[QwarkDreams]

Regarding the case, check out Corsair - they have a very nice selection. I've got a 550D and I couldn't be happier.. comparing to the Antec, Thermaltake, and NZXT cases I've owned, none have come close to the level of quality Corsair offers.

The 550D is a bit out of my budget (117€ being the lowest I could find). The Graphite 230T should fit more into my budget. But thanks for the tip with the Corsair cases!

Btw, is it just me or do all LED fans look like swastikas? O.o Is there a way to turn the LEDs off?

[Niavlys77]

Oh right, I meant to mention the Carbide 330R and 200R - I think the 230T is right in between those two in terms of price, but with more open design (the other two still have front fans, they draw in air through grills to the side and bottom just like my 550D). I think they would both be quieter than that 230T, if that means anything to you.

And yeah they kind of do - I'm *pretty* sure you can just remove the lights in most fans. I haven't had fans with lights for a long while, so I'm not 100% certain.

I'd recommend the 330R if you can squeeze the extra from your budget, but otherwise, the 200R would be more than fine. Plus, you won't have to try disconnecting fan lights with those two :P

[QwarkDreams]

Too late, I fell in love with the orange 230T

[Jarip]

The XFX is listed with a price of 106,50€. I wrote an email to the shop if this price is a mistake or real (most likely to get an answer tomorrow before noon).
Depending on the answer (could be a typing mistake) and some reviews and research I'll either choose the Sapphire or the R9. But keeping in mind that many people have had bad experiences with XFX, it will be the Sapphire. Also I'm going to upgrade in a year anyways, so I don't want to spend that much now.

And I'm still undecided which RAM I should get. The price is nearly the same for all of the 8GB kits; 75-80€ (Corsair Vengance low profile/Beast, G.Skill RipjawsX, Kingston HyperX blu/red/Genesis, Crucial Ballistix Sport). Does it really matter that much if my RAM is on the memory support list? Because sometimes I find the same modell but with 32GB or 16GB instead of 8GB or 4GB instead of 8GB.

Your target is to buy PC3-12800C9 DDR3 RAM modules (2 x 4 Gb DDR3 1600 MHz CL 9) - so it is 8 Gb RAM - and my choice would be Crucial Ballistix Sport (1.5v) and a substitute, if that Crucial is not available, then G.Skill RipjawsX ... but I do not think that it really matters what brand you are using :)

[QwarkDreams]

Any particular reason why you choose the Ballistix first?

[Keith Wallace]

The XFX is listed with a price of 106,50. I wrote an email to the shop if this price is a mistake or real (most likely to get an answer tomorrow before noon).
Depending on the answer (could be a typing mistake) and some reviews and research I'll either choose the Sapphire or the R9. But keeping in mind that many people have had bad experiences with XFX, it will be the Sapphire. Also I'm going to upgrade in a year anyways, so I don't want to spend that much now.

And I'm still undecided which RAM I should get. The price is nearly the same for all of the 8GB kits; 75-80 (Corsair Vengance low profile/Beast, G.Skill RipjawsX, Kingston HyperX blu/red/Genesis, Crucial Ballistix Sport). Does it really matter that much if my RAM is on the memory support list? Because sometimes I find the same modell but with 32GB or 16GB instead of 8GB or 4GB instead of 8GB.

I wouldn't worry much with the different RAM brands. Check if there are bad reviews on any. If not, pick the cheapest, if all have the same speed and CAS Latency. I can't honestly say anything about RAM compatibility lists, as I've never even read one. If the pricing is negligible between supported and non-supported, I'd grab the supported stuff, just in case. Odds are, it just means that they personally tested the RAM with the board, while the other stuff just wasn't used in testing.

For the GPU, if the 270X is really in the price range of the 260X stuff, jump on it. Don't wait for an e-mail reply. If they screwed up their pricing, take advantage before it's fixed (and it might be a sale ending any day now.)

[QwarkDreams]

I received an email this morning that said the price was correct but when I got there I was informed that it was a mistake, so I got the R7 260X because the xfx was about 200.

Now I'm waiting for my case an psu (decided to get the Thermaltake Smart 630).

[Jarip]

Any particular reason why you choose the Ballistix first?

Crucial Ballistix Sport (1.5v) and G.Skill RipjawsX(1.45-1.55v) should work as CL9 without any changes in bios (default is 1.5v in bios) ... other 2 needs up to 1.65v to get out CL9 (you have to set values through bios, to make them CL9 - they might be up to CL11 on 1.5v, as out from the boxes) ...

[QwarkDreams]

Kay, good thing I bought the RipjawsX^^

Just a pic of the parts:

[Keith Wallace]

Sweet.

Though I have yet to figure out why some RipJaws X is blue and other red. It confuses me (I have the blue).

[QwarkDreams]

Seems like the color (and the last letter in the modell number) indicates how good they are for overclocking.
G.Skill Sniper vs Ripjaws X red vs Ripjaws X blue [Solved] - RAM - Memory

Since I don't intend to overclock anything I should be okay with the red ones (low for oc)

[wpmartjr]

For the build or tips on parts you could go to youtube.com -> linus tech tips . That guy does a lot of builds and gives tips on parts

[Jarip]

Seems like the color (and the last letter in the modell number) indicates how good they are for overclocking.
G.Skill Sniper vs Ripjaws X red vs Ripjaws X blue [Solved] - RAM - Memory

Since I don't intend to overclock anything I should be okay with the red ones (low for oc)

Yeah, I think that Ripjaws Red is OK (a good choice), CL9 by 1.5v (= no need to do anything in bios) ....

G.Skill Ripjaws Red 1600 . G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL - Newegg.com

[Jarip]

Kay, good thing I bought the RipjawsX^^

Just a pic of the parts:

YOUR BUDGET IS OVER, for sure :P ... but looks good :)

[QwarkDreams]

Yeah, I went about 200€ over my budget but I think I will have this PC for a long time (until I upgrade the GPU and CPU). I think other than that my build will last for a few years.

[QwarkDreams]

Yeah, I think that Ripjaws Red is OK (a good choice), CL9 by 1.5v (= no need to do anything in bios) ....

G.Skill Ripjaws Red 1600 . G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL - Newegg.com

Regarding BIOS: I was kinda afraid of having to work with it (my grandpa always said I have to be very careful when I do anything with BIOS) but I completely missed the new one - UEFI. According to my cousin you can now even use the mouse and it's supposed to be much more user-friendly.

If you guys are interested I can list all the prices for the parts (what I actually paid, because I didn't pick the cheapest parts listed in Geizhals.at).

[Keith Wallace]

Sure, it'd be interesting to see the rundown.

I'd say that the build should last you through 2014, and maybe 2015, without much issue. You might jump from the 260X to the 280X when the next line of cards is coming out, if they go on clearance or something. The CPU, I'd say go to the Haswell Refresh i5 as the next upgrade AFTER the GPU. The only way I'd recommend differently is if you had the money to go to Skylake (I think that's the 2015 release), and you wanted to go to DDR4 memory (which will probably be too expensive).

For the next 2 years, I like the build.

[QwarkDreams]

I'll post the prices when I get home (in a few hours).

I think DDR4 will likely need a new mainboard (if the pins have a different position, like it was with the switch from DDR2 to DDR3). But CPU and GPU are the things that will most likely need to be upgraded/updated.

[Keith Wallace]

If you'd be willing to overclock your i5, I'd say return that current board for a Z87 one, because you can't overclock on H87. If not, keep that one and go with a non-K Haswell Refresh i5. Maybe Broadwell will be on the same chipset, but no promises.

[QwarkDreams]

I just started dealing with this topic (RAM not only being different in amount of GB and stuff), so I don't think I'm ready for over clocking.

[Jarip]

I just started dealing with this topic (RAM not only being different in amount of GB and stuff), so I don't think I'm ready for over clocking.

About bios, it is different now - you can even update your bios in Windows and yes, you can use mouse too (in bios) and to have multiple profiles ... well, you will find it out later if you have any reason to go there ... :)

H87M Pro4 bios page: ASRock > H87M

I think that it will take a long time before you have to upgrade your computer and then, there is already new components available (better GPUs and CPUs) ... yeah, I believe that Intel has a lot of room to increase speed of Haswell i5 and i7 (because temps are very low) ... :)

[QwarkDreams]

I just hope that Intel doesn't change the socket or stops supporting the 1150 socket. I'd really hate to get a new motherboard.
Also, I don't really know that to do with 'old' computer parts. I don't think there would be much money in it if I'd sell them. I could build an HTPC but I haven't looked into that topic. I'll keep the current/old one for spare parts for the PC in the living room (same modell; Medion MD8833).

What do you guys do with your old computer parts when you upgrade them?

Edit:
I decided to cancel my order of the Thermaltake PSU since the efficiency doesn't seem good and I wasn't really satisfied with the service at this particular store (placed the order of the XFX GPU and then they told me they couldn't sell it to me for this price). So I'm going to look for a different one with a higher energy efficiency and better 80 PLUS certificate (the Thermaltake only had an 80 PLUS, not even bronze).
I like the orange ones from Cougar, but it's not about the color when it comes to good PSUs xD
[HR][/HR]
And here's the list of my system with prices:

Intel i3-4130 2x 3.4GHz	99.10€
ASRock H87 Pro4	68.84€
Sapphire Radeon R7 260X OC 2GB GDDR5 lite retail	117.40€
G.Skill RipjawsX DIMM Kit 8GB DDR3-1600MHz CL9-9-9-24	74.00€
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB, 64MB Cache	56.90€
Samsung SSD 840 Evo 120GB	54.99€
-cancelled order-	---€
Corsair Graphite Series 23T orange with window	69.90€
Windows 8.1 64bit Home Premium OEM	82.60€
TOTAL	623.43€

[Keith Wallace]

Is there a reason you decided against the Seasonic I suggested? It was 80+ Bronze certified, and Seasonic's right up there with the most-trusted PSU manufacturers/

Also, don't hold out much hope on the boards. The usual thing is that you can go back one generation with your purchases. So, watch for Broadwell. If it's socket 1150, then you should be fine until the successor to Skylake, which would be in 2016. If Broadwell is NOT 1150, then I'd get a Haswell Refresh i5 as soon as I could, because you'd probably see Haswell stop being sold after a Broadwell Refresh or Skylake in 2015.

[QwarkDreams]

The Thermaltake Smart 630W has 110W more than the Seasonic and it was only 4€ more. Just wanted to get more "room" for upgrades, so I don't have to buy a new PSU in case my future GPU is a lot more power-hungry. But I'm not sure I want a PSU without at least a 80 Plus Bronze certificate, so I cancelled my order and am now looking for a different one (since I can't get the Seasonic - sold out, despite the status on the homepage :-/ ).

I'm not sure if I can follow you on the second paragraph. What do you mean by "go back one generation"? Do you mean if Skylake requires a new board (with a different socket) that I should get a CPU from the last generation that supported 1150 socket?

[Keith Wallace]

I mean if Broadwell is socket 1150, awesome. Your i3 should serve you just fine for 2014, and maybe into 2015 for a bit. By then, Broadwell should be out (end of this year). That would mean you could go to Broadwell without a new motherboard. They usually stock the previous generation for a while (Newegg still carries Ivy Bridge). So, if your i3 is doing fine iinto next year, you could wait until Skylake came out, the Broadwell prices dropped a bit, then buy into Broadwell.

However, if Broadwell isn't socket 1150, you'll have to either get a new board or make sure you get a Haswell i5 before they stop getting stocked.