I pondered the idea of making a proper build post. As we're within the last half year until AM4 CPU's and Kaby Lake CPU's, some might wait for the next generation of processors to come. But if you want a nice PC soon, I decided to take you through it.
Guides like these will be made alongside the releases of major hardware updates.
1. PCPartpicker.com
PCPartPicker is a great site to see what other builders are doing at all price ranges, as well as making your own builds and verifying that most if not all the parts are compatible. There is also a super helpful discussion forum to help you find answers you need. I strongly suggest that you use it to assemble your list.
With that out of the way, let's take a look at some parts.
2. CPU
The CPU is the brains of your PC. Right now, AMD's latest socket is AM3+, which is nearing FIVE years of age. Before next spring, the company has promised us with the AM4 socket, which will outperform some more recent Intel CPUs. Intel, on the other hand, makes a new CPU series almost yearly. Between the large AMD socket gaps, Intel is basically the go-to pick. For the build you are considering crafting together, I strongly suggest you go Intel. AMD simply is not worth it for gaming unless you are going sub-$500 (even then, not really sometimes)
Intel's most recent mainstream socket, LGA1151 "Skylake" was released in 2015, and it is amazingly powerful when compared to AMD. (Broadwell Extreme was released 2016 but they are very pricey and overpowered for gaming - they're best used on extreme workstations or servers, most likely)
Intel Skylake comes in three categories ; i3, i5, and i7.
i3 : The i3 6100 is the only i3 in this series, and despite only having two cores, they are quite powerful and will easily be able to handle office / media viewing work. For gaming, they can run some older and even newer games (Overwatch can run on an i3, for instance) The i3 6100 can even outperform the AMD FX CPUs up until the 9590 - without the extra wattage, heat, or nonsense.
i5 : The i5 was targeted towards mainstream consumers. Almost every game can handle an i5 from multiple generations ago, which says things about it's power. However, I suggest a Skylake i5 because A) the price difference isn't very large at all B) they will be relevant for a longer period of time. They come in ; i5 6400, 6500, 6600, and 6600k. I recommend the 6500 because of it's performance vs. price, and the 6600k for those interested in overclocking their CPU.
i7 : The i7 was designed for enthusiasts. i7's are powerful enough to handle virtually anything a home desktop should be doing. The i7 6700 is the more mainstream one good for the performance, the 6700k is the real enthusiast CPU with loads of power and ability to effectively overclock.
I will skip Broadwell-E, as they generally are used for servers and workstations like I said earlier.
Final thoughts on a CPU pick ; think about what you're doing. For recent gaming, i5 6500 or better will work finely. For gaming on a few lower end games, i3 6100 is a good choice. For overclocking, it depends on your budget and value you're seeking. For lower budget, i5 6600k. For higher budget and max performance, i7 6700k.
Side note ; I mercilessly bashed AMD but there's truth. Like I said, their last CPU socket is far outdated. For the builders of 2017, however, AMD will again be a viable pick with their new line of processors, able to outperform Intel's Broadwell-E by 2% according to their benchmarks they have teased.
Side note ; I mercilessly bashed AMD but there's truth. Like I said, their last CPU socket is far outdated. For the builders of 2017, however, AMD will again be a viable pick with their new line of processors, able to outperform Intel's Broadwell-E by 2% according to their benchmarks they have teased.
3. Motherboard
Since I referred you to basically one family of CPUs, choosing the right motherboard should be easy. All the CPUs I talked about use the Intel LGA1151 socket. From there, we only need to worry most about ; Chipsets, RAM supported, and PCIe slots and whatnot.
Step One ; QUALITY IS CRUCIAL
There are loads of motherboard manufacturers, as well as manufacturers of other parts. Most people on the internet will agree, the two quality kings are Gigabyte and Asus. MSI is also a nice one, especially for overclocking. Some also like ASRock for low budget boards, but I note that ASRock has a high D.O.A rate. For all purposes and quality, go Gigabyte or Asus. For overclockers, I lean more towards MSI and sometimes Asus.
Step Two ; Form Factor
If you already have your heart set on a certain case, make sure you know what motherboard form factor it supports. For home systems, you'll usually see ATX, MicroATX, and Mini ITX. There's also EATX, which you usually will not find untill you get to extreme motherboards. For instance, the one below uses the Broadwell-E socket, whereas others use the more mainstream sockets.
There is no performance difference between these three boards, if you were to install all the same components. But each has different levels of expand-ability.
Mini ITX : Two RAM banks max, 1 PCIe slot for the video card max.
Micro ATX : Supports up to 2-way SLI / Crossfire from AMD / NVIDIA.
ATX : Plenty of PCIe expansion slots ready to use.
EATX : Has enough PCIe x16 slots for ridiculous SLI (4-way SLI, for instance) if the board supports it. Also has eight RAM banks for extreme computers. Hence why I say you probably won't get an EATX board for a home PC.
The form factor really depends on what you want. A compact PC thrives with a Mini ITX or Micro ATX. As a builder I prefer ATX for the roomy working space and expand-ability, but Micro ATX isn't a bad choice for that either.
Step Three : Chipset
There are four chipsets you'll often see for LGA1151 boards.
Intel H110 : These are good for lower end / budget PCs, but take note that they have less PCI lanes and the added PCI lanes are PCIe 2.0
B150 : Some gaming boards feature B150, no overclocking but it has the x16 PCI 3.0 lanes for a GPU. Budget gamers might enjoy the B150.
H170 : More PCI lanes than the latter, adds x16 PCI 3.0 lanes, as well as extra bonuses like Intel smart sound technology and the likes. Good H170 boards will have a higher price but I personally would recommend H170 or better for gaming.
Z170 : This is where it gets good ; most Z170 boards support SLI, Z170 is the go to for gaming and overclocking, and has more PCI lanes of course.
Low budget gaming : B150, H170.
High end gaming / Overclocks : Z170 all the way.
If you choose to stray from Skylake, like choosing Broadwell-E (no new builder should be handling that until they have lots of knowledge, my opinion) be aware that some motherboards will need a full BIOS update to work with certain CPUs. PC Part Picker will notify you of that.
Final thoughts on your motherboard choice
With so many needs and choices out there, it's hard to settle on just a few to get you the right motherboard without spending extra money on what you do not need. But I was able to narrow down to some of these. The form factors do vary, however.
Cheap, Basic Motherboard : GIGABYTE GA-H110M-A
Simply good quality board : GIGABYTE GA-H170 GAMING 3
Overclocking : ASUS Z170-A (runner up ; GIGABYTE Z170XP-SLI)
2-Way SLI, Crossfire : Either of the above should work finely
Quality M-ATX Board : GIGABYTE GA-Z170MX GAMING 5
Wasn't feeling the love for MSi here mostly because of price. Gigabyte's quality for price is great.
4. CPU Cooler
UNLESS you went with the Intel "k" (Unlocked) CPUs, your Skylake CPU will come with an Intel branded stock CPU cooler. The K's don't have them, as overclocked CPUs will require more power, and will generate more heat than the cooler can handle.
Most would be pretty neutral on using this as the system cooler. It can handle the CPU heat while under load pretty well, however, it WILL generate a lot of noise.
That's why I suggest an aftermarket cooler regardless of whether one comes with the CPU or not.
Since we're using LGA1151 CPUs, the finding-the-right-socket issue is not a big deal. The only real issue is the ability for the cooler to fit into your case. I generally pick the cooler first and then pick a case to build around it.
Exhibit A : Low profile CPU fans
If you're looking to have a small, subtle computer, then the chassis will be small. You will have a hard time fitting large components inside, which is why you need a low profile CPU fan. I generally wouldn't have one as my first pick unless I was building in a small case, because you need to have chassis fans to take the hot air out of the way of the CPU to keep the PC cooler. However, some low profile options aren't that bad, and like I said, a small PC needs a short cooling solution.
Rajintek Pallas
The Rajintek Pallas was designed for narrow cases, like HTPC cases, while still maintaining proper heat dissipation. Total height is 70mm, which should serve the purpose quite well.
The C7 is even shorter than the Pallas (40mm) and claims to have 25% better performance than stock Intel cooling. It is FULLY compatible with anything (save for outdated CPU sockets) CRYORIG guarantees that it will never block off PCIe slots, or RAM banks, even onto motherboards like Mini ITX boards, like so ;
Honorable Mentions : Cooler Master GeminII M4, Noctua NH-L9i (or L9a if you went AMD...)
Exhibit B : High performance CPU fans
High profile fans can be turned a full 90 degree angle to blow straight out of the case without assistance from other case fans (still good to have them though) They're not too great for heavy overclocking, but it is possible to do some more moderate overclocks if you wish.
At $20 USD, it's hard to beat this guy for price. I included this cooler because, for a budget, the performance it brings is fantastic. However, be aware that on some boards there could be a chance it could block off a RAM slot (which you should expect in this territory) The height of this cooler is 125 MM, meaning more cases will be able to comfortably fit it when compared alongside other options. However, do take note that it is a bit louder than others I list and others will perform better.
The H7 is one of the best fan CPU coolers available right now. Consider it the M9i's bigger brother, with a height of 145 mm but the ability to cool your CPU more effectively and quieter. It checks in at only $15 more at Newegg and Amazon, too.
Cooler Master's HYPER series of CPU coolers also can rock the budget fan scene. These three coolers are all in the same ballpark (152-159 mm) therefore, I'd get a pretty wide case if you want to use them. The 212's will perform better than the T series (T4, TX3, T2, etc.) and be quieter, however if you look some up, you'll note the T series will be shorter and usually cheaper. As for the Hyper 212 EVO and the 212X, the main difference is that the 212X is a dual-fan cooler. The 212 EVO only comes with one stock, but according to CM, you can use a mounting bracket to add another 120mm fan on if you wish to bring it on par with the 212X (hopefully...)
Exhibit C : Closed loop water cooling
Until you get into making a FULL custom water cooling system (which I don't recommend, for reasons which I state in this article ; click!) then this is the best way to go for getting maximum cooling performance on your CPU.
Corsair Hydro Series
The main stars of the show here are the Corsair H60, a 120 mm water cooler that keeps every CPU I have tested around room temperature when idle (allowing for lots of overclock potential) For more performance, there's also the Corsair H110i, a more expensive (enthusiast) option that has a 240mm radiator, taking up more slots but having improved performance. Corsair also makes the liquid cooling systems for video cards like the MSI GTX 1070 Seahawk (with the H55 cooler) On sites like newegg and PcPartPicker, one should note that Corsair water coolers steal the amount of ratings & reviews, and each earns at least 4 stars, an indication of a high quality cooler.
Cooler Master
It was hard for me to find many other companies that could significantly contest Corsair for water cooling, but leave it to a company that has "Cool" in the name to make some nice ones. Check out the performance of the MasterLiquid (for 120mm) here. For extra performance at the cost of larger size, there's also the MasterLiquid Pro.
5. RAM
The last component you'll have to worry about on the motherboard itself is the RAM. RAM is pretty simple. Since we'll be using Skylake, almost every motherboard uses the 288-pin DDR4 RAM modules. From there, we just need to choose the configuration and ram speeds.
Ram Speed
I'll be honest with you ; I find barely any difference between the RAM speeds until you go to an older DDR type. The only thing you need to worry about is staying within your motherboard's supported RAM slot limits. Some motherboards only take DDR4-2133 for instance.
How Much RAM?
Depending on what your PC is being used for, you'll require different amounts of RAM. Generally, I say ;
Basic / Super Tight budget : 4 GB
4 GBs will only cost you 20-25 dollars and will work finely for office uses, and some lighter games. 4 GBs will usually make the cut for minimum specs on a lot of games.
Mainstream gaming : 8 GB
I have 8 GBs in my machine and I've never gone within 20 % of max usage.
8 GBs will be fine for recommended specs, as most games recommend 4-8 GBs so you'll definitely be fine.
Extreme : 16+ GB
For people who do stuff like edit lengthy, high quality videos, intense CAD-ing, etc, then you'll probably want 16 or more GB of RAM.
Any more than 32 GB of RAM is beyond overkill for today's demands. There is simply no way you'll make full use of it unless you're purposely trying to bring it to 100%.
Configuration?
By configuration, I mean how many RAM modules of certain amounts. Most you will find range from 4-16 GB for module.
Unless you're going for 4 GB of RAM, I recommend two modules regardless of whatever else is going on. This allows you to buy two duplicate modules and add to the RAM count later. Dual channel memory beats both 1 and 4+ module setups, because it's usually the fastest, simply. It might not have a notable difference always, but it doesn't hurt the price point usually until you get to having four DIMMs, then it might make an impact under $10 extra or something...
5. Video Card(s)
The video card will most often affect your performance in games the most, assuming your system is at least remotely balanced. A bad card might lower your FPS, and definitely will dictate the video settings you can run. A good card will let your run games at high resolutions or virtual reality, or run at normal HD resolutions at a super high frame rate.
Who to choose?
Your manufacturer of choice depends on your budget. The two GPU titans are AMD (aka, ATI) and NVIDIA. AMD rocks the budget end of the spectrum with their Radeon series of graphics cards, while NVIDIA offers flat out amazing cards (GeForce GTX) that will outperform even AMD's best cards, but with a significant price tag.
Left : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition Right : Sapphire Radeon RX 480
How to find the right card?
There are loads of video cards. My recommendation is to find what makes recommended specs for games you play, then go over the listed card(s) as much as you feel like (while still using a supported video card) You might not want to always do this though, as choosing more recent cards means more games will support this longer. Take both points into consideration ; generally, I would not go back more than 1 generation (ex ; for now, I'd only choose from Radeon R9 or RX series, or NVIDIA Pascal (10xx) or Maxwell (9xx) series video cards) UNLESS I was on a very tight budget. Even then, AMD has some nice cards to outperform old cards without driving the price up too high.
High End
For 4k games, Virtual Reality, or super high framerates on high settings, how do you know which card to choose? Here's my personal input on the GPU hierarchy.
AMD Radeon RX 480
AMD Radeon R9 390X
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (note, this is a Maxwell card, yet another testament to NVIDIA performance)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
Why NVIDIA?
AMD's R9 and RX series were both optimized for games that use DirectX 12. DirectX 12 is so new that mainstream developers might not even move to that platform for a while, thus taking the main advantages of these cards away.
Benchmarks show that NVIDIA's cards will be able to handle all games, old and new, alike, better, with more processing power under the hood regardless.
NVIDIA cards typically have better power draw for their performance as well. While it shouldn't make a major difference (for instance, GTX 1060 has 30 W less than RX 480) it should be noted that's slightly less PSU wear, power bill, and PSU capacity you have to worry about.
Finally, NVIDIA has ShadowPlay. It's essentially a program that can capture your game footage while using MUCH less of the hardware than most mainstream recording software, and it comes free with NVIDIA cards.
so, overall with gaming ; NVIDIA beats all until your budget becomes something like $250, then the playing field is more even.
6. Power Supply Unit (PSU)
Your power supply is the heart of your system. You NEVER want to cheap out on a unit and buy a low quality one ; it can cost your whole system.
Who?
As of right now, I only consider three manufacturers : EVGA, probably the best known for power supplies at the moment, SeaSonic, and Corsair. Even though they rank my top three, even the best have made some pretty crappy units.
So, it's always important to buy recent. From EVGA, the B2, G2, P2, and T2 series. From Corsair, the CXM series, RMx series, or AX series. From SeaSonic the PRIME or S12II series are the more recent ones as far as I can tell.
80 Plus Ratings
An 80 Plus rating is simply how efficiently a PSU converts power from your wall into power the PC can use. I always get at least bronze, and all three of these manufacturers' recent units are at least that I believe. For more info on 80+ ratings, I suggest reading this article. It explains it very in depth.
Non-modular, Semi Modular, or fully modular?
A modular power supply will be like the SeaSonic prime unit (pictured a little ways above, top right)
Every end for power connectors is merely an open slot that has an accompanying wire to fill ; there are loads of connections for all sorts of hardware, for super high end PC's or simple home gaming desktops.
Semi modular units usually have less of these modular connectors (still more than enough for most typical household PCs) but they will usually have the 24 pin ATX connector, and/or 4-8 pin motherboard connectors.
Non-modular units have no way of attaching extra plugs, they just give you all of them straight out of the unit. These are the worst for cable management, as you have to deal with all the plugs that you DIDN'T use.
Wattage?
And finally, wattage. I recommend against using the full wattage of your power supply, as components will age faster and it's generally safer to give it breathing room.
This PSU calculator is good for finding the right wattage for your build. PC Part Picker simply lists the minimal wattage you need to work. PSU Calculator
For an overclocker, you need to add even more. My CPU, post overclock, takes 400W, nearly 4x it's normal TDP. Look around online if you don't already have a good guess as to the wattage required for your overclocked system.
7. Chassis
The Chassis seems like one of the less-vital parts to a PC, and essentially it is but why not get something that looks nice, high quality, and more importantly, has good airflow / supports your cooling mechanisms well?
Here's my breakdown on some cases that will be nice to have
High Profile CPU Cooler Cases
If you liked what you saw about my CPU cooler section, then you probably went with a CRYORIG H7 or Cooler Master Hyper series CPU cooler or something. Well, those are BIG coolers, but conveniently, manufacturers like Corsair have us covered for good cases to have.
Corsair 200R
I generally dislike having cases that don't have much in the ways of intake through the front, but this is nice for some closed loop water coolers or a high profile CPU that can be turned at a 90 degree angle to blast air right out the back.
Corsair 400C
This is pretty similar to the last but no side fan / radiator mounts and a side window instead. However, the top now has ventilation (actually better to have it on top, that's where heat will be as heat basically rises) and the top even has dust filters already included.
Honorable mentions ; Thermaltake Suppresor F31, Fractal Design Define S
High Airflow Cases
Acer GN276HL
At 250 dollars you can match the first but expand the screen size AND add built in speakers for a great gaming experience. Asus doesn't match this quality until 400 dollars.
4k RESOLUTION!
4K gaming and viewing is the new trend for monitors. It's why NVIDIA made great cards like the GTX 1080 to handle these kinds of disciplines. For super high resolution, look no further than ;
Samsung U28D590D
LG 31MU97C-B
ViewSonic VP2780-4K
Dell P2715Q
GAH THIS IS SO HARD! GIVE ME SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT I SHOULD BUILD!
Thanks for reading. I'm not done yet, but this is the end of the guide section. I felt as if some might have a hard time putting what I said together, so I came up with some builds for different disciplines.
No peripherals inside any of these builds, read the section above or research what you might want yourself
Lowest budget PC sacrificing the least performance
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/QksmCy
This PC checks in at $505 featuring Intel's i3 6100 and AMD RX 460 video card for a nice little bugger. The RAM and CPU are able to be expanded later which is nice for when you have the money to do so. No SSD in here but that could be changed.
Budget HD gaming
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/xcvb2R
This PC will be around $850 but now includes an SSD, a strong quad core skylake i5, 8 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GTX 960, which is a pretty strong graphics card.
Great HD gaming
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/LnJt3F
I decided to be much more luxurious with this one, 16 GB RAM, WD Blue 1 TB, 250 GB 850 EVO SSD, MSI Gaming X GTX 1060, you name it. Also included a nice CRYORIG cpu cooler.
Overclocking / Greater gaming
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/wRbwYr
For 1.4k we get the unlocked i5 6600k, with the Corsair H60 in the Air 240 case, one of my favorites. Video card is an NVIDIA GTX 1070, and our power supply has plenty of wattage for loads of extra power to the CPU to work with.
Overclocking / Amazing gaming, definitely 4K capable.
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/4BHRVY
This PC is some godlike stuff. You probably don't need the 2nd 1080 even. This is one of the best possible you can build. I'll envy you.
Thanks for reading this massive miserable wall of text! Hope I helped you somewhow...
Here's my breakdown on some cases that will be nice to have
High Profile CPU Cooler Cases
If you liked what you saw about my CPU cooler section, then you probably went with a CRYORIG H7 or Cooler Master Hyper series CPU cooler or something. Well, those are BIG coolers, but conveniently, manufacturers like Corsair have us covered for good cases to have.
Corsair 200R
I generally dislike having cases that don't have much in the ways of intake through the front, but this is nice for some closed loop water coolers or a high profile CPU that can be turned at a 90 degree angle to blast air right out the back.Corsair 400C
This is pretty similar to the last but no side fan / radiator mounts and a side window instead. However, the top now has ventilation (actually better to have it on top, that's where heat will be as heat basically rises) and the top even has dust filters already included.Honorable mentions ; Thermaltake Suppresor F31, Fractal Design Define S
High Airflow Cases
Corsair Carbide AIR Series
Left to right, top to bottom : AIR 240, AIR 540, AIR 740.
These cases are great. Dust filtering, pre installed fans, PSU and hard drives tucked away from the major part of the build, and direct airflow over the vital components. They do come at quite a price (cheapest, M-ATX sized air 240 is $90) but the quality of these cases are not to be discounted. I, myself can testify that. My PC is inside an Air 240 and nothing has gotten within critical temperatures yet.
Corsair Carbide SPEC series
Corsair has done it again with the spec series. I wouldn't consider them as on-point with the airflow as their Air counterparts but for a sub-$50 case, they're hard to pass by.
Fractal Design ARC Mini R2
Yet another nice case with a lot in the ways of airflow. Intake the front, exhaust out the top and back, and it has a side window so you can admire your beautiful creation in all it's glory.
Cooler Master N400
I never particularly liked cooler master's cases up until the mastercase, but this is an exception. Looks like a mini Carbide 400C with mesh on the front.
I'm very corsair heavy on this one, but honestly I gotta give it to them - their cases are high quality, high airflow, high expand-ability at a very affordable price. Some others that you might want to look at ; Deepcool Tesseract SW, NZXT S430, and maybe even look around on NewEgg or PCPartPicker and find one that you like, and either build around it or keep looking.
8. Storage
Generally, there isn't much to cover in storage in my opinion, but I can go on and on about a lot of things so here ya go ;
Can I reuse storage?
If you have a PC you do not use anymore and you want to give it's drives a new life, absolutely. Just make sure the drives are healthy and are ready to work before you pop them in.
Can I reuse my storage as a boot drive?
One of the drives in your PC has to load windows and all the drivers to make windows work with whatever system you are on. It is genuinely a pain to sort out the driver issues if it even works, so you should wipe the drive you plan to boot from and just get a new copy of Windows. It saves a lot of time and struggle.
What am I looking for in new storage?
I play all sorts of video games, and I generally think you should at least have a 7200 RPM hard drive because a desktop offers the luxury of 3.5" drives if you want to game on a budget.
For massive storage, I'd say you could go lower RPMs as you probably won't access it as much.
For an SSD, you should look for highly rated ones. I personally like Mushkin and Samsung for SSD's, Samsung in particular, my 850 EVO loads Windows 10 in 6 seconds from hitting the power button which is great. Use an SSD to quickly load the OS / Drivers, and for programs you use very often that might take longer to load on hard drive.
Hard drive makers?
Generally for me it boils down to Seagate or Western Digital.
I go Seagate because 2TBs of hard drive space is only $70. For lower budgets, it's a good mix of Seagate Barracudas or Western Digital Caviar Blue series drive.
Western Digital takes my higher quality HDD list though. Generally ;
-Use WD Green for massive amounts of storage, a quiet drive, or a low power drive.
-Blue series is the mainstream drive, I have one and it's fairly quiet and works well.
-Black series is the fastest desktop hard drive according to many reviews. Gamers might like this if they need to split space between an SSD and something else.
There are loads of other colors, gold, purple, you name it. I do not know if they are still continued but generally I go with Green, Blue, and Black.
External Storage?
There are loads of external storage makers that are actually good, I usually just go with Seagate because they're cheap, work, and stay working, but LaCie was another one I tried and they weren't bad at all. Just look up reviews on what you're interested in.
DVD Drives?
Optical drives are going out of date, but I generally recommend a read/write drive if you must have one. I rarely use mine, but if you frequently use it then feel free to invest in a nice, fast drive for your needs. Pretty simple to talk about...
9. Some other stuff I might have left out real quickly
9. Some other stuff I might have left out real quickly
A lot of people make the mistake of not buying Microsoft Windows! Unless you want Linux or were planning on using a disc code you had lying around, get Windows 10! It's $85 for 64-bit (what you'll want with 4+ GB of RAM) and is a must for PC gaming, as most games may not support Linux and forces you to use an adapter from Linux, and they really do not work well.
Since we're going with Intel Skylake, the viable versions include ; Windows 10 (recommended) Windows 8, or Windows 8.1. They're dropping support for Windows 7 on newer platforms now.
Thermal Paste! Most CPU cooler manufacturers kindly include thermal paste, however, in the event that you don't get any for some reason, just buy a tube of Arctic Silver MX4. It's one of the best rated thermal pastes, and like all of them, really cheap to buy online. You should also have an extra tube handy if you are planning to upgrade your CPU or CPU cooler in the future. Some suggest EVGA frostbite for AIO water coolers, however I'm pretty sure the performance impact will not vary much.
As for the removal of the stuff, just wipe it with some isopropyl alcohol 99% and it should come off without struggle.
10. Peripherals
You might be making the migration to a desktop for the first time (or the first time in a while) and really need your keyboard and monitor! Not to worry, I've narrowed them down to three categories ; Supercheap, Mid range decent quality, and super sweet to have quality.
Keyboards
Logitech K120
Logitech is a pretty big player in the peripherals section, and their keyboards are quite nice. For a low price keyboard, this one is pretty decent quality. The main thing to worry about at this price range is stability and not-falling-apart-ability.
Cooler Master OCTANE
Cooler Master Octane is not just a keyboard, but also a mouse bundled in under $30 and has a pretty sweet looking LED backlight like it's cousin, the CM Storm Devastator. Both are good picks honestly but the devastators may vary in price by a bit depending on the color and series.
Razer BlackWidow Chroma
For a really sweet looking and feeling keyboard, it came down to me either Corsair Strafe RGB or this guy ; the Black Widow Chroma. See for yourself ;
Mice
Logitech B100
For some people, all a computer mouse needs to be is two buttons and a scroll wheel. This $8 mouse from Logitech will work finely.
Razer DeathAdder 2013
If 200 people are rating a product at four or more stars, then it's gotta be good. Razer includes an easy to use customization tool for sensitivity and such so you can get the perfect feel for where your mouse is going to go.
Corsair M65 RGB FPS
The DeathAdder is a pretty nice mouse honestly but for one that I'd really like to have in terms of shape and looks, I'd go with this one. (Without sinking my wallet into loads more than I should spend on such a small piece of hardware)
Headsets
Corsair VOID Stereo
I'm generally one to cling to what I know, especially if it's going for cheap. I bought one of these and I have been using it for a long time and it's amazing quality for $50. The mic seems to also do pretty well at blocking off some outside noise as well. Great little gadget for the price for sure. As for the wireless version, you spend more but the same goes.
Logitech G633 Artemis Spectrum
The VOID is nice but I really love not just the look of these but also the fact that they comfortably surround your whole ear makes it feel oddly nicer.
Seinnheiser PC 363D
Now this headset is a beauty. Active noise cancelling, built in mic, and reports of great sound quality among it's users, you really can't go wrong at this price.
External Speakers
For each category, I'm just going to rattle off some good names as I basically filtered out best sound quality and reviews for the price. Take a look at some you like and go.
Low Price (Sub $20)
Logitech S120
Creative Labs A60
Logitech Z150
High Quality
Logitech Z2300
logitech Z313
Logitech Z623
Monitors!
There are so many monitors to go over, so rather than go through all sorts of categories, I simply say ; 60 FPS 1080p, 144 FPS 1080p, or 60 FPS at 4k.
Wait! Plugs
Yes, monitors have all sorts of plugs in or out. I personally suggest HDMI since nearly every modern graphics card will have an HDMI port and connection is simple and easy. DVI and DisplayPort next if you can't find HDMI (some high res / VR headgears require DP)
60 FPS at 1080p Resolution
ASUS VX228H
This is probably one of the best monitors at it's price. 21.5 Inch screen, 1 ms refresh rate, and the 60 FPS you want for gaming without what other monitor makers want from your wallet.
BenQ GL2460HM
For 30 dollars more you can get a 24 inch screen with 1 ms slower refresh rate, which might still be a good trade off for most. For me at least, 24 inch monitor is a nice monitor.
BenQ GW2760HS
At 27 inches this hulking monitor will be quite a treat to work with. 4ms response time this time around, but the price is still around 175 which is good for what we were expecting (I hope...)
144 FPS at 1080P resolution
ASUS VG248QE
Snappy 1 ms response time, 24 inch screen, 144 Hz, at 250 dollars, that's hard to beat. Asus also adds on a swivel function to turn your screen at a right angle, as well as height adjustment too (because that stand looks a little odd to me at full height, heh)
Acer GN246HL
This monitor beats the above one by $40 but without the extra screen positioning features. They're basically the same.Since we're going with Intel Skylake, the viable versions include ; Windows 10 (recommended) Windows 8, or Windows 8.1. They're dropping support for Windows 7 on newer platforms now.
Thermal Paste! Most CPU cooler manufacturers kindly include thermal paste, however, in the event that you don't get any for some reason, just buy a tube of Arctic Silver MX4. It's one of the best rated thermal pastes, and like all of them, really cheap to buy online. You should also have an extra tube handy if you are planning to upgrade your CPU or CPU cooler in the future. Some suggest EVGA frostbite for AIO water coolers, however I'm pretty sure the performance impact will not vary much.
As for the removal of the stuff, just wipe it with some isopropyl alcohol 99% and it should come off without struggle.
10. Peripherals
You might be making the migration to a desktop for the first time (or the first time in a while) and really need your keyboard and monitor! Not to worry, I've narrowed them down to three categories ; Supercheap, Mid range decent quality, and super sweet to have quality.
Keyboards
Logitech K120
Logitech is a pretty big player in the peripherals section, and their keyboards are quite nice. For a low price keyboard, this one is pretty decent quality. The main thing to worry about at this price range is stability and not-falling-apart-ability.
Cooler Master OCTANE
Cooler Master Octane is not just a keyboard, but also a mouse bundled in under $30 and has a pretty sweet looking LED backlight like it's cousin, the CM Storm Devastator. Both are good picks honestly but the devastators may vary in price by a bit depending on the color and series.
Razer BlackWidow Chroma
For a really sweet looking and feeling keyboard, it came down to me either Corsair Strafe RGB or this guy ; the Black Widow Chroma. See for yourself ;
Mice
Logitech B100
For some people, all a computer mouse needs to be is two buttons and a scroll wheel. This $8 mouse from Logitech will work finely.
Razer DeathAdder 2013
If 200 people are rating a product at four or more stars, then it's gotta be good. Razer includes an easy to use customization tool for sensitivity and such so you can get the perfect feel for where your mouse is going to go.
Corsair M65 RGB FPS
The DeathAdder is a pretty nice mouse honestly but for one that I'd really like to have in terms of shape and looks, I'd go with this one. (Without sinking my wallet into loads more than I should spend on such a small piece of hardware)
Headsets
Corsair VOID Stereo
I'm generally one to cling to what I know, especially if it's going for cheap. I bought one of these and I have been using it for a long time and it's amazing quality for $50. The mic seems to also do pretty well at blocking off some outside noise as well. Great little gadget for the price for sure. As for the wireless version, you spend more but the same goes.
Logitech G633 Artemis Spectrum
The VOID is nice but I really love not just the look of these but also the fact that they comfortably surround your whole ear makes it feel oddly nicer.
Seinnheiser PC 363D
Now this headset is a beauty. Active noise cancelling, built in mic, and reports of great sound quality among it's users, you really can't go wrong at this price.
External Speakers
For each category, I'm just going to rattle off some good names as I basically filtered out best sound quality and reviews for the price. Take a look at some you like and go.
Low Price (Sub $20)
Logitech S120
Creative Labs A60
Logitech Z150
High Quality
Logitech Z2300
logitech Z313
Logitech Z623
Monitors!
There are so many monitors to go over, so rather than go through all sorts of categories, I simply say ; 60 FPS 1080p, 144 FPS 1080p, or 60 FPS at 4k.
Wait! Plugs
Yes, monitors have all sorts of plugs in or out. I personally suggest HDMI since nearly every modern graphics card will have an HDMI port and connection is simple and easy. DVI and DisplayPort next if you can't find HDMI (some high res / VR headgears require DP)
60 FPS at 1080p Resolution
ASUS VX228H
This is probably one of the best monitors at it's price. 21.5 Inch screen, 1 ms refresh rate, and the 60 FPS you want for gaming without what other monitor makers want from your wallet.
BenQ GL2460HM
For 30 dollars more you can get a 24 inch screen with 1 ms slower refresh rate, which might still be a good trade off for most. For me at least, 24 inch monitor is a nice monitor.
BenQ GW2760HS
At 27 inches this hulking monitor will be quite a treat to work with. 4ms response time this time around, but the price is still around 175 which is good for what we were expecting (I hope...)
144 FPS at 1080P resolution
ASUS VG248QE
Snappy 1 ms response time, 24 inch screen, 144 Hz, at 250 dollars, that's hard to beat. Asus also adds on a swivel function to turn your screen at a right angle, as well as height adjustment too (because that stand looks a little odd to me at full height, heh)
Acer GN246HL
Acer GN276HL
At 250 dollars you can match the first but expand the screen size AND add built in speakers for a great gaming experience. Asus doesn't match this quality until 400 dollars.
4k RESOLUTION!
4K gaming and viewing is the new trend for monitors. It's why NVIDIA made great cards like the GTX 1080 to handle these kinds of disciplines. For super high resolution, look no further than ;
Samsung U28D590D
LG 31MU97C-B
ViewSonic VP2780-4K
Dell P2715Q
GAH THIS IS SO HARD! GIVE ME SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT I SHOULD BUILD!
Thanks for reading. I'm not done yet, but this is the end of the guide section. I felt as if some might have a hard time putting what I said together, so I came up with some builds for different disciplines.
No peripherals inside any of these builds, read the section above or research what you might want yourself
Lowest budget PC sacrificing the least performance
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/QksmCy
This PC checks in at $505 featuring Intel's i3 6100 and AMD RX 460 video card for a nice little bugger. The RAM and CPU are able to be expanded later which is nice for when you have the money to do so. No SSD in here but that could be changed.
Budget HD gaming
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/xcvb2R
This PC will be around $850 but now includes an SSD, a strong quad core skylake i5, 8 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GTX 960, which is a pretty strong graphics card.
Great HD gaming
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/LnJt3F
I decided to be much more luxurious with this one, 16 GB RAM, WD Blue 1 TB, 250 GB 850 EVO SSD, MSI Gaming X GTX 1060, you name it. Also included a nice CRYORIG cpu cooler.
Overclocking / Greater gaming
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/wRbwYr
For 1.4k we get the unlocked i5 6600k, with the Corsair H60 in the Air 240 case, one of my favorites. Video card is an NVIDIA GTX 1070, and our power supply has plenty of wattage for loads of extra power to the CPU to work with.
Overclocking / Amazing gaming, definitely 4K capable.
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/4BHRVY
This PC is some godlike stuff. You probably don't need the 2nd 1080 even. This is one of the best possible you can build. I'll envy you.
Thanks for reading this massive miserable wall of text! Hope I helped you somewhow...
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