It's new desktop time, and I am badly - badly - in need of advice.
My last two machines were Falcon Northwest Mach Vs (they lasted me more than 10 years between them and I can still play games on decent settings, but I've got increasingly bad hardware failures in this 5 year old machine and it's going to become more expensive to maintain than to replace soon), but I can't afford another Falcon these days (married with kids now).
I'm an avid gamer. I also do significant coding/compiling as well as some very limited amounts of visual art with my PC. I'm on a budget of $1500 or less (ideally closer to $1200 but I would go up to $1500 for the right set of benefits).
I have never built a PC, but am reasonably technical (I can swap out a power supply or a video card no problem, just never tried anything more advanced). I value my time very highly, as I work a more than full time job + have a small child, which is a point in favor of a prebuilt. I've looked at some PC brands - alienware, cyberpowerpc, iBUYPOWER.com, lenovo erazer, Falcon-nw.com (ha! if only), Digital Storm. The two with unequivocally good reviews (Falcon, Digital Storm) are simply out of my price range. The others have enough horror stories to make me a bit leery, but I'm strongly considering them - they seem to deliver quality 95% of the time but really really bad times the other 5%, which is a roll of the dice that I'm not thrilled with.
I want something as quiet (visually and aurally) as possible, and something as physically small as possible - if I had a $2500 budget I would buy a Falcon-NW Tiki or a Digital Storm Bolt. I'm willing to compromise slightly on performance for something quiet.
Am I crazy to even consider this? Should I just buy that cyberpowerpc Zeus Mini that I've been looking at?!
What am I missing?
I haven't added any additional cooling, just two 140mm fans that come with the case (and of course the PSU and CPU come with their own cooling) - do I need to? (Water-cooling this system would be pointless, right?)
What can I easily do to cut cost without hurting performance much?
I have little experience with these things, so I went for customer ratings first, cost second, so I assume there are some things in here that are better than I need. Also, I haven't done any work balancing things, and I have no idea if I'm bottlenecking horribly on anything.
Anything much I can do about case size without hurting performance (or cost) much?
This case is huge, and while I do have the room for it, I'm becoming increasingly sensitive to my environs in my old age (...ha ha... ha... sob). I looked at some MicroATX cases that are genuinely tiny and while it seems like you can build a gaming PC at that size within reason, it probably requires knowledge that I don't have to plan the build out in advance.
Anything else I can do to make sure this thing is as quiet as possible?
For reference, this is about $100 more, but about half the physical size:
CyberPowerPC Zeus Mini
CAS: CYBERPOWERPC Zeus Mini mITX Gaming Chassis w/ USB 3.0 [4.4in(W) x 13in(H) x 17.4in(D)] (Black Color w/ Green Light)
CD: 8X DVD±R/RW/4X + DL Super-Multi Drive (DVD±RW ZEUS Mini)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-4790K 4.0 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150 (All Venom OC Certified) [+110]
FAN: Asetek 510LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU Cooler - Enhance Cooling Performance [+36] (Single Enermax Enlobal Silent High Performance 120MM Fan [+15])
HDD: 128GB SanDisk SSD + 1TB SATA III Hard Drive Combo [+46] (Single Drive)
MEMORY: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR3/1866MHz Dual Channel Memory [+100] (ADATA XPG V2)
MOTHERBOARD: * GIGABYTE GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini-ITX w/ 802.11ac WiFi + BT 4.0, Dual GbLAN, 1 PCIe x16, 4x SATA 6Gb/s (Pro OC Certified)
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: 750 Watts - Corsair CSM Series CS750M 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular Ultra Quiet Power Supply [+56]
RUSH: Standard processing time: ship within 2 to 3 weeks
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR [3 Year Labor, 1 Year Parts] LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
VIDEO: EVGA Superclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 w/ ACX Cooling PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Single Card)
1. No you are not crazy. Computers these days are not too difficult to build yourself. You can easily learn and do it in one evening.
2. You can probably go without any further cooling system. If anything, add a couple of fans later down the road if it starts to run too hot.
3. Processor. You can get a lesser processor, cut down a $100 or so, and still not impact the performance much. For games, the graphics card is the most important thing. RAM and Graphics card is something that would need to need a lot of debating on whether you want to compromise price for what you are getting. For a gaming machine, I think your choices are fair.
4. Cases are tricky. I unfortunately do not have much knowledge in this department. I built a computer a couple of years ago and went with a Cool Master Scout 2 because of the handle which adds ease for portability (taking it over to my friends for LANing, et cetera.)
5. Keeping it simple would keep it quieter. Adding fans and such will only make it louder. Usually, processor fans are mouse-fart quiet. It is the hard drive and graphics card fan that will give you the most ambient noise.
Here's my advice: don't go with intel 4th gen, they claimed it used less power but fact is, you have around simila in third gen that uses less power (i use the 3770 in my build) and don't go unlocked just for a few hertz more, you are going to pay half to 1 time more over the price of the normal one (let's say the normal cost 200$, the unlockled costs 300 to 400$). Video card, purchase an older one instead of the very last gen one, the last one that got out is going to lose a few bucks in value next year when they get out an even bigger video card (meaning, you can use a lower graphic card instead of the most overpriced card). Motherboard: go with anything you like and goes with what you choose as a processor. HDD: now here's the molst professional advice. Use more than one. You want at least one 250Go SSD as your boot drive (cuts the boot time to a quarter of what it would be with a HDD), one 500Go HDD for your programs and 4 To for storage if you plan to store data in it (games can also be put into a 1To drive instead of a 500Go). Another advice, there's never too much fans.
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1 - No, if you've replaced parts in a PC you can build one. You should have realized that (basically) every part can only fit into where its supposed to go. Just be sure the parts are all compatible, outside of RAM and processor to motherboard, that issue is almost non existant anymore.
2 - I haven't built a computer in a while, but when I was pricing things and helping others I used to love this site : http://pcpartpicker.com/
3 - Soriel hit most of these fine. A smaller SSD just for operating system, then a larger hard drive can hold everything else. (I run a 60 GB SSD for my OS... smaller than what I would suggest to use though)
4 - You're not looking for flare. Anything cheap and sturdy (check reviews) that fits your motherboard will be fine. The only real consideration is external bays (they take up the most room for a case outside of motherboard size) if you're needing 2x DVD/Blu-Ray/etc. Typically fan size doesnt matter as long as fans are moving... you're not overclocking or anything so a stock 1-2 fans should work (I would suggest minimum of 2... one to push and 1 to pull)
5 - You should never noticeably hear a computer without sitting right next to it in an otherwise quiet room. The only exceptions would be for very high powered fans, or water cooling (hydraulic pumps).
Personal Note : Do NOT skimp on the power supply, its the glue and the fire for the whole machine... as in it keeps everything running but can burn everything down. Rosewill its a fine company and the power supply you have chosen I dont have any issues with. Its just worth noting that PSU is NOT the place to skimp out!
It's new desktop time, and I am badly - badly - in need of advice.
My last two machines were Falcon Northwest Mach Vs (they lasted me more than 10 years between them and I can still play games on decent settings, but I've got increasingly bad hardware failures in this 5 year old machine and it's going to become more expensive to maintain than to replace soon), but I can't afford another Falcon these days (married with kids now).
I'm an avid gamer. I also do significant coding/compiling as well as some very limited amounts of visual art with my PC. I'm on a budget of $1500 or less (ideally closer to $1200 but I would go up to $1500 for the right set of benefits).
I have never built a PC, but am reasonably technical (I can swap out a power supply or a video card no problem, just never tried anything more advanced). I value my time very highly, as I work a more than full time job + have a small child, which is a point in favor of a prebuilt. I've looked at some PC brands - alienware, cyberpowerpc, iBUYPOWER.com, lenovo erazer, Falcon-nw.com (ha! if only), Digital Storm. The two with unequivocally good reviews (Falcon, Digital Storm) are simply out of my price range. The others have enough horror stories to make me a bit leery, but I'm strongly considering them - they seem to deliver quality 95% of the time but really really bad times the other 5%, which is a roll of the dice that I'm not thrilled with.
I want something as quiet (visually and aurally) as possible, and something as physically small as possible - if I had a $2500 budget I would buy a Falcon-NW Tiki or a Digital Storm Bolt. I'm willing to compromise slightly on performance for something quiet.
Stuff:
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Titanium Grey Silent ATX Mid Tower Case
HD: Seagate Hybrid Drive ST1000DX001 1 TB MLC/8GB 64 MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s NCQ 3.5" Desktop SSHD
GPU: EVGA SuperClocked w/ACX Cooling 02G-P4-2774-KR G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 770 2 GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support
PSU: Rosewill CAPSTONE-750 750W Continuous @ 50C Intel Haswell Ready 80 PLUS GOLD ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92 SLI/CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
Memory: 2x CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M1A1866C10
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I74790K
Optical: LG blu-ray burner
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Saving on shipping because I'm close enough to NewEgg to pick it up at their facility. If I knew what I was doing, I'd pull the trigger today and literally pick it up after work tomorrow.
Question time!
For reference, this is about $100 more, but about half the physical size:
CyberPowerPC Zeus Mini
CAS: CYBERPOWERPC Zeus Mini mITX Gaming Chassis w/ USB 3.0 [4.4in(W) x 13in(H) x 17.4in(D)] (Black Color w/ Green Light)
CD: 8X DVD±R/RW/4X + DL Super-Multi Drive (DVD±RW ZEUS Mini)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-4790K 4.0 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150 (All Venom OC Certified) [+110]
FAN: Asetek 510LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU Cooler - Enhance Cooling Performance [+36] (Single Enermax Enlobal Silent High Performance 120MM Fan [+15])
HDD: 128GB SanDisk SSD + 1TB SATA III Hard Drive Combo [+46] (Single Drive)
MEMORY: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR3/1866MHz Dual Channel Memory [+100] (ADATA XPG V2)
MOTHERBOARD: * GIGABYTE GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini-ITX w/ 802.11ac WiFi + BT 4.0, Dual GbLAN, 1 PCIe x16, 4x SATA 6Gb/s (Pro OC Certified)
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: 750 Watts - Corsair CSM Series CS750M 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular Ultra Quiet Power Supply [+56]
RUSH: Standard processing time: ship within 2 to 3 weeks
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR [3 Year Labor, 1 Year Parts] LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
VIDEO: EVGA Superclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 w/ ACX Cooling PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Single Card)
1. No you are not crazy. Computers these days are not too difficult to build yourself. You can easily learn and do it in one evening.
2. You can probably go without any further cooling system. If anything, add a couple of fans later down the road if it starts to run too hot.
3. Processor. You can get a lesser processor, cut down a $100 or so, and still not impact the performance much. For games, the graphics card is the most important thing. RAM and Graphics card is something that would need to need a lot of debating on whether you want to compromise price for what you are getting. For a gaming machine, I think your choices are fair.
4. Cases are tricky. I unfortunately do not have much knowledge in this department. I built a computer a couple of years ago and went with a Cool Master Scout 2 because of the handle which adds ease for portability (taking it over to my friends for LANing, et cetera.)
5. Keeping it simple would keep it quieter. Adding fans and such will only make it louder. Usually, processor fans are mouse-fart quiet. It is the hard drive and graphics card fan that will give you the most ambient noise.
2 - I haven't built a computer in a while, but when I was pricing things and helping others I used to love this site : http://pcpartpicker.com/
3 - Soriel hit most of these fine. A smaller SSD just for operating system, then a larger hard drive can hold everything else. (I run a 60 GB SSD for my OS... smaller than what I would suggest to use though)
4 - You're not looking for flare. Anything cheap and sturdy (check reviews) that fits your motherboard will be fine. The only real consideration is external bays (they take up the most room for a case outside of motherboard size) if you're needing 2x DVD/Blu-Ray/etc. Typically fan size doesnt matter as long as fans are moving... you're not overclocking or anything so a stock 1-2 fans should work (I would suggest minimum of 2... one to push and 1 to pull)
5 - You should never noticeably hear a computer without sitting right next to it in an otherwise quiet room. The only exceptions would be for very high powered fans, or water cooling (hydraulic pumps).
Personal Note : Do NOT skimp on the power supply, its the glue and the fire for the whole machine... as in it keeps everything running but can burn everything down. Rosewill its a fine company and the power supply you have chosen I dont have any issues with. Its just worth noting that PSU is NOT the place to skimp out!
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