Looking to build my first ever gaming PC :D - sub 1000 budget
Hello! I have saved up some money and am finally moving to PC gaming. I was originally going to buy a $1400 pre-built PC but was convinced otherwise. I am fairly new to this and have been doing research but I'm not so confident in picking out each component myself.
Budget - Sub 1000 US dollars
Games / Settings Desired - Skyrim/Steam/LoL/Witcher on highest settings
PC will be used mostly for Gaming, Streaming movies/TV, Downloading movies/TV
Country - USA
I have no parts to reuse
Do you need an OS? Yes, Windows 8
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? None whatsoever
I already have a case picked out: NZXT PHANTOM ATX Full Tower Case, White PHAN-001WT
I really like the White and Blue (LED fan) look to this case.
The case comes with a decent amount of fans and extra space for expansion/water-cooling
If you could suggest other components to go with this case, that would be great!
I do have a few MUST haves
HDMI to HDMI connection
Bluetooth (for mic/headphone/controllers)
WiFi
I plan on hooking it up to my 50" LED TV and my 5.1 Surround Sound system. So I will just need 1 HDMI-HDMI connection from my PC to my TV. I already have a great keyboard and mouse. I also plan to play most of the games with my PS3 or XBOX controllers and have a great little headset so Bluetooth would be very handy. I know there are good Wifi adapters but would prefer if it was built into the PC - willing to compromise on this issue.
Keeping the PC cool is also very important as my room tends to get warmer in the summer.
Should I buy a stand or is it safe to place the PC on my carpeted floor?
I am very excited to be building my first ever PC and would like to get started ASAP. Thank you in advance for any input you give!!
Last edited by MulanTheKhan; 2015-02-06 at 11:59 PM.
I think you ask a little too much for the money and i explain.
To keep highest setting you are looking at an i5 4690k/Z97 mobo and a gtx 970.
- You would have to not get an ssd.
- The case you picked is very expensive what it gives. The case+o/s+wifi card is 250bucks alone. Thats 25% of your budget!
edit: Judging from your taste on that case, this one i picked if far better in quality/features while being cheaper.
What i would propose reading your needs:
I got the case you selected in the build, and the motherboard you really want even tho its so expensive, it has built in AC wifi and 4.0 bluetooth (these cards seperate are 60 bucks or so, so this is a decent value). This PC will also run super cool, this is the reason i picked a 960 over a 970, far less heat generation.
I have a really stupid question. Can I mix and match the parts you suggested with some other ones I have in mind? I would assume certain parts only work with each other but I really have no idea. Pardon my ignorance, I'm a noob.
I would be willing to go over $1000 depending on certain adjustments. Wouldn't it be better to get a motherboard that already has the WiFi and Bluetooth built in as opposed to getting separate cards? Also, Do you think it would be better getting an i5? or and i7? And wouldn't it be better getting 16GB of RAM? Or is this too unnecessary?
Yes if wifi/bt is a big deal for you in a desktop i would absolutely get one with it built in. Like i said above you arent saving much by using an addon card. Most parts nowadays are almost all interchangable, if you have certain parts in mind that are different from what we linked go ahead and post them so we can give the go ahead.
As for i5 vs i7, unless you are doing a silly amount of video editing where time is money there is no need for the extra cores the i7 provides. In gaming, or everyday use you wont notice a difference between the two. 16gb vs 8gb also depends on what you do with your PC on a daily basis, personally ive never seen my PC use over 6gb's at one time (and that was with 2 mmo's open at once) but that will vary by the person. I would have added 16gb's but you have a fairly tight budget for your requests.
You mentioned you have the case I had picked out. Do you like it? Does it require any more fans/cooling?
Why should I get an SSD? What are the benefits?
The motherboard you mention has both Blueetooth and WiFi built in? That's perfect!
Do you think I should get a better video card? 200 seems really cheap for a video card.
^^ What remila said, 1k isnt a ton of money for what you requested.
Well the case is fine, not a personal favorite of mine because since then nzxt has created much nicer cases (s340, h440 etc) but it will do you just fine. SSD makes your whole PC zippier, especially on boot up, and with windows 10 coming there will be even more benefits to SSD's as they will optimize programs better as SSD's become the norm. SSD also increase load times of games, mmo's especially. GTX 960 is a fine video card for the money, and especially since you said you wanted a PC that will run cool the gtx 960 is the perfect choice (it runs very cool because it does not use much power from the wall, very efficient).
Final build, what do you think?
Was going to do 16GB RAM but decided I can always upgrade if I ever need it.
Will all the parts work with each other?
Any suggestions or comments?
CPU Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core $214.95
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing (SuperBiiz Override) $25.99
Motherboard Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 $203.29
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $64.99
Storage Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" SSD $101.99
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $49.89
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB $204.99
Case NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower $100.99
Power Supply XFX 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $43.99
Optical Drive LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer $12.99
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.75
Case Fan NZXT FZ-200mm LED 103.0 CFM 200mm $12.99
Total: $1126.80
I tried to link the items but can't because I'm a new user.
Again, thank you for all the help!
- You can fit a gtx970 in that budget.
- Which corsair vengeance is it exactly? Just be sure its the low profile one and not the ones with tall fins or won't fit below the cpu cooler.
- Motherboard is completely uneeded on that price considering your budget. There is literally 0 difference between wifi on board and as a pci express. I would argue the card is even better. Intel wifi cards have the rep of being the best if for w/e reason something goes wrong later on you just replace the card. From the other there are complaints of board's wifi. Also its 35buck more expensive.
Hmm, okay.
- Was told that the gtx960 would be better due to low heat.
- It's the low profile one, but thanks for the heads up!
- I also read the review and agree that it might be safer to go with the separate cards. Could you suggest a motherboard, Wi-Fi card, and Bluetooth card?
Most negative reviews are due to user error (like a very high %) just keep that in mind. I just feel having it on board is the far more elegant solution, asus makes the best quality wireless routers in the business, they know what they are doing. Its fully up to you, both solutions are acceptable.
Just remember the most important thing when searching for wifi cards is this: "Antenna to support WLAN 2Tx2R transmission". Its very deceiving sometimes when a wireless router says up to 300mbps (in the case of wireless N, just for example), when in fact your card must support 2x Receive streams, almost all laptops/tablets only have a 1x stream.
- - - Updated - - -
Also about the gtx 960vs970, 960 is really all you need for 1080p. 970 runs about 10c hotter than a 960, which can be noticeable. Performance per dollar they are very close, its really about if you think its worth it for the games you play. If you do decide to go the wifi card route you can get the asus z97-a for around 140 bucks.
Thanks for the suggestion! That looks like a great Bluetooth/WiFi card and the reviews are great! I read a bunch of bad reviews about the z97(wifi ac) about the WiFi being flakey. I think I'll go for the card you suggested and another asus motherboard.
- - - Updated - - -
I decided to go with the 970 due to reviews and a glowing recommendation from a friend.
I'll probably buy a heatsink in the near future too.
I compared a bunch of completed builds from pcpartpicker and noticed the MSI motherboard paired well with the Bluetooth/WiFi card and the 4690k CPU.
What do you guys think? Will everything fit well in place?
Still can't post links, sorry.
CPU Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core $214.89
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing (SuperBiiz Override) $25.99
Motherboard MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 $139.99
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $64.99
Storage Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" SSD $101.99
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $49.89
Video Card Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX $326.99
Case NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower $100.99
Power Supply XFX 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $43.99
Optical Drive LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer $12.99
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.75
Wireless Network Adapter Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 $24.99
Case Fan NZXT FZ-200mm LED 103.0 CFM 200mm $12.99
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