Advice! please - putting together my first new computer in seven years

[Sabalos]

So the PC I built with a friend of mine back in 2009 has finally died, and I can't deny I'm looking forward to an upgrade. However, I'm no longer in touch with that friend, all my knowledge is seven years out of date, and I'm not as rich as I hoped I would be by now.

Still, quite a lot of things I'm confident with - but I have a few questions. This is what I put together on first glance.

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-7600K (3.8GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270H GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX PREDATOR DDR4 3200MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON UV400 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (550MB/R, 350MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS


It's not a gaming computer exclusively - I work partly from home with memory-intensive programs, plus general browsing/word processing/etc, plus some gaming (though since my last GFX card was a GTX 285, gaming will probably be me just finally buying GTA V and playing without worrying about my tower catching fire). A jack of all trades, kind of thing.

The 'musts':
- would like 16GB of RAM. My last computer had four, and I wished I'd bought eight
- would love an SSD, as I've been jealous of them ever since they became affordable
- at least 2TB of storage; again partly for work, partly because I always end up ripping all my CDs etc and making a big media library


The advice:
- the case. I'm real bad at picking out suitable cases, so the one up there is a placeholder (first one I could find that the configurator would let me go with); I don't know which cases keep cool well etc any more (ideally I'd also like a case with USB ports on top, but no one seems to do that any more)
- the SSD/HDD. SSDs weren't even a thought last time I was speccing a computer, so I've no idea if the SSD/HDD thing I have here is ideal/workable/good
- what do you think, overall? Any obvious errors, needless features, pointless expenses?

I was going to ask about making sure the PSU was appropriate, but this is my first time using PC Specialist - the configurator is nifty the way it won't let you choose a too-small power supply.

Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry for nattering, thanks for any advice you all can give \o/

 

[Frank100]

Hi,

In case you haven't clicked on order yet here is some advice on your build: -

Case - I've got a couple of PCs built in the 200R and I think it's a decent case. I've had no problems with heat, even with two high end GPUs in there working flat out all day. It's quite a plain case but I like its understated looks.

RAM - you could save a bit of money by going with slower RAM. The default speed of the memory controller on the CPU is 2133MHz. The difference in price might be about £40 but you aren't going to see £40 worth of better performance.

If you spend more money anywhere it would be on better storage. The Samsung M.2 SATA chips are much faster than the Kingston SSDs. You could also consider doing away with the 3TB internal HDD and getting a mini NAS instead. This means the PC uses less power, produces less heat and will collect less dust and your files go on the NAS instead. The NAS can be located elsewhere in the home and be accessible to all your devices. You can even get a NAS that can be configured for access outside the home.

If you went with a NAS you might then need a bit more than 120GB of internal storage capacity. A 256GB Samsung M.2 SATA would be my recommendation.

The GTX 1060 is the sweet spot for gaming cards but you might be able to spend a little less if you are more of an occasional gamer. Something like the GTX1050ti or ATI RX470 may be plenty and gives you money to spend elsewhere.

You might also be able to trim the motherboard down a notch and save some money.

Frank100

 

[Oussebon]

The above is all very sound imo

RAM - you could save a bit of money by going with slower RAM. The default speed of the memory controller on the CPU is 2133MHz. The difference in price might be about £40 but you aren't going to see £40 worth of better performance.

Heh, you could even save £8 by going with the 3200MHz, which seems to be cheaper. If going for slower RAM to save more money, go for the HyperX Fury over the Kingston Dual, as it's cheaper and has lower latency.

The RX 480 4gb GPU seems to be £53 cheaper than the GTX 1060 6gb, while offering very competitive performance. That would be another way to shave cash off without compromising performance as much as something like a GTX 1050 ti might:

And there are some credible reports that performance of the RX 480 has further increased due to driver updates since that chart was published.

Personally I wouldn't trim down the motherboard as the Z270-P is still very expensive but with a pretty limited feature set. If trimming down, you might as well save a further £100 beyond the Z270-P and go with the H110M-R https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-home-office-pc/