Best $1000 - $1100 custom PC for game development & intensive gaming at least for the next 3 or 4 years

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JoeBecky

Reputable
Feb 25, 2015
41
0
4,540
Dear amazing people at tomshardware,
I want the best possible PC ranging from $1000 to $1100 excluding the screen, mouse and keyboard. I want it for video game development (you know, for stuff like UE4 and 3ds max) without having a problem. And for the best gaming experience at least for the next 3 or 4 years.

Your effort is highly appreciated, Thank you.

Update 1: after looking more and more into this, I'm thinking of the GTX 970 for now and then add another one in the future. I also think 16 GB of RAM is what is just needed. Plus, I want to know your thoughts on whether I should go for one GTX 980 if I save some more money or just one GTX 970 and then add another one in the future. Some people are saying that two 970 are better than just one 980. Keep in mind that I'm not computer literate so please make your answers more understandable.
Thank you very much for your time.
 
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ZeroGravity780

ZeroGravity780

Reputable
Oct 28, 2014
782
0
5,160
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($136.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.95 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1140.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-04 22:12 EST-0500

I do recommend the i7 4790k since you will be doing game development but its $100 more, but its worth it.
 
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Archaic59

Archaic59

Polypheme
Jan 6, 2015
10,038
648
69,240
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.95 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($279.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1109.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-04 22:34 EST-0500
 
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Epsilon_0EVP

Epsilon_0EVP

Honorable
Jun 27, 2012
1,350
1
11,960
I made a few changes to squeeze in the 4790K:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($326.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($136.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1140.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-04 22:34 EST-0500

Since games need space, I changed the SSD to a 1TB HDD. You'll miss the boot-up speeds, but being restricted to only a few games and projects installed at a time is even more frustrating.

I also change the PSU. The XFX unit is actually also made by Seasonic, but the rate it 80+ Bronze only and sell it for $20 less. Quite a good deal overall.

The memory was also changed. I doubt we could quantify the benefit of 1866MHz over 1600MHz in most games, while the $12 saved do come in handy.

Finally, I just changed the 970 to a slightly cheaper one, since it should still perform basically the same. And then, of course, I added the 4790K.
 
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ExOArTiE

ExOArTiE

Reputable
Dec 18, 2014
152
0
4,710
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($321.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($333.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1142.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-05 01:03 EST-0500

Save yourself a few dollars and get yourself a decent cooler and an ssd.
 
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U

UnderAttack

Reputable
Sep 5, 2014
471
0
4,960
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vfNBYJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vfNBYJ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X31 69.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($72.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Kingston Fury 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.69 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($204.59 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case ($33.24 @ Directron)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1052.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-05 01:25 EST-0500
 
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