New MMO Build (FFXIV) - Prefer under $1k

The best build for $1000 -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($199.79 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.05 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.30 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.00 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($67.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.75 @ Vuugo)
Total: $970.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-12 12:09 EDT-0400)

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The CPU is of AMD but it matches head to head with i5 4670K and even beats it in many applications. Its a great CPU for future games too due to 8 cores. The cream of the crop is that its $50 cheaper overall. Similarly GPU is GTX 770. It can easily max out all the games you would want to play on 1920 x 1080. No issues anywhere.

The best you can find in Canada.

The CPU is of AMD but it matches head to head with i5 4670K and even beats it in many applications.

Click to expand...

Really? None of the benchmarks I've seen say otherwise - and I discredit Tech Power Up and CPU Boss - anything that's user edited has TONS of variables that could distort the results.

$1K build? I would not go with AMD FX personally. Go with a 4670K instead:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / 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 ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($265.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1033.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-12 13:36 EDT-0400)

G unit is right, the i5 is definetely better than the FX8350, and for MMOs especially where your CPU is often what is put under load.

If your not interested in SLIing/Crossfiring in the future then:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($289.60 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $849.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-12 14:19 EDT-0400)

I too put i5 4670K at first but it resulted in $1100 in Canada when checked.
That is why I had to use AMD.

And yeah, see it sir then -









You see, it shows its best on higher resolutions.
I wonder what is better, i5 4670K + HD 7970 / GTX 760 or FX 8350 + GTX 770?

The 770 is comparable to a 7970, get whichever card out of the two is cheaper really, they both perform great and are super high end:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/768?vs=829

Edit : Sorry, got confused b/w HD 7950 and HD 7970.

Yeah HD 7970 = GTX 770.

GTX 770 is slightly faster though.

No problem.

Just be sure of one thing, do not XFire that card in future as most games don't scale well on two AMD cards.

As long as you stick to 1 7970 its awesome, if you add in another one, you would surely encounter micro sluttering and / or black screens and other issues caused due to scaling.
HD 7970 also runs hotter than any of the Nvidia cards which also doesn't allow you to XFire unless you have liquid cooling or a goddamn awesome case with perfect airflow (Corsair 200R certainly isn't one of them. At least 400R is required for proper temperatures while Fractal Design R4 is ideal).

To be honest, if I were you, I would for now buy a GTX 760 and later on (after getting $100 - $200 more) SLI it with another 760 which would give me GTX Titan's (Fastest single Graphics Card on the planet) performance for $500 (Titan costs $1000).

So, this build would make more sense if absolute and more power is desired while taking advantage of awesome scaling Nvidia cards offer to cut costs by half -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($243.16 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.46 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.30 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($274.75 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $918.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-13 10:21 EDT-0400)

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Just changed the motherboard from Pro3 to Extreme3 to add SLI support.
Now, GTX 760 can max out all games you would ever want to play and very easily crosses recommended requirements of Final Fantasy XIV. In other words, you would get smooth 60 FPS even with a single GTX 760 on 1920 x 1080.

So, two things apply here -

1) GTX 760 is more than enough for all MMORPGs on Ultra for 1080p. It won't struggle anywhere. Therefore HD 7970 / GTX 770 are overkill for your requirements.

2) If you would play future demanding MMOs as well and would also play other genre games which would be released in future, it makes a lot sense to add in another GTX 760 for $250 more if you see the need to. Using 2 AMD cards come up with many issues (I see a lot of them on Tom's) which effectively restricts XFire and adding more power for less money thing.

Buy a video card from Nvidia and you would be a happier person, be it GTX 760 or GTX 770 (760 is enough for your current needs).

Rest depends on you. I don't mind about my answer not being picked as solution but I don't want you to encounter future issues with things. There are just my two cents.

the 7970 sadly had bad issues on crossfiring on launch but the 12.9 drivers fixed most, if not all those issues (AMD took quite a long time to release the fix, but they did it in the end):
http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=883&page=0

also before the patch was released radeon pro released their drivers which fixed most of the issues too:
http://www.radeonpro.info/download/

Its just the majority of reviews were written at the time of the 7970's launch so issues were present then