New build in 3 months (long-ish post)

So I'm planning to replace this aging machine since it's been nearly 4 years of using it. I was amazed that the 250W power supply managed to power the GT 610 (the recommended is 300W) for 2½ years with no problems. Now, technically this is not a build that I would do but instead, I'll mod a pre-built desktop. Now, you'll say that if I am going build it, it would be cheaper; however, it turns out that buying a pre-built one is actually cheaper. I'll divide my "build" into phases since I also need money on other things. Please note that I'm choosing these based on the prices and availability on the market in the Philippines, but you can still suggest other components and I'll try to find them here.

Phase 1 will happen around 2nd week of July (with budget of $390):
Option A ($383):
Intel Core i3-4160 3.60GHz Processor
Asus H81M-K or Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2 Motherboard
4GB DDR3 1333MHz Memory* + 4GB (same specs that I already have)
Palit Geforce GT 740 2GB GDDR5 128Bit (NE5T74001341-1073F)
WD Caviar Blue 500GB Hard Disk
600W PSU*
A case*
Keyboard and Mouse**
Headset or Speaker**

Option B ($385.25):
Intel Pentium G3258 3.20GHz (Dual Core) Processor
MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate Motherboard
4GB DDR3 1333MHz Memory* + 4GB (same specs that I already have)
Palit Geforce GT 740 2GB GDDR5 128Bit (NE5T74001341-1073F)
WD Caviar Blue 500GB Hard Disk
600W PSU*
A case*
Keyboard and Mouse**
Headset or Speaker**

*I get to choose my preferences, but you can suggest what should I get
**I don't know what brand are these, but I already have the peripherals

The funny thing that I found is that if you buy (if CPU only) the Pentium, it costs $73.21 while the i3 costs $117.50, that's a difference of $44.29 while if it's on the pre-built, there's like $2.25 difference.

Phase 2 is after 2 months of Phase 1 (Budget of $250):
Upgrade to GTX 960 ASUS Strix/Palit Super JetStream (I don't know yet, but what's better?)

Phase 3 is after 2 months of Phase 2 (Budget of $200):
Upgrade CPU to i5-4460

Now, 3~7 months is a long time for new releases of products and prices could also go lower, which means that I may change the components that I chose now.

You may find my build style a bit different since I could just buy everything in one single go, but I also took this opportunity to do this because I'll give this current system to an old classmate once I get to Phase 1 and give my GT 740 and G3258 to my cousin (I'll also buy him the other necessary pieces if needed) after Phases 2 and 3.

Also, I've heard that if an HDD with an OS installed is put on a new build, you can just use the OS of that HDD that you've put; however I've also heard that if you did that, it would render your OS invalid since it's a difference MoBo.

AddRAM said:

I see no point in buying parts now, just to replace them in a few months.

It`s a total waste of money

The reason why I'm immediately upgrading my CPU and GPU after a couple of months is because my cousin is also in need of new parts. I'm just helping him out plus I also need to get a new one because I edit videos and images from time to time and my current specs ain't cutting it.

AddRAM said:

Well then, the only recommendation I see to make is for the power supply.

I recommend EVGA :)

http://www.evga.com/default.asp

As far as the motherboard, MSI or Asus are ok choices. But set your sights on upgrading to a Z97 not a Z87 and an i5, not an i3.

Just remember, when buying a pre built computer then upgrading the motherboard, you will more then likely have to do some custom wiring.

A quick search gave me a EVGA 500B 500W 80+ Bronze PSU, I'll look for more tomorrow. The i5 was the first thing that came into my mind when planning the new build. I'm not really into MoBo's and I'm not gonna spend much on it. Will any brand do? So far I was able to find ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI for the Z97.

Rain08 said:

So far I was able to find ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI for the Z97.

Those are all decent brands, but there's no reason to get a Z97 unless you intend to buy a K series (overclockable) Intel CPU (such as 4690K, for instance).

You haven't mentioned any interest in a K series processor.

On a low budget system, you probably would not be overclocking.

If you want to overclock, get a K processor and a Z97 board.


If not, get an H97 board and save some money.

If you buy a pre-built with an OS installed and later switch motherboards, you may later have Windows activation issues.

Other good PSU brands you can look for would be Seasonic, Super Flower, and XFX.

Some models of Antec and Corsair are OK.

Something in the 450 to 550 watt range should be fine for a single GPU mid-level system. Even lower if you have a low-powered GPU.

A lot of PSU brands available in Asia are of questionable quality, so be careful on the PSU.

ignatzatsonic said:

rain08 said:

so far i was able to find asus, asrock, gigabyte and msi for the z97.

those are all decent brands, but there's no reason to get a z97 unless you intend to buy a k series (overclockable) intel cpu (such as 4690k, for instance).

You haven't mentioned any interest in a k series processor.

On a low budget system, you probably would not be overclocking.

If you want to overclock, get a k processor and a z97 board.


If not, get an h97 board and save some money.

Well, I'm not gonna do some extreme things with my computer so anything with 3.5+ GHz is fine for me. Also, I found the Z97 and H97 prices are close to one another so I might opt for the Z97.

ignatzatsonic said:

a lot of psu brands available in asia are of questionable quality, so be careful on the psu.

Yeah, the ones that I frequently find here are the unheard of but I was able to find good ones like Cooler Master, Corsair, Cougar, EVGA, Seasonic and Thermaltake.

AddRAM said:

Here are some Asus H97 boards. You`ll have to choose H97 once you get to the site.

I don`t know why but it keeps defaulting to Asus US

Motherboards | Intel Platform | ASUS USA

It looks like you`re leaning toward Micro ATX ?

Looking at the prices of the ASUS H97M-E and H97M-Plus ($100~$125), they're almost close to the prices of some Z97 boards of ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI. Like $15~$20 difference.

Yeah, I'm towards mATX (like my current one). At first, I wanted a full ATX system but later, I found it unnecessary.