First Gaming PC: Help me pick between two builds (or suggest something better)

Zanuan

Honorable
Mar 6, 2015
22
0
10,520
I have a $1200 budget (Not including peripherals). I have very little knowledge of PC hardware and have gotten this far with a lot of help. I am planning on playing Skyrim maxed with a few mods and most new games at at least high settings. So far I've gotten two suggestions and before I make a purchase I want to ask you guys to help me out finalizing my build.

~The first build:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.99)
Memory: Avexir Core series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($42.50)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($40.79 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($554.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($22.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1035.98

~The second build:
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-Gaming 5 ATX LGA 1150 ($10 combo w/ i7 above @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) D3 1600 DIMM C9 ($124.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Samsung E 250GB Evo SSD ($119.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: EVGA GTX970 4GB ($349.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: 750W SuperNova 80+ Bronze ($84.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Pro (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1155.93

(I do not plan on overclocking at all and wont be streaming or recording, don't know if that makes a difference)
Replaced: Corsair 600W 80+ Bronze ($69.99) with 750W SuperNova 80+ Bronze ($84.99) (shadows1234 recommendation)
 
Solution
I would say mix the two. Use number two, but make these changes.


CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: MSI Z97-Gaming 5 ATX LGA 1150
Storage:Samsung E 250GB Evo SSD
+ Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Memory: Avexir Core series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Video Card: EVGA GTX970 4GB
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Depends on what you like better

Now let me explain my choices, you do not need an i7-4790k and all gaming builds that don't cost 1800+ will tell you the same. The change is just too small, that only people with no budget switch it out.

The ram is the same thing, 8gb...

Archgaull

Admirable
This is an alternate build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
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 ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($554.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom 240 (Black/Gray) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($86.73 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($101.79 @ Amazon)
Total: $1201.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-09 15:53 EDT-0400
 

ruledarkman

Reputable
Oct 20, 2014
26
0
4,540
I would say mix the two. Use number two, but make these changes.


CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: MSI Z97-Gaming 5 ATX LGA 1150
Storage:Samsung E 250GB Evo SSD
+ Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Memory: Avexir Core series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Video Card: EVGA GTX970 4GB
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Depends on what you like better

Now let me explain my choices, you do not need an i7-4790k and all gaming builds that don't cost 1800+ will tell you the same. The change is just too small, that only people with no budget switch it out.

The ram is the same thing, 8gb will allow you to do anything you want, if you were perhaps doing some major editing/streaming that required a lot of ram you might upgrade to 12, but nobody needs 16, trust me. 8gb is fine.

In one build, you only had a 1tb hard drive, and in the other you had an ssd. This is fine, except you had ONLY an ssd. 256 gb is not enough for your computer, so I believe that was an accident by you. I added it anyway.

The motherboard in build 2 has a similar cost but it is better, simple as that.

Same thing as ram and processor, unless you are building a crazy machine that is going to be so powerful it takes over the world, a 970 is ALWAYS better than a 980 as the difference is minimal in performance, but the 980 costs $200 more. The 980 is $550, but for $700 you can get 2 970s. Do you see how the difference between them is so small that it is pointless. The only big difference is the cost. You can get 2 970s, which are almost twice as good as the 980, for only $150 more than the 980.

For the power supply, I completely agree with archgaull, you can pay the same amount and get the one I listed in the list, which is much better.

Your case seems adequate enough, just make sure it has everything you need. Your operating system is based on preference entirely, so just see which one you like better.

Hope this helped you out, and the price should be around your price range if you add it all up in pcpartpicker. Have a great day and have fun building your computer :)
 
Solution

i7Dreamer

Reputable
Mar 4, 2015
53
0
4,640


I have read bad things about hitachi, might be safer to go for WD