~$1200 gaming rig advice

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Voxx

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Dec 8, 2013
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10,510
Hi everyone. I am looking to build my first computer from scratch and am looking for some advice.

Approximate Purchase Date: Hopefully in January.

Budget Range: Around $1200, give or take.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: I almost exclusively use my PC for gaming while Skyping with my friends and going back and forth between guides online and Facebook, Steam, etc. Looking for a system that will future proof me for a few years.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: (e.g.: newegg.com, ncix.com -- to show us selection & pricing)

Location: Detroit, Michigan. I have access to a Micro Center in Madison Heights MI.

Parts Preferences: I have used both NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards. Right now I have an HD 5770 1GB card that I have enjoyed for a year or two. I am leaning towards ATI but am open to suggestions.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Doubtful

Your Monitor Resolution: 1600 x 900. I may upgrade to a 1920 x 1080 display in the future.

Additional Comments: I am thinking about using Windows 8 and I would like a quiet gaming case. Have heard of the Thermaltake New Soprano being a quiet choice but am concerned about heat. I don't think I will overclock .. if I buy a decent aftermarket air cooler would I be okay with a sound dampening case?

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I have had my current setup for approximately five years. I have a Dell XPS435MT, and I've added a 750W Corsair PSU and upgraded from the Radeon HD 4850 to a Radeon HD 5770. I would like to squeeze five years out of my new build. Recently I began playing Battlefield 4 and I have to set all the settings on Low and it takes a long load for games to load and I get some stuttering and lag on the larger maps.

I have a rough draft here http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2g33k and am wondering if can trim any fat, possibly. A lot of people say 16GB RAM is overkill but as I said, I would like to be futureproofed. Thank you for any help! As a side note I am selling my tower to a friend so I would also need a new PSU, but no monitor, keyboard, mouse or other peripherals.
 
Solution
sportfreak23
Ok I have these 2 builds here, unfortunately like most of the 280x's I looked at are all soldout or priced higher then what they are listed in pcpart. So I picked a gtx 770 instead as both are roughly the same. And since your playing on a lower res monitor and a 1920 x 1080 in the future it'll be good.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2hnzh
^
so this is your none overclocking build, the motherboard is good but if you ever want to use SLI or overclock in the future this isn't for you.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2hnHG

^ tbh I think this build is more future friendly, incase when you hit that time when you need more performance say in 3 years you can just overclock it with a cpu cooler thats why I didn't include one in the build as of now...
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thederpiest

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Sep 13, 2013
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Firstly, Can you/Will you reuse parts from your old computer? It is friendlier to the earth and to your wallet....
Also, How importantly do you value a good case?

And just a note: Get 8 GB of RAM. By the time you need 16 GB RAM will most likely be significantly cheaper, and RAM is easy to upgrade.

Also do you need 3 TB of Hard drive space? I mean you have a 120GB SSD as well..
 
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Voxx

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Dec 8, 2013
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10,510


I was going to reuse some of my old parts but I am going to sell my old tower to a friend for a few hundred dollars. I would like to have a good case that is quiet and has efficient cooling, with enough room for upgrades and easy working. So I guess it is a high priority for me.

I dropped the HDD down to 2TB and the RAM down to 8GB. I would like to have a big hard drive just because I get tired of deleting games to make room for new ones -- I currently have a 500GB drive. Thank you for the input!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2hmtX Tweaked the list a bit to bring down the price.
 
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sportfreak23

sportfreak23

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Dec 4, 2013
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I'm gonna change some things in your build to see if you like.

But do you really need that wifi antenna from the asus? Because you said overclock maybe then later on said "I don't think I will overclock.." and about sli or crossfire doubtful.

If thats the case would you consider just a 4770 with a H87 board? If you want to overclock maybe in the future then we have to go with a z87 board. O and are you only interested in Intel or AMD as well?
 
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Voxx

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Dec 8, 2013
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Thank you! I am not very knowledge about components to be honest. I will be using ethernet to hook up my internet. A friend of mine recommended the CPU for overclocking but it does seem intimidating, and I have never overclocked my i7 920 and have always been pleased with its performance. So perhaps we can write that off the better mobo and the unlocked processor. I considered an AMD CPU at first but I've read most people do not recommend them for gaming over Intel.

Again thank you for the advice.
 
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camohanna

camohanna

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Oct 21, 2012
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IMO, for future proofing, go AMD. They make the PS4/XB1 cpu/gpu so that means games will be optimised for amd, also the AMD mantle will be good.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2hniz
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2hniz/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2hniz/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($193.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.48 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($350.50 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1051.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-08 21:47 EST-0500)
 
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sportfreak23

sportfreak23

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Dec 4, 2013
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Ok I have these 2 builds here, unfortunately like most of the 280x's I looked at are all soldout or priced higher then what they are listed in pcpart. So I picked a gtx 770 instead as both are roughly the same. And since your playing on a lower res monitor and a 1920 x 1080 in the future it'll be good.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2hnzh
^
so this is your none overclocking build, the motherboard is good but if you ever want to use SLI or overclock in the future this isn't for you.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2hnHG

^ tbh I think this build is more future friendly, incase when you hit that time when you need more performance say in 3 years you can just overclock it with a cpu cooler thats why I didn't include one in the build as of now.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2hop3

^
and here's an amd build that i quickly put together. Slapped a gtx 780 in there and when the time comes you can pick a cpu cooler and overclock it when you need.
 
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Voxx

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Dec 8, 2013
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10,510
Thanks for those builds guys! Looks like a lot of good options and great specs for the prices. Now I just have to try and decide on AMD vs Intel and I should be good.
 
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camohanna

camohanna

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Just remember, both are good and you will be happy either way you go :) Good lucky with your build
 
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sportfreak23

sportfreak23

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Dec 4, 2013
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+1 gl have fun with cable management :lol:
 
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