~$2000 Gaming PC build (grad present to myself =) )

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klooste

Distinguished
Jan 14, 2012
16
0
18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: Very soon (before the end of April).

Budget Range: 1800-2200 (ish)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, gaming, browsing the net, and writing Chinese characters (lawlawlawl)

Are you buying a monitor: yes

Parts to Upgrade: New Build

Do you need to buy OS: no

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I use PC part picker.. Memory Express is preferable in Canada

Location: Canada. Would like to purchase in person at mem express =D

Parts Preferences: I prefer radeon for graphics, but I am open!

Overclocking: Yes (please?)

SLI or Crossfire: Probably better to go with a high end card?

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Here's what I have on PC part picker thus far: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/3vSAz


PARTS I ALREADY HAVE:
Hard drive. 750gb 7200 RpM (will this hard drive bottle neck my system?)
Windows 7 64 bit
Keyboard
8GB of rip-jaws red ram

Additional Comments: I will be moving from Canada to China come August for work, so I would like to have a case that can fit in check luggage (although carry on luggage would be preferred). Any tips on how to get a desktop across the pond? My girlfriend (Chinese) will be taking my monitor in her check/carry on baggage. =D

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Worked my butt off in Uni, now its time to open the new gaming passion again. Old pc flooded while I was abroad last year (qq), so I salvaged the parts that I could, and pawned off all the rest.

Thanks for your help all
 
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These would be my suggested changes.

1. 1200w is overkill for any 2 video cards. That kind of power is meant for at least 3 cards.
2. This is largely for gaming, right? Why kill your graphics with a budget monitor? A bad monitor looks worse than a bad video card.
3. R9 290X isn't worth the price increase over an R9 290, and it won't matter anyway at 1080p or if you Xfire in the future. Going to an R9 290 (or Nvidia equivalent GTX 780) will save enough money that you'll be able to use it to improve your experience overall.
4. May as well go for a blu-ray drive so you can actually watch high quality movies if need be.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K...
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A

argeru

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Oct 5, 2012
211
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18,760
You wont need 1200W of power, better off with around 750.
Other than that, looks nice.
Mid Towers arent very big, you should be fine with check/carry.

290X is a solid card, I would personally get a 780Ti since you're willing to spend all that money.

1 good card is fine, unless you're like me and think "SLI is badass, I want 2 770's instead of one" even though most of the games I play won't utilize all that power.
 
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rhysiam

Splendid
Mar 24, 2013
4,366
29
26,990
Good build, a few suggestions:
- You definitely don't need 1200W as others have said. Save some cash there.
- You could probably save a bit of money on the MB too. Something like an ASRock Extreme 4 would give you everything you need for less.
- No SSD? On a rig that quality, not having an SSD would be a big mistake IHMO. It won't really affect your gaming, but for booting, browsing, installing updates, etc., a base model ultrabook will feel way more responsive than your beast of a machine if it's stuck on mechanical storage. Check out the latest 'best SSDs for your money' article here on Toms. A cheaper PSU and MB would probably spare you the cash for a decent SSD. Much better performing rig for the budget.
- I think that CPU cooler is a mistake for you. It's a great cooler (I have one myself), but two problems for you. You have Ripjaws RAM, which is tall, and might cause problems with clearance (check the Noctua website). BUT, more importantly, that thing is super heavy. You will definitely need to take it off for the trip or it could break your motherboard (I got my PC shipped a few years ago and they managed to drop it so hard it dislodged the stock cpu cooler and tore the steel frame of the case (through polystyrene, cardboard and a thick towel I threw in for good measure). If you're checking the PC (which you'll have to a think, it'll be too heavy for carry on), you're relying on baggage handlers. In my experience the word "Fragile" means very little! If you're only likely to move once, you could just disconnect it and reconnect (+reapply thermal paste) when you get there. But if you're likely to be doing a bit of back-and-forthing, choose a closed loop liquid cooler. I usually vote for air cooling, but if you want portability, a CLC is the best choice.
- The 290X is pretty much overkill for 1080p. If you want to spoil yourself, go for it. But stepping down a rung or two would save you cash and you'd likely never notice the difference at 1080p.

Otherwise, nice build. Good luck with the move.
 
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Rationale

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Mar 21, 2014
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These would be my suggested changes.

1. 1200w is overkill for any 2 video cards. That kind of power is meant for at least 3 cards.
2. This is largely for gaming, right? Why kill your graphics with a budget monitor? A bad monitor looks worse than a bad video card.
3. R9 290X isn't worth the price increase over an R9 290, and it won't matter anyway at 1080p or if you Xfire in the future. Going to an R9 290 (or Nvidia equivalent GTX 780) will save enough money that you'll be able to use it to improve your experience overall.
4. May as well go for a blu-ray drive so you can actually watch high quality movies if need be.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($348.98 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($84.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($259.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card ($449.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($131.25 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($59.50 @ Vuugo)
Monitor: BenQ XL2420T 120Hz 24.0" Monitor ($319.99 @ Memory Express)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse ($64.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1819.66
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-21 20:58 EDT-0400)
 
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