How can improve my build?

[Sasha M]

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/jQrHTW

(CAN$ Prices)

What can I improve? What can I tone down to decrease the price?

[Andyyy95]

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/jQrHTW

(CAN$ Prices)

What can I improve? What can I tone down to decrease the price?

Hi there,

A few suggestions I have are these: (I personally haven't built a computer for a few years now, so forgive me if I sound a bit surprised...)

1) Being the age you are (i.e. a student), isn't there a cheaper way to obtain a copy of Windows 8.1? In the UK, we have a website called (Software4Students/ (http://www.software4students.co.uk/), which offers affordable discounted deals on software. Is there perhaps a similar thing in your country?

2) Are PSU's (power supply units) generally so expensive nowadays? Or can you downgrade it a bit? Surely any suitable power will suffice?

3) Personally I wouldn't pay so much for a CPU case, but maybe that's just me who thinks it's a little bit pricey...

4) Unless your mouse is some sort of gaming mouse (which I don't think it is), I wouldn't spend so much on a wired optical mouse. I can quite easily get a wireless version for that price, maybe it's worth checking out Amazon?

5) I also wouldn't pay 15 dollar for a mouse-mat. Again, I'm convinced you can get a pretty-decent one on Amazon for less.

They're just my views, I'm interested in knowing what build you'll choose to opt for!

Andy

[northy]

Hi there,

A few suggestions I have are these: (I personally haven't built a computer for a few years now, so forgive me if I sound a bit surprised...)

1) Being the age you are (i.e. a student), isn't there a cheaper way to obtain a copy of Windows 8.1? In the UK, we have a website called (Software4Students/ (http://www.software4students.co.uk/), which offers affordable discounted deals on software. Is there perhaps a similar thing in your country?

2) Are PSU's (power supply units) generally so expensive nowadays? Or can you downgrade it a bit? Surely any suitable power will suffice?

3) Personally I wouldn't pay so much for a CPU case, but maybe that's just me who thinks it's a little bit pricey...

4) Unless your mouse is some sort of gaming mouse (which I don't think it is), I wouldn't spend so much on a wired optical mouse. I can quite easily get a wireless version for that price, maybe it's worth checking out Amazon?

5) I also wouldn't pay 15 dollar for a mouse-mat. Again, I'm convinced you can get a pretty-decent one on Amazon for less.

They're just my views, I'm interested in knowing what build you'll choose to opt for!

Andy

Microsoft offer Windows 8.1 pro to students worldwide for £50

[Sasha M]

Hi there,

A few suggestions I have are these: (I personally haven't built a computer for a few years now, so forgive me if I sound a bit surprised...)

1) Being the age you are (i.e. a student), isn't there a cheaper way to obtain a copy of Windows 8.1? In the UK, we have a website called (Software4Students/ (http://www.software4students.co.uk/), which offers affordable discounted deals on software. Is there perhaps a similar thing in your country?

2) Are PSU's (power supply units) generally so expensive nowadays? Or can you downgrade it a bit? Surely any suitable power will suffice?

3) Personally I wouldn't pay so much for a CPU case, but maybe that's just me who thinks it's a little bit pricey...

4) Unless your mouse is some sort of gaming mouse (which I don't think it is), I wouldn't spend so much on a wired optical mouse. I can quite easily get a wireless version for that price, maybe it's worth checking out Amazon?

5) I also wouldn't pay 15 dollar for a mouse-mat. Again, I'm convinced you can get a pretty-decent one on Amazon for less.

They're just my views, I'm interested in knowing what build you'll choose to opt for!

Andy


1. Thanks, I will have to look at the student discount.
2. I want to pay more for something with an efficiency certification, and something that won't sound like a jet engine when it turns on.
3. I'm a sucker for good looks, and I also need the handle.
4. It's a Steel Series, its a gaming mouse.
5. Gaming! You can't game on a $2.00 piece of foam with a SpongeBob design on it! I had to stop myself from selecting one even more expensive!

[HahaWaitWhat]

There's a few suggestions I would give, an ssd, a different PSU, different peripherals, different GPU, and a different case.

The psu i'd recommend is the one I'm currently using, a SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze, I paid only $66.99 for it. It's fully modular as well, compared to the one you chose that isn't modular at all. Granted you wont need 520w for a 257w build, but either way it is cheaper and more value for your money as opposed to the Silverstone. If not, then you could go with something like the Corsair Cx430, it's semi-modular, higher wattage, and cheaper!

An ssd I'd recommend is a Corsair Force LS 120gb, I bought mine for $65 but now I'm pretty sure you can snag one for about $50 after a little bit of searching. Trust me on the ssd part too. For me, an ssd is probably one of the best things you can do for your computer. With my old 7200rpm hdd, it would take about a minute or two to boot up, then another minute or two to be fully functioning and able to open programs or the start menu. With my ssd, takes 7 seconds to boot and all the programs are ready to use. 120gb is all you need too, you can still buy a 1tb WD blue series to house all your media and what not.

As for the case, if I were you, I'd do a little more searching. It looks like a pretty basic case for almost $170. Have you looked at any of Corsair's or NZXT's cases? Corsair makes the Air 240, or the Air 540 if you want something bigger (both are cube style btw). Then NZXT makes the S340 which is pretty much the best budget case around.

Then for the OS. There are, ahem, places online where you can get Windows 8.1 x64, ahem, for free, not that anyone would support that. If you were to do something like that, be very cautious about where you download from.

Then for peripherals, I can't say I've used SteelSeries so I can't really say anything about their quality, however, if you would want to spend a little more money on a mouse, the Razer DeathAdder Chroma should be considered.

I went ahead and just made some improvements, as well as saved you about $110.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tHyRxr

[phuckphace]

I was about to lol at the gimpy Pentium but then I looked it up and that little thing actually packs quite a punch for what you pay

it's also unlocked so you'll be able to overclock it, noice

pretty decent overall