Computer Build of the Month – April 2015

The first thing I want to recommend is the Cooler Master HAF X caseFanboys case is a step up from the HAF 932. While you may look at it and be like meh I will semi-based go with the 932. You should not overlook that it is an amazing case set up for newer and higher end motherboards. On top of that it has a few nice features with the USB 3.0 ports on the front which you can easily use adapters to your other USB 3.0 ports in the back so that you don’t have to reach around.

The case it self it meant for those who want to push their computers to the max. Being a High Air Flow Case it allows you to get the most with cooling. On top of the nice cooling features you have a quick change set up for hard drives if you are one who goes through hardrives quite often with an easy set up connector to the mother board it creates an even cleaner look for the inside of your case. The next feature is your video card cable cover and PSU cable cover used to clean up your cables coming out.

If you are anything like me, you have tendency of having cables everywhere so having a little more help to clean up your cables is something that should not be overlooked. There is another feature of this case that I like compared to the 932 is that, you can place the video card mount lock to keep your heavy video cards (in my case 290s) in place and not move around.

For the motherboard, I am going to recommend the Crosshair V Formula Z. Why this motherboard? Isn’t it a bit pricey? Yes, it is a little bit pricey, however, it has a great chipset, and is great for overclocking. Which if you want the most out of your PC this is what you want. It has a maximum of 32 GB for RAM DDR3. That’s not too bad, though you will want to check the QVL for RAM just to ensure you get the most out of your RAM or else it will be very painstaking in getting everything right with your OC. It supports AMD 3+ FX/Phenom II/Athlon II/ and Sempron 100 Series Processors.

We just talked about the motherboard now, we are going on to the PSU, and you never want to skimp on this. I found this out the hard way thinking I found a deal, I got an 89 dollar 1000 watt. Well it didn’t turn out so great after a Lightning Storm. I was out a PSU and lucky nothing else fried. I am recommending to get an EVGA PSU I will of course post these all down below, with price.

For RAM I am going to go on the QVL list and pick the GSKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) as I am currently running Sniper Series this is my plan to upgrade to these. Though my RAM is quite good right now for better overclocking and to get the most out of it I recommend going to the QVL and picking the size and amount of RAM in your price range. I do however recommend GSKILL they seem to be a very good company.

Hard drives, hmm what should we do for these, well we are going to need at least one set of Solid State Drive, for faster boot into Windows. I am currently working towards the AMD Radeon R7 480 GB SSD. I do not have any recommendation for it, as for regular hard drives I recommend getting a Seagate 4 TB for additional storage. Of course, use your SSD for Windows Boot, and any programs you plan on using constantly.

Now we seemed to skip over the processor, didn’t we? Well, I am going to say go for the FX 8350. It isn’t too pricey, in fact it’s probably the best bang for your buck, though you will want a water cooler for your heat sink. Especially if you plan to OC (which you should, there are plenty of guides to walk you through it to!) The FX 8350 starts out at 4.00 GHz but can easily go up to 5.0 GHz if done correctly with right cooling. As this is not an OC guide I won’t go too much into that.

What kind of video card should you pick up? Well, I am running two R9 290’s in Crossfire and absolutely love them. I do want to upgrade to 290xs or 295s. I also would like to point out for OC potential you will want to get liquid cooling for your video cards, to keep them nice and cool for better performance.

I have no keyboards, mice, or headsets to recommend now. I would say go with what you like the most, same monitors. Though it should be noted with the R9 290 you will be able to do a nice three screen, Eyefinity set up which is really fun for gaming.

That isn’t a bad price, and there are things you could cut out, or change to make it a little more affordable (lower RAM, one Video Card). This is this month’s build, my final thoughts on this is the only things there I am missing for my build is the Ripjaw, SSD, and Nepton. I did it by buying different times so it was easier to afford. I may do a peripheral (keyboard, mouse and Monitor article later). I hope you enjoyed this article!