$2000 gaming comp

I don't see AMD as being competitive above the $850 price point and there's not a single component I would choose from that entire list.

At $2,000 - $2,500 Just too many ways to go to plan adequately as lotta options at this $2,000 - $2,500 range. Current uses ? Future uses ? Interested in water cooling down the road ?

How about a ...."I wanna air cool now but have plenty of room to go water cooled later" build ($$2,288)

MoBo - $455 - MSI Z87-GD65 Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1544103
CPU - incl - Intel Core i5-4670k
HD - incl - WD Black 1 TB

GFX $640 MSI Gaming 780 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127770

Case - $220 - Enthoo Primo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854001
PSU - $120 - Corsair HX850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

RAM - $155 - (2 x 8GB) Muskin CAS 9 DDR3-2133
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226429

Cooler - $75 - Phanteks PH-TC14
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709011

SSD - $153 - Samsung Evo 250 GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W01AZ5550

DVD Writer - $60 - Asus Ble Ray Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135252

Monitor - $270 ASUS VG248QE Black 23" 144 Hz Monitor

OS - $140 - OS (Pro version)



Or a rockin SLI version for $2,425 (take 1 GFX card out to stay below $2k (for now)

MoBo - $455 - MSI Z87-G45 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1544103
CPU - incl - Intel Core i5-4670k
HD - incl - WD Black 1 TB

GFX $500 MSI Gaming 780 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127746
GFX $500 MSI Gaming 780 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127746

Case - $80 - Corsair 500R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010
PSU - $120 - Corsair HX850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

RAM - $155 - (2 x 8GB) Muskin CAS 9 DDR3-2133 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226429

Cooler - $75 - Phanteks PH-TC14-PE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709011

SSD - $153 - Samsung Evo 250 GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W01AZ5550

DVD Writer - $17 - Asus DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Monitor - $270 ASUS VG248QE Black 23" 144 Hz Monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313

OS - $100 - Windows OS (Personal Version)

Could go with the Asus 780s for $120 more each


Some of the why's .....

Case .... The Enthoo took home case of the year honors from Comdex and is a great water cooling case if that's a future consideration ..... and nothing can touch the 500R for $80 .... can't think of anything under $140 that is comparable.

PSU - There are very few PSUs than Jonnyguru ever gave a 10,0 performance rating to (Antec CP-850, Corsair HX-850, Seasonic X series) but none around today that come at $120.

CPU - No discussion req'd, consensus favorite

MoBo - Better said by others:

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_z87_gd65_gaming/12.htm

MSI has been using components that meet or exceed MIL-STD-810G for some time as part of its Military Class build philosophy. Parts such as Super Ferrite Chokes that run at up to 35 degree Celsius lower temperatures, have a 30% higher current handling capacity, and a 20% improvement in power efficiency; Tantalum filled Hi-C Caps that are are up to 93% efficient; and "Dark Capacitors" that feature Lower ESR and a ten-year lifespan all tied into a PCB with improved temperature and humidity protections as part of the "Military Essentials" package......In the end MSI's Z87-GD65 is a board that comes with an expansive feature set that includes all your basics and the extras that set them apart such as the V-Check points, upper end audio, Dual BIOS ROMs, KIller Network package, Military Class IV package, and a three-year warranty. Couple that with good looks that carry the dragon theme through the board, and you have a winning combination at $189.

Click to expand...

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/msi_z87_gd65_gaming_review/15

Now and again a motherboard appears that is so obviously brilliant, and so affordable, that we wonder if anything will be able to top it. For a while that crown was held by the ASUS Sabertooth, both in X58 and then P67 variants. Then MSI stole the crown with the Z77 MPower. Looking at the Z87 GD65 Gaming we think it's going to take something extraordinary to top it, such is the perfect storm of price, performance, features and looks.

The switch to Military Class 4 has given us an extremely ready overclocker too. You're always thermally limited when overclocking and the i7-4770K is one of the most demanding around. Considering the amount of cooling we're using we think that although the GD65 is capable of bringing 5GHz from our i7-4770K you'd need a proper water loop to make the most of it.

Performance is outstanding. The stock results were a particular highlight. We know a lot of people still just like to put their CPU in and go, without overclocking it first. Despite how easy it is these days we know that the fear factor still exists. So you'll be glad to know that the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming really rocks hard even at stock settings. Naturally the overclocking is blistering too, with some OC3D records broken.

MSI have laid the gauntlet down to all the other manufacturers. Gorgeous to look at, blistering performance and all at a very affordable price, the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming is not only the new benchmark for Z87 motherboards, but probably for all motherboards.

Click to expand...

The Asus Hero is the closest thing to it but it costs $18 more, doesn't have a $20 MIR and doesn't have a $32 combo discount so takes $70 more outta ya pocket.

RAM - The Mushkins recently got Editor's Choice from both THG and Anandtech.... but basically they had the best speed / CAS combo at that price range among low profile modules.

SSD - Consesus favorite, no discussion req'd.

HD - Not the fastest around....about 30% slower than the 3 TB 7200.14 but 5 year warranty is attractive.

Cooler - Best air cooler available, edges out the Noctua by 0.5 to 1.0 C / the Hyper 212 by 7+C ..... and is a lot better looking.

GFX - The Asus 780 tops the charts as is shown here:

http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/4639/10/nvidia-geforce-gtx-780-asus-vs-evga-vs-inno3d-vs-msi-conclusion

All four manufacturers - ASUS, EVGA, Inno3D and MSI - made something special out of their GeForce GTX 780. The card that impressed us the most, however, was the ASUS GTX780-DC2OC-3GD5. The new cooler works like charm, and its performance is clearly reflected by the test results. The card also manages to stay very quiet and offers the best overclocking potential thanks to the new cooler. ASUS earns the Gold Award for its card.

We can't leave out the card from MSI. While it's slightly less overclocked and has less overall overclocking potential than the cards from Inno3D and EVGA, it's extremely quiet under load, the most silent of them all. It's also significantly cheaper than the other three, so if you're not planning on extreme overclocking, this MSI card is the best option.

An honorable mention goes to the Inno3D card. Out of the box it's the fastest, and while you can yourself get the other cards to the same level of performance, it's nice to have it guaranteed if you're not an experienced overclocker.

The EVGA ACX Superclocked also isn't a bad card. The only problem is that about the same amount of money will net you the ASUS card, a card which is superior in terms of cooling, noise and overclocking potential. EVGA will have to drop its prices to MSI levels to keep its card interesting.

Click to expand...

Of important note ....1) EVGA has historically used stock VRMs and reference PCBs on the SC series while the competition from Asus MSI and Gigabyte uses custom PCBs and beefier VRMs leading to more robust overclocking on their factory OC'd cards.....2) MSI has upped the ante since that article was written, boosting the core clock speed from 902 to 954 MHz. I have my two Asus 780s clocked at 1089 MHz (22.5% OC) w/ a 20% memory boost (7200)

OS - No need for Ultimate as all it gives you is BitLocker.... Win 7 Pro gives you XP compatibility Mode and more networking options .... if ya don't need those, personal version is just fine.

Monitor - The 144 Hz monitor will give you Lightboost, zero ghosting and ya can do 3D if ya so choose down the road.