Building My First Gaming Computer

[TonightWeSail]

I live in the United States and I'm picking parts to build my first Gaming PC. I want to keep my budget around $850 USD including an OS. I only plan on using one monitor for the time being, but adding another monitor is something I might end up doing. Thoughts on my current parts list? I'm having trouble picking a PSU and a MoBo along with wireless connectivity options. I wanted the option to connect to WiFi because I live with my family and it's optimal given my current state of living. Items with a star next to them are ones that I'm not fully committed to at the moment. I want to be able to play games with on a decent quality (Med. - High) but with stable FPS such as Fallout 3/NV/4, Portal 1/2, Left 4 Dead 2, CS:GO, TESV, Boishock 1/2/Inf, etc.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mtpRxr

 

CPU: Intel Core i5 - 4460 3.2 GHz

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

*MoBo: MSI Z97-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB ( 2 x 8GB )

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7200RPM

Video Card: Gigabyte GeFroce GTX 750Ti WINDFORCE  2GB

*Case: Fractal Design R4 ( Black Pearl )

*PSU: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium

*Wireless Network Adapter: TRENDnet TEW-805UB 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter

 

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated. This is also my first time building a computer too. Thank you in advanced

[noob pc gamer]

Because the CPU cannot be overclocked the CPU cooler doesn't help and is a waste of money. same with the mobo. A z97 board is only better than a h97 cause you can overclock it. But you won't be over clocking with that CPU so change it to something like the asrock h97 anniversary edition mobo. It's also cheaper

 

If you are planning on using this for gaming the gtx 750 ti is not a very good GPU. It would be a much better idea to get a GPU like a r9 280 or gtx 960. Save money by getting a Intel core i3 4150 instead

 

You can also get a operating system on reddit for very cheap so take that off the list

 

Why do you need a optical drive. Not much use with those nowadays they are extinct

[Nonco]

Seems like not a bad build.

 

Heres a list I put together for you:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jh3B6h

 

I changed the mobo to a h97 series as you dont need z97.

Removed the CPU cooler as you wont need an aftermarket one(add one if you dont mind spending the extra lil bit of cash)

Added a SSD for the OS.

Changed the GPU to a GTX 970. (Change it to a GTX 960 if you are over budget too far)

Changed to 8GB of ram as you dont need 16GB.

The case i got you is pretty basic but has a PSU included (feel free to change it if you want)

Also forgot to add the wifi card but you get the idea.

 

EDIT: Look at the build @IanDrexP posted. Its pretty much what I was trying to achieve. Thats probs your best bet

[IanDrexP]

I live in the United States and I'm picking parts to build my first Gaming PC. I want to keep my budget around $850 USD including an OS. I only plan on using one monitor for the time being, but adding another monitor is something I might end up doing. Thoughts on my current parts list? I'm having trouble picking a PSU and a MoBo along with wireless connectivity options. I wanted the option to connect to WiFi because I live with my family and it's optimal given my current state of living. Items with a star next to them are ones that I'm not fully committed to at the moment. I want to be able to play games with on a decent quality (Med. - High) but with stable FPS such as Fallout 3/NV/4, Portal 1/2, Left 4 Dead 2, CS:GO, TESV, Boishock 1/2/Inf, etc.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mtpRxr

 

CPU: Intel Core i5 - 4460 3.2 GHz

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

*MoBo: MSI Z97-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB ( 2 x 8GB )

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7200RPM

Video Card: Gigabyte GeFroce GTX 750Ti WINDFORCE  2GB

*Case: Fractal Design R4 ( Black Pearl )

*PSU: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium

*Wireless Network Adapter: TRENDnet TEW-805UB 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ USB 3.0 WiFi Adapter

 

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated. This is also my first time building a computer too. Thank you in advanced

Here you go! You can buy the OS for $15 at reddit's microsoftsoftwareswap

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($69.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.49 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($307.99 @ Newegg) 

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

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($43.98 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($18.89 @ OutletPC) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit)  ($15.00) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TRENDnet TEW-805UB 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($19.99 @ Micro Center) 

Total: $850.16

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-08 02:38 EDT-0400

[fwdkiller]

you will be fine with that rig just later down the road saved up and get the new pacal gpu from nviida.

 

 

Here you go! You can buy the OS for $15 at reddit's microsoftsoftwareswap

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($307.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($15.00)
Wireless Network Adapter: TRENDnet TEW-805UB 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $850.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-08 02:38 EDT-0400

why do all that hen he can save money and buy new gpu when pascal is inbound while the 750 ti can hold out til than.. your logic so off that you want to downgrade his stuff. he can still use z97 with his cpu and later buy a k series cpu if he went with a h97 then he would be screwed from upgrades.

[SkilledRebuilds]

Only if the stock cooler noise is an issue, would you upgrade the CPU cooler.

The temps are still fine, although they wont be the best, but its fine.

 

 

why do all that hen he can save money and buy new gpu when pascal is inbound while the 750 ti can hold out til than.. your logic so off that you want to downgrade his stuff. he can still use z97 with his cpu and later buy a k series cpu if he went with a h97 then he would be screwed from upgrades.

100% Agree, thats what I ended up doing, right now my needs don't require an i5/i7-K.

Can't say that the future holds up the same, so I went with a Z board so I can use a K-skew later on when my needs require more CPU grunt.

H-boards also limit memory speeds to 1600Mhz (even using XMP), Z-boards do not. Another reason why I went this way.

[fwdkiller]

Only if the stock cooler noise is an issue, would you upgrade the CPU cooler.

The temps are still fine, although they wont be the best, but its fine.

 

 

100% Agree, thats what I ended up doing, right now my needs don't require an i5/i7-K.

Can't say that the future holds up the same, so I went with a Z board so I can use a K-skew later on when my needs require more CPU grunt.

H-boards also limit memory speeds to 1600Mhz (even using XMP), Z-boards do not. Another reason why I went this way.

nice i did that also i had a i3 4130 until i found a guy on craigslist and bought his 4670k new in a box for 50$ and later sold that for a 4790k cause i needed a 4790k for editing and rendering thats all if it was mainly for gameing than i would stuck with the 4670k and people like me don't need to overclock cause every game i get over 60 fps any ways with a titan x on 1440p and 4k.

[IanDrexP]

you will be fine with that rig just later down the road saved up and get the new pacal gpu from nviida.

 

why do all that hen he can save money and buy new gpu when pascal is inbound while the 750 ti can hold out til than.. your logic so off that you want to downgrade his stuff. he can still use z97 with his cpu and later buy a k series cpu if he went with a h97 then he would be screwed from upgrades.

If he is using a locked CPU then a H97 mobo is PERFECT. You say he is screwed from upgrades with the CPU+mobo I gave him, now what LOGIC is THAT? He would probably upgrade in the next couple of years where it would already be to a new chipset, socket and platform anyways.

 

What LOGIC is skimping on the GPU when he wants to play games like Fallout 4 on high settings? Wait until 2016 to play the games he wants on high settings at above 60fps? 

Only if the stock cooler noise is an issue, would you upgrade the CPU cooler.

The temps are still fine, although they wont be the best, but its fine.

 

 

100% Agree, thats what I ended up doing, right now my needs don't require an i5/i7-K.

Can't say that the future holds up the same, so I went with a Z board so I can use a K-skew later on when my needs require more CPU grunt.

H-boards also limit memory speeds to 1600Mhz (even using XMP), Z-boards do not. Another reason why I went this way.

He has a tight budget, better to use the extra saved on getting the H97 mobo instead of a Z97 to get a better GPU. Also when the time comes that the locked i5 will not be able to run the latest games satisfactorily (which is probably in a few years), it would already be better to upgrade to the latest platform at that time anyways.

 

So what if the H97 chipset limits only to 1600MHz? There is no real world difference between 800MHz to 2400MHz DD3 RAM anyways.

[SkilledRebuilds]

 

So what if the H97 chipset limits only to 1600MHz? There is no real world difference between 800MHz to 2400MHz DD3 RAM anyways.

So what if the real world gaming difference is not much.. its worth mentioning IF HE WANTS to buy faster ram (for whatever reasons)

/Faster memory is used for other things anyway, not Gaming, but thats not the point.

[IanDrexP]

So what if the real world gaming difference is not much.. its worth mentioning IF HE WANTS to buy faster ram (for whatever reasons)

/Faster memory is used for other things anyway, not Gaming, but thats not the point.

What is the point then? He is using the PC for gaming, as the title says. Nothing more and nothing less. He probably doesn't know that higher speed DD3 memory makes no difference in games (gaming, primary use of the OP) compared to the lower speed ones. I just pointed it out because you made the higher memory speed a selling factor to the poster when he has (probably) a different usage scenario compared to you.

[SkilledRebuilds]

What is the point then? He is using the PC for gaming, as the title says. Nothing more and nothing less. He probably doesn't know that higher speed DD3 memory makes no difference in games (gaming, primary use of the OP) compared to the lower speed ones. I just pointed it out because you made the higher memory speed a selling factor to the poster when he has (probably) a different usage scenario compared to you.

Nah I didnt mean it to be a selling factor, just a realization that the OP may need to consider maybe in the future, maybe soon, but no1 mentioned the chipset limitations on memory yet, I truly was in a diff position, replacing my H97 dead motherboard with this Z-97, having my 2400Mhz memory already, didn't wanna lose out on anything.

[IanDrexP]

Nah I didnt mean it to be a selling factor, just a realization that the OP may need to consider maybe in the future, maybe soon, but no1 mentioned the chipset limitations on memory yet, I truly was in a diff position, replacing my H97 dead motherboard with this Z-97, having my 2400Mhz memory already, didn't wanna lose out on anything.

I see I also did not intend to insult your purchase, choice or anything. I just stated facts (only gaming facts) which is all that I know with regards to memory.

[BigDay]

i would still go with a z97 board. they have more features, are better quality, and will allow for upgrades later. keep the hyper 212 evo. go with an r7 370 gpu; it's better than the 750 ti.

 

just buy windows on reddit for 30 bucks. i put in a better psu

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($97.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 370 4GB Nitro Video Card  ($178.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TRENDnet TEW-805UB 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $808.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-08 13:13 EDT-0400

[fwdkiller]

I will choose z97 over h97 im pretty sure haswell will still be good for the next 5 years or so. And for graphics card look on ebay , craigslist for a gtx 970 you might find them for under 250 or less. Or if you on a,fixed income try cuttingedgegamers.com i an currently useing to them for my 2nd titan x at that time i couldnt afford 2 so i decided to try them out.

[fwdkiller]

i would still go with a z97 board. they have more features, are better quality, and will allow for upgrades later. keep the hyper 212 evo. go with an r7 370 gpu; it's better than the 750 ti.

 

just buy windows on reddit for 30 bucks. i put in a better psu

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($27.99 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($97.99 @ B&H)

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($84.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($39.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.00 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 370 4GB Nitro Video Card  ($178.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($18.89 @ OutletPC)

Wireless Network Adapter: TRENDnet TEW-805UB 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($19.99 @ Micro Center)

Total: $808.75

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-08 13:13 EDT-0400

I wouldn't touch AMD im pretty sure he can find a gtx 970 for an extra 40 or so,

[IanDrexP]

I will choose z97 over h97 im pretty sure haswell will still be good for the next 5 years or so. And for graphics card look on ebay , craigslist for a gtx 970 you might find them for under 250 or less. Or if you on a,fixed income try cuttingedgegamers.com i an currently useing to them for my 2nd titan x at that time i couldnt afford 2 so i decided to try them out.

If it will still be good then the i5-4460 is enough.

 

 

I wouldn't touch AMD im pretty sure he can find a gtx 970 for an extra 40 or so,

Dont listen to this Brand racist, AMD GPUs are good.

[fwdkiller]

If it will still be good then the i5-4460 is enough.

Dont listen to this Brand racist, AMD GPUs are good.

Sorry but amd are Junk so is there stock and marketshare.