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$1000 gaming computer build
Would be nice to have the SSD and HD, but not a top priority. The person has the monitor, mouse, keyboard and all the stuff. They are just looking for a good base computer for gaming. If you can give input, that would be great, they have someone they know that can put it together. Their was another $1000 thread, but the links do not work, and deals change. They are ready to buy. They live in Georgia, if that matters also.
Thank you for the help.
Comments
If he already has a case, then the best setup money can buy in the ~$1000 range would be:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pmbXZL
intel core i5 4690k will allow an overclock of up to stable 4.6ghz, better than i7 for gaming. the noctua nhd14 cooler is quiet and keeps things stable. It's worth the cost. An ASUS Maximus vi hero is a good board, but you'll have to buy something for internet or wifi.
8gb of ram should be good enough for anything currently out. G-skill ripjaws do the trick
the wstern digital cavier black is a higher rated hdd, 1t at least.
The best bang for your buck when it comes to graphics cards is the gtx 970. It's good for overclocking, but fast enough if you don't want to be bothered with ocing.
For all of this, you're looking at around 950.
He can check out tom's hardware (the website) for the best budget builds currently out there. they do a quarterly build of varying price ranges and have a lot of informative articles.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2071956
Fits your budget and requirements.
I live in Europe so I can't give good advice on what's the best bang for your buck on the other side of the Atlantic but I can recommend reddit for advice. You can read what people suggest for others with similar budgets and if needed create a topic of your own to get advice.
If you create your own topic, try to be as detailed as possible about what you want to do with the computer. If you plan to run two graphics cards in the future or want the option of overclocking the computer for example, you may require a bigger power supply but that's just optional and not required at all. Are you willing to sacrifice a little bit of performance for a quieter computer or is the best performance per dollar the only thing that matters?
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcforme
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc
Edit: I can really recommend getting a SSD for the operating system and programs/games that get used regularly in order to reduce loading times, it is definitely worth it imo with the low prices on them now.
You're completely missing an OS, power supply, optical drive, and case. Adding those in puts you way over budget.
Huge combo deals like that inevitably include some overpriced parts, and that overwhelms the combo discount.
Considering the original buyer (read up OP), seems like doesnt have a clue in PC building. I say just go for it, saves time explaining things. Pre-build isnt necessarily evil, you know.
Here you go:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130679
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104448
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182068
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226576
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127789
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151266
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8588430&SRCCODE=WEBGOOPA&scid=scplp727965&kpid=8588430&gclid=CjwKEAiA28ilBRCy5cXrgtfTxTISJABgX7E2gOiX1YwZOCfsUvcWyfWbL4zpPFvwzj9n7YY2fgfqyxoCYJDw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
That comes to $795, including shipping (except for the OS) and before a $20 rebate. Note the promo codes on the CPU and optical drive. There's probably also some additional shipping charge on the OS, but it shows as $120 on New Egg and $90 on Tiger Direct, and I figure the shipping will be a lot less than $30.
Right, a psu is missing, that'll add an extra 100 or so. As for optical drive and os, I'm assuming he has those already, along with monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. If he's upgrading, his psu might be good to reuse as well.
If your friend is inclined to spend closer to $900 rather than $800, then one way to do it is a faster video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161459
Another approach is going Intel on the CPU, though that puts you over $900 unless you drop the hard drive. If interested in that route, I could find something tomorrow.
A new motherboard usually means a new OS, unless you assume that he's going to pirate it or perhaps that he has a relatively rare full version rather than an OEM version from his previous system.
I was operating under the assumption that he had built his previous pc. If that isn't the case, then you are, of course, right. In that case, toss my suggestion. The friend will have to make due with less. If he's a gamer, he should at least shoot for the minimum requirements for the witcher 3.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121128
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130779
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116895
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104448
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136276
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820301260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127769
With Windows that will be around $820. If more cash is available I would upgrade the video card.
I wouldn't build a gaming rig in that case. You've got a single 80 mm fan for airflow and that's it. You can add more fans for intake, but there isn't room to add more fans for out airflow, so you'd probably rely mostly on blowing hot air through the power supply. And once you add more fans, you're spending enough that you might as well just buy a more expensive case that has the extra fans. I'd also worry about whether long video cards will even fit in that case.
Is a Rosewill Valens any good? Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. There aren't reviews of it anywhere, and Internet lore says it's made by ATNG, not exactly a top quality power supply vendor.
Meanwhile, you're paying a bunch of money to go with an Intel CPU, but only getting a Core i5-4430. Is that faster than an FX-6300? In gaming loads, usually. But turbo up to 3.2 GHz with no possibility of overclock doesn't justify the $100+ price premium that you're paying to go Intel rather than AMD. If you want to go with an Intel CPU, do it right and get a Core i5-4690K.
Base build with no case, including OS:
MSI H81 - 48 USD
Intel i5-4460 - 190 USD
Crucial 2x4GB DDR3 1600 - 70 USD
EVGA 500W +80 - 50 USD
WD Blue 1TB - 55 USD
XFX R9 290 - 270 USD
Windows 8.1 Full - 120 USD
That makes for 803 USD(+25-?? USD for case) without 10 USD rebate on PSU.
And now the SSD, you can:
Add 240 GB SSD for 90 USD:
Mushkin SSD 240 GB
or swap HDD for 240 GB SSD for 35 USD
Mushkin SSD 240 GB
swap HDD for 512 GB SSD for 159 USD
Crucial SSD 512GB
The base build with added 240 GB SSD would get you at price tag of 893 USD (-10 USD rebate)and with the case, you would be slightly over your price range.
I wouldn't recommend you sacrifying anything from the base 803 USD build(it's really a good one and core of your gaming performance), SSD is just a convenience so either drop it/buy later or replace the HDD if you have low storage requirements. If still too tight, you could save 70 USD with replacing i5 for i3-4150.
8 GB of memory with a 32-bit OS that only lets you use about 3 GB? Seriously?
Shipping costs are real costs, too, but you're excluding them from your totals.
You seem to be aware that you skipped a case, but not that you also skipped an optical drive. You'll need one if you want to install Windows from a DVD.
And you're paying a bunch of extra money to go with an Intel CPU, while getting a low clocked version that sacrifices a bunch of the extra speed that is the whole point of getting an Intel CPU in the first place. You try to cut back on that by going with a cheap junk motherboard, so that you're "only" spending about an extra $80 to go with Intel, but then you're stuck with a cheap junk motherboard and an awful CPU cooler.
The OS was misclick, of course. Fixed in my post now and adjusted prices accordingly.
I did say I am not linking a case and that it will count for additional costs. Case is mostly a matter of taste so I never include one. Optical drive might be salvaged from the old computer and is simply not needed today, especially for OS installation.
So it is better to get stuck with cheap junk FX-6300?
It is 58 USD difference and the performance gap is abysmall, that is more than worthy. Nothing wrong with the MB and H81 chipset either. There is no point paying for features you won't need or are negligable for the purpose of the build.
From all posted builds so far, it is the best performance/price build.
You recommend a person to build a AMD platform but I am wrong? The only time a person should even look at AMD is if they are building a bugdet machine $500-$600. That build you did is garbage.
That I5 is entry level for the platform which leaves him with plenty of future upgrade options at CPU. If he has the money to spend he could go with a I7. Thats the options I have given him.
As for the Valens its supposed to be one of Rosewills new flagships.
I agree with you on the case. Did not notice it was not a fan in the front.
Even then, i3 is so much better option for same money or even less(unless you want to go with 760 chipset with that FX)...
Apart from that CPU choice, his built got all in place - case, optical drive, OS, HDD+SSD...something you are forgetting and does not give credit for.
$80 for a 700 W modular power supply doesn't exactly scream flagship quality. When companies launch a flagship product, they send it to a bunch of tech sites for a review. Look up reviews of the Rosewill Capstone or the Rosewill Tachyon. Those are their flagship power supplies so Rosewill sent them to a bunch of sites to request reviews. Look for reviews of Rosewill Valens and you get nothing.
If you decide to upgrade the CPU later, your upgrade path will be to replace the CPU you get today with a Core i5-4690 that you also could have gotten today. If you're going to upgrade, then your choices are:
1) Buy a $180 CPU today, then toss it out later and buy a $225 CPU later.
2) Buy a $225 CPU today and have the upgrade today, in addition to still having the same CPU that you'd have upgraded to later.
I think going with (2) is the obvious choice. There is a decent case for going with a Core i5-4690 today. It's really a question of how much you're willing to spend, and whether you want to prioritize CPU or GPU performance.
But what there isn't a case for is getting a Core i5-4430 today. That means you pay most of the price premium that it would have cost to get a Core i5-4690 rig, while only getting a small fraction of the extra performance as compared to an FX-6300. Yeah, Haswell is faster than Vishera on a per clock cycle basis, but the difference between 3.2 GHz and 4.1 GHz eats up a large chunk of that--and that's before considering that the FX-6300 has two extra cores and could readily be overclocked a little if desired. Haswell at 3.9 GHz is a whole lot faster than Haswell at 3.2 GHz.
You are talking like the guy has a blank check. He said he wants the build to be between $800-900. That means he has 2 choices. Get a better CPU and a weaker video card or get a better Video card and a weaker cpu. You post an AMD build for a guy that has up to $900 to spend locking him into a weaker dead end platform with no future at all. You need to look at your build because its the one that needs work.
If you want to go Intel, then what you do is to take my build from last night and replace the CPU, motherboard, and memory with these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2120017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130779
Intel's stock CPU cooler is awful, but you're not overclocking, so if the noise bothers you, you can replace the cooler. If the noise doesn't bother you, then it's fine.
Replacing the memory is for the sake of a combo deal discount.
Wow...you are delisioning yourself about pefromance difference taking place here.
i5-4460 vs FX-6300 "small fraction of the extra performance"? How anyone can take you seriously..?
Then your funny math:
Do you seriously imply that 3+ years from now on one would pay same price for the CPU upgrade as the one cost now?
K series CPU is not just the difference between 190 USD for i5-4460 and 240 USD for i5-4690k, you also need much more expensive MB which adds easily another +40 USD so all in all that is +90 USD difference, nothing to frown upon.
It is your black & white vision that see utter low end FX and then K series Intel with nothing in between.
And then, not everyone is willing or knowledgable to overclock and K series is only worthy for the overclocking, neither all are comfortable buying 2nd had parts since there likely won't be any new 1150 intel CPU +3 years from now on.
So yeah, entry level i5 has very much place in gaming builds, just not for someone with as limited perception and hard time with finance calcs.
Welcome to 2015. All CPU platforms are dead-end platforms with no future. Going from a Pentium D to a Core 2 on LGA 775 in 2006 was great. Going from Phenom to Phenom II on Socket AM2 in 2009 was a nice option. But what have we had since then? Going from a 4 core Deneb to a 6 core Thuban in 2010? Going from a 4 core Bloomfield to a 6 core Gulftown for $560+ in 2010?
After that, it's basically been, you can get the same thing as before except that we'll give you a higher stock clock. Or maybe an extra several percentage points in going from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge or Bulldozer to Piledriver. If the former wasn't good enough, the latter wouldn't be either. There may yet be a Socket AM1 upgrade from Kabini to Beema, for an extra 20% in the same socket--which would easily be the largest upgrade (outside of more cores) in five years. But Socket AM1 is very low end.
As more and more stuff gets integrated into the same die as the CPU, you can change less and less without requiring a new socket. That's why so many things take new sockets these days. The transition to DDR4 is about to force a new socket on everything, too. I'd be very surprised if Sky Lake and Zen are DDR3 products.
You're not familiar with Intel's pricing schemes. Go try to find a Core i5-2500K, -3570K, or -4670K today. See if you can find it for $100. Or $150. Or anything other than within rounding of the original price tag and up. Older Intel CPUs don't get price drops. They get discontinued.
Furthermore, I'd like to point out that you're the one who introduced the K-series to this discussion, not me. This is a Core i5-4690:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116989
No K on it, but it does have turbo up to 3.9 GHz rather than 3.2 GHz as VastoHorde recommends or 3.4 GHz as you recommend.
And even if it did have a K on it, just because it can be overclocked doesn't mean that you have to. You'd recommend a Core i5-4690K over a Core i5-4460 if they were the same price, wouldn't you? Actually, you might not, but most people would.