Jump to content

Holiday 2014 Buyer's Guide - Full Component List

nicklmg
 Share
Posted

Our second annual "Holiday Buyer's Guide" for systems at a variety of different price points is here! We'd love to hear your comments on the video as well as our hardware choices.

 

If you are buying something and looking to support Linus Tech Tips but you live in a region not served by the links below, please check out this link for all of our affiliate codes: http://linustechtips...s-and-sponsors/

 

 

"Just Game" ~$600 System (Great PC gaming on t3h cheap)

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 - NCIX, Amazon

Cooling: Stock cooler - FREE
Motherboard: ASUS H81M-E - NCIX, Amazon
Case: Cooler Master Elite 350 + 500W PSU - NCIX, Amazon
Video Card: AMD R7 260X - NCIX, Amazon
RAM: 8GB "whatever" DDR3 - NCIX, Amazon
Hard Drive: WD Green 1TB - NCIX, Amazon
SSD: Kingston V300 120GB NCIX, Amazon
Power Supply: Included in case - N/A
 
Optional Stuff:
OS: Windows 8.1 - NCIX, Amazon
 

 

"Game Now" ~$900-1000 System (Optimal bang for the buck right now)

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 - NCIX, Amazon

Cooling: Cooler Master Hyper 212+ or Evo - NCIX, Amazon
SSD: Intel 520 240GB - NCIX, Amazon
Hard Drive: WD Green 3TB - NCIX, Amazon
Motherboard: ASUS M5A97 R2.0 - NCIX, Amazon
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite - Amazon
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 - NCIX, Amazon
RAM: HyperX Fury Black 16GB - NCIX, Amazon
Power Supply: Corsair CX430W - NCIX, Amazon

 

Optional Stuff:

NVIDIA Shield - NCIX, Amazon

OS: Windows 8.1 - NCIX, Amazon

 

 

"Game On" ~$1700 System (Luxurious & more "futureproof")

 

CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K - NCIX, Amazon

Cooling: Cooler Master Nepton 280L - NCIX, Amazon
SSD: Intel 730 Series 480GB - NCIX, Amazon
Hard Drive: WD Green 6TB - NCIX, Amazon
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-A - NCIX, Amazon
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro - NCIX, Amazon
Video Card: Dual GTX 970 SLI - NCIX, Amazon
RAM: HyperX Fury Black 16GB - NCIX, Amazon
Power Supply: Corsair HX750 - NCIX, Amazon

 

Optional Stuff:

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - NCIX, Amazon

NVIDIA Shield - NCIX, Amazon

OS: Windows 8.1 - NCIX, Amazon

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

YAY, stayed up later than normal tonight for your video

i7 4790k | ASUS Z97 Gryphon | 8GB Corsair XMS3 1333Mhz | Asus Direct CUII GTX 770 1267/3829 | Stock Cooler | Antec Neo Eco 520W | WD Green 1TB


Silverstone TJ08-e | Klipsch Promedia 2.1 | Razer Tiamat 2.2 | LG 24EN43VS | Razer Naga (2010) | Razer Lycosa (2010)


Planned PC Upgrades: https://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=wish_lists&wlcId=325661&action=wish_lists

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

360p. Crap

60FPS Microwave

Intel Core i5-4670K | Galax GTX 970 EXOC | ASRock Z97E-ITX/ac | Team Elite 8GB 1600MHz | Gelid Black Edition | Samsung slowdown + WD Blue 1TB x2 | Cooler Master V550 | Corsair K65 + Logitech G100s | MasterCase Pro 3

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Why the Kingston V300 for the $600 build? We all know, and even Linus has said in the past, that it's a bad choice nowadays. There's much better options for the same price point. (Intel 530, 840 Evo, MX100)

RIP in pepperonis m8s

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Nick, could you please change the font colour for dark theme users please?

Normandy - Intel Core i5 3470, 8 GB Corsair Vengenace LP, EVGA GTX 960 SSC, Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP, WD Blue 1 TB, Seagate 320 GB (steam), Seagate 320 GB (experimental, second OS, etc), Windows 8.1 + Ubuntu 14.10

Garrus - HP Stream 11

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Yay!!!!!

Main PC: Core i5 4670 | MSI Mpower Max z87 | G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4gb | Stock intel cooler | PNY GTX 770 2gb (hoping to upgrade) | Seagate 1tb 7200rpm | Corsair RM850 | Corsair Carbide Air 540 | PCCG custom sleeved black/yellow extensions | Corsair K70 Cherry MX Blue | Corsair M45 |

Phone: LG Nexus 5 | Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-PDG1, Shure SRH440 | Laptop: Asus 303la (i5 model, 1600x900 res) | Motorbikes: 2004 Sherco 290i, 2013 Husqvarna CR125 | Xbox one

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

Nick, could you please change the font colour for dark theme users please?

I changed it to automatic like... 4 times before I posted... is it not working?...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I changed it to automatic like... 4 times before I posted... is it not working?...

its really hard to read  on night theme :huh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I honestly disagree with all of these builds except the first one (even though I would still change the storage)

 

In the 2nd one 16gb is completely unnecessary for most people and since its primary use is gaming I would have put that money into a better CPU, and a personal thing is I wouldn't have gone for that much storage.

 

and in the last one, well, isn't the HX series discontinued or something?

and in the picture it shows a z97 board where you said z87-A.

also storage is WAY overkill for me, a single 500gb 840 evo and a wd green 1tb would be plenty, although I would probably get 2tb for price/performance

 

@LinusTech it seems that these builds are more centered towards what YOU what pick and not the average Joe (or Bob, or Jim, or Steve) would need, and IMHO I believe that you should be more focused on what they would be using the system for, if that makes sense.

CPU: Intel Core i5 4460 | GPU: XFX r9 280x DD BLACK OC EDITION | RAM: 8gb Kingston HyperX Fury 1600Mhz | Mobo: Gigabyte h97n-WIFI | PSU: EVGA 600B | Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 | Cooler: Stock intel | SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120gb | Storage: WD 150 gb

CPU: Intel Core i7 4710MQ | GPU: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 850M | RAM: 8gb Corsair 1600Mhz | Mobo: Metabox WA50SJ Motherboard | Case: Metabox WA50SJ case | Cooler: Stock | SSD: Sandisk 256gb

:wub:  :wub:  :wub: 

Best purchase this year, bcuz forza

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Could you do an Australian build guide for all your Australian viewers? Pretty plz with extra MHz on top

Its when dragons have so much sex that the cpu cant handle it

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

its really hard to read  on night theme :huh:

As far as I know the way to fix it is to change the text coloring to automatic, which I've already done... Anything else that needs to be adjusted?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

As far as I know the way to fix it is to change the text coloring to automatic, which I've already done... Anything else that needs to be adjusted?

I don't know I just started using night theme yesterday :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I noticed the video is hidden on youtube, but maybe that's on purpose?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I agree, some of these options were ludacris imo. 

Glad I am not alone :)

CPU: Intel Core i5 4460 | GPU: XFX r9 280x DD BLACK OC EDITION | RAM: 8gb Kingston HyperX Fury 1600Mhz | Mobo: Gigabyte h97n-WIFI | PSU: EVGA 600B | Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 | Cooler: Stock intel | SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120gb | Storage: WD 150 gb

CPU: Intel Core i7 4710MQ | GPU: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 850M | RAM: 8gb Corsair 1600Mhz | Mobo: Metabox WA50SJ Motherboard | Case: Metabox WA50SJ case | Cooler: Stock | SSD: Sandisk 256gb

:wub:  :wub:  :wub: 

Best purchase this year, bcuz forza

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I honestly disagree with all of these builds except the first one (even though I would still change the storage)

In the 2nd one 16gb is completely unnecessary for most people and since its primary use is gaming I would have put that money into a better CPU, and a personal thing is I wouldn't have gone for that much storage.

and in the last one, well, isn't the HX series discontinued or something?

and in the picture it shows a z97 board where you said z87-A.

also storage is WAY overkill for me, a single 500gb 840 evo and a wd green 1tb would be plenty, although I would probably get 2tb for price/performance

@LinusTech it seems that these builds are more centered towards what YOU what pick and not the average Joe (or Bob, or Jim, or Steve) would need, and IMHO I believe that you should be more focused on what they would be using the system for, if that makes sense.

Disagree on the storage requirements except in the high end build. Games can be 50GB each aside from all the other crap we store on our computers.

If these builds were designed for me they would have no hard drives at all because there would be a central storage server in the house.

As for the downgrade storage to upgrade CPU suggestion for game now I even mentioned this as an option in the video.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

@nicklmg @LinusTech

 

one suggestion is to place all the builds into PCPartPicker but you can set the retailers to NCIX or Amazon

 

I think the Athlon 860K might fit in the between 600 to 900 dollars range just nicely

 

speaking of Athlon 860K Austin Evans made a video review of the 860K

 

will Luke or you be reviewing the 860K in detail? And some comparison between the Pentium G3258 at the same clock speed of 4.5GHz

 

Thanks for the video and post

 

Regards

Dragoon20005

Budget? Uses? Currency? Location? Operating System? Peripherals? Monitor? Use PCPartPicker wherever possible. 

Quote whom you're replying to, and set option to follow your topics. Or Else we can't see your reply.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

For those budgets these are the CPUs and GPUs I would go with. An i3 4150 and R9 270X for the "Just game" build. i5 4430 or any other i5 available around the $180 range with a GTX 970 for the "Game now". i7 and 2 GTX 970s for the "Game on" build.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Disagree on the storage requirements except in the high end build. Games can be 50GB each aside from all the other crap we store on our computers.

I don't own many games :P I said that is what I would do btw

 

 

If these builds were designed for me they would have no hard drives at all because there would be a central storage server in the house.

Good point although when I say that I meant the RAM, I don't see why you would pair a fx 6300 with 16gbs

 

 

As for the downgrade storage to upgrade CPU suggestion for game now I even mentioned this as an option in the video.....

Whoops, my bad.

 

I am not hating, I can see why some people would completely LOVE these builds and it would suit them perfectly, although that person is not me.

 

Your last holiday buyers guide I loved and worshiped it (not really but I did love it) and the high end build was my dream PC at the time, except for the case, which I was stubborn on getting the Thermaltake Chaser A31 (which I don't want anymore) and was probably inspired me the most to start really saving for a PC, thanks.

 

I am literally shaking as I am writing this lol, sooooo much fanboyism!!!

CPU: Intel Core i5 4460 | GPU: XFX r9 280x DD BLACK OC EDITION | RAM: 8gb Kingston HyperX Fury 1600Mhz | Mobo: Gigabyte h97n-WIFI | PSU: EVGA 600B | Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 | Cooler: Stock intel | SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120gb | Storage: WD 150 gb

CPU: Intel Core i7 4710MQ | GPU: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 850M | RAM: 8gb Corsair 1600Mhz | Mobo: Metabox WA50SJ Motherboard | Case: Metabox WA50SJ case | Cooler: Stock | SSD: Sandisk 256gb

:wub:  :wub:  :wub: 

Best purchase this year, bcuz forza

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Nonono. DO NOT reccomend the V300. It WAS awesome, but since then they've switched from synchronous nand to asynchronous nand because it's way cheaper. Making the drive MUCH slower and a real shit option at no matter the price point, there's a reason it's so cheap. They switched it without saying anything to anyone, a real poop move IMHO

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Why the WD Green drives?  I thought the recommendation for a few of those system builds would be WD Blue drives or current Seagate drives (7200 RPM) and there are really good prices on 1 TB and 2 TB for really affordable builds at times.  Also in regards to the SSDs in gaming builds C'MON man as that money could be put towards a MUCH better gaming experience by taking that money and putting it on a better video card purchase.  I looked at NCIX and there are some really sweet deals for cards that could be affordable if the SSD in some of these builds you have OP were cut out.

Too many ****ing games!  Back log 4 life! :S

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I would swap the SSD for a 270x on the first build. While SSD's are a must for the enthusiasts, the average gamer cares more about the graphics than the loading times, I'd put the SSD as optional in the first build.

Edit: Nevermind, just finished watching the video and Linus explained the same thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Found the SLI 970's a very interesting point is this vid. 

In the new year ill e buying and new guts for my rig, and the plan has been a 980 strix.

 

2 970's would allow me to spread the cost out a little, and look awesome in the rig. 

 

decisions decisions decisions.... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I'm disappointed that Linus and the group still have Five Four Club as sponsors. After numerous people say that the service is bad, they still sponsor them. 

My Computer

Beef Cake

Intel i5 4690k @ 3.5GHz - EVGA 970 FTW - ASRock Z97 Extreme3 - Kingston HyperX Fury 8Gb 1866MHz - 120GB Samsung Evo - 1TB Toshiba Drive - 320GB Samsung Barracuda - Corsair 500M

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

In this video I heard Linus mention 'Light content creation' what exactly would be considered light content creation?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing LTT Releases

×