The Cohhilition

Hello Cohhilition,

in next couple months I may be building myself a first PC and I could use some help . For past 4 years I have been using multimedia laptops (I study on university and I needed a laptop), but now that I am almost done with school I want something more powerful.
I use an external monitor with my laptop and most of the time I have stream on one monitor and I do some other stuff on the other. That stuff is plating a game or I also code quite a bit (using Visual Studio, Eclipse, Atmel Studio) and also I do some graphics for my applications (mostly GYMP).

Here is something I have put together so far:

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC Mate
CPU: Intel Core i5-4590
GPU: GAINWARD GTX760 2GB DDR5
RAM: Kingston 8GB KIT DDR3 1600MHz CL10 HyperX Fury Blue Series
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1000GB
SSD: Intel 520 120GB SSD bulk
PSU: Corsair CX500M
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB
1st monitor (I already have this one): SAMSUNG T22B300, 21,5" 1920x1080
2nd monitor: 22" ASUS VS228HR

I am from Slovakia and I plan to buy parts from alza.sk (links will take you there). All together it is €857.26 and I don't really want to go any higher. I was actually thinking about getting 1TB SSHD instead of SSD and HDD to save some money, is it worth it?
My university offers free OS for its students so I will be OK for some time, but eventually I will need to buy one. I saw some Win 8.1 keys on g2a, anyone with any experience with it? Will I be able to use it in this case? Also I don't think I will be able to use OEM version of OS (It's the only one available for Win 7 which I would prefer), but correct me if I am wrong.
I haven't done any OC so far, but I am not against it (different CPU + cooler of course).

Thanks for help.

i like your stuff, to save some money change the ssd to a kingston v300,samsung evo or a crucial mx100.
i dont know about that case either, might i sugest a bitffenix neos or outlaw,
third why do youb have a optical reader, they arent needed anymore
fourth go with an amd card since they got more bang for the buck right now, a r9 280(x)b might be more expensive but peformancewise its much better, then i might recommend going with a i5 4690k for that oc in the future
thats what i would recommend

Thank you for replying!
I found BITFENIX Outlaw but it doesn't have USB3.0 on the front panel and I want that. So how about BITFENIX Shadow or Corsair 230T? (I like Shadow better but it doesn't have too many fan slots so I don't know about it's cooling capabilities)
No optical drive? I have always installed OS with CD/DVD but then almost never used it I guess... I must be getting too old for this ish
Till november they have 10% off of some NVIDIA cards so the price of 760 is little bit lower than R9 280 and 770 is cheaper than 280x.

I missed it but the BITFENIX Outlaw actualy has USB3.0 in front so I guess that'll be my case. The only thing is that the MOBO goes in upside down, is that better?

This is a list of possible GPUs

GAINWARD GTX760 2GB DDR5 - €191,71
GAINWARD GTX770 2GB DDR5 - €238,56
MSI R9 280 Gaming 3G - €204,71
ASUS R9280X-DC2T-3GD5 - €282,04

As I mentioned there is 10% off of some Nvidia cards. And with 770 I get Borderlands Pre-Sequel for free, so the 770 with that price is winning it for me so far.

Kalejin wrote:I missed it but the BITFENIX Outlaw actualy has USB3.0 in front so I guess that'll be my case. The only thing is that the MOBO goes in upside down, is that better?

oh the prices don really match the rest of the world in most parts 280x is much cheaper than 770 but since its cheaper go with that.
i buillt my first pc in one and its a really cool concept, the front fans get a straigt air tunnel to a air cooler if you should buy that in the future but just remmeber that the motherboard cut out is quite small, secondly the top two fan mounts will get you plenty of airflow if you ever decide to go with sli,

Ok thanks, I will probably go with that 770, 4690k and BITFENIX Outlaw and get 600W PSU instead. That will be more than is my budget so I think I'll drop the SSD for now and get it later.
Also the case comes with 2 fans (1 front and 1 back), do you think that I should get some more right away?

Its easier to expand with an SSD for later, so I agree thats the best spot for saving money right now.
I have the GTX 770 myself, and it gives you alot of power for an good price.
If you want more cooling, I would rather recommend to check CPU coolers. The intel coolers that comes in the box isnt all that good...
And rather check you temeratures forward. If you starting to get some heat in the case, its a cheap solution to add in a fan later on.

Great, thanks.
I was thinking about getting a CPU cooler later on when I'll do some OC, but for the start stick with stock cooler and no OC.
It'll be later on but I was looking at something like Cooler Master Hyper 212+ EVO or something from NOCTUA.

Sounds like a good idea.
Never OC with stock cooler atleast.

If you manage to save, up I would recommend this one:
http://www.alza.cz/EN/EN/the-noctua-nh-d14-d148507.htm

Have used it for my 2 last builds, an i5 2500K,
and last one i7 4770K OC to 4,6ghz and still gets no hotter that 71-73 degrees on full load over time.
But when you start OC, you need a beter cpu cooler and an exhaust fan for your case, couse it can heat up fast if you cant dispose of the hot air.