I'm building my first gaming pc and have no idea where to start.

Unbreakable1 · Nov 3, 2013

Like the title says this will be my first real gaming pc and I just feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of choices for every component I need. Any basic knowledge and suggestions would be great appreciated. I have a budget between $750 - $1000.

IRONBATMAN · Nov 3, 2013

where do you live and is your budget US$1000 ?

stickmansam · Nov 3, 2013

This here would be a nice build that fits your budget
Cut the SSD out and trim HDD to 1TB to save if you need to
CPU can also be dropped to a regular i5 instead of Xeon (cheaper version of i7)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1225 V3 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($84.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $970.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-03 20:39 EST-0500)

Unbreakable1 · Nov 3, 2013

IRONBATMAN :

I live in the U.S. and yes around $1000 would be my limit.

sheag123 · Nov 3, 2013

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1X4QI
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1X4QI/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1X4QI/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($50.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $747.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-03 20:43 EST-0500)

or this

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1X4Sn
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1X4Sn/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1X4Sn/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($50.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $817.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-03 20:44 EST-0500)

IRONBATMAN · Nov 3, 2013

stickmansam :

best one yet. The GTX 770 comes with 3 free games.

stickmansam · Nov 3, 2013

Yep, too bad AMD hasn't continued their Never Settle bundle for the R9's

Unbreakable1 · Nov 3, 2013

stickmansam :

IRONBATMAN :

Alright well it looks like we have a winner then. Besides the video care I saw the other builds listing a different mobo and cpu. Anybody who could give me some insight into why these were chosen over others? Would like to know a bit about what I'm buying.

stickmansam · Nov 3, 2013

gigabyte is not only a better brand imo, but it has vrm heatsink as well

features are about the same bu the gigabyte is cheaper

sheag123 · Nov 3, 2013

and its a xeon which is meant for servers or workstations so it is kind of a different application for this cpu. that being said it has a bit less performance as an i7 for gaming which is good value. previous gen xeons were worse for gaming than this series but they still arent overclockable just so you know that. the psu is a good one with seasonic components for a really good price. ssd's are always good too

stickmansam · Nov 3, 2013

^yep the Ivy 1230v2 was the best, you could OC it to 4ghz and it was priced like an 3570k

the i5's are 200mhz higher clocked than the Xeon

Unbreakable1 · Nov 3, 2013

So a pc around this range would be able to play most anything on high or ultra depending on the game?

stickmansam · Nov 3, 2013

Yeah it would

Unbreakable1 · Nov 4, 2013

Seems like the motherboard is pretty cheap price wise. What do you really get out of paying more for one?

sheag123 · Nov 4, 2013

features

stickmansam · Nov 4, 2013

^pretty much that and more heatsinks

rounakr94 · Nov 4, 2013

The best build for your budget.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($84.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1005.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-04 01:04 EST-0500)

stickmansam · Nov 4, 2013

^ no point for an 4670k with an B85 board, can't OC on B85

I would prefer the Antec HCG 620M, also made by Seasonic and is semi-modular

rounakr94 · Nov 4, 2013

Refer to next post.

stickmansam · Nov 4, 2013

self face palm XD

sheag123 · Nov 4, 2013

stickmansam :

haha

stickmansam · Nov 4, 2013

Being up late does things to your brain, gonna crash for a while and be back later

rounakr94 · Nov 4, 2013

Here is another good build for $1011 on which you can OC. It has a z87 mobo and intel core i5 4670k+asrock z87 extreme3+ your preferred antec HCG 620M.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1XdgX

Unbreakable1 · Nov 4, 2013

rounakr94 :

Not really planning to overclock. Will only be using one standard 1080p monitor so I think I'd be better off going with one of the cheaper builds unless there is any other reason to go for something that can overclock. I'd probably just be upgrading by the time it would be necessary for my needs.

stickmansam · Nov 4, 2013

If you're ntoing going to OC an B85 would be fine and combined with a Xeon E3 1225v3 or a i5 4570/4670

I'm building my first gaming pc and have no idea where to start.

Honorable

Honorable

Splendid

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Splendid

Honorable

Splendid

Honorable

Splendid

Honorable

Splendid

Honorable

Honorable

Splendid

Distinguished

Splendid

Distinguished

Splendid

Honorable

Splendid

Distinguished

Honorable

Splendid

Share this page