$1000 School/Gaming PC Build (First Build)

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ThePaulrus94

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Jun 30, 2014
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Like many of you out there I've decided I want to build my own pc. I've been doing lots of research over the past few months and am learning a lot. However, I am by no means an expert and I need some more help. This site seems like a great place to show my rough build for gaming and school work. So I would like to have my pc to be roughly about $1000. That being just the tower and its parts. I am also going to need the extras like a monitor, keyboard, and maybe a mouse. I don't want to go much over $1250. I want it to play a wide variety of games ranging from Minecraft to DayZ to Company of Heroes to Assassins Creed. I am okay with playing many of the more modern games like BF4 and the AC series on medium to high settings as I can't play any games even close to that on my laptop. My laptop now is decent with an i7 processor, 8gb ram, but it has a crappy Intel HD 4000 integrated chip. It runs games decently but it could be way better. Anyways, I digress. Here is my build with some notes.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pBN84D

Notes: So I have several questions. I want to have a good processor and video card that wont bottleneck each other. From what I've seen with other builds, the i5-4670k and gtx 760 are a good combo. I don't know how to overclock but would like to learn. I want to keep my graphics card nvidia since I've heard they're great. Things that worry me are what kind of rpms should I have on my HDD? Do I need a network adapters for internet and if so what kind? How about a sound card? I think some are built into motherboards but will I only be able to use headphones if I don't have speakers? What speed of RAM is necessary or practical? Is the wattage of the power supply okay?

Anyways, those are just some of the questions. I could probably answer some on my own with more research. I'd just like any help you could give, whether it be price/part suggestions or general pc knowledge. Sorry for the long post and thank you for any help!

Edit: So after the first two answers, I guess I only have one more question. Technically two. I read that the cpu cooler is fairly large. What do you think? Also how about airflow and heat within the system? Should I be thinking about water cooling or any part overheating? Any ideas?
 
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bizzare21
The i5-4670k and GTX 760 is a great combo. A 7200RPM is standard for hard drives, so that's fine. You don't need a sound card as most motherboards already have good sound cards built in. You won't need a soundcard if you have exernal speakers. The speed of RAM doesn't really matter unless you have an APU, so 1600 is fine. And your power supply is great. Internet is a different story. If you are able to get a wired internet connection, go for wired. If you can't, then use a wireless adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166076&cm_re=wireless_adapter_pci-_-33-166-076-_-Product

I hope I answered all your questions :)
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bizzare21

bizzare21

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Apr 16, 2013
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The i5-4670k and GTX 760 is a great combo. A 7200RPM is standard for hard drives, so that's fine. You don't need a sound card as most motherboards already have good sound cards built in. You won't need a soundcard if you have exernal speakers. The speed of RAM doesn't really matter unless you have an APU, so 1600 is fine. And your power supply is great. Internet is a different story. If you are able to get a wired internet connection, go for wired. If you can't, then use a wireless adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166076&cm_re=wireless_adapter_pci-_-33-166-076-_-Product

I hope I answered all your questions :)
 
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Solution
Iron124

Iron124

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Jun 1, 2014
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That seems like an excellent build in my opinion, I see no problems and believe it will accomplish everything you're wanting it to. Your HDD RPM's are fine, don't worry about that. No network adapter is necessary assuming you're plugging in straight through ethernet. Sound cards are typically reserved for the serious music people nowadays, onboard is always pretty good. Most speakers plug into a standard 3.5mm headphone jack for audio or USB, so that will not be a problem. Your Ram speed is fine, benchmarks show anything above 1600MHz yields little gain. Your PSU wattage is A-Okay.

Any other questions? :)
 
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iceblitzed

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May 12, 2014
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CPU: OK
CPU Cooler: OK
Motherboard: I would get the ASUS Z97 PRO (Wifi AC) - http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97prowifiac. It is $20 more expensive than Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard. This z97 motherboard will be furureproof and more "upgrade friendly" down the line + it has built wifi AC which is the best kind of wifi connectivity you can get. Also you dont have to mess with network adapters which is great.
Memory: I would get the g.skill ripjaw x series http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbxl they will be better for overclocking and cost about the same
Storage: You could save about $30 and get the crucial mx100 256GB http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX100-adapter-Internal-CT256MX100SSD1/dp/B00KFAGCWK
Video Card: OK. Id think about upgrading though for better fps in games but i dont know about your max budget
Case: Good high quality case. Might want to downgrade to save some money for gpu
Power Supply: OK.
Optical Drive: OK
Monitor: OK
Keyboard: OK
Mouse: OK
 
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ThePaulrus94

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Jun 30, 2014
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So im wondering if I can save some money here. Maybe I went overboard on the mobo and should get a cheaper one? Also I got a lot of name brand parts. Any good non name brand ones that I can save 10-20 bucks on or something?
 
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kunthakenthe

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May 20, 2014
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hey look i once only wanted nvidia heard there the best but amd is the best price for performance r9 280x beats gtx 770 yet being 50 to 100 dollars cheaper.

Tips

get non reference card(not from amd from asus,msi,gigabyte etc.)

then use the msi afterburner

look at what is the safe temp for your card(max temp 90c just a example)

the use a stress testing software after you change things in the msi afterburner( change slowly dont change to max or poff there goes 300$)

if it doesnt crash or have artifact(pop ups or weird looking things)
you can try pushing it more.

If it crashes try adding a little more voltage ( see recommended max voltage it should be like 2v that high)

if it survives add a little more voltage you feel comfortable doing

if it crashes then go back and maybe its time to stop.

Ps: gtx 760($240) is really a weaker r9 270x (169$). A r9 280x (285-300$) is a gtx 770($360) but stronger or you could get a r9 280 with no x for ($199 stronger than gtx 760 but a little weaker than gtx 770 but nothing a little oc couldnt fix)

I also recommended googling and asking more about your card when you try ocing it. my builds are pretty good
but sometimes have to much uneeded stuff(mouse,keyboard,etc) just remove then and use the ones you need

edit : it shouldnt be like 2v
 
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lazergaze

lazergaze

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Oct 16, 2012
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ 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 ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($329.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1017.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
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kunthakenthe

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May 20, 2014
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it basically go like this r9 270x > gtx 760, r9 28<gtx 770, r9 280x>gtx 770(notice x but you can overclock), r9 290=gtx 780, r9 290x=gtx780ti both usually perform better or worse than each other. Amd has better value just sometimes the drivers arent right
 
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kunthakenthe

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May 20, 2014
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the i5 4670k is great but the r9 270 is a better value for the same performance r9 270 is 140 but gtx 760 is 240$. The i5 is meant for gaming, the i7 is more for multi threaded applications that can use HT. Its great build now but just saving you some money. Also dont buy a sound card since it wont offer you anything but say stuff that doesnt matter. Also a 128 or 256gb ssd is great for speed and so is a 7200rpm hdd. a i5 4690k is not much more so go for that a good cooler like the hyper evo 212 or all in one cooler like the cm 120v or h80i is good for overclocking. Make sure to get a z97 board for upgrading paths and better performance. I would recommend a 600w psu just for extra headroom for overclocking.
 
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