Help with my first build ~800 Euro

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1

Hello everybody. As a first time builder I am looking for some (semi-)professional advice on the components I have chosen.

Budget I'm looking to spend about 800 Euro, since I still have to buy a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Where do you live (what country, don't post specific details), and what currency do you use?
I live in Belgium, however I will most likely order my components from the Netherlands (cheaper)

Is there a retailer you prefer?
Not particularly, however research has indicated that Afuture.nl and azerty.nl are one of the cheapest around.

Do you need or already have peripherals? (this can add to costs)
I do still need a monitor (preferably 1080p), keyboard and mouse. For the monitor I was looking at the Benq GW2255 and for the keyboard and mouse I saw an interesting deal for the Cooler Master storm devestator bundle.

What will you be using your Glorious computer for? Gaming? Rendering? Mix of both? Or is this a home media PC or SteamBox?
It will be a day-to-day computer. Meaning it should allow me to browse the web, do some schoolwork (i.e. office) and ofcourse it should be a good gaming PC (games such as GTA V, The Witcher 3, Ghost Recon Phantoms,...)

Do you overclock or want to get into overclocking?
Not really.

Do you plan on going for custom watercooling now, or in the future?
No.

Operating System. Do you need a new one?
No.

What kind of settings do you like or what FPS do you want to play at?
I'm aiming for something around 60 FPS in pretty much all the games I want to play and I think High settings seems about right.

What resolution will you be playing at? //or would like to play at.
1080p

What kind of games do you like to play?
GTA V, The Witcher 3, Ghost Recon Phantoms. Mostly shooters and new releases.

What kind of keyboard do you prefer? Mechanical, scissor, membrane, etc.
I've only ever used a basic Logitech keyboard. So I don't really know what to aim for here. Don't know how they feel either.

What type of mouse-grip do you have? Palm, claw, combination?
No idea, really. I'm a lefty tho, but I could teach myself to game with my right hand...

What kind of games do you play? (mmo vs fps, for button management)
Mostly fps.
What size monitor are you looking for, and what resolution? Screen type (IPS, S-IPS, TN, etc.) ,hertz (60, 120, etc.)
I think 21.5" would be a nice size. Further, I don't really know the differences between the screen types. Just a decent monitor would be nice, nothing too fancy.

So here is the list I've but together: (I've used German prices since they are more or less the same as in the Netherlands)
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (€183.95 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€103.89 @ Home of Hardware DE)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (€61.53 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€88.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€53.67 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 290 4GB DirectCU II Video Card (€289.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: BitFenix Neos White ATX Mid Tower Case (€41.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Total: €822.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-13 19:32 CEST+0200

I know certain prices are off or missing, so I will provide a list with current prices in the shop from which I'll be buying from:
CPU: Intel core I5 4460 (€ 184,80)
MoBo: Gigabyte GA-H97-HD3 (€ 89,90)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8gb (2x 4gb) DDR3-1600 memory (€ 56,80)
Storage: Crucial BX100 - 250 GB (€ 89,90) + WD Caviar Blue 1 TB (€ 58,80)
GPU: Asus Radeon R9 290 - Direct CU II OC 4Gb GDDR5 (€ 295,40)
Case: Bitfenix Neos (€ 40,20)
Power supply: Seasonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze certified ATX power supply (€ 63,90)
Additional fan for front of the case: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP (€8,40)

Brings total to: € 833,20

What I would like to know from you is:

  1. Is the motherboard good for this build or is it too much? I've had several other options, but I didn't know what to look for really...
  2. Is the R9 290 overkill if I'll only be gaming at 1080p or is it more an investment in the future so I can use it a little longer than an R9 280x? Hoping the release of the 300 series will lower the prices a little so the investment for the 290 is more justified.
  3. Concerning the case: there's a little bit of disagreement between reviewers. Some like it, others don't. I personally like the looks of it, but since I have no experience building a computer I would like to know your thoughts on it. However, it only comes with 1 fan, so do you guys think that would suffice or should I invest in an additional front fan? Don't know much about airflow, so your input is welcome. The Cooler Master N300 is another option for a case, by the way.

I'd love to hear your input.

2

The mobo seems fine to me.. It mostly depends on the options you need (RAID...) and your budget.
For the graphics card I would definetly get the 290.
Though I am a little worried about your PSU... The GPU already eats up 300W....

3

Thank you for your reply!

So you're saying I should up the wattage or change to a higher level PSU? I actually went with the estimated power consumption of Pcpartpicker. It indicated the power consumption was around 440, so I thought 520 would surely be enough.

4

I honnestly don't know.. But I want always told not to cheap out on a PSU. Wait for more answers but imo you might profit from spending à little more there and buying à really efficient one from a reputable brand

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You forgot to add PSU price, I put a good one with a price, saved a few € on mobo and put a fancier case. Didnt change anything else.
http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/2Hh7Jx

This is my periphery recommendation considering you are left handed (manual prices from Amazon.de, g105 CoD edition is cheaper - 30€ if you dont mind the logo)
http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/RWb2Mp

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The PSU price was in there, I just forgot to put it in a new line. I fixed it now, though.

I've had my components reviewed by a friend earlier when I had the MSI H97 PC mate in it. He advised me to change it to Gigabyte, because they seem to put out a higher quality product.
I'm a real noob when it comes to motherboards, because I don't know what to look for... Chipsets, LAN-connectivity, lay-out. All those things may say a lot for you guys, but I don't know what to think of it.
I just want to have a good quality product that goes along nicely with the components I have chosen and will work without any issues. I don't give much about high end features such as M.2 and Raid since I won't be using those anytime soon.

About the case: I did see that option, but I wasn't really sold on the airflow on that one. Neither am I convinced by the Neos anymore. I switched it to a Fractal Design Core 2300 at the moment, although I'm still not sure.

EDIT/ Thank you for the recommendations on periphirals. I will have a look at them to see if they are available in my shop.

Quick question though: is the step up from 21.5" to 24" really necessary? I'll be sitting pretty close to my monitor, so I don't really know if I'll be needing a 24" one.

7

If you're concerned with airflow what you wanna look for is 1/2 fans in the front and 1 fan in the back(intake, exaust). The fractal is ok but not any better than the BitFenix because it doesnt have a front fan or even a window. You could go with a Zalman z3 plus or Zalman z9 plus, they have both for 10€ more.

MSI and Gigabyte are very similar in quality and feaures, both are H97 chipset, both like to make revised editions. I put the MSI H97 PC mate because of its lower price, you can go with the Gigabyte if you prefer it. I prefer Asus, would go with Asus Z97-AR, but it costs €142.90 so not Worth when trying to save money. I've had MSI, Gigabyte and Asus boards, only brand that died on me was AsRock.

It's not necessary but once you go 24" you'll never want to go back, its the native 1080p size. BenQ RL2455HM is really a best buy price for what you get, 1ms and 24"

8

Thank you very much. I will go for the MSI H97 motherboard then. It'll leave me some extra room to spend on a monitor and periphirals.

EDIT/ Also, the Fractal Design core 2300 does come with 2 fans installed. 1 x 120 mm in the front and 1 x 120 in the back (both are 1200 RPM).

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I´m a bit skeptical about the Asus 290 DCu2,
Some of them realy run hot under stress.
If you can find a Sapphire 290 TriX for the same price then grab that.
Or the Gigabyte Windforce isnt bad either.

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Yeah but it doesnt have a hole in the front for the fan to suck air from(just tiny vents on the side), the Zalmans do

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That was actually another concern. This GPU is quite a lot cheaper than the other R9 290's in the shop. Couldn't figure out why tho. So the Asus 290 is a no go?

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If the Saphire was the same price I would have put it. I've never owned a DCu2 Radeon but I did have a DCu2 geforce, was fine. If you're worried get the Gigabyte, it has 3 fans. Saphire vapor-x are the best but also a 100€ more expensive in pcpartpicker at least so defeats the purpose. if you can find one somewhere for cheaper go for it

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I've heard from someone else that the DCu2 is built for the geforce and that it does not operate well with AMD GPUs.

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That might be true, as I said only had the geforce DCu2. Go for the Gigabyte then 20€ difference, if you do I'd also take the Gigabye mobo, 1 less brand of software update utility to worry about. Or if you are lucky find a Vapor-x(not tri-x) IRL

15

Maybe wait on GPU, AMD 300 series will be announced at E3 this week

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Yeah, 300 series will be pricy but 200 series is bound for a discount

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i did a little search for you.
Because partpicker is rubbish for EU builds.
If you buy from Germany.

You can also check alternate for other hardware components,
They also have some upgrade kits maybe, so check it out.

http://www.hardwareversand.de is also a very good website for Germany.

Partpicker isnt realy usable for selecting EU builds, because its realy outdated and it lacks on allot on parts availability.

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Thank you very much, MisteryAngel. That looks like a great find!

@robmak3 and @vrtnipatuljak: There is no deadline for this build (somewhere in the coming months is fine), so I was already waiting for the announcement and - hopefully - a price drop of the 200 series.