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New Build - $1250 Budget
Hello everyone, as the title states, I am looking to build a new desktop system on a $1250 budget, so thoughts and suggestions are welcome. With regards to gaming, I plan to almost exclusively use this setup for Battlefield 4. Given the previous statement, I'm favoring AMD on the GPU side due to not only the potential of Mantle, but also the free Battlefield 4 game that comes with the purchase of some R9 series cards.
While I have given a budget, if there is a part which may be slightly more expensive, but justifiable due to increased performance/reliability, feel free to add a recommendation. I am still a university student, but fortunately scholarships and research grants have minimized my financial concerns to the point that time constraints are the driving force behind not getting a more enthusiast oriented setup.
Finally, a new monitor is needed and my university will provide a Windows 8 license for free. Other parts such as a keyboard, mouse, etc. are not necessary. I will be using Newegg to order all of the parts.
ASUS DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Rosewill THOR V2 - I realize there are smaller, cheaper cases which accomplish the same goal. This is simply a personal preference.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147053
ASUS VE247H 23.6" LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236112
Intel Core i5 - 4670k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
ASRock Z87 Extreme6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157371
Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB - Rarely have I used more than 75GB, so a 120GB SSD is suitable.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820721107
G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB rated at 1866MHz and 1.5V - There are higher clocked modules which are in the same price range, but this seems to have a nice blend of timings and clock speeds. Additionally, I wasn't sure about operating modules at 1.6V or 1.65V, which eliminates the option of using most 2133MHz or 2400MHz rated RAM.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460
Rosewill Capstone 650W Modular PSU - Modular is preferred. Perhaps a more expensive Seasonic product would be better, but the Capstone series seems to be adequate based upon available reviews.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182263
XFX Double D R9-280X - Again, I prefer an R9 series card which includes a Battlefield 4 key. An R9 280X looks to be the best choice for the price. The R9 290 is not an option as the non-reference cooling designs aren't available.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150678
The total for the above parts comes to $1,177.90 before shipping.
Comments
That looks pretty good. The one change I'd make is that it's easy to save $5 on the optical drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151266
You should understand that AsRock motherboards tend to be cheaper for a reason. They'll often come with a good feature set at a good price, but lower build quality (e.g., thinner and flimsier) than you'd get from Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI, which is how AsRock can save several dollars in building the motherboard and pass the savings along to you. It will probably be fine, but you should just be aware of it; AsRock isn't a cheap junk brand like BioStar or ECS.
Also, with memory, even if memory is rated at 1.6 V or 1.65 V, you can still run it at 1.5 V, though it may require decreasing the clock speed. In my computer, I have memory rated at 1.65 V and 1600 MHz, but run it at 1.5 V and 1333 MHz. That said, if you're not feeding integrated graphics from system memory, the real-world performance difference between 1866 MHz and the fastest memory you can buy amounts to a rounding error, so there's no reason to switch.
I would steer clear of ASRock until they get their DOA rate down. You might be able to keep the same price or even save some money on your build if you use the 3570K instead. That would also give you a chance to use a higher-quality motherboard. Overclocked, performance for the 3570K is identical to the 4670K from what I have read. You are getting the K model so you can overclock, right?
Double-check your SSD's controller to make sure it is a good one. With those review scores, it seems like it should be fine, though.
Storage is mostly personal preference. I prefer 240GB for my general-use gaming system. Amazon has some good deals.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1385696103&sr=1-2
Thanks for the replies. I'll go ahead and swap in the cheaper optical drive. I was considering dropping back a generation to the i5-3570k since it is somewhat cheaper and essentially the same performance level. However, I have no plans of overclocking past 4.1GHz or 4.2GHz, thus staying with the newer i5-4670k will be fine.
As for the ASRock motherboard, I was a little concerned after seeing the Newegg reviews. With a little more reading, I'm more inclined to agree that ASRock is probably not the best choice available. The ASUS Z87-PRO(V Edition) seems to be a decent enough alternative. Comparisons to the non-V edition point towards the only differences being Bluetooth and Wifi, neither of which I particularly care about. Are there any thoughts on choosing this motherboard versus perhaps an MSI Z87-GD65?
ASUS Z87-PRO (V EDITION)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132046
Amazon's $160 deal on the 250GB Samsung 840 Evo is tempting. I was originally going to get the 120GB Evo from Newegg until it jumped in price due to lack of stock. I'll think about getting the extra space, even if I don't necessarily need it now.