Office And Light Gaming Build

[Damocles]

Hello everyone,

I am building a PC for my aunt. It will be used mostly for office work (word, outlook), watching movies, internet and occasional light gaming. Her budget is around 700€. Here are the components I will pick:

CPU: Intel Core i3 6100 (I hope fan cooler is also included)
MOBO: ASUS H110-PLUS, Intel H110 Mainboard - S1151
RAM: DDR4 8GB PC 2133 CL15 G.Skill KIT (2x4GB) Ripjaws V F4-2133C15D-8GVR
SSD: CRUCIAL MX300 275GB 2.5" SATA3 3D TLC, 7mm, CT275MX300SSD1
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 SSC ACX 2.0, 2048 MB GDDR5, 02G-P4-2957-KR
Optical Reader/Writer: LG GH24NSD1 SATA DVD-RW black BULK
PSU: Corsair Vengeance Series V550M - 550W CP-9020111-DE
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R Midi-Tower - black

Price: around 670€

What do you think? Is it good or should I change anything?

 

[P4-630]

Asrock boards may be as good as Asus and mostly a little cheaper afaik.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Yes, the cooler is included with that i3 which has more than enough horsepower for "office work (word, outlook), watching movies, internet" but depending on what is meant by "light" gaming, an i5 may be a better choice. And an i5 with internal graphics like the Intel Core i5-6500 6MB Skylake Quad-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 1151 (which also comes with a fully capable OEM cooler) is easily capable for lots of "light" gaming so you won't need that graphics card saving more than enough money to pay for the better i5. And without a card, you will not need a 550W supply either. A nice 400W will be plenty.

Note that case, while capable will be cavernous with a tiny mini-ITX board and SSD inside.

The only other thing is I don't see an OS listed. Understand new computers generally need "new" Windows licenses. OEM licenses that were purchased for or came with other computers are NOT "legally" transferable to new computers under any circumstances. That includes W10 that was upgraded for free from W7 or W8 computers - it is not legally transferable.

 

[Damocles]

Yes, the cooler is included with that i3 which has more than enough horsepower for "office work (word, outlook), watching movies, internet" but depending on what is meant by "light" gaming, an i5 may be a better choice. And an i5 with internal graphics like the Intel Core i5-6500 6MB Skylake Quad-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 1151 (which also comes with a fully capable OEM cooler) is easily capable for lots of "light" gaming so you won't need that graphics card saving more than enough money to pay for the better i5. And without a card, you will not need a 550W supply either. A nice 400W will be plenty.

Note that case, while capable will be cavernous with a tiny mini-ITX board and SSD inside.

The only other thing is I don't see an OS listed. Understand new computers generally need "new" Windows licenses. OEM licenses that were purchased for or came with other computers are NOT "legally" transferable to new computers under any circumstances. That includes W10 that was upgraded for free from W7 or W8 computers - it is not legally transferable.

By light gaming I mean Civ V, EU IV, maybe older shooter games like battlefield bad company 2, bioshock infinite, far cry 2 and so on...

OS will be Windows 10. I already have that so I didn't list it.

As for the CPU I picked i3 because as far as I know this is a very good CPU for almost all games, even the demanding games like GTA V or Witcher 3. She will probably play that too and for that you need a dedicated graphics card. That's why I picked an i3. And the board is not mini-ITX, it's an ATX.

Asrock boards may be as good as Asus and mostly a little cheaper afaik.

I am not a fan of ASrock products.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Sorry, there are several H110M-PLUS models, including ITX and µATX.

You are right that the i3 is a good CPU for most games. But the i5 is better is all regards. And with the i5 and its capable graphics solution, she won't need the graphics card. Whoever told you you need a dedicated card is wrong. It is just not true. If it was, that would prevent most notebook owners from playing that game.

That said, you said "light" gaming and now you are talking about GTA 5 - which is not "light". So which is it? For sure, a good card with its own RAM would be better with demanding games.

 

[slozomby]

the intel hd520 in the i5-6600k performs roughly the same as an NVidia 630 or a radeon 4810. its fine for games like civ v, but for any shooters i'd still go discreet. if you're looking to shave a little off the cost the amd460 might be considered as well.

given a choice between an i3 6100 with an amd 460/NVidia 950 and an i5-6600 without i'd pick the i3. . you wont see much difference in office. but you'll see a lot of difference in gaming.

 

[Damocles]

This will probably sound a little stupid, but you can consider GTA V to be "light" gaming. As far as I can tell this game was designed to run on a variety of hardware, so if you put everything on Normal or High this game should run like butter on GTX 950 and i3 6100. This can't be said for integrated graphics though.

I created this post for you to tell me if some components are not compatible with one or the other. I'm sorry it did not state this more clearly

 

[Frick]

Looks just fine.

BTW, tell her to try Stellaris, if she hasn't.

 

[Bill_Bright]

This will probably sound a little stupid, but you can consider GTA V to be "light" gaming. As far as I can tell this game was designed to run on a variety of hardware,

It is NOT stupid at all! But note that really applies to just about every "demanding" game out there. Game developers (and their bean counters) are very aware that most gamers don't have the budgets for $2000+ game machines with a $300 or $400+ graphics card - or two cards!

So all games are designed to provide good "game play" on lessor systems. They use less detailed backgrounds, fewer independent "objects" and other toggled down features to narrow the focus and reduce demands on system resources and cooling so the game will still work and [hopefully] still be entertaining.

I created this post for you to tell me if some components are not compatible with one or the other.

I don't see any compatibility issues.

 

[peche]

what about this,
getting the prices from german stores...

Base Total: €647.71
Shipping: €31.96
Total: €679.67

Regards,

 

[Damocles]

what about this,
getting the prices from german stores...
View attachment 78716
Base Total: €647.71
Shipping: €31.96
Total: €679.67

Regards,

Thanks for your suggestion, but your build is the exact opposite of what I want. I've already stated I don't need an i5. 1TB HDD is a complete overkill for her and lets face it, HDD are slow as hell. She want's speed not capacity. (Off topic: If this MOBO would have supported M2 SSD I would have gotten that instead.)
As for the GPU, I don't like AMD and this particular card is way too expensive. She has a budget of 670€. GTX 950 only costs around 150€.
PC case.................already got it.
And for the PSU, I only buy Corsair or Seasonic.

For a reference:

If you believe this video, than an i3 might just be overkill?

 

[peche]

Thanks for your suggestion, but your build is the exact opposite of what I want. I've already stated I don't need an i5. 1TB HDD is a complete overkill for her and lets face it, HDD are slow as hell. She want's speed not capacity. (Off topic: If this MOBO would have supported M2 SSD I would have gotten that instead.)
As for the GPU, I don't like AMD and this particular card is way too expensive. She has a budget of 670€. GTX 950 only costs around 150€.
PC case.................already got it.
And for the PSU, I only buy Corsair or Seasonic.

well what about this?

Base Total: €574.47
Shipping: €15.98
Total: €590.45

Does OS is necessary to be listed on that €670?

Regards,

 

[kurosagi01]

well what about this?
View attachment 78749

Base Total: €574.47
Shipping: €15.98
Total: €590.45

Does OS is necessary to be listed on that €670?

Regards,

For few € more you could probably throw in a GTX1060 which will blow the GTX950/960 away and since OP prefer Nvidia its as good or better than the RX480 and cost roughly the same or little bit more.

 

[Damocles]

well what about this?
View attachment 78749

Base Total: €574.47
Shipping: €15.98
Total: €590.45

Does OS is necessary to be listed on that €670?

Regards,

Way better. The only problem is the PSU which is not modular. I am a cable management freak so this PSU is a no go.

And I don't like ASrock motherboards.

 

[peche]

Way better. The only problem is the PSU which is not modular. I am a cable management freak so this PSU is a no go.

And I don't like ASrock motherboards.

any ideas?
modular psu are way expensive for such a tight budget you have, also the same for other boards, did the list bassed on a pretty tight peny.

Regards,

 

[BirdyNV]

well what about this?
View attachment 78749

Base Total: €574.47
Shipping: €15.98
Total: €590.45

Does OS is necessary to be listed on that €670?

Regards,

1333Mhz RAM?

 

[Bill_Bright]

For few € more

That's always the case.

As for ASRock, while not my preferred brand, we've done many builds with ASRock. They all have been well made with good caps and quality soldering, easy to setup, and most importantly they worked. So what's not to like?

As for modular vs non-modular, frankly, modular is a marketing gimmick! Yes, they make for a tidier case, but with a decent case and smart planning and a few tie wraps, you can have great and tidy cable management with a wired supply. In fact, I think it is a point of pride to have a good looking case interior with good, tied back cable management.

There are many problems with modular supplies. First, there is no industry standard! This means you cannot take a cable from a Seasonic supply and use it on a Corsair supply and be certain of total compatibility. If you have multiple computers, you have to deal with storing and keeping separate the unused cables in a safe place, potentially for years! I have 6 computers here. Imagine if you have more than that you are responsible for.

Lastly, with a modular supply, there are additional connectors and more soldering points with those extra connectors in each cable. These are all additonal potential points of failure (and added resistance at each junction) not present in wired supplies.

I believe the only reason modular supplies are being pushed by PSU marketing people is because the automated production process is easier (thus cheaper and less troublesome for them) with supplies that don't have a large, unruly wire harness sticking out each one as it rolls down the assembly line.

 

[peche]

1333Mhz RAM?

yes, motherboard supports DDR3 memory lad...

That's always the case.

As for ASRock, while not my preferred brand, we've done many builds with ASRock. They all have been well made with good caps and quality soldering, easy to setup, and most importantly they worked. So what's not to like?

As for modular vs non-modular, frankly, modular is a marketing gimmick! Yes, they make for a tidier case, but with a decent case and smart planning and a few tie wraps, you can have great and tidy cable management with a wired supply. In fact, I think it is a point of pride to have a good looking case interior with good, tied back cable management.

There are many problems with modular supplies. First, there is no industry standard! This means you cannot take a cable from a Seasonic supply and use it on a Corsair supply and be certain of total compatibility. If you have multiple computers, you have to deal with storing and keeping separate the unused cables in a safe place, potentially for years! I have 6 computers here. Imagine if you have more than that you are responsible for.

Lastly, with a modular supply, there are additional connectors and more soldering points with those extra connectors in each cable. These are all additonal potential points of failure (and added resistance at each junction) not present in wired supplies.

I believe the only reason modular supplies are being pushed by PSU marketing people is because the automated production process is easier (thus cheaper and less troublesome for them) with supplies that don't have a large, unruly wire harness sticking out each one as it rolls down the assembly line.

Quite Great points,!

 

[BirdyNV]

yes, motherboard supports DDR3 memory lad...


Quite Great points,!

Yes I know it supports DDR3. (not stupid). But why 1333 over 1600?

 

[alucasa]

I'd like to mention a possibility of using refurbished components. Not for everything but for some like GPU. Refurbished GPU tends to be a lot cheaper. You just need to pick a reliable retailer.

 

[peche]

Yes I know it supports DDR3. (not stupid). But why 1333 over 1600?

picked all parts according a limited budget... picked the memory because of price and a quality, speed does not make a notable difference

 

[BirdyNV]

picked all parts according a limited budget... picked the memory because of price and a quality, speed does not make a notable difference

Just asking because you can find a non X Ripjaws series 1600 Mhz 2x4GB for 34.99 USD. (converts cheaper, cant remember conversion)

 

[peche]

Just asking because you can find a non X Ripjaws series 1600 Mhz 2x4GB for 34.99 USD. (converts cheaper, cant remember conversion)

i've posted what was available at that moment on PCpartpicker...

Regards,

 

[thebluebumblebee]

There's nothing wrong with the build, but I have some suggestions to, IMHO, make it better:

• You list a 550 watt PSU, but you have a 51 watt CPU and a GPU that pulls 120 watts at the max. In other words, your system will pull under 200 watts at maximum load, which it sounds like will be rarely. PSU's are most efficient between 50-80%, and even at max load, this system won't reach 50%. Suggest a PSU 400 watts or less, like the Seasonic G-360.
• RAM's really cheap. Suggest getting 16 GB instead.