Help with $1600.00 budget gaming rig

mikey55

Honorable
Sep 22, 2013
4
0
10,510
Hello community,

First time poster on Toms Hardware. I apologize if this is in the wrong section. I am going to be building my first gaming rig and need some help on picking out parts that are compatible. Mostly I need help with the motherboard, processor and ram, but I welcome complete builds that will fit my 1600.00 budget.

EDIT: Just Intel processors, sorry that I didn't mention that. Also, I have a monitor, mouse and keyboard.
 
Solution
$1600 budget you should definitely be prepared to overclock. No reason not to, and most motherboards from Z77 on will practically do it for you with a few clicks in the UEFI program.

This is what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($150.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk...

mikey55

Honorable
Sep 22, 2013
4
0
10,510




I do not plan on overclocking nor adding a second GPU. However, I would like a case big enough to add on if I do decide to expand later on down the road. I already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse. The entire $1600.00 will be for the tower. If you can save me 600 dollars and still build me a top gaming pc by all means I am open to ideas. :) Thanks guys.

 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
$1600 budget you should definitely be prepared to overclock. No reason not to, and most motherboards from Z77 on will practically do it for you with a few clicks in the UEFI program.

This is what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($150.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone FT02S-USB3.0 ATX Mid Tower Case ($247.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($182.04 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1682.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-22 16:39 EDT-0400)

I chose the Silverstone Fortress for the case because it's got a nice polished aluminum look to it, and the PSU is a bit overkill but allows for a second GPU to be added. The Swiftech H220 will provide plenty of cooling power for the 4670K. You can see a build with the Fortress here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lian-li-pc-b12-nanoxia-deep-silence-1-silverstone-ft-02s-usb3,3378-10.html
 
Solution

Marcopolo123

Honorable
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($78.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $802.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-22 17:50 EDT-0400)


most parts are on sale, some good deals on newegg.


the sapphire hd 7950 is fine for recent and upcoming games to play on 1080p, high->max. settings 50+fps depending on which game. it can be overclocked well.

get asus hd 7970 for ~300€ if you need a bit more power, => mostly max. settings 50-60+ fps, about 10-15 % higher performance then hd 7950 i guess.
 

mikey55

Honorable
Sep 22, 2013
4
0
10,510


How much better is the Core i7 4770K 3.5GHz Socket over what you picked? Is it worth the extra 100 dollars for the 4770k? If i was to go with the 4770k would the motherboard and ram you selected be compatible?

 

Gman_HAX

Honorable
Sep 5, 2013
20
0
10,510



If you're gaming, there is minimal to no difference between i5 and i7. Only differences are that the i7 can be overclocked better, and includes a Hyper-Threading feature. What this does is tells Windows that the CPU has 8 cores, even though it physically only has 4. That will only be useful if you're doing heavy video editing / 3D rendering.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Not really worth the extra money for gaming IMO. You're better off investing the difference in getting a better GPU.