Help putting together a Pre-built or Advice

please...just build it yourself. IF you agree to building yourself we can make you a BEAST for that price tag

We can't comment on a PC that we can't see. All we can do is offer alternates for YOU to consider.

List the components (similar to above).

LOL! don't mind these people on tomshardware, they always insist on reccomending custom. i know how you feel as i have pre built system myself. i also built custom but i prefer pre built, it's just so much easier to understand.

anyway, back to the topic, i would reccomend dell, i never had a problem with them., in fact i have three dell's, one workstation, two laptops, and of course my custom build which i hardly use. just so much hassle building it, i know how you feel. pre built is better anyways. but anyhow, dell offers online coupons that knock off the price a lot. for instance, i got a dual xeon system a while back with a 1,000 dollar instant savings. it came out to 2,000 from 3,000. never had a problem with, as for my custom, i fried so many parts, it's not even funny, i don't reccomend custom to the faint of heart of having destroyed hardware. so yeah, i don't have a link for anything specific, but i know dell offers killer deals. with the money saved, you can invest in a graphics card for it from newegg or such. i'm sure it's not hard to upgrade a graphics card, it's drop in replacement. anybody can do it, but hey, it's your choice. or you can upgrade it through dell.

so yeah, do some research on dell coupons, it's all over the internet, just google it.

again, i never had a problem with dell. pretty reliable from experience.

they have a large selection of computers, so i'm sure you'll find something you like.

edit: also, i don't know what these people are talking about rebates. rebates are bogus, you have to send them in and such, it's such a hassle. at least dell is instant offerings on the spot.

If you are building a custom water loop then your apprehensions are valid. It's fun building a PC but I wouldn't recommend starting out with a water cooled PC until you have built or assisted in the building of at least a few computers. It is better to let someone else do it. That said, buying it prebuilt from a 'brand' will still cost you hefty and give you a very raw deal, it's wiser to get it built by an individual. If I were you, I'd put up an ad on Criag's list or look for someone on Tom's forums to build it for you. That way, not only will you know how your rig was built, you will also know your way around it if you have to tweak it in the future.

Taking out the BS -
NZXT Source 530
i7-4930K
H60
ASUS Rampage IV Extreme EATX
16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1866MHz
GTX 780 Ti
Power Supply: 800 Watts
Hard Drive: 2TB
Optical Drive: LG 12X Internal Blu-ray Drive & DVDRW
plus
Microsoft® Windows 8.1 (64-bit Edition)
Keyboard: AZZA Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: AZZA Optical 1600dpi Gaming Mouse

LEGOS for big kids

$2600 prebuilt performance = $1600 build yourself performance.

$2600:
No SSD? - fail
800w PSU? what brand/model?

Not saying you have to build something yourself, but I'm not seeing anything in there to justify $2600.

I can't see $3000 in it. Maybe $2000

What make and model power supply?

No, that is not always true.
What is the primary use for this thing?

A 'faster' CPU does not always equal better performance for a given task.

that might not be totally true, dell offers good deals, and i'm sure with the system i built, it would give custom a run for it's money. it's how you buy stuff that counts. now, i would be a little skeptical reccomending pre built dell to anyone without coupons, with a warning sign it might cost you more, but with online coupons, this might not be the case.

usafret, have you checked dell online coupons? i think not. nuff said. were talking hundreds of dollars off, and that is VALID, no schemes about it. plus dells offer good pricing already then other manufacturers.

although, i would never buy anything less then a dual xeon for a desktop/workstation from dell (not that i've ever bought anything less then a dual xeon), i still see a valid deal for other lower computers. for me, i just don't see any justification buying a single slot cpu computer for any reason that is.

yeah, quit trying to pressure him into stuff, it's his decision, jeez, he asked a simple question.

also usafret, *gives weird look, 2,600 dollars compared to 1,600 dollars? come on now... we both know your probably lying.

For gaming, you don't need the 4930k, an i5 4690k would be OK and a $150 Z97 mobo. Same with ram - 2 x 4gb 1866 would be fine.
For one 1080p monitor, one gtx780ti is way more than enough. And you only need a 600W power supply. A Seasonic 620 would be better than the Corsair.

well, if you want something that plays games good, just make sure you have a good graphics card, maybe look into sli or crossfire. the rest will follow accordingly, you really basically can't go wrong.

eg

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($122.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($505.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)


See if you can get a pre-built with this sort of parts list. Say for $2000

Yes, I get Dell coupons daily. I've spent a lot there, both personal and corporate.

As far as $2600 vs $1600....we have to look at the intended use.
In this case, it appears to be a games machine. In which case the i7 is a bit overkill. And we can go down from there.

Whatever. I'm not trying to push anyone into build or buy....just trying to dispel some myths.
More money = better
More CPU = better
More RAM = better.

That is not always the case.

also, that's a side note, about pricing, but don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to avoid the challenge here. i just don't see a need to prove to fools that dell has good offerings. obviously you guys are ignorant on good pre built deals, i even went a computer shop and the guy was like "yeah, pre built is so much better, you know what your getting, it's already built, and stuff like that, it's just worth the money" also, the point is, he doesn't feel comfortable building a comptuer, and me, as a person that has done both, i find pre built a lot more satisfying. it's like this, buying a cheaper lancer with awd, to soup up faster then a lamborghini. so what if it's faster, or whatever, the lamborghini will still take the cake, versus paying a lot more for a lamborghini and being slower, who cares right? the same thing applies for computers, some people don't like souping up their custom sytems. also, it's like the alienware of computers, remember the days people use to be so happy with them no matter what and had bragging rights? that's just my analogy, also, putting together your own is never a good idea, no matter what the situation is. that's a fact. the same applies for computers and people don't use this analogy too often. and of course i'm referring to alienware computer with the lamborghini analogy, which i will NEVER be able to afford, and of course, i will never be able to afford a lamborghini. although i would LOVE to have the lamborghini anyday over a stupid faster souped up lancer. nuff said. not saying that the lancer is always going to be faster, but for the most part, if you can't build a faster computer then a pre built, your pretty much a retard, (yes i'm aware that pre builts probably don't have overclocking abilities) lol. of course i only use dual xeons, so all this is irrevelevant to me.

so i'm not trying to avoid the question, but i'm not shopping for a computer right now, and i'm not here to prove anything cause i already know what i said was true. he can do his own research. that's easy enough. plus if he wants pre built, then let him get pre built. when my dual xeon finally becomes outdated, which is probably never, i know i'm going for pre built again.

also, another analogy, saying that pre builts are junk is like saying laptops are shitty and pointless over priced pieces of shit, which is not true. i bet you never realized laptops are basically like pre buillts.

so, for the record, i'm not going to look, if you want to check it out, then by all means, do your own research, i already researched a long time ago. i'm not fooled by this challenge.

also, what ever happen to FACTS? fact is, it really depends on your graphics card. a drop in replacement, that ANYBODY can do, it's like upgrading ram! like seriously, even mac users could upgrade ram. it's really their choice, not yours.

anyways, i'm done ranting, you people need to realize, not everybody cares about custom builds, while it may not be true it's cheaper, i didn't bother to look recently, but i know back in the day dell had killers deals on xeons. also, did you mention to him that putting together a computer is a complete headache by itself? it's true. even the guy at the shop was like "that's ridiculous, pre built always wins."

edit: oops typo, lol.

well, obviously usafret buys from dell also, so nuff said there. i also too spent a lot of money from dell.

edit: there is a reason why dell is the number one pre built computer store to buy from for so long. and rank in a lot of sales. over any other computer manufacturer that sells computers. most popular. nuff said there too.

We get more problems from Dell and HP than anything else here. Limited info on parts etc make them hard to fix and hard to upgrade.

OP...sorry about your thread turning into a bit of a spat.

What you've specced out will work, but I still think the i7 and supporting motherboard (and other stuff) is overkill for a games machine.
No matter where you get it from.