Info
Cost: $800 (760)
Total Build Time: 10 hours
Parts Breakdown
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower
Motherboard: ASUS H81M-K
CPU: Intel Core i5 4570 @3.2GHZ (no OC)
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) - Team Vultran
GPU: MSI Radeon R9 270x 2GB (no OC)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM
PSU: EVGA 500 B 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified 500W
Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner
Monitor: AOC E2425SWD Black 24" 5ms Widescreen LED
Future Upgrades
- SSD
- New keyboard (using an old Compaq one from 2005)
- New mouse (this one's dying)
Initial Thoughts
I'm VERY happy with this build thus far. Being my first build, it took FOREVER to get everything right, but I was rewarded by a successful boot on the first attempt. I've put it under CPU and GPU stress tests. The CPU test (Prime95) ran for about 2 hours while pushing all cores to 100% utilization. The temps never exceeded 80c, so I believe I'll be OK there. I ran a GPU stress test as well (FurMark) and the max temp was 66c. I'll keep looking into that, but I believe I'll be OK without overclocking.
I've only had time to test it a little, but I of course installed Skyrim, and this build murders it on Ultra settings, even with 8xAA and Ultra shadows which bring many systems to their knees). I never drop below 60 FPS, even in GPU-intensive areas.
The only thing I'm not happy with is the monitor. I went for big and cheap when I probably should've went for a smaller one with higher quality. The colors look fairly washed out and are hard to get used to.
Concerns/Questions
Do the temps listed above look worrisome? Looks like my max temp for the CPU is 100c (based on a field in Core Temp), and after 2 hours of full capacity, the hottest core maxed at 83c. What about the GPU temp?
Also, my case came with 3 pre-installed 120mm fans. 2 of the fans (front and top) came with molex adapters, so I was able to plug them directly into the PSU. The 3rd fan is a 3-pin fan with no molex adapter. My MOBO only has a spot for a 4-pin fan header. Should a 3-pin be able to fit there? I haven't been able to get it to so far. If not, should I invest in some kind of converter? Or should 2 120mm fans be enough?