Budget PC build under $5k?

Christian Torres3 said:Look, I get it, I'm being biased because I had a nightmare experience with this drive myself. But if anyone's thinking about buying it, they should definitely go in knowing there's a much higher chance it'll just quit on them.

That's a fair point, no argument there. Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I'd probably be asking for an upgrade to a different SSD model during the RMA process if they'd let me pay the difference.

Hey everyone,

I’m not going to start a whole new thread just to vent again, so I'll just drop this here and ask for some help. A buddy of mine is putting together a new build and asked if I could pick your brains. It's pretty similar to my own setup, but why guess when we can just ask?

Motherboard: ASUS H81M-A (LGA 1150, DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA III, LAN, DVI/VGA/HDMI) mATX
GPU: SAPPHIRE NITRO R9 380X 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E DUAL-X OC W/BP (UEFI)
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K LGA 1150
RAM: Kingston DDR3 HyperX Savage, 2400MHz, XMP, 4GB, CL11 x2
HDD: Toshiba P300 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance

Here’s the kicker: what kind of PSU should we pair with this, and any suggestions for a case? Also, I'd love some general feedback on the build itself. Can we do better? Is there anything else we're missing (we don't need an optical drive)? Should we invest in extra cooling fans right away? We're pretty much rookies at this, so we really need your guidance. Thanks! 🙂

P.S. He's planning to grab everything from Micro Center, so if you have recommendations from their stock, please let me know.

Expensive RAM paired with a locked motherboard and an overclockable CPU? That's a weird combo. 😛

1 x Intel Core i5-4460 (3.2GHz, 6MB, LGA1150) box
1 x ASR B85M-DGS (Socket 1150, DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA III, DVI/VGA)
1 x KINGSTON ValueRAM DDR3 (8GB, 1600MHz (PC3-12800)) CL11, Retail
1 x Toshiba P300 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x SAPPHIRE NITRO R9 380X 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E DUAL-X OC W/BP (UEFI)
1 x Zalman Z1, USB3.0 black, 2x120mm
1 x Fortron Hyper M 500W, 80+, modular - 60mj.

Total: $1718

To be honest, I don't think he's going to mess around with overclocking, but this seems like the better way to go.
His current RAM runs at 2400MHz, while the one being suggested is only 1600. Is that a massive gap? And if it is, what are we actually looking at? 😁I figured he picked that motherboard just because of the HDMI port, but whatever, it shouldn't be a dealbreaker. Thanks for getting back to me so fast.

EDIT: Just got off the phone with him. Turns out that HDMI port is actually a pretty big deal. His monitor only supports D-Sub or HDMI.

So, you’re plugging the monitor directly into the graphics card, right? 😬 Those ports on the motherboard are actually just for the integrated graphics on the processor.

Go easy on me. It was getting late and I knew I should’ve been in bed. Making a fool of myself here 😁 isn't exactly the smartest move after a long shift. Thanks a million, haha.

EDIT: Just noticed you swapped out that I5. Any specific reason you went with the 4460 over the 4690k, or were you just trying to save some cash?

Yeah, it’s mostly just about saving a few bucks. You aren't going to feel a 10-15% clock speed boost anyway. 4460 is plenty for a build like this.

That "K" suffix in the processor name means it's unlocked for overclocking, but pairing it with an H81 motherboard—which is just a basic board with zero overclocking support—is basically throwing money down the drain. You won't even notice a difference of a few hundred MHz (even if you opt for a 4690 instead), but you *will* feel the hit to your wallet. You'd be much better off spending those extra couple hundred bucks on something actually useful.

That’s exactly why I decided to ask around here—thanks a million for the help, everyone! I owe you guys a round of beers if you ever find yourselves in Detroit when 😁. One last thing before I go: is it actually worth grabbing another 8GB RAM stick, or am I just overdoing it? Will I even notice the difference?

Honestly, grabbing that 2400MHz DDR3 RAM doesn't make much sense. That CPU and motherboard combo tops out at 1600MHz anyway, so you'd just be running it at 1600MHz—exactly the same speed as that cheaper option Smart put together.
By the way, he could also go with an 1151 socket + DDR4 setup:

1x Asrock H110M-DGS, s1151, DDR4
1x Intel Core i5-6402P (2.80GHz, Turbo : 3.4GHz, 4 core, 6MB, LGA1151) 65W
1x Gigabyte R9 380X G1 GAMING, 4 GB DDR5, 256-bit, 970/5700 MHz
1x DDR4 8GB (1x8GB) PC3-17000 2133MHz CL15 Crucial
1x HDD 1TB Toshiba, 3.5", 7200RPM, 32MB Cache, SATA3
1x SATA3 1 x EVGA 500 w Hyper 1 x
1x Zalman Z1 mid tower case

TOTAL: $1690
Free assembly and shipping
Best,