Need help choosing components for 1st Gaming PC

Zeno1234a

Reputable
Jun 30, 2014
5
0
4,510
I am trying to choose parts for a gaming PC that can play games on High to Ultra settings. I know a little about what to look for. I have about a $1200 budget but I could increase it if the performance is worth the price. I am not including a monitor, keyboard, or mouse in this budget.

I know I want 8Gb of RAM but I would like to be able to upgrade later. For a CPU I want either an Intel i5 4670k or 4690k, don't know if there's much of a difference. For a GPU I want an Nvidia card, either a GTX 770 or 780 I think, but I haven't decided which one, and which brand to buy from. I would like to have an SSD also.

I know next to nothing about PSUs, Fans, or Motherboards except I know that an ATX is fine, as I won't move it around much.

Also, I would like to light the inside of my case with green lights, but I don't know how to go about doing that.
 
Solution
I know this isn't exactly like you wanted, but here is what I would do with a $1200 budget. The case has a nice window that you could add green LEDs to.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2TnbCJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2TnbCJ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($72.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card...

CTurbo

Pizza Monster
Moderator
I know this isn't exactly like you wanted, but here is what I would do with a $1200 budget. The case has a nice window that you could add green LEDs to.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2TnbCJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2TnbCJ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($72.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($370.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1198.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available



If you really want the overclocking option, you'll lose the hyperthreading and have to drop down to a lesser video card.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mZwxbv
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mZwxbv/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($113.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($72.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1196.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
Solution