Best PC Build Poll: Under $1,500

[Titillating]

logainofhades' "Xeon Gamer"

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($252.43 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($18.75 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-E/USB3.1 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.01 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($89.24 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H34 ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($91.46 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($51.65 @ Amazon)
Total: $1498.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-14 15:41 EST-0500



BadActor's "Game Changer"

[/b]PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($659.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($83.47 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($81.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1470.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-01 08:33 EST-0500



SR-71 Blackbird's "The 'Reaper'"

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.59 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba P300 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 390X 8GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($389.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 390X 8GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($389.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cougar Solution 2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($121.51 @ Amazon)
Total: $1498.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-06 19:28 EST-0500



filippi's "AMD 5GHz Big Numbers Build."

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($144.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220-X 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($185.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 R5 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($314.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($314.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($128.27 @ Amazon)
Total: $1498.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-04 17:03 EST-0500



g-unit1111's "The 901 In The 909"

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($253.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($145.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.38 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($489.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Inwin 901 Mini ITX Tower Case ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1476.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-13 18:18 EST-0500

 

[Onus]

Nice mini-ITX; has more than enough muscle for my games.

 

[g-unit1111]

Nice mini-ITX; has more than enough muscle for my games.

Yeah the 901 is a pretty sweet mini ITX case.

 

[psycher1]

When did we get bought out by Amazon? Newegg has that mini ITX case for $40 cheaper. Can only imagine what else would be a better deal there, or any other actual tech site.

 

[jaber2]

BadActor's "Game Changer" Ti on i5-6600K won my vote

 

[Darkbreeze]

When did we get bought out by Amazon? Newegg has that mini ITX case for $40 cheaper. Can only imagine what else would be a better deal there, or any other actual tech site.

This particular contest was "Amazon only". Our other build competition uses Newegg.

 

[DeluXas]

BadActor's "Game Changer" is definitely the one I would buy for myself today, I would just spend little bit more for a better PSU.

 

[bwohl]

I usually pick the 3 price points I would also build - so I usually vote only for the $750, $1000, and $1500 builds....
and Blackbird won all three of my votes - great part selections on all three...nice job bro.
(P.S. I have no clue who Blackbird is....)

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Thank you much appreciated.

 

[Darkbreeze]

BadActor's "Game Changer" is definitely the one I would buy for myself today, I would just spend little bit more for a better PSU.

In fact, I think maybe that build should have been disqualified for the PSU choice since it does not support the low power C6/C7 states on Haswell and Skylake. It can be used with a bios setting change, but is not compatible out of the box with the default settings which makes it a poor choice IMO. Plus, it's an older group regulated design.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I Agree!

 

[BadActor]

Don't be hatin! No it's not Haswell certified, but still a great PSU. Read JohnnyGuru's review of it's little brother, the 520. He said possibly the best PSU he's ever tested in any price range.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That review was five and a half years ago. THEN, it probably was. Now, not so much. A good unit, yes. But the facts as mentioned still remain. It's not hatin'. It's simply a fact. The S12II-520 also has one of the highest failure (RMA) rates of any major PSU model on the market as of 2013, 3 years after that review. Not very good company on the list with it.


Here are the 5 models with the highest return rates during the time period (2010-2013):
- 3.64% Corsair Gaming Series GS600
- 3.59% Corsair CX500 V2
- 3.59% Corsair CX600 V2
- 3.39% FSP (Fortron) HEXA 500
- 3.31% Seasonic S12II-520