NEW BUILD!!! Under 1k - Any help appreciated.

Jim Biddle · Jul 7, 2014

It has been awhile since I built a PC, so I am a little dated. Looking to build a PC at the $800 mark. Will be playing games - nothing too hardcore - rpg's etc. Started playing Divinity Original Sin, AMAZING - until work laptop slowed down. MUST BUILD

Looking for build advice I found Toms and the build sheets supplied as responses, Very cool.

Unsure on AMD vs. Intel - Open to recommendations
Motherboard - no clue!
Memory - 8 GB I suppose - Will bring it up later - 8GB for this budget
Video Card - Yikes! Don't know what is the latest and greatest within this budget
HDD - Was thinking 1TB 7200 - cheap. Open to SSD, but Pricey and will probably use it up quick
Case - would like a cool looking case

Send the builds!!!!!

Thanks all!!!

Dark Lord of Tech · Jul 7, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.02 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($106.81 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($268.30 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $989.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

CGurrell · Jul 7, 2014

Not the best GPU but not bad either http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nWxFbv

CGurrell · Jul 7, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.02 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($106.81 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($268.30 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $989.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

for a $1000 PC I would switch out the 4670k for the 4690k but that's just me

gizzard1987 · Jul 17, 2014

This is the build I threw together. I probably could have saved a few dollars on each, but I'm an ASUS fanboy. I love their products, and their customer service. I've never had any issues out of them. I have a ROG laptop and I also have my custom built PC.

I chose that case because I love the giant fans in mine (Mine's the CM 932 Blue Edition) plus the red glow should look amazing on that yellow motherboard with red ram and a HUGE window to look at it all in full glory. I chose the 2133 RAM because the price was hardly over the 1600 RAM and the 2133 will give a solid 10% increase (over 1600) in performance in games AND general computing at a low OC to 4.5 GHz, easily attainable on air. Even if you don't plan to OC right out of the box, you're still looking at a 5% gain.

I did go over about 100 dollars, but I wasn't sure if you wanted/needed OS or a disc drive to install the OS so I tacked it on at the end. I decided to go with the i7 haswell, because I love mine. That thing just powers through workloads and eases through games. The GTX 760 is still one of the strongest mid range cards on the market. You pair 2 of those bad boys up (like I have in mine) you're looking at no struggle whatsoever on anything, single, dual or triple monitor (Haven't tried 3D yet).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($304.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($215.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($86.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1104.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

CGurrell · Jul 17, 2014

gizzard1987 :

This is the build I threw together. I probably could have saved a few dollars on each, but I'm an ASUS fanboy. I love their products, and their customer service. I've never had any issues out of them. I have a ROG laptop and I also have my custom built PC.

I chose that case because I love the giant fans in mine (Mine's the CM 932 Blue Edition) plus the red glow should look amazing on that yellow motherboard with red ram and a HUGE window to look at it all in full glory. I chose the 2133 RAM because the price was hardly over the 1600 RAM and the 2133 will give a solid 10% increase (over 1600) in performance in games AND general computing at a low OC to 4.5 GHz, easily attainable on air. Even if you don't plan to OC right out of the box, you're still looking at a 5% gain.

I did go over about 100 dollars, but I wasn't sure if you wanted/needed OS or a disc drive to install the OS so I tacked it on at the end. I decided to go with the i7 haswell, because I love mine. That thing just powers through workloads and eases through games. The GTX 760 is still one of the strongest mid range cards on the market. You pair 2 of those bad boys up (like I have in mine) you're looking at no struggle whatsoever on anything, single, dual or triple monitor (Haven't tried 3D yet).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($304.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($215.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($86.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1104.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

A few things:

1. You don't need a disk for the OS, just use a USB stick

2. If you're gonna go for a 4770k, I'd get the Haswell Refresh 4790k instead if you can get it for a similar price.
3. Why pay $100 for a Cooler Master HAF case, when you can get an NZXT Phantom 240 for $60? http://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-caph240w1

gizzard1987 · Jul 17, 2014

Personally I don't like the looks of the nzxt cases. They look like wantabe alienware cases, without the cool lighting liquids. Personally I love how rigid my cooler master cases are. I definitely enjoy the the fans lighting as well. A lot of people complain about how loud they are, but mine has 3x 230 mm fans and a 200 mm fan and they're plenty quiet for me considering my case temps are always cooler. I used my ASUS FanXpert 2 to test them at 100% and yeah they were kinda loud, but on the full auto mode, they've never HAD to go over 30%, which is very quiet. I can't really discredit any NZXT cases, but I can say I've had 4 different cooler master cases from the HAF and Storm Trooper series and the are very durable and easy to sell for just about retail price if you decide to upgrade. In the end when I was buying my case, I chose the HAF 932 Advanced Blue for my case, paying almost $140.00 at the time simply because I really liked the case, and blue is my favorite color. Not bashing on the NZXT, but I would certainly NEVER own a white computer case. I have kids and pets though.

The reason I went with the 4770k was because I read the specs wrong. I was under the impression that the 4790k was only 0.1 GHz faster, which now that I've read more on it, it appears it's 0.5 GHz faster. For the 35 bucks, that would be a good bump up from the stock 3.5 GHz of the 4770k.

As for the disk drive, yeah, you might be able to boot it from a flash drive, but I've always been one to like disks. I still buy CD/DVDs though. I also like to use my PC to play DVDs and Blu-Rays.

To the OP, I'd suggest if you can swing the extra cash I'd suggest changing the processor from the 4770k to the 4790k. The selected motherboard should still be good to go. The only thing you might need is to download new mobo drivers for support of the new CPUs unless the newer z87 mobos already have it covered with new disks in the box. ASUS is usually pretty good about that from my experiences.

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NEW BUILD!!! Under 1k - Any help appreciated.

Jim Biddle

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