Zeruel's ULTIMATE Gaming PC Build Guide Thread [2015]

[TeRRoR]

I have a intel i5 4210u, what does the U mean?

[ZerueLX11]

I have a intel i5 4210u, what does the U mean?

The U is for "Ultra low voltage". It's a notebook processor.

[Synyster]

I have a intel i5 4210u, what does the U mean?

It also means it's dual core and meant for laptops.

[Synyster]

@@ZerueLX11

 

Do you want to try and build the ultimate portable PC? I was thinking about it the other day, and I thought it would be really cool to have a portable PC that's not bottled by beinga  laptop. I built one the other day and I think I got it to around $600.

[ZerueLX11]

@@ZerueLX11

 

Do you want to try and build the ultimate portable PC? I was thinking about it the other day, and I thought it would be really cool to have a portable PC that's not bottled by beinga  laptop. I built one the other day and I think I got it to around $600.

 

@Synyster 

 

That sounds like a good idea! 

 

A small 1080p 60fps machine sounds good, I love handles on small builds since it makes it that much more portable. 

[Synyster]

@Synyster 

 

That sounds like a good idea! 

 

A small 1080p 60fps machine sounds good, I love handles on small builds since it makes it that much more portable. 

While also being as cheap as possible.

 

I remember 4chan tirelessly trying to create a machine that's on par with a console, but consoles are flawed from the beginning so it's not even really possible.

 

We should both come up with a basic build and then merg them.

[ZerueLX11]

While also being as cheap as possible.

 

I remember 4chan tirelessly trying to create a machine that's on par with a console, but consoles are flawed from the beginning so it's not even really possible.

 

We should both come up with a basic build and then merg them.

 

Console priced PCs are tough, they were easier to make and more justifiable when both the Xbox and PS4 were $500. MS and SONY barely break even on the hardware side of things, however they have the advantage of a free OS. On the downside is all games cost $60( MS and SONY make there money back here ) and Xbox Live fees, which PC does not have.  

[Synyster]

Console priced PCs are tough, they were easier to make and more justifiable when both the Xbox and PS4 were $500. MS and SONY barely break even on the hardware side of things, however they have the advantage of a free OS. On the downside is all games cost $60( MS and SONY make there money back here ) and Xbox Live fees, which PC does not have.  

Plus, ordering millions of each piece of hardware reduces the cost drastically, too.

[ZerueLX11]

@@Synyster

 

Here is a PC that PERFORMS just like a console

 

 

Xbox One/PS4 - $350/$450

 

CPU: 8 core Jaguar @ 1.6 - 1.75GHz

GPU: 850Mhz  768 shaders( XB1 ) / 800Mhz 1152 gpu cores (PS4)

RAM: 2133 RAM

 

The Xbox PC

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD 5150 1.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($50.98 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-AM1M-S2P Micro ATX AM1 Motherboard  ($27.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Toshiba  500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260 1GB Video Card  ($102.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Rosewill FB-03 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Logisys 480W ATX Power Supply  ($22.98 @ Newegg) 

Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Combo MK270 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($22.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $358.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-11 01:33 EST-0500

 

*$348 no shipping

 

The PS4 PC

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD 5150 1.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($50.98 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-AM1M-S2P Micro ATX AM1 Motherboard  ($27.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Toshiba  500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 270 2GB IceQ X² Video Card  ($151.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Rosewill FB-03 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Logisys 480W ATX Power Supply  ($22.98 @ Newegg) 

Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Combo MK270 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($22.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $407.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-11 01:36 EST-0500

 

*$398 no shipping

 

 

 

 

Now this is funny these PCs come some what close in regards to performance. The Kabini 5150 is the same "jaguar"  CPU but only 4 cores. Also its not hard to figure out what GPU the consoles are using by looking at the shaders/stream processors/ gpu processors its actually all the same thing. The xbox has a r7 260 and the PS4 has a r9 270( 1154 vs 1280 I'll give SONY some credit here ).

 

The BIGGEST FLAW is the CPU, they really fucked up.

 

Look how badly the 4 core 5150 bottlenecks a gtx 770

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8067/amd-am1-kabini-part-2-athlon-53505150-and-sempron-38502650-tested/9

 

 

 

They are lucky to have cores dedicated strictly to the OS with the 8 core 5150 hybrid CPU.

 

Factor in some these cores are STRICTLY 'game' only, its a miracle they got these stats...

 

http://www.ign.com/wikis/xbox-one/PS4_vs._Xbox_One_Native_Resolutions_and_Framerates

[Synyster]

@Zeruel

 

That was quick, ha.

 

I'm gonna take my stab at today, but instead of building a computer that matches either console, I'm going to find the better of the two and combined them. I'm also going to look at form factor in being as small and portable as possible while getting the best performance I can get. Also, we should find a monitor too, probably something around the 21" range.

 

First I'll break down each component and see what is the best.

 

CPU: Now, this is where I don't really know which way to go. Because on one hand you can get a cheap AMD quad core, however, although I want to build cheap I also want to get the best componenet I can get too. I'm thinking of getting an i3 dual core considereing games don't use more than one core, it'll be a tiny bit more expensive but then I also run into the issue of the i3 not being powerfull enough. So, not entirely sure what to do here. I mean, do we build it so we can upgrade it down the road or do we just do it one time and let it die?

 

Motherboard: Any micro ATX, nothing too fancy, I'm pretty sure we'll only be connecting a GPU, a hard drive and an optical drive.

 

Memory: Any 8gb will do, might go for low profile RAM, might be a tid more expensive but the less clutter and more space for air flow would probably be a good idea.

 

Storage: The Toshiba you chose is perfect, however, I think I'd rather have the WD green for $10 especially considering it's a 1TB, so, you could potentially re-use it down the road. And I was also thinking, what if we did this so all we did was swap our drives? So, we'd have our main drive on our tower and then we just use that when we want to be on the go or attend a LAN? Might be kind of a cool idea and potentially use or save the extra $50.

 

Video Card: This one is tricky too, because the way I want to do it, is that I want the case and form factor to be tiny and portable, so, that doesn't leave much room for a dual fan GPU or a higher end GPU. I was looking at some single fan GPU's but then I run into the issue of not being powerful enough to get great performance.

 

Case: The case you chose is great only for the price, in my opinion. I want to find something easily portable yet spaceious.

 

Power Supply: Part of me says don't get any power supply, but then the other part says we're building cheap, not perfect.

 

Keyboard/Mouse: Any basic combo like you chose would do just fine.

 

Monitor: Probably just a cheap TN panel would be the best.

 

Audio/Headset/Speakers: This is probably best left up to indiviually wanting something like this, but it doesn't hurt to add it in, I guess.

[ZerueLX11]

@@Synyster

 

 

Best I can do...

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($81.98 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI A68HM-E33 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($51.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($61.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card  ($155.38 @ Newegg) 

Case: DIYPC FM18-BK ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Antec Basiq 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($47.98 @ Newegg) 

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator - OEM Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $512.28

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-11 14:10 EST-0500

 

CPU: 860k is 4 core and has better IPC than the 8350, steam roller is better than pile driver

Motherboard: $50 cheap, 6gbs, and usb 3.0. Also the A68HM chipset the newest chipset for FM2+

Memory: Cheap 8GB

Storage: 1TB 7200RPM, better than the greens 5400RPM.

GPU: 265 is pretty damn good for the price, 1080p 60fps on Medium or with a few tweaks.

Case: Cheap comes with front and back fans for good cooling!

PSU: Antec, Over %80 good reviews which is a miracle for cheapy power supplies. You can't cheap out here...  

Keyboard/Mouse: $30 dollar combo, its blue!

 

 

The actual base price is $499, I opted out of a optical drive because we have USB. Also it uses the stock AMD cooler, it shouldn't matter too much as long as the air flow is good.

 

 

For the monitor I chose the Asus VE228H 21.5" 1080p 60Hz $135

 

That leaves us with $635

 

Throw in a cheapy headset Cyber Acoustics AC-400MV...

 

$650

[Synyster]

**CPU** | [AMD A4-6300 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-ad6300okhlbox) | $31.99 @ SuperBiiz
**CPU Cooler** | [Thermaltake Gravity A1 31.8 CFM CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/thermaltake-cpu-cooler-clp009al09wta) | $12.05 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [Asus A78M-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-a78me) | $37.98 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cml8gx3m2a1600c9) | $77.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $49.88 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [Asus Radeon R9 270 2GB DirectCU II Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-r9270dc2oc2gd5) | $140.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Case** | [Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-nse200kkn1) | $34.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [seaSonic 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss400etbronze) | $39.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $14.99 @ SuperBiiz
 | | **Total**
 | Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $440.85
 

 

Without any discounts it's around $500.

 

I was going to add a monitor and keyboard / mice, but then I got to thinking that the person using this could just use the peripherals they already have or just choose to buy whatever one they want.

 

Also, I'm giving up on trying to get a cheap intel chip in there, it just ends up being too expensive.

[Synyster]

I think I want to build a computer for a TV and just get rid of cable. Not entirely sure what I'll do but I've got a few options.

 

Build a small, inexpensive computer that's only hooked up the TV.

Buy an inexpensive laptop that's only hooked up to the TV.

Invest into something like a Google Chromecast or similar.

Maybe something like a barebone, mini system.

 

Not entirely sure what I'll do, but the plan is to just use things like Hulu, Netflix, HBO Go, Popcorn time, torrentz and youtube instead of cable.

[ZerueLX11]

I think I want to build a computer for a TV and just get rid of cable. Not entirely sure what I'll do but I've got a few options.

 

Build a small, inexpensive computer that's only hooked up the TV.

Buy an inexpensive laptop that's only hooked up to the TV.

Invest into something like a Google Chromecast or similar.

Maybe something like a barebone, mini system.

 

Not entirely sure what I'll do, but the plan is to just use things like Hulu, Netflix, HBO Go, Popcorn time, torrentz and youtube instead of cable.

 

Oh so like a HTPC? I've always wanted to build one for when something like google fibre comes into town.

[Synyster]

Oh so like a HTPC? I've always wanted to build one for when something like google fibre comes into town.

Yeah, I think something like an Intel Nuc or Gigabyte Brix might be the best route. Not entirely sure what the best option is though.

 

Basically, I just want it to be able to stream 1080p and 60fps with ease for years to come.

[ZerueLX11]

Yeah, I think something like an Intel Nuc or Gigabyte Brix might be the best route. Not entirely sure what the best option is though.

 

Basically, I just want it to be able to stream 1080p and 60fps with ease for years to come.

 

A good processor would help decoding those streams. An SSD would really make it snappy as well, if you want to save your videos then you could have externals HDD or if you are on the same network access your desktop and save content on there. 

 

The NUCs and Brix options are very good for the task.

 

Another route is building one yourself but that could be overkill.

[Synyster]

A good processor would help decoding those streams. An SSD would really make it snappy as well, if you want to save your videos then you could have externals HDD or if you are on the same network access your desktop and save content on there. 

 

The NUCs and Brix options are very good for the task.

 

Another route is building one yourself but that could be overkill.

I think if I were to build it, I'd end up with something like the ones we built, which is a tad bit more than I think  I want to spend.

 

the Nuc's and Brix style of tiny PC that can stream shows sounds great to me, plus I just love the size.

[Synyster]

I just found out about a Roku... Looks like a Nuc is out of the picture.

[TeRRoR]

Would it be smart to buy a external SSD for my XB1?

 

Do you think load times would be increased enough to out way the price?

[Synyster]

Would it be smart to buy a external SSD for my XB1?

 

Do you think load times would be increased enough to out way the price?

Not really, console games aren't that demanding to being with, you'd basically only be saving your self a few seconds here and there.

[ZerueLX11]

Would it be smart to buy a external SSD for my XB1?

 

Do you think load times would be increased enough to out way the price?

 

SSDs are rated for 6.0 Gigabits per a second( Gbs ) ,HOWEVER, the motherboard on the Xbox One and PS4 has a limited SATA interface of 3.0 Gigabits per a second. This causes a bottleneck so even the most powerful $1000 1TB SSD won't be FULLY utilized by any console. 

[TeRRoR]

why arent ssd's in console to begin with?

[Synyster]

why arent ssd's in console to begin with?

They cost about $0.50 - 1.00 per-gigabyte. 

 

I think a regular HDD is like .10 cents give or take, and even cheaper when you mass order. 

[ZerueLX11]

why arent ssd's in console to begin with?

Do you want $700 consoles? Lol

[Roti]

I don't have what is considered a beast gaming PC to peoples standards but I would still like to assume is on par with a 360 and some next gen games. I use it to run games like LoL, counter Strike, Diablo and the occasional Guild wars/Skyrim.

 

My CPU is a Amd FX 8120

GFX: Radeon hd 7850 1gb

PSU:  700 Watt ATX No name brand psu (hear a lot of bad things about it but have no problem since 2013)

MOBO: MSI 760 GM-P23

I bought this pre-made off of newegg

 

I've been looking to make some upgrades because the stock cooler for my CPU is just insanely loud. As if it runs like a jet. I was looking into getting the CM Hyper Evo 212 but was wondering if anyone has any other good cheap recommendations for a heatsink to replace my stock one. I have not actually measured the space in my case for an aftermarket cooler but judging by the case i seem to have space. Any advice on how to measure it appropriately? Totally new to this stuff

 

My friend was telling me to go ahead and upgrade the PSU as well to be safe but I'm not sure what to settle on. I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations to help me run things smoothly as well.

 

I'd say I have about $100 budget for the heatsink fan/psu upgrade. Everything else seems to be great for now or doesn't look like it needs immediate attention, but my main concern is shutting my noisy ass computer up while i game.