First time building a gaming PC

Grant Tercero · Dec 5, 2013

Ok, this is my first time building a PC. I can see all the different building by doing a little google searching, but I am not sure what would be a good build for what I want to do.

My budget is about 750-850.
Approximate purchase Date would be around February 2014.

I am not to crazy about burning my eyeball out with insane clarity on my screen; however, I would like to run game like ARMA II, BF4, Day Z, War Z, World of Tanks, WoW, etc on Medium to high setting with 50-60fps.

What would be the best build for my buck? (Maybe educate me a little to on how all this stuff goes together?)

Thank you!

Illerthanwho · Dec 5, 2013

I dont know if your going to be able to get 50-60 hps on bf4 with high with your budget. Ive played the games a couple of times on PS4 (once on PC) and it seems like alot of data as there is a tremendous amount of detail.

Running that game on high at max hz for your avg monitor (aka about 60fps) with an $800 budget is not ideal, seeing that most graphics required to play that game on a "higher setting average" tend to cost a few hundred for a playable one to an arm and a leg to really start having fun (well fun to me I like games run on max period)

Someone more experienced with pricing of products/deals or building a powerful minimilastic (in terms of mobo features etc) may and hopefully will chime in.

Btw you might want to specify if you prefer going Intel or AMD (AMD saves you money when it comes to GPU and CPU, not sure about what happens when companys make mobos for a AMD though never decided to look.

3Dns · Dec 5, 2013

I dont know if you want a monitor also in the price.
Here is my rig for u, i leave 100$ for some changes.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($245.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $756.31
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-05 04:19 EST-0500)

If you plan to OC your system...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.27 @ B&H)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($245.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $833.58
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-05 04:23 EST-0500)

And here is the King of Gamer. With R9 270x CrossfireX Cards you will get a slight better perfomance from a single R9 280x, so yeah you will play BF4 at 50-60 fps on ultra.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($204.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($204.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $859.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-05 04:29 EST-0500)

Illerthanwho · Dec 5, 2013

Glad I was wrong

see there you go.

Rammy · Dec 5, 2013

3dns builds are pretty solid, but they don't include an OS. What had to be included for the price wasn't mentioned, so it's a bit of a grey area. I'd question the merits of 270X crossfire too, but that's nitpicking really, they are decent.

Also, "50-60fps" is a pointless number unless it has a resolution associated with it. Most games scale very well, so you can make more or less any machine hit those kind of numbers if you drop the resolution and detail levels low enough.

Grant Tercero · Dec 8, 2013

Thanks for the input!
@Rammy, i realized that after I posted. I just want a smooth gaming experience!

I also have a Windows 8 key ready to be used.

@3dns, is a CPU cooler/heat sink only useful for OC? The regular cooling unit on the CPU would do just find without Over clocking?
Plus, that first build without the OC cooling unit would play any 2013 game on med to high settings?
Thank you very much for the build suggestions!

Rammy · Dec 8, 2013

Remember that prices move very quickly, especially over this period. 3dns builds (while solid) are already out of date for the price, the graphics card in the first+second build for example isn't available anymore. By the time you come to buy, prices will be quite different, so don't stick to any build suggested here rigidly.

Additionally, I wouldn't use a HAF912 as I'd consider front USB3.0 to be a minimum requirement for cases these days (even very cheap cases have it). It's probably due a refresh. That's just personal preference, it's not like it's badly priced.

Stock fans are fine if you aren't touching overclocking. There are reasons you might want a cooler anyway, such as acoustics, or if you lived in a particularly hot region, but in general they are just for overclocking.

All of the builds linked will play any modern game. How well and what detail is tied to what resolution you want to run at. They should be good for 1080P, with near to the highest settings in most games, though every game is dramatically different and really intensive ones like Crysis3/FarCry3/BF4 will mean more of a compromise. You'll still be perfectly playable though.

Grant Tercero · Dec 8, 2013

Rammy :

Remember that prices move very quickly, especially over this period. 3dns builds (while solid) are already out of date for the price, the graphics card in the first+second build for example isn't available anymore. By the time you come to buy, prices will be quite different, so don't stick to any build suggested here rigidly.

Additionally, I wouldn't use a HAF912 as I'd consider front USB3.0 to be a minimum requirement for cases these days (even very cheap cases have it). It's probably due a refresh. That's just personal preference, it's not like it's badly priced.

Stock fans are fine if you aren't touching overclocking. There are reasons you might want a cooler anyway, such as acoustics, or if you lived in a particularly hot region, but in general they are just for overclocking.

All of the builds linked will play any modern game. How well and what detail is tied to what resolution you want to run at. They should be good for 1080P, with near to the highest settings in most games, though every game is dramatically different and really intensive ones like Crysis3/FarCry3/BF4 will mean more of a compromise. You'll still be perfectly playable though.

should I just stick to the specifications of each piece like the GPU rather than the specific build and make?

Rammy · Dec 8, 2013

Neither, to be honest. The HD7950 is a pretty good value card, but AMD are phasing out the 7000series. I'd assume it's not long before an R9 280 replaces it entirely, and that'll make price points shift a lot, including the competing GTX760 line.

2 months is a long time in computer components, deciding what to buy now is only going to reduce your value for money, as you'll miss any good deals available at the time.

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