Building a Budget-Bare-Bones-PC that I can easily upgrade in the future . .

ryan101 · 25-04-2014 3:32pm #1

Hi, I've upgraded a few PC's and laptops with new processors / memory etc., but I've never assembled a new PC from scratch.
Like most people I'm also on a tight budget, and I'd like to build my PC month by month, buying a part when I can afford it.
I'd like to initially build a bare bones PC, that is as future proof / upgradeable as possible. I know nothing is really future proof, but I hope you know what I mean.
I would guess that choosing the correct motherboard etc. is crucial in that aspect.
Thanks for the help

If you want to ask about a new PC build, please make a new thread and include as much of the following information as possible:

1. What is your budget?
- Initially just a few hundred at most, but I intend to buy a part each month, I'm not in a big hurry

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer?
- A bit of everything and anything really.
- I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I would like to be able to buy the latest big release now and then and playing it for a while if I want to.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows?
- Probably not, I like Linux a lot, but I also like staying in touch with what windows is up to, and the in's and outs of maintaining that release.

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?
- Not really, most of my stuff is too old

5. Do you need a monitor?
- Later on I intend to buy a kick ass large monitor, and I'd also like the facility of being able to support multiple monitors if the need ever arises in a year or two, for work tasks etc.

5a. If yes, what size do you need.
- I like em big

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]
- yeah I probably intend getting really cool ones along the way, but right away, no.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking?
- Probably not

8. How can you pay?
Monthly !

9. When are you purchasing?
One bit at a time, each month

10. I'm based in Galway at the mo, but based on my upgrading endeavours and escapades in the past, I should manage the build myself.

Cheers all.

Lu Tze · 25-04-2014 4:13pm

ryan101 wrote: »

1. What is your budget?
- Initially just a few hundred at most, but I intend to buy a part each month, I'm not in a big hurry

Generally speaking you are better off just saving and buying in one go, aside from the savings potential on shipping all together, you will likely get more bang for your buck down the line, as new series of gpus/cpus/sockets etc. are launched in between your individual purchases

Just something to consider

ryan101 · 25-04-2014 4:48pm

TBH, I'm not waiting a year to save up to start my build, if I get it started I might be able to buy a part more often than each month, and I like to see how it goes and take my time picking and deliberating the pro's and cons of each piece of hardware. I'm not in a big hurry. A bare bones, but very upgradeable system is what I'm aiming for first, and then I'll take it from there.

To avoid any confusion, though I do enjoy the odd bit of gaming, this is not a gaming project as such.

This is far more of a careful long term rolling hardware and software learning project for me than anything else, and I want to learn as much as possible in detail about each piece of hardware and software that I can along the way.

I've got an older desktop and reasonable laptop to keep me going fine. To give you an idea, I'll probably be putting on Arch Linux and building that bit by bit as I go along as well.

Anyway, at this stage I'm more interested in part recommendations to kick start planning the project, I can work around it if better parts are then available when I go to buy.

The key criteria is having a very upgradeable system.

..Brian.. · 25-04-2014 5:13pm

Without going in specific brands and models I'd purchase in the below order.

Case
PSU
HDD
SSD

These will last you donkies and there is no real reason to change them.

Next I would look at;

Mobo
CPU
RAM

You're now ready to rock. You should easily be able to squeeze 3 - 5 years out of a good overclockable CPU and MOBO and that's probably being conservative.

Lastly I would get a GPU.

You should expect maybe 2 years if you want to stay on top of the newest graphically intensive games and apps.

You're not in a rush, shop smart. If I were you, I would choose a case and psu now and keep an eye on Amazon for deals. Free shipping voids the buying all in one go for shipping costs argument. The biggest issue is items that are DOA. If your PSU arrives dead and you don't find out till you try power up the rest of your system 4 months later, you'll have to RMA via the manufacturer instead the seller. Not necessarily a bad thing but maybe just a little more of lengthly process.

Good luck with the project!

ryan101 · 25-04-2014 5:20pm

Cheers Brian, you're on my wavelength, that's the kind of advice I'm after !

Excellent idea about the SDD before the CPU, I could easily Gerry rig one to another machine with a SATA to USB connector and start working on building the Arch Linux OS for it. Very Cool.

ryan101 · 26-04-2014 2:40pm

Anyone got good suggestions for a case, PSU and SSD, or any other components ?

DERPY DERPFACE · 26-04-2014 4:13pm

How much storage do you want for the hdd and ssd? Case would be your opinion an how much do you want to spend on each.

Lu Tze · 26-04-2014 6:07pm

ryan101 wrote: »

Anyone got good suggestions for a case, PSU and SSD, or any other components ?

DERPY DERPFACE wrote: »

How much storage do you want for the hdd and ssd? Case would be your opinion an how much do you want to spend on each.

Yeah your budget will decide a lot of this but some other considerations you might consider are

Case
Are you going to be overclocking and need many fan mounts?
does it need to be very quiet, does the noise from high RPM fans bother you?
What form factor are you planning for the motherboard? ATX, M-ATX etc.
How many hard drives do you expect will be mounted
Are you planning on watercooling down the line?

Some frequently recommended brands on here are corsair, bitfenix, fractal design, nanoxia (sp?) lian li, silverstone

SSD
Mainly depends on budget and space requirements for installed software (assuming you will have a standard hard drive for file storage).

Main recommended brands tend to be crucial and samsung. I wouldnt but too much stock in the differences in read/write speeds for normal useto be honest, which ever is cheaper. The biggest difference with the SSD is the ~0 seek times. Might make a difference if for databases etc. with frequent/substantial reads and writes

PSU

Better off going with a branded PSU, though the quality of the various lines even from the big names can vary quite dramatically i.e. coolermaster supply silent PSU are rated quite highly(or used to be, havent kept that up to date) where as some of there cheaper ranges are not.

Consider what you plan for your build to get an idea of the power you require

Single GPU system ~ 500W
Sli/Xfire ~ 700+W

so it depends on what you plan for your system (similar to case above)

The better PSUs generally have better efficiency ratings (80-90+, should be noted on any PSU listings), and the key criteria is the amps on the 12V rail(s), as this powers the components with the highest power draw.

Other than that, some PSUs are modular or semi modular, so you only use the cables you need, allowing better cable management, and you wont hav unused cables hangin about inside the case

Generally the better brands are corsair seasonic and certain ranges of amazon, be quiet, xfx and others. Wi

yawhat! · 27-04-2014 8:13am

It really depends on your budget. You could go for a i5-4440 or an overclockable i5-4670k with a 212 cooler if you plan on overclocking.

Case same thing, you could go for a 50 euro case like the 200r or a fancier one or even a cheaper one.

Power supply for a single card a 500w is fine.

SSD is usually this one people pick and this hard drive

You can build a good gaming pc for 450 with an i3/fx 6300 and a r9 270 or a gtx 760 for 500. Again it depends on your budget!

ryan101 · 27-04-2014 11:44am

Lu Tze wrote: »

Yeah your budget will decide a lot of this but some other considerations you might consider are

Case
Are you going to be overclocking and need many fan mounts?
- No

does it need to be very quiet, does the noise from high RPM fans bother you?
- I like it quite

What form factor are you planning for the motherboard? ATX, M-ATX etc.
- Probably M-ATX, I like them resonably compact, but able to work on them and upgrde

How many hard drives do you expect will be mounted
- Just one SSD, and perhaps a HD, but maybe not, I don't need a lot of data storage.
The most I've ever needed is 120 GB

Are you planning on watercooling down the line?
- No, can't see any advantages, as I'm not really into overclocking

Some frequently recommended brands on here are corsair, bitfenix, fractal design, nanoxia (sp?) lian li, silverstone
- Great, given the above, what case would you recommend ?

And Cheers to everyone for the advice so far and any more advice / opinion

yawhat! · 27-04-2014 12:17pm

Item|Price
ASRock H87 Pro4, Sockel 1150, ATX|€66.45
WD Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€49.80
8GB G.Skill Aegis DDR3-1333, CL9-9-9-24|€60.64
Corsair Carbide Series 200R, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€51.04
Samsung SSD 840 EVO Basic 120GB SATA 6Gb/s|€69.99
Corsair CX Series Modular CX500M, 500W|€57.76
Gainward GeForce GTX 760, 2GB DDR5|€207.82
Intel Core i5-4440 Box, LGA1150|€155.99
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€738.48

Good setup there, again it all depends on your budget! An R9 290 and a Xeon and a better case would be the next step up really!

ryan101 · 27-04-2014 12:21pm

Some good food for thought there.

yawhat! · 27-04-2014 12:27pm

ryan101 · 27-04-2014 3:42pm

I'm looking for a quite case, with a clear side panel, not too big, but room to work at, not too flimsy, and looks good, any recommendations ?

seraphimvc · 28-04-2014 12:17am

Yes, choose a casing that you like first.

There are quite some casing with side panel window out there, you should look around on google. This one looks reasonable priced:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/nzxt-lexa-s-black-mid-tower-performance-gaming-case-with-side-window-with-usb-30-w-o-psu

Building a Budget-Bare-Bones-PC that I can easily upgrade in the future . .

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