1st Build: Open to Suggestions/Advice for Reliable Brands

jlieu

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Sep 3, 2014
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Hi all,
Looking to do my 1st build; but need some help with any suggestions for parts/reliable brands. Personally, I BELIEVE I prefer Intel but AMD can be considered; but (maybe it's just what I hear/see) they seem to have reliability issues…or it could just be me talking to a bunch of Intel-fanboys. LOL. Graphic cards wise, the AMD R9 does seem to be really popular though.

The other big thing is I want to make sure I have enough cooling to ensure any overheating concerns as this seems to be a common concern/issue with many of these custom PC websites (ibuypower, cyberpowerpc, etc.).

I have repaired and worked on PCs/laptops in the past; but never did a complete build from scratch before. Given that, I can't imagine it being too difficult…especially after reviewing some of the tutorial and information provided here (GREAT resource and everyone seems to be very helpful).

The intention of use will be primarily for heavy data analysis, web design/development, moderate photoshop, and moderate gaming (League of Legends [LoL] and some Stream games at most).

I would like to use dual monitors for data analysis and web design/coding.
I would like a dual SSD/HDD set-up for the faster load-times as well. (Been spoiled by the MacBook SSD, but need the extra storage capacity).

Otherwise, everything else will probably only need one monitor.

I'm hoping to stay within a ~$1k budget. +/- $300.

I found some neat ones, 'bundle package' on NewEgg and some prebuilt on the local Craigslist; but I believe building one myself with my own choices seems to be much more rewarding and sensible from a reliability/performance standpoint.

Thanks everybody, I look forward to your help and considerations.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can share that may help you…help me. :)
 
Solution
I think this would sure your needs perfectly. The i7 chip will breeze through all the tasks you will be doing and has hyper threading which means you can be running multiple programs at once and it will cope fine. The GPU I have chosen will provide you with high-end graphics on most games at a playable fps. There is also a 256gb ssd which should keep you going for a while, as well as a 1tb hdd.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

edit - I've just seen in your original post that you would like a r9 series card. the r9 270x or r9 280 are the equivalent cards to the gtx 760.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX...

jlieu

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Sep 3, 2014
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Yep, it would need everything aside from pretty much mouse..which I have a few spare Logitechs I could use.

So yes to the following:
- Operating System (Windows 7 preferred…though XP even more so. 8 just seems to counter intuitive to me).
- Keyboard
- Monitor
- Speakers (Not that big of a deal and can be added later)

OVERCLOCK: I know about this vaguely, but I would say tentatively "No" at this time because I don't have a good handle on how exactly this works.

Thanks for the share WyomingKnott, will definitely look into that!
 

TomSkini

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Jun 7, 2014
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I think this would sure your needs perfectly. The i7 chip will breeze through all the tasks you will be doing and has hyper threading which means you can be running multiple programs at once and it will cope fine. The GPU I have chosen will provide you with high-end graphics on most games at a playable fps. There is also a 256gb ssd which should keep you going for a while, as well as a 1tb hdd.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

edit - I've just seen in your original post that you would like a r9 series card. the r9 270x or r9 280 are the equivalent cards to the gtx 760.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($214.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1032.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-03 20:11 EDT-0400
 
Solution

jlieu

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Sep 3, 2014
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Outstanding build Tom. This is what I went with. Thanks again!