Gaming computer with 1,200 budget

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DiogogB

Distinguished
May 11, 2014
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Hello community!
I have been reading threads from tom'sHardware for a while now and it has finally come the time for me to get a new computer and I could not find a better place to ask for advice!

My goals it to play games such as Starcraft2 Diablo and League of Legends while streaming at the same time.

Notes:
I live in Canada.
Would like to purchase within 1-2 weeks.
Would I need overclocking? I'm not too sure how big difference it would make.
My screen resolution is 1680 x 1050.
I would like to duo screen.
I need a SSD.
I do not need much storage. Just a SSD (240GB) would be enough for now.
I will need a computer case.
I would like to have 16GB of ram.

Thank you very much for your time and for your help.

 
Solution
manofchalk
This should do well for your usage.
Its a non-overclocking build (on the CPU, GPU go nuts), but in your case it wont benefit much anyway. The GPU is Nvidia so you can leverage Shadowplay, which is a big deal when recording and streaming gameplay with a built-in H.264 encoder.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($208.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($101.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($176.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk...
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manofchalk

manofchalk

Glorious
May 11, 2012
12,914
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This should do well for your usage.
Its a non-overclocking build (on the CPU, GPU go nuts), but in your case it wont benefit much anyway. The GPU is Nvidia so you can leverage Shadowplay, which is a big deal when recording and streaming gameplay with a built-in H.264 encoder.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($208.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($101.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($176.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.79 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($288.00 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($100.95 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($118.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Total: $1214.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-11 13:25 EDT-0400)
 
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Solution
D

Deleted member 1300495

Guest
I would go with something like this. 16 gigs of RAM will not be needed as you are not video editing.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.79 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($289.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.61 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($20.52 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($104.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1247.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-11 13:38 EDT-0400)
 
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DiogogB

Distinguished
May 11, 2014
118
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18,685
Thanks a lot for got both suggestions.
I really like the shadowplay feature, but mamamia makes a good point about the RAM.
Manofchalk, if I did your setup with 8GB ram, what would you suggest acquiring with an extra $100?
 
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Deleted member 1300495

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put the extra money into a better gpu like a 770. But a 280 will be better suited for multiple displays
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

Glorious
May 11, 2012
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3
48,960


Yup, sink that money into a faster Nvidia card.
I really do think going Nvidia for this build is pretty important, Shadowplay is such a great tool considering your getting it free on your graphics card and it can encode and directly stream to Twitch.
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

Glorious
May 11, 2012
12,914
3
48,960
A hardware encoder is always better, software solutions tax your CPU to encode that video. An Nvidia card comes with a dedicated chip for that purpose, so its better to offload the processing to that then the CPU which will be doing other things.
Though really you could use both (not at the same time I dont think), you have a lot of options open to you at this point.
 
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