around $700 gaming pc

vullneto · Mar 16, 2015

Approximate Purchase Date: : next 2 weeks

Budget Range: $750 the most (dunno know how much my dad will let me spend but this is what it should be around)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, browsing internet

Are you buying a monitor: Should be able to use my dads

Parts to Upgrade: all

Do you need to buy OS: I should be able to get one for cheap

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, microcenter, and amazon

Location: Chicago-land area, Illinois, United States (microcenters nearby)

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, nice psu(modular and hopefully 80+gold) any good gpu from 290(x)-970

Overclocking: if I get an unlocked processor

SLI or Crossfire: In the future

Your Monitor Resolution: 1080p for now but might move up to 2.5k or UHD.

Additional Comments: I'll mostly be playing CSGO and modded Skyrim, along with lots of other games. nice sleek looking case, NZXT s340 is ideal or any other sleek ones.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I have a really crappy all in one that im using.

dark_lord69 · Mar 16, 2015

One thing I found in talks with my coworkers...
Many times MicroCenter will have the best prices on the CPU's. (Cheaper than amazon and newegg for example)
I checked into it... they were right.

damric · Mar 16, 2015

SLI/Crossfire is not in your future unless you want to drop more dough.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X OC Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar MX300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Other: Windows 10 Preview ($0.00)
Total: $678.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 21:36 EDT-0400

i7Baby · Mar 16, 2015

Try -

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($177.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $762.69

Archaic59 · Mar 16, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($177.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($199.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $673.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 21:42 EDT-0400

vullneto · Mar 16, 2015

hows this? I dont quite like the 960.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($177.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.90 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($278.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $770.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 21:52 EDT-0400

damric · Mar 16, 2015

vullneto :

Change the PSU to the one I linked above. The Supernova NEX is based on an inferior platform (FSP RAIDER) compared to the B2, which is based on a reliable platform (Superflower Golden Green). It's also actually a gold rated unit, but EVGA only paid for bronze certification.

vullneto · Mar 16, 2015

damric :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($177.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.90 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($278.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $755.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 22:08 EDT-0400

Is there anyway to make this cheaper? I heard about the psu thing I just forgot the name of it and hoped someone would correct me haha. Any other suggestions?

theonerm2 · Mar 16, 2015

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZGmYt6
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZGmYt6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.61 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($199.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $709.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 22:09 EDT-0400

damric · Mar 16, 2015

Drop down to the i3, it's almost as good as the i5.

vullneto · Mar 16, 2015

damric :

some games dont work good with 2 cores, i'd rather get the i5, and just to satisfy my ego.

theonerm2 · Mar 16, 2015

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yGmYt6
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yGmYt6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.61 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X OC Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $660.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 22:13 EDT-0400

With no os.

damric · Mar 16, 2015

vullneto :

They work with the i3 due to 4 logical cores (DA-I/FC4).

Your ego is going to be hurting when you are trying to load up levels on that slow assed HDD

vullneto · Mar 16, 2015

modified theonerm2's build, would this be good then? would his psu be sufficient for OC'ng the gpu?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($177.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X OC Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $734.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 22:23 EDT-0400

damric · Mar 16, 2015

That motherboard is scary bad, like the ones found in the PCs at Walmart. Tough call on the PSU. The R9 290 is a power hog already.

vullneto · Mar 16, 2015

damric :

a little over budget, but i think I can manage

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($177.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X OC Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $782.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 22:30 EDT-0400

damric · Mar 16, 2015

vullneto :

damric :

a little over budget, but i think I can manage

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($177.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X OC Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $782.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 22:30 EDT-0400

It's a winner. You will be happy.

damric · Mar 16, 2015

You could just add the 1TB HDD later if you want to shave off some initial cost. Also, do you really need an optical drive? You can install Windows 10 from a USB stick. Those are small things that are inconsequential to the main build.

vullneto · Mar 16, 2015

i got the 1tb hdd because i need it for games. The optical drive I like to burn stuff sometimes, but I do have an external one around somewhere. should I drop the cpu to the 4440 to save a few bucks also?

damric · Mar 16, 2015

I'd stick with the 4460.

vullneto · Mar 16, 2015

Aight any other suggestions? I'll go with my dad to microcenter and check out things they got there this weekend hopefully. Thanks for the help.

damric · Mar 16, 2015

Often Microcenter will have better deals than what you can find online. You might be able to swing an i5-4690K and Z97 board if they have one on sale or in a combo.

around $700 gaming pc

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