My 12-year-old son and I have been restoring and reusing discarded electronics, and we want to build a retro gaming PC from parts we've collected. We currently have four verified 16GB DDR3 DIMMs from Kingston HyperX and G.Skill, two GTX 1050 Ti graphics cards, a 1TB hard drive, a 500GB SATA SSD, a 256GB NVMe SSD, a Corsair CX500 power supply, several keyboards and mice, wireless and USB expansion cards, and plenty of cables. We're considering an Intel Core i7-4790K or a similar LGA1150 processor. The goal is to play older AAA games and current lighter titles such as No Man's Sky and RimWorld. What kind of motherboard, case, CPU cooler, and general setup would make sense for these parts? Are there any compatibility concerns we should check first?
3 Answers
Start by confirming the exact RAM specifications before choosing the board. Genuine 16GB DDR3 desktop DIMMs do exist, but the motherboard needs to support the module type, voltage, and capacity. A standard LGA1150 board with four DIMM slots would be the simplest choice if all four sticks are compatible. A used H97 or Z97 board would be a good match; choose Z97 only if you specifically want to overclock the 4790K. Also check the board’s memory support list when possible.
For cooling, a basic Intel stock cooler or an inexpensive tower cooler rated for the LGA1150 socket should be enough at stock settings. If you overclock the 4790K, use a decent tower cooler and make sure the case has at least one front intake and one rear exhaust fan. Pick a regular ATX or micro-ATX case based on the motherboard, and check its clearance for the graphics card and CPU cooler before buying. The Corsair CX500 is plenty of wattage for a single 1050 Ti, but inspect its age and condition carefully; if it is very old or damaged, replacing it is safer than relying on the wattage rating alone.
You probably only need one GTX 1050 Ti. These cards generally aren’t useful together for modern gaming, and the 1050 Ti does not offer a practical multi-GPU setup for most games. Use the better-tested card, keep the second as a spare, and make sure the case has reasonable airflow. The 500GB SATA SSD would be a good operating-system and game drive, while the NVMe drive can only be used as the main drive if the selected motherboard supports booting from NVMe or you add an adapter.
The modules are Kingston HyperX and G.Skill sticks with heatsinks, and we’ve tested them as 16GB modules. We’ll verify the exact voltage and specifications before buying a board.