Final Build - Gaming PC. $1k Budget

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waterise

waterise

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So, as some of you may have seen, I've made multiple posts on which build is the right one for me. After lots of questions, research, etc., here's what I've come up with:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1e5Ca
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1e5Ca/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1e5Ca/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($110.98 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.29 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($264.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1014.15
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-07 07:27 EDT-0400)

How does that look? A little over my budget, but I can afford that. I've decided to go w/ the MSI 760 & not Gigabyte. The motherboard is the Z87 Pro4. I decided against the Pro3 since the 4 has gold caps, for more stability.
 
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tiny voices

tiny voices

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Honestly if this was me I would change a few things to get a better GPU. If this is going to be a gaming rig for the majority of the time, I would get a non K CPU, h87 motherboard, drop the cooler, and forget about overclocking. This could allow you to get a gtx770.

OR, if you really want to keep overclocking as a hobby, you could drop the SSD and get a gtx770.

This build will work as is and uses high quality parts if you decide to keep everything the same.
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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You might want to save some cost here -

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7td120bw

A better deal, I guess. Should make things get a bit closer to your budget.

(So GTX 760 came out on top after the legendary debate) :lol:

Why don't you go for EVGA? It trumps both the brands and is factory superclocked too -

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42765kr

@tiny - SSD is a crucial part of a PC now a days. Can not be excluded here. As far as GPU matters, I agree GTX 760 can max out almost all games on ultra, but 770 gives even more FPS. +1 here provided he can afford it after cutting out on cooler, CPU and motherboard (Which I think would not spare $150 more).

Overall I am satisfied with this build. SSD is also good enough and I gave just some minor suggestions here to make costs go further down.
 
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Kamen_BG

Kamen_BG

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This would be much better.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Respire T40 68.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($20.53 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Foxconn Rattler ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($57.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1098.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-07 10:41 EDT-0400)

Here's why.

The 2500K overclocks better than the 4670K so you will essentialy get the same performance out of it, but spend significantly less.

The memory uses low profile heatsinks which will ensure there are will be clearance issues if you decide to go with a huge air cooler in the future.

You need more space. 128 GB's just would do it.

You can get much more performance out of the HD 7970 compared to the GTX 760. An overclocked 7970 is as fast as an overclocked GTX 770.

The Antec One has better cooling performance than the Corsair 300R.
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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I was suggesting 7970 in his older thread since ages but that card got rejected finally.

So lets leave it out. Otherwise 256 GB SSD far surpasses his budget. He has a fixed budget of around $1000. $10 - 20 here and there is okay but nothing more than that. So you might have to go for 120 GB one.

Overall I find the above build much better than the top one. You are right about Sandy Bridge overclocking capabilities and same goes for 7970 (Although Ivy Bridge is also pretty good at OC too). If OP can overclock this one, it would show noticeable differences in overall FPS.
 
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waterise

waterise

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Ok, well I just typed a paragraph on my phone to reply but it got erased, so here's what I said in short:

Nothing's definite, I can still change GPU's
Kamen, can you change your build a little so it fits my budget? Take off $60 somewhere.
Luckiest, if EVGA beats the other ones, what about the PowerColor that was suggested?
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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PowerColor does not manufacture Nvidia cards. In the same way EVGA does not manufacture ATI cards. So those are two distinct brands. :)

With Sandy Bridge you can get around 500 MHz more in overclocking with same voltage and temperatures as compared to Haswell.
 
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waterise

waterise

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Is almost $400 REALLY worth it for a GPU?
How significant is PowerColor 7970 to 760? 'Cause benchmarks showed the 760 did fine at 60+ FPS for every game, except Crysis. Seemed like it out-did the 7970.
Lunch break is over, so I'll reply when I'm off work or have nothing to do
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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PowerColor HD 7970 does not cost $400. For $400 you can get GTX 770 itself.

The 7970 mentioned here costs $330 approximately. And actually we are talking about overclocked HD 7970 (Which Jack mentioned in old thread).

That card is able to compete with GTX 770 and far outperforms 760 when you overclock it. It packs in a lot of potential.

Above benchmarks list various games and you should be able to observe that it gives far more FPS than GTX 760 in almost 80% of the games.

One more thing, in almost all top games listed there, GTX 760 is not able to give 60 FPS on Ultra. Even goes down to 30 FPS in some titles where HD 7970 is able to maintain a steady 60 FPS on highest settings.
 
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waterise

waterise

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Well, damn...
Ok, so I'm getting a 7970 :p

Should I just buy the build you posted & lower the SSD GB so it's more into my budget?
& if I buy all these parts from like 3 different websites, can I somehow have them all shipped at once?
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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Get this build. I would adjust everything accordingly -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Respire T40 68.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($20.53 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($57.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 3000 USB 3.0 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1078.42
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-07 13:39 EDT-0400)

Here I changed Case, SSD and Motherboard.
Also added a HDD (I was wondering if you could live on just 256 GB of SSD, so thought to add).

Overall it makes up for $1050. Hopefully it is in your budget. Overclock both CPU and GPU to get maximum performance. I myself have 2500K and so far the experience is epic.

Just buy the parts from said websites in the links and they would ship in accordance with their shipping rules and time limits. All in all you should have all your ordered stuff at home by next week. :)
 
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tiny voices

tiny voices

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I know you can overclock the 2500k well, but I would not get tech 2 generations old for that single reason. Seems pointless unless overclocking is your hobby and you plan to do ALOT of it. Plain and simple, I would get newer tech for sure.

If you want to overclock alot, change that CPU cooler to the coolermaster hyper 212 evo.

 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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Here the matter is not about tech 1 generation old or two. We mean performance. If a fully overclocked 2500K is able to outperform 4670K while costing less money, then that is a better deal. People buy stuff which are at sweet spots, and I guess this one is.

Everyone knows Haswell does not overclock well.

However if OP can spare a little bit more, he can go for i5 3570K without changing motherboard. It is slightly faster but lacks in OC again in comparison.
 
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waterise

waterise

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What the Hell, I posted again from my phone & it didn't work. Ugh..

Here's the current build. I took Kamen's build & edited the SSD, which saved me $40. Still over my budget by like $30, sadly.

Tiny, what do you mean OC'ing is a "hobby?" Don't you just OC once & it stays like that for you so you can run stuff better?

Build:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ecAE
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ecAE/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1ecAE/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Respire T40 68.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($20.53 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Foxconn Rattler ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($57.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1030.42
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-07 16:30 EDT-0400)

The price is really $1,060.42.
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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Do not get the Pro version if you want to save the remaining $30. Links to normal 120 GB 840 Series are above.

That would fit in $1000 budget exactly. However I am not so certain about motherboard choice here. Getting a cheap sort of motherboard is not a good idea. It is a P67 motherboard when your main target should be at getting a Z75 / Z77 chipset from a reliable brand to fully support high overclocks (You are going to hit the max with this one so make sure your mobo can handle it).

ASRock Pro3 is a really good motherboard considering its price. Also, get Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO instead. Costs $10 more than chosen one. It would benefit you at higher clocks.
 
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waterise

waterise

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Changed build a little bit, but now I need to cut off $70.00.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1eglK
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1eglK/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1eglK/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($57.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1064.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-07 19:50 EDT-0400)

Edit: Should I even get the PowerColor Radeon? It seems most people get AMD Radeon HD 7970. I never even heard of the PowerColor one until today. What's an alternative to the PowerColor?
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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You chose a good motherboard this time (Extreme3 costs $20 less so you might want to consider it).

Actually the deal with graphics cards is that AMD and Nvidia make the actual GPU.
Then their corresponding manufacturers take the stock card and add their own coolers, etc to it (Enhance it).

PowerColor does not make video cards. Same is with EVGA, Gigabyte, Asus, Sapphire, etc. None of them actually make. They just add their coolers to stock design and add some minor modifications. In most cases Blower is removed and two fans are added since most people do not SLI or Crossfire.

PowerColor is one of the famous brands of AMD Card. Their price performance ratio is very high (Compared to that of Sapphire). You should go for it. There would not be any problem.

Also, getting the stock AMD card is not a wise choice. Stock HD 7970 has blower which is more suitable for Crossfire and the card is also pretty rare to find.
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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waterise

waterise

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So I'm looking up on this card again...is this an ACX? Because I have been scrolling through this site and the EVGA beats the MSI (one I chose originally) on all FPS so far:

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/57545-msi-geforce-gtx-760-twin-frozr-gaming-series/?page=6

But it's the EVGA GTX 760 2G ACX.


Edit: Here's the newest build I have. Had to cut to save some money.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1fbSM
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1fbSM/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1fbSM/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.49 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.39 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.69 @ Mac Mall)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.73 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1041.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-10 11:48 EDT-0400)
 
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