Helping build a rig for friend, a few quesitons

[select20]

For my build, I always go Intel and Geforce. Years ago, sheesh, probably 8-10 years ago, I was almost strictly a AMD processor/GPU guy. As some games where coming out, it seems I always ran into software issues, I got tired of troubleshooting all the time, since I switch to Intel and Geforce, I rarely have to troubleshoot anything. So with a new build, should I advise a friend to run Intel and Geforce as well? Do my stereotypes still hold true? He's on a budget of $850-$950. but still wanting to get the most he can and it really considering AMD.

Also, to save money, he is planning on using his 42in LG LCD TV that is 1080p and 120Hz. I know this usually isn't optimal for FPS' (so I hear) but he mainly plays MMO's or RTS games, Skyrim type, etc. Not games where every milisecond in your reaction time is important. What are the pro's and cons to gaming on a screen that size? He definitely wants to get a 24-28in screen at some point, but at the moment, to save money, he's going to use the TV.

Last question, I told him building a rig was cheaper. Then he show me some sales sites like cyber power and ibuypower and when I tried to use part picker to duplicate exactly what they had, it always came out $50-100 more expensive. Maybe I was doing something wrong?

I built my rig last year and it was my first, thanks to the help I got here. So I am no expert, so that's why I come here.

Thanks for the help.

[Deleted]

first question: Depends on the budget mostly. But for the budget your friend has, the best choice for CPU would be intel. For the GPU it doesnt really matter. People still have personal preferences. Regarding drivers and such, both are similar.

Second question. First of that 120 Hz for a tv is not the same as a 120/144 Hz monitor. I don't the details, remelia will know. But they are different.
As for cons, input lag could be a lot worse than a normal monitor. If you sit to close you will count pixels etc.

You were probably doing something wrong. I got this together quick

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Tri-X Video Card ($253.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $941.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-28 12:15 EST-0500

Your friend probably also need an OS. If so, you could drop the CPU down to a 4460 and cheaper Z97 board or go for a cheaper GPU.

[moremana]

They are going to be cheaper, but they use alot of cheap parts especially PSUs, If you can build him a better quality PC than CP or Ibuy offers, he should go for it.

What types of PCs where you pricing at Cyberpower and Ibuypower and what builds did you come up with on your own?

And yes, for MMos Intel are better, some mmos dont care about the gpu, however nvidias run a hell of alot cooler.

[potis]

1)Stereotype holds true for Intel CPUs right now yes.

2)Depending on the budget/price range of the GPU needed AMD or Nvidia are better, since until another month with the re-release and changes of 290/290X as 380/380X and the next cards till ~July.

AMD dominates the 200-300 market, they dominate the 150-200 market and nvidia dominates 300+ market (I wont mention cards below 150, i always pretend they dont exist unless its some offer obviously)

3)The pro's and cons are that he has to be sitting far away so that screen wont hurt his eyes and i do not find anything longer than a desk distance enjoyable for gaming, i dont understand how people do it with huge ass screen TVs.

Those rigs always usually have:

Half-horrible/half-medium acceptable things so their price is low.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Elite 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.67 @ Mwave)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($95.99 @ Directron)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($245.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $891.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-28 12:28 EST-0500

An example build.

[Deleted]

That seems a bit to expensive for a 960....

[select20]

first question: Depends on the budget mostly. But for the budget your friend has, the best choice for CPU would be intel. For the GPU it doesnt really matter. People still have personal preferences. Regarding drivers and such, both are similar.

Second question. First of that 120 Hz for a tv is not the same as a 120/144 Hz monitor. I don't the details, remelia will know. But they are different.
As for cons, input lag could be a lot worse than a normal monitor. If you sit to close you will count pixels etc.

You were probably doing something wrong. I got this together quick

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Tri-X Video Card ($253.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $941.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-28 12:15 EST-0500

Your friend probably also need an OS. If so, you could drop the CPU down to a 4460 and cheaper Z97 board or go for a cheaper GPU.

Yeah, I'm he will be sitting 45-55 inches away. And yes, he will need to buy the OS as well.

They are going to be cheaper, but they use alot of cheap parts especially PSUs, If you can build him a better quality PC than CP or Ibuy offers, he should go for it.

What types of PCs where you pricing at Cyberpower and Ibuypower and what builds did you come up with on your own?

And yes, for MMos Intel are better, some mmos dont care about the gpu, however nvidias run a hell of alot cooler.

Yeah, that was a main concern for me was buying cheap parts. Years ago when I tried unsuccessfully to build my first PC, I somehow blew 3 motherboards, wasted a ton of money and that's why I never built my own till last year. I wasn't sure if they were cheap or not, but that is what always sticks in my head that it must've been cheap "something" that was causing the problem.

1)Stereotype holds true for Intel CPUs right now yes.

I was actually trying to match the exact parts they were using.

2)Depending on the budget/price range of the GPU needed AMD or Nvidia are better, since until another month with the re-release and changes of 290/290X as 380/380X and the next cards till ~July.

AMD dominates the 200-300 market, they dominate the 150-200 market and nvidia dominates 300+ market (I wont mention cards below 150, i always pretend they dont exist unless its some offer obviously)

3)The pro's and cons are that he has to be sitting far away so that screen wont hurt his eyes and i do not find anything longer than a desk distance enjoyable for gaming, i dont understand how people do it with huge ass screen TVs.

Those rigs always usually have:

Half-horrible/half-medium acceptable things so their price is low.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Elite 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.67 @ Mwave)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($95.99 @ Directron)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($245.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $891.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-28 12:28 EST-0500

An example build.

Also I might've been doing something wrong. When I get home from work I'll look up which PC on those sites I was looking at. I didn't post it initially because I wasn't sure of the rules about stuff like that.

[Remilia]

Second question. First of that 120 Hz for a tv is not the same as a 120/144 Hz monitor. I don't the details, remelia will know. But they are different.
As for cons, input lag could be a lot worse than a normal monitor. If you sit to close you will count pixels etc.

It really depends on TV. Some TVs can take a 120Hz signal and some just duplicate a frame they were taken. The latter will cause an increase in signal processing lag.
TV manufacturers in general don't care about lag too much. A better signal processing can be good for visual experience as it can reduce the likely hood you'll see banding on gradients and such. That said, TV reviewers tend to not actual look at what type of input it's doing, whether it's 60Hz or 120Hz.

Can try this: http://www.blurbusters.com/overclock/120hz-pc-to-tv/

[select20]

It really depends on TV. Some TVs can take a 120Hz signal and some just duplicate a frame they were taken. The latter will cause an increase in signal processing lag.
TV manufacturers in general don't care about lag too much. A better signal processing can be good for visual experience as it can reduce the likely hood you'll see banding on gradients and such. That said, TV reviewers tend to not actual look at what type of input it's doing, whether it's 60Hz or 120Hz.

Can try this: http://www.blurbusters.com/overclock/120hz-pc-to-tv/

Ok good to know.

- - - Updated - - -

I can't duplicate how I was getting Cyberpower or Ibuypower to be cheaper. Now when I'm doing it it's coming out within $50 of eachother depending on the build. I was using one of their Sale PC's that was like $300-500 dollars off. I just tried two different ones and they came out too close to make a big deal of. Also, if it weren't for the sale, then the same PC would've been $300-500 more than Partpicker.

[Lathais]

Half-horrible/half-medium acceptable things so their price is low.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Elite 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.67 @ Mwave)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($95.99 @ Directron)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($245.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $891.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-28 12:28 EST-0500

An example build.

Drop the SSD at that budget. Jump up to a unlocked chip with a cooler and a 970. You also left off OS.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($329.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $959.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-28 18:26 EST-0500

A little over budget, but this is a beast that will handle anything you throw at it at max settings for 1080p. An SSD would be an excellent addition, but as it provides no performance increase i find it hard to recommend them in sub-$1000 budgets. Too much sacrifice in FPS IMO.

- - - Updated - - -

I can't duplicate how I was getting Cyberpower or Ibuypower to be cheaper. Now when I'm doing it it's coming out within $50 of eachother depending on the build. I was using one of their Sale PC's that was like $300-500 dollars off. I just tried two different ones and they came out too close to make a big deal of. Also, if it weren't for the sale, then the same PC would've been $300-500 more than Partpicker.

Even on the off chance that a build from one of those places is $50-100 cheaper, you are dealing with certain parts being lower quality. One of the main culprits is PSU, the one item you really do not want to cheap out on. Pre-built is almost never worth it.

[potis]

snip

"An example build" aka i didnt have the time to post and just gave a quick example.

Linking builds gets boring after awhile since no one ever listens or buys the same things, i figured it out its easier to give a general image than "BUY EXACTLY THAT".

Also, no SSD on any PC after 2012 is a blasphemy for anyone to recommend to not put one.

And i just love how the trend of "overclocking" continues in these forums, i bet 9/10 builds we recommend each month to get a K CPU doesnt ever get touched, EVER.

[Lathais]

Also, no SSD on any PC after 2012 is a blasphemy for anyone to recommend.

I would agree on budgets over $1000, as its easy to fit, however, as I posted in another thread, on lower end budgets, what would you rather have:

i3-4160K/GTX960 and an SSD
or
i5-4690k/GTX960 without an SSD.

I'd take the i5

i5-4690K/GTX960 with and SSD
or
i5-4690K/GTX970 without an SSD

I'd take the 970.

once budget allows for an i5/970 and an SSD, ok, sure. First consideration, IMO, when putting together a gaming build is getting the strongest CPU/GPU you can.

[potis]

I would agree on budgets over $1000, as its easy to fit, however, as I posted in another thread, on lower end budgets, what would you rather have:

i3-4160K/GTX960 and an SSD
or
i5-4690k/GTX960 without an SSD.

I'd take the i5

i5-4690K/GTX960 with and SSD
or
i5-4690K/GTX970 without an SSD

I'd take the 970.

once budget allows for an i5/970 and an SSD, ok, sure. First consideration, IMO, when putting together a gaming build is getting the strongest CPU/GPU you can.

I know your intentions are good, i just didnt wanna bother with the thread too much to make a perfect build, had a build from before, saw the price "example", as i said, others would do it.

Also USA builds are more of an abuse since you get all those rebate things and prices go down a lot, EU isnt the same.

[Kagthul]

Also, no SSD on any PC after 2012 is a blasphemy for anyone to recommend to not put one.

Right, because of all that increased FPS and performance it gives you in games.

...

Oh... wait.

And i just love how the trend of "overclocking" continues in these forums, i bet 9/10 builds we recommend each month to get a K CPU doesnt ever get touched, EVER.

The K-series CPUs are generally 10$ more expensive (and sometimes *cheaper*, depending on the day/sales), have better TIM (thermal interface material) leading to better temps/longer life, and higher base clocks. Even if you dont ever overclock them, theyre still better chips and are barely more expensive.

Same with a Z97 motherboard - maybe 10-15$ more than an H97 and likely to have better features.

[Remilia]

The only unlocked intel CPU that has a higher base clock is i7-4790k. Others are exactly the same as their non unlocked version.

Z97 and H97 difference is only overclock and dual video card support. Afterwards you're paying for fluff, mostly to do with OC features.

[select20]

Thanks for all the replies. Sorry it's been a few days since i checked this. Been out. Will definitely be ordering stuff this coming weekend for him and getting it put together as soon as we get all the parts. I'm excited for him to do his first build.