What are /r/buildapcforme's favorite Products & Services?

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My dude, I'm being legit with this, If it's just going to be an email, photo and video center with the occasional taxes, why spend so much time and money? Just get a cheap prebuilt and call it a day.

It'll save them hundreds, do what they need and keep you from being blamed for everything bad happening.

Here cheap Optiplex with 1 tb of storage and 8 gigs of ram and Windows 10

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_a3L2Cb03B269F

Xbox One S 1TB Console - Battlefield V Bundle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GQGKZXK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7I-HDb62P48J4

Dude, just buy an Xbox One. You’ll have a much better gaming experience than anything $230 could build!

At this budget, consoles really shine.

If you’re goal is “daily use” like surfing the web, email, watching videos and learning python, you might actually consider a pi.

CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 8GB Starter Kit - 8GB RAM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08956GVXN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_80JQ8SV19X110QHZZV6B?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

To upgrade to an 8700k, you would need a Z370 / Z390 board. I would recommend Z370 because of its lower cost yet almost identical specs.I'd recommend the ASUS PRIME Z370-A II, which is one of the cheapest motherboards supporting 8th gen intel chips and SLI. It also doesn't look too bad IMO. You shouldn't need more.

I’d get a 3900x instead as since OP lives on an island, shopping would be a pain if he wants to upgrade (albeit unnecessary) and because it’d be more future proof.

If he wants to get a 9900k, then the NH-D15SE AM4 r is better as it’s a very hot chip.

OP I’d get this for your heatsink aswell to make it look nice.

I'm not sure of your exact use-case, but have you considered getting a little NUC? I bought one just for running server-type applications on my network and it works great. Right now it's running my home's Valheim server for the family. I manage it remotely via Remote Desktop so no need for dedicated keyboard/mouse/monitor:

https://smile.amazon.com/Intel-Business-Computer-Quad-Core-i5-8259U/dp/B0892LWD2L/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=intel+nuc+11&qid=1622818570&s=electronics&sr=1-3

Also, pick up a couple of 120mm case fans for better airflow and cooling

Corsair Air Series AF120 LED Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan Twin Pack - White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F6S13DE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_mXUIDbZ52HTGS

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-XB273K-Gpbmiipprzx-Compatible-DisplayHDR/dp/B07X5MWMDG

happy now?

4k 144hz ips gsync

If you're on such a tight budget, look on your local Craigslist for a Dell optiplex. Like an Optiplex 755 or something. Just search for "dell optiplex". It's cheap ($30-100) and comes with a genuine operating system. Find one that has at least 4GB ram. These are super super common and cheap!

For a dedicated graphics card, just get an AMD Radeon on Craigslist too. You can get a 1GB vram card for as low as $10-20. Nvidia cards are resold for much more than they are worth!

If you're using a desktop right now, just switch the peripherals over. Save yourself those $200!!

Try this site for older software versions http://www.oldversion.com

To try and compete with the "beauty" of Mac OS, you could also try installing something like ZorinOS or Elementary OS to try and emulate it. Considering the use case is generally web browsing, you should get away with Linux under the hood. I'm sure it would also help you with any sort of development.

Hate to say but prebuilt pcs from a reputable source are going to be your option here. Edit for link

iBUYPOWER Gaming PC Computer Desktop Trace 4 9310 (AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6GHz, AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 240GB SSD, Wi-Fi Ready, Windows 10 Home) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FPL6S4Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_Z1QRWSPD8NCERQ6D15DA

Okay man I got to tell you. $10k is seriously overkill for anything. Really. I need a few more details and I'm definitely willing to change the build i thought up of right now if you give me more details. What graphics do you want? This computer is definitely good enough to play ANY game out there on 4k graphics. I also included a great monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, I got you the entire thing for less than $5000. You will need to find an SLI bridge by the way, just get one on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/ROG-Enthusiast-2-Way-SLI-Bridge/dp/B013HKXSQ2).

Here is the build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nDyG2R

I'll say this... You could definitely get a better PC by putting in some SLI Titan XPs. But it is TOTALLY not worth it unless you are going to play 8k or something... but I can make adjustments if you want just tell me. What's more is that you could wait a couple of months for new hardware that is just around the corner. Wait a couple of months if you can and you will be able to get an even better computer. That's all I gotta say for now tho.

Pick up a Raspberry Pi Model B for $35!

http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Install lightweight linux, add a cheap, fairly small SD card for storage (16GB is less than $10 online with free shipping), and you're good. You'll need to pick up a cheap keyboard/mouse, unless you have some lying around.

If she has a TV, she can hook it up to that to save money on a monitor, otherwise, anything with DVI can be adapted super cheap from the HDMI on the board.

Since she's never used Windows anyway, presumably, learning Linux shouldn't be any easier or harder. She's basically just using facebook anyway, which works identically on every OS, being a website. Debian is pretty straightforward to use, and makes installing new programs a snap!

Should easily come out less than $100, since the computer part is only $35 ($45 with 16GB of storage)

of course! However, I'd recommend getting a 1440p 144hz monitor instead, since the 3070 won't be able to handle many AAA titles at 240fps. You could also go with this ultrawide fro scepter. It's 2560x1080 (wide screen) 30 inches and 200hz for just $280. You could use the extra for some rgb's or something.

https://www.amazon.com/Sceptre-30-inch-Curved-Gaming-Monitor/dp/B07TXM7K4T/ref=pd_ybh_a_48?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=29Q2Y6SZX6BKKTA9Y1K1

Yep Ryzen all the way. In games the difference between Intel and Ryzen isn't that drastic. As you can see in this vid, the fps contrast between the Ryzen 5 1600 and similarly priced Intel i5-7600k is minimal and will be even more so with the i5-7500. What's more important though is CPU/GPU usage is lower with the 1600 meaning that the 1600 will be more future proof. If all this isn't enough the 1600 has a better value and overall better performance according to the cpubenchmark site: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2984&cmp[]=2910 and is also overclock able as is all Ryzen CPUs.

Since you are looking for OS X, you might want to look over at /r/hackintosh. To make your life easier it's better to spec proven builds in order to make OS X install and run easier.

For example, I use tonymacx86. Here are the current recommended budget builds: http://www.tonymacx86.com/building-customac-buyers-guide-february-2015.html#CustoMac_Budget_ATX

https://www.amazon.ca/CYBERPOWERPC-Xtreme-i5-10400F-GeForce-GXiVR8060A10/dp/B08FBK2DK5/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=gaming+pc&qid=1623165176&sr=8-5

you should probably buy a pre built like this.. just add another stick of 8GB ram yourself..

Due to the global semiconductor shortage, a prebuilt desktop or laptop is a substantially better value. Here is a desktop that sortof fit your requirements:

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Optiplex-3020-Desktop-Computer/dp/B08DRCJP8R/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=gaming+pc&qid=1621103128&refinements=p_36%3A2421880011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011&rnid=14292272011&s=pc&sr=1-7

Buy a 2060 super from Amazon or anywhere, here's a link for you

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07VM9Q9R8?tag=pcp0f-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1

when you get it register it onto the EVGA website and apply for the step-up program for a 3070, this puts you in a queue for when they get in stock they will send it to you and all you have to do is ship the 2060 super to them and pay the difference in price

spend $50 more and get em a laptop. Probably could walk into Best Buy this weekend during a sale and get one for $299.

Edit: I shoulda looked before I posted. $279 will get ya a Toshiba at Best Buy. Looks like you can order it online too.

Thanks for the upvotes! For source:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/building-customac-buyers-guide-december-2015.html

tonymacx86 is very reputable in the hackintosh community, and as you can see here, they recommend ASUS and Gigabyte motherboards, with the latter being less expensive.

Also one more upvote would be great, the limit is still there so I need positive karma in this sub.

Don't forget that you can run OSX on a computer that you build. You just need to pay extra attention to make sure hardware is compatible. This website has lots of helpful info about building a hackintosh if you are interested.

It is safe as long as you follow a well written guide and it's pretty hard to mess up. As long as you keep an eye on the temps you will not lose out on life span try this guide to read up on it! (Don't use this as your only guide do plenty of research!)

https://lifehacker.com/a-beginners-introduction-to-overclocking-your-intel-pr-5580998

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-TC-391-UR12-Hexa-Core-Processor-Graphics-dp-B08Y642KLC/dp/B08Y642KLC/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

Pretty much better version of that build for less. Ram is a bit slower and a bit less but it's negligible. Also comes with windows and probably warranty.

would this motherboard work? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088VSTS9H/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-i3-10100-Keyboard-TG01-1022/dp/B08NCFRFFD/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=hp+pavilion+gaming+desktop&qid=1615764230&sr=8-3

You won't build a reasonable pc for that budget. Just buy this prebuilt

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08QHSTVYS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_tMKcGb5N78QTG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I'm gonna go against the grain. If it's exactly for what you're saying, this will fit all your needs.

I would just do prebuilt. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Acer-TC-885-UA92-Desktop-i5-9400-802-11AC/dp/B088X2YR3X/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=9400%2Bcomputer&qid=1598029093&s=pc&sr=1-10&th=1

Lowest price right now according to CamelCamelCamel

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FRxLsX

Case comes with 2 fans, all you gotta do is get one more fan, idk which you want but I recommend getting a noctua fan if you don’t care about the color, Or this fan they come in black or I believe white and they’re $15 Btw, the 2060 should definetly drop by quite a lot soon so get that later, and maybe even get a 2070 With this you’ll easily get 144, maybe even at 1440p at ~100 fps

u/Smote20XX if i could give you some advice, it would be to spend $2k on a 3d modeling/gaming/vr machine, $500 on a Synology 4 bay nas, and $500 on a Dell S2716DG gaming monitor. You're trying to do too much, with a single point of failure for everything. Motherboard dies? So does everything you're doing. By getting a dedicated NAS like a Synology, you can still RAID your existing drives in the bay, store a ton of data, and use it as a Plex server with transcoding (and so much more actually). I would also suggest getting a legitimate gaming monitor, as TV's do not provide the same gaming experience as a 1440p 144hz monitor will. Presuming you buy a 2080 Ti for your gaming desktop build (which I would suggest), you'll be able to use VR and the monitor to play basically any and all games the way they were meant to be played. Trust me when I say, your TV's are holding you back.

As for desktop build? Something like this:

• Ryzen 2700x ($269 @ microcenter)
• MSI Pro Carbon Gaming AC motherboard (~$150 newegg)
• 32gb 15 cas gskill ($240 newegg)
• Corsair 240mm water cooler ($~$110 anywhere)
• Phanteks P350x case ($60 amazon)
• EVGA G3 750/850w modular psu ($70)
• 2080 Ti ($1200)

Desktop Total roughly $2100

Something like a Synology DS918+ NAS = $550

Dell Monitor will be on sale for $350 (incredible price) on black friday at Best Buy

If you can price match anything at Best Buy, that might work, but after a quick look through the GPUs, the selection is bad, and the prices are even worse.

For motherboards, it looks a bit better. I would still buy the Extreme6 through SuperBiiz or Newegg, but if you do want to get something from them, you could get one of these.

Here's two of the EVGA cards (It's the same graphics card just with the reference cooler). Here's the standard one and here's the factory overclocked version

Hello.

The only dumb question is a question not asked.

You are correct about the US oulets only providing 110-120V. But the PSU unit can provide power if it gets 110-240V. Here is the manual. Page 7 is the place where you can find this. So it will work in HK for sure.
The only thing you need to watch out for is the cable itself. The US plugs are different that in HK I believe. But you can buy these PC cables pretty much everywhere.

The cost of parts go down over time, or newer better parts come out at the same price. The functionality always stays the same.

For example, the price of an R9 290 dropped like a rock in the past few months. Price fluctuations aren't nearly that big most of the time, but it can happen.

Another example (although less extreme) is the GTX 970 and the R9 390. A few months ago there would have been an GTX 970 in this list instead of an R9 390. Then the R9 390 came out and is a little bit cheaper and performs a little bit better than the GTX 970 (although it does depend on the game). That's why if you check builds here often the R9 390 has become the de-facto standard for builds in this pricerange.

This doesn't make a GTX 970 any worse than it was a few months ago, it's still the same card either way. It just means I would be making a different choice because I am building today.

You can download Windows 10 ISO and create a USB install drive from it. The thing you get with your purchase is the activation key. Where you get your installation disk is not critical. Microsoft has a free utility for making a USB flash drive installer if you have access to a PC. You can create a Windows 10 installer USB on your macbook using the Bootcamp utility. You can also download WinSetupFromUSB for your MacBook to do this.

Just follow the guide on tonymacx86. And check out the golden builds in their forums. I just build the currently suggested mATX, which has an extensive forum discussion, and I would feel pretty confident doing video and photo editing.

Take a look at this article:

http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/766848/How-to-build-ultimate-XBMC-HTPC-for-less-than-Kodi

It talks about building pretty good PC for less than $200 (not including HDD). But since you have more money to burn... you can take slightly bigger case, better CPU and more memory.

I can see you have received adequate help on the PC side, now onto the electrical side. I had to get an electrician in to install a 30a breaker because I am a crypto miner. They installed a 250v outlet and a 30a breaker. 30amps x 250volts=7500watts of power which is what your gonna need. So call up a licensed reputable electrician and have them install the breaker and install a 250v nema l6 30p outlet. Then grab a PDU suitable for that. I recommend this one from tripplite. In total your talking around $1000 and even more if installing inside a finished house.

Also we are moving into a period where hdd is not needed. Its slower, less reliable, uses more electricity and generates more heat (not a lot obviously).

I picked up a ssd 1tb crucible the other week from Amazon for like 100 bucks. I would go 1 of those + a smaller faster ssd for windows and some of your software. Just just throw in an old hdd as a backup drive if u want.

Also a hint for buying parts of amazon. Obviously buy off amazon au but if u want to check reviews look for the same part of amazon com. The aussie version doesnt have many reviews compared to the main site (that just has an insane amount on decent popular products).

I can vouch for the Vetroo V5. Built my pc last Thursday and my 5600x has only peaked at 68 C in a stress test! The RGB looks great and the white is a nice shade too.

Also, Royal Kludge is a good brand. Loving my RK87.

That AIO cooler is pricey! Just out of curiosity, is there a reason for both monitors being 1080p? I just made the jump from 1080 @120hz to 1440p @144hz and it has been the second best upgrade I’ve made since being into PCs. I highly recommend it! Something like this maybe if it’s in the budget.

LG 27GL850-B 27 Inch Ultragear QHD Nano IPS 1ms NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible Gaming Monitor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TD94TQF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_Uu.2Fb2YTZ9GM

Aside from the monitor this build looks like it’s gonna be awesome when you build it! Even with those monitors it’s still great.

This is by far better than a PC solution for what you say you want.

I recommend Roku because of the huge amount of free streaming as well as support for all the paid services like Netflix/Hulu/Amazon. If it streams, and isn't iTunes based, Roku does it.

https://www.amazon.com/Roku-Premiere-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B01LXUZPQU/ref=sr_1_7?s=tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1505174410&sr=1-7&keywords=roku

4k resolution, wifi remote with a headphone jack in case you want to listen and not disturb others, works well on wifi or Ethernet.

If all you want is to watch TV/video it's perfect for you.

It's nice to see someone take interest in their child but right now you are asking for quite a lot for such a small price. GPU prices are at an all time high, ram prices are ridiculous, and even the os will set you back.

Even with the Pentium line processors with the cheapest ram and extras is going to be around 700$. Intel 4 core is 115$, motherboard is 100-125$, ram is 75$, SSD 85, OS is 100+$.

That's just the basics of a PC. Adding the cheapest, most inexpensive gpu is 85$, wifi card is around 20$ and monitor is around 100$ if you want a monitor that will actually work.

My suggestion is to go to Best buy and get a basic pc and pay 400$. You can add the card and then decide what monitor you want and all the extras will be already. Even amazon offers a good deal.

Acer Aspire Desktop, 7th Gen Intel Core i3-7100, 8GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 Home, TC-780-ACKi3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071DM6TWM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_2fGBAbQ7N1XQE

Oh, this is an awesome starting place. Can definitely play with this a little bit, as you left room for upgrades like more ram or a different keyboard.

Never heard of Pixio monitors before, and the one you have here at $419 is also sold by them on Amazon and currently listed at $399. I'm checking reviews on the brand, but that might be a jump-on-it-now price.

Also didn't know about FreeSync and G-Sync before looking up some of that monitors details. Looks like the AMD vs nVidia card "gardens" have grown farther apart since that last time I worked on building together hardware back in 2010 or so.

Prebuilts isn't really what people do around here, but I had a quick look around for you.

This is the best build I could find browsing around Amazon for a few minutes. Also checked some of the PC vendor sites themselves but most of what they had didn't get close to the bang for buck prebuilt I linked before.

The image on the Amazon page isn't exactly right (no 2060 that looks like that afaik). SSD is only 240gb plus a 2TB HDD, but in any normal case you should be able to add your own in if you wanted.

There was also this one which is pretty much identical, but the picture there is most likely photoshopped, the motherboard they're showing isn't like any combination I've seen.

Ur right, i forgot about you already having the 3600. If you want to spend more, i highly recommend the 5700xt, as it gives way better performance than the 1660 super, 2060, and 2060 super. Also here are the fans, 3 pack and rgb for like $22. Such a steal.

https://www.amazon.com/upHere-Wireless-Adjustable-Radiators-RGB123-3/dp/B078LWV8PZ

(Edit, the 5700 xt is $100 cheaper than the cheapest new 2070 super, and I’d say its on par if not better than the 2070 super.

The Ryzen 5 1600 AF will still do great for that gpu :) and if you're interested, you could overclock the 1600 on the stock cooler, and if you're picky like me you could pick up some thermal grizzly kyronaut thermal paste and wipe the stock paste off the cooler. It actually does make a pretty good difference in temps, and hopefully you can get at least 3.9ghz all cores no problem, hopefully even push for 4ghz.

Speaking from personal experience, OCing my stock 1600 to 4ghz made a world's difference in a lot of the games I play like apex, GTAV, OW, etc. Massive 20 to even 50fps gains despite being on a crappy old RX470. I play all of them 1080p above 60fps and average 110fps all games (except GTA ofc), so you'll have absolutely no problems hitting ur 144fps goal at 1080p

Edit: here's the Amazon link just in case you can't find it!

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 65W AM4 Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler (YD1600BBAFBOX) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XTQZJ28/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PIkmEb9WHR5Z0

https://jet.com/product/GeForce-GTX1060-GAMING/fa54a37dc33f452fb6112bcde38b0cdd https://jet.com/product/AMD-RYZEN-5-1600-6-Core-32-GHz-36-GHz-Turbo-Socket-AM4-65W-YD1600BBAEBOX-Desktop/1a65b7124d1046f8931627194994a8ef

Use SPRING15 on these two products to save about 60 bucks from their list price. If you use the code, the CPU actually is cheaper by 15 bucks.

Here's a few options for the monitor.

1) Backorder it on newegg

You'll have to wait for it to come back in stock, but newegg.com is currently selling it for 99 dollars. You could use your TV just fine in the mean time while waiting for it to come back in stock. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to backorder it.

2) order it on jet and use a TRIPLE15 code to get 15% off

This will be cheaper than the PCPartpicker list, however still more than newegg. Note that you can also use a TRIPLE15 code to get 15% off of the memory that is in your parts list. But If you are going to buy both of them from jet.com I would do two seperate orders, because TRIPLE15 gives a max discount of 30 dollars(200 dollar order total). You get three TRIPLE15 codes to use, so you might be able to find more parts on jet.com to get 15% off on.

Thanks for the quick response, DyckJustice. A couple questions:

• In other threads with requests like mine, I've seen a lot of the AMD 6-core processor you picked and some with an Intel quad core. I'm guessing the performance between the two must be similar?

• Would this hard drive work with the current setup? I ask because I have the BB gift card and I figured the Hard Drive would be the easiest thing to get there. (I checked the other Seagate drives they had, but none were 6 Gb/s like the one listed.)

• I just got the Humble Origin Bundle, and out of curiosity, how well will this setup run games like Battlefield 3?

Here's a tutorial to find your current windows key.

Well, my 2nd build is going to be noticeably faster than /u/Xorfish's build, but he chose superior parts that don't directly affect performance, except his peripherals (mine were better). I personally don't really mind to sacrifice a bit to get a better CPU/GPU, but some people care about having a really good MOBO and PSU, so it's up to you!

I've never played Crysis 3, but I found this and this in case it might help anyone else.

I see, so maybe I should just aim small and upgrade when I get a better monitor. Is this the same GPU you're suggesting?

/u/crosley123 I'd like to add on here that not all PC games can be bought from Steam. For example, the newer Battlefield and Star Wars: Battlefront games are bought from Origin. Blizzard games (e.g Overwatch, World of Warcraft) must be bought from their website.

The only thing you'll need is a Phillips #2 screwdriver, everything else is fairly plug and play. I actually would recommend the 1080, as I just looked on jet.com and found this beauty. Using that promo code, you can get it for around $510, which only increases cost by about $155. It'll provide better long term 1440p gaming than the 1070, and may last an extra 2 years.

This is a nicer monitor for the price, the GN246HL is about the worst 144Hz monitor you can buy, with really poor colors, unfixable overshoot ghosting, and PWM LED flickering that can strain eyes and ruin motion clarity.

I saw this 27" AOC IPS at my local Best Buy and the specs/image quality was pretty nice for the price. There's also an LG for about $330.

No doubt that the Asus Hero is a great motherboard but unless you're adding a custom water loop and plan on going to aggressive overclocks, it's pretty much useless to spend that much on a Z170 board. The X99 board is more expensive but you have to account for a 'budget' x99 board usually costs $175 - $200 compared to a Z170 board which usually start at $90 - $110. If you were looking at which board was the best overclocker, I'd probably give it to the Z170 Hero because of the 10 Phase DIGI+ VRM but overall I'd say the X99 Gaming 7 is better because the extra features (like more ram slots, sata connections etc..).

> Is it worth getting a "nicer/better" sli bridge than the default mobo one?

Well considering you have a 3k budget, it wouldn't hurt to get a nice EVGA bridge for $30 :p

There's no point in really getting another pc, this will do it all lol. The 6700k is actually the 'better' gaming chip (usually beats the 5820k by 1-5 fps depending on the game) although that might change in a couple years when games start using DX12 (Which is supposed to take advantage of the extra cores) but only time will tell. The 5820k will be better at workstation load types like rendering, editing etc... because of the extra 2 cores / 4 threads.

Dude, sorry about that. I must have had $500 on my brain.

Swap the GPU for a 750ti. It's a little less powerful but still a solid card and runs about $120 ($89 if you can get a "B-stock" one.

I didn't even plug it in to the checker. Good catch.

You're saving +$40 with the Sapphire (and it's a better manufacture), so it wouldn't be that big of a deal to swap PSU, if you wanted. That PSU will limit what kind of GPU you'll be able to get.

I know you said you wanted AMD, but EVGA's B-Stock site can be a good resource for stuff too.

Yep Ryzen all the way. The Ryzen 5 1600 would be perfect as it has 6 cores and 12 threads which benefits streaming and does great in gaming not to mention it costs about 20 bucks less. In games the difference between Intel and Ryzen isn't that drastic. As seen in this vid, the fps contrast between the Ryzen 5 1600 and the i5-7600k is minimal. What's more important though is CPU/GPU usage is lower with the 1600 meaning that the 1600 will be more future proof. If all this isn't enough the 1600 has a better value and overall better performance according to the cpubenchmark site: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2984&cmp[]=2919.

edit: One other thing, since my build has time sensitive sales, I make no promise that the prices will remain the same, or that I accurately did the math. It should be under 800.

Nope, that's sort of old school thinking with SSDs. It comes from the time when cheap 120 GB SSDs were the price of high quality 500 GB SSDs, now. Basically, if all you could afford was 120GB it would at least give your core programs performance boosts. Now days though, core windows + common programs will take up almost all of 120GB SSD, and you won't have any room for other stuff.

Now days SSDs are cheap as hell, Like this budget 1 TB SDD for $127. We're reaching the point where people aren't even bothering with HDDs any more, and just get a fast SSD and slower larger one. On top of that, many modern Triple A games now take up 20-70GB. It's better to get a larger ssd to start, and load major triple a titles on it so you can get the boost to loading times. A HDD is only really good for things like Mp3s, small indie games, and video files. You can always grab one later.

oh, yeah ofc: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gtx-750-ti-review-minimal-power-maximum-performance/1100-6417810/ idk how creditable Gamespot is, but they claim it runs at an average of 58 fps based on their tests w/ high settings.

Actually costco would be your best bet.

http://www.costco.com/Lenovo-Ideacentre-710-Desktop---Intel-Core-i7---2GB-Graphics.product.100291569.html

This was just on sale for 400 in store I think, might still be going idk.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/comments/5a98l5/prebuilt_lenovo_i74790_12gb_ddr3_1tb_hdd_gt730/ Check out this thread.

Also 1v1 me in the wildy.

With this build you would be able to play much more than the lowest settings on most of those games. One thing I would do though is if you get the A10 on Newegg, they have a coupon code (EMCXTVW37) for a few buck cheaper and use the extra money to get this PSU from Best Buy with free shipping :Best Buy

Ok, just looking at your build. Considering my lack of knowledge in the matter, what stops me from getting http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iBuyPower+-+Desktop+-+8GB+Memory+-+500GB+Hard+Drive/6979796.p?id=1218818465502&skuId=6979796 this? For $900 rather than $1500, and it has the same CPU and GPU as what you posted. I know the HDDs are different and the RAM might be a cheaper alternative. But overall, it seems to me I could get an entire system already put together to be user-friendly, for about the same price as the build I posted.

What exactly are the downsides of a prebuilt system like that, considering I don't have specific needs other than to play new games like along the lines of Battlefield 3 and Far Cry 3.

$250 Asus laptop 14 inch with 4gb ram and a b980 cpu 360gb hdd

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+14%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+4GB+Memory+-+320GB+Hard+Drive+-+Matte+Lime+Green/6780139.p?id=1218807628376&skuId=6780139#tab=overview

Cool case, anyways it sounds like you are planning on putting all 26 drives in a single RAIDZ2 vdev which is a terrible idea. You would have a high chance of loosing the entire array if you have a single drive fail on you, see http://www.zdnet.com/blog/storage/why-raid-6-stops-working-in-2019/805. Though I guess since this is your backup that wouldn't be that bad.

Here's a much cheaper 4k monitor. At that price I'd even recommend getting two if you'd like: Samsung 28-Inch Ultra High Definition LED Monitor (U28D590D) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IEZGWI2/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_TItHub07WZTDX

How much cheaper are you looking at? Personally I would wait for the 380x to drop if you wanted around $250. If you are looking at around $200 then I would get a 4gb 380 right now.

You could also check EVGA's b-stock here They have really good deals a lot of the time, and the 970 is almost as good as the 390 -- barely noticeable fps drop. Also if the 780 ti goes on sale there I would recommend picking that up as it is around the performance of the 970.

check this out. a GTX 960 for $160. its B-stock, so it is refurbished, but your not going to be getting the settings you desire with a $150 card. here is the link to the GTX 960.

http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=04G-P4-3966-RX

Glad I could help, if you have any comments or questions, please reply! Thanks!

Well, you'd want to start over.

The HDD is not reusable as it's IDE (today's standard is SATA), RAM's DDR1 (today's standard is DDR3),CPU is not relevant anymore, PSU is a time-bomb that might slowly degrade the components of whatever PC it's placed in, or explode/catch fire under heavier loads.

So, before starting: are you fine with mail-in rebates (pay more now, receive some money back later)? What about a refurbished video card with a 2-year-warranty from GPUShack or a video card from EVGA's B-Stock? Both options are reliable.

Hello, yumyummix.

Is there a way for you to get your OS for free via Dreamspark, school, or workplace? Microsoft has a discount for students as well.

Are you fine with mail-in rebates? (Pay more now, probably receive some money back later). What about a refurbished video card with 2-year warranty from GPUShack or from EVGA's B-stock?

Thank you so much man! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to help me. If I spent an extra $200, where would you recommend I put it towards? I was thinking the motherboard because I just want to make sure the motherboard lasts the test of time if that makes sense. Thank you so very much again man! And also instead of overclocking the Graphics card what do you think about this? I dont mind spending the extra bit for it: http://www.evga.com/products/Product.aspx?pn=06G-P4-4998-KR

I think AMD only outperforms Intel at the extremely low price point. Once you get up to the i5 level, I don't really think there's any comparison because of the better per-core performance. But obviously if you're doing tasks that benefit from additional cores the 6350 is a good option.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2234&cmp[]=1910

Moving down to a 380X would be a good move to get you toward the lower end of your price point. You'll still get good performance on AAA games, and you'll still probably be able to play them on ultra settings at 1080p. I think it would be pushing it though, I'm not sure what kind of FPS you'd get.

EDIT: Showing around 40FPS on GTA V

EDIT: what I said before was incorrect. I mixed up the Ethernet and WLAN adpaters somwhere down the line (facepalm). Very true that the inbuilt wireless PCI-E card may not work. It's design is very similar to the Z97 version though so if the wireless card is the same then it can be made to work: http://www.tonymacx86.com/desktop-compatibility/132365-asrock-z97e-itx-stuck-white-apple-screen-2.html

See Dhmac's post.

Loosely on this one to confirm that x99 will work, then this one to confirm that the MSI boards have compatible audio & network controllers. TonyMac recommends dual channel ram (✓), either an Asus, Asrock, Gigabyte, or MSI mobo (✓), & finally a supported GPU (✓). May take some elbow grease as all Hackintosh's do but it should work.

The wattage is fine. OP doesn't plan on OC'ing but if he does how strong would it have to be to push him up another 150w to beat the limit? That seems like an extreme OC.

32GB of ram probably would be a good idea.

I personally use Start8.

Here's an article with 5 other options. I'm sure there are more as well.

http://www.howtogeek.com/127699/6-start-menu-replacements-for-windows-8/

EDIT: Another one that is popular besides the ones listed is called StartIsBack

I don't know much about it either but a quick Google I found a few things.

https://en.m.wikibooks.org/wiki/ZCash_mining_GPU_Comparison

With this website I can compare gpu graphics cards hash rate (how much computing per second that can be done) as well as its wattage needed to run.

https://www.cryptocompare.com/mining/calculator/eth?HashingPower=116&HashingUnit=MH%2Fs&PowerConsumption=520&CostPerkWh=

With this website I input how much hash rate I get (assume 25mHash/s to make 100mHash) and then put wattage (520 watts in this case) I also read that people like to mine etherium because it has a better conversion rate. If I do that I see I can make a total of $319.08 per month or $3882 assuming he doesn't pay electricity bill. If he did pay electricity bill it would be more like $274.15 per month in earning which is really good.

Dude, you're so close.

Checkout /r/buildapcsales for GPU deals (I like this one).

Do you know if you have a discreet graphics card?

Do you know the make and model?

If you don't know, go here and download, install and run this free software. After it runs go to the "graphics" tab at the top and it will tell you what king of graphics you are using. Look here: http://download.cnet.com/CPU-Z/3000-2086_4-10050423.html

Forget about the microcenter, what about a Fry's Shop or eventually a Best Buy? If you do, Fry has a in-store $50 H100i offer

Btw you can get a 980 for like $370, (http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=04G-P4-2983-RX for example) in EVGA's website

Woops, I had no idea. That sucks! I am from Europe and have dealt with EVGA their support a couple of times, they are so awesome.

I actually am surprised. I was very sure that the G1 versions had a semi-passive fan mode, blergh. They do not. Thanks for catching this. I went as far to dive into their excellent manual. Where you indeed can not find any switch for the fan mode either and when you ctrl-f "fan" you only find how they recommend to place the fan downwards in the case.

Well then the only thing I can recommend it for are the flat cables!! Any counter argument for this? Well let me help you, it does not really affect it to a huge extent in the suggested case, it would likely be helpful if there would be an SLI setup, but even then it will all be a little bit cramped.

Edit: Bugger... it seems like the Thermaltake Toughpower also got flat cables! FINE! Have some mercy. Will change it out! With that said, I decided to go for the G2 over the Toughpower, the $20 difference was for me worth it. The G2 does have the semi-passive fan!! :D

Not really, it seem to be over 10 years old. What might still be used is the disc drive if it's SATA, and maybe the case. What /u/XorFish recommended will be a huge upgrade. The G3258 is 12 times as fast as the P4 that is in your computer.

well the two remain intercompatible, it's just that usb 3.0 is capable of quite a bit faster speeds. the HDD you're using looks decent, i don't see anything wrong with using it again, if your friend wants to upgrade later on i would suggest getting an SSD anyways.

and yes the alternative i meant was the built i suggested above, i also considered going for an AMD quad core x4 860k, which is among the best performing cpus at that pricepoint (it is about 15$ more than the pentium, but you get 2 more cores) but you prefered to go with the newer haswell structure and in that category i would also go for the pentium.

for reference here is the list i am basing this on:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_value_available.html

you'll find the x4 860k at number 7 and the pentium at number 21.

PSU is not optimal, Memory is just at the recommended mark so if you decide to run anything else concurrently you will start to suffer some performance issues due to the use of virtual memory.

Take a look a this site: http://www.tonymacx86.com/building-customac-buyers-guide-december-2014.html . There are a lot of builds and you will get more info about which parts are better , I suggest getting gigabyte and intel .

$35 + the cost of an SD card and a few cables, if you dont already have them (Raspberry Pi)

Ok, I'm cheating, this isnt actually Steam In-Home Streaming - its more akin to the shield meaning it requires a nvidia 600 series or later. I haven't used this myself but was curious to see the cheapest it could be done for without reusing parts. Supposably slightly laggy.

Despite not really needing it myself, I'm curious to see how much a serious device would cost. Don't know much about price, nut if you want a small device look into an Intel NUC or Gugabyte BRIX

I only spent about ten dollars on mine. More expensive wireless cards aren't really worth because you can get a power line adapter http://www.cnet.com/topics/networking/best-networking-devices/power-line-adapters/ which is faster than wifi. As for the RAM, 8GB should be fine for just gaming. You can always get another RAM stick later.

Cool, in that case, the build I put together should serve you well.

Jut a quick question: Any reason you're not going with an AWS or GCE instance for your computation needs instead of building a machine by hand? My understanding is that, particularly as a student, you could get a very good price if all you need is a mess of cores and some persistent storage.

Any other games you hope to play?

The minimum system requirements say a GTX 260 or a ATI 4870. Your card is significantly stronger than both.

I'd say wait until AMD releases their R9 3XX series in early 2015, which should result in a price drop of the 970. Then you can spend your money more wisely.

I have a Prodigy M myself and love it, great case, but it's size isn't really in the m-ITX bracket, more of a Corsair 350D m-atx size (which is basically a small atx case). You can get that in blue though.

Ich wurde in Starnberg / München geboren und hatte das glück da unten bis zu meinem 16 Geburtstag zu leben. Jetzt muss ich mich mit Melbourne in Australien vergnügen, ist aber auch nicht so schlech (beach :D)

These are the cables included with the PSU: http://www.evga.com/products/images/gallery/120-PG-0650-GR_XL_3.jpg You can buy aftermarket sleeved cabling, in case you want the interior to look a certain way, but saddly the Prodigy doesn't have a great stock side panel available, which can be fixed with a little moding (lots of sources available for that).

GL

Just a quick edit, I just found this card on sale on EVGA's website and this card is an absolute steal http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-2774-RX Basically 50 dollars less and increased performance. Way increased.

CPU: AMD FX-6300. Why? Because it's hands down the best CPU you can get in this price range. It's price for it's performance is off the charts. Benchmarks:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+FX-6300+Six-Core

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46. Why? Because MSI makes great motherboards and this one has SLI capability (two graphics cards slots) so that down the line if your GPU starts giving out you can add another one and increase performance.

Memory: Kingston Black 2x4GB RAM. Why? Because RAM is RAM and this is a $70 kit of 8GB which is standard for most computers.

Storage: SSD 840 EVO. Why? Because if you put your operating system on it and some games and popular programs, you will notice faster speeds and in increase in overall smoothness.

Storage: 1TB hard drive. Why? Because we need somewhere to store your shit.

Video card: GTX 760. Why? Because it's the best card I can fit in your budget. It will play all modern games on very high or max settings.

Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite. Why? Because NZXT makes great cases and this one has good airflow, and it has plenty of room for upgrades (another video card, more hard drives, etc.)

Power Supply: Corsair 600W. Why? Because Corsair is a good brand and you can't beat this deal. $38 for a power supply from this company is a steal.

Optical drive: Asus optical drive. Why? I honestly don't know why. It's a fucking optical drive and it's 2014, but it will save you some headaches and it's $15 so why not.

Monitor: AOC 23" Monitor. Why? Because AOC makes good monitors and this one is on sale at the moment for a great price.

Keyboard: Microsoft standard keyboard. Why? Because it types.

Mouse: Microsoft mouse. Why? Because it clicks.

The i3 will give you just slightly better FPS in some games. Other games that can use more then 2 cores(like BF3) will perform better with the 965. 4 cores will allow you better multitasking when using your computer. Like keeping a bunch of tabs open and programs while your gaming. Basically the 965 outperforms the i3 except for most games which only use 2 cores, in which case you will see a slight improvement in FPS. Otherwise in nearly everything else the 965 performs the same or better and is cheaper. The 965 can also be overclocked giving it an advantage over the i3 which cannot be overclocked. So basically with this build you get minus 5-10 FPS in most games at the very high end(running on ultra) but more computing power for your programs. Every game and program will vary as to which cpu performs better, so choosing a cpu can be very game/program specific. If there is one game you play all the time or plan to play, you might want to choose the cpu that performs on that game best. http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X4+965 (if you look 15 cpus down you will find the i3-3220)

clock speeds don't matter when you compare two different cpu's, what matters is benchmarks, if you buy a intel cpu with K and the end you can overclock it to 4.6 ghz. here is the benchmark. Both the i5 3570k and the new i7 beat the amd in performance

edit. the i5 and the amd are at the same level, but the intel is better for gaming. You can overclock the i5 and get great performance and $100 cheaper motherboard versus the amd

StartIsBack is also a great option. From what i've read people seem to like StartIsBack more, I own windows 7 myself so i wouldn't really know

Yes you would benefit a bunch from a new SSD for sure. The price of those came down by a lot as well. You can get over 1TB SSDs for $220 these days.

Anyway, you could in theory run both programs with a hybrid drive that you currently have. But I would not recommend it. Those two programs are purely for the SSD. Also, for the future, don't buy hybrid drives anymore. They're really not that useful for "normal" consumers. I mean, honestly.. they're a pretty good marketing gimmick in general. They cost more without giving much of a benefit.
SSD + a normal HDD is the way to go!

But if you want to test your hybrid drive, I would recommend to download HD Tune. HD Tune also got the S.M.A.R.T check! Which is the most important one.

With the 1x8GB RAM stick, it leaves space for you to buy another 1x8GB RAM stick and upgrade to 16GB. Plus, because the motherboard is using the LGA1150 socket, you can easily swap out the i3 for any of the new Haswell Refresh CPUs that are coming out. Not sure about future CPU releases, though (then again, those things are never very predictable). The motherboard also has enough SATA 6GB/s ports that you can easily add another couple of HDDs or SSDs. And the PSU should be strong enough for anything up to a GTX 770/R9 280X.

As for Windows 8.1, it will have better support, and will support DirectX 12 once that comes out. If you don't like it because of the way it looks, pick up Classic Shell - it's a free program that will make Windows 8 act like Windows 7.

Lastly, the CPU isn't single threaded. It's a dual core CPU with hyperthreading, meaning the CPU can handle up to 4 threads at once. Additionally, Intel CPUs perform better for gaming than their AMD equivalents - the vast, vast majority of games are still singlethreaded processes that don't take much advantage of either multiple cores or hyperthreading, and the Haswell i3s beat out even the AMD FX 8300 series in some games.

Have you looked into any of the software apps that allow you to create zones on the screen to snap apps to? I personally am a fan of Microsoft's own FancyZones, which is part of their free PowerToys pack. They update it pretty regularly and it has a lot of eyes on it for features and bug fixes. You can hold shift to bring up the special screen config to drag/drop apps/windws into specific zones or you can configure it to use the Win+Left/Right or Win+Up/Down/Left/Right to move through the zones similar to how you do the snap with the keyboard.

It was fairly basic when it first launched, but now you can set shortcuts for specific layouts, set the space between the zones and even set the highlight distance that allows you to set when zones become active on drag/drop. The last feature is nice because you can drag apps/windows between zones to have it use both/multiple zones.

Github: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys

Docs with screenshots: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/fancyzones

Some of the monitor makers provide their own (Dell, etc), but I tend to come back to PowerToys as it just works and seems to get updated/features faster. There are other free/pay options out there as well.