First time build - gaming and media at $800-$1000 - need help completing parts

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faintrespite

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Jul 13, 2014
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Approximate Purchase Date: this week

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Budget Range: $800 - $1000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, movies, Windows Office, web browsing, YT/Twitch/etc., generic use

Are you buying a monitor: No - currently own Asus VS278

Parts to Upgrade: Currently have these parts - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B47nyc

Do you need to buy OS: No

Overclocking / SLI or Crossfire: No

Why Are You Upgrading: Previous 7 yr. old computer broke.

Additional Comments: I don't need anything too fancy; I don't stick with one game for too long and I don't need Ultra settings. However, I do really enjoy Blizzard games; SCII and Diablo3. But mostly looking for all around stability. I did some prelim research and thought the i5-4570, Samsung SSD, and R9 270X would be good places to start and build around.

Critiques and suggestions on where to go from here would be very helpful.

One of my main concerns is heat/noise. My media room is somewhat small and is already warmer than the rest of my house. Also in a quiet neighborhood and anything above 3000RPM on my laptop fan is pretty noticeable.
 
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Steel_Nugget

Steel_Nugget

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Dec 5, 2013
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I would add 8Gb of Ram, and a 1Tb HDD. MSI B85 G41 MB which is cheap and will support a second GPU if added later.

 
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faintrespite

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Thank you! Some thoughts:

I honestly have no idea what to look for in a mobo.

Also, is the i5-4570 enough or should I consider going up to the 4590, 4670/k, or 4690/k?

Should I also consider going to up a GTX 770, R9 280x, or other?

For extra internal HDD, I was leaning towards WD over Seagate based on reviews... any advice here?
 
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Steel_Nugget

Steel_Nugget

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I own the one I listed and it works great (HDD) Also the CPU is fine for the GPU (I'm running a I5 4440 with Crossfire HD 7950s) For the games you play you should be able to max them out since they shouldn't be any more demanding then BF4 which you could play on high 60 + FPS. I would only recommend a I5 K if you want to OC. So that is up to you. I would also recommend looking at game benchmarks of the parts you are getting to see if they give the performance you want.

 
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faintrespite

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Thanks for the replies so far everyone!

The suggestions gave me a lot of guidance on where to go, look, and research. I've decided to take bits from the various suggestions and came up with this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4vBddC. If I could get some feedback on it that would be nice, even if I'm totally good to go or completely off-track.

CPU - Decided to move up to a i5-4690 (discount on the i5-4570 ended).
MOBO - No OC so Z97 not needed but an H97 gives me everything else.
SSD/HDD - I definitely want to keep the SSD. Went with Samsung and WD due to reviews.
RAM - Doesn't seem to matter too much. Just went good reviews and price at 2x4.
Video - Stuck with the 270X. Seems to be the best fit in this price range for my needs.
GPU - Little confused here still. Not sure about my exact voltage/amperage needs. However, figured I'd go up a little to both "futureproof" and idiotproof and settled on the 650W Rosewill because it has a discount at the moment (same price as 550W range GPUs).

Currently don't have a fan in the build and I think I can just revisit the issue once it's all put together and I see how it handles for noise/temperature. To be honest, I don't expect issues.

If I can save a few bucks that would help, as I'm pushing the limits of my budget. However, I do plan to use this build for a number of years so I would be okay with this current price.
 
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Steel_Nugget

Steel_Nugget

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For a PSU what you should think about is are you adding a second GPU for Crossfire? When you upgrade are you going for a high end GPU? If yes then 650w or 750w PSU would be a good Idea. I didn't do this and when I added a second GPU I only needed 150w but had to pay6 $100 for a new PSU. For fans the case should come with enough (You can link the case if you want us to look) unless you have two GPUs or a very hot GPU (Reference R9 290x) but you can add fans when ever. Not sure where you could cut down on the price unless you got rid of the SSD. I wouldn't though, since I just bought one, and I would say it's worth it.

 
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faintrespite

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I don't plan to Crossfire a second GPU. I'm only going with the 650W because it is the same price currently as the 550W. Plus I'm not sure on how to accurately allot my voltages/splits/amps so I'm also idiotproofing for myself.

This is the case I'm buying: NZXT Phantom 410

I'm not overclocking and my gaming needs is not super so I think a cooling system will be unnecessary. But I might consider it down the road just because my computer room itself is prone to overheating/stuffiness and noise issues.

Other than that it's difficult to cut down on costs. I could probably save around $100 by downgrading the CPU, MOBO, RAM, PSU, and HDD all slightly. But I think that extra $100 would be well spent. Yes/no?
 
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MrDominik

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U have a psu for 650w for 100$. For 100$ u can find a good 850w. And than just buy the asrock z97 Extreme 3 and i future u can go crossfire. Ur h97 is the same price as the asrock z97 Extreme 3.
 
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