Did you mean to link us to a new list? EDIT: Oops, my post #20 was in response to the partslist from thewiz's post #11. I mistakenly thought that this was the latest list posted by BombBoy4! All my points still stand.
@BombBoy4, here's my version: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/JnrHGf Used 1 8GB stick instead of dual 4GB, upgradable to 16GB Used the EVGA FTW GTX 950, which is one of the more powerful 950s Included a better PSU, with enough headroom for an i5 in the future Replaced the hybrid drive with a 1TB Barracuda, you can add an SSD later
All GTX 950s are the same under the cooler. They have the same GPU, VRAM, etc. The only difference is the cooler, which doesn't need to be expensive because of how low-power it is. And it doesn't have to be from EVGA. MSI, Gigabyte, and Asus are all very good companies. I own an EVGA GTX 950 SC and the cooler is perfectly fine.
It can be. If you want it to look nice inside you would want to run all the wires behind all your hardware so it's not just a bunch of wires everywhere. Wire ties can be extremely helpful when trying to get all that stuff in place. It's not really hard, just time consuming especially if there's not much room in the back of your case.
You can get much better for $550 than the suggested builds. The 750 Ti is outdated and overpriced. So is the 950. For $530 you can get this: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/bluescreen1985/saved/qjXLkL You get the same i3 CPU, 8GB RAM, a slightly cheaper case and an RX 470 that will blow a 950 away - in fact, it'll outperform a 960 - and even a 970 in a few AMD-optimised titles. For $550 you can get a nicer case and stay within budget.
No, don't upgrade later. It's a huge waste of money - how much do you think used 750tis go for? I can tell you what I got for mine: $60 Canadian. Get the right parts the first time.
Alright, since ill have the money around black Friday next year, ill get that card. --- Post updated --- Ok, updated list: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/BombBoy4/saved/RHwrHx
Can I use a TV as my monitor? I have a spare 20-something inch TV that I never use. --- Post updated --- And how reliable are used parts?
You can use pretty much anything as a monitor. Some people prefer to sit back and play games on a big screen rather than a normal monitor. For used parts, it depends. Refurbished parts from Amazon are usually good. Of course if you buy something from that sketchy looking listing on eBay you never know what you'll really get. Just be careful and make sure you know what you're buying.
If the local market is good enough, Craigslist is a good place to look. As long as you know what you're doing, and you're smart about it, you'll get what you're looking for. As for what parts to get used, I can't recommend mass storage used. You don't know how much abuse they've gone through, (for HDDs) how many times they've been dropped or (for SSDs) how much data has been written to it. I also wouldn't recommend Radeon R9 2xx series graphics cards, as they've likely been abused mining cryptocurrancy, and won't have much life left in them. As for anything else, it's really fair game. As for warranties, RAM typically has a no questions asked "lifetime" warranty (air quotes because manufacturers probably won't have stock for anything older than DDR3). CPUs, motherboards, and GFX cards typically have one to three year warranties, and you'll need to get the appropriate information from the previous owner. And I can highly recommend buying cases (if you don't mind older ones) used. You don't need to test anything, just make sure it will fit your motherboard, and if you can get a whole computer on the cheap, you can buy it and use the case. As for PSUs, if it's a well known manufacturer, it's probably fine, but it doesn't hurt to test it.
reference cooler is garbage on AMD, the nitro+ cooler however, pretty decent. I'd say worth it for quieter operation and a card that runs cooler (and less likely to thermal throttle), let alone the OC
