Totally lost building a Gaming PC with a range of $1000-1200 USD

Try this website: www.logicalincrements.com you can adapt the price list a bit and remember it does not include the OS. I would recommend windows 7 for gaming also.

www.pcpartpicker.com , it's highly recommended, tells you compatibility issues if you pick wrong components and gets the cheapest price from your country's retailers

Try -

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($128.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme II 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($73.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.91 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($21.74 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1179.49

Looking at what you have, I can tell you a couple things.

First off, since you don't plan on overclocking, you probably don't need an aftermarket cooler for the CPU, so that's an item you can drop. CPUs come with stock coolers which are usually fine for keeping the processor cool at normal operating frequencies.

For the solid state drive, I would avoid Kingston and recommend Intel, Samsung, PNY, or SanDisk, as Kingston has a bit of a reputation for using lower quality memory or changing the memory used in a model without notice. Samsung and Intel are generally recommended here in my experience.

For the graphics, again, you shouldn't have any issues with heat in a stock set-up. The 280x is pretty solidly recommended as a good mid-range GPU and one of the better value to power options available.

With Windows, Window 8.1 is the most current version, a lot of people are not fond of the changes made to the operating system to unify the presentation across multiple categories of devices, and you can still get copies of Windows 7 fairly reliably if you don't want to deal with having to learn Windows 8/8.1. Choose whatever appeals to you, after all, 9 is supposedly coming out in the next year or so.

AMD cards are known to overheat, mainly just the stock ones.

The build you have there is very nice and will play those games at high settings with no issue at all. The 280X with an i5 will deal with anything they can throw at it without breaking too much of a sweat. Bear in mind that the SSD is not too big, so once you install Windows and some games, you might struggle for space.

If you remove the 'K' edition processor, since you're not bothered about OC, and thus get a bit of a cheaper motherboard (pcpartpicker will only let you choose compatible boards, so you can look around), you can most likely afford a slightly larger SSD or such.

In terms of the Nvidia vs Radeon debate - the reference cards, ie those provided by AMD specifically, can have cooling issues. However, any modified or repackaged by a third party, like the Asus one in your link, will have this problem rectified. If you have a quick look around, you'll notice some companies are better at this than others, and in general Asus are considered one of the best. You should see no issue with heat there, provided the card has adequate room to breath, which in that build it will.

So overall, maybe look at some non 'K' i5 chips and their respective motherboards and you will be able to save some money. Put that towards a bigger SSD or, if you save enough, even a 290 or 780. Either way you will be playing those games on maximum settings no problem at all.

1. Both are great power supplies, go with the Antec, as it is cheaper, and you won't be saving much with a gold PSU with the PC's power consumption. (The Seasonic is better, but the Antec is an excellent unit.)
2. The r9 290 performs better, and can be much better if you want to play at higher resolutions, if not then the gtx 770 should be enough. I would still go with an r9 290 though.
3. Some cards do come overclocked, but you don't need anything special to run them.
4. You don't need one, no. But you could get a cheap cooler, if you want it to run quieter and cooler.

I would suggest this build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.91 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($403.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec HCG M 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1141.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 15:06 EDT-0400

The suggested builds above are great, however to get them at the prices listed above you'll need to apply for mail-in rebates; hence you'll be paying more than what's being displayed. I've put together a build with mail-in rebates disabled/ignored, hence you'll be paying what's displayed and not more.

The build I've curated does not include a semi-modular PSU, all the connectors are attached to the PSU and cannot be detached; that shouldn't be much of a problem due to the case I've selected having a lot of room, especially with a microATX motherboard. Regardless if you still desire a semi-modular PSU, I'd go with the "Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply" as suggested before.

I've also selected a R9 290 rather than a GTX 780 or 770. The performance difference from a GTX 770 is somewhat significant, however you may actually be satisfied with the GTX 770; according to GPU Boss, the R9 290 achieved 91.5 FPS on BioShock infinite, compared to 83.4 FPS with the GTX 770. You're free to drop down to a GTX 770 if you desire to save costs; it should still handle most of your games you through at it closer to high/ultra. You can see which GPU is better in terms of performance by looking at Tom's Hardware GPU Performance Hierarchy Chart. You can see the R9 290 is superior over the GTX 770, but only by one tier.

To answer your question, yes certain cards do come factory overclocked. You don't need anything special to run them, they're already designed to run faster and cooler. With that said, you should be fine with keeping your computer on for those amount of time periods, provided your room's ambient temperatures are not too high to begin with. The case I've selected includes one intake and one exhaust fan; you're free to purchase and add more.

Without further ado, the build I have curated:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($247.94 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($389.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($71.30 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1193.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 15:52 EDT-0400

Again as mentioned, my build above does not have mail-in rebates enabled hence you should be paying what you see above and not more. Also you're free to upgrade the PSU to a semi-modular one, namely the Antec suggested before. The processor I've selected is the Intel Xeon E3-1231v3, which does not have integrated graphics hence requires any dedicated GPU to boot which I have selected, the R9 290. The processor will provide similar performance to the i7-4770, but at a more affordable price: the Xeon and the i7 are both quad-core with Hyper Threading (4 cores / 8 threads); which is a performance boost over any i5 as long as the game/software you're running utilises Hyper Threading (HT).

I have also included a 256GB SSD rather than 120GB or lower; the MX100 is also an improvement over Crucial's M500 and provides similar performance to a Samsung 840 EVO, whilst saving a few bucks. The operating system I've selected is Windows 7; if you've never used Windows 8, then there is a learning curve with the new OS and you may despise it upon the first use, and then the consequent weeks/months until you become accustomed to it (personally I'm still not fond of Windows 8).

With all the said, all the best.

Good build you have there, but mind you my build isn't too much more expensive without mail-in rebates:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($413.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec HCG M 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($105.51 @ Mwave)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1192.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 16:04 EDT-0400
The OP won't benefit from hyperthreading in games, as there are only a very few that do use that feature. I can only think of Crysis 3 atm, and it doesn't give it a real performance boost. But it is still a good option anyway, for all the other applications that do use hyperthreading.

The TRI-X is one of the best, go with that. And you mean the r9 290, the 290X is more expensive. You would be fine with a 650W power supply, but I would personally get a 750W psu, specifically the supernova g2 750w, a cheaper, but very good option would be the antec HCG M 620. As for the RAM, no it doesn't change much at all, just get CL9 1600Mhz at the minimum.

To be honest gaming wise, there is minor difference between the R9 290 vs R9 290x. If the R9 290 is cheaper by an acceptable amount, I'd go for the R9 290, otherwise if they're around the same price I suppose the R9 290x won't hurt. You'll get similar performance between the R9 290 and the R9 290x, although you may get up to 5 frames more at maximum if you're lucky with the R9 290x, depending on the game.

There are indeed many manufacturers producing the R9 290/290x, and to be honest they're all almost the same. Sapphire is a decent brand, amongst (but not limited to) PowerColor, Zotac, XFX and HIS. The most significant differences are with the top-sellers, Asus, MSI and Gigabyte. All three have developed their own method of cooling the GPU, in order to keep temperatures low and hopefully better performance. Asus have their DirectCU II, MSI have their TWIN FROZR, and Gigabyte have Windforce 2x/3x. Asus, MSI and Gigabyte provide similar temperatures with their respective cooling method, although MSI has been rated to be quieter. Certain manufacturers may also factory overclock the GPU a little to provide better performance.

It's your choice with the GPU, you can pay more or less but they're all a R9 290/290x at the end.


A 600W PSU is recommended at minimum with the R9 290x, where the manufacturer XFX recommends 750W at minimum. You should be fine with the 600W PSU, XFX do over-exaggerate the specifications often.


We've all recommended H97 motherboards; which is on socket 1150 and supports Haswell, Haswell Refresh, Devil's Canyon and the upcoming Broadwell generation. The H97 chipset is not designed for overclocking the RAM or the CPU. With that said, the motherboard will only recognise up to 1600MHz and will not support anything above. If you're lucky the 1866 maybe accepted but downclocked to 1600, but I wouldn't risk it.

In regards to performance, 1866MHz or above should provide you no performance gain in gaming compared to 1600MHz. This isn't much of an issue to be honest and you won't notice any difference between 1600MHz or higher.

All the best.

A lot of motherboards do support RAM up to 3200 Mhz RAM, the PRO4 for example does. It will just downclock it to 1600Mhz.


Added a link: http://www.asrock.com/mb/intel/H97%20Pro4/index.asp?cat=Memory

msi gaming 5 also support up to 3200 mhz

We're talking about H97 motherboards, but yes.

RAM over 1600mhz nets such a small performence gain, that it does not even matter or can it even be noticed.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($98.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($289.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Orange ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($22.16 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1106.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 23:25 EDT-0400

It may be able to play ultra now but what about the future? It's better to invest in a graphics card that can last longer

The card I listed in my build is more expensive and more powerful than the gtx 770. ^^

The card I listed in my build is more expensive and more powerful than the gtx 770. ^^[/quotemsg]

And its not needed for a single monitor 1080p rig.

Look at the op's post right before mine, and there are games that definitely make use of the extra you power