first gaming computer build around $1000

ice_pheonix1 · Jul 2, 2014

My son, 14 years, is looking to buy his first gaming computer and wants to spend around a 1000. Can go up a little but want one that will work well for Elder Scrolls Online and Far Cry 4. He is open to building his own or buying one that is configurable like this one from Cyperpower @ $1229. Really appreciate your replies on how this one looks or suggestions for others to consider:

BLUETOOTH: None
CAS: Thermaltake Commander G42 Mid-Tower Gaming case w/ USB 3.0 & Toolless Drive Bays & Side-Panel Window
CASUPGRADE: None
CD: LG 12X Internal Blu-ray Drive & DVDRW, 3D Playback Combo Drive
COOLANT: Standard Coolant
CPU: AMD FX-9370 4.40 GHz (4.7 GHz Turbo) Eight-Core AM3+ CPU 8MB L2 Cache & Turbo Core Technology
CS_FAN: Default case fans
FAN: Asetek 550LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU Cooler - Enhance Cooling Performance
(Single Standard 120MM Fan)
HDD: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200 RPM HDD [+4] (Single Drive)
HEADSET: ZALMAN ZM-HPS200 GAMING HEADSET
IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
KEYBOARD: AZZA Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard
MEMORY: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1866MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance)
MOPAD: Tt eSports White-RA Special Tactics Mouse Pad
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE 970A-DS3P AMD 970 ATX w/ Ultra Durable 4 Classic, On/Off Charge, GbLAN, 2 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 2 PCI
MOUSE: AZZA Optical 1600dpi Gaming Mouse with Weight Adjustable Cartridge
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
POWERSUPPLY: 550 Watts - Corsair CSM Series CS550M 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular Ultra Quiet Power Supply
SPEAKERS: Logitech S120 2.0 Stereo Speaker Set (Black Color)
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
XWNC1: TRENDnet TEW-804UB AC600 Dual Band 802.11ac USB Wireless Adapter

RookieOfTheYear · Jul 2, 2014

Do you need a monitor as well?

RookieOfTheYear · Jul 2, 2014

Here are two options. Option one is an Intel build that is about $100 over budget but has very high quality parts in it. It would also give better performance than option 2 by a fair amount. Option two is an AMD build that will still give very good performance ( but not as good as the Intel), but is only $11 over budget.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FL9fFT) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FL9fFT/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646e31230v3) | $249.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Motherboard** | [MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97pcmate) | $89.99 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbrl) | $73.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-internal-hard-drive-sv300s37a120g) | $59.99 @ Micro Center
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $49.99 @ Micro Center
**Video Card** | [XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Core Edition Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9270acnfc) | $144.99 @ NCIX US
**Case** | [Apevia X-DREAMER4-BL ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/apevia-case-xdreamer4bl) | $59.99 @ Mwave
**Power Supply** | [XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1650snlb9) | $49.99 @ NCIX US
**Optical Drive** | [LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-gh24nsb0) | $15.98 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700404) | $97.98 @ OutletPC
**Monitor** | [Hannspree HT231HPBU 23.0" Monitor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/hannspree-monitor-ht231hpbu) | $188.92 @ TigerDirect
**Keyboard** | [V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard Wired Standard Keyboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/v7-keyboard-kc0a24n6p) | $5.16 @ Amazon
**Mouse** | [Microsoft Optical Mouse 200 for Business Wired Optical Mouse](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-mouse-35h00006) | $4.81 @ NCIX US
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1091.76

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p3w9t6) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p3w9t6/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8350frhkbox) | $169.99 @ Newegg
**Motherboard** | [ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-970extreme4) | $86.48 @ OutletPC
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f310666cl9d8gbxl) | $74.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-internal-hard-drive-sv300s37a120g) | $59.99 @ Micro Center
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $49.99 @ Micro Center
**Video Card** | [MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r9270gaming2g) | $139.20 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Apevia X-DREAMER4-BL ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/apevia-case-xdreamer4bl) | $59.99 @ Mwave
**Power Supply** | [XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1650snlb9) | $49.99 @ NCIX US
**Optical Drive** | [LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-gh24nsb0) | $15.98 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700404) | $97.98 @ OutletPC
**Monitor** | [Hannspree HT231HPBU 23.0" Monitor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/hannspree-monitor-ht231hpbu) | $188.92 @ TigerDirect
**Keyboard** | [Microsoft Keyboard 200 Wired Standard Keyboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-keyboard-6jh00026) | $7.78 @ Amazon
**Mouse** | [Microsoft Optical Mouse 200 for Business Wired Optical Mouse](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-mouse-35h00006) | $4.81 @ NCIX US
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1006.09

Also, option one (Intel) has much better room for upgrading in the future. Whereas option two (AMD) has almost no room for upgrading.

And if you want to make the first one cheaper, you could lose the SSD, which I have on there as the boot drive. That will shave $60 off.

boosbear · Jul 7, 2014

RookieOfTheYear :

Here are two options. Option one is an Intel build that is about $100 over budget but has very high quality parts in it. It would also give better performance than option 2 by a fair amount. Option two is an AMD build that will still give very good performance ( but not as good as the Intel), but is only $11 over budget.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FL9fFT) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FL9fFT/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646e31230v3) | $249.98 @ SuperBiiz
**Motherboard** | [MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z97pcmate) | $89.99 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbrl) | $73.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-internal-hard-drive-sv300s37a120g) | $59.99 @ Micro Center
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $49.99 @ Micro Center
**Video Card** | [XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Core Edition Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9270acnfc) | $144.99 @ NCIX US
**Case** | [Apevia X-DREAMER4-BL ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/apevia-case-xdreamer4bl) | $59.99 @ Mwave
**Power Supply** | [XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1650snlb9) | $49.99 @ NCIX US
**Optical Drive** | [LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-gh24nsb0) | $15.98 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700404) | $97.98 @ OutletPC
**Monitor** | [Hannspree HT231HPBU 23.0" Monitor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/hannspree-monitor-ht231hpbu) | $188.92 @ TigerDirect
**Keyboard** | [V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard Wired Standard Keyboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/v7-keyboard-kc0a24n6p) | $5.16 @ Amazon
**Mouse** | [Microsoft Optical Mouse 200 for Business Wired Optical Mouse](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-mouse-35h00006) | $4.81 @ NCIX US
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1091.76

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p3w9t6) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p3w9t6/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8350frhkbox) | $169.99 @ Newegg
**Motherboard** | [ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-970extreme4) | $86.48 @ OutletPC
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f310666cl9d8gbxl) | $74.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-internal-hard-drive-sv300s37a120g) | $59.99 @ Micro Center
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $49.99 @ Micro Center
**Video Card** | [MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r9270gaming2g) | $139.20 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Apevia X-DREAMER4-BL ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/apevia-case-xdreamer4bl) | $59.99 @ Mwave
**Power Supply** | [XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1650snlb9) | $49.99 @ NCIX US
**Optical Drive** | [LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-gh24nsb0) | $15.98 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700404) | $97.98 @ OutletPC
**Monitor** | [Hannspree HT231HPBU 23.0" Monitor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/hannspree-monitor-ht231hpbu) | $188.92 @ TigerDirect
**Keyboard** | [Microsoft Keyboard 200 Wired Standard Keyboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-keyboard-6jh00026) | $7.78 @ Amazon
**Mouse** | [Microsoft Optical Mouse 200 for Business Wired Optical Mouse](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-mouse-35h00006) | $4.81 @ NCIX US
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1006.09

Also, option one (Intel) has much better room for upgrading in the future. Whereas option two (AMD) has almost no room for upgrading.

And if you want to make the first one cheaper, you could lose the SSD, which I have on there as the boot drive. That will shave $60 off.

All looks good, but if pheonix hasn't bought the cpu yet, an i5-4690 will perform as well for $40 less. Going to the local microcenter may shave off more dollars yet. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690
He can put $30 of the saved money into a better videocard, say a 280x like this one: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-r9270xdc2t2gd5

RookieOfTheYear · Jul 7, 2014

The i5 4690 will not perform as well as the Xeon 1230 v3. The Xeon has hyperthreading, so it can run 8 threads using its 4 cores, whereas the i5 4690 does not have hyperthreading and can only run 4 threads. So the Xeon is a better at multithreaded processes. Currently, very few games take advantage of hyperthreading. However, in the future they will, so the Xeon will be better down the road.

Also, if his son wants to record/stream games while playing the hyperthreading will come into play. I mean both processors will do well. It's what will give him the best performance for his money in the way the computer will be used. And if his son gets into video editing or anything, he will be glad he has the Xeon.

numanator · Jul 7, 2014

Regarding the cyberpower pc build you have, don't go for the fx-9xxx series CPUs, they have heat issues and are not worth the price for them.

Peronally I would recommend building his own since you can make sure that every part is high quality/reliable and it would be a good learning experience

2 Major questions for him building a PC:
Does he plan to overclock the CPU? Does he hope/plan to SLI/Crossfire a second GPU into the build (Dual GPU setups require motherboard support and a large enough power supply)?

boosbear · Jul 7, 2014

RookieOfTheYear :

But the i5 will perform about the same in gaming. Hyperthreading gives about a 20% in performance in applicable situations in my experience. Hyperthreading--as you said--is not applicable to most games right now, but games may take advantage of hyperthreading in the future. However, most games are not cpu-bound anyway, so the i5 will be more than enough to handle games. The difference between an i5 and a similar cpu that is hyperthreaded like the i7 or this xeon--although the xeon is a little slower--is almost negligible. Even really cheap cpus can perform similarly to a powerful cpu in gaming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIT9uLDjZcg this shows that you need a really good gpu to see a significant difference in a cheap budget cpu vs an i5.
The xeon will be faster for video editing. So if he cares about the faster processing during video editing--I would guess 20%--then the xeon is the way to go.
In conclusion, the xeon is better if you want to get the faster video editing computer. But the i5 is cheaper and would prove superior in gaming if you were to use the money saved to upgrade the gpu.

RookieOfTheYear · Jul 8, 2014

boosbear :

RookieOfTheYear :

But the i5 will perform about the same in gaming. Hyperthreading gives about a 20% in performance in applicable situations in my experience. Hyperthreading--as you said--is not applicable to most games right now, but games may take advantage of hyperthreading in the future. However, most games are not cpu-bound anyway, so the i5 will be more than enough to handle games. The difference between an i5 and a similar cpu that is hyperthreaded like the i7 or this xeon--although the xeon is a little slower--is almost negligible. Even really cheap cpus can perform similarly to a powerful cpu in gaming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIT9uLDjZcg this shows that you need a really good gpu to see a significant difference in a cheap budget cpu vs an i5.
The xeon will be faster for video editing. So if he cares about the faster processing during video editing--I would guess 20%--then the xeon is the way to go.
In conclusion, the xeon is better if you want to get the faster video editing computer. But the i5 is cheaper and would prove superior in gaming if you were to use the money saved to upgrade the gpu.

Yea that makes sense. He should save a little and get the i5 and put the saved money towards the GPU. I doubt his son will be doing any video editing anytime soon.

Search

first gaming computer build around $1000

ice_pheonix1

Reputable

boosbear

RookieOfTheYear

Honorable

RookieOfTheYear

Honorable

boosbear

Honorable

RookieOfTheYear

Honorable

numanator

Honorable

boosbear

Honorable

RookieOfTheYear

Honorable

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page