Holiday 2014 Buyer's Guide - Full Component List

[79wjd]

I thought you would need to update your bios to run any devil canyon CPUs on a z87 chipset board? How do you do that when you're buying all the parts new and separate? 

Asus boards support a USB flashable bios (with a currently compatible cpu).

[79wjd]

I really fail to understand the rationale behind any of these builds :unsure:

 

Sub-$500 build
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
 
CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($114.97 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($41.34 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($66.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.98 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $488.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 10:35 EST-0500
 

$600 Build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($41.34 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($66.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card  ($188.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $602.26

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 11:02 EST-0500

 

$1000 build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.29 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($108.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.98 @ OutletPC) 

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

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $978.19

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 10:47 EST-0500

 

$2000 build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($328.97 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($108.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($81.90 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($368.99 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($368.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1837.78

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 10:44 EST-0500

[Paul567]

Ok, so a lot of people are trashing the FX-6300 in the $1000 for bottle necking the GTX 970. What processor would you guys go with that wouldn't bottle neck GPU yet keep the price down? Could you go with a FX-8320 or a FX-8350?

[79wjd]

Ok, so a lot of people are trashing the FX-6300 in the $1000 for bottle necking the GTX 970. What processor would you guys go with that wouldn't bottle neck GPU yet keep the price down? Could you go with a FX-8320 or a FX-8350?

See the build i linked in the post right above yours. 

 

4460 + 128gb ssd + 970 

4690k + 256gb ssd + 290 

[Paul567]

See the build i linked in the post right above yours. 

 

4460 + 128gb ssd + 970 

4690k + 256gb ssd + 290 

 

Yeah, I think you were in the process of making your $1000 build while I was typing my response out.

[Trik'Stari]

Still can't decide on a pentium anniversary edition and that cheapo motherboard or an I5-4430 for my moms office PC. She mainly does word processing stuff, but she also has a tendency to leave every single window she ever opens, open.

[ShadowCaptain]

Still can't decide on a pentium anniversary edition and that cheapo motherboard or an I5-4430 for my moms office PC. She mainly does word processing stuff, but she also has a tendency to leave every single window she ever opens, open.

 

the i5 definately, the pentium is only really great for gaming, for general use the i5 will be more beneficial 

[79wjd]

Still can't decide on a pentium anniversary edition and that cheapo motherboard or an I5-4430 for my moms office PC. She mainly does word processing stuff, but she also has a tendency to leave every single window she ever opens, open.

the i5 definately, the pentium is only really great for gaming, for general use the i5 will be more beneficial 

Or just save some money and get an i3. 

[Paul567]

the i5 definately, the pentium is only really great for gaming, for general use the i5 will be more beneficial 

 

Wait what? Explain that to me. How is a $70 Pentium good for gaming but a $190 i5 better for office work?

[Trik'Stari]

Or just save some money and get an i3. 

I'm skeptical about I3's since she already has one, but it's old and slow and generally junk. I think it's an 13 550? 

 

Wait what? Explain that to me. How is a $70 Pentium good for gaming but a $190 i5 better for office work?

 

Cheaper and gaming only uses 2 cores at most 90% of the time.

 

the i5 definately, the pentium is only really great for gaming, for general use the i5 will be more beneficial 

 

That's what I was thinking. Could the Mobo linus used in his cheap build work for an I5? (h81 or whatever it's called)

[79wjd]

Wait what? Explain that to me. How is a $70 Pentium good for gaming but a $190 i5 better for office work?

Because daily use, for me anyway, involves heavy multitasking--thereby taking advantage of multiple cores. 

 

I'm skeptical about I3's since she already has one, but it's old and slow and generally junk. I think it's an 13 550? 

Haswell i3s are like 25-30%.

[Trik'Stari]

Because daily use, for me anyway, involves heavy multitasking--thereby taking advantage of multiple cores. 

 

Haswell i3s are like 30% faster clock-for-clock; plus they tend to run at a much higher frequency 

So the "same" I3 as what she has now would still be a crap load faster? I'm trying to shave off money where I can so she can have an SSD in this new rig.

[79wjd]

So the "same" I3 as what she has now would still be a crap load faster? I'm trying to shave off money where I can so she can have an SSD in this new rig.

Pretty much. Also, why not just try to drop an ssd in her computer now and see how that works out; it might make it fast enough to easily be usable. 

[s3ns3]

I'm skeptical about I3's since she already has one, but it's old and slow and generally junk. I think it's an 13 550? 

its not slow at all for office. the problem is that it doesn`t have SSD

[ShadowCaptain]

Or just save some money and get an i3. 

that too!

 

Wait what? Explain that to me. How is a $70 Pentium good for gaming but a $190 i5 better for office work?

Because most games only use 2 cores, so having a very highly overclocked pentium will outperform a lower clocked i5 in games that do not take advantage of quad core (ie 90%)

 

The i5 is beneficial as most normal users may have multiple things open, multiple browser windows, itunes music, a youtube video, skype etc etc etc

 

I'm skeptical about I3's since she already has one, but it's old and slow and generally junk. I think it's an 13 550? 

 

the newer i3s are really very good, and a great option for a budget PC especially if you can pair it with fast storage/ssd

[Majestic]

FX-6300 and a GTX970? Holy shit Linus.

 

Epic fail.

 

Was that just to play it safe JUST to have an AMD build? It'd seem to fanboys that you were "siding" with Intel or something?

Because only subjective reasoning could've brought you to this CPU choice. I know you're a smart guy, and for someone like you to make this decision, something had to have been going on.

[79wjd]

Could the Mobo linus used in his cheap build work for an I5? (h81 or whatever it's called)

Yes. 

[Admiral Fear]

 have a friend who's asked me to build a $500 gaming computer, and I pretty much planned out the same build that Linus had, only I forgot about case + power supply bundle, and I decided to go with the 750 ti. Probably going to have to skip the SSD for mine, as Windows is included in the $500.

[AoyagiAichou]

Are you willing to consider any non-Corsair PSU? I know they're the sponsors, but come on. FSP Aurum 92+ for example is great. Seasonics as well (isn't the HX series just rebranded Seasonics?)...

[makarickiri]

Won't the Pentium K require a BIOS flash to work on the H81-board? :wacko:

[Juggernautilus]

He recomments getting a Pentium K and H81 from Asus as you can OC with the newest BIOS. As you can see in my signature, I have both but even with the newest bios, I cannot OC. Some people on this forum said that Intel released a microcode to prevent from OC on H81. Can anyone confirm this? Very important as my CPU is bottlenecking the whole system and imo it is a sin to have non-oc Pentium G3258 in your system. Please help!

[Yoinkerman]

Great list, these pcs will crush games and give a great Windows experience too.

I can't in good conscience suggest anyone ever build a new computer without a ssd for their OS. They're that good.

The misinformation in this thread is hilarious.

[Digit6]

A couple things to point out that people never really seem to think too much about in these videos is storage.

 

Games on SSD's are amazing. Especially ones that handle a lot more data like Battlefield or Planetside 2 or Firefall(main games I play). Load screens reduced to less then 10 seconds instead of 30-40(Battlefield) is amazing. Unless you're the type of gamer to have all the largest(file size) and newest games and plan on using 2 TB just for games, it may be a very good idea to think about getting 1 or even 2 500 GB SSD's. I use dropbox for my pictures but a smaller HDD might not be a bad idea.

 

Linus' choice in a Intel SSD(probably because sponsorship) was a poor one. Crucial 512 SSD's are selling for 210 USD and you can buy 480 or 500 GB drives for the same price.

 

As far as graphics go, you can correct me if I'm wrong but paying 600 for dual graphics cards seems overkill as I currently am CFX 2 Sapphire Radeon 7850s 2GB OC(old but $150 each) and they play BF4 amazingly... I would Imagine limiting your gfx budget to 400-450 would seem ideal. 

 

 

I bought a case from a Korean company called AONE so when you see a case in the place holder don't freak on me; it was just similarly priced. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jM7gqs

 

These are the parts I'm using and seem like a better value then Linus' 2k build but you can feel free to point me to how i should have gone. Little more info. I love BIOS flashback in case something goes wrong. I also went with the sabertooth for aesthetics and the z99 series wasn't out. 

Also I I bought software so that my girlfriend and I could both use the computer at the same time and that worked amazingly. I didn't test it with anything too heavy but with her playing her Final Fantasy MMO (idk which one) i was only using about 30% load with me playing a java game, web browsing and YouTubeing.

2 things in the lesser builds. I hate the 500 range since you cant do much. In my portable pc using a liam li u-100a?.. the one with the carrying handle for $150... I threw in a 2gb evga 760 OC and that little guy is great for $150.

Also with the 6300 you need to make sure you don't get an older generation MOBO since you have to update the BIOS with a completely different but compatible chip.

[Faceman]

Wow.

[Kiwiandapple]

I really disliked some choices, so here is my feedback!

 

Just game!

 

Please don't suggest the V300 SSD anymore.

They changed the NAND. Now it performs pretty bad and there are a lot of SSDs on the market around the same price that perform a lot better.

The kingston V300 gets a ~170 / 85 sequential read/write performance.

I believe you even talked about this in the WAN show. 

 

Of course I have to be based on other reviews, and I know that these numbers aren't everything. Real world useage isn't insane affected by these numbers, but it still IS affected. The SSD just simply is considered junk to me, while it still is an SSD and it's still relatively fast, it's not nearly as fast as it used to be and how other SSDs perform these days.  

I will list down the SSDs around the $60, Kingston even got the Fury now that is as well around the $60 and performs a lot better. 

 

Performance sequential read/write: 

1. 357 / 124
2. 438 / 140
3. 461 / 129
4. 560 / 140
5. 412 / 357

Newegg US: 1. A-Data SP600 $58,50 - 2. Sandisk SDSSDP $59,99

Amazon US: 1. A-Data SP600 $58,49 - 3. Transcend Information $59,99

NCIX US: 4. A-Data SP610 $59,99 - 5. Kingston Fury $59,99

 

Aside from that, I do agree with all other components. 

 

Game now!

 

It is possible for sure to get a SLI ready and an i5 locked CPU for $1000 before Windows. However, it would be $12 cheaper if we made use of MacMall and SuperBiiz for the CPU and Case. 
I kept it with Newegg and Amazon just to keep it the same. 

 

• I had to reduce the RAM to 8GB, wich is enough for gaming as you said. I am on 8GB myself and as well a tab monster. So I do know the "problem" with gaming when I have many tabs open. But all you have to do is close all the tabs that you really don't make use of or are done with and you are fine.
• Reduce the HDD from 3TB to 1TB. While as you mentioned the price/GB is a lot worse for the 1TB, it still is a pretty good amount of storage. However, I personally would be fine with suggest a 2TB. This just put me over budget ever so slightly.
• I changed the SSD to one I prefer a lot. It's not that expensive and performs as one of the best. Falling into my price/performance value.
• I had to upgrade the PSU to a 700W+ to be able to SLI the 970, so I went for the 5 year warrenty, 80+ bronze, semi modular, 750W PSU from EVGA. This PSU is very good and for the price it's a no-brainer.
• This made me able to get an i5 + Z87 board, I know it's a locked CPU in an unlocked motherboard. But H series boards don't support SLI.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($184.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($16.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($356.13 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $975.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 14:11 EST-0500

 

Game on!

 

• The only complaint I got here was the motherboard. You can get a "gaming" motherboard with this budget. The improved on-board sound helps A LOT. I know that you personally don't care to much about it, because you have an external DAC/AMP that is a lot better then any on-board sound ever. But for the general consumer, the on-board sound is so awesome. I did not listen to this motherboard personally, but I have listened to the Z97 Gaming 3/5 and they both sound a lot better compared to my Z77 sabertooth on-board.
• I personally prefer to just get a good air cooler instead of a liquid AIO cooler. Especially for gamers, the increase from 4,7 to 4,8/9GHz does not affect games that much. Like a few FPS at most. 
• 16GB of RAM is again overkill in my opinion but I sticked with it because I had the budget and I do agree that it is nice to have 16GB over 8GB. Just gives you that little bit more breathing room. 
• Great choice for the GPUs! No complaints here. 
• Case is excellent, I have it myself! It's just amazing! 
• PSU, you mentioned that you want to have the PC look "cool". While all the modular cables are nice flat black cables, the 24 and 8pin EPS cables are still colored on the HX750. The EVGA SuperNova Gold is completely black.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.29 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 113.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($108.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($202.86 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($103.63 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($103.63 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($356.13 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($356.13 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($15.89 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1831.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 14:44 EST-0500