First time build- gaming PC for $1-1.5k. Need help.

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J

Johannel

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Oct 16, 2013
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Ok so I am busy saving up money to buy and build my own gaming PC. I am completely new and though I've read a good amount on it, I'm not assured enough ill do everything correct. So I decided I should ask here. I guess my main question is (sorta laziness mixed with confusion) can anyone give me suggestions for a PC build in the price range of $1-1.5k? I am looking to play Arma 3, total war, civ, and probably bf4.

I have an idea I what I want, but I think it's better to ask you guys from scratch.
Since I'm new to all of this I most likely am not interested in OC... Right?

Anything help would probably be good. Parts, sites, etc.
Oh also, I plan on building around December/January depending on the final price. I currently have about $1.2k saved up.

Thanks, Johan.
 
Solution
smorizio
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PDuu
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PDuu/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PDuu/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H90 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($237.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.79 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.96 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($405.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define...
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TBC1

TBC1

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Sep 2, 2013
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Solid build with room to upgrade -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($316.13 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($126.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1084.05
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-16 14:11 EDT-0400)
 
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smorizio

smorizio

Titan
Jan 22, 2010
30,984
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125,315
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PxaP
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PxaP/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PxaP/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.79 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.96 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($304.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.98 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1024.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-16 14:15 EDT-0400)
 
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smorizio

smorizio

Titan
Jan 22, 2010
30,984
9
125,315
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PxeW
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PxeW/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PxeW/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.79 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.96 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($304.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.98 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1094.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-16 14:18 EDT-0400)
 
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PepitoTV

PepitoTV

Honorable
Oct 10, 2013
847
0
11,360
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Pxgw
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Pxgw/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Pxgw/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($177.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($304.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1194.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-16 14:21 EDT-0400)
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Moderator
Jul 27, 2011
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Come back when you're closer to being ready to buy. I doubt things will change a lot between now and January. The hardware won't change much as the new Radeon R9s have been released, and NVIDIA may roll out a couple of cards as well. But the prices will definitely change, hopefully RAM prices will cool down a bit.
 
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J

Johannel

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Oct 16, 2013
66
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10,630


Well thats the thing, I could buy right now if I wanted to. Would a rig thats in the $1500 range be significantly better? So far all of these are around the $1000 range, which is good, but im wondering if i put in the extra 500, would it make a big difference? Also, what would I spend the extra 500 on? An i7? or maybe a GTX 670?
 
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smorizio

smorizio

Titan
Jan 22, 2010
30,984
9
125,315
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PDuu
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PDuu/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1PDuu/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H90 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($237.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.79 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.96 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($405.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($110.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1529.58
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-16 18:52 EDT-0400)
 
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Solution
J

Johannel

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Oct 16, 2013
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This one looks good! Thank you so much! What do other people think, because what I've checked this looks good. Though i do wonder, would it be worth it to upgrade the ram to 16gb?
 
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J

Johannel

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Oct 16, 2013
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Ok cool, out of curiosity, what game is that?

Also im just wondering if you could explain to me, what is the point of the two Storage devices?
 
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smorizio

smorizio

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Jan 22, 2010
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with an ssd there faster then hard drives there great for boot os. with windows 8 on the ssd it take only few secs for it to launch and few sec for programs and games to launch. downside is ssd have set amount of writes so you use the hard drive has a scratch drive for all your temp or short term files.
 
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J

Johannel

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Oct 16, 2013
66
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10,630


Ok yeah that makes sense. SO then I have one more question. How difficult will it be for me to set it so that the computer follows those paths for storage? Will it automatically choose the route, or do I just do something similar to making a computer choose graphics cards? Go into the storage and tell it which programs to use the ssd with?
 
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smorizio

smorizio

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Jan 22, 2010
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when you install games or aps that you dont need or use a lot you install them to the other drive using custom install and point it to the other drive letter or folder. i have my browser and word set to save to D:\ docs and my none uses games to the d:|games folders. games that you run daily can be on the ssd.
 
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J

Johannel

Honorable
Oct 16, 2013
66
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10,630


Ok awesome!
Thanks SO much for the help! It's really really appreciated! and useful.
 
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