First gaming build for college student

Joshua Bernhardo · Feb 3, 2015

Hey guys I'm going to build myself a pc for gaming and streaming. I don't really care much playing in ultra settings in like 1440p, as long as I can play games with 60+ fps in 1080p while streaming that is good enough for me. What do you guys think? I'm not going to overclock the CPU yet that is why I didn't include the CPU cooler.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/M2P6xr

CPU: Great common CPU for OC'ing

MOBO: Real nice high end mobo with good reviews on newegg and amazon and also less issues

Memory: Good ram + I like the design and match my color scheme

Storage: SSD and HDD are good enough

GPU: New gpu 960 that just being released is really fit my need and its really cheap too

Case: Nice case with high airflow

PSU: HCG is the best PSU right now

iLiftFood · Feb 3, 2015

I'd get an R9 280 or 280x instead, much better performance.
I'd also get an OCZ ARC100 SSD or a Crucial MX100.

PizzaTheHutt · Feb 3, 2015

This looks good - I LOVE this case. Also, maybe look at the Crucial MX100 for a budget SSD. The GPU is OK too. What is your budget as there may be a better build out there for you?

pasow · Feb 3, 2015

can you give us a budget?

Joshua Bernhardo · Feb 3, 2015

My budget is right around $800-$900 ish

PizzaTheHutt · Feb 3, 2015

How does this look?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.69 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team Xtreem Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($101.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS07B MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($71.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $908.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-03 12:24 EST-0500

If you don't need the OS then great! You've knocked off $90!

iLiftFood · Feb 3, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($106.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($75.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $858.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-03 12:28 EST-0500

Joshua Bernhardo · Feb 3, 2015

PizzaTheHutt :

I choose that PSU before but someone else mentioned that rosewill is not that good.

I don't really need that expensive SSD 128gb should be enough for windows boot.

I picked that GPU also before but someone said that its too overkill for what I'm doing, which is why I go for 960 I think its perfect.

PizzaTheHutt · Feb 3, 2015

Joshua Bernhardo :

PizzaTheHutt :

I choose that PSU before but someone else mentioned that rosewill is not that good.

I don't really need that expensive SSD 128gb should be enough for windows boot.

I picked that GPU also before but someone said that its too overkill for what I'm doing, which is why I go for 960 I think its perfect.

If you are worried about the GPU being overkill, don't be - soon it'll come into it's own when the new generation of games are released. If you don't need 250gb then maybe take off $30. I think the PSU should be good enough but if you are worried, take a look at the Antec PSUs maybe?

Joshua Bernhardo · Feb 3, 2015

iLiftFood :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($106.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($75.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $858.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-03 12:28 EST-0500

That mobo was my first choice for this build but it has some issues or problems like stated on newegg or amazon.

Joshua Bernhardo · Feb 3, 2015

Also I don't really like radeon GPU because they use a lot of power than nvidia and for me being a college student the extra $6 over time/month can pay me other bills.

iLiftFood · Feb 3, 2015

Fair enough. Try a 770/970 if you can squeeze it in, the 960 is a waste of time. ALL Motherboards have problems, the one in my build is the cheapest in it's tier on the motherboard tier list (it's classed as a high-tier board)

Search

First gaming build for college student

Joshua Bernhardo

Reputable

iLiftFood

iLiftFood

Reputable

PizzaTheHutt

Honorable

pasow

Distinguished

Joshua Bernhardo

Reputable

PizzaTheHutt

Honorable

iLiftFood

Reputable

Joshua Bernhardo

Reputable

PizzaTheHutt

Honorable

Joshua Bernhardo

Reputable

Joshua Bernhardo

Reputable

iLiftFood

Reputable

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page