Please Help with Gaming PC ~$1300

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serenity2718

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Hi everyone, I'm looking to start a gaming pc build very soon (within one week), and I would really appreciate any thoughts on it before I start the purchase. This will be my second build (first was a Q6600/8800GTS back in 2007). Since I live in nyc, I would like to keep most things to Newegg, since they charge no sales tax for me.

I'm pretty comfortable with the current total price but willing to go up by at most $500 if the part warrants the premium. I will likely do some light OCing, but no more than 4.2GHz, and I'm not looking to do SLI in the near future.

The preliminary parts I put together are:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Qyrl

If someone could look over the list and provide some advice on how they fit together, or if there is a great piece that I should go for instead, I would really appreciate it. Also, a few questions if anyone could help with:

1. I realize that currently ATI is winning at the GTX760 level, but I feel more comfortable with Nvidia since I've been using those for forever. Will I possibly see a price drop on 760/770 soon, or should I just start looking at ATI cards?
2. Would the SeaSonic 550W work for this build, or should I get a 650W instead? This PSU has very attractive pricing right now and I don't think I'll ever do SLI.
3. I see the Samsung 840 SSD get recommended very often. Will I see a large benefit by going with that instead of the Kingston V300?
4. With only a mild OC, would I be able to get away with a cheaper Z87 mobo?
 
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ksham

ksham

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1. Maybe. Soon if you count a few big holidays coming up.
2. Yes; the PSU will be fine.
3. I would say that Samsung gets a lot of hype in the SSD market. The 840 isn't one of their best products. The 840 EVO or 840 Pro should get consideration over the 840. Even the 830 is better. The Samsung 840 will outperform the Kingston V300 in almost every category by a decent margin. If you like Kingston products, I would opt for the HyperX 3K instead.
4. Such as the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H? But it really depends on the quality of the motherboard.
 
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Marcopolo123

Marcopolo123

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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 ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 270X 2GB Video Card ($214.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.00 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.21 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $916.14
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-19 05:26 EDT-0400)
 
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serenity2718

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Thank you for your responses guys! I replaced the Kingston with Samsung 840 EVO in my build.

Is Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H the best board around ~150 price point? There seems to be a lot in this range and I can't really tell the differences. Asrock is giving away a 4gb RAM with the board, and that's the only reason I picked it.

Also I just saw that Corsair HX650 is $90-$20(rebate) on Newegg, and seems to have more positive reviews than the SeaSonic. Should I do that instead?
 
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ksham

ksham

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The Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H is a great motherboard and a great overclocker. That's not to take anything away from the ASRock Extreme 4 because that is a great motherboard in its own right. But Gigabyte motherboards have better quality build material than ASRock.

But if the ASRock board comes with 1x 4GB RAM, then save some money and buy another 1x 4GB RAM instead of 2x4GB.

And if you don't plan to CrossFireX, the SeaSonic PSU is fine. And if you do plan to CrossFireX the R9 280X, I recommend at least 800W.
 
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Amit Parmar

Amit Parmar

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Nice build except for one thing. The CPU should NEVER cost more than the GPU. Switch it to a 280x and it's fine.
 
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serenity2718

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Thanks, good point. Looks like the Asus 280X DC2T in all the professional reviews is OOS at Newegg though... I guess I'll just buy everything else first. For now I'll use my old GTX 260, and wait for GTX 770 to drop in price or for 280X to come back in stock.

This is my final list, ready to pull the trigger. Is there anything wrong or missing?

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 ($34.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $80.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN781ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $60.00)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Mwave)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (Purchased For $0.00)
Monitor: Asus VS24AH-P 24.0" Monitor (Purchased For $210.00)
Other: Surge Protector ($24.00)
Total: $1470.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-19 19:29 EDT-0400)
 
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serenity2718

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If anyone could help me evaluate the following combo deal I found:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1453554

Assuming the gaming is worth nothing to me, and 4670K is at the default price, that would make the GTX 770 around $365. Do you guys think I should pull the trigger now, or wait a few days more to see if nvidia has any official price cuts coming out? (I could probably wait up to a week in that case)
 
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Amit Parmar

Amit Parmar

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It is MUCH better than the 760. My friend got one and now I am jelly.
 
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serenity2718

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Hi guys, I have my rig up and running finally, thanks to everyone for the great help in choosing the parts!

One followup question: I live in a somewhat dusty environment, and I already see a bit of dust building up in my case (Corsair 400r). There are huge open holes on both top and side of the case, which I don't really feel comfortable about (especially when the pc is off). Can I somehow close them up completely, or use a dust filter similar to the bottom PSU filter? At this point thermal performance seems fine, so I don't think I need additional fans. Appreciate any input.
 
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Amit Parmar

Amit Parmar

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You would just have to dust clean a little more often.

Non dusty - Every 1-2 months

Little Dusty - Every month

Moderatly dusty - Every 3 weeks

REALLY DUSTY - Every 2 weeks

So dusty you can't see - Kill yourself for living here.
 
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serenity2718

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Right now I only have the stock set: 2 120 intake in front and another 120 exhaust in the rear. I was thinking about possibly having a 140 exhaust on top, but then read some stuff about positive pressure so decided against it.
 
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ksham

ksham

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Then I would make sure the front is dust filtered and clean it regularly (once a week). But as long as more air is going into the case, you get less dust build up. The reason behind that if there is more air going into the case than going out, dust cannot get through any other holes because air will be flowing out of there. It's like blowing up a balloon but it has a really small hole. You can blow more air into it than air can leave so if I were to poke another small hole somewhere, air will leak through it. I can spray all the dust I want at those two holes and no dust will go in.

But when the computer is off, I would just get a big bag or some big cloth and cover it. But you shouldn't need it if the computer is on.
 
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Amit Parmar

Amit Parmar

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Max 5fps... Windows 7 is much better than windows 8 in the user friendly department. Sure they readded the start button... That takes you to the start screen...
 
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