Building a new PC over time, what to buy first?

[Dane]

So starting next month, I am going to start buying pieces for a new computer that I want to build.  

What order should I buy the things in since I don't want to spend all that money upfront.  

I was thinking:
Case + fans, maybe PSU.  
Ram. 
Video Card. 

Same time purchase:
MB and CPU.  

I am just worried about the return period.  Some of the stuff will bought in September.  The final things, and first power on will be probably January. What if the stuff doesn't work?  I can't exactly send that stuff back to amazon or newegg.

 

Here is the build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.00 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($145.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($104.95 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($75.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($51.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $592.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-25 09:32 EDT-0400

I'm debating on the new GTX 950 cards, or just go for a 960, I don't want to spend more than $200.  

Also, I am undecided on the MB too.  I got two HDD's and one SSD.   I also want a board with atleast 4 fan connections. since the case has three built in, and I am adding one to the top. 

 

Thinking of this mb

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-130-765

Edited August 25, 2015 by Dane

[Tantawi]

May I ask why are you doing so? can't you save the money and then buy everything in January? if it is super hard for you to save money (Like me!) then buying some bank certificates that can only be cashed in January is a good idea

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

i dont see the point of buying parts when you wont have a functioning computer. youre just buying parts to have it sit around? that's not good ROI. you're letting parts devalue and gather dust.

btw, go for the 960. no reason to mess w/ the 950.

[stescaz]

i dont see the point of buying parts when you wont have a functioning computer. youre just buying parts to have it sit around? that's not good ROI. you're letting parts devalue and gather dust.

btw, go for the 960. no reason to mess w/ the 950.

I agree it's no point keep the cash saved up until your ready to purchase all the parts.

[Dane]

I guess I can save up for it all at once.  Might make it cheaper for around the holidays and right after too.  

If the 960 is cheaper, I'll probably pick that up. 

[+Eternal Tempest MVC]

I do this to be able to buy better parts, spread the cost over a short time.
Pay for thing that drop in price the fastest last.

I do start with Case, PSU, Optical Drive (Optional), Case Mods (ex Memory Card reader fits optical bay, fans). 
CPU, Video Card (most volatile price changes- typically dropping in price) are usually my last purchases.

[Colin.B]

I guess I can save up for it all at once.  Might make it cheaper for around the holidays and right after too.  

If the 960 is cheaper, I'll probably pick that up. 

That really is the best way to go. Or save aggressively and see what kind of Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals are out there in November and you may be able to get most or all of your components by then. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to buy and wait to buy more. If we were taking a couple of weeks that's one thing but September - January is a noticeable amount of time and who knows what might be out by January.

[Vvo]

If you catch the right deals on a 2gb 960, it's only a $15-$20 price difference between the 950 and 960. I was in a similar dilemma two weeks ago of whether to upgrade to the 960 or wait a week later to get the 950. 

[neo1911]

You can get 

Intel Core i5 6600K

G.Skill 2x8GB RAM kit

Asus Z170 motherboard

Corsair 650W modular PSU with gold rating.

Use onboard Intel graphics till holidays. Then upgrade to better card.

I would not buy last year's Devil's Canyon processor when Skylake is available.

 

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

i know people said it already, but spending money of the parts you won't be using for 6 months is a dumb idea.

 

save, and buy it all at ones, when you are ready.  i assembled more then 20 builds from random parts before,
and (while i had had my fair share of problems getting it to work - the worst one took me 2-3 days of solid research and messing around)
i always managed to get it working properly without having to replace parts (you have to research what works together, but luckily you have neowin to help)

you absolutely can get a better deals before/after xmas and all the way into January.  Buy THEN.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

You can get 

Intel Core i5 6600K

G.Skill 2x8GB RAM kit

Asus Z170 motherboard

Corsair 650W modular PSU with gold rating.

Use onboard Intel graphics till holidays. Then upgrade to better card.

 

That is a great advice too.    You will have a functional computer, and then after new year, get a better video card.      good video card is going to be one of the more expensive components, so it can wait till later for a better deal.

[MorganX]

I'm doing the same. I started with a NCASE M1 ITX case since it takes a while to ship from Taiwan and they only ship a few times a year. I got some DDR4 (best to wait till last for price drops but I got a good deal). I bought the water cooler, and next will be the PSU. I'm waiting on Corsair to release their SFX PSU as Silverstone's 600W SFX has received terrible reviews.

After the PSU I'll get an ASRock x99-itx/ac and an i7 5820k or a Xeon in the ~650 range. I'm going all out as this will probably be my last PC build (with the exception of possible GPU upgrades) and with XBox One getting DVR in 2016, there'll be no HTPC either.

I'm also ordering a custom carry case for the NCASE that costs more than the case, I'll order that as soon as the maker starts taking custom orders again.

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

To echo what others have said. 5+ months is a long time to buy hardware and not use it for, chances are it will all be a lot cheaper in January or you can get better parts for the price you would currently pay now.

Open a new savings account to save money and buy everything at once.

[George P Global Moderator]

I started doing the same, but I'm not going to take 5+ months to finish, I should be done by Oct for sure.  I already got the case and the psu since those aren't going to change anytime soon.    Motherboard and RAM next up, with a SSD and finally the CPU.  Going to use this current HD7870 gfx card till a bit later and snag a Geforce GTX 970, maybe the price will even come a bit down by then, but video card will be the last thing I get.