# Want to build a successor to my XPS...



## dheerajpant (Jun 5, 2015)

Hello Friends,

I have a Dell XPS for the last 4 years and now it is not able to cope up with my requirements. So, I am planning to buy a desktop instead. Only constraint right now I am in Australia and will come back to India in about 1 year and I don't want to sell it but to bring it back(I might leave behind the case and power supply due to weight issue). So, my first question is how much approx weight does the peripherals have and is it a good idea to go ahead with this plan?

So, here are my answers to the questioner.

*1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans: Gaming(CoD, Battlefield and all the latest games), Programming which can easily include running 2-3 VM's at a single time.

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans: Initially it was 1000$(~50000 INR) but now 1200$(~60000)

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans: not right now

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Win 7/8/10 any

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans: thinking of 120 GB SSD and around 720GB HDD but let the but have  to look at the budget.

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention which screen size and resolution do you want. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, again mention the size and resolution of monitor you have.
Ans: Will buy a cheap monitor separately(preferably used one).  

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: None

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: In about 1 week

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: I haven't built but will be building

10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans: Sydney, I will buy Online(ref: *PC Case Gear*)

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: I will prefer 16 GB RAM due to my work.

here is my config:

**RAM**: Kingston Hyper x Fury 16GB
proc: Intel i5 4460
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H
Power Supply: Cooler Master B2 series 600W
Cabinet: Corsair Carbide Spec 01
**Video Card: MSI GTX 970/Gigabyte GTX 970**

these are what I have finalised, what do you all think.

Thanks** *


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## dheerajpant (Jun 7, 2015)

<bump>
something, anything....


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## REDHOTIRON2004 (Jun 7, 2015)

Either build a mini itx system or if you really want to carry it all the way to Australia then I would suggest that you either look at a laptop or buy a Intel nuc etc.
There was one nuc kind of form factor from zotac and acer which contained a powerful gpu like the gtx 760 etc. I don't remember the exact name. But check them out on google. They might be in 60k-80k range but worth all the money.


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## bssunilreddy (Jun 7, 2015)

*Processor*Intel Core i5 4440*12,500**CPU Cooler*Stock*0**Motherboard*GIGABYTE GA-H81M-S1*3,500**Memory*Kingston HyperX Fury 16GB(8GBx2) 1600MHz*9,000**Graphics Card*Zotac GTX 960 2GB*16,000**Power Supply*Antec VP450P*2,500**Cabinet*Cooler Master Elite 311*2,300**Internal Storage*WD Caviar Blue 1TB HDD*3,500**Optical Drive*Asus DRW-24D3ST DVD/RW*1,100**Monitor*AOC i2276VWM 22" LED IPS*8,800**Keyboard*Dell MK200 Keyboard and Mouse*800**Mouse*included in combo*0**Total**60,000*


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## rajesh00 (Jun 8, 2015)

Here,I added all to cart,total price 1265$ The Shopping Cart : PC Case Gear

This is very much future proof.You can add SSD later.

If you want you can get side window open Case.


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## dheerajpant (Jun 8, 2015)

Thanks all,
 @rajesh
I have a question, do performance wise Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 and Gigabyte GTX 970 Windforce are so different that I should be paying extra $40 for G1??


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## rajesh00 (Jun 8, 2015)

dheerajpant said:


> Thanks all,
> @rajesh
> I have a question, do performance wise Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 and Gigabyte GTX 970 Windforce are so different that I should be paying extra $40 for G1??




G1 is slightly OC and has better cooling,gives more fps in games about 5-7fps gain which is good when playing games at ultra,but it is Big in size.


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## sam_738844 (Jun 8, 2015)

I have a miniITX system, which also can be a mATX system if I choose to upgrade it in future. Corsair Air 240 is an excellent cabinet to build the system in. It supports upto mATX X99and 2-way SLI/CF setup with liquid cooling.

 Check  my signature. I carried the system all the way from Jakarta to Kolkata with hub transition in Malaysia KL airport, *WITHOUT A SINGLE SCRATCH*.
 I just built a box around it with wood planks and wrapped it all sides with double layer of bubble-wraps. I unplugged the GC from the PCI-e slot before travelling because the protruding heat pipes of the MSI-GTX 970 4G was touching the side window, which I suspected would cause damage under pressure in cargo.

Total System Built in Jakarta Costing 65K INR equivalent of local Currency.

My suggestion would be from my experience, dont go for MSI or Gigabyte full length cards, they will just fit the case...length is not the issue, the height is, which I miscalculated. Go for Mini-ITX OC cards from vendors available. And always go for a Closed loop liquid AIO cooler for CPU, Regular big-a$$ coolers are a bad choice for mini-its builds.

P.S. --I have the same laptop XPS 15, still running that old horse :')


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## dheerajpant (Jun 9, 2015)

Thanks Rajesh,
 [MENTION=88006]sam[/MENTION],

Did you carried the system seperatly than your luggage?(How much extra did it cost you?).
The power socket in Jakarta and India are the same?? because Australia has different and I was planning to leave the PSU here only and buy a new one in India... because it would be very difficult to use 2 adaptors.

Thanks


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## sam_738844 (Jun 9, 2015)

dheerajpant said:


> Thanks Rajesh,
> [MENTION=88006]sam[/MENTION],
> 
> Did you carried the system seperatly than your luggage?(How much extra did it cost you?).
> ...



It costed nothing, my total check-in-luggage was well within the limit of 30 kilos, the PC alone with box was around 12-13 kilos. The power socket in Jakarta and India are almost the same, except the former does NOT have the "third pin" ,so you see, by default you wont face any problems plugging any appliances to Indian sockets which are made in indonesia since they are all 2 round pinned ones. Aussies have a different type I  guess, not an issue, plenty of universal converter lying in e-comm sites and local electronics shops in India.

I could only carry the PC only and only because it was a mini-ITX build, had I gone for a mid-tower, I would have needed a handsome lot of money kept aside for packing and wrapping it. Also bigger the case, more its susceptible to damage, more conspicuous to Custom Officer's harassment.


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## dheerajpant (Jun 9, 2015)

[MENTION=88006]sam[/MENTION]
Thanks, don't have much idea about ITX systems.
So, apart from motherboard and GPU other components are general components?
Can you please give me a detailed list of your components  .

Regards


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## sam_738844 (Jun 9, 2015)

To start with you need to select two major components for mini-ITX build.

A mini-ITX standard motherboard.

A PC case which follows and can house the motherboard.

For example, below are some good mini-ITX boards.

Z97 Mini-ITX Review at $140: ASRock, MSI and GIGABYTE

Search in google to find a list of latest mini-ITX boards compatible with different  with Intel LGA Sockets 1150,2011 and beyond. 

My one was  MSI B85i Gaming which is a very entry level but still good mobo, since i was not planning to overclock.

Then I had i5-4590, which is more than enough for my gaming needs. 1 TB WD Blue. 8 Gigs of Corsair Vengeance RAM, and MSI GTX 970. For cooling i had 3 x 120 Fans that came with the case, bought an extra one to configure a negative air-flow system inside the case, 2 out in push-pull with Cooler Master Seidon 120V AIO, one in front, one out on top.

One major drawback of mini-ITX boards are that they can only house one Graphics card, one PCI-E x16 slot. And limited RAM headroom, 16 gigs in my case.

Also check mini-ITX PC cases. There are some awesome cool cases out there...and guess what, they can house more than a mini-ITX board, which means SLI and liquid cooling.

Hands-On With Five Mini-ITX Cases - Cases For The Smallest PC Platform


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## rajesh00 (Jun 9, 2015)

> dont go for MSI or Gigabyte full length cards, they will just fit the case...length is not the issue, the height is, which I miscalculated



GPU will fit fine on that case..You may check the specs of Case and GPU.

GIGABYTE - Graphics Card - NVIDIA - PCI Express Solution - GeForce 900 Series - GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD (rev. 1.0/1.1)

TESSERACT DEEPCOOL Cases


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## sam_738844 (Jun 10, 2015)

^^ dude that is a mid-tower cabinet, we are discussing mini-ITX remember, its a good case and fits everything, but not a small form factor one.


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## dheerajpant (Jul 5, 2015)

Thanks guys,

Finally brought my new system... (Mini-ITX)

Intel i5 4460
16GB DDR3 Kingston HyperX Fury
Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming
1TB WD HDD
Gigabyte H97-Wifi motherboard
Corsair V550 PSU
CoolerMaster Elite 130 Case

Now have to look for some good deals on games to test the machine  .

Thanks again guys...
Thanks again guys


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## rijinpk1 (Jul 5, 2015)

congrats on the purchase. 
poor selection of the psu though.


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## dheerajpant (Jul 5, 2015)

rijinpk1 said:


> congrats on the purchase.
> poor selection of the psu though.



Thanks Rijin,

I know I didn't wanted to spend more on a PSU...
I will be changing it when I bring it back to India


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## rijinpk1 (Jul 5, 2015)

dheerajpant said:


> Thanks Rijin,
> 
> I know I didn't wanted to spend more on a PSU...
> I will be changing it when I bring it back to India



PSU is the heart of your system. do not ignore that. spend wisely so that you probably wont end up spending twice


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## dheerajpant (Jul 6, 2015)

rijinpk1 said:


> PSU is the heart of your system. do not ignore that. spend wisely so that you probably wont end up spending twice


Hmm, so what are the problems with Corsair VS550 apart from that it is cheap(and uses cheap components), are there any chances that it may cause damage to the system?


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## rijinpk1 (Jul 6, 2015)

dheerajpant said:


> Hmm, so what are the problems with Corsair VS550 apart from that it is *cheap(and uses cheap components),* are there any chances that it may cause damage to the system?



you got your answer there 
corsair vs series are mainly intended for entry level users not for mainstream users. your rig is definitely not entry level and  it demands a better psu. i am not saying it wont work, but will you be using an alto's tyres with a ferrari?


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## bssunilreddy (Jul 6, 2015)

rijinpk1 said:


> *PSU is the heart of your system.* do not ignore that. spend wisely so that you probably wont end up spending twice


+1 to the above dialogue.

A cheap PSU will take the entire PC with it in flames. Better to go with Seasonic S12II 520w @ 5k than cry over it later buddy. Think it over.


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