ATL3129

Wow, I can probably go ahead and remove this thread. I've been spending so much time reading reviews and cards and stuff, I tend to overthink obvious things. Thank you!

So, as a noob and building my very first PC, I realized that that my graphics card (ASUS R9 390 STRIX) has only one DVI port, one HDMI port, and 3 display ports. The monitors that I am considering buying (BenQ RL2455HM) do not have display ports, only HDMI and DVI. I bought the GPU already, not the monitors.... I thought the obvious solution was just to get a simple DVI Y-Splitter, but I'm reading horrible reviews claiming a huge drop off in video quality, less than 720p presumably. Unless of course, I get some fancy box which essentially works like Y-splitter but it is powered and exponentially more expensive than a simple dongle (http://www.amazon.com/Sewell-Xponent-1x2-Splitter-2560%C3'> Are the reviews wrong and a simple Y-splitter dongle would be fine for the monitors and graphics card I'm using? What are some of your personal experiences with this issue? Is there a good "gaming" monitor out there that has a display port and HDMI you could recommend for under $200? The HDMI is important as I want to be able to switch to my PS4 at any given time. I really appreciate your feedback and help!

Well, I've already pulled the trigger on a few items that I seriously doubt will get a whole lot better in price than what I found. For $162, I got: The EVGA 120-G1-0750-XR Fully Modular Power Supply for $49.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438027 The OCZ Trion 100 2.5" 240GB SSD for $59.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820228135 WD Blue 1TB HD for $51.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339 Now, after doing some more research, I'm heavily leaning toward the Xeon E3-1231 v3, especially since I'm not likely to overclock this particular machine. The xeon chip will be excellent for all of the editing and productivity stuff I'll be doing. As for gaming, I understand it will perform about the same as the i7 4790 (when not OC), and at $16-25 more than the i5 4690k (depending on where you look), it seems to be worth it. I am getting 16 GB (2x8) of DDR3 1600MHz of RAM and a case from a friend of mine, so I don't have to worry about that. I don't really expect he Xeon chip to be much less than what it is now ($232), so that leaves about $300-400 to spend on a motherboard and graphics card - maybe more depending on the deals I can find for the monitors and other peripherals. If I learned anything about building a PC on a budget, it is to cheap out on certain things so you can dump the rest of your budget into the GPU. I may go for the R9 390 as it seems to be a way better card than the 380 for $100 more. The price/performance winner seems to be the 380, but if the 390 comes down under $300, I have to think that would be worth it (SuperBiiz already has it at $309.98). What do you guys think?

And cyber Monday! I'm absolutely going to wait until the sales start which is why I'm asking now. I want to be ready for what to look for and have some options so that I can get the best rig possible... Just need help in figuring out exactly what are some good options based on my needs and this forum has done an excellent job in explaining that, so thank you!

Thanks, jimakos! Haven't really heard much about the Xeon processors. I found some pretty good reviews on this particular one and It definitely makes sense why you would recommend it over, say the i7 4790. I definitely appreciate the alternatives and certainly has me thinking about what I can use on a different level. It will ultimately come down to the deals I'm going to be able to find when the sales hit after Thanksgiving. Thanks again!

Thanks, I appreciate it! Kloaked picked out the intel i5 4690k quad core processor which seems like it will do the job quite nicely. Now, I understand that this has essentially half the cores as the AMD processor I was looking at. While the specs on paper seem to make the AMD look more powerful, why is intel still preferred? What are those extra cores in the AMD really giving you, if anything?

I see, thank you!

Awesome, thank you! I actually neglected to mention I have a nice case a friend gave me. This definitely helps. EDIT: Wow, just noticed that you kept the same graphics card I was looking at, and found it a bit cheaper. Thoroughly happy with your suggestion and it didn't break the budget! Thanks again!

Would you agree that AMD in general is not good for gaming, or just their FX-series of processors? Would there be another AMD processor you might recommend for gaming?

Given that this is something I've put off for a year or two, I'm ready now. Perhaps a future build will go include the Zen. My MacBook Pro just isn't cutting it any more to do everything I want, and I obviously can't game much on it either lol.

Not a problem! I'll need 2 monitors. I'd prefer IPS panels but it doesn't have to be. I'm guessing just about any monitor would be ok for console gaming since the refresh rate can only go as fast as the HDMI 2.0 port will allow it? I ask as I'd also probably use one to plug my ps4 in when I'm playing that as well. For the keyboard, I'd prefer a mechanical, MX Cherry-Brown switches would be ideal but I'd be willing to sacrifice my keyboard, mouse, and speakers for say, better monitors or something else if I had to. The speakers can be basic, I'll be investing in a quality headset once I get some more money in a few months. But for now I'll just need some decent, basic audio.

LOL very true! Just a properly working, cost-efficient, jumble of mix-matched parts then

Well, for the hardware aspect of the build. I'm literally starting from scratch, so when I factor I'll also need two monitors, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc. I'll end up at around $1500.

Thanks, Kloaked, I'm looking at a total budget of $1500 which would account for monitors, speakers, keyboard, mouse, and speakers. I'm literally starting from scratch.

Why not AMD at this moment?