Advice for flexible build

[Aimless]

It's time for an upgrade. After years of resistance things have gotten to the point where we can no longer put off a major upgrade. Dead GPU:s, smoke rising from the PSU etc.

I'm looking for advice for a new build.

This is what I need:

- Case -- easy to work with (reasonable size, easy to access everything), decent PSU included.

- good PSU

- platform -- any format, AMD or intel (no preference but ease of upgrading is a plus). Reliable, flexible motherboard and an okay CPU.

- decent GPU

I'm looking for decent value, low maintenance, high flexibility and upgradeability. Bar for gaming performance is set fairly low: Hearthstone, Overwatch, Guild Wars 2, Civ 6. That said, basic VR capability is also interesting.

I'd like to buy most of the system asap, eg. in the next couple of weeks, but GPU can wait a while. Need a decent integrated GPU--at least good enough to manage Hearthstone and Overwatch.

If you'd start putting together a system today, case and all, what would you choose?

[Wraith]

Can you reuse your current graphics card? It'd probably be better than relying on integrated. A lot of motherboards don't even have integrated graphics these days, and you can save some money and have a better system if you don't bother with it.

If you're looking for value, you'll probably want AMD - they have the best price to power ratio in both CPUs and GPUs. Intel/NVidia still beats them on total power, but if you're not willing to pay for the top-of-the-line, you're better off with AMD.

[Ominous Gamer]

Biggest question is going to be price, but you can use this site here to play around with cost and performance.
https://pcpartpicker.com/

Is the go to site for the PCMasterRace groups

[Being]

Brand Recommendations

Case: Lian Li
Mother Board: ASRock
Power Supply: Corsair
Memory: GSkill
CPU: Intel I7
Graphics: Nvidia

[Ominous Gamer]

personal opinion, lian li is never worth the price premium they charge.

[Being]

personal opinion, lian li is never worth the price premium they charge.

Sounds like someone who just window shopped. I have built several computers with Lian Li. I highly recommend them.

[Ominous Gamer]

Apple is also highly recommended. Doesn't make them worth the cost.

I'm not knocking their build quality, but they largely float behind 1 or 2 flag ship models. Right now its their yacht cases and desks. Then they slap their name and price premium on "standard" cases and profit off of people buying the "cheaper" lian li when cases with the same features and quality but from less extravagant brands can be had for much less.

[Being]

Apple is also highly recommended.

Not by me.

[Aimless]

Can you reuse your current graphics card? It'd probably be better than relying on integrated. A lot of motherboards don't even have integrated graphics these days, and you can save some money and have a better system if you don't bother with it.

I was thinking of the GPUs integrated into the CPUs themselves although I figure for most purposes Intel's HD graphics should be close enough to those integrated into AMD's APUs. The reason I want something like that is in case the GPU ever gets borked. If the integrated graphics card can handle HD video and eg. Hearthstone then waiting for a new GPU won't be as much of a hassle.

If you're looking for value, you'll probably want AMD - they have the best price to power ratio in both CPUs and GPUs. Intel/NVidia still beats them on total power, but if you're not willing to pay for the top-of-the-line, you're better off with AMD.

I would have preferred to build an AM4-based system but it looks like they're going to be OEM-only for a couple of months.

Considering going with LGA 1151 and an i3 6100 for my wife's build and waiting to see what the new AMD processors are like before upgrading my desktop. Haven't decided on a GPU yet.

I'm having a hard time settling on a case but mostly looking at ITX and mATX formats for both our builds:

Corsair Obsidian 250D: http://www.corsair.com/en/obsidian-s...ni-itx-pc-case

Cooler Master HAF XB EVO: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/WT8Z...se-rc902xbkkn2

Cooler Master Elite 130: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/6wR4...case-rc130kkn1

Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/2kTr...ase-phes215pbk

Fractal Design Define Nano S: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/7d98...fdcadefnanosbk

Fractal Design Core 500: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/LvnG...-fdcacore500bk

Fractal Design Node 804: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/yTdq...fdcanode804blw

Lian Li PC-V358: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/7nW9...i-case-pcv358b

Silverstone Sugo SG13: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/dM8H...-case-sstsg13b



As for the PSU, mostly looking at ones from Corsair, eg. the RM550X: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/3zNy...ly-cp9020090na

[Ominous Gamer]

I've been using the 130 for a while now. Album from when I built it: http://imgur.com/a/jbvV2
I love it.

[Aimless]

Awesome is it reasonably easy to replace GPU, upgrade RAM etc or do you have to take the whole system apart to get at things? Question based on unpleasant experiences.

[Ominous Gamer]

The case shell is secured by 3 screws. Its the top and two side panels as one piece that wraps around the frame of the case. Once thats off the gpu can be accessed with almost no effort and nothing needs to be removed to get to it.

If you have tiny Trump hands you could change up the RAM by only removing the GPU. But I suggest getting a fully modular PSU (like you picked). With that you unplug the PSU and slide it out the back and you get top down access to the RAM and CPU.

[adair]

I have currently been quite pleased with ASUS and A-bit for their monitoring utilities and features.

[adair]

Will this help? http://pc4u.org/best-cpu-buying-guide/

[Khendraja'aro]

And, for the love of Glod, if you buy anything Samsung (like their SSds which are nice), DON'T under any circumstances install*the included software.

I did that mistake*twice and only a complete re-install got rid of the persistant BSODs and lockups.

[Ominous Gamer]

If you're still looking... My Seasonic PSU was dying so I just replaced it with an eVGA model (650 P2). I managed to rewire the entire 130 case without removing anything but the dead PSU. That includes 2 2.5" harddrives, a 3.5" harddrive, optical drive, and a gpu that required 2 6 pin connectors. Thats how much space this little box has.