Beginner looking to build a gaming PC (Budget 750-1.5k)

[Gruppy]

So I'm planning on building a gaming PC this summer. Sort of overwhelmed with what parts to buy. Looking to be able to play high-end games at least at medium settings. So I want some powerful hardware, but nothing over the top. Anyone here who can help me out or give me some suggestions?

Approximate Purchase Date: June/July/August

Budget Range: $750-$1,500 (I'm more than willing to buy past the 1k range)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (GTA 5, Skyrim, Witcher 3) to surfing the internet (Facebook, Youtube)

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Do you need to buy OS: Yes (Windows 7 is okay)

Preferred Website(s) Probably going to buy from local Microcenter

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, NVIDIA GPU

Overclocking: Nope

SLI or Crossfire: Nope

P.S this is my first time buying parts to build a PC. I know about the different parts of a compter I need, but I'm not familiar with brands and types.

 

[lilrex]

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/8KBCVn

buy your os from here <This site is not a reliable source, and is forbidden. Buy it from a reputable seller, e.g. Newegg or Amazon.>

 

[gPlusPlus]

lilrex posted a good build but he provided an processor meant for overclocking, and thus raising the price. He also didn't consider that you still would need to purchase a monitor and operating system raising your price to almost $1700.

Here I made a custom build for your budget: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/m9NtBm

If you don't care about the looks of your pc then this is a great build for your price range.

I put in all the essentials except for a case because that's up to you (add ~$100 for quality case), If you want my suggestion on a case just ask me.

I also put in a graphics card with great price/performance. I kept in mind that you don't plan on overclocking so I gave you a good quad core intel i5. don't worry about their being no cpu cooler listed the processor will come stock with a fan that does just fine for non-overclockers. If you want a better fan you can get your hands on one of these here (http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/?tag=logicaincrem-20) for only $35, but I think you'll be fine with stock.

That monitor was well reviewed, and it has a good price tag, but I say with your budget you should feel comfortable spending up $200 if you find a better one.

The graphics card I put in their preforms very well for its price, but if you want something more powerful you can upgrade to a gtx 970. The $100 dollar premium might not be ideal for your build though, so I think you'll be fine with what's in there.

I put in 8gb of RAM because that's all you really need for gaming.

Bases on the games you mentioned, this should be completely sufficient for your needs, running most of those games smooth at even high settings.

If you plan on connecting to the internet through Wi-Fi instead of Ethernet you will need a wireless adapter, I can find you one for $20.

If this helped be sure to pick as the solution.

-cheers

 

[lilrex]

I did include a monitor in my build it is a 22" HD and the OIS i linked was from G 2 A for $30

 

[gPlusPlus]

Oh my bad, I didn't see the monitor. Also the link you posted has been removed

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Lower budget option:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Tri-X Video Card ($213.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 240 ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($56.08 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-118CB/BEBE DVD/CD Drive ($19.86 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell S2440L 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $978.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-27 20:32 EDT-0400

 

[gPlusPlus]

gruppy, you mentioned you wanted an nvdia gpu, but with what you're doing an r9 280x is a great buy, if you need the cuda cores for something than i would recommend the gtx 960, slightly cheaper but not nearly as powerful.

 

[gPlusPlus]

these are probably generally your 3 best options, with lilrex posting tho most powerful but most expensive build, turkey3 posting the cheapest, and mine is somewhere in the middle

 

[Gruppy]

lilrex posted a good build but he provided an processor meant for overclocking, and thus raising the price. He also didn't consider that you still would need to purchase a monitor and operating system raising your price to almost $1700.

Here I made a custom build for your budget: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/m9NtBm

If you don't care about the looks of your pc then this is a great build for your price range.

I put in all the essentials except for a case because that's up to you (add ~$100 for quality case), If you want my suggestion on a case just ask me.

I also put in a graphics card with great price/performance. I kept in mind that you don't plan on overclocking so I gave you a good quad core intel i5. don't worry about their being no cpu cooler listed the processor will come stock with a fan that does just fine for non-overclockers. If you want a better fan you can get your hands on one of these here (http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/?tag=logicaincrem-20) for only $35, but I think you'll be fine with stock.

That monitor was well reviewed, and it has a good price tag, but I say with your budget you should feel comfortable spending up $200 if you find a better one.

The graphics card I put in their preforms very well for its price, but if you want something more powerful you can upgrade to a gtx 970. The $100 dollar premium might not be ideal for your build though, so I think you'll be fine with what's in there.

I put in 8gb of RAM because that's all you really need for gaming.

Bases on the games you mentioned, this should be completely sufficient for your needs, running most of those games smooth at even high settings.

If you plan on connecting to the internet through Wi-Fi instead of Ethernet you will need a wireless adapter, I can find you one for $20.

If this helped be sure to pick as the solution.

-cheers

Hey GPlus, thanks for all of the help! Along with the others too! I like the 8GB, that was a decision I had already made. The monitor doesn't have to be over the top.

I wouldn't mind pitching in $100 for a better case. I'm kind of lost on the cases. Am I looking at a midcase for the better option? And I was always interested in a transparent case or one with a window. Or one that glowed so it was visible in the dark. What is your opinion/experience? & I would like to have wifi as an option, but I'm clueless towards adapters. I would need help on that.

P.S your opinion on i5 vs i7? Is the i7 worthy of a futureproof buy? I'm willing to extend a bit past 1.5k if it is /necessary/.

 

[gPlusPlus]

The monitor I selected is a good buy, and it's not too expensive at all.

The case situation...

if you want a full tower:

Phanteks Enthoo Pro

If you want a silent tower:

Fractal design r5 windowed

or NZXT h440

Case with good airflow:

Fractal design Arc Midi r2 windowed

I could go more into depth about cases but these are my main suggestions, I didn't discuss matx (small) and mitx (tiny) cases because you said you wanted a mid sized tower. I personally like matx sized cases, so if you want that I have a suggestion for cases and mobos of that size.

Hardware Canucks does a lot of good case reviews here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLknCNmc8uMa4w2kK5ybqLWss2tS3I2VNo

This is a good adapter that has WiFi and Bluetooth: https://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-wireless-network-card-gcwb867di
It also comes with an antenna extension so you can get a better signal.

An i7 is a one hundred dollar premium from an i5, but has a noticeable performance difference in programs that can use it (in your case just heavyweight gaming). You could get an i5 4690k and overclock it, but then you would need to get a better cpu cooler.

What you could do is get an i5 4690k, use the stock cooler, and then get a better cooler when you need to overclock.

if you really wanted to future proof yourself i would get a 4690k like I said earlier, and get a gtx 970 for your gpu.

for what you want to do some of that seems overkill, I think most of the parts I suggested in my first post will be excellent and have a decent longevity.

hope this helps!

-gPlusPlus