rembrat said:But if they are so unpopular why are they always out of stock? Thanks for the link. I'll add it to the rest of the unpurchasable blue switch keyboards.
Gdiguy said:Also, keep in mind that Windows itself can run ~$100, so make sure to budget for that as well
Jack Clarks CFP said:My son Zach just turned 16 and I'm thinking that it would be a cool father/son project to build a desktop together. My ulterior motive is to have him learn a practical skill set that at worst will make him more self-sufficient, perhaps develop into a hobby that he's passionate about, and potentially wake him up to some potential career paths down the road.
I'd appreciate any input you all might have on doing this. Bear in mind that Zach has essentially no experience with hardware (or anything beyond playing games for that matter) and, while I've swapped out the occasional drive, PSU, or video card, I've never built a box from scratch before. I'd love to hear if you all think this is a good idea, or if we might be biting off more than we can chew.
Assuming the former, I'd also appreciate anything you can share regarding tools, parts lists, etc. What kinds of things would make the project easier that a novice might not think about? I'm planning on building a light gaming rig with an initial budget of around $500 (give or take) with the thought of upgrading it together over time - using gifts or earnings to add RAM or upgrade the CPU or video card, for example. What can we wait on and what should we splurge on initially? I've been to pcpartpicker.com, but I don't know enough about brand quality or compatibility issues to make intelligent choices so any help there would be awesome. Lastly Zach is 16, so boxes/keyboards that light up or dispense Mountain Dew would be cool/gnarly/rad/whatever kids say nowadays
Thanks again, guys. Forums like this are why I love SoSH.
Jack Clarks CFP said:My son Zach just turned 16 and I'm thinking that it would be a cool father/son project to build a desktop together. My ulterior motive is to have him learn a practical skill set that at worst will make him more self-sufficient, perhaps develop into a hobby that he's passionate about, and potentially wake him up to some potential career paths down the road.
I'd appreciate any input you all might have on doing this. Bear in mind that Zach has essentially no experience with hardware (or anything beyond playing games for that matter) and, while I've swapped out the occasional drive, PSU, or video card, I've never built a box from scratch before. I'd love to hear if you all think this is a good idea, or if we might be biting off more than we can chew.
Assuming the former, I'd also appreciate anything you can share regarding tools, parts lists, etc. What kinds of things would make the project easier that a novice might not think about? I'm planning on building a light gaming rig with an initial budget of around $500 (give or take) with the thought of upgrading it together over time - using gifts or earnings to add RAM or upgrade the CPU or video card, for example. What can we wait on and what should we splurge on initially? I've been to pcpartpicker.com, but I don't know enough about brand quality or compatibility issues to make intelligent choices so any help there would be awesome. Lastly Zach is 16, so boxes/keyboards that light up or dispense Mountain Dew would be cool/gnarly/rad/whatever kids say nowadays
Thanks again, guys. Forums like this are why I love SoSH.
Flunky said:
http://www.reddit.com/r/PCMasterRace/wiki/builds
scroll to Next-Gen Crusher
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FRNvCJ
here's the Exterminator
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yspYt6
there is also a build a pc subreddit
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc
Couperin47 said:
Sorry but these reddit recommendations all revolve around the use of AMD cpus, whatever agenda they are pushing is hillariously misguided.. Also parts picker is a decent site, but VERY NCIX biased which may make sense if you live in Canada, otherwise neither their prices or selection are very inspiring....one should recall that all such sites are either backed by specific advertisers, or have an axe to grind....
If you have read this thread, the point is that, intelligently purchased over several weeks, and utilizing sales and, yes, ugh....rebates...one can always save several hundred dollars off most builds because that's just how computer components are marketed these days.
Jack Clarks CFP said:Guys, thanks for all the input. Am I to understand from the conversation that it's unrealistic to build a box for $500 that's truly upgradable? If so, are the places to splurge so we can upgrade primarily the mobo and the chipset?
Jack Clarks CFP said:Guys, thanks for all the input. Am I to understand from the conversation that it's unrealistic to build a box for $500 that's truly upgradable? If so, are the places to splurge so we can upgrade primarily the mobo and the chipset?
SumnerH said:
If you already have a monitor, you can easily build an upgradable box for that price as long as you're not expecting it to be too much out of the gate--plan it as a learning/hobby thing for the first couple of months but one that will grow into a nice machine in the not too distant future. Put it together without a graphics card (integrated CPU graphics) and plan on adding that in a couple of months (the promise of it becoming a capable gaming rid gives the kid an incentive to save his money). Get just a small SSD to run everything off of up front, add a larger hard drive later on. Spend an extra few bucks on the power supply now rather than getting a terrible one up front and having to replace it later. Run Linux now, get Windows later. Don't put in an optical (DVD/CD/BluRay) drive at first.
Also, ask around and see if anyone's ditching a machine that has an old graphics card that's not so fast but better than nothing in the interim, or plunder the hard drive from an old computer you're discarding, or whatever. Stopgap stuff.
Essentially plan on a slightly dopey machine at first that will quickly become tricked out with a couple of upgrades. Something like:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $500.73
Over the next couple of months you get Windows, an MSI AMD Radeon HD 7770, and a 1TB drive (combined total $250 or a bit less) and you have a pretty nice machine going--or save a few more pennies for a better graphics card and bigger disk.
If you have to squeeze a monitor into the budget it gets a harder.
Jack Clarks CFP said:I just saw this case:
Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-01 RED LED Black ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case
It's the same price as the 200R, but has more curb appeal to a 16 yo. Is this a good alternative or would I be giving up something major?
DennyDoyle'sBoil said:How complicated is it when downloading the OS (windows 7 in my case) to get it to the SSD and not the HD?
DennyDoyle'sBoil said:Thanks very much. One more question -- we're not likely to do any gaming, so I'm unlikely ever to want to add a video card, but we like nice images to view pictures and stuff. Will a CPU like the i5-4460 and 8 GB ram be enough, or is there a reasonable cost CPU/memory upgrade that a person not intending to get a graphics card should consider?
DennyDoyle'sBoil said:Ok, great -- i5-4460 and ASrock as the foundation, with a 128 GB SSD and a 1 TB HD, and it looks like I'm in business. Already have monitor, keyboard and mouse, and I get a win7 license from work, so I think that only really leaves case and power supply, and some extra cooling (I live in Arizona and it gets hot in the summer).
Do I need to be picky about a wireless adapter with this set up, or do I just buy something that's cheap?
Not that you need to, but you can just leave the sata cable to the HDD unplugged when installing the OS. That will ensure it gets installed on the SSD.DennyDoyle'sBoil said:How complicated is it when downloading the OS (windows 7 in my case) to get it to the SSD and not the HD?
jayhoz said:Not that you need to, but you can just leave the sata cable to the HDD unplugged when installing the OS. That will ensure it gets installed on the SSD.
A smaller case than a mid tower will probably need a micro-atx board. Just so you know.DennyDoyle'sBoil said:Couper or anyone -- can you recommend a smaller form case than the mid-size tower. Our last computer was an all in one, and the space we have for it is limited. I'd like to try to find a case that perhaps can sit on the desktop, or otherwise fit in a smaller spot under the table. This will be my first build and I'm a novice, so a case that makes it difficult to get in there and do everything might be more problem than it solves, but the primary stuff in the box will be the asrock motherboard, two 3.5 drives, the power supply, and an optical drive (although I could go external for that). Any way to get the form size down, still have a reasonably easy build, and have adequate cooling?
Nick Kaufman said:A smaller case than a mid tower will probably need a micro-atx board. Just so you know.
My recent build was done using this case which I found stylish and elegant.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147209&cm_re=Rosewill_Legacy_U3-B-_-11-147-209-_-Product
All the same, I ve done 3 builds so far and every time I encountered murphy's law and with a smaller case, you re going to need a bit more patience to fit everything in. It's a good thing you don't need a video card because that gives you more space to work with, but make sure your cooler fits.