Description

In July of last year, I sold my previous computer to a friend.

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/jmXH99

I decided to downgrade to a Dell Vostro with a i5-2400 and 8GB of DDR3. I quickly purchased the PSU, GPU, and hard drive to get it up to speed. I toughed it out for almost a year with that build but then I couldn't resist the urge to have a custom build again. So I sold the Dell Vostro PC after putting all of the OEM parts back in it and then set out to build a new computer.

I got good prices on just about everything. I like getting good deals almost as much as building. The build went smoothly. I used the stock Intel fan for a few weeks (as you can see from the pictures) but I decided to upgrade to the Cryorig M9i. It was mostly for looks but also for performance. I got the Z370 motherboard because the DDR4-2800 RAM that I bought was cheaper than the DDR4-2666 version at that time and I wanted it to be able to run at those speeds. The red RAM doesn't look great with the rest of the build in the pictures, but if I'm using the blue LED and the lights are off in the room the RAM looks black. The red light in the bottom right corner of the motherboard is only on while I'm in BIOS. I'm considering turning off the orange LED on the left side of the motherboard.

Games run well at 1080p on this system. Gears of War 4 (very demanding) runs at 50-60 FPS on medium. Most other games can run at 60 FPS on medium or high. I'll upgrade the graphics card once prices come down. For now, I'm very happy with it. Thanks for looking!

Part Reviews

CPU

Intel Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz 6-Core Processor

This CPU is extremely fast and power efficient. If you're not streaming while gaming, I believe it is the best bang-for-your-buck.

CPU Cooler

CRYORIG M9i 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler

It looks infinitely better than the stock Intel fan and cools much better as well. For under $20 it is hard to beat.

Motherboard

Gigabyte Z370 HD3P (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Solid motherboard for the price. It detected the XMP settings for my RAM immediately without any hassle. I like the reinforced PCI-E port and the upgraded audio.

Case

Phanteks Eclipse P400 ATX Mid Tower Case

Getting this case for $50 was an absolute steal. It looks excellent, was very easy to build in, and it came with an LED strip that matches the LED's on the outside of the case.

Power Supply

Corsair CX550 (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

People talk bad about the Corsair CX series, but the 2017 version has long black sleeved cables, solid efficiency, and a five year warranty. Very happy with mine.

Monitor

AOC G2590FX 24.5" 1920 x 1080 144 Hz Monitor

Best colors out of a TN panel that I've seen so far. I set mine to the Gamma 3 preset and it looks excellent. 144Hz and G-Sync compatibility works great. The price is excellent for these features.

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Comments

Whaties
  • 6 years 11 months ago

About the Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor, you mentioned if you're not streaming while gaming, it's the best bang for your buck. What about if you are playing a less of a demanding game, such as League of Legends? Would you be able to stream then?

DannyB3
  • 6 years 11 months ago

I'm sure it would handle streaming League of Legends fine. If you were streaming something more demanding like PUBG, it would be a good idea to go with an AMD Ryzen like the R5-2600. I don't stream so the i5-8400 has been crushing any game that I've thrown at it.

omegasaviors
  • 6 years 11 months ago

can you tell me if you can put a 16gb ram in this computer and which one

DannyB3
  • 6 years 11 months ago

The motherboard supports up to 64 GB of RAM (16GB x 4). I plan on adding another 16GB of RAM (8GB x 2) when RAM prices eventually come down. Any DDR4 288-pin DIMM should work but you want to make sure it is at least DDR4-2666 speed.

ThroneM
  • 6 years 11 months ago

"I got good prices on just about everything". The prices you paid for your Gigabyte Z370 HD3P mother-board ($78.88) and your PNY GeForce GTX 1050 video card ($99.99) are far less than I've seen anywhere. Was there an unusually good rebate offer or sale at the time you purchased these?

DannyB3
  • 6 years 11 months ago

Yeah there were various rebates at the time. I bought the GTX 1050 on 7/26/17 before the GPU prices spiked. It was down from $130 to $100. The Gigabyte Z370 motherboard had an instant rebate, an instant combo discount with the CPU, and a mail-in-rebate. On top of that, a deal website had another $25 rebate if spending $350 at Newegg. All told, I spent $342.86 for the CPU, motherboard, and RAM.

mrsonsai
  • 6 years 1 month ago

I like the build! What did you use for LED? I'm hoping to use LEDs in my next build but it will be my first time using them, and I liked how yours isn't too flashy or obnoxious.

DannyB3
  • 6 years 1 month ago

Thanks! The tempered glass version of the Phanteks P400 includes an LED strip with it so I didn't have to buy anything separate. I find most RGB builds a little ridiculous, but it is nice to have at least one LED to light the inside of the case.