Computer Build Help for Black Friday!

[Tomey]

Budget: $1500 (Computer) + $250 (Monitor) = 1750 total
Resolution: 1920 x 1080 = I am assuming this is the standard these days? I am a bit lost on this.
Games / Settings Desired: WoW, BF4, Starcraft 2/ High to Max settings. I am primarily focused on running solid fps, and if dropping to medium-high allows for that, then I gladly would do it.
Any other intensive software or special things you do: I am debating starting up streaming, but not sure on that.
Country: United States
Parts that can be reused: Keyboard, Mouse.
Do you need an OS? No, Have MS 7 64 bit
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? A monitor, which I mentioned I have $250 for in my budget. I am open to all monitors.

NOTE: This is my 1st computer to be build by hand. I want to be able to have a nice clean build, no crazy lighting effects, or make your own liquid coolers here. I also want to have some upgradeability whether it be from 8gb to 16gb ram, adding a 2nd graphics card, or other such things.

EXTRA INFORMATION: I will need for the time being WiFi in this build. I am in college with college wifi, so I am open to suggestions on this. I am wanting to weigh all the pro's and cons between buying a motherboard with built-in wifi, buying a wifi adapter to be installed in a PCI-E port, or a USB wifi adapter. I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to the pro's and cons between the options for wifi access, but would like some help in determining which would be a solid option for me and price points between these.

Thanks in advance for any help with this.

Current Parts Idea: (Completely open to ideas and willing to change, just kind of giving some basics)

CPU: i5 4670k or i7 4770k

GPU: Geforce GTX 770 2GB or GTX 760 (I prefer Nvidia)

RAM: 8GB. Is there a noticeable difference between say an 1866 average brand and g.skill ripjaws 1600 in terms of RAM? Just curious since a combo on pcpartpicker had those 2 options for about the same price this past week.

MotherBoard: Depends on whether I go with a built-in wifi option (see above) or not. Also, would definitely like the ability to add a 2nd graphics card a couple years from now, so SLI would be wonderful. I was eyeing the 87 and 79 series, but do not know the differences between them, aside from the fact that 79 series mobo's seemed to be people running some crazy stuff like 3 or 4 gpu setups. I am more interested in having a really quality and reliable motherboard that is solid, and maybe building the rest of the computer around this? I will NOT be doing more than 1 gpu at the moment. 2 gpu will be down the road in the foreseeable future.

Cooling: Looking for this to be a simple process.

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 mid-tower ATX case. I have not decided on a color yet, but I am leading towards the black case or gunmetal. If their is a way to maybe have a red/black theme going that'd be a cool bonus.

SSD + storage: 1TB Hard Drive. How necessary or worth it is an SSD? If it is going to change my load times from 10 seconds to 5 seconds, then I really cannot justify getting much more than a 128Gb one. If it does help in other aspects or something, I am open to getting a decent size one.

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Anyone have any ideas or willing to give this a look please?

[Deleted]

for streaming and recording :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($75.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($174.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.85 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($171.55 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($499.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ GW2750HM 27.0" Monitor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1706.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-27 13:01 EST-0500)

if you dont want to record your stuff, you might wanna look at the r290 gpu´s for the soon to be released mantle support.

[jholdaway]

Here is what I came up with. Though now that I look at it, it's pretty similar to the one above.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Be Quiet SHADOW ROCK 2 87.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($171.55 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($499.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($57.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($168.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($168.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1687.44
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-27 13:20 EST-0500)

A little cheaper and now that I think about it, you might not have room for dual monitors. As for wireless you could get something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833704133

[Tomey]

How necessary is the gtx780?

[lordsphinx]

How necessary is the gtx780?

The GTX780 is an amazing card, and Nvidia comes with Shadowplay, which will allow you to stream and record without taxing the system. If it fits in the budget, why not go for it?

[Deleted]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G55 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.85 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($171.55 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus PB238Q 23.0" Monitor ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1449.27
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-27 15:02 EST-0500)

CASE - I would personally prefer a different case like something from Corsair but the Shinobi definitely fits the theme, here are the other ones I'd consider:

Corsair 500R White - $70
Corsair 750D - $110

This next one is more expensive but I feel it's worth mentioning since you like the NZXT Phantom look you might like this and the quality is great:

Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) $140

CPUHS - If you prefer air cooling and want something that will fit better in the overall theme I recommend this one from Phanteks:

Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BL

GPU - As for the GPU, for 1080p and your needs the GTX 770 is perfectly fine, no reason to pay an extra ~$200 for the 780. If anything I'd wait for R9 290 non-reference cards if I was going to spend more.

CPU - Just get the i5-4670k since you can take advantage of GeForce Experience/Shadowplay for recording/streaming.

Motherboard/Wireless - The combo above is cheaper and just as good and fits the theme.

RAM - 1600MHz is perfectly good but the 1866MHz ones in the build fits the theme and is on sale so I picked those.

SSD - With your budget there is zero not to get one, SSD is more than just boot time reduction. Overall system/OS smoothness and being snappier. Quicker loading back in game after a crash or DC or a simple reload after UI changes. Smoother loading of textures in some games. Trust me you will love it. 250GB is a good size, you won't have to worry too much what you put on there without running out of space.

Monitor - This one from Asus is true 8-bit IPS and the best in the price range, good assortment of cables and such. Height, tilt, swivel adjustment.

[Tomey]

Thanks for all the help and especially for sticking to a theme. One question as I am not well researched on motherboards but how are MSI motherboards? Are they good quality and such? Is it sli capable should I add a 2nd card? Do not know much about them myself. Also, can I stream with an i5 vs an i7? Was under the impression that it was not as good with an i5. Also, what is the difference between a gigabyte and an EVGA geforce gtx 770 2gb besides the slightly higher clock speed and 60 bucks?

[jholdaway]

I haven't had many problems with MSI motherboards. I think for SLI you might need a bigger psu. I could be wrong though. You can stream wit both processors. EVGA cards have been know to run a little on the warm side unless you get on with a better cooler.

[Alyred]

Thanks for all the help and especially for sticking to a theme. One question as I am not well researched on motherboards but how are MSI motherboards? Are they good quality and such? Is it sli capable should I add a 2nd card? Do not know much about them myself. Also, can I stream with an i5 vs an i7? Was under the impression that it was not as good with an i5. Also, what is the difference between a gigabyte and an EVGA geforce gtx 770 2gb besides the slightly higher clock speed and 60 bucks?

Unless you're running VMs, an i5 will do you fine and save you a hundred bucks that you can put elsewhere. You'll almost never use the extra features an i7 has in a desktop/gaming machine build.

My most recent build is with an MSI z87 mpower mainboard (don't go for the MAX, as the only difference is a few VREs and unless you're doing super detailed overclocking, you don't need them for that price), and I've been very pleased with it. Solid, stable, and looks nice with the black and yellow. Paired with two samsung 840 Pro SSD's in SATA 6gb in RAID0, and the computer flies nicely. I've only got a 670 in mine (the 7xx line hadn't been released yet) and it handles everything fine running at full settings in windowed mode. Having nice fast RAM helps too -- I chose g.skill 2400, it was a good price point at the time.

Video card brands really only differ by warranty offered and reliability. eVGA and Gigabyte are both good brands (mine's a Gigabyte) so look for features like the cooling fans as well. If the slightly higher clock speed is worth 60 bucks to you, then go for it, but I doubt you'll notice the difference unless you're running a pretty heavy setup at ultra-high resolutions (2550x1600). I chose the Gigabyte for the twin-frozr cooling, it's pretty quiet and blows backwards for a few seconds when you start up the computer to blow some of the dust off. A nice feature and keeps the card cool during normal operation.

Also, look for a monitor that supports 1920x1200. The extra bit of real estate is amazing. You're welcome.

Oh, and speaking of cooling, spring for one of the water block coolers from Corsair, Zalman or Thermaltake. I chose the Zalman, and i've been VERY impressed at it's ability to keep my i5 Haswell under 55 degrees C running at full load, overclocked to 4ghz.

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The GTX780 is an amazing card, and Nvidia comes with Shadowplay, which will allow you to stream and record without taxing the system. If it fits in the budget, why not go for it?

The OP would definitely see more performance boost spending the money on an SSD (or two for RAID). Single biggest performance increase I've seen in a computer upgrade. There's a lot of diminishing returns between the 770 and 780 -- it's a superior card, but only by about 10% in real-world performance. SSDs would see a much larger increase for return vs. dollars spent.

[Deleted]

Which EVGA card are you referring to?

Yes the motherboard is SLI and CF capable.

MSI is good this generation when it comes to motherboards.

Don't add a second GPU, one is enough. If you ever feel you need more power or move to a higher resolution like 1440p you can always add another card or replace with a more powerful in the future.

As I mentioned above you can stream just fine with an i5 and with the GTX 770 you have Shadowplay (Google it) to take the stress off of the CPU when streaming/recording. If you feel the extra cost for the i7-4770k is worth a potential 15-20% performance increase in certain scenarios (like rendering) then go for it.

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Don't get a 16:10/8:5 monitor as Alyred mentions. There is a reason they're getting phased out, if it was for work only then sure but for gaming and movies and such no thx.

You also don't need RAID SSD's by any means. It's pointless for anything but a few specific things.

[Alyred]

Which EVGA card are you referring to?

Yes the motherboard is SLI and CF capable.

MSI is good this generation when it comes to motherboards.

Don't add a second GPU, one is enough. If you ever feel you need more power or move to a higher resolution like 1440p you can always add another card or replace with a more powerful in the future.

As I mentioned above you can stream just fine with an i5 and with the GTX 770 you have Shadowplay (Google it) to take the stress off of the CPU when streaming/recording. If you feel the extra cost for the i7-4770k is worth a potential 15-20% performance increase in certain scenarios (like rendering) then go for it.

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Don't get a 16:10/8:5 monitor as Alyred mentions. There is a reason they're getting phased out, if it was for work only then sure but for gaming and movies and such no thx.

You also don't need RAID SSD's by any means. It's pointless for anything but a few specific things.

Not sure why you're saying they're being phased out; they're just less common than the standard "1080p" resolution because marketing. They simply add more real estate for vertical area on the screen, which gives you more viewing field that your HUD and so forth fit into. Granted, you're not going to find a 1920x1200 monitor that does 3d; but that's a matter of preference. It also depends on if you're set on a 27" monitor or a 24"; I don't see any 27" monitors that can do that resolution for a reasonable price.

RAID-0 isn't pointless, it's all about speed and capacity. With SATA 6gb/sec, you're essentially doubling your read/write speed with SSD's. SATAII's bandwidth would limit your top speed on the new fastest drives, but even the fastest drives haven't capped SATA 6gb/sec yet.

[Tomey]

I really like Notarget's build in terms of the aesthetics and such. I have one question though. I have looked at that monitor, and websites indicate it is not an IPS monitor. Is getting an IPS monitor worth it as I play MMO's, starcraft, BF4, etc. or is it better to not get an IPS monitor? In terms of size, I really cannot see any reason to get bigger than a 23-25 inch range.

[Deleted]

RAID-0 isn't pointless, it's all about speed and capacity. With SATA 6gb/sec, you're essentially doubling your read/write speed with SSD's. SATAII's bandwidth would limit your top speed on the new fastest drives, but even the fastest drives haven't capped SATA 6gb/sec yet.

Which applications do you see OP running that will benefit from these increased speeds? Don't fall for marketing about how fast it is, it's pointless for most.

Not sure why you're saying they're being phased out; they're just less common than the standard "1080p" resolution because marketing.

They are getting phased out, no one really makes these anymore. All content is produced for 16:9 so unless you're primarily using it in a workspace environment then yes 1920x1200 is not worth aiming for.

27" @1080p is kinda meh, if you go 27" you really should be looking at a 1440p IPS/PLS.

The Asus one I linked is excellent in the price range and will give you the best color accuracy and picture quality.

I really like Notarget's build in terms of the aesthetics and such. I have one question though. I have looked at that monitor, and websites indicate it is not an IPS monitor. Is getting an IPS monitor worth it as I play MMO's, starcraft, BF4, etc. or is it better to not get an IPS monitor? In terms of size, I really cannot see any reason to get bigger than a 23-25 inch range.

Trust me it's an IPS (8-bit) panel. IPS is worth it in the sense you're getting a better experience because of more accurate colors (true colors), better viewing angles and not washed out picture quality of most TN panels. There are expensive exceptions.

The Newegg link mentions it's an IPS, so does the PartPicker link.

http://www.asus.com/Monitors_Projectors/PB238Q/

[Alyred]

I don't fall for marketing, I benchmark my own and see them in real-world. EVERYTHING loads faster; WoW, Battlefield 3 and 4, all those little moments in-game where it needs to pull textures off the drive and load them into memory, or loading screens into a new zone. It's all essentially instantaneous on my RAID system. Installing applications (even big ones) generally take a few seconds; loading applications with large datasets (such as GIMP) are so fast that they're unnoticeable (4 seconds to open GIMP, less to open office applications). My guess is that since the OP is asking for a computer, he or she will want it to be a capable of a bit more than JUST playing games and movies, with some web surfing and a few applications here and there. Otherwise, a lot of money could be saved getting a PS4 AND an xBox One.

Doesn't matter to me if that's what you choose to believe though, I've just got my own extensive computer building/repairing experience to build on.

There's plenty of brand-new 16:10 monitors on Newegg, including an ASUS IPS (the VS24AH-P) for around his stated price range of $250.00. The cheapest 1440p is around $375.

Again, all I can say is that I sure do appreciate those extra pixels in day-to-day and gaming use. I run a lot of games in windowed mode, so that I can take advantage of multiple monitors without shutting down the game, and that allows me to play a game in a native aspect ratio of 1080p while still having my taskbar at the bottom unobstructed; meanwhile, in games where I do play full-screen, having the HUD a little out of the FOV is nice.

Anyway, just my opinion.

[Deleted]

I don't fall for marketing, I benchmark my own and see them in real-world. EVERYTHING loads faster; WoW, Battlefield 3 and 4, all those little moments in-game where it needs to pull textures off the drive and load them into memory, or loading screens into a new zone. It's all essentially instantaneous on my RAID system. Installing applications (even big ones) generally take a few seconds; loading applications with large datasets (such as GIMP) are so fast that they're unnoticeable (4 seconds to open GIMP, less to open office applications). Otherwise, a lot of money could be saved getting a PS4 AND an xBox One.

Problem is everything you just said can be achieved with a single SSD. Don't be silly with your PS4 comment.

My guess is that since the OP is asking for a computer, he or she will want it to be a capable of a bit more than JUST playing games and movies, with some web surfing and a few applications here and there.

Did you actually see the build I put together? He is capable of all that and it does include an SSD.

There's plenty of brand-new 16:10 monitors on Newegg, including an ASUS IPS (the VS24AH-P) for around his stated price range of $250.00.

16:10 is being phased out no matter how you look at it. I didn't say no 16:10 existed. I can't find any info on the Asus you mentioned, regarding being 6 or 8-bit which usually means it's 6-bit but I could be wrong. It seems decent enough but unfortunately less adjustments for height, swivel etc. less assortment of cables and such unlike the PB238, kinda disappointing when paying an extra $60 for 1 inch extra and nothing more.

Again, all I can say is that I sure do appreciate those extra pixels in day-to-day and gaming use. I run a lot of games in windowed mode, so that I can take advantage of multiple monitors without shutting down the game, and that allows me to play a game in a native aspect ratio of 1080p while still having my taskbar at the bottom unobstructed;

Not sure what this has to do with multi monitors, I run games in Windowed or fullscreen while multitasking on the other monitor with no issues.

[Tomey]

Just a few more questions.

1) Do I need to purchase thermal paste, or will this come pre-included. Whether it does or does not, would it be worth buying high quality thermal paste or is the stock one good enough?

2) with a liquid cpu cooler such as the one notarget mentioned in his build list above. With that cpu liquid cooler, how is the assembly? Do I need to add water or does all that come pre-done?

[Deleted]

1) Do I need to purchase thermal paste, or will this come pre-included. Whether it does or does not, would it be worth buying high quality thermal paste or is the stock one good enough?

It's included, stock is fine.

2) with a liquid cpu cooler such as the one notarget mentioned in his build list above. With that cpu liquid cooler, how is the assembly? Do I need to add water or does all that come pre-done?

It's not complicated to install/mount and not really harder or easier than to work with than air cooling. Each specific heatsink is different of course. AIO, all in one meaning everything is done for you. All you have to do is mount it.