First Gaming PC, ~$1k USD budget

[TheGoatPharaoh]

Hi, I was hoping y’all could help me with a first-time gaming PC build.

 

I’m working from this LifeHacker guide ($1,200 build)

Here's the PC Part Picker link

 

1. Budget & Location

• Looking to spend $1k  - $1,200 on the machine.
• I’m in the USA.

2. Aim

 

Primarily as a gaming machine, though I will use it for writing, web-surfing, and sundry other general uses. I play a wide spectrum of games, though primarily RPGs and FPS (casually).

 

Game series I play the most: Crysis, Elder Scrolls, Far Cry, Battlefield, BioShock, Borderlands, Deus Ex, Fallout, Portal, Half Life. I’d like to play them at high settings and high frame rate.

 

3. Monitors

• I plan to start with one monitor and expand to two.
• I’d like to spend around $200 on a monitor
• Looking for one in the 23” to 24” range
• 60Hz is fine, as is 1080 HD
• Thinking about going the IPS route for the colors
• Current top choice is the ASUS VS239H-P 23-Inch Full-HD LED IPS Monitor

 

4. Peripherals

 

• I’ve got pretty standard cheap stuff right now that is serviceable, but I’d be curious to hear y’alls thoughts on mechanical keyboards and gaming mice.

5. Why are you upgrading?

• Moving off my 2012 Mac Book Pro as my gaming machine (I dual-boot Windows).

 

Other thoughts:

• I’m brand agnostic
• I don’t need future proof, but I’d like resistant up to 5m 
• I’d prefer a case that wasn’t too massive or flashy
• I’ll want a wireless card
• Do I need a sound card?

Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks for your time!

[AlwaysFSX]

Do you need a mouse, keyboard, Windows, etc.?

[mr.skyrim_pc]

I would add a enthoo pro as the case, I would get hyperx fury for the memory, I would get a caviar blue instead of black, and I would add a gtx 970. It would be a good idea to get a aftermarket cpu cooler, you should get a hyper 212 evo.

 

You dont need a sound card.

[ZacDaMan72]

Get a GTX 970, not the 280X.

[Tagiau]

You can drop that 280x and get a 290 from powercolor for the exact same price(And it looks better, personal opinion). And get an enthoo pro which is cheaper and looks amazing. 

[Tagiau]

Get a GTX 970, not the 280X.

He said 1k not almost 1.2k

[MasonIsPurple]

As for monitors, my friend got the one you linked and I got this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acer-H236HL-Bid-23-IPS-Glossy-LED-Monitor-1920x1080-HDMI-VGA-DVI-UM-VH6AA-004-/251680809476?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item3a99586204 factory refurbed and I love it. It is glossy tho, I know some people dont like that. Other than that, try to get a better CPU cooler, and see about that 970. Looking good. 

[ZacDaMan72]

He said 1k not almost 1.2k

"Looking to spend $1k  - $1,200 on the machine." Read? Do you do that?

[watts300]

 

3. Monitors

 

• Current top choice is the ASUS VS239H-P 23-Inch Full-HD LED IPS Monitor

 

 

I bought my son the VX238H and I really like it. 

 

It has a slightly faster response time, and the contrast ratio is higher (which is only relevant when comparing the models of the same brand because there isn't an industry standard for measuring contrast). 

 

If the one you picked is anything like the one I picked, then you'll like it.    

[HashtagMilk]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.03 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($146.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($70.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.97 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ OutletPC)

Total: $1110.92

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 00:06 EDT-0400

[Demons Wrath]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($199.99 @ Micro Center) 

CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14CS 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler  ($41.01 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($116.53 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($65.70 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Corsair Force LS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($82.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($254.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Keyboard: Rosewill RK-9200BR Wired Slim Keyboard  ($94.99 @ Amazon) 

Mouse: Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1126.15

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 07:18 EDT-0400

 

With Cherry MX Brown keyboard and Gaming mouse.

[TheGoatPharaoh]

Do you need a mouse, keyboard, Windows, etc.?

I don't need a mouse, keyboard, or Windows, although I'm thinking about upgrading my current gear to a mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse (won't count against ~$1k budget.

[OhhTee]

Don't get an enthoo pro as a case. It's a pretty fair size case.

[holytoledo]

You might want to see this video.

There is an argument to be made for upgrading to the $100 dollar more expensive 4790k. It has hyperthreading and doesn't drop frames due to background processes. Whereas the 4690k does. Look at the video at 5:00 minutes if you don't want to watch it all.

You might want to see my post from this other thread.

[TheGoatPharaoh]

You might want to see my post from this other thread.

That's interesting, thanks for the video. I tend to only have a bunch of browser tabs open, not any sort of rendering or highly demanding activity going on in the background, so I'm inclined not to spend the extra $100.

[TheGoatPharaoh]

Ok, so I'm seeing suggestions to upgrade to both the GTX 970 (~$350), and the R9 290 (~$250). My general question is whether the extra $100 for the 970 is "worth it"? What I mean by that is 1) will I notice a substantial difference in the games I play (or can play), and 2) would the 970 better "future proof" me for new more demanding games as they come out near term, or will it not make much difference.

[holytoledo]

I think it depends on what you mean by future proofing.

The 290X's performance is better at 4k resolution. The 970 FTW reaches near 980 stock performance.

[TheGoatPharaoh]

I think it depends on what you mean by future proofing.

The 290X's performance is better at 4k resolution. The 970 FTW reaches near 980 stock performance.

I guess I'm more concerned with how it will affect the games I can play now, and in the next couple years, at 1080. By the time 4k becomes mainstream the way 1080 is now I'll probably need to upgrade/ rebuild anyway.

[Guest]

A 280X and a 60Hz 1080p monitor is a pretty good fit. I wouldn't get a GTX 970 at this resolution unless you pair it with a 144Hz screen or plan on getting a 1440p in the very near future.