help building gaming pc ~$1500

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
I

i play games

Reputable
Jul 4, 2014
7
0
4,510
I'm really new to this stuff (pc hardware) so after a few hours looking at reviews and prices I got this http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Cf4v99. Is there something you guys would change? Or is there something that wouldn't work well with each other? Is this good enough to run almost all games on ultra or high?
 
Solution
IntelTurtleFan
Are you going to overclock? I would most certanly change the PSU to a MUCH better quality one such as the EVGA G2 (best) or EVGA GS. PSU is the most important part in a build. Also if you are not video editing you can downgrade to a i5 and get pretty much the same performance in all games (within 1%-7%). With the PSU and CPU change you will have a computer that can run anything on ultra. A few other changes would be to the SSD but it is not needed totally. The value of the Samsung 850 EVO is much higher (faster, more reliable, and longer lasting) than that of the Crucial MX100.

Once again with the PSU you have picked it is low quality (tier 3 on the tier 2.0 list). I recommend getting a tier 1 or tier 2 unit from this list that is...
Sort by date Sort by votes
IntelTurtleFan

IntelTurtleFan

Dignified
Apr 10, 2015
3,787
14
16,965
Are you going to overclock? I would most certanly change the PSU to a MUCH better quality one such as the EVGA G2 (best) or EVGA GS. PSU is the most important part in a build. Also if you are not video editing you can downgrade to a i5 and get pretty much the same performance in all games (within 1%-7%). With the PSU and CPU change you will have a computer that can run anything on ultra. A few other changes would be to the SSD but it is not needed totally. The value of the Samsung 850 EVO is much higher (faster, more reliable, and longer lasting) than that of the Crucial MX100.

Once again with the PSU you have picked it is low quality (tier 3 on the tier 2.0 list). I recommend getting a tier 1 or tier 2 unit from this list that is 550-650w.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($145.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($83.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card ($499.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($97.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($80.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.75 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($37.24 @ Adorama)
Total: $1427.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-23 12:22 EDT-0400

If you are not going to overclock. I would get this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($145.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card ($499.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($97.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($80.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.75 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($37.24 @ Adorama)
Total: $1381.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-23 12:25 EDT-0400

The Xeon 1231 v3 is faster than the i5 in every task not overclocked. And even a overclocked i5 cannot beat the Xeon in rendering. Now in some games and not all the i5 will be very slightly faster than the Xeon but it is not much to make a difference if you are editing. Maybe 1-2 fps. Overall the Xeon is the best choice of the i5/i7/Xeon if you do not overclock as it is a i7 without overclocking features. A CPU cooler is not needed with the Xeon as it runs very cool stock. The i7 and i5 however I recommend going with a 212 EVO if you do not overclock. The Noctua is a bit overkill.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
gilbadon

gilbadon

Distinguished
Jun 16, 2008
1,856
1
20,460


I agree with the PSU and i5 comments here.

As for the SSD, I think if you are trying to save a few bucks, the MX100 is a great choice. Yes the Samsung 850 EVO gets better specs, but does it make a noticeable difference? My opinion as well as many others, probably not. I would like to see a blind performance test where people try to see what computer is using which SSD without seeing stats.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
I

i play games

Reputable
Jul 4, 2014
7
0
4,510


I don't plan on overclocking, I'm not ready to that alone yet, maybe in a few years but not on this pc. If I downgrade, will the cpu encounter problems in the future compared to the current one? How far will an i5 take me in the future compared to an i7? Thanks for the tips I will change the SSD to the 850 EVO
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I

i play games

Reputable
Jul 4, 2014
7
0
4,510
Thanks for that, is there a reason why you chose to get the 250gb version of the EVO 850? I would want more space, so would it be better to just have 2 SSDs or just have one large one?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
PS3toPC

PS3toPC

Honorable
Jan 1, 2014
167
0
10,680


Well if the motherboard supports raid then you could join the two to act as one ssd. But it's pointless, i think it'd be better for one to be just a larger one, it would work out cheaper and more satisfying .
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom