Getting my first PC and needing assistance ^~^
Getting my first PC and needing assistance ^~^
Hey, I’m about to start building my first PC and I’d really appreciate your advice.
I’m planning to purchase a CPU, but I’m still unsure which one to choose. I’m considering the i5 65/600 or the 6600k. I’m not sure if the 6500 is worth the price, since it’s about $60 cheaper than the 6600k and only $30 more than the 6600. I’m not sure if that’s enough value in my country.
For the motherboard, I’m not sure whether to go for a Z170 chip just in case or if I should opt for a more affordable ASUS/GB model. Any other suggestions would be great.
it looks good.
some adjustments are recommended:
- the fans you picked are quite loud and move more air than necessary. a Noctua NF-S12A FLX 120mm / Noctua NF-S12B redux-1200 is a better choice as it provides more air without being nearly half as noisy.
a bit more affordable yet still of decent quality are the 120mm Cougar CFD D12HB fans.
the 6500 offers excellent value, while the 6600 is the top choice for gamers. The K model is only worthwhile for overclocking, but you’ll need a Z170 board which adds another 30 dollars or more. So if you can afford it, go for it; otherwise, it’s not a big issue.
the case looks nice, though you might prefer something less...striking. I’d suggest the Define R5 or the F31 suppressor instead.
for 144Hz, you might want to upgrade your GPU to a 1070, not necessarily the expensive Strix model. I see that card is struggling in GTA5 at 144Hz unless you’re not pushing all settings (it should work well in CSGO).
PCPartPicker item list
Price details by seller
Processor: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Chipset
(£177.90 on Amazon UK)
Mainboard: ASRock B150M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Board
(£52.43 on Amazon UK)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133
(£59.20 at CCL Computers)
Hard Drive: Samsung 250GB 2.5" SSD
(£57.99 on Amazon UK)
Internal Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5"
(£41.70 on Amazon UK)
Graphics: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB ARMOR OC
(£278.99 on Amazon UK)
Cooling: Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 Advanced ATX Case
(£26.99 on Novatech)
Display: BenQ XL2430T 24.0" 144Hz Monitor
(£264.93 on Amazon UK)
Protection: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W Power Supply (80+ Gold)
(£70.97 on Amazon UK)
Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 High Performance 2-Pack (62.7 CFM)
(£26.99 on Novatech)
Monitor: BenQ XL2430T 24.0" 144Hz
(£264.93 on Amazon UK)
Overall Total: £1031.10
Costs encompass shipping, taxes, and applicable discounts
Here’s a revised version of your text:
It looks good.
A few adjustments are needed:
- The fans you picked run at 35dB, which is loud and moves more air than necessary. The Noctua NF-S12A FLX 120mm / Noctua NF-S12B Redux-1200 is a better choice—it handles more air without being nearly as noisy.
- A bit more affordable yet still of good quality are the 120mm Cougar CFD D12HB fans.
- The 6500 is regarded as the best value for money, while the 6600 is currently the top choice for gamers. The K variant only makes sense if you’re overclocking, but that requires a Z170 board, which adds another 30+ dollars. So if you can afford it, go for it; otherwise, it’s not a big deal.
- The case looks nice, though you might prefer something less bulky. I’d recommend the Define R5 or the F31 suppressor if you want a cleaner look.
- For 144Hz, you might want to upgrade your GPU to something like the 1070 (not necessarily the expensive Strix model), since I see that card struggling in GTA5 at that speed unless you’re not pushing all settings (CSGO should work fine).
I know the Noctua fans are superior, but I only have CM coolers, deepcool, and Corsair fans (do you think that’s better than the others?). Also, I find the R5 to be a great case, even though it’s quite expensive in my country. I’m weighing between the Gigabyte Z170X Ultra Gaming and the ASUS Hero VIII. I’m not sure which is better, but the Gigabyte one is cheaper by 50 dollars. I’m not sure if I should pay $140 for a B150 chipset when I could get the GB one for $30 more. Since I mostly play CS:GO, I don’t really need the 1070—it’s way more than it should be.
If I decide to go with the 6600K at around 4.5GHz, will there be a noticeable difference compared to non-K models? Also, if I buy the 6600K, which cooler would you suggest? I only have CM coolers. Thanks for your advice!
I only have models like CM, Corsair (just a few from Corsair), Deepcool, Zalman, Gigabyte and Asus. So please think about this before suggesting MSI, EVGA and other good brands, since I can't find them in my country! Thanks fam.
For CSGO the 1060 should work, but in GTA V I'm not entirely confident. It might struggle at 144Hz, though if you don't require that speed, Maxsettings could still be okay. I recently read a comparison between the stock 6600 and 6600k at 4.5 GHz, which showed a slight edge of about 2% at that frequency; higher speeds might be worth considering. I personally prefer the Scythe Mugen, but if you're only using CM and Corsair, I'm a bit unsure. The CM 212 Evo seems to be popular for CPU cooling among many users.
Isokolon :
For CSGO the 1060 should work, but in GTA V I'm not entirely confident. It might struggle at 144Hz, though if you don't require that speed, the max settings could still be okay.
I just saw a comparison between the stock 6600 and the 6600k at 4.5 GHz. At that frequency they had about a 2% edge, but going higher might be worth it. I prefer the Scythe Mugen; if you're only using CPU coolers and Corsair, the CM 212 Evo is popular. The Hyper Evo seems to offer minimal overclocking potential, barely reaching 4.5; do you have any good liquid coolers in mind? Or the Corsair H55, since that's the only one they offer. Also, could the OC'ed 6600k have an edge over the 6500 in CSGO? Since CSGO uses all cores for gaming, if that's correct, it should be about 50fps faster?
I don't usually play GTA that much, but CSGO is my main focus. I've been playing it for over 4 years at 40fps, and anything above that would be a big improvement for me!
Also, what about the Z11 HF1 plus a decent case? Thanks again for your advice m8!!
a friend's ivy bridge i3 has 150+ fps on competitive 128 Tick servers, which means the difference is almost nonexistent. case is fine, but be cautious since the GPU supports up to 490mm—like the ASUS Strix wouldn't fit the case (it's 492mm long).
Isokolon :
someone I know has an ivy bridge i3 and on competitive 128 Tick servers he achieves over 150 fps, so the gap is almost nonexistent.
the situation is fine, but be cautious since the GPU supports up to 490mm—like the ASUS Strix wouldn’t fit (it’s 492mm).
oh.. the zalman has been my favorite case ever, and it’s finally available in my country. For csgo i’m aware of that, but I think it’s better to invest the 50$ in the 6600k now instead of another 200+$ in 3-4 years.
last question, should I choose the gb z170x ultra gaming or the asus hero (or ranger)?
Isokolon shared that his friend has an ivy bridge i3 and achieves over 150 fps on competitive 128 Tick servers, so the gap is minimal. The situation is fine, but caution is needed since the GPU supports up to 490mm—like the ASUS Strix wouldn’t fit (it’s 492mm). Regarding the GPU, can you remove some drives? And would you mind checking out the deepcool dukase v2?