Thread: Building a new computer

Long time no talk guys, I'm starting the process of building a new computer and was hoping you guys could give me some ideas on new builds?

I'm not particular about the parts, but I'd like to be able to stay away from water cooling if possible, I'm not real certain on how it works and how to maintain it so I'd like to stay away from it for the time being. I would like to spend less than $2,000 on the build, the lower the number the better, but I want to build a PC that will last me a while. I already have the mouse, keyboard, and monitor, so all I need is the actual computer itself, including the case.

I hear great things about i7 processors, but I also have heard they are overkill for strictly gaming. Other than that I'm not real sure which direction to head in. Also as a side note I need to stick with best buy products when and where possible. Thanks guys, looking forward to hearing from you all!

Well, Best Buy inventories seem to vary location by location, at least where I live, so here are general tips:

- There's no reason to choose AMD for your CPU or your GPU, so stick with Intel and Nvidia
- For the CPU, an i5 is the sweet spot currently. WIth DX12, 6 cores is the sweet spot, so the i5 will be slightly behind an i7 come DX12 time.
- For the GPU, you have to take into account what monitor or monitors you have. If you're gaming at 1920x1080@144hz, there's no reason to spend on more than a GTX 970. You can move into the GTX 980 if you plan to upgrade to a 2560x1440 monitor.
- Solid State drives are getting more affordable, but they can still take up a large chunk of your budget. 500-512GB drives are at pretty good price/gb right now, but if you can't fit in a bigger SSD, then a 256GB paired with any size HDD for storage should suffice. Reputable brands are Crucial and Samsung.
- Your peripherals are probably fine as they are. No reason to spend on a mechanical keyboard unless you REALLY want one.
- RAM is becoming less and less important, so picking up 8-16GB of DDR3-1600MHz RAM should be sufficient.

For CPU cooling, air is almost as effective as closed-loop cooling now. It won't be available at a Best Buy, but the Cryorig H7 is an extremely effective and quiet air cooler for the price. Otherwise, go with the standard Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, or go slightly bigger with the Phanteks PH-TC12DX. Past the Phanteks, you start paying a lot of money for a couple degrees (read 2-4 degrees) cooler operation at continuously heavy loads.

How far out is DX12? Also I'll be using best buys online store not my local one. I currently run a 1920x1080 monitor actually. Give me a second and I'll post the link to the motherboard/processor bundle I was looking at, plus the case.

This is the motherboard and CPU bundle I was looking at, however it takes a big chunk out of my budget (sorry if this isn't hyperlinked, I'm on my phone).

Intel ATX Motherboard 160029333000MHz Socket LGA 2011 and Intel Core i75820K Processor Multi 5820K-X99G5-BNDL - Best Buy

Here's the case, sadly it's out of stock at the moment.

NZXT Phantom 820 FullTower Case Multi PHANTOM 820 WHITE - Best Buy

DirectX 12 is actually pretty imminent. Windows 10 adds complete support for it, and AMD and Nvidia Drivers are working with DX12, so it's up to game developers now to use it. Expect to see newer AAA games to start mentioning it within the next year.

The X99 platform, and the accompanying CPUs, will certainly future-proof you, but as you said it takes a big chunk out of your budget that could be more efficiently placed elsewhere. The trouble is also that the Socket 2011 CPUs create massive amounts of heat, and so require proportionally larger and more expensive coolers.

As for the case, the Phantom 820 is top notch. Looking at Best Buy's online stores, you alternatively have the choices of the Fractal Design Define R4 and the NZXT H440. The R4 and H440 are sound-proofed cases that trade some thermal performance inside the case for drastically lower noise outside. The R4 is generally regarded as better than the H440.

The online store also has the 820's brother, the cheaper 530 in black. I suspect you chose the 820 because it was white, though. The 530, feature wise, doesn't look maybe as flashy as the 820 but practically is the same. You may want to purchase an additional 140mm or 200mm fan for an extra air outtake fan at the top, right next to the 140mm exhaust fan, especially going the air cooling route.

So with that Intel bundle am I looked into the realm of water cooling? Or will the fans that come with the case be sufficient? I did chose that particular case for the color scheme, but I also had this case on my wish list as well as a back up if the 820 didn't become available in time which was this:

NZXT Phantom 630 ATXMicro ATXXL ATX FullTower Chassis Black CA-P630W-M1 - Best Buy

Sound proof doesn't matter to me, I wear a headset when I game anyways so the main concern for me is heat dispersion.

Intel Core i5-4690K, MSI GeForce GTX 970, NZXT Phantom 530 (Black) - System Build - PCPartPicker Is what I would recommend. All the items and prices should be sourced from the online Best Buy store. You can, of course, swap out the CPU and Motherboard for the ones you had planned, then swap out the Hyper 212 Evo for the Corsair H80i GT or the venerable H100 to disperse the heat from the Socket 2011 CPU. You have no other choice than to go liquid cooling with Best Buy, since the 212 Evo is the second best cooler they have. This build is merely what I would choose - it does not mean you have to choose the things I choose.

The thing about high heat from CPUs is that the heat can be removed from the case in two ways: by air cooling, a big air cooler and a 200mm + 140mm outtake (Which is the setup I recommended for the smaller case. The Phantom 920 has all the fans you'll ever need) should be enough to keep hot air out of the case. Alternatively, a closed loop cooler moves the heat directly to the edge of the case, then the fans simply push it out, meaning case dimensions or noise cancelling are inconsequential.

Simply put, even with the X99 setup, air cooling will be sufficient, you just need a slightly bigger CPU cooler.

I've run 2011 for quite a while and they don't run that hot.

Well, it's 88w on the 4690k vs 130w on the 5820k. Without overclocking, then sure the Hyper 212 Evo can handle it. Overclock it, and the Evo might get pretty noisy.

That's the thing about liquid cooling, I really have no idea how it works. Is there a tank the liquid draws from?