1 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:12,880 So above land in a rocket ship the night 2 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:17,279 night made of mega. Ladies and gentlemen, leave the world and bring 3 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:23,920 your friends. Step inside and close the door. 4 00:00:19,439 --> 00:00:27,160 Shut it out. Plug it in. Press 5 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,160 your walls. 6 00:00:29,279 --> 00:00:39,760 Today's build guide is one that you've asked for, pleaded for, demanded. 7 00:00:36,719 --> 00:00:42,480 Lionus, you said, "If you don't do some 8 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:46,320 valueoriented content about stuff I can actually afford, I'm going to 9 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:54,000 unsubscribe." Well, I heard you. I heard you. This 10 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:59,520 video isn't about getting a zillion frames per second in Crisis 6 while 11 00:00:56,399 --> 00:01:02,320 running on three 8K TVs and surround. 12 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:06,960 This video isn't about liquid cooling your CPU, your graphics card, and that 13 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:11,520 cheeky smirk off your buddy's face all at once. It's about getting good value 14 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:16,720 and upgradability out of your new gaming PC without spending a whole lot of 15 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:22,320 money. Welcome to the ultimate value gaming PC build guide, Intel Edition. To 16 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:28,560 start with, a safe static-free workstation is a must. I use a mod mat 17 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:32,799 and an anti-static ankle strap. Now, the only tool we really need for assembly is 18 00:01:30,159 --> 00:01:36,799 a multi-bit screwdriver, but a magnetic parts tray, a pair of side cutters, and 19 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:41,360 a pair of needle-nose pliers is nice to have. Before you begin, I always 20 00:01:39,439 --> 00:01:45,680 recommend verifying that the system posts or powers on and outputs to the 21 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:50,799 display. You can use your motherboard box as a free non-conductive test bench. 22 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:54,240 And since this is a basic motherboard without an onboard power button, a handy 23 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:58,399 trick I'd like to show you is that you can use your screwdriver to short these 24 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:03,920 pins if you don't have your power button connected yet and you want to try the 25 00:02:00,079 --> 00:02:07,520 board. Our CPU choice was all about 26 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:10,640 compromises. The Pantium G3258 27 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:13,200 gives up multiple processing cores. It 28 00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:17,840 gives up hyperthreading and it gives up turbo boost. It also gives up the 29 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:23,920 massive cash that the higherend Haswell and Haswelli processors in its family 30 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:25,520 enjoy. But darn it, this chip has spunk. 31 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:30,160 And with a little overclocking, it'll hold up surprisingly well in all but the 32 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:34,800 most demanding AAA titles, even when fighting well above its weight class, as 33 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:40,560 we demonstrated in this little video a couple of weeks ago. You can easily swap 34 00:02:37,599 --> 00:02:43,840 it out for a Core i3 or a Core i5 if you want a little bit more horsepower though 35 00:02:42,239 --> 00:02:48,879 without changing anything else in this build guide. Hold your CPU by the edges 36 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:53,519 and identify the corner with the gold triangle. Align that with the corner of 37 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:58,640 the socket that has a triangle as well. Lift up the retention ARM. Lift up the 38 00:02:55,920 --> 00:03:04,400 socket cover. Place the CPU into the socket with no force. Lower the cover 39 00:03:01,599 --> 00:03:10,640 and fasten the retention ARM. Again, fancy coolers are the kind of thing that 40 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:12,879 rich kids with their H2Os and LN2s might 41 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:16,800 get to enjoy. But if your dad is a bluecollar, honest working man kind of 42 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:22,560 guy, well, you might just find that stock cooling does a good enough job for 43 00:03:19,599 --> 00:03:26,159 a mild overclock and doesn't cost you a penny. Unless you grab a can of stove 44 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:32,000 paint for six bucks to make it look badass, that is. Besides, you can always 45 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:36,560 game on it now and splurge, you know, 30 bucks on a cooler next time you've got 46 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:40,879 some walking around money. Check the bottom of your heat sink to ensure the 47 00:03:38,239 --> 00:03:44,959 pre-applied thermal compound is intact. Then unwrap the four pin fan connector 48 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:49,519 from the clips around the outside of the fan. Orient the cooler so that your fan 49 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:54,239 wire will have the closest path to the CPU fan header on your motherboard. Then 50 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:57,120 put it down on top of your CPU with the plastic push pins at each corner 51 00:03:55,840 --> 00:04:01,599 sticking through the holes in the motherboard. Push down on opposite 52 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:06,239 corners until you hear a click. Plug the fan connector into the board. Then 53 00:04:04,239 --> 00:04:12,080 double check the nubbins at the back of the board to make sure that they look 54 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:14,480 like this. Buying RAM is easy for a 55 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:19,199 value gaming build. Don't get fussed about which kit we're using. Just go to 56 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:23,919 your favorite store or shopping website. Find the least expensive dual channel 57 00:04:21,199 --> 00:04:29,360 DDR3 kit in the capacity of your choice from a reputable brand like Kingston, 58 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:32,479 Corsair, Gskill, or Adata and buy it. 59 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:35,199 XMPP support is a bonus, but the speed 60 00:04:32,479 --> 00:04:41,040 of the RAM doesn't matter too much. Pull back the tabs on the two gray RAM slots. 61 00:04:38,479 --> 00:04:46,160 Then position each dim so the notch in the bottom lines up with the notch in 62 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:48,880 the socket and press firmly on both ends 63 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:52,560 until the tabs at the ends snap back into place on their own. Sometimes I 64 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:56,240 choose a component for these build guides because it's a super expensive 65 00:04:54,560 --> 00:05:01,360 piece of hardware that I just want to touch. Sometimes I do it because the 66 00:04:58,639 --> 00:05:06,400 features and performance call to me and it's a perfect match for the rest of my 67 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:08,479 build. And sometimes I'm just morbidly 68 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:15,440 curious. So, today we'll be building in the Spec01 because I just wanted to know 69 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:17,759 if this $50 gaming case can deliver an 70 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:22,880 experience that still lives up to the Corsair name. Pull the side panels off 71 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:28,720 and stash the thumb screws somewhere safe along with the rest of the included 72 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:30,960 hardware. The case's only included 120 73 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:34,960 mm cooling fan is already installed in the front, which is a good place for it 74 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:40,320 since that intake is filtered to keep the PC's guts both clean and cool. If we 75 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:44,960 had beefier hardware, a rear or top exhaust fan, though, would be a good 76 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:47,919 addition. Now, the motherboard choice is 77 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:53,440 always tough, and in a value build, it's even tougher. The board doesn't impact 78 00:05:51,199 --> 00:05:57,919 performance, so I could literally buy the cheapest thing that will accept my 79 00:05:55,440 --> 00:06:03,520 CPU and graphics card and RAM and call it a day. But it does affect features. 80 00:06:01,039 --> 00:06:07,840 So, we went with a Z97C from ASUS because it has official support for 81 00:06:05,039 --> 00:06:12,160 overclocking, although lower-end boards, even business grade ones, are known to 82 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:17,039 do it, and it's got a good balance of features, quality, and expandability to 83 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:21,199 price. Press firmly on the four corners of the IO shield until they snap into 84 00:06:19,039 --> 00:06:26,560 place. Then plug the eightpin power supply connector in now to avoid a cable 85 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:30,240 management nightmare later on. Place the board down on the integrated standoffs 86 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:35,600 and install the screws that look like this into the five positions around the 87 00:06:33,199 --> 00:06:39,520 perimeter of the board. The middle one can be left blank. This is just a post 88 00:06:37,759 --> 00:06:43,440 to hold the board in place while you secure it. While you have easy access to 89 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:48,560 the board, plug in the front power and reset switches, as well as the power and 90 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:54,160 drive activity LEDs. Follow up with the block style connectors for USB 2, front 91 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:56,319 audio, and USB 3. Then finally, plug 92 00:06:54,160 --> 00:07:01,599 your front fan into the header on the motherboard here so we can use software 93 00:06:58,639 --> 00:07:04,800 to control it later. To practical folks, there's only really a couple things to 94 00:07:03,199 --> 00:07:10,160 consider when shopping for a budget power supply. Price and quality. Me, I 95 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:15,440 can be a bit of a sucker for looks. So, when I saw that the 430 W CXM is on with 96 00:07:13,039 --> 00:07:20,560 a $20 rebate for only 40 bucks, I went for it. It's black, semi-odular, and 80 97 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:24,960 plus bronze, making it a solid deal compared to the CIC gray unit that I 98 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:29,039 normally use for budget builds. For another 15 bucks, to 600 W version, 99 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:33,360 though, would be good if you want a bit more growing room. Uh, but other than a 100 00:07:31,199 --> 00:07:37,360 quad core or a slightly better graphics card, this system isn't really being 101 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:42,800 built to be super upgradable. So, the 430 W is a great choice. Slide the power 102 00:07:40,319 --> 00:07:47,840 supply in grill side up for better cooling and attach it to the case using 103 00:07:45,039 --> 00:07:52,080 four of these screws. You already ran the 8 pin connector when we cheated a 104 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:55,680 bit in the last step. So, plug in the 24 pin connector being cognizant of the 105 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:59,919 space you'll need behind the motherboard tray for cable management when you try 106 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:04,319 to close the rear panel. Plug in a modular SATA cable and run that over to 107 00:08:01,759 --> 00:08:09,599 the front bay. Then plug in a PCI Express connector and run that to this 108 00:08:06,639 --> 00:08:14,560 cable management hole right here. An SSD is still a no-brainer to me. Even on a 109 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:18,160 value build, a hard drive doesn't cost much more than a night out at the movies 110 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:23,440 with a friend who won't stop shoving popcorn and nachos into his or her face. 111 00:08:20,879 --> 00:08:28,080 So, in my mind, it can be added later, but an SSD makes the whole system 112 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:35,039 snappier and more responsive. We went with an Intel 530 series 120 gig drive, 113 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:37,519 but frankly, a 300 or 700 series drive 114 00:08:35,039 --> 00:08:42,800 would also be fine. Grab whatever series and capacity gets you the most gigabytes 115 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:46,959 for your dollar and go with that. Pull one of the hard drive sleds out of the 116 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:51,440 side of the case and use four of these screws to secure the SSD to it. Please 117 00:08:49,519 --> 00:08:56,560 note that if you're installing a hard drive at this stage, you'll want to use 118 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:58,720 these screws instead. Slide the cage 119 00:08:56,560 --> 00:09:03,279 back in. Plug in the SATA power connector that you left hanging before. 120 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:07,680 Then plug the right angle end of a SATA data cable into the drive and the 121 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:12,000 straight end into your motherboard. Choosing the best graphics card for a 122 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:17,120 value gaming rig can be done one of two ways. Method number one, find a recent 123 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:21,760 video card roundup. Find the lowest price you can for each of the cards in 124 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:26,800 it. Then divide the frame rates the reviewer gets in the games you want to 125 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:29,440 play by the price and buy whichever one 126 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:34,080 delivers the best FPS per dollar. Method number two, buy everything else cheaping 127 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:38,720 out wherever possible and then spend whatever is left of your budget on the 128 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:42,959 best graphics card you can find. We ended up with a Radeon R seven260X 129 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:47,680 because there was a good deal at Amazon when we went pricing this out. So, your 130 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:53,680 mileage may vary on that, but the general rule is that the low 100s to 131 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:55,839 high $200 range is generally where 132 00:09:53,680 --> 00:10:01,279 you're going to find the FPS per dollar sweet spot. Installing expansion cards 133 00:09:58,399 --> 00:10:04,399 is the one area where Corsair let me down a little bit with this case because 134 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:08,959 it's otherwise very good for the price with folded edges to keep my fingers 135 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:13,279 safe being an awesome inclusion. Take out the two screws that hold in this 136 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:17,680 random piece of metal at the back. Then take out the two screws holding in these 137 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:23,920 two PCI covers that correspond with our PCIe16x slot. Align the card carefully 138 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:28,399 with the slot. Push it in firmly. Put the two screws back in. Put the random 139 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:32,480 piece of metal back on. And then plug in that PCI Express power connector that 140 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:36,800 was cable managed earlier. Cable management is a bit of a bear on this 141 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:41,519 case, or at least it appears at first glance to be. There isn't a ton of room 142 00:10:39,519 --> 00:10:45,760 behind the motherboard tray and there aren't a lot of places to tie down 143 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:51,440 wires, so we're just going to kind of do our best with it. The good news, though, 144 00:10:48,079 --> 00:10:53,839 is that the rear side panel bulges out. 145 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:59,040 So, installing it over top of our slightly rat's nesty wire arrangement 146 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:02,560 here is actually no big deal. If you're not looking to spend much on 147 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:07,760 peripherals, I still recommend something halfway decent for the mouse because it 148 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:12,720 doesn't cost that much and makes a big difference. Grab an M45 optical gaming 149 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:17,760 mouse or a no frills optical mouse from someone like Zi, for example. The 150 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:22,800 keyboard is one that's not as big a deal to me. And a basic PS2 keyboard will do 151 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:26,720 as well as most gaming membrane keyboards until you start spending 152 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:31,279 several pretty pennies on them for features like macro keys and 153 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:36,640 backlighting, at which point I would almost suggest just foregoing it for now 154 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:41,920 and saving up a few more pretty pennies for a mechanical keyboard later on down 155 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:47,120 the line. for the monitor. Anything with gaming specific features will cost a lot 156 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:51,839 more than a commodity 23 in 1080p display. So unless you really need HDMI 157 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:58,560 pass through, virtually no input lag like on BenQ's RL series, just go with a 158 00:11:55,040 --> 00:12:00,320 TN for faster pixels or IPS for better 159 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:05,360 colors, commodity monitor. Pick one that looks nice to you and call it a day. 160 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:10,639 Press delete or F2 to get into the UEFI BIOS for the motherboard. Hit F7 to get 161 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:17,360 into advanced mode and turn your CPU multiplier up to something in the 42 to 162 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:21,440 44 range. You shouldn't need to touch any other settings, but while you're in 163 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:26,480 here, you might as well check and make sure your RAM is running at its rated 164 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:28,639 speed. Enable XMPP if that option is 165 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:33,519 available. To install your Windows operating system, create a bootable USB 166 00:12:30,959 --> 00:12:37,120 drive and then reboot while mashing F8 immediately to get into the boot device 167 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:41,120 selection menu where you'll pick your USB drive. Once the setup process has 168 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:45,360 begun, it's basically a matter of clicking next until you land on the 169 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:50,320 Windows desktop. Once you're booted, drivers can be found on the manufacturer 170 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:54,160 websites for ASUS, Intel, etc. And this is a good time to hit up nite.com to 171 00:12:52,399 --> 00:13:00,240 pick up your favorite free applications in a nice easy to use junkwearfree 172 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:04,560 package. The last stage here is to find out just how well our little budget 173 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:09,279 gaming rig performed. So, we took it for a spin in the most popular games, many 174 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:13,360 of which are very inexpensive or even free to play, being streamed on Twitch 175 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:17,600 TV, and discovered that if your objective is to have a capable, 176 00:13:15,519 --> 00:13:21,680 inexpensive gaming box to play League with your friends, then a machine like 177 00:13:19,279 --> 00:13:27,519 this is going to be right up your alley. If you want to get the most out of 178 00:13:23,279 --> 00:13:30,399 Crisis 3, uh, quad core Core i5 or i7 179 00:13:27,519 --> 00:13:35,200 CPU and a GPU upgrade might be in order, but this will at least get you started 180 00:13:32,639 --> 00:13:39,839 as a member of the PC gaming community. Now, sit back and enjoy some glam of our 181 00:13:37,519 --> 00:13:44,240 finished system, which I really wish I had painted the heat sinks on the 182 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:48,639 motherboard gold on. Uh, well, I thank everyone involved in making this video 183 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:52,160 possible. Intel, our sponsor, Brandon, Luke, Taran, and Edzel, the members of 184 00:13:50,399 --> 00:13:55,279 my team who helped make it. The musicians who provide their music to us 185 00:13:53,839 --> 00:14:00,079 free of charge and don't pursue copyright strikes against us, even though I forget to credit them half the 186 00:13:57,839 --> 00:14:03,680 time. And of course, you, the viewer, for sitting through this video and maybe 187 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:06,720 even giving us a like or a dislike, depending on how you felt about it. 188 00:14:05,279 --> 00:14:11,480 Thanks for watching. Don't forget to subscribe, and I'll see you guys again next time.