@D1N02982 said:
Do you have any advice for what parts I should get, my budget is at around $1500.
Will you be needing a monitor?
Do you already have a home PC with a case and DVD drive?
$1500 dollar budget is gonna get you a really, really nice PC. Especially if you reuse case and monitor from an old PC. Though you might want to save your old one...just in case the build doesn't go as planned. But don't worry; if you can plug things into sockets and build a model airplane, you can build a PC. Just don't touch the shiny things.
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*As for the build:
-Intel i7 or i5 chip (socket 1150)
-nVidia 980 card
-16+GB DDR3 memory (honestly you will rarely use more than 16GB, but since your budget is 1500 dollars maybe go for 32GB). Go with a named brand (Corsair...G.Skill has been my preference for a few years now). There are often compatibility issues with the various frequencies; again, since this is your first build, go for a widely-supported frequency like DDR3 1600.
-Socket 1150 motherboard; don't spend too much, since this will be your first build I don't imagine you will need a lot of the features higher end, overpriced boards offer. Honestly a motherboard should not set you back more than 100-150 dollars. I've had good luck with MSI and Gigabyte motherboards, but there are other good manufacturers.
-550+ watt power supply; 750+ watt would be better for future proofing, but Intel/Nvidia have relatively low power demands. I've been using the same 550 watt power supply for 7 years now and run 16GB memory, a GTX980 vid card, and i7 chip.
-Hard drives is where preference comes in. I've made the migration to SSD (solid state disks) now as they have better performance and reliability, and also don't make noise. They are, however, pricey. I recommend a 128GB SSD for your operating system and associated programs (I had a 64GB one initially; it worked, but it was a bit small and I really had to watch out for the space...128GB gives you a bit more wiggle room). Get a 1TB SSD for games and other stuff. If you download or create a lot of files (music, movies, etc) you might want to get some huge multi-terabyte HDDs (traditional hard drives) as they are far more inexpensive. There are also "hybrid" drives which I hear are good, but I don't have experience with. My brand preference is Samsung (for SSDs).
-Chipset coolers are fairly important; the stock, factory fans and heatsinks are much, much better than they used to be, but there are some quieter options out there that are also affordable (20-50 dollars), keep your PC cool, and don't make a lot of noise.
-If you won't be reusing a case, I recommend a mid- or fill-tower case. Mid is pretty perfect for a normal build, but personally I like the big open spaces of a full tower. I like my cases built out of steel/metal; plastic tends to feel cheap, makes creaking sounds, and cracks. My go-to brand at the moment is NZXT as they are affordable, well-built, and look cool to boot. People love Corsair as well.
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The above is just some recommendations. There are tons of excellent brands and various ways to go about, just remember to do research, and for Pete's sake sleep on it before buying; this is a major expense even if you have the money set aside. Don't let your eyes get bigger than your stomach either and try to do water cooling and overclocking and all kinds of crazy stuff; save that for when the warranties expire on your components.
Use newegg.com they generally have the best deals, good shipping, and (in my experience) good customer service.
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