Hi,
About to custom build, this is what I've decided to go with after careful deliberation.
I don't plan on overlocking, this is really just a CS GO, Age of Empires, Skyrim gaming rig.
I plan on upgrading in the future (especially CPU) is this a good build? Are parts compatible?
Cheers!
*Build will be my primary computer
*SSD is for boot, I already have HDD for games.
You don't necessarily have to go for 700+ watt power supply. That's not really 'future proofing', if you have no intention to ever go with dual graphics cards a 550 watt PSU is enough for most single-GPU gaming rigs.
But you really, really should buy a top-tier power supply if you want to overclock and at least a second tier one if you want it to be reliable.
Regarding the PSU that OP has chosen
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/500B/4.html
The teardown reveals it uses …. CapXon. Not Japanese-made brand like Rubycon or Nippon Chemi-con, but budget one from China.
That immediately knocks the PSU down to a Tier 3 power supply. You get what you pay for, but for $30 dollars more you can get a PSU that uses Japan-made capacitors.
Here is a list of all the PSU's subdivided by tiers
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.h…
My personal recommendation would probably be Antec High Current Gamer or EDGE series, which is not terribly expensive and belongs in the second tier.
Well I heard newer gpu will sue waaay less power
I'd really recommend at least an i3, you're spending quite a bit for you to not add in a few more dollars for an i3, also the Pentium may bottleneck the GPU. The rest looks fine.
However If you plan on upgrading in 2 years I believe the cpu socket with be changing to 1151 from 1150, so you would also require a new motherboard.
Barely any difference between Pentium and i3 except Hyperthreading, they are both Dual Core. i5 would be more future-proof for gaming.
The only other thing I would change for future-proofing is 1x8GB RAM instead of 2x4GB. Dual-Channel memory doesn't bring that much performance to the table, so only a small performance loss from the theoretical maximum to be able to get 2x8GB (16GB) or more in the future.
Really, wow I wasn't aware, in that case the Pentium should be alrite. Thanks for letting me know, I was thinking of making a budget i3 just as a secondary desk work machine, might as well save a few bucks and get a Pentium.
Yup one stick of Ram is better for the future aspects, would be a lot easier to upgrade.
As Scrim and Smeg already touched on, change the CPU to an i5 and the PSU to a better brand.
From what I remember, Silverstriders from silverstone are not bad and i think PCCG was selling one for about 89 for 500W
Perhaps get a cheaper GPU? As the games you will be playing isn't all that demanding unless you plan on playing skyrim with modded textures.
Maybe even put in an SSD later on, or if you can find one on sale? They're not essential IMHO or buy from https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/232740 since it is about $20 cheaper.
I have decided on a $1K build now.
That 250GB SSD says laptop in the title, it'll be fine for the computer, yes?
Sorry, first time building haha.
Laptop means it is a 2.5 inch drive, desktop drives are usually 3.5 inch. Most SSDs come with mounting rails to allow 25 to mount in 3.5in bays.
The case you specified includes a 2.5in bay anyway, so it will be fine.
Seeing the recommendations for better power supplies, is this just for improved long term reliability, or do the cheap ones fail destructively (i.e. fry your mobo)?
Long term durability. Top tier PSU's have a 10 year warranty — the manufacturer expects it to last that long!.
It's very likely a good power supply can be used for more than just one build — my Antec TP550 has lasted me 7 years and has been from core 2 duo to a Sandy Bridge system. Lately it's gone back to a core 2 Duo again and powering up my HTPC. Still runs silent.
It's also worth paying the extra coin for a modular unit, because non-modular high-end power supplies have a crapload of non-removable cables which are very hard to cable manage.
A pity though the shop I got it from has shut down. Who remembers 9289 and PricesEngine?
I'd probably future-proof it a bit by upgrading the PSU to something 600 or 700w, just to be sure (never cheap out on PSU!).
Also, 250gb will fill up pretty fast. I went from 60 to 256gb and I'm starting to regret it.. in hindsight I should have paid more then to save money now, I'd recommend 500gb considering their relative cheapness compared to recent times.