~$1200 budget gaming rig - Need tips, have base

[Alcsaar]

ASUS Z87-PLUS LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready

Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54670K

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM

SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Western Digital WD AV-GP WD10EURX 1TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM

CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 (CW-9060007-WW) High Performance Water / Liquid CPU Cooler. 120mm

Fractal Design Define XL R2 FD-CA-DEF-XL-R2-BL Black/Pearl Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

You'll notice a key component missing here - a video card. I have an Nvidia 660ti that I'll be using for now.

My cost comes out to $1,093.91 (with a dvd drive i didn't include above).

Any parts you guys think should be changed? I put this list together a few months back in preperation for this - I want to make sure I don't have a part thats a bit to old or something. I think it should be solid though.

[Toffie]

Strictly gaming? Then no point getting 16GB ram.
Below build saves you roughly 240 $ and you wont lose any performance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.92 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($122.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $853.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-08 12:24 EST-0500)

[Fluorescent0]

It seems overpriced to be honest, considering I made the same build below with double the SSD space for ~150$ less.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($160.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $954.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-08 12:24 EST-0500)

There are still things that can be cut, for example:
- do you plan to SLI/Crossfire in the future? If the answer is no you can save ~40$ on the PSU and ~50$ on the case.
- do you really need 16GB RAM? Most applications using that much are professional business ones.

[Alcsaar]

Strictly gaming? Then no point getting 16GB ram.
Below build saves you roughly 240 $ and you wont lose any performance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.92 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($122.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $853.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-08 12:24 EST-0500)

Thanks for your input. This PC is mostly for gaming, however I do a lot of multitasking. I'll be playing a game while watching streams/ect online and sometimes I even have other programs running in the background (And I don't mean sitting idle, they're actually processing), so I like the buffer of 16gb of ram.

Do you think its worth going the i7 route if I run multiple programs at once? I didn't really think about it before.

[Fluorescent0]

Thanks for your input. This PC is mostly for gaming, however I do a lot of multitasking. I'll be playing a game while watching streams/ect online and sometimes I even have other programs running in the background (And I don't mean sitting idle, they're actually processing), so I like the buffer of 16gb of ram.

Do you think its worth going the i7 route if I run multiple programs at once? I didn't really think about it before.

Not really, no. People usually overvalue what sort of multitasking they're actually doing.

[chazus]

No and no.

I run a 3570K + 8gb of ram, and will quite often have two games running (WoW + something else), IRC, skype, trillian, 10-15 chrome tabs, and a handful of other programs running, without any issues.

Of course, if you're willing to spend $1200, and the offered systems are $400 cheaper, I guess ram could be splurged on.

[Toffie]

Thanks for your input. This PC is mostly for gaming, however I do a lot of multitasking. I'll be playing a game while watching streams/ect online and sometimes I even have other programs running in the background (And I don't mean sitting idle, they're actually processing), so I like the buffer of 16gb of ram.

Do you think its worth going the i7 route if I run multiple programs at once? I didn't really think about it before.

I run WoW, steam(LP mode), origin, work documents, twitch & 30 tabs on chrome and I don't even come close to using the 8GB ram up. I think It might be worth it going for a 4770k though, but I suspect a 4670k would handle that.

[Alcsaar]

No and no.

I run a 3570K + 8gb of ram, and will quite often have two games running (WoW + something else), IRC, skype, trillian, 10-15 chrome tabs, and a handful of other programs running, without any issues.

Of course, if you're willing to spend $1200, and the offered systems are $400 cheaper, I guess ram could be splurged on.

I don't like spending 500 on a video card, so likely instead of upgrading to cutting edge GPUs, I typically buy a second one of the mid value one I already have and just SLI it. Thats why I went over with the PSU and case size. I ALWAYS have problems fitting nvidia cards comfortably into my tower.

Edit** Sadly the memory you linked is out of stock on new egg I'm not up to setting up accounts/ect on other part sites unless the price difference is absolutely stunning, so that memory won't work for me.

[Fluorescent0]

You can run 660ti SLI off a quality 620W PSU just fine. Keep in mind that 660ti new are going from 240$ onwards. You could sell your old one for half that, grab a 280X and have the possibility to crossfire down the line while losing ~10% at most right now.

[Alcsaar]

You can run 660ti SLI off a quality 620W PSU just fine. Keep in mind that 660ti new are going from 240$ onwards. You could sell your old one for half that, grab a 280X and have the possibility to crossfire down the line while losing ~10% at most right now.

Radeon isn't a consideration for me I'm unfamiliar with those cards, their control panel and settings/drivers, and Nvidia has never let me down, so I have no reason to look for a change. Thanks though.

I'm about to place my order with some changes thanks to your guys' inputs. I switched my case, mobo, SSD, HD back up, PS, and memory. I doubled my SSD and took about $100 off my previous build.

Is there anything else you guys think I should order before I put it in? Want to make sure I'm not missing anything - I've never installed or used a water cooling system so if theres a different plate or something I need for that, now would be a good time to let me know

[Toffie]

Edit** Sadly the memory you linked is out of stock on new egg I'm not up to setting up accounts/ect on other part sites unless the price difference is absolutely stunning, so that memory won't work for me.

Both the memory Fluorescent and me linked is in stock at newegg

[Fluorescent0]

Same reasoning could be done with a 770.

[Alcsaar]

Both the memory Fluorescent and me linked is in stock at newegg

Yep when I reloaded it to look it was no longer "out of stock" so i added it instead of the memory i had before. Same price, 1866 instead of 1600

[Swampmoose]

It seems overpriced to be honest, considering I made the same build below with double the SSD space for ~150$ less.

It's not the "same build" when you downgrade a chunk of the parts.

[Deleted]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Avexir Core series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.92 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.76 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1200.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-08 13:02 EST-0500)

This includes a GTX770, which means you can sell your GTX660Ti for around $125, or you can keep it and your system costs $815, with the option of upgrading, say, when Maxwell comes out later this year.

[Fluorescent0]

It's not the "same build" when you downgrade a chunk of the parts.

Sorry, I thought it would be clear enough that what I meant was: no real difference between the two because there's no performance difference for general usage and for what you said you're going to use it for.

Also, what downgrading has been made? The motherboard will overclock just as much seeing as Haswell is temp limited, the only thing you may consider going Asus for is FanXpert2 and even then you'd go for the Z87-A and definitely not the plus. The PSU has been replaced with another excellent one. The case was more than sufficient for OP's needs, which was to SLI 660ti's. You lost write speeds on the SSD sure, but that's not what matters in real world usage unless you're actively recording lossless videos on that, and a 128GB SSD would get full in what, a 5 minute period if you were doing that kind of recording? The advantages are pretty obvious instead: double SSD space and 150$ saved.

[Swampmoose]

Sorry, I thought it would be clear enough that what I meant was: no real difference between the two because there's no performance difference for general usage and for what you said you're going to use it for.

Also, what downgrading has been made? The motherboard will overclock just as much seeing as Haswell is temp limited, the only thing you may consider going Asus for is FanXpert2 and even then you'd go for the Z87-A and definitely not the plus. The PSU has been replaced with another excellent one. The case was more than sufficient for OP's needs, which was to SLI 660ti's. You lost write speeds on the SSD sure, but that's not what matters in real world usage unless you're actively recording lossless videos on that, and a 128GB SSD would get full in what, a 5 minute period if you were doing that kind of recording? The advantages are pretty obvious instead: double SSD space and 150$ saved.

Fortunately you guessed right this time, but generally I give people the benefit of the doubt and assume there is a reason they went with a full tower vs mid, or a gold rated psu vs bronze, or the features of the Z87 Plus over the Extreme3 or D3H, or 16gb memory vs 8. Guess I give people too much credit and assume they know what they are buying and for what reason.