Build Suggestions for $1500 or Less

[DarkAddo]

I posted a thread a while back asking if all my parts were compatible since I am brand new to computer building. After doing some more research (and using pcpartpicker), I've come up with what I believe is decent for what I would like to do for under $1500. If you guys could give me some advice, or even a better build, that would be extremely helpful. Any advice is appreciated!

Build-
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2QRD4
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2QRD4/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2QRD4/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($114.47 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card ($137.98 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N53 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($32.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black/Green) ATX Full Tower Case ($100.98 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming 700W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer S241HL bmid 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($159.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1101.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-10 14:53 EST-0500)

EDIT: I would like to be using this computer for playing games such as Battlefield, Skyrim, Minecraft, League of Legends, CoD Zombies, and some other higher end games, but nothing to extreme like Crysis 3 or Metro: Last Light (Thanks google for telling me the most demanding PC games). I would also like to be able to record and use skype while still being able to run my game smoothly at 50+ FPS

Budget: $1500 or less

 

[CTurbo]

You could do SO much better then ^THIS^ for $1500. Give me a minute and I'll put together something.

 

[CTurbo]

Here you go - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2QS9L

 

[DarkAddo]

Alright, I just have a few questions here (Sorry for not knowing all this, like I said, brand new)

What makes the i5 3.4 Ghz Quad-Core better than the AMD 3.5 GHz Hexa-Core?
How many USB ports can that support and what about audio out/in (I got a Turtle Beach X12 for my Xbox that I would want to hook into the computer).

 

[CTurbo]

Because you cannot compare the speeds of an Intel and AMD directly using only the numbers. Intel processors are much stronger. Intel's 3.4ghz is much faster than AMD's 3.5ghz. Of course that is why the AMD is so much cheaper. The FX6300 is a good deal for a super budget PC, but not for a $1500 gaming PC.
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-4670K-vs-AMD-FX-6300
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/439/AMD_FX-Series_FX-6300_vs_Intel_Core_i5_i5-4670K.html

 

[DarkAddo]

Alright, thanks!

 

[DarkAddo]

Also, I was doing some research about the CPU's and advantages of both the AMD FX-8350 vs. the i5-4670k and one thing I did notice was that the i5 has slightly better performance, but temperatures are through the roof (from what it looked like), and I want to know if this is anything I should worry about.

 

[CTurbo]

No the AMDs are the power hogs.

 

[Scoutdrago3]

The reason AMD looks to be more powerful even with there very high clocks and 8 cores and Intel still beats it is because the power per core in Intel's CPUs are much higher than a AMD. If you want a budget build AMD CPUs all the way. Now you are right about the temperature of the i5, this is because the i5 4670k is a Haswell CPU. Haswell CPUs are noticeably better because of there new micro-architecture. But of course everything has a catch to it, and in this case its the temperatures. As for the build that CTurbo gave you, its pretty solid. I personally favor AMD GPUs but the 770 is pretty good and is also kinda cheap at its performance. Hope I cleared at least one thing up. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

 

[kylerjobe]

This is a slightly modified version of the build I am about to put together myself:
CPU: Intel i7 4770k
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Mobo: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 60GB 2.5" SSD (For lightning fast OS booting)
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (For storage of games and misc. files)
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB
WI-FI Adapter: Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 720W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Cheapest one available
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 8 if preferred
Monitor: Acer S241HL bmid 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($159.99 @ B&H)

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Killeneminem/saved/3BC5

The parts I listed in this post would come out to below $1500. I put a link to my PCPartPicker. The nicest thing about this build is that it allows you to add 2 more monitors and another graphics card (for insane surround gaming) without replacing any parts. One GTX 770 is enough to play games at 60+ frames at ultra settings and the 4770k processor will let you skype/stream music/whatever while gaming without breaking a sweat. Also, if this computer stops performing as well in 4 or 5 years, you can simply overclock the processor because it is a 'k' model. The motherboard and GPU are a pair from MSI so you can use included software to OC the card without voiding any warranty. In my researched opinion, this is the ultimate computer you can build for <$1500.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[sora]

Alright, I just have a few questions here (Sorry for not knowing all this, like I said, brand new)

What makes the i5 3.4 Ghz Quad-Core better than the AMD 3.5 GHz Hexa-Core?
How many USB ports can that support and what about audio out/in (I got a Turtle Beach X12 for my Xbox that I would want to hook into the computer).

I thought Intel processors always outperformed AMDs

 

[kylerjobe]

Alright, I just have a few questions here (Sorry for not knowing all this, like I said, brand new)

What makes the i5 3.4 Ghz Quad-Core better than the AMD 3.5 GHz Hexa-Core?
How many USB ports can that support and what about audio out/in (I got a Turtle Beach X12 for my Xbox that I would want to hook into the computer).

I thought Intel processors always outperformed AMDs

Not necessarily, a 4 core i5 processor from Intel won't perform as well overall as an 8 core AMD processor in most situations. But a 4 core i7 from Intel will beat almost any AMD processor. Here is a good benchmark to prove this: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/common_cpus.html

 

[CTurbo]

Not necessarily, a 4 core i5 processor from Intel won't perform as well overall as an 8 core AMD processor in most situations. But a 4 core i7 from Intel will beat almost any AMD processor. Here is a good benchmark to prove this: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/common_cpus.html

This is not true. An Intel quad core i5 will beat every AMD 8 core more than 90% of the time. The cpubenchmark is one of the very few instances that favor the 8 core AMDs.

 

[kylerjobe]

Not necessarily, a 4 core i5 processor from Intel won't perform as well overall as an 8 core AMD processor in most situations. But a 4 core i7 from Intel will beat almost any AMD processor. Here is a good benchmark to prove this: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/common_cpus.html

This is not true. An Intel quad core i5 will beat every AMD 8 core more than 90% of the time. The cpubenchmark is one of the very few instances that favor the 8 core AMDs.

It certainly does depend on what you are using the CPU for. Heavy multitasking will be better handled by an 8 core AMD than by a 4 core i5. The difference during gaming, and nothing else, does not favor AMD. But let's be real here, a 4770K is the way to go...

 

[Scoutdrago3]

The i7 will not change any gaming performance at all. It can help you with things like multitasking and programs like Adobe but gaming performance will change if anything by 1-2 fps. Save the money, get a SSD and more storage with a i5 4670k

 

[DarkAddo]

Thanks guys! I decided to stay on the AMD path since I won't need the extra 5-10 or so frames if the FX-8350 can still play 60 FPS or higher on games I play. I updated the build a bit with all the advice that you guys gave me and here it is-

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XJQF
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XJQF/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XJQF/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($184.67 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($144.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Raidmax ATX-248NWU (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: HP DVD1265I DVD/CD Writer ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($146.58 @ Newegg)
Total: $1423.09
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-03 14:38 EST-0500)

 

[CTurbo]

Sorry Sir I just can't help myself........

This is a better cpu in every way, a WAY better video card, a WAY better power supply, and I doubled your Samsung ssd size. It's basically better in all of the most important ways.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/33FlZ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/33FlZ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/33FlZ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.30 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($88.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($489.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Raidmax ATX-248NWU (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: HP DVD1265I DVD/CD Writer ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($146.58 @ Newegg)
Total: $1500.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-03 19:56 EST-0500)

You can make it cheaper by dropping back down to a 120-128GB ssd again if you want.




Sorry maybe you haven't bought the stuff yet???