Gaming PC - +/-$2,500

je355804 · Jun 10, 2014

Good day everyone! I am embarking upon the adventure of building my first gaming rig, and let me tell you I have that "giant PSU brick to the face" feeling right now! I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed by all the options and the fairly large degree of differing opinions out there!

I've decided to give myself a budget of around $2,500. With that said, I want to do this project the right way... If that means I need to go up a little I'm O.K. with that, if the performance gains merit the price.

I also don't mind waiting to build my rig if there is some great product on the horizon that merits waiting! I'm sure you guys are more in the know on this issue than a noob such as myself.

The third point that is very important to me is that I want to make my rig upgradeable for the future... If that means I will lose a little performance at this time, that's a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

With that said, let me follow the sticky format:

Approximate Purchase Date: I am ready to purchase now, BUT certainly willing to wait if there is a product which merits waiting.

Budget Range: $2,500 (willing to go up or down +/- $500, depending on recommendations)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming - I don't really need DVD drives etc... Although if these are cheap maybe that would be nice

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, I would also be interested in upgrading to a 3 monitor setup, however I don't need to do this right away...

Parts to Upgrade: This is a new rig, but I do want it to be 100% upgradeable. I don't want to buy a whole new rig in 2 years for instance. I'd like something where I can throw in another GPU (i.e. SLI), and therefore I need a PSU etc that can handle this load.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Location: City, State/Region, Country - I live near Philly, NYC area... so I can go to the store if need be

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: I am really lost on the whole Intel/AMD and NVIDIA/Radeon issue... it seems like most people are saying Intel and NVIDIA, but I really don't know. This is what I'm hoping you good people can help me with!

Overclocking: Sure, why not?

SLI or Crossfire: I've heard it's best to start with the best possible GPU you can afford and then upgrade in the future if needed? Suggestions?

Your Monitor Resolution: Don't have a monitor, but I'd like a nice one!

Additional Comments: I just want the best gaming computer I can buy, while still having the option to upgrade in the future!

Nightman · Jun 10, 2014

This is just about the most powerful computer you can get for any price, spending any more money would definitely be a waste. And since you live near Philly, you should be able to get some of the parts at the micro center there cheaper than online.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FPjH8d

Edit: and if you can wait until the end of the month, you can get an i7 4790k instead of the one I put on there. It should be about the same price, but the base clock is .5ghz higher.

je355804 · Jun 10, 2014

Thanks for the reply Nightman!

I have a few questions about your suggestions...

Would this offer ample opportunity for upgrades in the future? Also, would I need a CD drive or does that come with what you listed? Sorry... as I said, I am extremely new to this!

BleedingEdgeTek · Jun 10, 2014

That's a lot of money for a single GPU setup...

This has massively better performance, is cheaper, and will max out games on the included 1440p monitor for a long while:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($479.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($479.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 450D ATX Mid Tower Case ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Crossover 27QW DP IPS 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2307.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-10 14:02 EDT-0400)

je355804 · Jun 10, 2014

Thanks for the response BleedingEdge!

I was under the impression that the i7 4790 was better than the i5 4670?

For the extra cost would it be better to upgrade the CPU?

Again, I'm just trying to get all the information possible and weigh my options!

All of your help is beyond appreciated!

Nightman · Jun 10, 2014

je355804 :

For current games, you won't see too much of a difference between the i5 and i7, because they won't take advantage of hyperthreading, but since you're going with such a high end build, I'd say it's worth the extra money to futureproof a bit. About the cd player, you can pick one up for about $20, but I don't think there's too much use for them anymore. And since you're building this yourself, you can easily replace one part for a better one in the future to upgrade. Lastly, I would get a single gpu because it uses less power, and there can be compatibility issues with SLI.

je355804 · Jun 10, 2014

I was also thinking the GTX 780 Ti would be the better option due to the fact that I would have the option to add a 2nd 780 Ti down the road if I was in need of an upgrade. Is this an accurate assumption?

BleedingEdgeTek · Jun 10, 2014

There are no SLI compatibility issues really anymore, and even if there are, the 780 is only about 10-15% slower.

Power issues aren't a problem either with a high end power supply, and assuming gaming 4 hours a day, every day, a second 780 would only add about $1/month in power use.

The i7 compared to i5 is negligible. Even in games that use more than 4 cores, the i5 still performs about as well (see BF4)

It's certainly not worth spending $300 more for the 780 Ti build above to get much less performance. a pair of 780s destroys the performance of a 780 Ti. Using my build above as a reference, you could switch to a single 780 Ti now and upgrade in the future and save a ton of money (and get under $2000):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($629.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 450D ATX Mid Tower Case ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Crossover 27QW DP IPS 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1977.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-10 14:40 EDT-0400)

EpicStarman · Jun 10, 2014

This is my build if you want to take a look at it. This is my Youtube box since I game and record (take in mind I have added peripherals and you don't necessarily have to get those)http://pcpartpicker.com/user/EpicStarman/saved/ccJnTW

je355804 · Jun 11, 2014

I'm just curious... why is no one throwing Radeon out there as a GPU option? I've been looking at 3DMark graphics scores and Radeons seem to beat NVIDIA a lot of the time, often for fractions of the price!

I'm sure there is a good reason people aren't recommending it though.

BleedingEdgeTek · Jun 11, 2014

NVIDIA GPUs have Shadowplay, and have historically had better performing/more stable drivers, as well as running cooler, quieter, and using less power. Much like Intel vs AMD lol

You could certainly go to a 290x for performance between a 780 Ti and 780, and save a couple hundred dollars, but you would want to get more than 850w probably. 900-1000 would be preferable for a pair of 290x's in Crossfire in the future. EVGA has a phenomenal PSU out for a good price, the 1000G2.

je355804 · Jun 11, 2014

Thanks for that response BET... What is your opinion on the standard 290 model in Crossfire?

Basically I'm looking at the following options -

1x GTX 780 Ti (which I can upgrade in the future)
2x GTX 780 (which if I wanted to upgrade, I would probably just need to buy a whole new card rather than just add another 780 Ti)
2x 290x
2x 290

Any input on those options?

4cloud · Jun 11, 2014

Naturally AMD CPU's just don't have the power to keep up with Intel's flagship thats why for a high end build even at around a 1000$ price range an Intel CPU would be the way to go.

However the Radeon GPUs: It depends how soon you'll be going into 4K mode or a multimonitor setup. Radeon R9 290X vs. a GTX 780Ti the radeon would beat it but at 4k or at a multimonitor setup due to higher bandwidth and VRam.

Also now i would stick with an i5 and a 97 series motherboard with a powerful GPU since most of the times it's more expensive to upgrade the GPU rather than the CPU. You'll also not know what technology the future brings.

This ones a bit overbudget but it's the idea that counts.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gNZQf7

You could change a lot in it.

I started off with the Radeon R9 290 in CFire very inexpensive cards for great performance also included a 3 way monitor system in the budget.

je355804 · Jun 11, 2014

Alright... this is what I came up with as a preliminary rig. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions/ major glaring issues you see!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MjmLwP

Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($129)

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339) - I'm going to go for the 4970 at the end of the month if it's priced similarly

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card X2 (SLI) ($1,000)

Mobo: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($210)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($105)

Memory: Corsair 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139)

Storage SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($135)

Storage HD: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($106)

PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($170)

Total: $2,445

BleedingEdgeTek · Jun 11, 2014

Overall very good, high quality build. Obviously there are money saving routes, but I like everything you have in there. The great thing about that power supply, is doing anything that won't utilize the GPU much it will be completely dead silent in Eco mode

I have the 750w G2, and right now my rig is dead silent. PSU fan is off, the 2 Noctuas on my H110 are set to 25%, my Noctuas up front are at 40%, and the AF120 in back is at 40%, and you can't hear my system

Definitely no glaring issues, and will be one hell of a monster

And it looks like someone already responded about the AMD GPUs for me lol I personally like NVIDIA more for Shadowplay, stability, and power consumption, though a pair of 290x's is quite a bit cheaper than 780 Ti's. It all depends what you're personally going for, really.

I can't wait to add another 760 to my rig

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