Halfway through a computer build

So about a month ago, a Youtuber I'm subscribed to made a video on to make a gaming PC on a budget. And it appealed to me. I've never done anything regarding computer building before, so it's all new to me.

I started ordering some basic things, and then with a little help from another friend, I'm kinda going past that small scale budget idea.

This is what I have so far

Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9

CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Intel Core i5-3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2GHz (3.6GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i53470



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The next thing I'm most likely going to purchase is the motherboard. Here is where I'm getting a little hesitant though, and would like some feedback. I'd prefer to go with a micro ATX motherboard. But most of the ones I'm seeing have only 1 PCI Express slot.

The graphics cards I'm seeing use up that one slot. But I also need it to be wireless. So I would need a another PCI slot for the wireless card, correct?

This micro ATX motherboard by ASRock appears to have the multiple slots that I would need. Am I right?


The reason I'm asking is because my other friend who has helped me a bunch so far, is a hardcore computer guy, and he's been really raising my budget maybe more than necessary.


Any advice, hints, things I'm doing wrong so far?

Thanks guys.

Others will be more useful at evaluating your proposed rig, but I should point out that you can get a USB wireless device. I have several. Range and reliability seem slightly superior to internal wireless cards....

i use to like the micro atx how ever after building atx i would never do it again . more room more ventilation and computer runs cooler i like the nzxt cases. also i would built around the mother board not the other way around. but it will be ok.

For me, one of the points of making a rig is to future proof to some extent whilst leaving room for options if required. Thats why I'd never go ATX but standard size or larger size cases allow for multiple graphics cards or a graphic card that is oversize, as many are.

The thing is, you never know whats around the corner with technology and I'd never feel comfortable in having no room to develop if needed later down the road.

I also vote ATX. But remember, you don't need to use the PCI Express 16x card slot for a network adapter / wireless adapter. That's specifically for your video card as you've already understood. I haven't looked at your mobo specs yet, but as long as it has more than one slot total, you're fine.

I've done about 14 seconds of "Research" on your situation so this is just off the cuff...

But here's an Asus board for under $100 that appears to do everything and then some. www.newegg.com...

Here's a micro-atx with 4 slots, www.newegg.com...

Also I think you're cutting yourself short on hard drive space, and RAM speed. Gskill in the 2000 range should be easy to buy and put in a good board these days. And either do a pair of drives and RAID or get one large drive and a small drive, and do regular backups on the critical things.

Originally posted by spacedog1973
For me, one of the points of making a rig is to future proof to some extent whilst leaving room for options if required. Thats why I'd never go ATX but standard size or larger size cases allow for multiple graphics cards or a graphic card that is oversize, as many are.

The thing is, you never know whats around the corner with technology and I'd never feel comfortable in having no room to develop if needed later down the road.

This is really good advice. Do listen! Ill expand a bit.

Most of the parts of a PC, if they are quality, will last essentially as long as you need. Things like the case, power supply, etc. I would suggest buying something that allows for future expansion (say, a 750w corsair). I would actually say that GPUs are getting pretty darn efficient, but with a power supply, its ALWAYS better to use a smaller percentage of its capacity.

The CPU should last quite a while as well. The only thing that wont is the GPU. I will now share with you my grand strategy!

The $200 mark is a great place to work with in the GPU market. Get a motherboard that will support X-Fire and SLi. The 7850 is a great card right now, though there are others (some are really specific to green (nvidia) or red (ATI/AMD)). When that starts to struggle a little with maxing out well-coded games, get a second 7850. At this point, they will probably be significantly cheaper, allowing for a great performance increase for the price.

Then, when that starts to struggle, start to look at ~$200 again. Wait for a single card that outperforms your dual card setup handily.

After a while of doing this, you will actually start to notice that these things happen at a very specific time frame and have for many years. Its a controlled release of technology. You are generally looking at some type of GPU upgrade every 18-24 months.

reply to post by fourthmeal


The RAM speed here is just fine The real life performance difference, even when running taxing code, will be negligible. 8gb is also more than enough. If you need more, you already know it! Then again, prices are so cheap right now...

Also note that the best storage setup is generally a SSD for the OS and general use programs, then a large capacity platter drive for media storage (I prefer Western Digital Caviar Black 640gb). I also like to mirror that drive on another platter for backup.

edit: That Asus motherboard you linked only has one PCIe x16 slot (no room for "future proofing" with a second GPU). I would also strongly recommend the Z77 chipset, though the others at this point are certainly very capable. Most features, like having 6 Gb/s SATA (or SATA3, confusingly), are pretty standard now but still good to check.

reply to post by enjoies05


This is just one reason why I enjoy having Fry's electronics close by.
I'd prefer the mail order prices but when I go into the store I have hands on knowlege of what the mobo supports and I can tailor the cards and box to it.
It removes alot of guessing.
But like someone above mentioned, there are alot of usb gadgets nowadays.

reply to post by g146541


For anyone who is building a computer, ALWAYS check to see if you have a Microcenter around you. They will consistently have the best prices on the CPU specifically. They also tend to have good deals on cases. Microcenter uses this strategy by having a bit higher prices, in general, on the other parts of the PC.

IMO i'd get one more stick of DDR 3 ram so you can run in Triple Channel Mode

Originally posted by Komonazmuk
IMO i'd get one more stick of DDR 3 ram so you can run in Triple Channel Mode

LGA1155 is strictly dual channel.

Based on the purchases you've made thus far, it's going to be difficult. Always pick your motherboard and CPU FIRST. Then pick your memory stack to maximize the potentials of your chosen MB and CPU - timing is a critical factor as well as capacity. The i5 platform is weak by today's standards. A micro ATX motherboard won't give you the flexibility for significant expansion or upgrade as your requirements change over time. Having a dual video card setup provides faster more seamless graphics for gaming applications. Sorry to be a bummer.

ganjoa

reply to post by Serdgiam


awww

Originally posted by enjoies05
The graphics cards I'm seeing use up that one slot. But I also need it to be wireless. So I would need a another PCI slot for the wireless card, correct?

This micro ATX motherboard by ASRock appears to have the multiple slots that I would need. Am I right?

Apologies for missing this

Not quite, though it would probably work for your needs. That has two PCIe x16 slots, however, one is PCIe 3.0 and the other is PCIe 2.0

When you say "wireless," are you referring to the network connection? I assume so, but there are a ton of things you can make wireless with a PC (audio, video, peripherals, etc), haha. Generally speaking a Wireless NIC will go into a different PCI slot than the cards (usually with less lanes, or basically, the socket will be visibly shorter).

And unless you forgot the K at the end of the CPU you got, you may want to reconsider a K series if you like to mess around with overclocking, etc. OCing can work to lengthen the amount of time that your system will be viable.

For your case: The Corsair 400r is absolutely fantastic.

reply to post by Komonazmuk


Initially I was disappointed with the regression to dual channel from the triple channel of LGA1366.

But, skt1155 is a general consumer socket and not necessarily performance focused. Honestly, the only time a difference is noted is if you are doing something that is very memory intensive. That includes things like rendering, benching, etc. Most consumers and gamers will not be able to tell the difference with general use.

I have come to appreciate the 1155 socket for what it is and it really is a killer platform.

Ah, now that I have some time to spend on this, let's see if I can help more.

I always check out the performance scores of the CPU I want to build on, here cpubenchmark.net...

And the GPU, here www.videocardbenchmark.net...

And of course I check out Anandtech www.anandtech.com... for deeper info on some of the options available at the time. The latest reviews always help guide me to what I would build on the cutting edge at the time. I especially like real-world benchmarking which isn't always forthcoming on other sites.


Some thoughts on storage... have you seen this? www.newegg.com... Seems to have a good start (newer product), and with a 3yr warr looks like they'll stand behind it. 2TB for ~$100 is pretty good, especially considering high cache and 7200rpm.

I definitely second an SSD for OS and big program use. The speed is just ridiculous. It is like slapping a supercharger on a basic car, just WOOOOOO from there on out.

Also maybe I missed it, but do you have a cooling solution planned?

reply to post by Serdgiam


Nice advice but it seems the closest one to me is down south toward orange county.
They seem kind of like fry's, but their website is cleaner.
But having a store to pick and choose what you want and what you need is definitely a plus.
My puter builds nowadays don't really cost me a fortune as I really don't game much anymore, so I generally go for the top end...last years stuff.
New stuff is a far cry from back when I got my first 30 Mb HD!!
I think that was a 386sx with 2 Mb of ram!!!
Man that was a gaming system!
Nowadays our phones are light years ahead of that stuff.

reply to post by g146541


Yeah, not everyone is lucky enough to have one near. Their CPU prices though are the best, every single time, without fail (and usually by a large margin!). The difference may even be enough to make up for the gas cost to drive a couple hours.

If you see any of those old chips (386, 486dx, etc) do make sure to pick them up. They have more gold in them than you might expect (look into it a bit)

Just a tip!

I appreciate all the help guys, really do. I know, I may be doing this pretty backwards. Like I said though, it all started out that I was going to follow the guys video and make the same build he was doing, and then it kind of evolved from there.

I was looking at micro ATX pretty much just based on space it would take up, but I'm realizing a full size would probably be better suited. Even though I'm not looking to go balls out on this, it still would make more sense to be prepared to build on this later.

Full size ATX can still come in a decent-sized case. Speaking of which, there are about a billion more good choices for a case if you go this route. I *LOVE* doing a fresh case and new gear. Doesn't even have to be the lastest in tech, just the feeling of putting your own machine together and using a new case to do it with a new look is an awesome feeling. OK now that I typed that out I'm pretty sure I should be committed to eternal geek-dom. But whatever, time to embrace who you are, right?

You also might want to play the AMD game and see if you can get more for your money. I've always liked AMD boards more than Intel for some reason. The i-5 you picked out is a beast for a mid-range processor, cpubenchmark.net...

But the FX8120 nips its heels for a few bucks less, the mobo will cost a little less, and so forth. Nothing wrong either one IMO.

IDK just how much video card you'll need, because I would say that depends on what games you want to play now on what size screen you want to play. I have a 550ti from about 6 months ago or so, and it would play Skyrim full-out max everything on my 1080p Toshiba lcd, no sweat. For me, there is no need to spend more than what I did (~$140) on that video card because it puts out all I ever could want. Your mileage may vary and significantly so.




Lastly, it wouldn't be ATS without this little nugget of thought: Right now, we are sitting on a HUGE stock of suppressed technology that will soon be released. The only reason I bring this up is that this tech will make today's computers look like Tamagotchi eggs processors in comparison. And the release of this tech should be within the year, if not just a few months. This gets in the "conspiracy" realm but it makes it no less important to consider. So, you may want to just buy a machine that makes you happy now, and WHEN this tech is released you can migrate away with little regret in your purchase.


Go with how you feel.