Going to build a new computer soon...

[Mikal]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3BLDLk - No issues/incompatibilities found, yey.

Computer Case: NZXT Midi-Tower Case - White
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC Mate Intel LGA1150 H97 ATX
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K
GPU: Asus Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 Strix (4GB VRAM)
SSHD: Seagate ST1000DX001 3.5 inch 1TB Hybrid Internal Solid State Drive
RAM: HyperX FURY Series 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR3 1866MHz CL10 DIMM (white)
PSU: Corsair Builder Series CXM 600W
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master RR-212E-16PK-R1 Hyper 212 Evo
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit)
Case Fans: Corsair CO-9050006-WW 120mm

Total Price: £775

For a 'cheap' build, the price is so f**king ridiculous, but I'm still going ahead with it, that's all my stuff decided now anyway.

Edit: I just found a slight problem, the case I've ordered (which will be here tomorrow) has 2 fans, both of them are exhausts, the motherboard I'm going to order only has 2 slots for the fans but I wanted to order a further 2 fans for the front of the case (intakes), what can I do to 'add' extra slots? Is there some kind of extension I can get to be able to use 4 fans on the motherboard? Thanks!

[Luke]

Very nice desicion I like your CPU I have the same one, very good pricing and overall top notch CPU.

For the situation with the fan headers I had the same, my case has two at the front and then my back one which is the radiator what has two inside of it so in-total I have 4 fans, yet only 3 slots, what I did you actully can buy a "fan header extension" which allows one fan header to be split into two at the end so its like one to two, its pretty dope I have one, can give you different readings inside of your bios, but have been using it for months now, and my fans have no performance issues.


This is the one i have its just called a "fan splitter" you can pick them up on eBay for about £2-3.

[Mikal]

Thanks Luke I'll look into buying 2 of those, don't really care about the BIOS readings, aslong as the fans do what they are meant to do.

[brian1996]

@rid, I stopped reading after "stock speeds", I run mine at a powerful 5GHz. Perhaps I should have noted that but anyway I ain't gonna make a bigass argument about it.

Thanks Luke I'll look into buying 2 of those, don't really care about the BIOS readings, aslong as the fans do what they are meant to do.

You can set up some interesting fan curves through the BIOS (atleast with Asus, not sure about MSI) to reduce noise and power consumption when unused or at a low load.
I know you had to pay quite a lot for your PC even when it's considered low to mid end build but trust me for real high end stuff like mine, it's atleast quadrupled. It's PC Master Race after all.

[DarkPower202]

$650 shouldn't be a problem for me

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4cdWWZ

Okay so now I've updated it as rid says.
How about now?

[rid]

Total Price: £775

For a 'cheap' build, the price is so f**king ridiculous, but I'm still going ahead with it, that's all my stuff decided now anyway.

It was your choice to have that ridiculous price
I assume you already ordered everything, it's by no means a bad build. Have fun with it!

@rid, I stopped reading after "stock speeds", I run mine at a powerful 5GHz. Perhaps I should have noted that but anyway I ain't gonna make a bigass argument about it.

Well you should have mentioned that on your post, it changes the whole perspective. Both sides have good overclocking results when in "average" - then it's just a matter of silicon lottery. I still hold my opinion that the Skylake CPU line is better than Haswell (and Devils Canyon refresh) and that there is no reason to stay with the old generation unless you find a really good deal (black friday had some insane deals that Skylake simply couldn't compete with)

$650 shouldn't be a problem for me

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4cdWWZ

Okay so now I've updated it as rid says.
How about now?

Don't have time to take a good luck at it but at first glance it definitely is much better than your previous build. Might want to get rid of the extra case fan & CD/DVD drive if you don't really need it (you can install windows with a pen drive), and spend that money on 8GB of RAM instead of 4. Also, I think there are a few decent 24" 1080p monitors that only cost a bit more, should be around 100 dollars. The size increase is very welcomed, 19" on a 16:9 screen is quite small to be honest, plus that monitor is only 1366x768.

There's a fine line between cheap parts and decent parts - at a certain threshold, "product quality per dollar" just drops significantly in cheap stuff.

[Mikal]

Well thanks for the help choosing the parts, I haven't ordered it all yet, not that rich.

The case should arrive today, and then I might order the motherboard and PSU next.

I just realised that I can't install Win 7 from a disc because there is no CD drive on this case, could I possible take the CD drive out of the computer I'm on now and temporarily plug it into the new computers Mobo/PSU (or whatever it plugs into) to install Windows 7? Doing it the USB way seems too complicated, I just read that you need to convert files to .ISO or some crap, and how can I know for sure the USB ports will detect the USB stick? I've had computers with fresh installs because which didn't have the required drivers and so nothing worked.

Thanks!

[Omri]

USB is actually the easiest way and quite easy, there are tons of tutorials on Youtube how to make a USB bootable.

[TiMoN]

Consider this for a PSU instead, it's slightly more expensive but offers much more reliability(perfect reviews) and is gold plated(which means it's more power efficient). It's also covered by EVGA's 7 year warranty, not sure if that's applicable in the UK or not though.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20550y1

I don't think anybody pointed it out, but you're using an non-overclockable motherboard with an overclockable CPU, which means you won't be able to use any extra power from that CPU. You could try swapping the motherboard with a Z-series(overclockable) or getting a non-K version of your CPU.

[DarkPower202]

Don't have time to take a good luck at it but at first glance it definitely is much better than your previous build. Might want to get rid of the extra case fan & CD/DVD drive if you don't really need it (you can install windows with a pen drive), and spend that money on 8GB of RAM instead of 4. Also, I think there are a few decent 24" 1080p monitors that only cost a bit more, should be around 100 dollars. The size increase is very welcomed, 19" on a 16:9 screen is quite small to be honest, plus that monitor is only 1366x768.

There's a fine line between cheap parts and decent parts - at a certain threshold, "product quality per dollar" just drops significantly in cheap stuff.

Alright, thanks

[brian1996]

USB is actually the easiest way and quite easy, there are tons of tutorials on Youtube how to make a USB bootable.

This, follow the guide below and nothing can go wrong.

[CharlieKasper]

I also suggest trying Rufus USB programme to install windows. Easy as fuck.

[Mikal]

Consider this for a PSU instead, it's slightly more expensive but offers much more reliability(perfect reviews) and is gold plated(which means it's more power efficient). It's also covered by EVGA's 7 year warranty, not sure if that's applicable in the UK or not though.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20550y1

I don't think anybody pointed it out, but you're using an non-overclockable motherboard with an overclockable CPU, which means you won't be able to use any extra power from that CPU. You could try swapping the motherboard with a Z-series(overclockable) or getting a non-K version of your CPU.

I think a £50 Corsair PSU will do the job as reliably as I need, can't be any worse than the £20 one that blew up on my current computer (after about 4 years of use) and now I'm using the same one again, since I knew I would be building a new PC.

As for overclocking the CPU, I doubt I'll need to TBH, most games these days are more GPU heavy and the GPU comes stock overclocked, I could be wrong though, I just don't want to waste extra money if I don't really need to, besides I doubt I'd even attempt any overclocking on the CPU if I could.

I guess I'll be doing the Win 7 install via USB since the cheapest external disc drivers on Amazon all have terribly bad reviews, can't be that hard, thanks for your posts guys.

[Mikal]

Any thoughts on if I change to this motherboard?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-970A-Sli-Krait-Motherboard/dp/B00UQRZU7K/ref=sr_1_6?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1455842317&sr=1-6&keywords=white+motherboard

Edit:
Cancel that, looks like it's not compatible with the CPU I've chosen, will have to go for the more expensive mobo.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OIKLODK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=GMZXWCH6VT45&coliid=I10KSQ1X66YKWF

[Janar]

Any thoughts on if I change to this motherboard?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-970A-Sli-Krait-Motherboard/dp/B00UQRZU7K/ref=sr_1_6?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1455842317&sr=1-6&keywords=white+motherboard

Edit:
Cancel that, looks like it's not compatible with the CPU I've chosen, will have to go for the more expensive mobo.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OIKLODK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=GMZXWCH6VT45&coliid=I10KSQ1X66YKWF

First one was for AMD AM3+ CPUs indeed. 4690k can work on any Z97 (recommended) and H97 motherboards. Z87 and H87 can work too, but may require BIOS update beforehand.