Please help review budget gaming PC (~1k budget)

Eseri · Feb 28, 2014

Hi all,

Trying to rebuild to replace/upgrade my old PC. Will be trying to "salvage" parts from the old PC to keep costs down, including case, PSU & DVD writer.

I don't plan to overclock. PC will be mainly used for gaming. Possibly some video editing / photoshop work (hence the i7 for HT - is this really worth it?).

I hope that the PC would last a couple of years at least, so chose a GTX 770 as GFX. Is there a more ideal choice?

Here's the parts I plan to get. Some feedback on the parts would be appreciated. I'm willing to go above budget if there is really a need to.

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

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74770) | $239.99 @ Microcenter
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gah87d3h) | $99.24 @ Amazon
**Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmz16gx3m2a1600c9) | $169.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn770oc4gd) | $394.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Power Supply** | [OCZ StealthXstream II 600W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/ocz-power-supply-ocz600sxs2) | Purchased For $0.00
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700404) | $97.98 @ OutletPC
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $1002.18
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-28 15:14 EST-0500 |

Thanks alot.

bigshootr8 · Feb 28, 2014

I don't see a issue with your build. If you like the GTX770 I don't see an issue with that. If I were suggest another graphics card I would suggest the R9 290.

shortstuff_mt · Feb 28, 2014

The build looks pretty good. I would go straight to Windows 8.1 instead of Windows 8. You can upgrade 8 to 8.1, but you will have to go through that same upgrade every time you want to do a fresh install because the 8 product key doesn't work to activate a fresh 8.1 install.

Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)

Eseri · Feb 28, 2014

Sounds good. Thanks all.

The windows 8 was a mistake, will change that to 8.1

Would upgrading the motherboard to Asus Maximus VI Hero for ~$100 bring any value, given that I'm not overclocking?

Also considering R9 280x based on previous suggestion. I would be saving about $100 for similar performance.

bigshootr8 · Feb 28, 2014

Eseri :

The 770 is stronger then the 280x unless you are a heavy BF4 player or really interested in mantle. In terms of the motherboard it isn't really worth it for the hero board unless you plan on overclocking although the hero board is going to be build with stronger components certainly.

Eseri · Mar 1, 2014

Is the 770 worth $100 more than the 280x?

bigshootr8 · Mar 1, 2014

That is debatable. I wouldn't think so If you were able to get the 280x cheaper. This is how I look at it. The 770 is essentially a supped up GTX680and the R9 280x is a upgraded 7970 which was more in the run of competing with the GTX670.

Although I would argue though that the 770 is not 100 dollars more. I would get the 770 without blinking.

EVGA GTX770 $329.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42774kr

ASUS R9 280x $328.99
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-r9280xdc2t3gd5

Eseri · Mar 1, 2014

Thanks bigshootr8.

Sorry for not clarifying, I'm actually from Singapore, so the prices are a little different here.

For example,

Asus GTX770 2GB - $569
Asus R9 280X - $569

MSI GTX770 2GB - $559
MSI GTX770 4GB - $599
MSI R9 280X 3GB - $499

Sapphire R9 280X 3GB Vapor - $488
Sapphire R9 280X 3GB Toxic - $509

Gigabyte GTX770 2GB - $559
Gigabyte GTX770 4GB - $599

I was thinking of getting either the Sapphire Toxic / MSI R9 208X (so price ~$500) vs the Gigabyte GTX770 4GB (price $599). So the difference is about $100 (which is approx $80 USD for comparison).

Do you think the brand / card manufacturers I selected are ok, or should I be looking at something else? Which would you recommend given the prices above?

Thanks!

bigshootr8 · Mar 2, 2014

Yea the brands you have their are fine. Sapphire is one of the top producers for the AMD cards. I would then in your instance go with the 280x the sub 500 one.

Eseri · Mar 2, 2014

Sounds good. I'll go with the Sapphire Toxic 280X then.

Thanks alot!

bigshootr8 · Mar 2, 2014

Not problem hope you enjoy your card

Search

Please help review budget gaming PC (~1k budget)

Eseri

Reputable

bigshootr8

bigshootr8

Splendid

shortstuff_mt

Glorious

Eseri

Reputable

bigshootr8

Splendid

Eseri

Reputable

bigshootr8

Splendid

Eseri

Reputable

bigshootr8

Splendid

Eseri

Reputable

bigshootr8

Splendid

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page