Help with building a new PC ($800-900 budget)

[Galkura]

Hey guys, I'd like to build a PC to get me into pc gaming. I'd like one that can run games like Bioshock Infinite, DayZ, Elder Scrolls on line, and other games like that, if possible.

My friend made me this build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QCBH7P

But I'm not sure if that graphics card is going to last (a few bad reviews stuck out to me, saying that it caught on fire, maybe they just got a faulty one, still worries me though).

Does anyone have any tips on parts/if that's a good build? I trust my friend a lot, but I'm looking for as many opinions as possible.

[tielknight]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card ($288.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $843.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-23 22:04 EDT-0400

Price is ~$880 after promo codes and such and another $40 is in mail-in-rebates. Swapped to 4690k+mobo, 280X for a bit more punch, better case, faster(and cheaper) memory and a MUCH better PSU.

[Galkura]

So it will be $880 up front, and I can get $40 back later?

Also, what kind of games could I be looking to run with this? Like, would Bioshock Infinite run on Ultra?

[tielknight]

Thats about as good as your gonna get for the price and it will run most games at close to or max settings. In regards to Bioshock Infinite, that card will handle it just fine(the black edition DD is a overclocked version of the XFX DD card that is shown in the benchmarks so it will run similar to the Asus card).

Yes, it will be roughly $880 up front and you will get a $20 rebate for the GPU, $10 for the case and $10 for the PSU, bringing it to around $840 after those are done(they pay them in pre-paid visa cards or checks i believe, depends on the rebate company).

[Galkura]

Sweet! Thanks a bunch for all the help, really nervous about this... Always wanted to build a computer, but now that I'm able to, I'm just worried something will go wrong and my money will have been a waste.

[tielknight]

Gonna post this in the megathread as well, but this PSU just popped up and is a really really good deal($50 with a $25 rebate) and would save you a bit more. It's one of those "24 hours/until it's gone" type of sales so you might want to hop on that ASAP if you didn't get the other one posted above yet.

[Deleted]

you can save another $14 by leaving out the optical drive!

[tielknight]

you can save another $14 by leaving out the optical drive!

Better to need something and have it than to not have it and need it.

And I just realized there is no Heatsink in that build either >_>

Edited a few things to keep the price down a bit. The price will be right around $900 after promo codes/combos if you get the PSU I mentioned here instead of the one in the partslist, it's there as a placeholder or unless the sale runs out.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card ($288.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $863.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-24 18:53 EDT-0400

[hakujinbakasama]

A complete other option which is painfully overlooked by most of the community.

[chazus]

it's 'overlooked' because the performance isn't as good as a same-budget systems listed above.

Also, moving this to the build/upgrade subforum.

[hakujinbakasama]

it's 'overlooked' because the performance isn't as good as a same-budget systems listed above.

Also, moving this to the build/upgrade subforum.

Sorry, my bad....

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XYsFbv
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XYsFbv/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 120 75.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($129.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card ($308.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Raidmax 535W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $886.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-24 17:06 EDT-0400

[chazus]

Sorry, my bad....

Eh, that build is just full of nope. I wouldn't recommend almost anything in there except maybe the case and DVD burner.

[Deleted]

If you feel like pushing it slightly budget wise you can get somewhat better parts:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock 2 87.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Epic Edition (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $902.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-24 17:47 EDT-0400

[hakujinbakasama]

Eh, that build is just full of nope. I wouldn't recommend almost anything in there except maybe the case and DVD burner.

FX-8320 beats the i5-4690k on benchmark

FX has shown to be comprible at 1080 but pulls at higher resolutions.

The Gigabyte Ga-990FXA-UD3 is one of the top reviewed and commented boards out there for AMD. It has gone on to baffle people as to why the Z97 cannot offer such values.

The XFX is the exact same card listed on both builds but yet somehow it's "not work recommending" on my list? I guess we can ignore that the XFX has a better warranty than most competitors.

The Raidmax carries high user raitings across the board and provides enough power to OC both the CPU and the GPU if needed.

Kingston Red....


Fuck Linus... what the hell does that guy know??

Hell while we're at it...

Oh good god! Approval by Tek?? Yeah it's utter shit too!

[Deleted]

I think you got it all wrong.

-Won't go into amd-intel thing, we done this too many times.

-Check out Gigabyte Z97X-sli. Its alot cheaper, it supports more than 2kMHz ram (eh?), has pcie 3.0 and not 2.0 (not that makes the diff but why not), better lan chip, better audio. So same brand but 1 board is cheaper and alot better.

-Ram is good no doupt but then at almost same price you got ripjaws, sorry your mobo doesn't support more than 2k MHz.

- Where is the raidmax high user ratings? All i've seen is that half times ppl received is doa or fried soon enough. You don't play around with psu that can hurt all your rig. You will have to pay the extra bucks for a good one.

-The cooler is indeed a good budget one.

[tielknight]

FX-8320 beats the i5-4690k on benchmark

For gaming? Not a chance

FX has shown to be comprible at 1080 but pulls at higher resolutions.

Does it beat it or is it comparable? Your sending mixed messages and both are incorrect.

The Gigabyte Ga-990FXA-UD3 is one of the top reviewed and commented boards out there for AMD. It has gone on to baffle people as to why the Z97 cannot offer such values.

Thats nice if they were getting AMD, which if they wouldn't be if they want the best performance for their dollar at this price-range.

The Raidmax carries high user raitings across the board and provides enough power to OC both the CPU and the GPU if needed.

Raidmax PSUs are crap, plain and simple. Feel free to check out this handy list. My PSU has good user reviews and I still know it's crap and would never recommend it to anyone else.

Fuck Linus... what the hell does that guy know??

Hell while we're at it...

Oh good god! Approval by Tek?? Yeah it's utter shit too!

The memory is ok, the cooler is a bit overpriced.

[chazus]

The only reason I didn't recommend the ram, is because ram performance means almost nothing. I simply would have recommended cheaper stuff. There's nothing 'bad' about it, except the price. Everyone already pointed out the other issues. There's nothing wrong with the XFX card, really. Just perhaps too high of a price point for that kind of system build... especially if they need an OS.