[Build Ready] Please Analyze $950 First-Time Build - Completion DEADLINE 8/14

AsymptotelyImpaired · Jul 24, 2014

I'm going to college and want high-end desktop. The build should not break $1,000, and less is better (but I'm expecting $950 minimum at this rate. The budget excludes all peripherals, though if you have a good deal or suggestion for a +21" 1080 LED (or cheap, precise mouse) I'm all for it; it's just a separate budget. I have already ordered several components, including RAM, CPU, and SSD, but I have no issue returning items. My biggest concerns are of the mobo, the PSU, and the video card.

The video card is my biggest issue. I'm fairly set on most of my other components: I like the deals I got with RAM, the case and whatnot; I want a Blu-ray player; etc. This means excess money is to be allocated to the card. I'm all about dollar-to-performance. Benchmarks are fairly easy to interperet (and there are about twenty billion of them), but that just measures the GPU. It does nothing for the actual card. Can you guys help me pick out a card that is a solid deal ATM?

Also, can you review my overall build? Anything I should add? Anything I should change? Good airflow (I did originally have the i5-2690k for $200 (actually I already bought it; it's sitting right here), but I am not comfortable potentially damaging my system with OC, so I switched it out or the i5-2670 for only $185. Point being, I'm not planning on OC'ing.)? Is my Blu-ray player a quality pick, or is going cheapest a bad idea (will use for Blu-ray and DVD movies and burning CDs only)? If there is a problem, I want to know about it. Also, is my PSU a proper wattage, not too high and not too low?

Thanks a ton in advance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $184.99)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $115.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $74.70)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($80.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($0.00)
Wireless Network Adapter: *Rosewill N900PCE 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Apple MB110LL/B Wired Standard Keyboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Headphones: Bose AE2 White Headset (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $710.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-24 19:04 EDT-0400

Somber · Jul 24, 2014

Great build only things i would change is the Motherboard, its built for OC and if dont plan on OCing then you should get something else.

And i would switch to an XFX PSU other than that it looks fine

Amd for a gpu i would get either an R9 280x its about 200$ or if you are an nvidia fan the 760 is a great choice

schau314 · Jul 24, 2014

The cheap blu ray players do not usually bundle software to use it so the blu ray is not worth it in your budget,

Your computer only uses 200 watts. This means that 400 watts would be more than sufficient. Most cheap power supplies with new systems are at 300-350 watts. IF you want to get a graphics card for gaming a 500 watt would be good. For this build you can go for a good 400w power supply.

schau314 · Jul 24, 2014

Also that specific motherboard is for an unlocked k series processor. Look for the h97 motherboard or h87 equivalent for a cheaper price. The z motherboards are for overclocking and for using two graphics card at once in most cases.

Tradesman1 · Jul 24, 2014

You already have a CPU right - is it the 4690K (you show a non 2690K - if you already have a 4670K keep it and use it, may not want to OC right now but down the road - that's a free upgrade, then that drops your costs on your list by $185 - so might pck up a Asus 760 GPU and then drop the rest into a monitor (I prefer Asus and BenQ)

AsymptotelyImpaired · Jul 25, 2014

Somber :

What mobo would you suggest? I can sell/return that one no problem; however, whatever I get needs USB 3.0 header and definite compatibility. Idk how to verify that.

I actually switched PSUs when I found this: SeaSonic G-750 SSR-750RM 750W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
I got it for $70 today.

I was highly considering the R9 280X, but idk what actual card to get. There are so many at so many different prices all for R9 280X!

Thank you.

AsymptotelyImpaired · Jul 25, 2014

schau314 :

I was thinking of downgrading to a lower PSU, but that one was on sale so I was like wth why not get quality for five dollars more. That's the only reason; especially since I might upgrade years down the road (and all that hype that a low quality could tear up your system). $70 is a pretty standard price in any regards though, yes?

EDIT: And with the Blu-ray I was just going to use VLC. It runs Blu-ray, I think. And I am die-hard VLC fanboy. If that doesn't work I could always buy PowerDVD or whatever. Is that what you meant by "bundled?" Or were you referring to some firmware required or something? Will it not play DVDs normally either?

Somber · Jul 25, 2014

i would recommend buying the k version its like 20$ more, the mobo should be really reliable and you can over clock in the future if you decide to (at first i didnt want to over cloack but then i did)

AsymptotelyImpaired · Jul 25, 2014

Tradesman1 :

Yes, I already had bought the 4690k last Sunday for $200. It actually increases the cost of my build by $15. I read that OC'ing the CPU doesn't really do that much for games; just for benching. I don't really care about that tbh. I want stability most of all.

AsymptotelyImpaired · Jul 25, 2014

schau314 :

Oh wow no one has said that so far thanks. So can I get the same level of quality build for less money by going with non-OC designed? And I doubt I will use two cards in the future, but I may up it eventually.

Somber · Jul 25, 2014

If you already have the 4670k, like Tradesman said drop the cpu on your build and get the 760 (i prefer EVGA)

AsymptotelyImpaired · Jul 25, 2014

Somber :

You sure? My original budget was $850, but I just couldn't help myself from going up. I don't really think I need all that much processing power (though more is good). I was hoping to turn and sell this CPU for maybe a $10 or $15 profit and save $15 by downgrading to the standard 4670. Then I could reallocate that to the GPU and maybe even drop that total price back down a bit. If I can save on the mobo too by switching to a non-OC (but still same level reliability), then that would be ideal. Is OC'ing the CPU that big of a deal? Plus, I don't want to buy an aftermarket cooler too. What think, good sir?

AsymptotelyImpaired · Jul 25, 2014

Also, what are some non-overclocking mobos you guys recommend? Any links?

By the way, I was going to get this monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236335

Additional, here is my updated build so far:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $184.99)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $115.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $74.70)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $66.99)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $69.99)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $34.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($0.00)
Keyboard: Apple MB110LL/B Wired Standard Keyboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Headphones: Bose AE2 White Headset (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $667.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 00:25 EDT-0400

schau314 · Jul 25, 2014

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157511&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

This will not let you sli or overclock. Besides that it is pretty good.

schau314 · Jul 25, 2014

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-h87plus

IF you want a little better quality.

AsymptotelyImpaired · Jul 25, 2014

Newegg has offered to pay for the return shipping for the mob, and since it's unopened no restocking fee. I wouldn't cost me anything to return and downgrade. I looked at the links above, but they don't really seem like that great of deals (since the $140 board I got was only $115 at the time). Any good deals?

Tradesman1 · Jul 25, 2014

I'd keep mobo and CPU, then down the road you can OC (not that big a deal, and it's like a free CPU upgrade

schau314 · Jul 26, 2014

Well he doesn't have an overclocking cpu. If you want to find a deal on h87 or h97 boards, I would look around.

Bopper2010 · Jul 26, 2014

For video cards the choice is really up to you, if I was looking at buying a mid range card for AMD I would say the R9 270x and from Nvidia the GTX760. If you want to go higher end than for AMD a R9 280x and from nvidia a GTX770, it all really depends on your budget and how much performance your looking to achieve.

Tradesman1 · Jul 26, 2014

schau314 :

_____________________________________

??? He said he's already got a 4690K - that's definitely a OCable CPU.

Somber · Jul 26, 2014

Yeah keep the mobo and cpu, games that come out are gonna keep getting more and more cpu based and youll need a good cpu.

Graphiicz · Jul 26, 2014

Somber :

The 280X destroys the 760...

Somber · Jul 26, 2014

Graphiicz :

Not really, most games it only gets about 4-9 higher fps, i wouldnt say it destroys it and i recommended both

Graphiicz · Jul 26, 2014

Somber :

I can only hope you're confusing the 760 with the 770.

If not, the 280X is substantially better. 4-9 FPS? Where are you pulling these random numbers from?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1041?vs=1038

Somber · Jul 26, 2014

if you look at those games they arent demolishing the 760. you act like the numbers are a huge difference

[Build Ready] Please Analyze $950 First-Time Build - Completion DEADLINE 8/14

Reputable

Reputable

Honorable

Honorable

Legenda in Aeternum

Reputable

Reputable

Reputable

Reputable

Reputable

Reputable

Reputable

Reputable

Honorable

Honorable

Reputable

Legenda in Aeternum

Honorable

Reputable

Legenda in Aeternum

Reputable

Reputable

Reputable

Reputable

Reputable

Share this page