the SNESc is the ultimate classic system! Nintendo gets some credit for the unit itself and the front-end, but it is of course due in large part to coders like KMFDManic, DantheMan and so so many others. Testers and tutorial creators like PattonPlays & ETA Prime should get a huge shout out too.

Laptop companies are getting smart about Display Size. It's more preference now than it is a huge price difference.

A couple models I'd suggest:

• MSI 17.3" 970M -- $1500
  
  
• MSI 15.6" 970M -- $1500
  
  
  These laptops will blow away any 870m graphics card you might be looking at. Don't worry about the differences between the i7-4700's and the i7-4800's... It's not enough to even look at twice. If you want a 4900 XTreme series, you're going to spend an extra $700+ on top of the $1500, so don't bother. Also, you won't find many 880M or 780M graphics cards laptops for less than $1600; they are also arguably worse than the 970m. (which is extremely surprising, usually the last generation's 80 card does better than the next generations 70 card.)
  
   
  
  You can always upgrade RAM down the road: Crucial 8GB x 1
  
  The 17" features a better deal, comes with a $200 Intel package at the same price, and both are $30 cheaper than Amazon is selling them for; they both feature a single stick of 8GB DDR3L RAM, so if you are going to upgrade RAM down the road, MAKE SURE you buy 1 x 8GB DDR3L RAM, as I put in the link.
  
   
  
  Good luck!
  
   
  
  Edit: If a Solid-State Drive (SSD) is that important to you, 128GB Crucial SSD... If you want more space, just search it out, shouldn't need much more though honestly; just put your most used applications on the SSD (Favorite Games and Programs), and you'll be running at blistering fast loading times in game; you'll notice the difference, I promise you that.
  
  Installing SSD into MSI GT70

I'm afraid I can't offer a whole lot of input as the Samsung 850 Pro is my first SSD and the Samsung Pro line in general are considered top of the line. Honestly the only bad SSDs I've ever heard about are Kingston's as they pulled some kind of bait and switch shenanigan on the firmware causing it to degrade in performance or something of the sort, I'm sure a quick google search will explain if you're really curious so they're probably the only ones to avoid.

The one you picked looks perfectly fine especially where shaving every dollar possible counts, though the most popular SSDs seem to be the Samsung EVO line if you're after good price/performance ratio and the Samsung Pro if you're after best performance. Here's a list that'll probably help you out in your search though as I said it's pretty hard to go wrong. Perhaps someone who's used other brands can chime in with some more input.

EDIT: Upon more research I found a benchmark comparing the Intel SSD you chose vs the EVO 840 (previous model). Seems like it would be well worth it to shell out a bit more for the EVO.

EDIT 2: After further research I think this is probably the best fit for you if you're looking to spend as little as possible. It's even cheaper (and better) than the Intel one you linked.

Here is a slightly cheaper Sandisk with twice the capacity, the X300 is their "premium" branding, so it runs a little bit faster but costs almost double, just for consideration! (I currently have the 1tb version of this drive in my PC!)

M.2 and Sata are essentially physical connections that can be used for connecting from the motherboard to something. The something is typical a storage device (SSD's). This is a pretty in depth video explaining the differences between the types of connections, but is a bit lengthy. What makes M.2 special is size and speed. M.2 drives are less than half as large as their equivalent Sata3 drives, but at the same capacity. The downside to this is that most motherboards will only have 1 or 2 M.2 slots to connect to. The speed part comes in to play with NVMe drives only. NVMe is just a fancy word that means it uses PCI lanes for data transfer. Drives that use this are much faster, and typically more expensive but have the same physical connection. Also, motherboards will typically only support standard M.2 or NVMe, not both. The motherboard you have selected has the NVMe offering, so to use an M.2 drive you would need to make sure it says NVMe or "pci-express" somewhere on its description. Non NVMe drives use the Sata 3 speeds, but still get the benefit of small size, and Sata 3 is the term that will describe pretty much any 2.5in SSD as its the physical connection they use as well as the protocol for reading data!

I have a few thoughts on this build so I will go through the list you have :)

CPU - For a budget gaming build, this is an excellent choice! And when you do get a dedicated graphics card, you'll have the extra CPU power over the Ryzen 3 model if you need it.

Motherboard - I'm a fan of ASRock, though DO NOT GET THIS MOTHERBOARD. Because it does not include video outputs, making it completely useless without a graphics card to connect to a monitor. This ASRock motherboard also only has 2 slots for RAM, so you'd have to completely replace them if you want to upgrade to 16 GB (8 GB of ram is sufficient for about 90% games, though the newer ones will be using most of it). I would recommend:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XF49QNM/?tag=pcpapi-20
As it has built-in video output and 4 slots for RAM.

RAM - As I said, 8GB will be plenty for a vast majority of games. Though, as some others have commented, you really do need faster RAM at the 3000hz + range to truly take advantage of your APU since it does not have built-in memory like graphics cards do and will be relying on your system memory.

Storage - If you want Samsung, get Samsung. If you just want an SSD, I recommend:
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-500GB-NAND-Internal/dp/B0784SLQM6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1521478806&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=crucial+mx500&psc=1
Since it is both newer, $25 cheaper, and performs practically the same.

Case this is entirely up to you. Go with what you want! :)

Power supply 550W is plenty for whatever you will throw at your build.

Cheaper and better RAM.

Very slightly Cheaper, bigger and possible better SSD

Cheaper GPU(Although not sure about delivery costs)

I'm sure there are other case that are cheaper but looks are subjective so I wont bother linking any.

Any money saved for the love of god get a better quality PSU. Even if it is something lower end like a Corsair VS or Cooler Master MWE, neither are great supplies but better than any Game Max one I'd bet. Remember the PSU is the corner stone of your build, never ever try and save money on it.

Intel has an NVME M.2 drive that kicks ass for <$100: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-660p-1-0TB-80mm-978350/dp/B07GCL6BR4

The RX 580 is a good card. Looks like the RX 580 has already jumped in price. If you find they are up close to $200, then you can find RX 590s at that price.

Your case only comes with 1 exhaust fan. Good to get a 140mm fan to put in the front for intake to help cool things down a little better. I use Phanteks myself: https://www.newegg.com/phanteks-ph-f140sp-bbk-case-fan/p/N82E16835709046 They also make a white led one, which can be nice because you can easily see when your case comes on: https://www.newegg.com/phanteks-ph-f140sp-bk-wled-case-fan/p/N82E16835709030

If you can manage an extra $25, the 2600X has a better cooler, the Wraith Spire. So you get a little better processor, and a good bit better cooling. See this cooler comparison review: https://www.techspot.com/review/1635-amd-wraith-coolers-compared/

Lightweight and dedicated GPU are a difficult mixture within this budget.

If you want a dedicated GPU with good battery life, you could check out this list to see specs, weight, and battery life of all the good options in your budget laid out side by side.

I do have to ask, though, what is the GPU for? If your use is mostly general with only lightweight photo work, the GPU isn't going to do anything but cut back your options. You'd be better off just going with the Asus Zenbook UX305UA.

It's super lightweight, all aluminum, has solid specs, and great battery life. It'd do a lot better for you in terms of carrying it around school. Then I'd for sure get an external hard drive for the larger storage.

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.

Thanks again for help! The processor is an intel i7 3770 (woot woot apparently this is good despite being old) and I have a heat sink that was attached to the fan. It looks like a four pin fan, though, and there are only three pin headers on the board, so I'm not sure if it's actually stock. I got a power supply from an old junked printrbot kit (350w) so we're good on that. It's sized for standard ATX, so I'll get an ATX case so I can fit it. (and also upgrade later.) PSU has all the pins I need except for the 8 pin connector, but it looks like it has two inline-four pin connectors for some reason. Not really sure how that works. Do I have to get an adapter to merge the two into a 2x4 pin thing? (power supply) Also, I'm definitely going to get an SSD. I've been using an old gaming laptop for a few years, and it started out only using HDD. It's been better ever since I bought an M.2 for the OS (and also for some high priority games), so I'm going to do the same for this build.

​

One of my last questions is about the small PCIe slots on the mobo. Is it possible to use my current SSD on one of the PCIe slots so I don't have to get a new one? Or will it being SATA III not work with PCIe?

​

Thanks again for your help, this is super awesome.

​

EDIT: Ack! I'm dumb. For some reason I thought there was an 8 pin plug on the board for power, but it's only a four pin one that the PSU already has.

​

EDIT: ACK! I'm even more dumb! There was a four pin slot for the fan on another part of the board labeled "CPU_FAN"

By all means, invest in a NAS system like Synology. This is an expense that merits the cost.

I personally own one like this one filled with 8 x 4TB WD RED drives with two disk redundancy, so if two disks fail on me I should be fine.

Every three months, I back up the entire 20 TB on mulitple 8TB WD books drives like these for offline cold storage, just in case my office burns down. All links in this post are referral links.

Data is NOT something to go cheap on. It has other uses, too. I use it for a home security system, printer server, and a PLEX server as well.

EDIT: This 8tb WD EasyStore external drive is a better buy than what I originally linked above. Usually they ship with an 8tb RED NAS drive inside which is worth more than the drive themselves.

The NZ dollar is lower than it's been in a few years making importing components much costlier. We're talking up to 88c high to 63c currently against the US dollar.

Even when the dollar is high, the cost of shipping plus the potential for duty would often nullify any gain or reduce them to be rather minimal. Of course, for stuff bought overseas getting some level of service can also be difficult.

Only when you find a real deal on small things (for the shipping) or things hard to get in NZ is it typically worth it, for example a 1TB SSD for $199 during Black Friday sales. As the lowest price in NZ was still $540 at the time, this was a clear win of $250 or so saved after conversion. Now it's $250, (plus shipping) - $255.43 US, or $400 NZ, and the NZ price is down to $479. Getting quite a bit narrower, but still probably worth it as it's unlikely to require duty. A top end graphics card on the other hand, it going to cost more in shipping, and also certainly attract duty.

Ultimately, I tend to buy a lot of stuff from Computerlounge.co.nz who have amazing service, typically great prices. They also have 7-10% off sales on any excuse, regularly. gpforums.co.nz have a fairly comprehensive ranking of the stores you would find on pricespy.co.nz: http://www.gpforums.co.nz/threads/297771-Experiences-with-Online-Retailers

Never buy from Expert Infotech. Holy shit. If it doesn't show up or it breaks, you're stuffed.

I love the build, but there's one thing I'd definitely change and one thing you might want to look into changing:

The Hyper 212 Evo is a decent cooler, but I have some serious reservations that it can keep up with an HEDT processor, especially a 12-core. Nearly any AIO water cooler will do a better job, but this is the one I use on my 9900K.

The "maybe" change is much more straightforward: For the price, your 860 Evo is a good SSD, but you could have much faster storage for the same price by going with something like a 660p NVMe. This would also help offset some of the change in price to get an AIO water cooler.

Other than that, this is an excellent build! It's basically the HEDT version of my 9900K/Z390 Taichi Ultimate/RTX 2080 Ti build called KAIOKENxTEN, which I use for gaming and video editing. You won't be disappointed.

Enjoy! Got mine Saturday and love it.

Common recommendations;
Console wrap (ev wraps or Kendrick)
Wireless charger (Taptes works, but mine doesn’t sit very well in the location. Might be user error though)
USB drive (Samsung MUF-128AB/AM FIT Plus 128GB - 300MB/s USB 3.1 Flash Drive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7PDLXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_spBGDbJGXFEQ3) is great
Floor mats (Tesla)
Microfiber clothes
Something to clean inside (car guys super cleaner for me)
Something to clean outside (optimum no rinse)


Probably more stuff I’m missing but this is a good start

I know it's a cardinal sin for an OP to include additional comment-content, but I figure it's not particularly interesting to most people.

Hardware

---
The Hard Drive Caddy I used was just a cheap Chinese component that is nothing more than a SATA pass-through and shaped like a laptop Optical Disk Drive, there was nothing particularly special about the model I chose other than that they were based in Australia so the shipping was fast and cheap - but you can find other models. They're all pretty much identical. The drive doesn't pop out like a disk tray, if anyone was curious.

The SSD on the other hand, was shipped out by Amazon US. The model is obvious from the picture, it cost about £165 (US$250 / AU$335) with shipping included. A decent price considering that I wouldn't go any less than 1TB capacity and is ranked fairly highly in SSD comparison charts.

Software

---
To create Symbolic Links and NTFS Junctions I use Link Shell Extender, a utility I highly recommend for people with SSDs. There are some notable limitations on what SymLinks and Junctions can do. In particular any Microsoft installer absolutely fucking detests them, so you can't just create a junction for your entire Program Files folder.

Here is what things look like after, the folder on the left is the Junction, but if you open it it looks like it's just a real folder in that drive. However the folder on the left is the REAL folder.

Best Value SSD out there is the Crucial MX500 500Gb. Its $60 US dollars. and is amazing.

You even gain 20Gb for a extra 50 AED

https://www.amazon.ae/Crucial-MX500-500GB-NAND-Internal/dp/B0784SLQM6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=L1XAYQPKA22M&keywords=crucial+mx500&qid=1571640886&s=computers&sprefix=cru%2Ccomputers%2C248&sr=1-1

​

Also, whenever possible get as much available storage space as you can for these SSD's. Because you do NOT want to over fill them. Never plan on using more than 75% of the available storage. Doing so could drastically shorten the drives life span. This happens because of how SSD's write new data.

​

Hears a really good explanation on the subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7YBCynA-b0

​

BTW, I wouldn't get ether of them. Two 240Gb is actually only allowing you 360Gbs of usable storage space. And like I said, The MX500 is just a all around better option than both those drives. Pay the extra 50 AED and gets yourself a drive that will last you and give you top shelf performance that will give even the Samsung 860 EVO a run for its money.

Ok, since there seems to be interest in doing this on your own so I'll give a quick run down.

• Find a blind boxed vinyl toy of your liking that has a head that is moveable and is (obviously) wider than a USB stick. For this, I'd highly recommend Kidrobot's Dunny figures or other licensed ones such as their Futurama, Street Fighter, Simpsons, or South Park lines as they meet all of these requirements.
  
  
• Now that you have your toy picked out, you're going to need a USB stick. Since most of these figures are 3 inches tall, you're going to want one of those smaller sticks where it's about 1.5-2 inches total and you're also going to want a USB stick that comes in the traditional two-part way where there's a cover over the USB port that's a separate piece. Most USB sticks fit this criteria in this day and age, and considering how cheap USB sticks are, it's easy to buy a new one if your existing one is too big.
  
  
• Now for the fun parts! Take your vinyl toy and take either a heat gun (if you have one; they're pretty rare) or a hair dryer and heat up your toy until it becomes soft and malleable. Keep heating until you're able to literally just pop the head off of the figure.
  
  
• Take an X-Acto knife and cut the connection between the body and head out on both the body and the head so that now you have access to the hollow insides of the body and head.
  
  
• Take your USB stick and put the USB port side inside the body in the same way that the male connector was coming out of the top. Put the part that covers the USB port inside of the head.
  
  
• There's now a few options to keep everything in place. You can either fill the insides with some sort of liquid putty that dries hard, you could take paper or something similar and stuff the insides to keep the USB parts in place and then glue everything together (this is most certainly the most ghetto method), or what would work best, is to get some Super Sculpey (super cheap and available at your local craft store) and just connect from the USB parts to where the edges of the holes you cut are. If you go the Sculpey route, finish it off by using a heat gun on it again and it will cast the material so that it hardens.
  
  And there you go! For much less money you can have your own unique vinyl toy that doubles as a USB drive!
  
  Edit: I forgot to mention a few things. Other figures can also easily be used as your base. I'd highly recommend Super7 and other similar soft vinyl companies like Gargamel and Chiba Group for more unique designs for your base. Also, if you're into anime/games at all, you can easily use a full sized Nendoroid, but the process would be a little different as you'd be cutting non-hollow hard plastic instead, but the process would be much easier as you could simply glue the USB parts in. I also found a USB stick that meets all of the criteria for this that is quite cheap as well in SanDisk's Cruzer Fit series. But go crazy people, the possibilities are endless!

If you are just looking to play OverWatch this is overkill, but if you're looking to play other games and be prepared for the future you will be set for a while.

You can save on the SSD with this.

I would recommend starting with just 8GB of that RAM, you can always get more later if you want.

If you're only interested in playing OverWatch you can go with the i5-6500k.

Also, what you know that monitor will support up to 144 fps right?

If you don't need speed go for something like this WD Drive. This will be the best bang for your buck if you don't mind the speeds and you can't go wrong with a WD Drive.

Then if speed is a must you are going to pay a premium for an external SSD.

Samsung T5 This is hailed as one of the best consumer grade external SSD's you can buy at the moment.

VectoTech Rapid 2TB SSD This seems to be below the average asking price for a 2TB SSD with great reviews.

Following the "modesty is best policy" principles I would recommend a few things here:

• Go with the really good main monitor, looks like you got the 27 inch 1440p 144hz Acer. (This is freesync btw. I recommend the Dell S2716DGR for the G-Sync - AMD vs Nvidia) and pick up a 1080p side monitor.
  
  
• Ditch the liquid cooling. It's an unnecessary hassle for anyone other than PC enthusiasts in the OC communities. A Cooler Master or the Noctua (if you have enough room in your case.) Both will provide ample cooling and your CPU will last just as long as with a liquid cooling kit.
  
  
• In combo with the above, my favorite case so far (after 4 PC builds for myself and family) is the Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube. Lots of room for cables in the back and gives your components a nice display with LOTS of airflow.
  
  
• I would, however, recommend going to an M.2 SSD, which is significantly faster than a standard SSD. Not much of a price jump there.
  
  I see others have spoken about overclocking your CPU and such already. My opinion is to skip overclocking. For the standard gamer wanting a quality experience that is getting a top of the line CPU, there's zero need to OC. I went with the i7-7700 non 'k' version and have been plenty happy. It saved some money too.
  
  Keep in mind your peripherals. Usually those are overlooked when upgrading your PC, but maybe it's time for a new mouse/keyboard, new controller, headphones, etc.
  
  Also if you're dad is giving you a budget, is he giving you the money to spend, or buying the stuff for you? If you don't get the remaining money from $3k, maybe you should include those things now instead of later.

Glad to help! That SSD isn't a very good choice for the price you're paying, I would recommend the Samsung 840 Evo instead for $50 less. It has great software and is a very popular SSD. The Crucial M500 is a good choice as well if you really want to save some cash.

SSDs will provide little to no performance difference in games aside from faster loading times. Of course this depends the game, some could benefit from an SSD but most will not. The SSD would make general performance of the operating system and applications far more responsive.

Your Mac Pro doesn't have USB 3.0, so unless you have an internal PCIe USB 3.0 card you wouldn't be able to use a USB 3.0 SSD. And that's assuming that you are really talking about a Mac Pro... you don't have a Macbook Pro, do you? As that can't use USB 3.0 at all. But either way I wouldn't recommend the one you found as it's not a very fast SSD. Good internal SSDs are not any more expensive than an external one, in fact external (of the same performance) is probably going to be more expensive.

I would suggest either this 128GB for $62 or this 256GB for $104. These are some of the best value SSDs you can get. Very fast, very reliable.

There isn't really a performance difference between an SSD on SATA III 6Gbps and USB 3.0. Even some of the fastest SSD won't saturate the bandwidth available on either. However for simplicity sake, it's a lot better to just boot off the SSD internally. You don't want to have to boot to USB 3.0 all the time.

Main differences are controller and memory type. Memory types are SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC, from most expensive to least expensive. This video explains it pretty decently, but it doesn't mention QLC. It's the same principle, just Quad-level, so one more than TLC. Slightly less reliable but a lot cheaper. If you're doing a budget build it's cheaper and plenty decent for most people, so something like the Intel 660p is a great deal.

​

If you want something with slightly better performance, longevity, and potential reliability for about the same price, the Sabrent Rocket is fantastic in terms of price/performance. Highly recommend it for most builds. Same controller and memory chips as the Corsair MP510, but a lot cheaper.

If you have the original hard drive from 2011, it's possible that it's starting to wear out and slow down, even if Onyx says it's healthy. One of the best upgrades you can do for any computer is replacing your hard drive with a solid state drive, as they are much faster, and your hard drive is probably the bottleneck for everything your computer does.

If you can use a screwdriver and you're gentle, you can replace a macbook hard drive, it's incredibly easy in that model.

Price-wise, you can get 250GB for just over $100 ($130 or $110 being popular options) or 512GB for about $200 ($199 or $239). For your average consumer, the crucial is fine.

Here are some instructions on replacing it.

Good luck. Since you reinstalled OS X, I doubt there's much wrong on the software side. This upgrade really will give you a nice speed bump.

Are you going for that CPU cooler because of looks or specs? Spec wise Noctua NH-15 will give you the same performance for half the price. Also consider that water coolers take longer to cool down after stress vs air coolers.

Consider Evo 960 instead of that WD drive. It's better performance for the same price.

That memory is overkill, look up performance gains for higher memory clock speeds. Gains after 3200MHz are extremely marginal, you can get 3200MHz memory for 2/3rd of the price.

The sweet spot for Power supplies is to be stressed to 60-70% of your load, which puts you at 650W or 750W. Platinum is overrated, go with Gold. EVGA or Seasonic, EVGA for is extremely solid and cheaper, Seasonic is more expensive but the best of the best.

​

No. I don't like Seagates because I personally think they're unreliable, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Just an example: Seagate makes an "official" external drive for the Xbox One, and if you look up reviews on that on Amazon, you'll see that a large portion of buyers complained that it randomly stopped working after 1-3 months: https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Game-Drive-External-Portable/product-reviews/B01065S79E

That is just one example, but I have had a seagate drive for 2 years and it died on me randomly too.

I'm sure every external drive has its pros and cons, though, and I'm sure some drives that I like may not work out for others, but that's just my 2 cents. I've had a different WD external drive for my PS4 for over a year, and it's been working great. I have this one if you're wondering. I just bought another WD for my new Xbox One X, too.

If you ask a question, and someone answers it correctly, reply with a thank you, but include this checkmark: ✓ ( or if you cannot enter Unicode, use !check instead )

This will score the user whose comment you replied to a 'point'. Currently the points will unlock special flair that will show in all Daily Simple Questions threads.

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In case you missed it, click here for yesterday's Daily Simple Questions thread.
There may be some questions still unanswered! Below are a selection of questions with no replies. See if you can help them out.

If you don't want to see this comment click the little [-] to the left of my username to collapse this comment.

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> Hi, I have the 2017 Gigabyte Aero 14 with the i7-7700 and GTX 1060.
>
> The hard drive is a SATA Crucial MX300 525GB M.2 (2280), which claims reads/writes up to 530 / 510 MB/s.
>
> Gigabytes web site says the following: Blazing-fast M.2 PCIe Gen3 X4 SSD: Reach 2000 MB/s (optional)
>
> I am considering swapping to a Samsung 970 PRO ($240 USD) NVMe Series 512GB M.2 PCI-Express 3.0 x4, which claims it can reach read speeds up to 3500 MB/s and writes up to 2700 MB/s.
>
> Will I see the full potential of this drive in this laptop, or will I be limited to the 2000 MB/s mentioned by Gigabyte? I suspect that number (2000 MB/s) might just be if you buy it with the upgraded drive right from Gigabyte, instead of swapping yourself.
>
> Other options would be the Samsung 970 EVO ($168 USD - Read 3500 MB/s, Write 2500 MB/s), the Samsung 960 PRO ($200 USD - Read 3500 MB/s, Write 2100 MB/s), or the Samsung 960 EVO ($155 USD - Read 3200 MB/s, Write 1900 MB/s)
>
> Will I notice any difference at all with the 970 PRO vs EVO? I do some gaming, video editing, and photo editing with my laptop.
>
> I'm trying to stay around the $200 USD mark... Are there any other considerations I should take into account?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/9f83mp/daily_simple_questions_thread_sep_12_2018/e5w07eg/

----

> Anyone have any ideas outside of overclocking to get more frames out of your system without reducing settings. And without buying a 2000 series card, or a second 1080ti.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/9f83mp/daily_simple_questions_thread_sep_12_2018/e5w5a27/

----

> I'm looking to expand the storage on my Dell XPS 9360 (i5 7200u, 8GB RAM) with an M.2 SSD. To be honest the M.2 slot is a pain to wrap my head around, and I wanted to check with you guys if I understood correctly. I have a few questions:
>
>
> 1) SATA vs NVME (I've read that the 9360 is capped at around 1.8Gb/s), would it be worth it to go for the NVME drive?
>
> ​
>
> 2) I'm currently looking at the 970 Evo, but it has an "M key" slot, while in this teardown, the SSD installed seems to be a "B & M key" slot. Would something like the 970 Evo fit?
>
> ​
>
> 3)From my (very) limited understanding it seems like the 860 Evo would be a good option, as it has the same connectors and has double storage for the money of the NVME drives. I'm also considering the marginally cheaper WD Blue 3D SSD as this is the one used by the poster of the teardown and it may help minimize any unforeseen issues I may have.
>
> ​
>
> I really hope to get some of you guys's input on this as I really want to make sure I'm making the right buy. Thanks!

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/9f83mp/daily_simple_questions_thread_sep_12_2018/e5w5d47/

----

> My laptop just died, which gives me an excuse to finally get a desktop. I was wondering about whether I should build my own mid-sized tower through /r/HarswareSwapUK or to just buy a Lenovo ThinkCentre M710q (Tiny) that, as the name implies, is extremely small. As I'm in uni, portability is a factor, but only whilst travelling back home. I reckon the price difference is around £100/$140. I'm looking at using cloud-based gaming services at the moment (have access to GeForce NOW) so the lack of a discrete GPU won't affect me right now, but that might change in the future. Also, I'll be running some fairly intensive code. Should I build the tower or just buy the Tiny PC? Sorry for being so long-winded about this.
>
> TL;DR - Can't choose between tiny and large PC.
>
> Edit: Typo.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/9f83mp/daily_simple_questions_thread_sep_12_2018/e5wbblr/

----

> I need to move apartment and going to sell the PC and make a new one. Thinking of going ultrawide. What is your personal (not hearsay) opinion on ultrawide monitos for non-shooter games (RPG/MMO/RTS)? I never play the usual suspects like Fortnite/CSGO/DOTA, but instead play Tycoons, RTS, FFXIV, ESO, Witcher, etc

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/9f83mp/daily_simple_questions_thread_sep_12_2018/e5wcfj0/

----

> My brothers pc is constantly crashing, the error message lead us to think it was a problem with a program or windows, so we tried to reinstall Windows from a usb. However, we are unable to format the drive, remove partitions, and install or repair windows. It is possible to boot into the current install of windows. Is this due to a faulty hard drive? What can we do to fix this?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/9f83mp/daily_simple_questions_thread_sep_12_2018/e5witn1/

----

> Has anyone here put a Corsair Commander Pro in a hard drive cage? Is there enough room to comfortably connect cables on both ends?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/9f83mp/daily_simple_questions_thread_sep_12_2018/e5wkgdk/

----

> I'm looking at the Lian-Li case for my new PC and I'm trying to figure out the airflow set up as I'm use to having:
>
> Front: Intake
>
> Top (aoi radiator): intake
>
> Back: I Outake
>
> I noticed that the lian-li case doesn't have a rear fan set up so I was thinking something like:
>
> Front: intake
>
> Top(Aoi radiator): intake
>
> Bottom(3 120mm fans): outtake.
>
> With the PSU pointing out
>
> Or is that not good as the bottom would sit to low on the ground?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/9f83mp/daily_simple_questions_thread_sep_12_2018/e5uzn9z/

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I have an Acer 14 and it's awesome. The screen is amazing quality for watching shows and the aluminum build is really beautiful.

I really don't think storage should be an issue at all. Invoices shouldn't be taking up a large amount of space. As the other user mentioned, google drive makes for a great place to store things, or to store backups. Additionally even though it doesn't have a sd slot, you can still get a usb drive for backup or storage of old

You can also get a usb drive like this: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-128GB-Flash-MUF-128BB-AM/dp/B017DH3O5A/ which barely sticks out and can easily be left in all time.

Generaly speaking backups are just that. You don't necessarily need to back up your whole computer Just the important data.

So depends on what is important to you. If its just documents its not so bad. If its an archive of all your grandparent's photos yeah that can get a little costly.

I have a 1TB Mediafire for $45 a year. Plenty to store all my important documents and some of my imaging stuff. My video I have an acceptable loss policy, I have 2 - 5TB drives that I make sure are exactly the same when changes are made. But I am taking a risk with that even.

Yes the more data you wish to keep the more costly it is.

I can get a 256GB memory Stick for about 40 bucks

Meida fire costs now 7.50 a month or 90 for the year so call it an even $150. to get decent backups.


On the second part what you are talking about is cold storage. its a different type of data backup. It's low availability, you have to physically go get the disk. I would recommend at least 2 types of medium for that 1 offsite, could be in a bank, a parent or friends house, or at work. The point of the offsite is that if something physically happens to your location (Flood, tornado, hurricane) you know that the data is stored safely away from your area.



Honestly I would be happy if everyone had a cloud account and their computer. that will cover 80% of the instances where your computer crashes and you need your documents back.

This is Amazon #1 best seller

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TKFEEAS/ref=zg_bs_595048_1

It has very good reviews and is cheap!

3 Best seller is cheaper and also good

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W8XXRPM/ref=zg_bs_595048_3

Here are all of the Best Sellers, id personally go with #1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/electronics/595048/ref=sr_bs_1_595048_1

You're super sweet. I am worried. I'm an anxious person ha, trying to get over an anxiety disorder. I'm wondering if I should call them up right now and try to cancel it.

I also just updated that I'll be making music too, using Ableton Live.

I got this SSD: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-500GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE500BW/dp/B00E3W19MO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417416832&sr=8-1&keywords=500+ssd

As far as gaming, Far Cry, WOW, anything awesome and naturey that will be coming out. I care more about music and artwork than gaming, though I'd love to run games at full capacity.

Again, you're super awesome.

Edit: Just called and I'd have to cancel it in the next five minutes or I can return it when it arrives with free shipping back.

I also have no idea how to build a computer but I could probably figure it out online, I hope! :)

Again, your prices seem to be like 5 years old. You can easily find drives from respectable sources that are faaaar cheaper than that, even in large sizes. Like, here's a 500GB SSD that's going for $0.28 per GB. This is literally the first result on Amazon when I check for SSDs, it's not like I'm digging around for great rates or anything, and it's not even a discounted price. SSDs have gotten straight up cheap, the only reason to go mechanical is if you need particularly large sizes, but even 1TB SSDs are pretty damn cheap. Here's one (again, first result on Amazon, and Samsung is probably one of the best brands) that's $0.31 per GB.

If you want a source that they are common, how about this: When I look up all new laptops on Amazon, there are 3,743 available with a SSD, and only 3,426 without. The majority of new laptops have SSDs.

Unless you’re editing SD or HD with a very small bitrate I wouldn’t recommend a spinning HDD. SSDs are so cheap these days that I would highly recommend getting something like this instead. Perhaps that’s where the confusion comes from. The only time I’d recommend spinning drives is if you’re putting them in an array; otherwise you’re going to be bottlenecked significantly by drive speed. Bus powered single disk spinning drives are good for transferring projects and temporary storage, but not do much for editing. An SSD like the one I linked on the other hand can be just as fast or even faster than a RAID with spinning drives, and both are 5-10 times faster than a single disk, bus-powered 7200 RPM drive. Plus they are a lot lighter and smaller.

If I had to guess, the reason people were telling you to edit off of the internal drive is because of speed. The SSDs in modern MacBooks and MBPs are much faster than most off-the-shelf SSDs, so if you’re working with something like uncompressed 4K you may see an improvement there. However, I regularly edit projects using multiple angles of 4K and up to 6 channels of audio in multicam clips, and my little bus-powered drive is more than fast enough for that. Actually, it’s fast enough that the computer itself is slowing me down more than drive speed (13” fully specced 2016 MBP, for reference).

Thanks. I think I might try sending the drive back and getting another instead.

Is this the Samsung drive you're referring to? It's a little big though... do you know of any other compact/smaller ones that might be good?

I would love something like this (i.e., as small as possible). But this one is USB 2.0 (and I don't know if it'd be compatible or if it'd have any overheating issues).

On another note, if I got a new USB stick, would it be possible to copy the contents of the old one onto the new one? I spent a couple days setting everything up on the SanDisk Ultra Fit and would love to not have to do that again... I realize it's not as simple as copy and paste, so wondering how I might be able to do it?

One thing I'm noticing is the non-modular PSU. I would look at getting something that is fully modular, or even semi-modular. It's just easier to work with and I think easier to mantain better cord management.

For the CPU, I would take a look at the 9400 not the 9400F. As far as I can tell, at least in the states, the 9400 is the same price, it's just slightly faster and a bit newer.

The SSD - the 750 Evo seems more expensive than what it's worth. I would take a look at an NVMe drive like the Intel 660p. For 1TB of space, your getting something that is much MUCH faster and, at least in the states, is only $4 more expensive:
Intel SSD 660p Series https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GCL6BR4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_85L2CbQP2JY6Y

Then, this way, if you get the faster Intel SSD, you can ditch the HDD, because you'll have 1TB as a boot drive and storage, most likely saving another $50 as well.

EDIT: Also, it seems like the case you're looking at is a full-ATX (correct me if I'm wrong) so then why are you going for a mATX board? You could get something a bit faster, better with cooling, and probably cheaper if you got a full-sized board like this one:
MSI Performance Gaming B360 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CBKQ75V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_agM2CbBWA8CJP

Same price in the USA as the board you've chosen.

Edit 2: Also, I can't find the PSU anywhere come to think of it. Don't buy a used PSU, that is one of the general no-nos, because those things deteriorate over time, what you think is a 500W is possibly only 350W to 400W. Stick with EVGA or Corsair even SeaSonic.

I'm using if for a number of things, probably should've listed this in the original post. I only play one game, league of legends, and that doesn't take up much space. I used to be a digital artist, so I do some photoshop and illustrator design work for friends on occasion, but that's not really a priority. I am also in school, but I just use google docs for most stuff, so I won't have many other files or programs on the computer.

Almost all of the space on my current computer is taken up by movies and tv shows I've torrented, but I have no reason to keep any of it, I just haven't needed to delete anything yet so I haven't.

I guess I'll see how far I can negotiate the price down on #3 to decide if its worth it. If I don't decide to do that, though, I'll definitely take your advice on the i5 and 2 sticks of 4gb. Would that be more expensive? Also, what if I did a 500gb ssd? Do you know about how much more that would cost?

Thanks!

edit: looks like it'll cost about an extra $70 to jump up to an i5, not sure if it's worth it but I'll still consider it. It's only an extra $50 for the 480gb ssd so I might do that (although at that point I guess I could just get the 240gb ssd and the 1tb hard drive, thoughts?). The 2x4gb ram I'll definitely do though.

okay thank you, this is really helpful and I now have an idea of my next move for this pc.

thanks for taking the time to do this I appreciate it, plus its given me a nice little project to work on now I have a guideline and little bit more know how, i'm having fun so far learning all of this info and jargon lol , if youd like ill update by pm or create a new post once I have done all of this and let you know how its going haha

edit - would this ssd be suitable ? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-MX500-CT500MX500SSD1-Internal-NAND/dp/B0784SLQM6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=pc+ssd&qid=1557828415&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

NVME is Non-Volatile Memory Express. NVME is extremely fast, compared to a regular sata SSD.

>NVME's are great for transferring very large files like 4k video or uncompressed audio. If you just want to throw a couple games and your operating system onto it, A regular sata SSD or M.2 will work out fine. The difference in gaming on an NVME is negligible.

In regards to speed

>Hard Drive > SSD = M.2 SSD > NVME

As an example take these two SSD's

• Crucial 1TB SATA - Sequential reads/writes up to 560/510 MB/s
  
• Crucial 1TB M.2 - Sequential reads/writes up to 560/510 MB/s
  
  >One requires power thru a SATA cable, the other just plugs in directly into the motherboard, both have the same speeds.
  
  As for brand recognition, WD and Seagate make good HDDs. You can't go wrong with Crucial or Samsung SSDs.
  
  ​
  
  >I'm 100% going to have this PC wired in, so I suppose wireless capability isn't the most necessary.
  
  If you have absolutely no need for wifi like you stated before, the Aorus Elite should serve you very well. If you ever think you may need wifi, the Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi is a solid board aswell.

> Anyone complaining about price has no idea what goes into R&D of devices like this. There's no way you'll find a similar device of similar quality for cheap.

Nice attempt at condescension, but I know all about how tech R&D works. I work in computer engineering for the Navy. They do spend huge amounts of R&D dollars, but that's no concern of the consumer's. And don't fool yourself, those R&D dollars aren't actually developing the impressive parts of the tech. That's all Intel and the other real hardware companies. They're just figuring out how best to assemble shit to keep it selling for the most part.

Anyways, the consumer just sees a product with a given level of quality for a certain price. And these products are expensive as shit for low performance components and a level of quality and polish that makes it the tech equivalent of a shiny turd.

The "high res display" and the 500gb ssd are not anything special or exclusive. The display is 2304x1440p. Oh wait, I have a 10.5 inch tablet with a 2560x1600p display. Apple will certainly give you a nice Samsung SSD in your laptop, but the most recent configuration options show that they upcharge $200 for the jump from 128GB to 256GB. You know what the upcharge for the same capacity of SATA SSDs? Fucking $18. And I just bought a 250GB Samsung SSD for a grand total of $108 at Christmas.

Tell me again how you aren't throwing your fucking money out the window? Don't even try to say that the components are good enough and the exterior quality makes it worth it. The $1300 Macbook just announced gets beaten out by an Asus that's $700 for the same hardware. No one can bitch about the quality, its got an aluminum unibody chassis too. Oh and wow, it's thinner (despite all of Apple's pride at how thin their newly announced darling is) and has a bigger screen.

TL;DR: If the computer that you're looking for has support for an M.2 SSD, you can have both the SSD and the HDD. Otherwise, you'll have to change the HDD for an SSD. Getting an SSD will be expensive, but if you opt for the laptop that already has an SSD, you will be completely unable to upgrade the graphics card. You may want to employ your local nerd to help you change your OS data over to the new SSD. Expect to spend about $300 on the upgrade, but realize that adding an SSD makes the laptop feel faster, not game better.

_____

Look to see if the laptop has support for a m.2 SSD slot. If so, you can have both an SSD and the 1TB HDD for storage/games.

The major improvement for having an SSD is reduced loading times of data that would typically be on the HDD. This means you computer boots in seconds (usually <5 seconds, after the splash screen/logo goes away), has minimal lagging after boot, and storage of any large files are infinitely faster.

However, you are looking at some major costs for an SSD drive: a 1 TB drive looks like it will run you just shy of $300 for either the m.s or a traditional SSD. However, a traditional 1TB laptop HDD will run you as little as $50, and if you step up to a higher performance drive, the price will almost certainly stay below $70.

It is worth noting that with most computers, the HDD will make them feel slow, as loading programs bogs the drive down, especially at startup. However, for gaming, there is no impact on performance aside from loading times. Certainly, the graphics card will have a much larger impact on gaming performance.

As far as how easy the upgrade will be, it should be noted that whether you change to a traditional SSD or to an M.2 SSD, you will have to migrate your OS files over to the SSD in order to see any improvement in speed. This can be a marginally difficult process, so ask your local computer nerd for any recommendations. Generally, the moving of the data is the most difficult part, and swapping the physical drives is no more difficult than upgrading the RAM would be.

A person who can come over and do the process for you will almost always be more helpful than a stranger on reddit. (Especially since said person/friend can see and touch the laptop, here on reddit we only have this forum-text stuff to go by ;)

*Note: The links given are for reference only. I do not endorse any of the brands, and I'm almost certain that you can find better deals and/or higher quality products out there if you search around.

Thank you for checking it out 😄

This was one of the best investments I made:

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Passport-Portable-WDBGPU0010BBK-NESN/dp/B00W8XXRPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462395587&sr=8-1&keywords=western+digital+passport

I'll film the whole day and transfer it from my devices to the external HD. It frees up a lot of room on your computer and when your ready to edit the clips, offload it from the HD. 1 TB for $60 is well worth it.

I'm not sure if the Apple Store will do that but it's super easy to do yourself. Watch this tutorial on how to install an SSD in the main drive bay, this tutorial on how to install a second SSD in the optical bay, and this tutorial on upgrading the RAM. The MacBook Pro you linked is more than sufficient to run Ableton. I use one just like it every day although it was much slower before I did the SSD and RAM upgrades. Here's a link to the SSD's I use and here's a link to the RAM upgrade kit for that computer. Upgrade at least the main drive to the largest SSD you can afford and max out the RAM to 16GB. Enjoy!

That is an adapter for m.2 SATA drives, like this guy, which is not an NVMe. If you follow your link to the startech adapter you'll see the term 'NVMe' doesn't appear in that product's description at all.

There is another version of the 2.5" tray adapter you linked which DOES take m.2 nvme drives, but this guy has absolutely no SATA functionality. This nvme adapter connects to a u.2 port, which is not super common in a desktop PC, but if you want you can convert an m.2 slot over to u.2 with something like this. It wouldn't change anything about the fact that a storage device that works with this adapter requires a PCI Express lanes to connect to the system, not a SATA port, so it wouldn't let you attach an NVMe drive to a ps4, but it would let you hot-swap your m.2 card in a PC with support for m.2 NVMe drives.


Here is an adapter for m.2 NVMe drives to the most common form used in a desktop PC, because u.2 slots are relatively uncommon.

As a further example, you can look at the manual for the Asrock B450M Steel legend. It was two m.2 slots. One is an 'ultra m.2' slot with support for PCIe (nvme) or SATA storage devices. The second slot is SATA only. If you want to attach a second NVMe device to this board you need to install it in the second PCIe x16 slot, which you can do with the last adapter I linked. I have tested this personally, and found an intel 660p drive will not work in the second m.2 slot, but will work with the adapter to pcie x16 (only 4 lanes connected to the device, but x16 form factor gives good physical security for the adapter).

Looks good. I'm +1 with everyone else who has said 'SSD' with the caveat of choosing a better SSD than the one you have chosen in system builder. The 860 is a SATAIII drive and at 500gb will fill with modern games fast.

If budget is an issue, I'd go this route instead.

(Newegg) https://www.newegg.com/intel-660p-series-1tb/p/N82E16820167462?cm_sp=SearchSuccess-_-INFOCARD-_-intel+660+ssd-_-20-167-462-_-1&Description=intel+660+ssd

or (Amazon) https://smile.amazon.com/Intel-660p-1-0TB-80mm-SSDPEKNW010T8X1/dp/B07GCL6BR4/ref=dp_ob_title_def

The Intel 660p (1tb) is not the fastest NVME drive by any metric but its still 3 times faster than any SATAIII based drive. Plus the extra room is well worth the extra +$20 dollars it would cost.

Again, everything else looks fine, especially if you already have a monitor/KB/mouse and OS. Good luck!

Mac Mini (2018 model), named NOSTROMO

• 3.2 GHz Hexa-Core Core i7 CPU
  
• 32 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB PCIe boot volume
  
• 2 TB external rotating drive for Time Machine Backups, connected via Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C
  
• Dual 8 TB Western Digital Elements USB 3.0 drives for content, VOL1 and VOL2. VOL1 is replicated to VOL2, both are connected via Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C. These handy adapter cables allow you to connect a traditional USB 3.0 device into a Thunderbolt 3 port.
  
• Single 4 TB SeaGate Plus USB 3.0 drive which contains the majority of my media content, VOL5. It is a "floater" drive which I always carry in my backpack to have the majority of my content with me at all times.
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.6 Server
  
• Dual 27” Apple Thunderbolt Displays connected to the Mac Mini, daisy-chained off a single Thunderbolt 3 port using a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.
  
• This Mac Mini is what I use to host all of my iTunes content to the three Apple TVs in my home
  
  
  

  Mac Mini (2010 model), named SPUNKMEYER
  

  
  

• 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 100 GB SSD boot volume
  
• 500 GB traditional drive for Time Machine Backups
  
• Running Mac OS 10.13.6 Server
  
  
  

  MacBook Pro Retina 15” (2015 model), named SULACO
  

  
  

• 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Core i7 CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB SSD
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.6 Client
  
• Time Machine Backups are being taken both on the 2018 Mac Mini as well as the 2010 Mac Mini
  
  
  

  Mac Mini (2012 model), named FERRO
  

  
  

• This Mac is located at Mom & Dad’s about 1,000 miles away. It is a complete offsite backup of all of my content, it is also used for Time Machine backups of my mother’s Mac Mini and my niece’s MacBook Pro. I have both Remote Desktop and SSH access via the magic of port forwarding. Whenever I add a new movie, I place it is my Shared Dropbox folder, then about 30 minutes later it is available on the backup Mac Mini. I then move it over to VOL3, and all of my content is always in sync.
  
• 2.5 GHz Dual-Core Core i5 CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 120 GB SSD boot volume
  
• 500 GB traditional drive for Time Machine Backups
  
• Single 8 TB Western Digital Elements USB 3.0 drive for storing and hosting content, VOL3. It is a complete duplicate of VOL1/VOL2.
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.6 Server
  
  
  

  Mac Mini (2012 model), named AURIGA
  

  
  

• This Mac is located at my sister's house about 1,000 miles away. It is a complete offsite backup of all of my movies and TV shows, it is also used for Time Machine backups of my sister's MacBook Pro and my other niece’s MacBook. I have both Remote Desktop and SSH access via the magic of port forwarding. Whenever I add a new movie, I place it is my Shared Dropbox folder, then about 30 minutes later it is available on the backup Mac Mini. I then move it over to VOL4, and all of my content is always in sync.
  
• 2.5 GHz Dual-Core Core i5 CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB SSD boot volume
  
• 500 GB traditional drive for Time Machine Backups
  
• Single 4 TB Seagate Backup Plus USB 3.0 drive (VOL4) for storing and hosting content, VOL4. As it is only a 4 TB volumes, it contains only the moves and television shows which are on VOL1, VOL2, and VOL3.
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.6 Server
  
  
  Both the 2012 Minis and the 2010 Mini are completely headless. Unfortunately, this means that accessing them via remote desktop gives you a measly 800x600 resolution. I use this handy little gadget on both of them to replicate a 1920x1080 display being connected. So, when I connect via Screen Sharing I get a nice big display.
  
  
  

  MacBook Pro (2018 model), named APLC02XV5W1JGH5
  

  
  

• 2.2 GHz Six-Core Intel Core i7 CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 500 GB SSD
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.5 Client
  
• This is my work-provided laptop, mostly used for remote access. It is pretty locked down, I am not a local administrator so I cannot even rename it to fit my naming scheme
  
  
  

  iPad Pro 10.5", named APONE
  

  
  

• 2.38 GHz Apple A10X CPU
  
• 4 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB of storage
  
• Running iOS 13.0 Public Beta
  
  
  

  iPhone X, named RIPLEY
  

  
  

• 2.4 GHz Apple A11 Bionic CPU
  
• 3 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB of storage
  
• Running iOS 12.4
  
  
  LG Blu-Ray reader/writer in connected to NOSTROMO via USB 3.0, used for ripping Blu-Rays and DVDs
  
  Sabrent USB 3.0 Dual-Bay Hard Drive Dock, also connected to NOSTROMO via USB 3.0
  
  The microphone is a Yeti Blue with a Nady Pop Filter, coupled with a Logitech HD C310, used for Google Hangouts and FaceTime calls with the fam, and the occasional podcast. It is mounted on a RODE PSA1 Swivel Mount Studio Microphone Boom Arm and a RADIUS II Microphone Shock Mount.
  
  The mousepad is an XTracPads Ripper XXL mousepad
  
  The chair is a Raynor Ergohuman ME7ERG desk chair
  
  I use Dropbox to expertly keep my content in sync. Due to the amount of content I keep in there, it is well worth the $100 per year for a Dropbox Pro subscription.
  
  
  Additionally throughout the house, I have...
  3 Eeros for my Mesh Wireless Network WiFi System
  2 Apple TVs (4K), named ASH and CALL
  1 Apple TV (4th Generation), named BISHOP
  1 Apple HomePod, named DIETRICH
  1 Nest Hello Video Doorbell, named HELLO
  1 Nest Learning Thermostat, named NEST (yeah, original af, I know)
  2 WyzeCam Pans, named WYZE-Kitchen and WYZE-LivingRoom
  4 WeMo Smart Plugs, named WEMO-Foyer, WEMO-SpareBedroom, WEMO-MasterBedroom, and WEMO-LivingRoom
  1 Amazon Echo Plus, named ECHO-LivingRoom
  2 Amazon Echoes (First-Generation), named ECHO-MasterBedroom and ECHO-Kitchen
  2 Amazon Echo Dots, named DOT-Office, and DOT-SpareBedroom
  4 Google Home Minis
  1 Brother HL-L2395DW Wireless Laser Printer, named LV426
  1 PlayStation 3 Slim 120 GB, named HICKS
  
  I have a total of 31 IP reservations according to my Eero app. This makes it a lot easier to manage my network, set up port forwarding, etc.

The m.2 slot has a SATA 3 interface.

Generally speaking Samsung 860 EVO is considered the best (and usually most expensive); solid performance and many consider their cloning software is basically bulletproof.

WD Blue SSDs are less expensive than Samsung, and also delivers solid performance. They provide 3rd party cloning software; I think Acronis; which does a fine job at cloning, but not considered "bulletproof" like Samsung's software. The same can also be said of Crucial MX500 SSD.

​

Cloning the HDD to a SSD is great especially if you simply want an exact duplicate of what is on the HDD so that you do not have to reinstall everything. However, based on my own personal experience, I prefer to do a clean install of Windows to get rid of unwanted "junk" that may be left over from many previous Windows 10 Updates which Windows itself did not delete when using the "Clean up system files" option in Disk Cleanup.

May I suggest you spend more money for a 4 TB drive? Really, it's double the price, but you'd be getting four times the space, and you're really gonna want that extra space given the size of the games and all of the freebies via Games with Gold.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0713WPGLL/

If you're on a strict budget, then $50 for 1 GB is about right. I'd still go WD myself do to trust issues.

He said he used the PcGamer High end build guide with some changes. He swapped the 1080 to a 1070, the SSD's to a 1TB SSD, he changed the case to a MasterCase Maker 5 Mid-Tower and ordered everything form Amazon

So overall I'm guessing this is his build;

• CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K - $350
  
• GPU: GeForce GTX 1070 - $450
  
• Motherboard: Asus ROG Maximus VIII Hero - $215
  
• Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 - $145
  
• SSD: 1TB Samsung 850 Evo 2.5-inch SATA - $317
  
• CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H100i v2 240mm AIO - $97
  
• Optical: LG UH12NS30 - $52
  
• PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 80 Plus GOLD - $141
  
• Case: MasterCase Maker 5 Mid-Tower Case - $178
  
  Coming to a grand total of 1945$ add shipping to that and you're looking at pretty close to 2 grand.
  
  This build is fucking retarded though.
  
  First of all, you can actually buy a a goddamn prebuilt with almost the same specs for about 400$ cheaper. That HP is just the first one I found, there are dozens of other prebuilts ranging from about 400-100$ cheaper with no real performance loss.
  
  Yeah it's a prebuilt and has bloatware and all that shit, but in terms of performance it's actually pretty much equal to the authors build.
  
  Second, you could just go for a more reasonable part list.
  
  Swap the 6700k to an i5 6500 with the stock cooler and you'll cut 250$ from the price.
  
  Even an i5-6600k with a hyper 212 evo would cost you about 260$, saving almost 200$
  
  Swap the ridiculous motherboard to something decent for about 100-150$ and you're saving another 100$ right there.
  
  32 gigs of RAM is overkill, you could easily go for 16GB DDR4 2400, and save another 70$
  
  Dump the optical drive, who the hell watches BD movies on a PC anyways? If you really need a DVD drive they're like 20$
  
  Swap the ridiculously high end case to something like Fractal Design R5 and save another 50$. R5 is still an excellent and fairly high end case, you could easily go for a 50-80$ mid-tower and save 100$.
  
  I would also swap the 1TB SSD to a 256gb SSD and a 2TB mechanical drive which would be about 160-200$ saving him another 100$. but I can at least understand that someone wants the simplicity of just having a single drive.
  
  With a few simple changes he could save about 450-650$ without losing any performance whatsoever in gaming, and that's without hunting for cheaper prices from somewhere that's not Amazon.
  
  He said he paid about 100$ extra to buy everything from Amazon, so with an updated parts list and using PCpartpicker the price drops down to 1171$ so about 770$ cheaper than the authors build and with no real performance loss.

i have heard that Western Digital Black 6TB is very good drive which you believe is the best>? from these 2?? i mean what is the difference between these 2?

https://www.amazon.com/Black-6TB-Performance-Hard-Drive/dp/B0792GSD6N

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST8000DM005/dp/B01LOOJBNW

in quality and fast speed? and performance which is better Seagate Barracuda Pro 6TB or Western Digital Black 6TB

which is better in performance, speed and technology like platters and etc ?

baracuda pro or black western 6tB??

My main use will be for to store alot of libraries from new and old games and also mp3 and avi files/./

also i will use this disk for gaming ..


i want the external for backups


because i want to buy one external drive i am in these 2 choices

to buy the https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Desktop-Hard-Drive-WDBWLG0080HBK-NESN/dp/B07D5V2ZXD WD 8TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBWLG0080HBK-NESN

or to buy the https://www.westerndigital.com/products/data-center-drives/ultrastar-dc-hc300-series-hdd 10TB and to buy and one external enclosure? ??

what you advice me to dO???

For gaming you are over-spending on the CPU. Those monster i7X chips are great for server applications or high end workstations.

A 200 dollar i5 would be more than enough. This also lets you spend less on a motherboard. ASUS is the gold standard there. MSI is fine. Not amazing. Fine.

The cheaper CPU and board save you around 200 bucks easily combined.

RAM is fine, but look I just saved you 60 bucks.

Going to brand critique you now on drives.

Go with this from Crucial.


1TB WD

I did that with my wifes 2011 MBP too.

​

The 2015 I picked up I got a good deal on I think but it only has a 128GB ssd in it, which is super small and I take a lot of photos with my iphone and Nikon d3200, so I need more space than this.

​

I saw a guide that suggested a samsung 960 evo m.2 NVME drive with an adapter.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Sintech-Adapter-Upgrade-2013-2017-ST-NGFF2013-C/dp/B01CWWAENG/ref=pd_ybh_a_7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RSQYBBQ008Y2QG3XMKNN

​

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-960-EVO-Internal-MZ-V6E500BW/dp/B01M20VBU7/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RSQYBBQ008Y2QG3XMKNN

​

so for $160 I could get 512GB of space which compared to OWC is super cheap and worth the attempt I think

​

The 850 is one of the top drives for TLC-memory SSDs. Usually, the read/write speeds tend to decrease as price lowers. To get better performance, most TLC SSDs have a buffer cache to get better read/write speeds. The difference is between SSDs, in my opinion, is pretty much unnoticeable is normal use. The jump from mechanical HDD is what matters.

Some good entry-level SSDs are the ADATA SP550, Transcend 370 or Sandisk Ultra II and a direct competitor to the 850 EVO, the Crucial MX200

If you want good value for space and performance, the MyDigitalSSD BP5e offers that.

Any SSD build will give him super fast boot times :D

If he's going to become an educated downloader, I noticed Amazon has a special on 960gig Sandisks today.

I'm a fan of Nucs for parents, I've vesa mounted my inlaw's one behind their monitor. Gave them an MX5500 combo so it's a nice tidy wireless setup for them.

When it's time to upgrade, they make a great media pc's so there's a strong second hand market. [Or you could install LibreElec on it for yourself]

This one is great. WD is a reputable brand and has pretty awesome warranty services.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Passport-Ultra-Portable-External/dp/B00W8XXRPM/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1451111381&sr=1-2&keywords=wd+1tb

> The only thing is that they are a bit more expensive than building my own, but I can't beat the size.

Don't look past the nice troubleshooting feature of an external power brick that you can easily swap or cheaply replace to diagnose problems. Also since you don't need much space for this task, little 120+GB SSDs would be perfect. Lowering heat, giving them better performance, and reducing chance of a mechanical failure.

As to more expensive... Still comes in at $300 budget and that's with 8GB RAM and an SSD! Highly recommend you max them out at 8GB since they only have one memory slot.

• Dual Core NUC - $150 - http://www.amazon.com/Intel-DN2820FYKH-Celeron-N2820-support/dp/B00HVKLSVC/
  
• 8GB - $75 - http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-204-Pin-Notebook-CT102464BF160B/dp/B006YG8X9Y/
  
• 128GB SSD - $75 - http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX100-adapter-Internal-CT128MX100SSD1/dp/B00KFAGD88/
  
  
  
  
  

Could you recommend me a small flash drive that's pretty fast and tiny or are those the best I can get? I might just get the 128gb version of my old drive haha. Would this be even faster than the other two? And is this about as good? I don't need to have a 3.1 port in my PC to be able to sustain those speeds, do I?

SSDs can be made with different types of NAND flash. The EVO uses TLC NAND, and the QVC uses QLC NAND. QLC is slower, and has worse endurance. TLC is not top shelf, but better than QLC.

However, you probably won't notice a speed difference unless you're a video editor or have some other super heavy workload. Likewise, the endurance issue is not really going to be a problem for a normal user. Get the cheaper QVO unless you're editing 8k video all day every day.

Or better yet, get the 1tb Intel 660p for $109. It's QLC like the QVO, but uses the nVME connection, which is a faster than than SATA. An nVME QLC drive will be faster than a SATA TLC drive, as SATA is a bottleneck (one of the reasons why the QVO and EVO are so similar, the speed of SATA is a limiting factor). It also regularly goes on sale for around $95 .

But if you're editing 8k video you'd probably want to upgrade to higher end SSD like SX8200 Pro or 970 EVO (but they're roughly 2x the cost)

If you do decide to go external hdd, I'd recommend a My Passport Ultra as that's the one I was using for game storage on my wii u and I never ran into any problems. It did require a usb y-cable though, as just the one usb cable that came included wasn't enough to power it. I bought 1tb since I went mostly digital, but I think there are some 500gig models out there if you don't wanna overdo it with storage space. Otherwise, you can grab a 1tb since they're not too expensive and you can always re-use the hdd for other things in the future. I'll leave a link for a similar model to the one I bought. Enjoy the great catalogue the wii u has to offer and happy gaming.

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Passport-Ultra-Portable-External/dp/B00W8XXRPM

I've had good luck with the 240GB variant of this ssd. It worked perfectly in my 2011 until the day I sold the laptop. If you don't use your disk drive I'd definitely recommend it. Put your SSD in the original drive slot and put your HDD in the disk slot

Actually the M.2 interface is a new connector found on new motherboards, it uses PCIe lanes but not the slot itself.

You can still use the 960 M.2, but you'd need to buy an adapter such as this one: https://www.amazon.ca/Rivo-Riser-Extender-Drvie-Adapter/dp/B01N09W21D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526389547&sr=8-1&keywords=pcie+to+m.2+adapter

I would recommend the Corsair MX500, the 500gb is currently $154 on amazon, which is a great price. https://www.amazon.ca/Crucial-MX500-500GB-NAND-Internal/dp/B0784SLQM6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1526389685&sr=1-1&keywords=mx500

The 250gb is even cheaper and under $100, but having headroom for game storage is always welcome!

If your budget is not too high and you want an SDD (Which I would recommend, I would go for a Samsung SSD)

BUT! There are offers on Amazon right now, you could get a 960GB SSD for £143. Which seems like a great deal.
"SanDisk Ultra II SSD 960 GB Sata III 2.5-inch Internal SSD up to 550 MB/s" amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M8ABHVQ?ref_=gbps_tit_m-4_0127_86f596b9&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Only 2hours left on the offer so I hope you see this message before the offer goes!

Keep OS & Mostly played games and used software on SSD, and other games/files/music/programs on HDD.

Hey - if you're up for saving money and doing a fun project, you could just flip a new SSD into your existing machine. Chances are a 2010 model is still perfectly fine for use for anything except games and scientific computation -- thanks to the laws of physics CPUs stopped evolving about a decade ago, PC industry does not like to advertise this fact!

Newer CPUs are more power efficient, better at computationally intensive stuff (more cores), or add features for more efficient.. again, heavy computation. For almost anything else there is zero point in a new build - Word and Excel do not avail of any of these features. As a developer (and non gamer), I'm on my 5th 2011 era Macbook.

Willing to bet £20 the only thing slow about your computer is the mechanical disk. Here's a Crucial MX500 for £90. Add £15 for a USB caddy to temporarily hold either the old or new drive, and a few hours to understand booting from DVD into a program that can clone the old disk over to the new one, a screwdriver you probably already own, a sense of pride that you just saved yourself a cool £1k, and entire family now thinks you're a computer genius :)

Add £20 for new keyboard+mouse, and £150 for a new screen if you want the thing to look the part

edit: oh, if it's a budget model, might want to look at flipping the RAM too. again, you're looking at around £120 for more than you'll ever need. Budget model might have only shipped with 2 or 4. The only thing more RAM will cause is less IO, but with an SSD IO gets way faster anyway, so you could skip this step, or do it as a separate project.

First things first- a Solid State Drive(From now on referred to as SSD) is a storage device with relatively high speeds and lower potential storage capacity for the price, compared to a Hard Disc Drive(Now on referred to as HDD).

You’re generally not going to need an SSD for most games, as the speed of storage isn’t really dependant on your storage. Most data used by programs is loaded into RAM, which is much faster. The only benefits are cases where you may have a game with long loading times because there’s a lot of content to load into the RAM. This is fine though, sometimes it’s nice to have those short loading times for multiplayer games. In actuality, it’s best to have an SSD for operating system storage, so instead of a computer taking a few minutes to start up, it only takes a few seconds.

There are two product types of SSD you can purchase, and two form factors (sizes) you can purchase. If you can update with which case and motherboard you have(and also any other storage that’s coming with the computer, I could have a better idea of what you have to work with, however you’re probably looking for something along the lines of SATA, 2.5” and around 500gb. This is a good option if you have one(or more) HDDs to store pictures, videos, documents, etc.

If you don’t have other storage devices, a 1tb equivalent would be preferable. Alternatively, you could purchase the 500gb SSD and some HDDs to back it up. Or even go a bit further and only purchase a 250gb SSD to hold ONLY your OS and a couple other things.

In terms of price, keep in mind that price for digital storage(SSD) has dropped significantly in the last year, and is forecasted to drop another 10% this year possibly.

TL;DR: Search “500gb SATA 2.5 SSD” online and buy anything from Samsung, Western Digital, Crucial or ADATA.

Hope this helps!

Is there a work-around? I subscribed to all the newsletters, it didn't work.

edit, I found one: You can chat with a newegg rep, tell them that your friend used the code and got 10% off the drive or whatever, and refer them to the amazon listing here. Explain to them that you have an amazon prime acount (I actually do), and that the better shipping from amazon for the same price gives you an incentive to buy the drive from a different retailer. Then explain that you would be willing to buy the drive from newegg if he could give you a 10% off coupon or a $15 gift card. In my case, the guy was willing to issue me a card after I ordered the hd for the original $150. As I was already looking to buy stuff from newegg in the near future, this was a perfect move for me.

Are you on a strict budget? I know this is kind of the other extreme, but good lord its worth the money. Otherwise, a standard SATA 240 is a solid buy. The space will still run out pretty quick if you want to do more then skyrim on the drive though.

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-960-EVO-Internal-MZ-V6E500BW/dp/B01M20VBU7

EDIT: You would want to make sure your board has an m.2 slot though.

NVMe is MUCH faster than Sata SSD. Is that what you're asking?

M.2 is the connection but there are two types of drives that use this port.

One is SATA ssd (6gbs) which is the same speed as a typical 2.5 sata ssd.

But the NVMe (32gbs) is many times faster than that. (It uses PCI bandwidth instead of sata which is part of the reason its so fast.)

Its noticeably faster if you're doing content creation like editing and such. And while it is slightly noticeable in game load times and day-to-day PC use, most people don't feel the extra $$ is worth the upgrade to NVMe. (I am not one of those people lol. I like speeeeeed)

Here was my attempt, came in about $40 over if you have Amazon Prime. Decent build - definitely a great home to drop a GPU into later. glhf!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-6600k Quad-Core Processor | $237.89 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler | Evo 212 CPU Cooler | $29.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Gigabyte ATX DDR4 LGA 1151 Motherboards GA-G1.Sniper B7 | $109.93 @ Amazon
Memory | G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | $64.74 @ Amazon
SSD | Sandisk Ultra II 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $124.99 @ Amazon
Case | Apex Vortex Mid Tower Case | $40.44 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA 600B Bronze Power Supply | $39.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $647.97
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-24 18:59 EDT-0400 |

Hi there, u/Soybeanns!

Great choice on wanting to upgrade to an SSD.

If your laptop has an M.2 slot (Have a look on HP's support site at the manuals), why not try something like this.

If not, or you're not too comfortable with M.2, this does the job.).

On the RAM side, well, if you feel like it, you could. However, if all you're doing is MS Word and PowerPoint, 4GB is fine. Any more than that, have a look at how many SODIMM slots you have on Dell's manual, and buy any DDR4 SODIMMs that match.

Clean install would be just what you said.

Hope I helped?

Hey all i'm looking to get a 500GB SSD but I'm not sure if there's a huge difference in performance between the ones I like.

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-500GB-NAND-Internal/dp/B0784SLQM6

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0781Z7Y3S/ref=psdc_1292116011_t1_B0784SLQM6

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-NAND-500GB-Internal/dp/B072R78B6Q?tag=pcworld02-20&psc=1&ascsubtag=US-001-3234838-000-1439522-web-20

​

I hope it's ok to post links like this. Thank you

This is awesome! Thx man was hoping to find a good sentry option. Currently using Samsung FIT Plus USB 3.1 Flash Drive 128GB - 300MB/s (MUF-128AB/AM) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7PDLXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pAa4DbW1T7EGY and I have to unplug and plug it back in every 2 or 3 days

Looks pretty good. A few things I'd advise

Get the 850 evo not the 840
Looks even cheaper on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E1T0B-AM/dp/B00OBRFFAS


Also if you live near enough microcenter to drive id recommend getting the *CPU and mobo there. It doesn't list it on pc part picker for some reason but it's even cheaper and they have a mobo combo deal


I would strongly advise waiting for a non founders edition gpu. The other ones have better clock speeds for cheaper and better cooling!

That's on you then. If you actually do contact them by opening the page for Amazons customer service you can talk to them, either by call, post, email or live chat. They expect sellers to deal with things directly so the link in your orders will take you there, but intervene if people are unsatisfied. Iirc it puts that at the bottom of the emails too.

I'm on mobile right now so ill give you an example from the mobile website. If you click where it says "New (# of listings) & Used (# of listings) from minimum price" under "Add to basket" it brings up the page to select which seller to buy from. The cheapest is displayed by default. On this page, you can then see under the price who is selling it and the rating of the seller. The top one in this case is Amazon. https://imgur.com/a/6ZaXy

They are, but they wish to grow larger. Amazon doesn't have negative EPS. Their value is in becoming a future juggernaut, if they didn't plan to expand like this it wouldn't be justified.

AWS is included in the stock price for Amazon. They have competition I agree, but are currently massive.

This is definitely the best. It has great speed, great compatibility, and doesn't overheat like that SanDisk drive.

Sorry for the late reply - work.

Bleemsync 1.1 with OTG capability added using USB loaded directly into controller port 2.

I use this USB:

Samsung MUF-128AB/AM FIT Plus... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7PDLXC?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Plug USB into PC and format into FAT32, name it SONY. Move Bleemsync files to USB. Unplug, plug into UNPLUGGED PSC controller port 2. Plug in PSC and allow it to update the console. It will backup the console details and update kernel data. Once done, unplug PSC, remove USB and plug into PC again. SAVE ALL OF THIS SOMEWHERE, MULTIPLE PLACES. Move 1 specific file over to USB, plug back into port 2 on unplugged PSC, plug in PSC, allow it to update. When it shuts down in like 60 seconds it’s all done.

The above takes all of like 10 minutes for this entire process. Then you can plug your USB into this:

AuviPal 2-in-1 Micro USB Cable... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FY9Z9GD?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

No power mod required. Just a pass through.

I deleted Bleemsync after and added Autobleem 0.6b3 which now includes Retroarch, now I boot into Autobleem directly.

https://i.imgur.com/NKU13TY.jpg


This is probably the “best” tutorial. If you need help, let me know.

https://youtu.be/uyy7HRNHVz4

Finally, here’s the (current) setup, it’ll change I’m sure (don’t mind the yelling kid in the background or the potato quality, I’m no streamer...)

https://youtu.be/cllOdquuKR0

Yeah, personally I'd stick with 8GB of RAM, unless there's a good reason to have more.

You should be able to sell those extra 16GB for more that $100.

Then you sell the 1TB drive for $40-50, you're getting close to $200.

Given how powerful the whole system is overall, I'd probably target to upgrade the SSD.

You sell the current 250GB one for more than 100 bucks, so you're now close to $300 cash. Currently the Samsung 850 EVO 1TB is at $340 in Amazon...

I think it'd be amazing to have a 1TB SSD on such a powerful system. He could store pretty much everything in there and it would simply fly no matter what you throw at it.

The 2TB drive could be used purely as a storage box, or even some kind of backup for the SSD (RAID, etc).

The Kingston drive you have in your laptop is an M.2 drive, specifically a 2280 M.2 Sata Drive. It uses a SATA interface to talk to the computer, but it doesn't use the same connector, meaning the drive you've found on Amazon won't fit in that socket.

You should have a SATA connector in your laptop, meaning you should be able to install that Crucial drive above without an issue, you'll just need to remove the old drive to ensure it doesn't cause any ongoing issues.

For ease of install, you can just replace your existing, knackered drive with another M.2 SSD, this WD one for example, or this one from Crucial to get you back on track.

I use these. Fucking. Amazing. Sits almost flush and I have 40+ gigs (a 32gb and a 16gb). They would be PERFECT for your xbox as well, Buy 2 - $40 - extra 64 gb of HDD space. You put all your music in folders I just name the folder the CD or artist. I can then search by spelling. Technology is amazing.

1. Hard no. Just OC it to those levels, $50 saved.
   
   
2. Yep, 3200 runs really well and is probably the most popular speed people pair it with.
   
   
3. For gaming, not really, but most do. Nobody really uses boot drives these days because you can get a 1tb m2 for $100.
   
   
4. Not with that 1060. But the setup would be good enough to add a newer card to and 1440 would be fine.
   
   
5. Don't get that 970 Evo plus, for less than that you can get a 512gb sabrent rocket which is a better bet.
   
   
   Edit: Drop the 3600x for the 3600 and the 970, use the money saved to get a 1tb sabrent rocket.

I'm replacing a hard drive from a Toshiba Satellite E45t-A4100 laptop. My budget is up to $100.00 - which is firm, but cheaper is better. I'd like to put in an SSD with a reasonable amount of space for basic computing tasks + applications.

I'm considering this one: http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX100-2-5-Inch-Internal-CT128MX100SSD1/dp/B00KFAGD88/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1425584003&sr=1-6&keywords=SSD

Here are the OEM specs: http://support.toshiba.com/support/staticContentDetail?contentId=4005011&isFromTOCLink=false

Any advice? Can you recommend a better hard drive in the same cost-neighborhood?

I have a 1tb ssd which I think was and is good investment (bought it for $300 a couple of months ago but I heard people getting it for under 200 during Christmas but this is the best offer I could find

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00M8ABHVQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484595615&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=1tb+ssd&dpPl=1&dpID=31nPZLyIEgL&ref=plSrch

)

But if you're on a tighter budget I still recommend getting a 60 or 120gb ssd to go with your hdd or maybe a solo 500gb ssd if you dont use much space

Also are you thinking about normal fan or water cooling?

If you really want to have a silent PC, you have to avoid hdds and get an ssd instead but it is an investment :) I swapped my 1tb hdd with a 500gb and I am more than happy since my mITX is on my table and it is very easy to hear HDD which becomes very annoying after some time.

Here is a good and cheap ssd if you consider it: https://www.amazon.de/SanDisk-Ultra-480GB-Interne-550%C2%A0MB/dp/B00M8ABFX6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467733069&sr=8-1&keywords=sandisk+ultra+ii+480+gb

If you are on a budget I would recommend buying this SSD. In my opinion it's worth spending a bit more versus a generic one for a quality brand from a reliable seller like Amazon. You could even get the older generation one if you really wanted to save money (CT120M500SSD1).



Also it is a normal 2.5" SATA device so should fit most laptops perfectly.

Yeah that always does help although the pricing may seem expensive the more space you want and since the Surface is $1,000 it might be a good investment to get either an external hard drive like one of these examples below.

2TB Toshiba HDTB420XK3AA Canvio Basics 2TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079D3D8NR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nT0jDb7N8CP62

3TB Toshiba Canvio Connect II 3TB Portable Hard Drive, Red (HDTC830XR3C1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SY4LEYA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wS0jDbXZ8QMGN

4TB Western Digital 4TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBU6Y0040BBK-WESN https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0713WPGLL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_BR0jDb8C2EGC3

5TB Seagate Backup Plus Portable 5TB External Hard Drive HDD - Red USB 3.0 for PC Laptop and Mac, 2 Months Adobe CC Photography (STDR5000103) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LWRN7Y1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_fQ0jDb0AVRPSK

You can also find other external HDD at stores like Best Buy, Staples, Amazon, and any local electronic store wherever you live.

That's a great idea actually! I wasn't even aware that this was an option. Somehow haven't seen it before. Thanks for the tip. I'll probably switch to something like: Western Digital WDS500G2B0B WD Blue 500GB 3D NAND Internal SSD M.2 SATA

Yes, at a minimum. You can get a 1TB USB3.0 external for about $60 and they are very fast, great for backups (mine). But you also want some "offsite" backups, like Google Drive, Dropbox, or another online/cloud based backup service (I use SOS Online Backup for about $5/month and unlimited space). This way if there is a fire or electrical hazard and all your gear (including backup drives) fail, you will still have the offsite data available. If you don't want to pay for cloud backup, just put the really important stuff on Google Drive (resumes, tax documents, maybe important photos.. anything you can't live without).

As for a fresh install, it's usually worth it. Like everyone, you have probably accumulated a lot of programs you don't need/use anymore, so if you get an external HD to copy your files, you can install Windows on the SSD, copy your files back, install necessary programs, and you're good to go. This will result in a faster and less buggy computer in the long run than trying to clone your current HD.

I went nuclear and ordered a full fledged SSD (480 gigs), partially because I plan to build a gaming pc sometime in the future and justified the cost by saying I'll use it with my pc. Here's the one I got-

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00M8ABFX6/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And here's the enclosure-

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JQTO8TU/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's what I'd got and it's worked good, but the part 2 to all this is that you can get a SSHD for cheaper and it's likely to work just as well. That's what my good friend did and he tells me he has 0 pop in issues now. Someone in the r/xboxone subreddit did some SSD vs SSHD tests and found the differences minimal, so the SSHD is what I've been recommending to others. Here's the one he bought-

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01IEKG484/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522166973&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Seagate%2Bfirecuda%2Bsshd&dpPl=1&dpID=51Q5JsfaKQL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

So, less money for more storage and basically the same performance. He doesn't know what enclosure he got, he got whatever generic one the store had for cheap.

Edit- just because some people have had some confusion about it, these aren't dedicated "external hard drives." They are real hard drives that are turned into external hard drives with the use of the enclosures (saves you money, with the added bonus that they can also be used in your pc should you ever need it). Here's a video that goes over it a bit more.

https://youtu.be/SHmI414ExRs

The best one for sub $300 would definitely be a Samsung EVO 840 500 GB It is currently 189.99 on Amazon and to double it's space and get a 1 TB, it would be 349.99 but for under $300, the 500 GB is definitely your best bet and is reasonably under the price.

A total of 7 separate orders. It was a bit annoying because I was mostly on my phone and the mobile apps/chrome wouldn't load properly. Also I would have preferred to bundle orders but oh well. or try to use more coupons but they only give you so many minutes in the cart and sometimes the next item that you're waiting for a deal to start is right outside that window.

• the microSD cards for my nvidia shieldTV's so I can run plex server on them. - 2x SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSDXC - $19?
  
  
• For my server at home - 1x SanDisk Ultra II 480GB SATA III - $94
  
  I used the Visa30 coupon for above.
  
  
• Needed a new one since the one I have now has a crappy battery life - 1x Black+Decker BDH2000PL MAX Lithium Pivot Vacuum - $54?
  
  
• 1x Mental Blox 360 Degree 3-D Building Game - $18
  
  
• 1x Origami Paper - $12?
  
  
• For the server - 1x CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS 1000VA 600W PFC Compatible Mini-Tower - $85
  
  
• 1x
  Spoga Mop, Broom and Sports Equipment Organizer Wall Mount - $10
  
  
• set of door stoppers - $10
  
  
• 1x Golfsmith Gift Card $25 - $20
  
  
• 1x Aukey dual car charger Quick Charge 3.0 - $18
  
  
• 1x Magformers Vehicle Zoo Racing Set (55-pieces) - $84
  
  I missed out on the $50 gift card because I didn't have the physical credit card with me and it asked for the full card number. I also wanted this Anker BT Speaker but it went pretty fast and everytime the waitlist message popped up on my phone the app was too laggy and I couldn't get it in the cart. oh well.
  
  edit: bargh! just realized i needed a smaller UPS of which there was a cyberpower one on sale. d0h!

May I suggest the system below (NAS v3.0) or search eBay for Dell R710 or T710 (R=rackmount, T=tower). Much more powerful and less $$. Also, look into WD EasyStore 8TB @ $140 Amazon or BestBuy; easy to shuck. Look into FreeNAS and Docker for all the apps you want/need to use (www.DockSTARTer.com). The build that follows is to give you a great idea; maybe a different case for more storage, or larger PSU as you want multiple HDDs

​

Core-Build (dual CPU) (no storage, no frills)

• Dual Xeon L5630 $4.00 x 2 = $8.00
  
• Intel S5500BC $35.00 after OBO
  
• 2x4GB = 8GB $20.00
  
• Antec Three Hundred Two $62.00
  
• Cooler Master MWE 500W PSU $30.00
  
• Arctic Freezer 12 $20.00 X 2 = $40.00
  
  Total $195.00

The RAM looks fine to me, but I'd offer up a suggestion for this SSD:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE500BW/dp/B00E3W19MO/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1410570453&sr=1-2&keywords=samsung+840+evo

I've got two Samsung SSDs, an 840 pro (main OS drive), and a 750GB 840 Evo (for applications and games). The price is very similar, yet you get slightly more space. Also, Samsung's Magician software is fantastic for helping to maintain your drive's firmware, as well as prepping your OS for optimal SSD performance

Not sure what your budget is for it but if you want equal capacity as to what you have now you're looking around 60-70 bucks for a 120GB SSD.
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX100-2-5-Inch-Internal-CT128MX100SSD1/dp/B00KFAGD88/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422533753&sr=8-2&keywords=crucial+120

If you would like to double your capacity however there's a few 250-256GB SSDs around for 100-120. That's your best upgrade option, upgrading the memory may help some but not as much as this would.

Thanks for the input! Already have the research going and I think I'm going to attempt this DIY build! My friend still has all the other parts in his laptop, he upgraded his motherboard to one with a GTX 1070 and gave me the old one with the GTX 1060.

I think I can build an adequate desktop for around $650 based on the following parts and prices I found:

Heat Sink/Fan Assembly: $50 https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=24584

Power Button Cricuit Board: $15 https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=25014#video

DC Power Jack Cable: $13 https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-DC-Power-Jack-In-Cable-for-Dell-Alienware-17-R2-R3-P43F-T8DK8-DC30100TO00/371650335971?rt=nc&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D41451%26meid%3D181e940c80a24d109a2918f307744ffb%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D282574581355&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Dual Wifi Antennas: $2 https://www.ebay.com/p/US-Universal-Internal-Antenna-for-Wireless-WiFi-Mini-PCI-Pci-e-Laptop-Computer/1348581337?iid=191583624395

180W Power Adapter: $70 https://www.amazon.com/BAY-Direct-74X5J-JVF3V-DA180PM111/dp/B0768F9T3J/ref=sr_1_30_sspa?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1510619852&sr=1-30-spons&keywords=alienware+15&psc=1

Corsair Vengeance 16 GB RAM: $180 https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-3000MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B0123ZC44Y?th=1

Samsung EVO 500 GB m.2 SATA SSD: $250 https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-960-EVO-Internal-MZ-V6E500BW/dp/B01M20VBU7

Intel 7265 WLAN Card: $25 https://www.amazon.ca/Intel-Network-7265-NGWG-W-WIRELESS-AC-Bluetooth/dp/B00RCZ4I6S/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_bs_lp_tr_t_1/130-6825905-9627626?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PMR6Q6H6XC654K801J6B

DIY Acrylic Casing: TBD

With a cheap custom acrylic casing for all these components, I think this may be an adequate and cost effective build!