$800 gaming rig

nyterage · Jun 22, 2015

to sum things up nicely, im looking for a rig that will game on high+ at 1080p, with a $800 budget and micro atx motherboard.

Backstory!: i am en experienced builder, i am just unsure at the moment and would like some outside opinions on if should go lower/higher end on the processor/motherboard, since they will be replaced with skylake in late September/early August. they will be dropped into a micro atx tower for my girlfriend, so i need to keep the motherboard micro atx. this build will be done the first week of july. going to be dropping in another 970 when i upgrade to skylake aswell, so a large power supply is required aswell!

things i do not need: Case, Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Disc drive or operating system.

Things i would like to have but do not need: Solid state drive

without further rambling, here is my current idea.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($186.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H97M-E35 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin ECO2 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($338.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 700W ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $795.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-22 06:10 EDT-0400

give me some opinions on what you would change, what you like and where i should sacrafice/upgrade performance.

i7Baby · Jun 22, 2015

Get a better quality 500+W power supply and your build should be OK.

herrwizo · Jun 22, 2015

Here is a modded list. Basically, I changed everything except the hard drive and video card, which were perfect picks. Added faster and cheaper CPU, much better and larger SSD, higher quality PSU, a cheaper mobo (you don't need H97, H81 will work just fine) and changed the RAM for a few bucks cheaper combo.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.57 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $820.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-22 06:13 EDT-0400

nyterage · Jun 22, 2015

gah i forgot to mention when i upgrade to skylake im also dropping in another 970, i wanted at least a 700w psu for that reason.

herrwizo · Jun 22, 2015

Replace the PSU in the build above with this one then:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-110b20750vr

With rebates, it is currently even cheaper than the XFX, and comes with 10-year warranty.

i7Baby · Jun 22, 2015

Then get a good quality 750W PSU eg evga supernova g2 750 gold.

DasHotShot · Jun 22, 2015

Ok build, abysmal PSU! You want to pick something of a high standard here as it is not an area to mess around with.

I moved some things around and got you a better CPU, better Ram, a better MOBO and a MUCH better PSU...for the same price

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($52.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Mushkin ECO2 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($324.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $795.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-22 06:17 EDT-0400

DasHotShot · Jun 22, 2015

Adjusted for SLI compatibility (700w PSU)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($52.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Mushkin ECO2 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($324.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $810.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-22 06:20 EDT-0400

nyterage · Jun 22, 2015

thanks for all the opinions so far, really you guys are responding faster than i can read. so ditch the h97 for a b81, go with a better quality psu and quite possibly a faster/bigger ssd. also seems everyone is recommending the 4460 over the 4430. but did you think i could get away with a g3258 and possibly squeeze an even better ssd in? will a g3258 game as well as the i5 in most cases?

i7Baby · Jun 22, 2015

I wouldn't use a tier 3 PSU on 2x970's - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html#xtor=EPR-8886

DasHotShot · Jun 22, 2015

nyterage :

It will not perform anywhere near the i5.

For a start you are talking 2 core versus true 4 core, which will stop you from launching some games even,,,

herrwizo · Jun 22, 2015

G3258 can game good enough, but there are a number of games that prefer i5, and this number will only grow with time. No reason to skimp on the CPU - get i5; also, 250GB SSD should be plenty if you don't install dozens of games to it. Use it to install several games you play the most. Especially the ones that depend on loading times. Keep the rest on regular HDD.

DasHotShot · Jun 22, 2015

herrwizo :

+1

nyterage · Jun 22, 2015

alright so only question i have left is the PSU, looking a the teir list what would be recomended for a 970sli config, obviously teir 3 isnt up to par on most standards. would it be worth getting a low wattage/high quality psu now and upgrading it to a higher wattage and still high quality psu in september? im already looking to budget another 800 or so for my skylake upgrade (ddr4 is crazy expensive!)

herrwizo · Jun 22, 2015

Sir, just get this one and don't even think twice:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-110b20750vr

With 10 years of warranty and a $30 rebate it is a no-brainer; top notch quality and plenty of power for 970 SLI.

nyterage · Jun 22, 2015

herrwizo :

thanks everyone else for the opinions as well. defiantly looking forward to this build.
thanks herrwizo! for the psu suggestion think ive finally come to a conclusion of.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.57 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($324.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $801.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-22 06:43 EDT-0400

herrwizo · Jun 22, 2015

Looks great. Have fun!

$800 gaming rig

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