Building a computer for my brother :) what parts do I need please?

A

alexjb

Member
Hi there :)

Please can you help me? I started to order some parts for my younger brothers computer that I'm helping him to build, but we could only afford about half the parts at the time (about 3 months ago) and now I'm hoping to order the rest of the parts for his Christmas present. :)

The only problem I have is that I'm clueless about the compatibility of parts, and what processor and graphics card to order for him :)

So far we have bought a motherboard, a hard drive, the case, the DVD drive, and then also a gaming keyboard and mouse :)

Motherboard:http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...s/intelsocket1150/z97chipset/ga-z97x-sli.html

hard drive:http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-internal/sata1tbto1.5tb/st1000dm003.html

DVD drive: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/opticaldrives/satadvdwriters/sh-224dbbebe.html

Computer case:http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cc-9011056-ww.html

I'm just hoping that you can help me choose the other parts so that everything is ready :)

My brother is hoping to get a gaming computer that can run new games on the higher settings - at the moment though, his budget is about £300 for the processor, the ram and also the Power supply - and then hopefully he can save up and buy himself a GTX 970 in the future :)

I am just not sure what processor to order for him, as I want to make sure that it's a good one to support the graphics card that he will buy one day, he doesn't mind using built in graphics for a few months until his birthday though :)

Thanks for the help :)
 
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ninjabubbles3 said:
Ill add links to these later, but the i5 4690K, some G.SKILL RipJawsX 1600 RAM, and a Corsair CX500M are good bets
Click to expand...

Not a big enough PSU...


OP: What's your budget in GBP? I'll search that site later tonight (I have an exam tomorrow)
 
Hi :) thank you both for your help :) our budget is about £300 for the CPU, the Ram and also the Power supply :)

Thanks for the suggestions I will take a look now :)
 
Digxt said:
Not a big enough PSU...


OP: What's your budget in GBP? I'll search that site later tonight (I have an exam tomorrow)
Click to expand...

Thanks :) it's about £300 at the moment, and then hopefully we will save up for a graphics card :) also goodluck for your exam tomorrow :)
 
Digxt said:
Not a big enough PSU...


OP: What's your budget in GBP? I'll search that site later tonight (I have an exam tomorrow)
Click to expand...

Nvidias website says 500w is enough, and that includes all the crappy PSUs with less than 500w on the 12v rail

So 500w is more than enough, actual power draw is probably less than 400w at load
 
ninjabubbles3 said:
Nvidias website says 500w is enough, and that includes all the crappy PSUs with less than 500w on the 12v rail

So 500w is more than enough, actual power draw is probably less than 400w at load
Click to expand...

For the extra $5-15 USD it's worth it to get a bigger PSU and save the hassle of frying your components with too little power.
 
Picked out the Processor, RAM, and PSU here.

Processor: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/processors/intelhaswell1150/bx80646i54690k.html

The standard for gaming CPU's right now is the i5-4670K. This is the 4690K is newer and preforms just a little bit better.

RAM: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/.../ddr3pc3-128001600mhz/f3-12800cl9d-8gbxl.html

Decent performing memory and the speed should be enough to do a little rendering if needed.

PSU: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupplies/651wto850w/cp-9020015-uk.html

Should be ready to go if you decide to add a GPU in the future! I went over the 300 pound mark (comes out to 315) but this'll be a long lasting machine. Can't help but notice that parts are more expensive outside of the USA :(
 
Digxt said:
Picked out the Processor, RAM, and PSU here.

Processor: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/processors/intelhaswell1150/bx80646i54690k.html

The standard for gaming CPU's right now is the i5-4670K. This is the 4690K is newer and preforms just a little bit better.

RAM: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/.../ddr3pc3-128001600mhz/f3-12800cl9d-8gbxl.html

Decent performing memory and the speed should be enough to do a little rendering if needed.

PSU: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupplies/651wto850w/cp-9020015-uk.html



Should be ready to go if you decide to add a GPU in the future! I went over the 300 pound mark (comes out to 315) but this'll be a long lasting machine. Can't help but notice that parts are more expensive outside of the USA :(
Click to expand...

The i5 4690K is better than the 4670K, its based on the Haswell Refresh and overclocks better too. Especially since its like 10 pounds more, its worth it.

Also, dont bother with a higher wattage PSU, you wont need that much
 
ninjabubbles3 said:
The i5 4690K is better than the 4670K, its based on the Haswell Refresh and overclocks better too. Especially since its like 10 pounds more, its worth it.

Also, dont bother with a higher wattage PSU, you wont need that much
Click to expand...

I already stated that the 4690K is better, no need to confuse the OP.

Plus there's no need to bother with running out of wattage when you OC or get a power thirsty card/components. Optical drives, fans, harddrives.

Ninja: You don't understand that having the extra wattage isn't going to hurt anything. Even though my wattage total is about 435w on PC Part Picker, I'm worried because my GPU wants a minimum of 750w.
 
Get a Corsair CX600. You said in your OP you might eventually be adding a GTX 970. If that's the case get that Corsair.

But yeah 500 watts would be way more than enough if you didn't have a dedicated video card at any point.
 
For memory, get at least 2133. Usually you can get it for almost the same price as 1600 or 1833.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/memory-pc/ddr3memory/ddr3pc3-170002133mhz/


Don't get a 500W power supply. True it will run the system, but you will have no overhead at all if you get a GTX 970.

The one Digxt listed would be fine. A 750W is a good fit for your build. But for the little difference in price I would probably go for the CX750M. Both are made by CWT.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupplies/651wto850w/cp-9020061-uk.html

I would go for the XFX. Higher quality and made by Seasonic.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupplies/651wto850w/p1-750x-xxb9.html
 
A GTX970 only consumes 145W (~12A), so im wondering where you guys think he'll need a further 26A for that system???
 
Brilliant - thanks everyone for all your help! :) I'm still a bit confused about the power supply lol :) I think I will order that part last lol :)

I built my first computer with the help from this forum about 2 years ago now :) and I am just wondering how this computer for my brother will compare? I'm hoping that it will be at least as powerful as my one :)

I currently have:

3rd Generation Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40GHz Socket LGA1155

MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) Motherboard

Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Modular Power Supply

PNY NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 Graphics Card

Is the processor that we may be ordering below better than my pc's one?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=VigLink+Inc

thanks again for everyone's help :) I think it's better but just want to make sure before ordering it :)
 
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Short and sweet: The answer is yes. Your brother's processor will be more powerful then yours. But that shouldn't stop you from O/C'ing with te proper cooling ;)
 
Does anyone know also how a GTX 760 compares to my graphics card? my brother just wants his computer to be either = to my one, or better :) but the price really is a problem as he's only 14 and I'm trying to help him out with the money, so if we can cut the costs further then that would be great, however I want to build a computer for him that will last him at least 5 years :)
 
Digxt said:
Short and sweet: The answer is yes. Your brother's processor will be more powerful then yours. But that shouldn't stop you from O/C'ing with te proper cooling ;)
Click to expand...

Wow that is brilliant news! Thanks! :) how much better is it please? if it's a lot better it might be worth us buying a slightly cheaper CPU and putting the money towards his graphics card, so he can buy that sooner :) The only worry that I have is that maybe a cheaper CPU will hold back the GTX 970?
 
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alexjb said:
Wow that is brilliant news! Thanks! :) how much better is it please? if it's a lot better it might be worth us buying a slightly cheaper CPU and putting the money towards his graphics card, so he can buy that sooner :)
Click to expand...


You'd be surprised to the GTX 670 is nearly on par with 760..

The CPU too, the single core performance better by just a tad with the 4690K. If the 3570K is really that much less, I'd say go for it!
 
Digxt said:
You'd be surprised to the GTX 670 is nearly on par with 760..

The CPU too, the single core performance better by just a tad with the 4690K. If the 3570K is really that much less, I'd say go for it!
Click to expand...

Thanks :) The GTX 760 seems to be really good value for the money :) do you think it will run most games on the higher settings at 60fps?

also I had a look at the prices and the 4690k is only £6 more expensive than the 3570k :) I was hoping that it may have dropped in price but it seems to have stayed the same price nearly lol! I think the 4690k is worth the extra £6 lol :) thanks again :)
 
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