First $800 - $1100 Gaming Build

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Celadon

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Aug 16, 2013
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10,510
Forgive me if I'm missing anything -- this is my first time ever putting together a build. Please tell me if I've forgotten anything, and I'll do my best to fix it! Thank you all in advance for helping, as I greatly appreciate any and all input.

Approximate Purchase Date: This week, or as soon as possible.
Budget Range: 800-1100 before rebates, and after shipping.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, surfing the internet, watching videos, art (PaintTool SAI -- not a big user of Photoshop).
Are you buying a monitor: No.
Parts to Upgrade: CPU, cooler, mobo, RAM, storage, graphics, wireless network adapter, case, PSU, OS. I don't need any peripherals at the moment.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes. Would prefer Windows 7 at the moment, unless you all manage to coax me into Win8, haha.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Being able to order everything from Amazon.ca would be great, but I'm open to other sites as well. In order of preference: Amazon Canada, Canada Computers (in stock in Barrie), Newegg.ca, any other Canadian website.
Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Parts Preferences: Intel CPU
Overclocking: Probably not.
SLI or Crossfire: Possibly SLI in the future.
Your Monitor Resolution: 1980x1080
Additional Comments: I would like something that runs quietly, I suppose. The games I'll be playing are mainly MMORPGs such as: FFXII, TERA Online, Blade and Soul (whenever it comes out), possibly PSO2, and other games such as Civilization V and The Sims 3 (and 4 in the future). I'm interested in possibly getting another graphics card in the future to SLI with, if I really need to. However, if you don't think I should bother with it, I'm fine with switching to a different graphics card.

This is what I have right now, but I'm working on lowering the cost while maintaining performance:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.46 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.50 @ Vuugo)
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)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($35.48 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($94.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1158.44
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-16 11:10 EDT-0400)

I'm pretty sure those prices are pre-tax, so it would come out to around $1300 post-tax. Ideal cap would be 1000 pre- or post-tax, but shelling out a little more for noticeably-increased performance would be fine with me. I'm hoping to keep this build for a few years in the future, but I understand that it could be difficult to completely future-proof a system.
 
Solution
luckiest charm
Yeps I am aware of the update too. Got to know about it just around 4-5 days ago but still its a good idea to go for Nvidia cards since they scale really well.

Two GTX 760s scale better than two GTX 770s or HD 7970s. A wise choice in my opinion for lesser money ($320 for HD 7970 and $250 for GTX 760 in Canada). Its totally worth buying and much better in just about everything (even after considering latest updates) when it comes to multiple cards. There are also some Nvidia exclusive features too (They don't matter a lot in games but yes they make games a bit more fluid) like Physx, TXAA, etc.

@Griffin - Certainly no problem. We are always learning something and I still have a lot left to learn as well. :)

For some reason my posts...
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Griffin832

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Jul 10, 2013
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I would recommend you get a 4670, as it will save you some money if you're not overclocking. The 'k" means it is unlocked, and easier to overclock. Go with the CM EVO. Extreme4 is a huge upgrade over the Extreme3 and only about $10-15 more. You only need 1600Mhz ram, which should save you some $$. Go with a WD Caviar Blue over the Seagate barracuda. Get a Radeon 7970, about the same price as the 760, but with higher performance, and a more future-proofed card. That is cheap WIFI card, might not get you the performance you want. Try going with an ASUS one. Corsair HX750W is having a big deal, it is a better PSU and with the deal it is the same price. If you have any questions just ask.
 
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C

Celadon

Honorable
Aug 16, 2013
11
0
10,510


When I go through the checkout process for most of the items, the prices displayed are pre-tax and without shipping. For example, Windows 7 from NCIX.com would cost me 116.81 after taxes and with the cheapest shipping option.

I did read the italics, but I'm fairly certain it's pre-tax still. Thank you, though. :)

@Griffin832: Which ASUS card in particular might you be talking about? In regards to the PSU, I can't seem to find any deals in regards to the HX750 on ca.partpicker.com. Am I overlooking something, or is the deal for American users?

Oh, Canada.
 
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Griffin832

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Jul 10, 2013
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My bad. It is a deal for Americans. Sorry! That is still a nice PSU either way. Also, try this WIFI card: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=1049&item_id=040824

If you're interested in dual-band, go the next step up which is the N53 or 56 I think.
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

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Jun 1, 2013
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Its always a good idea to buy an unlocked CPU whenever possible. He should have no trouble going to bios for 30 seconds and overclocking CPU to at least 4 GHz.

Extreme4 offers $10 - $15 upgrade only. Its not huge. No company gives you more advantage for less money. Still however, I am in favor of both as I find both of them quite decent for money. But considering his budget and requirements, at the moment Extreme3 is good choice.

Upto 1866 MHz is noticeable. 1600 MHz is ideal but anything over 1866 MHz is overkill. Not 1866 MHz RAMS unless you are rendering or other memory demanding tasks and need high speeds.

No ... Do NOT get HD 7970. Remember he said he is going to add another card? Two AMD cards bring a lot of trouble with them. Heavy micro sluttering, black screens, etc etc etc. This is perhaps the most important of all advises here.

As of the wi-fi card, I agree to you. Asus makes better cards.
 
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Griffin832

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Jul 10, 2013
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I like your signature quote....you made some great points, and I have to say I feel a little stupid now. :pt1cable: Haha, but thanks for all that. Not only will it help him, it'll help me in the future.
 
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Thanatos Telos

Thanatos Telos

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Mar 8, 2013
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They released an update a few weeks ago that improves it a lot. It's still a tad bit behind SLI, but only a bit.
 
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luckiest charm

luckiest charm

Honorable
Jun 1, 2013
1,697
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Yeps I am aware of the update too. Got to know about it just around 4-5 days ago but still its a good idea to go for Nvidia cards since they scale really well.

Two GTX 760s scale better than two GTX 770s or HD 7970s. A wise choice in my opinion for lesser money ($320 for HD 7970 and $250 for GTX 760 in Canada). Its totally worth buying and much better in just about everything (even after considering latest updates) when it comes to multiple cards. There are also some Nvidia exclusive features too (They don't matter a lot in games but yes they make games a bit more fluid) like Physx, TXAA, etc.

@Griffin - Certainly no problem. We are always learning something and I still have a lot left to learn as well. :)

For some reason my posts got mixed up with someone else. A week ago I had 1500 post with 175 Best Answers and now I have 2100 posts with 135 Best Answers. I wonder how my points got messed up, but still it doesn't really matter much.

Cheers!
 
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Solution
C

Celadon

Honorable
Aug 16, 2013
11
0
10,510
Made some changes:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.46 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.75 @ Vuugo)
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 ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($274.75 @ Vuugo)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($25.50 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($94.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1183.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-18 12:04 EDT-0400)

Does everything look okay now, or are there still some things I need to adjust?
 
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C

Celadon

Honorable
Aug 16, 2013
11
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10,510


Shelling out an extra $80 now to make it last a bit longer sounds fine to me. Thank you for all your help -- I really do appreciate it.
 
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