mradorable
Description
Finally retired by i5 2500 Sandy Bridge that I bought from 2011 as it was struggling to keep up with newer games. Started researching and planning for this build for 1.5 years after I bought my GTX 1060 6GB in June 2017. I wanted a build that would give me room for upgrades for maybe a RTX 2070 and a 144Hz monitor in the future. This was also the first time I built the entire computer by myself after doing a lot of reading and watching videos online.
I play games like PUBG and my FPS performance improved drastically as I used to have mini stutters especially during combat. I am also looking to maybe play BFV depending on how the reviews are as I am a little skeptical, hopefully not!
Also decided I wanted to match my white Meshify C with white RGB ram from Corsair and this led to me also buying the Corsair Lighting Node Pro with RGB strips. I wanted to control them within the app on my desktop together with my K70 mechanical keyboard that I owned. I also did not want to go overboard with the RGB so these were the only RGB components in my build.
Overall I am very pleased with my first time building a PC, my only regret was that in hindsight, I should have bought a much nicer aesthetic GTX 1060 with probably a LED back plate and with some RGB accents that would match better on the overall look of my build. I hope this small review helped someone online with their future builds!
Part Reviews
CPU
As my PC will be used purely only for gaming, I decided to go for an Intel i5 8400. Decided against going for a K chip as I did not want to overclock and spend extra money on a 8600k and Z board.
CPU Cooler
Reused from my older built, this is the original first gen H7. Its a good budget cooler and I really liked the looks of it but I personally found it very difficult to install onto the motherboard inside the case.
When building this build I found it was much easier to install it on the MB outside the case. But after building, if you want to do any minor resitting of the heat sink it does not look as easy as other CPU coolers out in the market. Not sure if the newer H7s are easier to install but although this does the job, I would recommend looking for a much easier to install air cooler.
Motherboard
My old trusty Sandy Bridge was using a Gigabyte motherboard and it lasted me for 7 years with few problems, I decided to stick with Gigabyte but had to go with a H370 board as I could not find a retailer selling the B360 board where I lived.
Paid a little more extra but I love the aesthetics of the Aorus gaming and the orange accents RGB. The board looks really premium so I am happy with paying extra even though I am not going to use the features on the H board.
Memory
I was initially wanting to go for G.SKILL rams but the new Corsair Vengeance PRO lineup looked really awesome which made me change my mind. I love the RGB patterns and also the white color lighting is really white and not the blueish kind of tint on some.
I also have a K70 keyboard and Lighting Node Pro RGB strips so I was kind of locked into the ecosystem of the desktop software to customize my RGB lighting.
Storage
Reused my old SSD, it has my OS, applications and just a few games I regularly play. I do have another 1TB HDD I still used from my previous build, but I should have got a 500GB one that would definitely make it easier for me to store more games on the SSD.
Video Card
Reused graphics card from my old built, value for money and does the job but aesthetically does not look very pleasing with no back plate.
But you get what you pay for and this is a great budget card if you do not mind sacrificing the looks. I regret not getting a much nicer card with a better cooler and back plate!
Case
Very easy to build in for a first time builder myself, had all the right velcro straps and rubber grommets that was very useful. I also wanted an ATX case that was small enough to fit on small desk so this was perfect.
I live in a hot and humid climate so I wanted an efficient air cooling build as I did not want to go towards a water cooling build. Which was why I chose the Meshify C for its efficient air cooling with its front mesh panel. For some the front mesh is not very visually pleasing but I really like the look of this case.
Power Supply
Read really good reviews of SeaSonic and the FOCUS Plus lineup. Looks sturdy and had all the necessary modular cables. I went with the 650W instead of the 550W just so I could have peace of mind of having extra headroom for any future upgrades.
Case Fan
Went with also a Noctua fan that had to be 120mm to fit with the case for exhaust.
Case Fan
I decided to go for Noctua fans (although I went with the newer black design ones) that I have heard so much about this brand and it did not disappoint me in terms of noise and cooling.
It looks good and feels very premium for fans. I also went with 2x140mm fans that would be much quieter than 3x120mm fans for intake.
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