1st time builder, Gaming PC ($1200-1350)

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TitanicLance

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there guys, I've been a long time PC gamer and I'm ready to take the plunge and build my rig for the 1st time! Here's what I'm thinking about, plans to buy this week.

First Time Build

Some notes about the build
- Meant to be for Gaming (Would like current gen games at mid/high settings, no need for everything ultra high)
- I already have keyboard and monitor
-No plans for overclocking, raid, SLI, etc.....
-My main questions are the motherboard and power supply. Do you think those are good choices? I'm very open to recommendations.

Thanks for your time!
 
Solution
Ytyoussef
This is an unusual suggestion, but I've recently read about this processor, it's basically an i7 (hyperthreading) without an iGPU, so it has great performance for a great price.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($247.94 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($113.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card:...
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Calnin

Dignified
Dec 28, 2013
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Answering your questions:

Motherboard: You're not overclocking, it wouldn't matter too much.

Psu: It's a seasonic unit. It'll be fine.


My revisions:

I just lowered the price of some parts.

Took out the cooler, the cpu comes with one and it'll do just fine for a non-overclocking build.

Motherboard, z87 motherboard will most likely need a bios update. I switched it to a z97 board with some nice features. You don't really need a z97 board if you're not overclocking, most H97 board will do just fine.

Changed the hard drive to something cheaper. You oculd go with a 120gb SSD + 1TB HDD and save there if you want. 120Gb SSD is plenty for a boot up drive already.

GPU, You could go with the r9 290 windforce or Tri-x if you want if you're considering some of these savings.

PSU, It's still a seasonic unit. 650w.

The optical drive, go with whatever's cheapest.

Windows, i just went with something cheaper but still the same. I'm not really sure what the difference is.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($78.12 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($289.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1166.03
 
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filippi

filippi

Distinguished
Oct 18, 2012
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This is my suggestion:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.71 @ Amazon)
Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($102.46 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill BlackHawk ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($19.94 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1152.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-30 19:49 EDT-0400

A new z97 mobo (great for upgrade). Both gpu and psu are stronger.
 
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Ytyoussef

Ytyoussef

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Oct 6, 2013
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This is an unusual suggestion, but I've recently read about this processor, it's basically an i7 (hyperthreading) without an iGPU, so it has great performance for a great price.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($247.94 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($113.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($359.99)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1233.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-30 19:59 EDT-0400
 
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