Need Help w/ $1500 Gaming Build

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DigitalCrystal

Honorable
May 22, 2013
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10,510
Approximate Purchase Date: Next Week

Budget Range: $1000 - $1500 (Before Rebates / After 3/4 - 7 Day Shipping / After Taxes (Microcenter Only)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Graphics Designing, Web Development, Word Processing, Web Surfing, Watching Movies, TV, Music, Slight Video Editing, Multi-tasking

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: All (except mouse, keyboard and speakers)(sorry for this being late)

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com and Microcenter.com

Location: Cincinnati, OH

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Bitfenix Prodigy

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 (might upgrade to 2560x1440 later)

Additional Comments: This will be my first PC build ever and I'd like something small or atleast not difficult to transport or move when necessary. So, a case with sturdy handles would be highly appreciated, but I'm okay even if the case doesn't have handles as long as it's not too big and awkward to carry and move. Also, I don't play a lot of games on my computer except MMORPGs like Tera, Aion, PWI, etc. So, most of what I play is just CPU intensive. However, I want to play all MMOs at max settings with the frame rate never dropping below 30fps. And the final thing is that I can't go over $1500 at all.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My current computer is an old eMachines (et1161-01) that I got for school work when I was in high school. It's currently dieing (the motherboard is currently trying to go out) and can't half run almost anything. Even Firefox is too much for it sometimes, so when I upgrade to a new computer it'll be a huge upgrade for me.
 
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DarkSable

DarkSable

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Sep 27, 2012
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Nice pick on the Prodigy - I've got one, and I can tell you that I love it; not only is it one of the best cases I've ever had the pleasure of working on, it's also one of the most mod-able. I'm going with an ivy bridge setup for two reasons: one, few manufacturers have LGA 1150 socket mini-ITX motherboards yet, and two, Ivy Bridge is actually faster than Haswell when both are overclocked. (though overclocking well in a prodigy requires liquid cooling.)

Here's what I'd recommend:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($150.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.76 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1264.66
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-04 01:23 EDT-0400)
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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Jun 1, 2013
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I am listing some major components which are available at both Microcenter and Newegg -

1) Core i5 4670k
2) Z87 Motherboard
3) 2 x 4 GB 1600 MHz RAM
4) GTX 770
5) 650W PSU

Rest of the stuff won't make any difference and should be bought by you depending on your personal taste .. :)

I will get you a handled case though -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

Cheers!

P.S - Why do you recommend 3rd generation when Haswell is there? In benchmarks it is proven to be faster than 3rd gen and if in case he would like to upgrade things in future LGA 1150 socket would be better for 5th Gen.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
Jul 27, 2011
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Where? Post links. I have yet to see anything that proves this true.

If you're buying a $500, $1500, or $5000 rig, ALWAYS, ALWAYS buy the most current hardware that's out there.

Here's what I would suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($167.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($128.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($415.66 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($121.97 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1436.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-04 01:36 EDT-0400)
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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Jun 1, 2013
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Aye?
No no no .. I meant, 2nd poster is suggesting i5 3570K and I pointed out that he should rather go for 4th Gen as it is newer and improved in many ways. Also if OP would be wishing to upgrade in future (when 5th Gen is released) he should be able to upgrade without changing motherboard as Intel won't be fool enough to switch the socket in just 1 Gen.. I am also suggesting same processor above as you. :)
 
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DarkSable

DarkSable

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Sep 27, 2012
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The reason I recommended Ivy Bridge is because of how hit-and-miss Haswell is. It's a leap backwards to the days when you either got a golden chip and can get incredible overclocks... or you can barely hit a 30% overclock before your voltage has to be pushed to dangerous levels.

On average, Haswell is not a good overclocker - that means that Ivy Bridge, which can reliably and quite easily hit 4.5 GHz on almost every chip, is a better option.

EDIT: Also, two points. One, if Broadwell comes with DDR4 ram, then you're going to need a new motherboard anyways. Two, there's no point in upgrading within a two-step intel socket anyways; it's not worth the money and hassle.
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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OC is not in his must wanted list ..

And Haswell is still new, its later revisions would solve a lot of issues .. But it is always a good idea to get the newest available one. If we go by your logic we would end up with Sandy Bridge .. They can get to a higher clock by about 500 - 600 MHz while maintaining respectable temperatures as compared to Ivy Bridge. :)
 
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DigitalCrystal

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May 22, 2013
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Overclocking isn't a must for me until I see if I really need it to achieve my goal. But if I do need to overclock stability and temperatures are major things to me.

(P.S. It's not important, but I'm a chick.)
 
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DarkSable

DarkSable

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Sep 27, 2012
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If you don't want to overclock at all, then go with Haswell, as it does have slightly better efficiency and more features. That being said, getting a good overclock on Ivy is just about the easiest thing you've ever done - you set your multiplier to x44 or so, possibly bump up the voltage a little bit, and you're done.

Luckiest Charm, you have a good point in that later production runs of Haswell are going to smooth things out quite a lot, but you're incorrect about my logic. The difference is that between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge, Ivy Bridge is enough faster that even though Sandy gets a higher overclock, the more efficient architecture of Ivy Bridge means that you can get a roughly equal overclock between the two chips - therefore Ivy is better. The trouble with Haswell so far is that in most cases, it will not be able to overclock far enough for it's slight efficiency gains to catch up to Ivy Bridge's overclocking capabilities, and it's troublesome to get it to do even that. (Unless you get a golden chip, in which case everything changes.)
 
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