November 2013 Gaming Rig ($1100-$1500)

[Shullski]

TLDR:Gimme the best PC I can for around $1400

To be honest, I have not been very up to date with new hardware that has been coming out the past year or so. All I know is that the new GPUs were due out at the end of 2013 - but Im not sure if they are out yet. Id normally check the Setup of the Month, but there has not been one since September. This is the setup Id choose from Marest.

MoBo: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 – $144.99
CPU: Intel i5 4670k – $239.99
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz 2x4GB – $71.99
GPU: ASUS DirectCU II GTX 770 – $409.99
SSD: Samsung 840 PRO 256GB – $239.99
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB – $89.99
PSU: Corsair TX650M – $89.99
Heatsink: Noctua NH-C12P SE14 – $74.99
Case: Antec P280 – $109.99
TOTAL: ~$1400-$1500

These are the things I am not sure of. What benefit would getting 16gb of ram provide over 8gb? Im also not certain about the ASUS GTX 770, especially since it only is 2g, and there are many affordable 3gb cards on the market. Are there cards on the market for similar prices with better performance? Should I even be getting GTX over a the new Radeons? Obviously, I want the most PC for my dollar! Hope this isnt too broad to give some good feedback. Thanks!

[Shiromar]

First off swap your SSD to the Samsung 840 Evo, as it has better speeds and is cheaper than the pro. Then swap your WD Black to a WD blue and save yourself $30. For a secondary drive you want better sequential speeds which the blue offers over the blacks. As far as the GPU at the price range you should aim for a 290x, which outperforms even the 780. The money you saved from swapping the SSD and the HDD will make up for the bit extra spent on a 290x. I've seen 290x's as low as $425 today which seems to have been a pricing error. If you're not able to find one at these prices, then I would go for a 280x/290.

[Deleted]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($77.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($174.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.94 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 290X 4GB Video Card ($585.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($95.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1501.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-10 21:26 EST-0500)

this will max out everything u throw at it.

there is no need getting 16 gb ram if u only are gaming. these amounts are required if u are programming or video editing.

[Shullski]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($77.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($174.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.94 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 290X 4GB Video Card ($585.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($95.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1501.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-10 21:26 EST-0500)

this will max out everything u throw at it.

there is no need getting 16 gb ram if u only are gaming. these amounts are required if u are programming or video editing.

Hmmm alright. Is there any benefit of spending the extra money on an i7 4770 for gaming purposes? Also, isnt the new GTX 790 TI supposedly a better performing card with a similar price? I know the benchmarks are higher but idk about real world results

[Deleted]

You'll hardly gain any benefit from the i7 in gaming. You're thinking 780Ti, it is a lot faster than 290X and comes with a decent cooler with which you can overclock it, but it costs $700.

[Shullski]

You'll hardly gain any benefit from the i7 in gaming. You're thinking 780Ti, it is a lot faster than 290X and comes with a decent cooler with which you can overclock it, but it costs $700.

ahhh yeah 780ti, didnt notice, musta been a typo. But how does just the 780 (no TI) compare to the 290x for only 499? I know it scores higher but not too sure if that translates

[Deleted]

Well, read this for a better idea.

[Shullski]

Well, read this for a better idea.

Ive been doing a bit of research and one thing that worries me are the high temps that the 290x is running at. It basically leaves no room for any overlocking

Makes me want to hold off until some third party coolers are released, but I honestly have no idea how much time that normally takes

[Deleted]

yeah the temps seem to be a bit problematic, but amd is aware of the heat problem and fixed that issue with letting you increase the fan speed manually. think third party coolers will be out around january, thats atleast my guess. anyhow u can lower the ssd to a 120gb one and take that money to go for the 780ti, i´ll try and make a build in a few secs.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.99 @ Mac Mall)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.94 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($705.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1504.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-11 13:48 EST-0500)

thats with the 780ti, went with a smaller ssd, a little bit lower cpu cooler and a little bit cheaper case.

[Shullski]

yeah the temps seem to be a bit problematic, but amd is aware of the heat problem and fixed that issue with letting you increase the fan speed manually. think third party coolers will be out around january, thats atleast my guess. anyhow u can lower the ssd to a 120gb one and take that money to go for the 780ti, i´ll try and make a build in a few secs.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.99 @ Mac Mall)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.94 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($705.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $1504.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-11 13:48 EST-0500)

thats with the 780ti, went with a smaller ssd, a little bit lower cpu cooler and a little bit cheaper case.

Think what I will do is go with the 780 ti and smaller SSD, and buy the case seperate from the rest...I plan on financing over 12 months on amazon. Skimping on the CPU cooler just worries me...same with the ventilation on a cheap case.

[Deleted]

well u could go with the case in my first suggestion and the cooler too, that will end up beeing ~50$ more but much better cooling. so with the 780ti build and those parts from first suggstion u end up around ~1560 $.

[Shullski]

well u could go with the case in my first suggestion and the cooler too, that will end up beeing ~50$ more but much better cooling. so with the 780ti build and those parts from first suggstion u end up around ~1560 $.

Think that's what I'm gonna end up doing. Right now I'm just curious if its worth waiting till cyber Monday to go ahead with the purchase

[Deleted]

sure its worth waiting if you maybe can grab some of the parts cheaper. if not, then you havent lost anything

[Shullski]

sure its worth waiting if you maybe can grab some of the parts cheaper. if not, then you havent lost anything

Im kind of torn. Part of me wants to order it now, thinking that sales wont really be too extreme during cyber monday, particularly with the 780 TI being so new.

Then it makes me wonder why the game bundle that comes wit purchasing the 780 TI coincidentally is 11/26, Cyber Monday. Makes me wonder if theyll throw in some kind of deal on that final day.

[Deleted]

well thats in 2 weeks so i think u can wait until then i know myself, going for something new, it always should have been delivered yesterday im not very patient myself regarding this. but two weeks seems bearable just to wait and see if u can grab some parts cheaper.

[Shullski]

Very true :P

Im just debating on the case now. With the huge 780 ti, will I want to opt for a full tower instead of a mid? Debating between a Obsidian 750D and some other mid range option

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...131113213016:s

[Deleted]

Larger case does not equal to better airflow. Keep the case as tiny as possible to minimise "idle" air. If you don't mind the bland exterior, there is little competition to Define R4.

[Shullski]

Larger case does not equal to better airflow. Keep the case as tiny as possible to minimise "idle" air. If you don't mind the bland exterior, there is little competition to Define R4.

Its not a airflow thing Im concerned about, more room. More importantly room for upgrade / sli. Ive just never had the budget to allow me to go all out so I dont really know the space it requires...I mean I know the 780ti is nearly a foot long. Just want to have enough space to be comfortable. Gonna check our that Define though.

Think I want something with a window. I know, performance > looks, but hey...who doesnt want to show off their badass rig's guts?