Improvements for First Build?? (Mid-Level Gaming Rig)

[glamdringfh]

Hi everyone,

I'm a first time builder who is interested in hearing if the build I put together could be improved before I take the plunge. My price range is between $1200 - $1400, so depending on sales I might be able to squeeze a bit more for this build. This is primarily meant to be a gaming rig.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste
Motherboard: MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card
Wireless Network Adapter: Intel 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi adapter
Case: Rosewill ARMOR-EVO ATX
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)

Current Total: $1,312.59 ($1,222 with rebates)

Any ideas or opinions on what parts I could improve upon would be very much appreciated!

Thanks so much!

 

[Blaise170]

I feel like you could be getting a better machine for $1200. I think this is many times better than your build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY XLR8 PRO 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card ($457.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Rosewill ARMOR-EVO ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1299.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-23 00:17 EST-0500)

 

[glamdringfh]

Thanks for the reply Blaise!

Hrm...I hadn't even considered some of those suggestions before, I will certainly do some research into them. I suppose I also should have mentioned in the main post that this is mainly to be a gaming rig with room to upgrade later (will correct that now). Don't know if that would change any of your recommends or not. The R9 290 4gb is specifically quite a suprise!

 

[Sangeet Khatri]

This is the build I would recommend for $1400. It is much more powerful and better than the build you selected.

The Nvidia 780 is way better than the Nvidia 760 that you have selected.

+ 8 Core FX 8320, highly overclockable, best bet for next gen games.
+ Nvidia 780, I would have gone for AMD R9-290, but it overheats a lot and is extremely noisy. Hence I avoided the 290.
+ Corsair 750D is a much better case than the Rosewill Armor
+ Corsair's 750W 80+ Gold PSU is much better than EVGA's PSU.
+ A 240GB SSD with 1TB HDD is good for fast access as well as storing lots of things.

Hence this build is awesome to go for.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($6.73 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY XLR8 PRO 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($499.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($149.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1393.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-23 02:41 EST-0500)

I hope this helps.