Good Gaming Build for under $1600?

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mrgamer

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Hi, I am currently in search for a very good gaming PC to build for the first time for under $1,600 (If you can find me a great build for a lot under than $1600 please post) as my current one is just about to burn out and i can hardly play any games on it anymore.

I would like to build a PC that can run all of the AAA and other title games at all of the max settings while still being able to play at the smoothest possible and with fast/no lag game play.

I want my rig to be able to run games like Star Citizen, ESO Online, Bioshock, The Witcher 3, GTA V Online and a lot of other games that will be coming out, in max settings or just about.

I would also like to have as my GPU a GeForce 970 4gb, if there is something better please tell me :)
I would also like an SSD. (Should i have 2 SSD's or 1 SSD and 1 HDD?)
I have also been thinking about a water cooling system but i would like to here what you guys think please, as i do not know much about them. And if i do get one, would i need to refill every so often? or clean it? and what about a spill/leak?

Please give me a setup that has a good cooling system and a case that has a good airflow, as where i live gets pretty hot and there is a dust problem. So any advice on how to avoid and get rid of dust will be much appreciated!
I would like the rig to last for a while but do not mind making little upgrades here and there in the future. I will not be overclocking anything.

You can use PCPartPicker so i can see what the build looks like.

--- I should clarify that $1600 is the max that i will spend, but would prefer to buy a build that costs $1100-$1500 as i have been told that building PC's is always cheaper and saves you money so i should not have to spend too much.----

And i would like all good brands that will last :bounce:


(Sorry for such a long post, i just wanted to ask all the questions that were on my mind so i can get a good long lasting PC without any worries) :)
 
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RafaSimpsons

RafaSimpsons

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Here it is:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($709.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($24.15 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($24.15 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($24.15 @ NCIX US)
Fan Controller: NZXT Sentry Mix 2 Fan Controller ($27.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1587.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-08 17:31 EDT-0400
I paired a i5-4460 with a h97 board since you dont need to overclock. However, I have chosen liquid cooling because you live in a dusty area and it's better to avoid getting lots of dust around the CPU. Also, the case has dust filters and it comes with 2 fans, I added 4 more fans in order to achieve best airflow and cooling capacity. For the video card I chose a 980 ti cause it will last you a long time and will even handle star citizen maxed out. The 16 GB of RAM are necessary in order to handle Star Citizen. The storage is the mainstream 240 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD, you dont need more than that. For the PSU, that's one of the best, a tier one unit, extremely high quality. The fan controller is necessary to control all 6 fans, cause the mobo has only 2 fan connectors. Connect all fans to the controller, except the CPU one.
 
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mrgamer

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A very good build! And thank you for helping me with the Dust problem! :)
Could i switch that i5 for an i7 or will that not make much of a difference? and maybe switch that GPU for a non superclocked one so we do not go over budget?
 
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RafaSimpsons

RafaSimpsons

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You dont need a i7, trust me, the i5 is more than enough and will last plenty of time. Here, have a look at the chart (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html) And I chose that GPU cause its probably the cheapest non-reference designs out there. You dont want a reference design, mainly if you are on a hot and dusty area.
 
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mrgamer

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Reference design? Please elaborate.. :)
 
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RafaSimpsons

RafaSimpsons

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Reference design is the original Nvidia design.
Image_05S.jpg

It has only one fan and tends to heat a lot compared to the other designs that have 2 or more fans. Also, non-reference designs tend to be faster.
 
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mrgamer

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Oh, thank you for explaining that to me! :). Is there possibly a cheaper graphics card with the same benefits (also keeping in mind my dust and heat problem)

 
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Dragon_Heart

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If you want to save the max amount of money you need to cut corners for the two most crucial parts in this system. The processor and the graphics card. I would definitely not recommend water cooling unless you want to do a closed cooling kit. Full water cooling kits that you set up yourself will raise the price of your build substantially.

If you are buying all the parts off of one site I would recommend newegg. Generally the best prices and wide selections.

For part recommendations I would recommend this build to start with and then you could customize it how you like it with the case you would like.

CPU: I7 4970k

Reasoning: I7 series hands down is going to be the best option here if you are spending that much money on a computer. Period

Graphics card: GTX 980 Gigabyte Windforce

Reasoning: I'm fairly sure with this build you can definitely afford a GTX 980. Windforce is a good choice here. I have a friend with this exact card and it is beastly and as a bonus the windforce logo lights up :D

RAM: G. Skill Ripjaws X

Reasoning: This is definitely a preference thing. Corsair and G. Skill BOTH make really good RAM kits. I chose G. Skill because that's what I use :3

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z97-D3H

Reasoning: This one is definitely a hard one for me. I personally like ASrock boards because they are cheaper than the competitor generally and have great features and reliability for low price. However Gigabyte for a price of a sweet board has them beat here.

Power supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W

Reasoning: First of all it's modular. Which is important for cable management. Second of all it comes backed with a 10 year warranty and 80plus gold

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Reasoning: Tried and tested. I have one in my rig. I know others who have one in their rig. Best cooler for the price. You don't need water cooling unless you plan on spending 100-600 dollars depending on if you get a closed kit or a kit to build yourself with the fittings and hosing.

Now for the hard drives.

If you don't use a lot of space you can get a single SSD for the whole system. However I think it's way more efficient to get a decent size SSD that you can put your most frequently played games on and get a 1 TB internal spinning hard drive for storage. You can put the OS on the SSD too if you want really fast boot times.

7200 RPM Drive: Western Digital Black 1 TB

Reasoning. Western digital. 5 year warranty. Definite proof of performance over the years. Enough said.

SSD: Samsung 850 EVO

Reasoning: This drive is actually on Tom Hardwares best value for SSD list. I have a Samsung in my rig and it rocks!

Price(All prices taken off of newegg and are in USD):

CPU- 339.99
GFX card: 499.99
RAM - 104.99
Mobo: 115.00
Cooler: 34.99
SSD- 97.99
Hard drive: 70.99
Power Supply: 129.99 (104.99 after rebate)

Total Pricing for parts: 1393.93

The remaining amount leaves you to select a case of your choice. If you would like a personal recommendation.

Case: Rosewill Blackhawk 89.99

If you choose you can also do SLI GTX 970s for an extra $100 giving you more performance than a single 980

GTX970x2: GTX 970 Windforce 309.99 per card (after rebate)

The build above that others suggested is definitely a good one. You could switch the 980 ti out for the 980 however you would lose the i7. That's all up to preference.

I hope all this information helps!!! :)
 
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mrgamer

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Wow! Great Build with a Nice Price! Thanks for the post! :) :)

 
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mrgamer

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I read a comment on pcpartpicker for the fan controller of a poster who said that even though the fan controller accepts 3-4 pin fans, the connection only accepts 2 pin fans... are the fans that you listed above 3 or 4 pin fans?

 
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