5 reasons the OnePlus One could be your next smartphone
And 4 reasons to avoid it
The OnePlus One could well be the surprise smartphone of 2014 with its low, low price and headline specs. There's
a lot to get excited about with the One, and we've highlighted the main
reasons why you might want to think about parting with your cash and
pick one up at the first opportunity. It's not all good
news though, as you'll find out later, as this budget blowout also has a
few issues, so put that money back in your wallet... for now.
The price is right
The OnePlus One is cheap. Really cheap. Seriously - $299, £229 for a handset which has better specs than the Nexus 5 and matches the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z2 in a number of areas is an absolute steal. OnePlus
has also put the rest of the market to shame with the pricing of the
64GB model, which is just $50, £40 (around $AU70) dearer than the 16GB
variant - that really sticks it to the likes of Apple where you'll find a
$200 (£160, AU$260) discrepancy between the 16GB and 64GB iPhone 5S.
You can feel the power
As
we've alluded to, the OnePlus One comes very well equipped with a
2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, Adreno 330 GPU. That
puts it on a par with the Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2 - handsets more than
double the price of the humble OnePlus One - and it beats the One M8
which sports 2GB of RAM and a 2.3GHz 801 chip.
It's Android Jim, but not as you know it
At the heart of the OnePlus One you'll find Android 4.4.2 KitKat - the latest version of Google's platform. That in itself is good news, but this isn't your standard version of Android. No, this is CyanogenMod 11S - a community driven program which embraces pure Android and enhances it with various additional features. There's no heavy overlay like HTC's Sense or Samsung's TouchWiz; instead CyanogenMod is far more subtle in its implementation. From
app shortcuts integrated into the unlock mechanism and double tap for
wake/sleep to a whole host of additional settings and greater
personalisation options you really can tweak and tinker to your heart's
content - something which will please those fed up with the more
intrusive skins from the main manufacturers.
Something for your eyes
One
of the main features that usually suffers when a manufacturer attempts
to roll out a low cost, yet "high-end", handset is the screen. That
isn't the case on the OnePlus One. You get a 5.5-inch
full HD display on the handset which gives a high level of detail,
making your movies, games and even emails look splendid. It's
not quite as defined as its flagship rivals as their slightly smaller
screens (ranging from 5 to 5.2 inches) allow for a higher pixel density,
and colours can look a little washed out on the OnePlus in comparison.
On its own though you're unlikely to have any complaints.
Check out this package
With
a price this cheap we're obviously looking for areas where OnePlus has
had to compromise on the One, but we're still at a loss. As well as the power, screen and operating system you can also add a 13MP rear camera, 5MP front facing snapper, 4G, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1 and 3100mAh battery to the growing list of impressive specs. The
back cover comes off too - albeit with a bit of difficulty, and you
have to remove the SIM tray first - allowing you to swap it for a
different colour or texture. OnePlus has promised a range
of different covers for the One later this year and finishes include
denim, wood, bamboo and kevlar. Make of that what you will.
4 reasons to avoid the OnePlus One
But it's not all roses and magic gravy with the OnePlus One,
as the pre-production sample we've been playing with does still pack
one or two issues that raised eyebrows when we delved a bit deeper.
The storage
The OnePlus One will no doubt pique the interest of many developers, tech enthusiasts and power users thanks to its CyanogenMod interface, and these are the type of users who will want as much storage as possible. Plump
for the 16GB "Silk White" One Plus One though and you actually only get
12GB of internal storage after you've taken the operating system into
account. That in itself wouldn't be an issue if there were a microSD slot - but alas you'll have no such joy on the One. Of
course there is always the 64GB "Sandstone Black" model, which is just
$50/£40 dearer, but it still doesn't provide the flexibility of
expandable storage. You could always get a USB-on-the-go adaptor to plug
in a microSD card through the charging port, but that's not integrated
into the phone.
The battery
The OnePlus One is
lining up to be the go-to power handset on a budget, but anyone who
wants a phone they can really hammer won't be too impressed at the fact
you can't swap the battery out. You can remove the rear
cover of the One, but that's purely to swap it for a different colour.
The 3100mAh battery may look removable, but it's not, so don't go trying
to pry it away from the chassis. It'll end badly.
The size
It
may be cheap, but the OnePlus isn't exactly small. That's hardly
surprisingly considering it's packing a 5.5-inch display, but it does
mean it can be a little unwieldy in the hand. Those with
smaller palms may struggle to properly manipulate the OnePlus One using a
single paw, and even those with larger limbs will find two-handed
typing far more secure.
The unknown
Who
the hell is OnePlus? Well, okay, we know the answer to that one. It's a
Chinese firm set up by ex-Oppo employees (another Chinese phone
manufacturer). The thing is, with such a low price tag
and top end specs, the profit margin on each handset is likely to be
minimal. Can a fledgling mobile manufacturer really sustain itself in
the cut throat mobile market with such fine margins? We
fear for the longevity of the company, and the subsequent support of the
OnePlus One. It's certainly more of a risk than buying from an already
well established brand, although we've no reason to suspect this could
happen with OnePlus at this stage. We're
currently awaiting our full review sample of the OnePlus One to see if
it can be a real winner from left-field - the negative points we've
outlined above are currently far outweighed by the positives, and if it
can sustain this challenge then the likes of Samsung, Sony and HTC could
have a real contender on their hands. At the very least
it will ask some questions as to why these larger brands are charging so
much more for a flagship handset, and anything that keeps the
smartphone market shaking is a good thing in our eyes.
The iPhone could come with rounded edges and a curved screen according to reports out today.
While it’s still unclear when exactly Apple will launch the iPhone 6, we are getting a tantalising new rumour about what it may look like when it arrives. Citing "reliable sources", tech blog Mac Otakara
has claimed the iPhone 6’s glass will sit flush to the handsets
corners. So presumably that means Apple will forego a bezel altogether,
as has been suggested in the past. If true, it would mark a departure from the straight lines that debuted with the iPhone 4 and carried on through to the iPhone 5. The site compared the look to the Squair Curvaceous Bumper – a case for the iPhone 5S that features a rounded housing (pictured above). It also said that the Apple
will do away with the glass rear and antenna breaks found on the latest
models of the iPhone. Replacing them with an all aluminium design. This
report isn’t the first to claim that Apple will introduce a more
rounded case in its next iPhone. However, it is one of the only ones
that claims it will introduce a curved screen. A la, Samsung Galaxy Round. Earlier
this year, Bloomberg claimed that Apple would introduce the curved
screen on its two larger models – the 4.7-inch and the 5.5-inch iPhone
6. Although the latter model is now said to have been delayed till 2015 due to issues with its battery. The
report comes as mock-ups emerged demonstrating the exactly how the
4.7-inch iPhone 6 would compare to some of its biggest rivals.
Specs review: Micromax Canvas Knight A350 raises the bar of smartphones under Rs 20k
#Micromax Canvas Knight
Octa-core specs battle
By TECH2COME / 09 Mar 2014
Following the octa-core brigade, Micromax has launched its next flagship dubbed the Canvas Knight A350,
for the Indian market. Just like most Micromax devices, it is a budget
device with superior features. For Rs 19,999, the spec sheet of the
Canvas Knight could put any sub-Rs 20,000 device to shame. Here’s a
quick look at its tech specs. User Interface – Android 4.2.2
While the hardware appears to be brilliant, the Canvas Knight is
disappointing when it comes to the OS running on the device. The Canvas
Knight runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, similar to its previous flagship
Canvas Turbo. With the nifty specs the phone holds, it appears to be
more than capable of running Android 4.4 KitKat. What we don’t
understand is what’s stopping Micromax from launching it with 4.3 at the
very least, if not KitKat? One should also expect pre-loaded apps from the company such as M!
Security, M! Live, M! Unlock as well as third party vendors like Spuul,
Hike, Opera Mini and more. Micromax had also signed a deal with
BlackBerry to preload BBM on its Canvas phones.
So, you can expect BBM for Android too. One can also expect Micromax’s
software gimmickry like ifloat that serves as a quick launcher for
calls, messages, browser, settings, etc. from any screen, blow to
unlock, popup video, popup browser, and more. You will also find
Truecaller, GetIt, M!Vault pre-installed along with games such as
RealSteel WRB, Where’s My Perry and Where’s My Water.
Canvas Knight looks sleek, but too much like the iPhone
Cellular Connectivity – GSM, 3G
The Canvas Knight is a dual SIM smartphone that supports GSM and 3G
networks. However, it should be noted that the company has started testing 4G-enabled devices,
which are expected to be launched later this year. May be its too early
to say, but we could possibly see a 4G variant of the device in the
future. Display – 5-inch SHARP Full HD
Micromax has retained the 5-inch display size seen in the Turbo as well
as the full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, with a pixel count that goes all
the way up to 443 ppi. Moreover, it’s the full HD CGS (Continuous Grain
Silicon) IPS display built by SHARP, just like its predecessor. This
means, we can expect crisp and clear images. Form-factor– Anodised aluminium body
The official site doesn’t mention the weight or dimensions, but it
appears to be pretty slim. In terms of design, it doesn’t follow the
Turbo, instead looks like an iPhone. The Canvas Knight gets a brushed
metal styling with champagne gold bezels while the rear panel comes with
a glass finish. The device is available in three colours – black, white
and gold and black and gold. Wi-Fi
The Canvas Turbo supports Wi-Fi, but so far there has been no mention of
the connectivity options. There is no word on dual-band support either
or if it supports the ‘ac’ draft either. Processor – Mediatek Octa-core , 2GB RAM
The Canvas Knight is first smartphone from Micromax to feature an octa-core processor. It
is powered by a MediaTek MT6592T SoC, that clocks in at 2GHz. It also
includes an ARM Mali-450 GPU and 2GB of RAM. The Canvas Knight joins
the Gionee Elife E7 Mini, Intex Aqua Octa and the iBerry Auxus Nuclea N2, which also sport octa-core chipsets. Internal storage – 32GB, no room for expansion
While the Canvas Turbo was available with 16GB onboard storage option,
the Knight gets a whopping 32GB built-in storage. It doesn’t offer other
online storage support or a memory card slot. However, 32GB storage
could suffice your daily storage needs. Camera - 16-megapxiel BSI sensor, 8-megapixel front-facing camera
On the camera front, the Knight comes with major improvement. It gets
16-megapxiel sensor on the rear side with support for auto-focus and
flash. The rear shooter is paired with OmniVision’s CameraChip sensor
and a new generation M8 Largan Lens, allowing 1080p video recording at
30 frames per second. Users can also control the camera with their voice
and the OmniVision CameraChip sensors also enable HD burst mode. The device also gets an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The company
has included its quirky-named “Camerazzi” camera app that adds several
features such as 360 Degree Panorama, Cinemagraph and Object Eraser. Sensors – All the usual suspects
The Canvas Knight won’t disappoint when it comes to sensors. It gets all
the usual suspects such as accelerometer, light, gravity, gyroscope,
proximity and compass. GPS
The Canvas Knight comes with support for GPS and A-GPS. Though the
official site doesn’t mention, we are hoping it also supports GLONASS. Battery – Li-Ion 2350 mAh
Coming to the battery, we get a measly 2350 mAh battery. The rated
battery life promised is 175 hours of standby time and 7.5 hours of talk
time. Given the specifications of the phone, this could be the Achilles
heel of the Knight. The bottom line
The Canvas Knight comes with an incredibly powerful specs sheet. It
appears to be one of the best value-for-money Android smartphones under
Rs 20,000 with an octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16MP rear camera, 8MP
front-facing camera and 32GB onboard storage. The only disappointment so
far, is the older Android Jelly version that the device runs on and the
tiny battery. While it all sounds good on paper and has the potential
to be one of the best budget smartphone by an Indian brand, we will have
to wait and see how well the device performs once we get out hands on
it.
How To Build A 4K Gaming PC For Less Than $2500 -- Ultra HD Monitor, SSD, And Windows Included
If you approached me toward the end of 2013 and suggested I could
build a 4K gaming PC for about $2500, I would have erupted into
laughter. But in this post-CES 2014 world, what once seemed impossibly
expensive is now approaching the realm of affordability. Not only does
this system clock in at about $2500, it also features a 28″ Ultra HD
monitor, SSD, fully modular 1000W power supply, and Windows 8.1. Before I jump into the suggested components, allow me to provide some
context. This is designed as an entry-point 4K gaming PC, with room for
expansion. In this case, “entry-level” shouldn’t be mistaken for
“cheap.” Components like the CPU, power supply, and motherboard are more
expensive than you’ll find in my prior budget builds. That’s because
they facilitate the end goal after future upgrades: Maxed out graphical
goodness at 3840 x 2160 resolution with a total of three graphics
cards. Still, what you’ll get for your $2500 investment is smooth 30fps
to 60fps performance with most games set to Medium or Normal settings. A
popular argument is that if you’re plunking down cash on 4K hardware,
you’ll want to experience these games on High or Ultra levels of
eyecandy. Pop in two additional Nvidia 780 Ti cards and you’ll have it,
but this represents a gateway for getting there without crushing your
bank account.
Digital Video Resolutions | Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor | Where gaming is concerned, the FX-8350 edges out Intel'sINTC+0.73%
Core i5 and i7 processors. Introduce streaming into the mix and the
performance divide is even larger, and the part costs roughly $100 less.
(Nearly 1 million people are streaming games via Twitch these days, so
that’s an important consideration). It has tons of headroom for
overclocking, and it wins the price/performance argument hands-down. CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
| There are several reasons this part has a solid 5/5 on NewEgg even
after 8000+ ratings. As air cooling goes, Cooler Master’s Hyper 212 EVO
is legendary. It’s more effective than parts costing twice as much, and
its included 120mm fan is exponentially quieter than stock CPU cooler
fans. If you want to later upgrade to a dead silent 120mm fan, however,
consider the Noctua NF-F12 since the Cooler Master fan snaps off easily.
EVGA’s GeForce GTX 780 Ti is the best choice for our 4K rig
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti | I ran dozens of benchmarks before deciding to include Nvidia'sNVDA-0.16% flagship
GPU. While my allegiance has been to AMD for budget builds, the 780 Ti
simply trounces the Radeon 290x. That seems to defy logic since AMD
thoughtfully included 4GB of VRAM on the 290x versus the 3GB onboard the
780 Ti. Yes, it’s true that certain games like Crysis 3 can
give the 780 Ti a heart attack and cause it to spit out 1 or 2 frames
per second, but that’s only when anti-aliasing is completely maxed out —
a scenario not remotely necessary at 4K resolutions (the sweet spot is
4x MSAA). Nvidia’s part has a guaranteed base GPU clock speed which it consistently exceeds, as opposed to AMD’s tendency to throttle down when it reaches its maximum operating temperature (which typically takes only minutes).
Single GPU benchmarks @ 4K Resolution: Radeon 290x vs GTX 780 Ti
Nvidia also brings a superior reference cooler to the party, and
temperatures I’m far more comfortable with when pondering the eventual
upgrade to a triple-SLI system. Ironically, one of the strongest reasons
for not including AMD’s 290x in this build is the company’s runaway
success with cryptocurrency mining like LiteCoin or
DogeCoin. The supply chain is continuously running dry as miners
compete with gamers to procure parts. This has resulted in most of AMD’s
newer graphics cards costing up to 30% higher than MSRP. With Nvidia’s
780 Ti now only marginally more expensive, G-Sync support in the
pipeline, built-in streaming and recording via GeForce Experience, and
consistent driver updates, Nvidia compellingly secures their inclusion
here. Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme9
| For awhile this was ASRock’s best kept secret. Now it’s acknowledged
as one of the best 990FX boards money can buy. Crucially, it supports
3-way SLI (since our end goal will be installing two more Nvidia GTX 780
Tis). It boasts 8 USB 3.0 ports, 8 SATA 6GB/s slots, and accommodates
up to 64GB of RAM. Enthusiasts who want to push the limits of the
FX-8350 CPU will find that it’s very overclocking-friendly. The gold and
black aesthetic pops, it’s feature-packed, and built to last.
System Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB 1866MHz
| For our budget builds I still recommend Patriot or Kingston RAM, but
now that we’re dipping into enthusiast waters, we need fast and reliable
memory. G.Skill is at the top of that short list with their Sniper
series, and they’ve managed to keep their pricing competitive even as we
still feel the ripple effects of the Hynix factory fire in China. It’s
relatively affordable, fast, and runs surprisingly cool. Again, feel
free to deviate on brand but don’t compromise on quality. Is it ok to go
with lower speed RAM like 1600MHz? Absolutely, but the price
differences are marginal. OS Drive (Optional): Kingston V300 Series 120GB SSD
| As the price per gigabyte of SSD storage continues to plummet,
including a solid state drive is a no-brainer. For about $69 we get a
highly rated SSD with maximum sequential reads and writes of up to 450
MB/s. 120GB of storage gives us an opportunity to install a few of our
favorite games for seriously decreased load times, while Windows 8.1
will take advantage of the SSD for boot times less than 7 seconds. Also
worthy of consideration is Samsung’s 840 EVO line of solid state drives,
about $20 more depending on where you shop. Storage Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB Hard Drive
| 7200RPM, 64MB Cache, and SATA 6GB/s interface. There isn’t much to
say beyond that. It’s a reliable drive and represents great bang for the
buck. If you have a preference for another brand, just make sure you’re
getting at least 1TB of storage for less than $85.
Case: NZXT Phantom 410
| As with previous builds, I recognize that the choice of chassis is
highly subjective. I recommend the Phantom because it houses my personal
rig. Beyond that, the blue LEDs and black exterior look striking and
the curves are sleek. It ships with a total of three fans (one of them
140mm), and includes support for 5 more. In my opinion it’s one of the
best cases you can buy for less than $100. Whatever you decide on, ensure that it supports a full-sized ATX motherboard and has plenty of ventilation. Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000W 80+ Gold Fully Modular
| The reason for choosing such a beefy PSU is that we’re
future-proofing our build. Eventually you’ll want to be running three
graphics cards in SLI to maximize your 4K visuals. I’m normally a
Corsair fanboy in the PSU department, but it turns out EVGA makes some
excellent power supplies. And for $179, you get 1000W of power with 80
PLUS GOLD (90%) efficiency, and a fully modular design. It’s also
exceptionally quiet, well built, and comes with a 10 year warranty. This
comes with all the cables you’ll ever require, and is ready for
triple-SLI. Operating System: Windows 8.1
| The newest version of DirectX 11 is exclusive to Windows 8.1 which
makes its inclusion here a necessity. The latest update to Windows also
introduces per-monitor DPI scaling, something you can’t live without if
you’re planning on a secondary 1080p or 1440p display. If you miss the
true Start menu and the ability to boot to desktop, simply install
Start8 or Classic Shell.
Lenovo’s ThinkVision Pro 2840m Ultra HD monitor costs $799, supports 60Hz at 4K resolution
4K Ultra HD Monitor: ThinkVision Pro 2840m ($799, launches April 2014):
Last but certainly not least is the final, crucial component. This
year’s CES saw a trend toward affordable 4K displays, but they’re not
all created equal. Dell teased us
with their sub-$1000 P2815Q, but the dealbreaker came in the form of a
30Hz refresh rate at 3840 x 2160. When Lenovo unveiled their ThinkVision
Pro 2840m for only $100 more, my heart sank as I assumed it would also
not deliver the essential 60Hz at 3840 x 2160 experience. I asked Lenovo’s ThinkVision product manager to double-check with
their engineers, and the 28″ display does indeed offer 60Hz at 4K
resolution thanks to its dual-scaler chip. It’s an LCD panel with 10-bit
per channel color and 72% color gamut, so don’t expect the same
dazzling display quality as we see with more expensive IPS panels. But
for $799, this is a sure bet for our entry-level 4K gaming rig. The one
drawback? It doesn’t launch until April. Alternate 4K Ultra HD Monitor (Out Now): If you’re chomping at the bit to get started on this build, though, seek out Dell’s Ultrasharp UP2414Q.
It’s a 24-incher with a gorgeous IPS panel and the adherence to quality
Dell’s UltraSharp is known for. While it may be more expensive, NewEgg
currently has it on offer for $1154 — about $150 below MSRP. Have questions or feedback? Continue the conversation by following me on Twitter and Facebook. You can also listen to my tech and gaming podcast “Tangled Cables.”
Best Mid-Range Gaming PC Build Under $1,000 [February 2014]
Full HD 1080P Gaming PC Under $1,000!
The original plan for December of 2013 was to update the $1,000 Gaming PC Build that really hasn’t been updated since December of 2012.
Unfortunately as I started working on the build article late last year,
I wasn’t too happy with a lot of components that I had to make
compromises in, in order to fit the budget. At the time, I wanted to
close 2013 with a build that had the highest performance for the dollar, which is why I ended up increasing the budget to $1,200. Now after posting the build, a number of you requested that I post a
$1,000 gaming PC build as well – a system that not only would play games
at 1080p, but also had lots of upgrade opportunity down the line for
when the budget opens up. While I did end up sending recommendations to
those who requested it, I feel like there was enough interest to
actually do a dedicated article for a $1,000 gaming PC build. While I
know I promised a lot of you that the build would come last month, it’s
been hectic here at Custom PC Review with CES and all, so better late
than never I guess! Before we continue on, you’ll
notice that we no longer post prices for all individual components. The
reason for this is because prices tend to fluctuate quite a bit
especially on computer components, and prices I list here will likely be
significantly different by the time you read this article. If
prices are significantly different and you need help adjusting the
build to fit you needs, please feel free to ask for some advice in our community forums. We’ve got a very friendly, very knowledgeable community there who’d love to help you out. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at what we came up with!
Best Mid-Range Gaming PC Build Component Summary – Budget: $1,000
As you’ve probably noticed by now, I think the Intel Core i5-4670K is
by far the best mid-range to high-end gaming CPU you could get today.
Based off Intel’s 22nm Haswell architecture, the Intel Core i5-4670K is a
quad core CPU clocked at 3.4GHz with a turbo clock of up to 3.8GHz. While the Core i5-4670K doesn’t have 6, 8 or 12 cores, the Haswell
architecture is about as good as it gets when it comes to single
threaded IPC performance. Given that most games on the market aren’t
optimized for more than 2-4 simultaneous threads, it’s much more
important for a CPU to have that fast single threaded performance rather
than a whole bunch of cores that sit idle. But, that’s not all. For an additional performance boost, we also
went with a K series processor, which has unlocked multipliers for easy
overclocking. By overclocking the CPU, we can see between 15%-25%
performance boost depending on luck and cooling. While we didn’t add a
CPU cooler to our build today for budgetary reasons, something such as
low cost as the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO can easily be added to the system and would allow the Core i5-4670K to reach mild overclocks of 4-4.2GHz without issue.
For
our motherboard choice this month, we opted to go with the MSI Z87-G55,
which is one of the best value motherboards currently on the market.
MSI boards in the Intel 6 and 7 series generations were a bit more
expensive than similar motherboards in competitor lineups, but with the 8
series chipset, MSI now has a very strong motherboard lineup that
offers a lot of features for the price. Based off the Z87 chipset, the MSI Z87-G55 is a LGA 1150 socket
motherboard which supports the latest 4th generation Intel Core
processors such as the Intel Core i5-4670K. It features MSI’s new
Military Class 4 features which include higher quality components such
as super ferrite chokes, dark solid capacitors, Hi-C CAPs, DrMos4
mosfets, MSI’s Gen 4 fabric PCB and more for better durability, more
precise power delivery and lower motherboard temperatures. Additional features include support for SLI/CrossFire multi-GPU
configurations, 6x USB 3.0 ports (4x in the rear I/O, 2x internal
header), 6x SATA 6Gb/s with mSATA SSD support, 3x PCIe x16 slots, and
Gigabit ethernet.
Unfortunately in 2013, we’ve seen memory prices go up a bit since
they hit rock bottom in 2012, but it’s still not too bad which means our
mid-range gaming system will still have access to a decent 8GB of
memory. For our gaming PC build today, we went with the Corsair Vengeance
DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile kit, which we’ve had lots of success with over
the past couple of years. It’s fast enough for what we’re doing, it
looks pretty sweet, it doesn’t cost a whole lot, and it’s very reliable
as well. Of course given the nature of computer components things may go
wrong, but Corsair offers a lifetime warranty with the Vengeance kits
to ensure that these sticks will last you at least until DDR4 or DDR5
becomes mainstream. Additionally, we also like the fact that the Corsair Vengeance Low
Profile sticks use low profile heatspreaders. Low profile heatspreaders
may not look as cool as their high profile counterparts, but they do
remove the possibility of compatibility issues with monster CPU coolers
like the Noctua NH-D14 if you choose to purchase one down the line.
In
the budget range, it’s always difficult to find decent computer cases.
Manufacturers generally tend to skimp on either features or materials in
order to keep prices low, which sucks for those on a budget. However,
one case that seems to buck this trend is the Corsair Carbide 200R. With
the Carbide 200R, Corsair is capable of offering a case that has all
the features you need, yet are still capable of maintaining a build
quality that’s far from being plain “cheap”. The Corsair Carbide 200R is pretty much Corsair’s entry level
mid-tower case which is capable of supporting ATX and mATX motherboards.
Features wise, it contains room for 7 expansion slots, up to 8 fans for
tons of cooling capacity, front panel USB 3.0 support, lots of cable
management options, and support for GPUs up to 430mm. There’s also room
for a whopping eight disk drives and three 5.25″ drives as well for
plenty of upgradeability down the line. Additionally, the Corsair
Carbide 200R is extremely easy to build into with its completely
tool-less design making it a perfect case for first time builders and
veterans alike.
While we did consider the Radeon R9 270 for our gaming PC build this month, with
the Bitcoin/Litecoin/Dogecoin what have you crypto-currency mining
craze making it quite difficult to find stable stocks of AMD graphics
cards these days, we’ll instead be going with the ASUS GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II Overclocked edition graphics card. The
GeForce GTX 660 is more than capable of playing even the latest games
at high to ultra settings at 1080p resolutions and with ASUS’s factoryoverclock and DirectCU II cooler, you can expect the card to be not only fast, but relatively quiet as well. While the GTX 660 is a previous
generation graphics card and we’re not huge huge fans of recommending
previous generation GPUs when new ones are available, the GTX 660 is
unique in that Nvidia has continued the GTX 660 alongside the GTX 760
with the GTX 760 serving as more of the “GTX 660 Ti” equivalent type of
product. Those looking for a system with more powerful graphics can step
up to a GeForce GTX 760 for about a 15%-20% increase in performance, but it’ll run you an extra $40-$50.
For
any new builds these days, my preference is to start off with either a
240GB+ SSD or a 120GB SSD + 500+GB HDD combo. For those with larger
budgets, I generally recommend going with a single 240GB+ SSD while
those with smaller budgets can get a 120GB SSD and pair that with a
500+GB HDD which serves as a storage drive. Since our budget was limited in this case, I opted for a single
WD Black 500GB hard drive. The WD Black is that it’s one of the fastest
consumer 7,200 RPM hard drives on the market and it also carries a
5-year warranty, so short of a prosumer or enterprise 10,000RPM+ hard
drive, the WD Black is about as good as it gets for a traditional
spinning disk. That said, if you do have the budget left over, I’d
definitely recommend picking up a Samsung 840 EVO SSD.
The Samsung 840 EVO is a great SSD that’s not only a strong performer,
but it also carries Samsung’s tier 1 reliability and extremely
competitive pricing, generally retailing in the $0.60-$0.65/GB range.
Now the reason why I decided to compromise the most on storage in
order to fit the budget is because storage is probably the easiest
component to upgrade. Simply purchase a new SSD, clone the original hard
drive, and you’re good to go. You can even use the hard drive as a
storage drive for games, pictures, or movies once the upgrade is
complete.
Optional Components
Some readers have expressed interest in monitor, speaker, mice and
keyboard suggestions, so we’ve also started including some
recommendations for these items as well. I won’t be explaining the
choices as these optional components are quite dependent on the purpose
of PC (For example, someone serious about audio may end up going with
something like an Audioengine 5+ paired with an ASUS Xonar Essence STX), but here are some suggestions that are a good fit for this build based on the system’s budget.
Remember, if you have any questions, need some help, or need to fit the build into your budget feel free to visit the forums!
Myself, or the community will be more than happy to help you out with
your own custom build or answer any computer questions you may have. If
this build doesn’t fit your needs, be sure to drop by our Computer Builds
section to find more computer builds. If you spot any issues with our
build such as GPU/case incompatibilities, cooler/case incompatibilities,
etc. please let us know as well so that we may update the article. Also, be sure to join us on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or YouTube to be updated on the latest news, reviews, tutorials, custom computer builds, and more!
Plug
Help Us, Help You!
Every month, we spend a ton of our valuable time researching and
writing up what we think is the best build you can buy for the money. We
are very passionate about what we do and really enjoy spending our time
helping you make the best buying decisions possible, but unfortunately
passion and enjoyment doesn’t necessarily bring in much return. If you appreciate what we do and want to help us continue doing what we do, simply hit any of our Amazon links
on this page prior to purchasing anything from Amazon. It doesn’t cost
you anything to do so, but it does give us a small return on every
purchase you make. This allows us to pay for website hosting costs,
expensive testing equipment, and hopefully a growing number of
contributors down the line. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
