Helping a friend out with their builds.

[Papi]

These were planned to be built in March '15, but one of their computers died at this moment, and they're looking to upgrade now, unless they should wait until new CPU/VGA are released. She doesn't want to be without a computer for longer than a week, so will be ordering with in the next few days.

Budget -$2,000
Resolution -1920x1080
Games / Settings Desired -Wow, WildStar - Desired settings? Beautiful .
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc) Nope.
Country - USA
Parts that can be reused - Nothing
Do you need an OS? - Yes
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? -New Monitor, eye candy.

This is what I've been tossing around over the last few hours. Any other thought as to where we could allocate funds for a better piece? The budget is great, but would love to trim it down a little here and there, if it wouldn't mean sacrificing quality.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LJgQf7
bah! She already has that exact CPU cooler, so there is a little $$ for something else, or just to save.


Thanks guys!

[Deleted]

Ok a few things concerning your build. You need 2 sticks of ram for dual channel. You can buy the new i5 4690k what is like 1 week away. You can buy a better cooler, nothing wrong with this one since she got it, its great for its money. The psu sucks badly, the ram you choose wont fit below the Evo cooler. The monitor is good but you are paying for 3D afaik (Nvidia vision support) but i am not 100% sure.
Afaik one monitor at 144MHz and another at 60Hz would make the first go up to 120hz i think, assuming she will use her old one? Also 144 for wow is kinda waste, if you will reach the fps while lvling or in arena only.

Here's my take on it, used another cpu cooler as an option, she can use her old one of course and kept red/black theme.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 113.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($128.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($219.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($629.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H440 (Red/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($117.39 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($254.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $1970.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-13 13:20 EDT-0400

[SoulForge]

Ok a few things concerning your build. You need 2 sticks of ram for dual channel. You can buy the new i5 4690k what is like 1 week away. You can buy a better cooler, nothing wrong with this one since she got it, its great for its money. The psu sucks badly, the ram you choose wont fit below the Evo cooler. The monitor is good but you are paying for 3D afaik (Nvidia vision support) but i am not 100% sure.
Afaik one monitor at 144MHz and another at 60Hz would make the first go up to 120hz i think, assuming she will use her old one? Also 144 for wow is kinda waste, if you will reach the fps while lvling or in arena only.

Here's my take on it, used another cpu cooler as an option, she can use her old one of course and kept red/black theme.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 113.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($128.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($219.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($629.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H440 (Red/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($117.39 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($254.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $1970.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-13 13:20 EDT-0400

Why would you swap the monitor? The price is nearly identical and if she decided to pick up another game that COULD go that high it would work great. I have the 144Hz monitor. I love it.

[Papi]

Ok a few things concerning your build. You need 2 sticks of ram for dual channel. You can buy the new i5 4690k what is like 1 week away. You can buy a better cooler, nothing wrong with this one since she got it, its great for its money. The psu sucks badly, the ram you choose wont fit below the Evo cooler. The monitor is good but you are paying for 3D afaik (Nvidia vision support) but i am not 100% sure.
Afaik one monitor at 144MHz and another at 60Hz would make the first go up to 120hz i think, assuming she will use her old one? Also 144 for wow is kinda waste, if you will reach the fps while lvling or in arena only.

Here's my take on it, used another cpu cooler as an option, she can use her old one of course and kept red/black theme.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 113.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($128.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($219.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($629.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H440 (Red/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($117.39 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($254.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $1970.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-13 13:20 EDT-0400

I took a few things into consideration, thank you.'



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($128.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($629.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H440 (Red/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($117.39 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($249.23 @ Amazon)
Other: Slimline SATA adapter ($11.99)
Total: $1833.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-13 15:23 EDT-0400

- - - Updated - - -

Any other thoughts!

[Remilia]

Why would you swap the monitor? The price is nearly identical and if she decided to pick up another game that COULD go that high it would work great. I have the 144Hz monitor. I love it.

Monitor has low Hz PWM for all brightness range and refresh rate. Poor color reproduction. Moderate signal processing lag though good pixel response. Bad viewing angle. Typical contrast. Very bad RTC (response time compensation) artifact and if you remove that function or lower it it makes for longer pixel response and more motion blur, in other words pick your poison.

Personally I have an Eizo FG2421 (Sharp MVA panel), and well, if you're going for a 120Hz+ monitor, you'd rather go with that. Only issue (aside from price) I have is if you're very close (like 1 feet) to it you can see some AG crosshatch only in some areas. It's not a huge deal for me. Viewing angle isn't as good as a IPS/PLS panel obviously.
Though I can't really compare it to my old TN panel as it's a 1680x1050 CCFL panel with wide gamut support (cause CCFL back lighting) and a working DCR (Dynamic Contrast Ratio). It does have a glossy coat that can be annoying.

Though comparing to other TN panels (I don't use it since my brother does) it is a hell of a lot better.

If you're going for a TN panel high refresh rate, you'd go for the BenQ XL2420Z

Other wise a good all around monitor is the U2414H.
Typical pixel response near no if any signal processing lag. Good color accuracy and reproduction. Good ergonomics for those who care and yadiyada.
Only issue for NVidia is you need to create a custom profile for PC resolution to enable / bypass their limited RGB.

[Deleted]

I took a few things into consideration, thank you.'

Any other thoughts!

Although its not needed, you can fit that new Crucial 512gb ssd in the budget and never worry about space.
I see you sticked to i5 4670k, don't you want the new i5 4690k for 6 bucks more? Only 6 bucks for 100Mhz + better overclock potential.

Why would you swap the monitor? The price is nearly identical and if she decided to pick up another game that COULD go that high it would work great. I have the 144Hz monitor. I love it.

I placed the monitor there as a very good alternative, nothing more nothing less.

[Papi]

We have found the i5-4670k at a nearby Microcenter from her house, going to but it up for $190.

[Deleted]

We have found the i5-4670k at a nearby Microcenter from her house, going to but it up for $190.

4690k is identical price on collect in-store.

[Papi]

I see it, $199.99 pre-order. release at the end of the month.

[Deleted]

Its out in 5 days here in eu in smaller shops, strange, i though Microcenter over there was candyland!