Best gaming pc for a $1000 budget

Jonny Hue · Apr 18, 2015

I bought the mouse/keyboard etc
i want a cool looking slim case also

i play games like League of legends and stuff

Jonny Hue · Apr 18, 2015

Jonny Hue · Apr 18, 2015

Jonny Hue · Apr 19, 2015

Jonny Hue · Apr 19, 2015

qwerty987123 · Apr 19, 2015

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p4M6FT
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p4M6FT/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D9L 46.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.97 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($123.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($329.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: BitFenix Pandora Core MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($85.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM 59.1 CFM 120mm Fan ($15.59 @ Mwave)
Total: $1003.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-19 16:13 EDT-0400

RazerZ · Apr 19, 2015

Besides League of Legends what games do you play? If the requirements are anything like LoL you would be wasting your money on a $1000 gaming computer. It would be overkill.

Jonny Hue · Apr 19, 2015

RazerZ :

i also plan on playing gta/madden/battlefield also!!

RazerZ · Apr 19, 2015

This would make for a nice gaming system:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 970 4GB XLR8 Video Card ($300.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Pandora Core MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $973.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-19 21:01 EDT-0400

Jonny Hue · Apr 19, 2015

could you add a cpu water cooler?

RazerZ · Apr 19, 2015

Any reason for using water cooling instead of air? I could add one but it would go over budget. I'd have to drop the SSD to make it fit.

Also I wouldn't spend much on an aftermarket cooler because this is a locked CPU. You can't overclock it. I would only look into an aftermarket cooler if the CPU is running loud/hot under load. Cheap water cooled AIOs are going to run fairly loud... Honestly I would use the stock cooler first and see if it suits your needs. If not you could always upgrade it.

Jonny Hue · Apr 19, 2015

oh so i cant overclock.. i just wanted one because im sure i will end up overclocking in a year or two and can just buy and build it at the same time.

RazerZ · Apr 19, 2015

You're going to spend around $50 more going to an unlocked i5 and the difference in gaming performance won't be very noticeable. That's not including the price of the Z97 board or aftermarket cooler. I forgot to add that the Z97 board I included is sli capable, meaning that you can run another 970 later on provided the PSU is sufficient (which it is), if you don't plan to sli you could swap it out for a cheaper motherboard.

Jonny Hue · Apr 20, 2015

how much fps do you think league will run with this build?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Zh4Zot95s
there's also another build where pcpartpicker made their own!

TofuLion · Apr 20, 2015

something like 300 FPS...

TofuLion · Apr 20, 2015

RazerZ :

i would advise against trying to use a 4440 for 970 SLI

TofuLion · Apr 20, 2015

this is way overkill for LoL. you could build a rig for half the price and max that game, but this is a nice set up. no OS included

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($92.53 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($349.99 @ Adorama)
Case: BitFenix Pandora Core MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1082.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-20 01:38 EDT-0400

RazerZ · Apr 20, 2015

TofuLion :

Why's that?

TofuLion · Apr 20, 2015

RazerZ :

the lower clock speed of the 4440 would likely prove to be a bottleneck long before the single gpu. the user will then be trying to make up for this with added graphics processing and be confused why there is such a minimal gain. you could have a 4-way titan SLI but still they can only work as fast as the cpu will allow them.

granted for most games you will likely not be terribly impacted by the lower clock speed, but still would be a unbalanced system.

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