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Custom PC build for $1300 or less

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  • Gaming
  • Build
  • CPUs
Last response: in Systems
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October 8, 2014 7:05:01 AM

Not sure exactly where to ask this but I'm looking to build a gaming PC for around $1300 or less.

I have a list of parts here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pRQ6K8

I'm hoping for some advice on which parts are overkill, which parts should be upgraded or where I could cut costs. Also, not looking for SSDs in the build.

PS. I'm new so i don't think i posted this to the right place...

More about : custom build 1300

a b 4 Gaming
a b à CPUs
October 8, 2014 7:09:27 AM

What are you intending to use this PC for ?
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October 8, 2014 7:20:03 AM

Most likely just for gaming and running standard day to day tasks. No video rendering kinda stuff.
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a b 4 Gaming
a c 125 à CPUs
October 8, 2014 7:33:38 AM

For gaming you don't necessarily need an i7 processor or 16GB RAM; an i5 (4 cores / 4 threads) and 8GB RAM is beyond satisfactory. Most games only utilise 4-cores anyhow hence an i5 is recommended, whereas the i7 is quad-core with Hyper Threading (4 cores / 8 threads). 8GB of RAM will be the maximum a game will require for the foreseeable future. With all that being said, since your budget allows an i7 and 16GB RAM; you may as well get the best bang for your buck, unless you'd rather not spend your entire budget.

The PSU you have selected is also not the best of quality; Corsair's CX/Builder series are not usually rated too well. The GTX 760 is also an elder generation card, now that the GTX 900 series have been released (at more of an affordable price range too, whilst providing better performance over the GTX 780 and R9 290; both which were high-end cards).

For your budget, if you'd still like the performance of an i7 and 16GB RAM, I'd go with the following build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($142.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX Video Card ($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.25 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1146.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-08 10:30 EDT-0400

The Xeon processor is similar in performance to the i7-4770 (they're both quad-core with Hyper Threading), whilst more affordable. I have still included 16GB RAM, a H97 chipset motherboard, a XFX semi-modular PSU (XFX PSU's are manufactured by SeaSonic, whom are arguably the best in the business) and a GTX 970. I have also not included an All-in-One watercooler, but instead a top-quality air cooler, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (which to be honest isn't necessary, if you want to save more funds, you could just use the stock CPU cooler provided by Intel). Finally I have included the OS and an optical drive.

All the best. :) 
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a b 4 Gaming
a b à CPUs
October 8, 2014 7:37:04 AM

Here's a good start
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($244.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $924.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-08 10:30 EDT-0400

This PC will run all games at 1920 x 1080 on high settings. It would last you for some time too.

The motherboard and GPU don't match on colour though. If you want the colours to match, you could try the Asrock B85 Pro4 . It's fully black, but of course, you don't get the Z87 chipset from the motherboard I chosen.

What's left is the
>Monitor
>peripherals
>OS.

If you're going with Windows, you're most probably going to need a optical drive. The Case I selected does not have any slots to mount your optical drive to look better, and give a cleaner looking build. So get an external optical drive.

but of course, you could choose your own case. NZXT and Corsair makes the best cases that are easy to build with.

You could also try overclocking your CPU if interested, but you'll have to buy an unlocked CPU such as the i5-4690K, and a decent CPU cooler.
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a b à CPUs
October 8, 2014 11:37:34 AM

This is my suggestion, but is a bit over your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($123.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($73.80 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 750W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply ($73.50 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1398.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-08 14:33 EDT-0400

You can take away a 970 and cut $330 of the total cost, it will still perform very well, but it can always perform better :D 
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October 16, 2014 12:13:15 PM

Obnoxious said:
For gaming you don't necessarily need an i7 processor or 16GB RAM; an i5 (4 cores / 4 threads) and 8GB RAM is beyond satisfactory. Most games only utilise 4-cores anyhow hence an i5 is recommended, whereas the i7 is quad-core with Hyper Threading (4 cores / 8 threads). 8GB of RAM will be the maximum a game will require for the foreseeable future. With all that being said, since your budget allows an i7 and 16GB RAM; you may as well get the best bang for your buck, unless you'd rather not spend your entire budget.

The PSU you have selected is also not the best of quality; Corsair's CX/Builder series are not usually rated too well. The GTX 760 is also an elder generation card, now that the GTX 900 series have been released (at more of an affordable price range too, whilst providing better performance over the GTX 780 and R9 290; both which were high-end cards).

For your budget, if you'd still like the performance of an i7 and 16GB RAM, I'd go with the following build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($142.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX Video Card ($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.25 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1146.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-08 10:30 EDT-0400

The Xeon processor is similar in performance to the i7-4770 (they're both quad-core with Hyper Threading), whilst more affordable. I have still included 16GB RAM, a H97 chipset motherboard, a XFX semi-modular PSU (XFX PSU's are manufactured by SeaSonic, whom are arguably the best in the business) and a GTX 970. I have also not included an All-in-One watercooler, but instead a top-quality air cooler, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (which to be honest isn't necessary, if you want to save more funds, you could just use the stock CPU cooler provided by Intel). Finally I have included the OS and an optical drive.

All the best. :) 



an xeon type cpu? really?

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a b 4 Gaming
a b à CPUs
October 18, 2014 7:17:21 AM

The Xeon line of CPUs have similar performance to i7 -es , but they don't offer any overclocking ability , so they're a good choice.
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