Fresh Build <$800

William Grissam · Apr 22, 2015

So I built my first PC about 6 months ago and I'm looking to start my second one, but this time knowing what I'm doing in terms of where to spend money/get more for my dollar. Just need a recommendation for a decent sized case with the option for liquid cooling in the future, and pretty good cable management. Sub $150 if possible! I would also like some thoughts on whether I should go with Intel or AMD. My first build was Intel and I don't have any complaints. Power consumption and heat aren't an issue as those can be tended to as needed. Regarding performance, it'll be for 90% gaming and 5% web browsing and 5% whatever strange things people do with PCs. Overclock'ability isn't a requirement but I'm open to it. So with that in mind, any motherboard suggestions will be heavily contemplated! Thanks in advance. This site has been a godsend in my quest to the glory that is PC gaming.

MasterMace · Apr 22, 2015

If you're looking for future upgrades, Intel. AMD's performance is good up until your PC costs $500. I own and use an FX 8320, previously an Athlon II X4 620, so let the criticism of my statement be at rest.

Here's what we need to know for a build, and you could have saved time by reading the How to Ask - are these included in your $800 budget:

Monitor
Keyboard
Mouse
OS
Network Card

badboyrog2 · Apr 22, 2015

why you talk about watercooling and overclocking is not your priority????
amd vs intel = easy INTEL INTEL INTEL all the way
which parts you need for a 800$ gaming rig? do you need an os/keyboard-mouse combo/optical drive/monitor etc..

andy_Man · Apr 22, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.75 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($295.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.98 @ Newegg)
Other: combo ($5.96)
Total: $817.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 13:32 EDT-0400

RCFProd · Apr 22, 2015

Liquid cooling is intended for average to heavy overclocking purposes.

There is no point in spending your money on it if It's, like Rog said, not your priority.

DeathRabit · Apr 22, 2015

CPU performance Chart stock speed and OC Dark Pink
http://postimg.org/image/4vyf299cf/
Source: http://www.overclock.net/t/1493307/relative-access-to-execution-throughput-comparison-chart
For budget Gaming is X4 860K with OC is very good choice, later is P II 1090T/ FX-6300 and FX-8xxx or i5-4xxxK next is only i7 or Xenon

andy_Man · Apr 22, 2015

DeathRabit :

Please explain your reasoning, I am looking at the chart and I see it's about throughput based on threads.
So we should look at 2-4 thread numbers when it comes to gaming right? Since games are optimized for 2-4 threads usually.

So I don't see the i5-4460 on that list but I see the i5-4440.
The 4 thread number for the i5-4440 is 37. However, it''s 3.2ghz with a 3.4ghz boost so I am sure it would hit 40.
The x4 860k Overclocked number for the same number of threads is 40.
The x4 750k Overclocked number for the same number of threads is 37.

So how is the x4 860k or the x4 750k better than the i5-4460?
Not only that, this is stock vs overclocking. I like to overclock, but you can't promise an 860k will hit 4.4ghz or an 750k will hit 4.8ghz. Also you would need an aftermarket cooler.

By going i5-4460 you get the same performance without overclocking, and if you did ever want to upgrade to an unlocked i7 you can.

MasterMace · Apr 22, 2015

you guys are going nuts over suggesting and arguing, and you don't even know if your build fits his budget.

andy_Man · Apr 22, 2015

I posted a build that was 817$ after taxes and shipping. He posted <800$ budget. My build is a little over 800$. I didn't include an OS or a monitor however.

William Grissam · Apr 22, 2015

I appreciate all the feed back! I don't need a build guide though. Just suggestions on a case and motherboard. The price range was to kind of give a perspective on the system as a whole and to take into account. Just don't see myself getting a $200 plus MB and case for an $800 build.

andy_Man · Apr 22, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($193.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($295.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Other: combo ($5.96)
Total: $831.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 14:53 EDT-0400

Here is a build completely from newegg. There is zero reason for an after market cooler with this build. It gets you a gtx 970 and the i5 is fast enough not to bottle neck it.
I changed the PSU to a modular one so you can have nice cable management. Someone else might have a better case suggestion, there is some room for cables behind the motherboard in the one I chose.

Basically if you want an overclockable intel cpu you can't afford the nicer graphics card. If you go amd and overclock, you might as well go intel and not.

RCFProd · Apr 22, 2015

Both of your build are above 850 dollars counting mail-in rebates @andy_Man

andy_Man · Apr 22, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.75 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($315.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($46.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Other: combo ($5.96)
Total: $815.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 15:11 EDT-0400
Adjusted not to use only newegg so you get the best deal, PSU changed to tier 3 from tomshardware list.

andy_Man · Apr 22, 2015

Maybe go with this case instead
30$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156281&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
Has usb 3.0 the one I linked above doesn't.
Anyone have better case suggestions?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.75 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($315.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax ATX-249B (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Other: combo ($5.96)
Total: $799.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 15:17 EDT-0400

William Grissam · Apr 22, 2015

Guys, just need a case and MB. That's it, not a full build lol. Just the basis to go off of. Thanks for all y'all's input but I'll just have to do some diggin around myself haha

MasterMace · Apr 22, 2015

For a case and mobo at your budget, you're looking at spending ~$120 between the 2 pieces. The problem is that, the motherboard and case are the last 2 pieces that you pick in a build, and you haven't told us what other pieces you currently have.

I cannot suggest the perfect case without knowing your graphics card. I also can't suggest a case without knowing the size that you prefer. Some people want monsters, others want console-sized PCs.

I can't suggest your motherboard without knowing which CPU you are getting, or your RAM, and it's closely related to the case, as a case that's too small cannot fit certain sized motherboards. In addition, if you have multiple hard drives/optical drives, I wouldn't be able to find a motherboard with enough SATA ports.

andy_Man · Apr 22, 2015

William Grissam :

We can't answer this question without more information as MasterMace said.

DeathRabit · Apr 22, 2015

andy_Man :

X4 860K + Cooler cost a loot less than i5
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2 is enough to OC this CPU

Anyway with water cooler you can get up to 4.6Ghz on this CPU but this is to expensive

RCFProd · Apr 22, 2015

It's pointless to ask for upgrades when we don't have any information of what he has right now.

William Grissam · Apr 22, 2015

AH, I apologize for the short comings! I've decided to go with Intel for the CPU. Nothing against AMD, just like the thought of strong thread perfomarmance in general. I won't go with anything above an i5 simply because I've no need for an i7 and feel it isn't justifiable for me! As for a case size, I want something big. FUll size towers are a bit expensive, but if its worth it and will last a couple of years its a very nice investment that will be used over and over. Motherboard size, I currently us an mATX and its a bit small and doesn't have the RAM upgrade slots I would like. 4 slots for RAM, would probably just go with 4x4GB for 16GB total. I have 8GB of Team Elite already, but since the speed on those is 1400MHz with an OC, I would probably see myself upgrading to 1600MHz of another brand. GPU wise, I currently have an R7 260 OC Edition, but plan on getting an HD7970 or R9 280X. Decent sized card. I currently have an EVGA 500B 500W Bronze 85%+ PSU that has given me zero problems, but will likey upgrade to a 750 just for a bit of future proofing. I have a 128GB SSD and 200GB Hard Drive. This is all I need for now as I don't keep many games downloaded and routinely remove unused apps and files. I also already have a 25" Acer G257HL for my monitor and do not need an OS as I have Win 8.1. My current CPU is a Pentium G3220 and that thing is seriously a tough little monster for what it is.

So, with this information, what would you guys recommend?

RCFProd · Apr 23, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($231.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $556.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-23 11:02 EDT-0400

Other than that, I think your RAM is fine.

I think you can afford the R9 290/GTX 970. If you can, don't hestitate.

William Grissam · Apr 23, 2015

Much appreciated!

Fresh Build <$800

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