The PC Build Thread

[joesoap2.0]

Budget?

I know those m2 ssd's are very expensive. I am flexible but don't want to pay 20k for it. I saw those MSI Z170 MB's at Wootware on special for R2499. Perhaps a good secondhand cpu? Standard onboard VGA would be ok because I am not a gamer and perhaps I can use my existing GTS250. 16/32GB RAM.

 

[ponder]

Main uses would be for Autocad, Photoshop & Vmware. I am considering M.2 NVMe ssd. What do you think of this?

How will that benefit you with those applications and how much more performance would you gain over a standard SSD?

Edit: Why a Z170 MB, are you going to overclock?

 

[joesoap2.0]

Not sure that is why I asked the questions here. I believe you can get up to 2500 vs 540 write speeds on the m.2 ssd. That just what I have been quoted from Wootware. No overclocking planned.

 

[Neoprod]

Not sure that is why I asked the questions here. I believe you can get up to 2500 vs 540 write speeds on the m.2 ssd. That just what I have been quoted from Wootware. No overclocking planned.

Sequential write speed isn't critical for an SSD unless you're planning to use it for mass storage and they're still too expensive relatively-speaking for that. There are benefits to NVME pci-e (IOPS mainly) but it's really hard to saturate a normal SSD's controller. I don't personally see how I would realise any benefit except if I wanted to build a seriously tiny PC or something.

Whatever you were willing to spend on the NVME drive, you'd probably see more benefit out of an i7 with its extra threads.

 

[joesoap2.0]

Whatever you were willing to spend on the NVME drive, you'd probably see more benefit out of an i7 with its extra threads.

So you recon that for cpu intensive jobs I would not saturate my SATA SSD? Rather spend money on I7 and enough ram?

 

[ViciousClone]

So you recon that for cpu intensive jobs I would not saturate my SATA SSD? Rather spend money on I7 and enough ram?

as you said yourself "cpu intensive jobs"

The cpu and generation you have is quite old im assuming so bump to a i7 and boom big difference!

 

[joesoap2.0]

What would be an exceptional good performing I7 CPU for the price paid? Best bang for your buck atm.

 

[ponder]

What would be an exceptional good performing I7 CPU for the price paid? Best bang for your buck atm.

Get a bundle deal on carbonite for cpu+mb+ram. PotterH was selling tray i7-4790's for R2700 I think and bundles for around R4500 with 8GB ram + MB.

 

[brakpanpolisie]

I'm finally able to upgrade my dinosaur of a pc (thanks SARS!) but I've no clue as to whats what these days so I would appreciate it if someone gives the specs the once over.
My budget is about R15 000 all in, I'll list below what I have and what I need.

The majority of time it will be used for browsing, Photoshop / Lightroom, Illustrator and a bit of Archicad, if I can run the odd game on it now and then that would be a bonus but I have a PS4 as well.

This is what I've got / need, most of the specs I cripped from NAGs system builder article:

Need :
Processor - AMD Athlon X4 880K
CPU cooler - Stock
Motherboard - ASUS A88XM-A mATX FM2+
Memory - Corsair Vengeance Pro 2x 4GB DDR3-2400 CL11
Graphics - MSI Geforce GTX 950 Armor2X 2GB GDDR5
Power supply - Seasonic S12II 520W 80 Plus Bronze
SSD - Samsung 250GB 750 EVO
OS - Windows 10
Monitor - 23 / 24"

I have a Coolermaster case which should do and I have 2x fairly new HDD's which I plan to reuse.
So would the above specs work for what I am planning, I see there are new AMD graphics cards coming out should I wait for those?

Any and all advice is appreciated

 

[ponder]

Will have a look later.

 

[Solarion]

What's the difference between a midi and a mini tower?

Will they be able to fix a micro atx with GPU?

Thinking of getting this thing.

 

[Soul Assassin]

What's the difference between a midi and a mini tower?

Will they be able to fix a micro atx with GPU?

Thinking of getting this thing.

View attachment 372961

Check the GPU measurements and compare to the case:

Dimensions (mm) 183 x 465 x 437 (W x D x H)

 

[ViciousClone]

What is a good/decent price 144mhz monitor,thinking of a gtx1070 and a 144mhz screen

 

[The Voice]

What is a good/decent price 144mhz monitor,thinking of a gtx1070 and a 144mhz screen

1080p or 1440p?

IPS or TN?

 

[ViciousClone]

1080p or 1440p?

IPS or TN?

Well i guess 1440p?

Which is better tn or ips

 

[The Voice]

Well i guess 1440p?

Which is better tn or ips

TN is still better for response times and perceived input lag, and is way cheaper. But if you're going for 144hz you probably won't notice it as much on an IPS, which has superior colour reproduction and viewing angles. The difference between TN and IPS picture quality is insane.

Quickest TN panels are 1ms, and IPS (that I've seen) is 4ms. But it's silly money (ASUS RoG).

 

[ViciousClone]

TN is still better for response times and perceived input lag, and is way cheaper. But if you're going for 144hz you probably won't notice it as much on an IPS, which has superior colour reproduction and viewing angles. The difference between TN and IPS picture quality is insane.

Quickest TN panels are 1ms, and IPS (that I've seen) is 4ms. But it's silly money (ASUS RoG).

Oky so decided to get the gtx 1070 this year and next year get a better monitor.

Seeing those screen prices scared me off haha

 

[joesoap2.0]

Get a bundle deal on carbonite for cpu+mb+ram. PotterH was selling tray i7-4790's for R2700 I think and bundles for around R4500 with 8GB ram + MB.

OK,I found an I7-6700k CPU on Carbonite.
I cannot get myself to pay so much for a m.2 drive because the real world performance is not as spectacular. (Or am I wrong?). Focusing on a SSD, I am thinking of the Samsung 850 EVO 500GB. Would other brands perform just a well for a bit cheaper price?

This PC will obviously need to last me 5years+ so is it worth it to get a mobo that can overclock my CPU? If so, should I invest in water cooling? I am considering the MSI Z170 Tomahawk for R2400. I am keeping USB3.1 gen 2 in the back of my mind because the current PCIex usb3 card on my current setup is giving me grey hair!

 

[ponder]

OK,I found an I7-6700k CPU on Carbonite.
I cannot get myself to pay so much for a m.2 drive because the real world performance is not as spectacular. (Or am I wrong?). Focusing on a SSD, I am thinking of the Samsung 850 EVO 500GB. Would other brands perform just a well for a bit cheaper price?

This PC will obviously need to last me 5years+ so is it worth it to get a mobo that can overclock my CPU? If so, should I invest in water cooling? I am considering the MSI Z170 Tomahawk for R2400. I am keeping USB3.1 gen 2 in the back of my mind because the current PCIex usb3 card on my current setup is giving me grey hair!

You don't provide any prices of what you are looking at so hard to say.

 

[joesoap2.0]

You don't provide any prices of what you are looking at so hard to say.

The 500GB Samsung 950 Pro NVMe M2 ssd goes for about R5400. 500GB Samsung 850 EVO SATA ssd goes for about R3100.

Air Cooling for CPU R329. Water Cooling starting from R1100-R1300.

Is it worth going for water cooling?