$1000 Gaming Build (Include OS, Monitor, Mouse/Keyboard)

Here is something that I just put together on PCPartPicker.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/smY4GX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/smY4GX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ECS Z97-MACHINE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VS24AH-P 24.0" Monitor ($217.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Cooler Master CM Storm Havoc Wired Laser Mouse ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1045.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-14 14:04 EST-0500

In advance, I would like to apologize for the wall of text. I tried to be thorough while not writing pages upon pages of summaries.

CPU: i5 4690k - I chose this CPU for a few reasons. First, you said that you preferred Intel cpus, so that eliminates a lot of options right there. Second, since you plan to overclock in the future then this is a great choice for that. It's got 4 cores so definitely no problems in any games and you even mentioned it in your post. It is a little bit pricy but can still fit the budget.

I didn't include an aftermarket cooler because you said that you will upgrade to a better fan when you plan to overclock

Motherboard: ECS Z97-Machine - Now, I know what you are thinking, "should I buy a motherboard from a company I have never even heard of?" I can safely say that this is a reliable mobo, since I used it in my own build. Two PCIE x16 slots (although one is running at x8, no difference has been noticed between x8 and x16). It is the cheapest Z97 motherboard (pretty good for overclocking) and it's got all the features you could make use of. There isn't a reason not to buy it, especially since there is a $30 MIR on Newegg right now.

Memory: Mushkin Silverline 8GB DDR3-1600 - Basically the best value RAM that you could get at the moment. The motherboard I selected does have dual-channel support so I decided to go with a 2X4gb kit and get some extra speed. DDR3-1600 has basically become the "sweet spot" in terms of any PC build. It's also got some great ratings from what I've seen. At $60, it is a great competitor.

Storage: WD Caviar Blue 1TB - I decided not to go with an SSD in this build, particularly because you wanted such an expensive monitor. This drive is the best you could ask for. You could easily get an SSD in the future when you come across some extra cash, so for now this will do nicely. The 7200 rpm and 64mb cache is a standard nowadays but is definitely a great standard. Photoshop and recent games can take up quite some space, but I have a 1tb drive and haven't even filled half of it with pictures and games!

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 - This graphics card could be debatable. I decided not to go with the 280x because there isn't exactly a point. This card has a great cooler so the overclocked performance of a 280x can definitely be matched. And, it is a significant amount cheaper. If you do not feel comfortable overclocking the graphics card, it will still give out great stock performance. The 3gb of vram was selected for future-proofing but I don't see a reason not to get it at this point. Of course, the Nvidia cards of the same performance range were a lot more expensive and don't give out a great performance increase. Overall, great card.

Case: Corsair SPEC-01 Mid Tower - I love the look of this case. The side panel window allows you to show off your amazing creation, the front red LED fan gives it a nice glow, and it is a good size to work in. This is one of the best cases you can get for under $50. Not much to say other than it works. You know it is reliable because it is made by one of the biggest case manufacturing companies. You might benefit from some more fans in here, although I didn't include them because you said that you weren't overclocking yet.

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W - I had to compromise a little bit (again, the expensive monitor) for the power supply, but I would still say that this is a great power supply. The only thing that isn't the best about it is that there is not very much headroom for overclocking later. The estimated wattage of this entire system was 380-390 watts so still, 40-50 of headroom. It is 80+ Bronze, and although it isn't the most efficient it definitely does do a pretty good job. Even though it says "semi-modular" on the description, I would consider it fully modular as long as you weren't planning on getting different colored cables for the 24-pin and 8-pin. Those are the only two that come pre-connected and you will be using them anyways so there wasn't a reason to spend an extra $40 on a fully modular PSU. This will help greatly with cable management in the mid tower case.

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium - Not much to say here. It's Windows 7, and you can get Windows 8 for about the same price. If you aren't afraid of buying things that aren't from the retailer, you could try out g2a.com where you can get Windows a lot cheaper.

Monitor: Asus VS24AH-P 24.0" Monitor - Ah yes, your 1920x1200 monitor. This monitor is a perfect size at 24" with a 16:10 aspect ratio so I would say that it will look fantastic no matter what. It's got a standard 5ms response time (standard for gaming, of course) which will give you no input lag noticeable. I would say that your resolution is ridiculous though. This is one of the cheapest 1920x1200 monitors I could find at all, and it is still over $200! I would hope you could compromise those extra pixels, but I decided to include this in the build just because you seemed so set on a 1920x1200 monitor. You can get an amazing 1080p monitor for $120-$140, and use that extra money to upgrade the PSU or add some case fans. To each his own, I guess.

Keyboard: Corsair Raptor K30 - I couldn't get you a mechanical keyboard that could fit the budget, but it doesn't matter terribly. This keyboard is red backlit and will go greatly with the red lit case and red lit mouse I picked out. It is very reliable, from Corsair, and is only $40. It's also got some extra buttons on the side which could help in gaming. Overall, just a good budget keyboard.

Mouse: CM Storm Havoc - Not much to say here, either. This color scheme goes with the case and keyboard that I picked out, it's got some extra buttons to help you out, $40, 8200 max DPI (although I doubt you would even make use of that much speed), laser sensor, 128kb of onboard memory for storing different profiles, 1000hz polling rate, the whole package. You could use something a bit more standard if you couldn't spend the $40 on this, of course.


A bunch of the parts are from Newegg, so it should be stress less shopping, I would recommend getting a 1080p monitor instead to upgrade your PSU or get a SSD or something. This can definitely play AC: Unity and can run photoshop smoothly. I hope that this fits your requirements well and you have a great time building your PC!