Would buying a parts bundle make sense?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.3104092
Obviously I need a hard drive as well but it seems like a decent deal. I already have a list of individual parts but this seems to save money.

My brother's PC broke so i'm trying to help him fix it. Looking for suggestions on a new Motherboard and PSU. He mostly needs it for schoolwork but he said he plays WoW. not trying to spend more than necessary but also want it to last.

Current Parts:
CPU: AMD AM3+ FX-837 8 cores @ 4.0 ghz
Ram: 16 GB Ram
GPU: 8800 gts

Needed Parts:
Motherboard: ???
PSU: ???

#1621

#1622
I think I'm missing some context.
Would buying a parts bundle make sense for what?

The bundle saves 23$, big deal. The mobo and PSU are terrible, no one should ever buy them.

#1623
Budget?

PC

CPU:
http://www.microcenter.com/product/451887/Core_i5-6500_32GHz_LGA_1151_Boxed_Processor ($180)
Memory: http://www.microcenter.com/product/466885/HyperX_Fury_Black_8GB_DDR4-2133_PC4-17000_CL14_Dual_Channel_Desktop_Memory_Module ($35)
PSU: 2x6 pin, should work with gpu http://pcpartpicker.com/product/XCjG3C/evga-power-supply-100w10500kr ($37)
Case: http://www.microcenter.com/product/417220/Elite_130_mini-ITX_Computer_Case_-_Black ($33)
Graphics: http://www.microcenter.com/product/451824/Radeon_R9_380_2GB_GDDR5_PCIe_Video_Card ($128)
Drive: http://www.microcenter.com/product/454560/P300_1TB_7,200_RPM_SATA_III_6Gb-s_35_Desktop_Internal_Hard_Drive_-_HDWD110XZSTA ($40)
Motherboard:
http://www.microcenter.com/product/461948/GA-H110N_LGA_1151_Mini_ITX_Intel_Motherboard ($75)
SSD:
http://www.microcenter.com/product/460177/Trion_150_Series_120GB_SATA_III_6Gb-s_25_Solid_State_Drive_-_TRN150-25SAT3-1 ($45)

Total: $573
+6.5% tax -> $610

So it's worth dropping some extra money for this instead (compared to combo)? The mobo is better. I think the case is big enough for everything but I'm not sure. I'm basically just trying to get a solid midrange (run CSGO, tf2 at 150+, GTAV at 60+) build for as cheap as I can.

#1625
The PSU is still shit.

That mobo is smaller and more expensive, but not any better.

What's your budget?

I'm going to uni at the start of october and would like to have a desktop sorted before I go, I also don't really know anything about builds.

My budget is about £500 including a monitor but pretty much all I care about is stable 150+ fps on csgo and tf2. I'm not really interested in running AAA games on good settings, (running overwatch well would be nice though but not as important to me).

Any help appreciated

I'm going by $500 USD, I think European prices may be different.

500 including a monitor???

I don't think you can do it unless you want a shitty non gaming monitor. Or your willing to play with minimum graphics

100 i3 6100
50 Mobo
50 1tb HD
50 PSU
50Ccase

Leaves about 200 for a gaming monitor. I'd recommend a benq 144hz

Or get a 100 monitor and get a i5 6500 instead.

£500 is roughly $660 for reference, i would guess 144hz is way out of the picture on the budget side.

I mainly want a solid balanced build to support the r9 380 + i5 6500 but if I had to put a price I would say $620 (without tax included), but budget doesn't really need to be a focus. I don't want to overpay for pieces that are better than they need to be. I don't plan on upgrading/OCing this after building.

I made some revisions:

Why didn't you like the old mobo and psu?

#1627
EDIT: Basically i cba to do it properly right now, but here's a general idea.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (£105.46 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock B150M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£62.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£38.99 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.99 @ Novatech)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case (£45.31 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£48.00)
Monitor: LG 24M47VQ 24.0" 60Hz Monitor (£104.92 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £522.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-04 12:54 BST+0100
For the PSU: http://skinflint.co.uk/corsair-cx-series-modular-cx450m-450w-atx-2-4-cp-9020101-eu-cp-9020101-uk-a1404819.html

Basically Overwatch will run like complete dog shit because integrated graphics, TF2 will be fine because TF2, CS:GO should be just about doable.
The only other way to do it would be to drop the SSD and cheap out on everything and that's really not a good idea in the long run.
So instead I'd just accept the limitations of the iGPU and get a good discrete GPU for 100-150 later if you want to play other games.

#1628
You forgot RAM and the XL2411Z is >200 both in USD and in GBP.

#1630
The mobo was some terrible low end bullshit.
If a PSU can't make 80+ Bronze then it's either terrible low cost design with only the cheapest components (obviously not good) or they saved the money by reusing a decade old design (obviously not good either). If they are using decent components and a recent-ish design but still fail to meet at least 80+ Bronze then their are just terrible at designing PSUs and I'd buy nothing from that manufacturer ever (keep in mind brand != manufacturer, e.g. EVGA don't build a single PSU themselves).

I saw you posted a part list including some stuff from microcenter (#1625).
Here's what you'll do: You'll go there and get a CPU + mobo combo.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/451887/Core_i5-6500_32GHz_LGA_1151_Boxed_Processor
http://www.microcenter.com/product/454324/GA-H170M-D3H_LGA_1151_mATX_Intel_Motherboard
The CPU 20$ cheaper than anywhere else, combined with the 30$ bundle rebate you're saving 50$.
Then you get this GPU http://www.microcenter.com/product/451824/Radeon_R9_380_2GB_GDDR5_PCIe_Video_Card
if it's in stock. Because that's how microcenter make money. You don't leave with just a CPU because it's 20$ cheaper than anywhere else. You leave with a CPU and a mobo and about a 13425$ worth of other parts.

And then you can build this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($180.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($58.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($32.27 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 120GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card ($147.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $622.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-04 06:10 EDT-0400

The GPU is also available from Newegg for almost the same price so that's not a problem.
The 850 Evo 120GB isn't available anymore in 2.5", but as M.2 it is. An M.2 slot is another one of the nice things that are standard on any decent mobo, but will be missing on some low end H110.
You could also get the 250GB version for 20$ more.
You can also get a different case, I don't care, too lazy to search.

Would it not make sense to drop the ssd for a £100 graphics card?,I thought an ssd was unnecessary with the budget as it only helps load times or am i being dumb?

#1632
It's 20£ over budget with a 75£ SSD. I'm not seeing how you could fit a 100£ GPU in.

fair point, would it not be worth stretching a bit for a gpu though? I was under the impression that even though source is cpu heavy a gpu is still a pretty bid deal. also I think i would prefer not to buy an ssd anyway unless you would strongly recommend buying one, i can't see myself needing it, especially at that price.

Edit: I mean i could drop the ssd but not buy the gpu till a few months later when i can maybe afford it

#1634
SSD is the single biggest speed up in normal Desktop usage you can get. I mean if you don't want to boot in 10 seconds or have programs start instantly, then sure, you don't need it.

I have no idea what settings you're trying to run so I don't know whether or not you'll need a discrete GPU to get 150 fps.
You can get it as is, without the SSD if you choose to do so and see how it works. Then buy an appropriate GPU by comparing the fps you get to the fps you want.

Ok I think I'll probably do that, thanks for the help.

also thoughts on this monitor vs the one you recommended http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/9fvZxr/asus-monitor-vs248hr ?

#1636
No reviews, no idea.

@Setsul or whoever else knows things

I've checked and all these combos work and the parts are purchasable.

Microcenter stuff:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz LGA 1151 Boxed Processor - $180
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0451887

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H LGA 1151 mATX Intel Motherboard - $60 (after combo promo)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0454324

GPU: XFX Radeon R9 380 2GB GDDR5 PCIe Video Card - $146
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0451824

HDD: Toshiba P300 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA III 6Gb/s 3.5" - $40
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0454560

Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 Special Edition Mid Tower Case - $40
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0432417

antistatic wrist strap for like 4 bucks

you were right about the spending 10 billion dollars more at microcenter than you expected thing

Amazon stuff:
PSU: CORSAIR CXM series CX450M 450W 80 PLUS BRONZE - $45
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B72VXE6/

Newegg stuff:
RAM: G.SKILL NT Series 8GB 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2133 (PC4 17000) Intel Z170 Platform - $33
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231959&ignorebbr=1

SSD: OCZ Vector 180 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) VTR180-25SAT3-120G - $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820228127&ignorebbr=1

Based on userbenchmark this is better than the other 50-60$ SSDs. It's not as good as the 850 EVO but it is $20 cheaper http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/OCZ-Vector-180-120GB-vs-Samsung-850-Evo-120GB/3495vs3484

Just thought I'd run this by to make sure there are no major issues and that I can, in fact, assemble a computer out of these parts. Let me know if you have any final advice. Thanks a bunch! Setsul in particular has given me a ton of great advice.

1 last thing: should I get this r9 380 gpu instead?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121978
It's $10 cheaper after rebate because no tax and is 4gb instead of 2. Does this mean I would need a different PSU? It suggests 650w and in the q&a someone said it uses 1x8pin (though I would assume it's still 2x6pin) but I can't find the actual specs anywhere.

hey, i have a pretty shitty / lopsided pc - i7 4790, 8GB ram, 250 ssd, integrated graphics, 1680x1050 5ms, no gpu whatsoever, thermaltake 500w no 80+ psu

im just looking to be able to break 150 fps at native, high dx9 without stuttering, how much would i need? new psu is for sure, but what gpu would I need? would a used 950 / 1050 be ok, or would I need to go to a used 960 / 1060? budget of like 150-200 but im not sure if that's possible for a cheapo gpu that won't die anytime soon and a low end gpu (used if necessary)

#1638
Looks fine.

I can look for a budget SSD, but the 850 Evo would be within budget I think. And the whole point of getting an SSD is for it to be fast.

Userbenchmark is nice to get a general idea but you have to look at random and mixed I/O, sequential all SATA SSDs will be more or less the same speed.

For the GPU: 2 vs 4GB won't make a difference most of the time, but if it's cheaper as well there's no reason not to get it. No you won't need a different PSU. The recommended PSU wattage is usually way higher than what you actually need because some shitty garbage tier brands sell e.g. a 200W PSU as a 350W PSU. Obviously it won't work when you actually need 300W. The whole 2x6 pin vs 1x8 pin is due to weird PCIe specifications. 8 pins are rated for 150W, 6 pins for 75W, when it should be 100W.

#1639
Well you don't need a new PSU, but an upgrade would obviously be nice.

950 and 1050 are in completely different performance categories (and the 1050 hasn't even been released yet), same for the 960 and 1060. The 1060 is almost twice as fast. I highly doubt you'll be able to find a used 1050 / 1060 before / slightly after release.

I have no idea what a used 960 costs in the US.

A new 380 should work fine though. Can be found for <150$ (see a few posts above), faster than a 960, get a CX450M for example and you're done.

i'm seeing some 960 4gb's on /r/hardwareswap at around 140, so yeah i guess the 380 is the way to go. thank you!

by "1060 is twice as fast" do you mean twice as fast as the 960? if it is i may as well stick with my current psu and just spring for that in the future and just deal with playing at a lower res for the time being

how do the 1050 and 380 compare? if the 1060 is around 280 or so would the 1050 be better than the 380 at around like $200 or less or nah?

The 1050 hasn't even been announced yet (sounds like it will in October maybe?) so you'll have to wait to know how good it is compared to the 380. The 1060 is about 80% faster than the 960 and 55% faster than the 380. Personally I got a 380 because it was all that I needed and $141 (including tax). You can save for a 1060 if you want though.

yeah, at that price point the 380's tempting. what are your benchmarks for tf2, out of curiosity?

It's still in the box lmao. I bought it 2 hours ago. It's going to take a few weeks for me to get all the parts so I don't have any benchmarks.
Here's one from the benchmarks thread:

2639 frames 18.604 seconds 141.85 fps ( 7.05 ms/f) 11.984 fps variability

thanks man, assuming that my i7 4790 roughly = 6400 and ddr3 doesn't make a difference from ddr4 i should be able to pull 1680x1050 at high quality at least

was hoping to be able to run max quality and nice skins and all that shit but who cares im literally on like 1280x800 toaster settings on integrated lmao

thanks for the help

#1641
Basically what #1642 said.
In TF2 you'll be CPU limited pretty much all of the time so the 380 is plenty.
TF2 actually mostly cares about clockrate, so assuming the RAM wasn't ridiculously fast even assuming the best turbo clock for the 6400 (3.3) the 4790 (4.0) should still be quite a bit faster maybe 10-15%, assuming it's non-K, 4790K is even faster at 4.4.
Also that benchmark was on Linux, not sure how that compares to Windows in TF2 right now.

my dad just wants his computer to run for homework

so cheap enough to run and play wow but good quality? idk..
maybe something around the same caliber as the processor quality would suffice

Why are you doing this? I put these things there so I can use the search function. Quoting a different post means I have to search manually again.

"maybe something around the same caliber as the processor quality" isn't a budget. "processor quality" isn't even a thing.

Also "cheap enough to run x" is literally the opposite of how it works. PCs don't get faster the cheaper they get.

If you're going for as cheap as possible you should check which parts are actually broken. Then we'll see how much it costs to replace those. Then maybe a better GPU for WoW.

Hello, I've never built a PC or even owned a computer that wasn't a shitty laptop. Looking to move on from 30fps gaming, hopefully you kind folks can help. I used logicalincrements.com, the 120Hz monitor thread, and some links in this thread to throw this list together.

My only requirement is running tf2 (matchmaking specifically, so w/o a config) at 150+ fps, so I get the most out of the 144hz monitor I'm planning on getting.

CPU: i5 6500
GPU: GTX 960
RAM: 8GB DDR4
Monitor: BenQ XL2411Z
CPU/GPU/RAM/Monitor, I have some vague understanding of what they do and why they matter. From here on out I chose essentially randomly from the Fair to Very Good range on logicalincrements.
Mobo: MSI 970 Gaming
HDD: 250 GB
SSD: 120 GB
PSU: EVGA 500B
Case: Corsair 200R

This put my total at $940. I don't have a set budget, but ideally I'd like to get it below $800 if possible. Is this build overkill for my requirements? My intuition says I could probably cut the SSD, since it doesn't matter for gaming, correct?

Also, this might be a retarded question, but I have a Lenovo U410 Ultrabook that I won't be using much once I've got this built. It has an i7, 8GB DDR3 RAM, and an NVIDIA 610M. Could I gut any parts from it, or are laptop parts completely different? Or are they simply too old and worn out after 3 years of use?

Thanks in advance for any input. Feel free to PM me instead of cluttering the thread.

#1649
Let's adress the laptop first: The parts are definitely not worn out, but they are indeed physically incompatible. Laptop RAM is a bit smaller, so it won't fit, mobile CPUs and GPUs are soldered to the motherboard or at least use a completely different socket. So you can't really reuse anything. Except for the HDD but that's usually not worth it, since the capacity you can get in 2.5" form factor (which laptops use for obvious reasons) just pales in comparision to a 3.5" HDD. If it's an SSD I'd still just get a new one because laptop manufacturers usually just use the cheapest they can get and removing it would also mean you'd have to buy a new HDD/SSD or the laptop would be unusable.

Some "easy" stuff regarding the monitor:
If already know what IPS, Lightboost/Strobing, G-Sync/FreeSync decide which of these (or a combination of them, in that case rank them) you want. If not read up on them and then decide. Also figure out the minimum resolution you want.

If you'd like to keep it below 800$ then that's probably your budget.

The first half is ok, there's some things I'd change, the 380 is cheaper and faster than the 960, you should get 2x4GB, not 1x8GB RAM for dual channel and then there's the question regarding Lightboost and so on. But nothing too wrong.
The second half however is a complete mess.
First of all a 250GB HDD + a 120GB SSD makes no sense at all. Even logicalincrements says so, a 250GB HDD is a low budget option. For the price of a 250GB HDD (~30$) and a 120GB SSD (>40$) you can easily get a 250GB SSD (>60$), which is way faster than an HDD, or if you're going for capacity you can get a 1TB HDD for <50$. You also have to decide on models at some point.
But the biggest problem is the mobo. I mean come on, you could've at least read the name "MSI 970 GAMING DDR3 2133 ATX AMD Motherboard". Do you honestly expect DDR4 RAM to fit when it says DDR3 in the fucking name?
Even worse you're trying fit an Intel CPU, which uses an Intel socket, LGA1151 specifically, into an AMD motherboard (socket AM3+ in this case), which has never worked.

Logicalincrements works fine but not if you just randomly select parts from 5 different builds. That's why it's a fucking colour coded table. Same column, same colour = interchangeable. Get one of each column in rows of the same colour. Done. That's your build.

Since the monitor is included in your budget and takes up a fairly sizeable portion of it, you'll have to answer the question regarding it (IPS, Lightboost, G-Sync/FreeSync, resolution, size) first.

Because TF2 and i3 with the same clockrate will actually be almost as fast (~95%) as an i5. The i3-6320 got a higher clockrate than the i5-6500, so it should actually be a bit faster, while being cheaper, or you could get an i3-6100 which is almost as fast, but only a bit over half the price of the i5.
You can also get away with a far cheaper GPU in TF2, so I think 800$ might be doable.

Btw I think you're getting +fragged because you asked nicely. Don't worry, I trashtalk everyone's build first and point out what they did wrong no matter what, that doesn't mean I'm trying to insult you (if it sounds like that again) or won't help you.

I read up on each of these. Looks like IPS is one of four panel types, but the monitors I'm looking at linked in the first post of the 120Hz monitor thread are all TN. Furthermore, based on newegg's description of each type, twisted nematic seems like the best option for me - shortest response times, less power use, and I don't particularly care about viewing angles. Lightboost/strobing is about reducing motion blur, no? That's definitely a high priority for me. Lastly, G-Sync seems to be a proprietary NVidia method to prevent tearing, whereas Freesync works with other cards, albeit not as well (according to some articles). I'll admit I'm a bit lost here - especially since the monitor I found that satisfies TN and Lightboost, the ASUS VG248QE, supports neither G-Sync nor Freesync, according to reviews. Other ASUS models have something called "adaptive sync", but I honestly can't find the term sync anywhere in the description or reviews for this monitor. Is this a big problem? If this monitor is my top choice right now due to TN/Lightboost, how (if at all) should its sync method dictate my choice in a GPU?

Got it, only thing is the 380 is out of stock on newegg ATM, and I can't seem to find it on amazon. I won't be making this purchase until the end of the month, so should I just keep checking back every day? Do these things usually restock quickly?
When you say 2x4GB, does that literally mean buying two 4GB RAMs? A lot of the 4GBs on logicalincrements are DDR3, but it looks like DDR4 is superior. Assuming I get the right mobo this time, would this be a decent choice? And yea, it makes perfect sense that an Intel cpu won't pair with an AMD mobo. If I switch to the i3 6100, how's this as a mobo? It's Intel and DDR4 compatible. But perhaps I'm missing something obvious again. I'll hold off picking PSU/SSD/case for now until I'm sure I understand the monitor stuff (and because I'm on mobile).

Thanks for all the help (: