Feedback on $700 to $800 Gaming PC

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

Ok, so I'm planning to build my own gaming PC. I don't know much at all, as most of what I have here is just based on customer reviews and these tutorials:
Lifehacker, CustomPCReview $800, CustomPCReview $1000

I am prepared to go over budget, as I have in my selection anyway. I put both an SSD and HDD, but I may settle for just HDD. Also it doesn't matter if Windows 7 causes it to go over budget, the budget is mostly for the parts. I went overbudget as I don't count Windows 7 against it and I can easily eliminate one of the drives.

Here's what I have:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G55 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($118.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.23 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($70.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($154.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $894.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

stickmansam · Jun 30, 2014

Are you planning to overclock?

If not you can just get a H81 or B85 motherbaord

gautamgr8 · Jun 30, 2014

I couldnt find anything to shave some cost...you have chosen well
But,
Dont leave the SSD... you'll really notice the difference with the OS load and boot times

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

stickmansam :

I don't think I will try to overclock to begin, being new and all, but I'm open to it in the future. I'd rather have it in case I decide to overclock instead of having to upgrade my motherboard, unless those 2 are quite cheap. I'll check them out anyway. Thanks for your input.

Andrew Buck · Jun 30, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($70.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $856.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

gautamgr8 :

Thanks, the only thing about the SSD is it's a rather cheap model that I didn't put much research into, so I'm going to look into low budget SSDs that are reliable.

stickmansam · Jun 30, 2014

Here is a overclocking build
I don't think it's worth it for a $800 build to leave option for overlcocking without taking it

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS10X Performa CPU Cooler ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($70.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.91 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $916.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

stickmansam · Jun 30, 2014

And this is the best you can do while keeping core performance the same, any cheaper and you'll have to give up overlcokcing motherboard (or get a cheap one) or giver up performance

The Ultra Plus is a nice SSD

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($70.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.91 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $830.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

stickmansam :

Thanks, I will definitely read more into overclocking and the build you made, which seems like what I was looking for except with overclocking taken into consideration.

stickmansam · Jun 30, 2014

drnatedogg :

You can get the slightly cheaper 4670K but it'll be hotter and not OC as well (200mhz ish)
It's not much of a sacrifice imo though

but $20 for cooler temps and mroe OC rooms does sound like a decent deal

For GPU 270X > 270 > 660 > R7 265 > 750ti

bignastyid · Jun 30, 2014

Stay away from the CX series. They use cheap secondary capacitors that have longevity issues. Me and a couple others that frequent these forums have all had numerous failures with this series. The ram is way overpriced considering you can get faster for the same price. SSDs are nice but I would sacrifice my gaming experience just to have one. It would be cheaper to add the SSD later that rather upgrade the video card.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gCqCFT
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gCqCFT/by_merchant/

When you are ready to OC simply replace the stock cooler.
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($60.74 @ Amazon)
Total: $802.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

bignastyid :

Thanks for your input. I guess it would be fairly easy to add an SSD, which I will probably do at some point, and thanks for your build idea.

Andrew Buck · Jun 30, 2014

drnatedogg :

Here is a great SSD for only $75: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820721107

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

Andrew Buck :

Thanks, I'll check it out. Thanks for your other build too, hard to respond to everyone.

Andrew Buck · Jun 30, 2014

drnatedogg :

Andrew Buck :

Thanks, I'll check it out. Thanks for your other build too, hard to respond to everyone.

Yeah, no problem. I hope all goes well.

stickmansam · Jun 30, 2014

The V300 is a scam now from Kingston and the Ultra Plus is faster and cheaper
I had been thinking of getting the V300 myself but decided not to after the switch in NAND

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7763/an-update-to-kingston-ssdnow-v300-a-switch-to-slower-micron-nand
http://hardware-360.com/kingston-stealth-swaps-in-slower-nand-in-ssd/

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

Just realized that I was running in United States mode, just switched to Canada and bumped my price way up, so I guess a $700 to $800 with U.S. companies is a $800 to $900 budget in Canada. Oh well, not much I can do besides check if some sites might ship to Canada.

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

Also if anyone thinks they can help with my speed vs. CAS latency problem for RAM packages, here's the link.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2201577/cas-latency-speed-ram.html

titanHUNTER · Jun 30, 2014

Go with an Samsung SSD. And I agree with the person with the GPU comparisons. That GPU you have is overpriced and underspec'd! lol Also, spend a few more dollars and get a 2TB HDD (you will thank yourself a year from now) and also a beefier PSU for future GPU upgrades. Other than that, you look good to go!

stickmansam · Jun 30, 2014

my lists should be in US mode

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

Yeah it's all good, it's just I live in Canada so the prices I get aren't nearly as good. I wouldn't expect anyone to change to Canada to give me mock builds as I can just replicate the items in the build.

stickmansam · Jun 30, 2014

canada will have a bit different prices

I hate how we have worse prices up here XD

stickmansam · Jun 30, 2014

Closest to $800 I guess

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.86 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-K ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Memory Express)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.88 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($159.99 @ NCIX)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Memory Express)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $790.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

drnatedogg · Jun 30, 2014

Thanks, I'll probably still up by budget a bit in total for the i5-4690 and a better motherboard. Might even have to up it even more for a graphics card even though there are some nice budget ones. The deal on the ram looks really good though, I'll have to check it out.

stickmansam · Jul 2, 2014

The K is a decent enough board imo

Plus, ASUS has a facility in ontario so warrant is better than having to ship down to US (and deal with taxes/custom dues)
MSI also has a facilities in BC and Ontario
Not sure about the rest

Feedback on $700 to $800 Gaming PC

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