Want to build a gaming / drawing - animation computer ($1000-1500) 2000 if needed

PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2WKCa) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2WKCa/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2WKCa/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74770k) | $279.99 @ TigerDirect
**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2) | $29.98 @ OutletPC
**Motherboard** | [Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87pro) | $164.99 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls2kit4g3d1609ds1s00) | $59.99 @ Microcenter
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001) | $101.99 @ NCIX US
**Video Card** | [MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n770tf2gd5oc) | $334.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Case** | [Zalman ZM-Z9 U3 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/zalman-case-zmz9u3) | $59.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx750m) | $64.99 @ Microcenter
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $19.98 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700404) | $97.98 @ OutletPC
**Monitor** | [Asus VE247H 23.6" Monitor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-ve247h) | $119.99 @ Newegg
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $1334.85
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 10:54 EST-0500 |

Here's what I thought was the best PC for your money which fell right in the middle of your range but there's a few things you can do with it to make it better. You can buy 2 things of the ram which will then give you 16g of ram which can be necessary if youre serious about editing. Also you can crossfire your GPU and possibly buy 2 770 if you have the money or you can buy 2 760 which will make your price around 1500 but for 1330 this is a good build and people are going to tell you to go with an i5 but I think the 4770k is a great cpuband the mobo is great and the GPU is great but if yourebnew to PC building stick with one GPU And if you're going to buy the second one upgrade your psu

-2 8gb sticks run in dual channel mode. because these platforms run dual channel configurations, it will perform better than a single 16gb stick. btw, there are no 16gb sticks atm for DDR3
-there are no such things as liquid cooled fans. there are liquid cooled CPU coolers, but there are generally a waste of time for the most part considering heatsinks do the same job for much less
-seagate is fine for the most part. if you want to pay more than normal for about the same thing, your call there
-the difference between a intel and AMD CPU is not that much. AMD tends to cost less for about the same performance and uses more power. Intel costs a little more and tends to use slighltly less power. really doesnt matter much

Personally, i would not recommend overclocking. given haswell barely overclocks to begin with, the extra 100 dollars you spend towards a CPU cooler, a z series motherboard, and a k series CPU is pretty much wasted if you are only upping things by 100-300mhz (otherwords, nothing)

Another thing is given the games you play, you dont need to spend any where near 2000 dollars for this system

heres what i would recommend. its nice and small and performs great.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XnTA

for note, it will perform the same in games as the build above. i just removed all the frills and things that dont contribute to gaming performance

I decided to go a different direction and build you a high-end system at the top of your budget range. Others will cry "overkill", but the budget allows for the i7 and 16GB of RAM. Those will come in handy for highly threaded uses like video editing. I also went with a motherboard that supports SLI and a PSU large enough to add another GTX 770 in SLI later if you need to for future games.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($304.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($324.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Best Buy)
Mouse: Corsair Vengeance M65 Wired Laser Mouse ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1866.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-21 15:40 EST-0500)

Yes, the system will laugh at your current games. Seriously, it is a very powerful system that will run whatever you throw at it for a long time. It's also ready to add another GPU in SLI later without upgrading any other components. That will help it stay relevant for even longer. If you really want to push the upper limit of your budget you could go with a GTX 780.

You have to use the same model of GPU for SLI. I haven't added LEDs to cases. I usually just use fans with LEDs built into them. Sorry I can't be of more help there. The Corsair 500R case has LEDs in its two 120mm front fans and the big 200mm side fan.

Thanks for your service, by the way. Come home safe!

-more memory does not do anything for performance unless you are doing mid level video editing on a regular basis. wont do a dam in games
-LED lights can be plugged straight in. i find it a waste of time but its your call. the bitfenix alchemy lights are what i would recommend. whatever colour you decide to light the rig up with, always put at least one strip of white LEDs. otherwise things look washed out. LEDs use almost no power
-the 4670k can overclock and the 4440 cant. thats about it. like i said before, overclocking does nothing given you can barely overclock in the first place. waste of time if you ask me
-if you arent going to go with SLI to begin with, do not inticipate that you will in the future. i made that mistake before and i do not recommend you do the same. given you play realtively easy to run games to begin with, there is little to no chance of you actually needing more than a gtx 770

The 4670K can easily overclock to the 4.4GHz range for all cores. I wouldn't say that's "barely overclocking". That is a significant difference over stock. I knew I would get flack from the gaming crowd for going with 16GB of RAM, but the budget allows for it and the OP said he would like to get into editing in the future. There certainly isn't anything wrong with going with 16GB. My personal PC has an overclocked i7 and 16GB of RAM and I wouldn't have it any other way. I do video editing and run virtual machines that use every bit of the system resources. I say if the budget allows why not build the best system possible.

the thing is if you are lucky enough to get a 4.4ghz sample. the ones ive received have reached to 4.3 and there was even one that was 4.1ghz which is pathetic. another thing is, if i have to pay 50 bucks for a k series CPU, another 50 for a decent cooler, and another 50 for a z series board, id rather spend that 150 on something that actually noticeably increases gaming performance such as getting a gtx 780

its not always about whether you can have it or not given the budget, but it is more of getting the most value out of your money. what is the point of spending more for things that barely contribute to performance or things that you dont really use. 16gb may be helpful, but given the ram prices right now, i wouldnt say its a great idea to splurge now

This bickering isn't helping the OP. He was happy with the build I posted, so we can leave it up to him to decide.

i dont see how it is bickering when im merely posting my opinion towards haswell overclocking.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31qL2) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31qL2/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31qL2/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74770k) | $324.99 @ NCIX US
**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2) | $29.98 @ OutletPC
**Motherboard** | [MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z87gd65gaming) | $171.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl10d16gbxl) | $154.98 @ OutletPC
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001) | $109.99 @ Newegg
**Video Card** | [Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx770dc2oc2gd5) | $328.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Case** | [Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-sgc2100kwn1) | $102.69 @ Amazon
**Power Supply** | [SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss650km) | $137.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $26.97 @ Newegg
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700404) | $97.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Monitor** | [Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vs238hp) | $134.99 @ NCIX US
**Keyboard** | [Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-keyboard-sgk4000gkcl1us) | $74.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Mouse** | [Razer Naga Molten Wired Laser Mouse](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/razer-mouse-rz0100280500r3m1) | $78.98 @ SuperBiiz
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $1768.48
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-28 00:01 EST-0500 |

here's a quick thing i made up before i went to bed if you have any fiurther questions just pm me