$1400 budget gaming pc

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dreyonar

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Jul 24, 2013
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I'm have a budget of $1400, but I want to survive 7 years with it. So I would like that a build includes upgrades needed for playing the latest games over 7 years.
Is this possible? And if this is, what would be the best build?
 
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nsahawks7

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He's right, you're most likely going to upgrade in 3 years tops.
More information needed as well:

What games? Resolution? Do you have your Monitor, OS, Keyboard, Mouse? Sli/Crossfire? Etc.
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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You can go for this build below for like 3 years without problem, the next two years you might need to turn down the settings to High, and after 6 years you should be looking at Medium settings (only time will tell that) but I do not think that with a build like this you would have much problem in the future. But since you want to future proof it then this is a very good build for Future Proofing Purposes

For all those guys who would say that you do not need a i7 for gaming and blah blah. I included the i7 because he wanted to future proof his build. The more threads of the i7 would ensure that he would not have any problem for the future games which are certain to make use of more than 4 threads. That is why I included the i7 for this build.

Also, like 3-4 years later you can grab another 780 and put them in SLI which should be enough for another 2-3 years. So this build is very good.

Note: This build is not Overclocking Capable but you would not really need to overclock, the CPU is extremely powerful for anything.

So this is the 1400 dollar beast :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus H87-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($112.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($649.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1437.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-24 12:16 EDT-0400)

You can mark thread as solved anytime when you find the answer you were looking for by selecting that answer as the best answer. It would be appreciated by other guys who are looking for similar answers.
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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A $800 build may provide the best utility:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.30 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.74 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $831.94

Here is one for your full budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120XL 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.30 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.74 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1381.63
 
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nsahawks7

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No, one for $1400 would be a lot better.
-100 for the OS means 1300. What resolution are you going to play games so we know what size monitor to buy?

 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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You will likely need to replace the CPU, Ram, Motherboard, and GPU with the possibility of needing to upgrade your storage solution. It is hard to predict what the future will require but it could be very well possible that a GPU upgrade down the line will provide enough juice to maintain gaming at 1080P since there will likely be a transition to 4k over the next few years.


Both of my builds include a 23.6" monitor.
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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I can't predict future pricing but $600 today does enable you to build a machine capable of playing modern games at 1080P
 
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nsahawks7

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+1
These two builds are your best bet, balanced and have awesome performance.
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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Oh! I did not noticed that you also needed a Monitor and an OS. So here is the little bit changed build which has a Monitor and OS included for about the same price. It still has the 780 so should be as good for gaming. But you would need to change the CPU after 2 years if you want better performance, still it should be just fine. So this is a good build with a Nvidia 780 which is the most powerful single GPU card (okay, just a little behind the Titan, just a little). Okay so here is the reworked build :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-E33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($649.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.74 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1488.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-24 13:02 EDT-0400)

You can mark thread as solved anytime when you find the answer you were looking for by selecting that answer as the best answer. It would be appreciated by other guys who are looking for similar answers.
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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Your build isn't very balanced.

You picked a micro ATX case and motherboard. The motherboard only has 2 expansion slots ( 1 PCI Express 3.0 x16 and 1 PCI Express x1) but decided to invest in a 750W PSU when you wouldn't need more than a 550W PSU for this build. In addition, you are spending nearly 50% of the budget (you are over budget) on the GPU for marginally better performance over an overclocked 7970 which is half the costs. Not only that, an SLI configuration of two 760s would still cost $150 less than this setup and have higher performance. To top it off, you decided to pick the 4670 instead of the 4670K even though quite a few B85 boards will be supporting overclocking.
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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I picked a Micro ATX case because it is what I prefer, it he likes he can change the case with a ATX case. It was just what I personally prefer.

The Seasonic 650W Semi Modular PSU was like 85 dollars and this XFX 750W Fully Modular PSU was like 89 dollars, so for just 4 dollars, there is no problem in having a much better PSU, so, i did not invested in a 750W PSU. It was just cheaply available, much cheaper than the 650W Fully Modular PSU's

What does he need more expansion slots for? Tell me anything other than a Wifi Adapter, most people do not really needs the expansion slots.

I am hundred percent sure than the 780 is much better than the overclocked 7970 and not just Marginally Better Performing as you said. The 780 is much better. The 780 is almost comparable to the Titan, the most powerful Single GPU card available.

There can be issues with SLI, but there would never be issues with a Single GPU card. Also two 760's in SLI is not equal to 780.

This build was not meant to be overclocking capable, that is why. Who said that every build should be overclocking capable? There is no strict rule on that. Is there??
 
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Jackrzu

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+1
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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Yeah, I also agree that i toned down the build very much to my liking, but here is what should be much more better for the General Audience. This build should be better for other users, the first build was like very much toned my likings, but this build should be better for other guys. So here it is. Also under the budget.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.74 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1307.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-24 14:25 EDT-0400)

You can mark thread as solved anytime when you find the answer you were looking for by selecting that answer as the best answer. It would be appreciated by other guys who are looking for similar answers.
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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Making an arguement for a modular PSU over a semi-Modular model for units under 750W is moot as all the non-modular cables will be in use 100% of the time if you are running a mid to high end GPU.

Here are the fixed cables of the XFX 650 semi-modular PSU:
1 x fixed 20+4pin Main Connector
1 x fixed 4+4pin ATX 12V/EPS 12V
2 x fixed 6+2pin PCI-E

Will your build be using all 4 of these cables? Of course it will. So what value does a fully modular PSU add? The XFX 650 semi-modular is $50 so there is a $40 difference in price for 100W capacity and a gold rating.

I brought up expansion slots because your board had no possibility of expansion to utilize the extra capacity of the PSU. You can talk about the merits of the 780 all you like but the reality is that the 7970 still provides the better performance per dollar. Also, there is a $15 difference between the 4670 and the 4670K. How are you going to claim "future proofing" and then not include overclocking capability if the motherboard supports it?

Lastly, bolding portions of your posts does not provide any more validity to your claims.
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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I agree with most of your things, but I do not agree with PSU. 80 Plus Gold PSU is anyday much better than a 80 Plus Bronze PSU. I would like to make that thing very clear. That is why I included that PSU because it was one of the cheapest and good 80 Plus Gold PSU.
 
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