Intel i5 4590, R9 270 Custom PC Build Log
This was my first ever custom build. Assembled all the parts while in my dorm during my masters in 2014. I used this in a previous build, and reassembled everything again to use for a second time in 2017. I have added a picture of my dorm setup in the gallery above.
The parts were assembled in the summer of 2014. Here is the list. Product links are provided for each part. The prices mentioned are from when I purchased the parts, which include some good deals at the time, so your view may vary.
As my first ever custom build, I just wanted a system which would be cheaper than my laptop, but not too slow in terms of performance.
For the CPU, I chose the i5 4590. It is a locked processor clocked at 3.3Ghz. With 4 cores and 4 threads, it turbos at 3.7Ghz. The reason I went with the i5 was because, at the time, I did not need to splurge on an i7, and the i3 was slow for my needs. The i5 fit the bill perfectly.
At first I settled for the stock cooler which came with the processor, and it did the job. The only reason I switched to a 3rd party cooler, and that too the Noctua NH-L9i, was because I had ordered two coolers by accident while building Euclid.
For the motherboard, I went with the Gigabyte - GA-H81M-DS2V Micro ATX LGA1150. In all honesty, I had no idea about different form factors and various features, and just wanted the cheapest yet reliable motherboard I could find.
I opted for 8GB of DDR3 memory. 2 sticks of 4GB clocked at 1600 MHz. 8 GB was the norm back then, and I didn't really feel the need for 16 GB.
The case of choice was the Thermaltake Versa h15. It is a decent micro atx case with good cable management and airflow. Dust filters are also included, but not at the top. A good case for the price, although I think I overpaid for this one.
On to the graphic card. I bought the Gigabyte R9 270 2GB windforce edition since this had decent reviews at the time and was more than enough for the games I played. Also considering the top of the line NVIDIA GTX 970 had an msrp of $330, the R9 270 was a good choice. Along with the fact that I bought this card used, this was a great deal for me. As of 2019, I had to disassemble the card and reapply thermal paste once. Although I perform yearly "surgeries" on the card, cleaning out dust.
Coming to the power supply, any reliable brand name power supply would do the job well. 500W was the recommended requirement for the R9 270, so I went the EVGA - 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply.
For my keyboard I went with the AZIO - MGK1-K Wired Gaming Keyboard with Cherry MX Brown switches. This was my first ever mechanical keyboard, after much recommendation from others. Also shoutout to r/mk. Been a long time lurker there.
The Sentey Gaming Laser Mouse was my mouse of choice for being super comfortable. I wasn't very knowledgeable about mice and the different sensors, so I just went with a cheap mouse which was comfortable.
The Hyper X Cloud II was my headset of choice. With a half decent microphone included, the ear cups are large enough for them to be comfortable and the sound quality is good.
Remarks
Looking at the parts list you can tell I made some good decisions considering this was my first build. Although initially I used a Corsair SPEC-02 Case, which was a regular ATX case, instead of a micro ATX one. And the lack of fan headers on a micro atx motherboard cost me later as I had to purchase a fan splitter to connect all fans. I purchased the CPU Cooler later on, settling for the stock intel cooler at first, which does the job, but is loud and ugly.
The system got a score of 549 in Cinebench. 40% Gaming, 69% Desktop, 40% Workstation scores in Userbenchmark.
Very happy with how the build turned out. Was super excited at the time, basking in the glory of my first custom build. Ran everything I threw at it consistently at 1080p/60fps while maintaining good thermals and noise.