First Gaming PC Build Tentative $1500 budget

TGT333 · Jun 11, 2014

I am looking to build a PC for the first time and am hoping to spend $1500 for the PC, monitor, mouse, and keyboard. I am primarily going to use it for gaming, but will also use it for school work including various engineering programs (autocad etc). Here is what I got from another build, kinda tweeked it a bit, but am kinda clueless when it comes to current technology knowledge. Please enlighten me on any other products you feel would be a better value.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($80.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($84.99 @ 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: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($709.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.87 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Best Buy)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($249.23 @ Amazon)
Total: $1798.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-11 22:30 EDT-0400)

I should note that I live within driving distance of Micro Center (http://www.microcenter.com/) and wouldn't mind waiting until they the I5 (or I7 if you guys think they are better) in stock again to save some money.

AgentTran · Jun 11, 2014

I changed your processor to the new lineup of processors by Intel, the 4670K's big brother, the new 4690K.
I also got a solid Noctua air-cooled CPU cooler, because you only need water for EXTREME overclocking.

I gave you a Z97 motherboard for better possibility of upgrades in the future, and replaced your overpriced RAM with something still reliable, but cheaper.

I replaced your unreliable Corsair power supply with a quality XFX supply, which will power your build without problem.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-K/CSM ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($125.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Amazon)
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: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($709.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.87 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($249.23 @ Amazon)
Total: $1817.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-11 22:38 EDT-0400)

You could replace your 780TI with a R9 290X, and save alot, but thats all your preference. I would recommend it though, as compared to your $710 780TI, it is much cheaper, and if you invest just a little more, you could have CROSSFIRE R9 290X's, which would blow the 780ti out of the water.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($494.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $494.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-11 22:39 EDT-0400)

TGT333 · Jun 12, 2014

What kind of performance increases would I see with crossfire R9s? Also would I need to upgrade any other hardware to have them installed? Also, would you recommend another case? I kind of picked it on a whim

NiCoM · Jun 12, 2014

TGT333 :

You'll need to change the PSU to something a bit more expensive too, therefore i wouldn't go R9 290X since i think it would go too far over your original build in price, but something very similar in performance is still possible.

Get two R9 290's (the non-X version), they're undercut versions of the R9 290X i.e. They're downclocked. But that's not all bad news, it means the card runs a bit cooler which is good for a CFX setup, and the cards are normally quite a bit cheaper than their bigger brother. Performance isn't much of a difference but the price is.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gWvZzy

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($399.99 @ TigerDirect)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($399.99 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $929.97

This is ~$130 more than GTX780ti + 650w psu from your list, this is atleast 50% faster in games that run CFX well.

R9 290X's would cost you ~$330 over budget.

RookieOfTheYear · Oct 19, 2014

Here would be my suggestion for $1500. The GTX 970 is a very capable card. It will max out any current game at over 60 fps. Here is a performance chart of Metro Last Light, which is a very demanding game. The worst performing 970 gets 76fps. And the MSI twin frozer I have included in this build should do a little better than that.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2014-vga-charts/04-Metro-Last-Light-1080p,3596.html

And I have everything set up so that when you wanted more performance, you can simply just buy another GTX 970, and put it in. The EVGA 750 watt Supernova is enough for 970's in SLI. Plus you get the very powerful i7 4790K and it stays under your $1500 budget.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($322.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan GOLD 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($349.99 @ B&H)
Case: Apevia X-DREAMER4-BL ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Hannspree HT231HPBU 23.0" Monitor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1411.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-19 14:04 EDT-0400

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