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$1200 school/gaming rig

chattychad2
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So I am planning to build a gaming pc that also works for school for the next school year (September). I have 2 builds created on pcpartpicker:

 

 
CPU:  AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($154.97 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler:  Enermax ETS-T40-BK 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($118.00 @ Newegg) 
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II  Video Card  ($309.99 @ Amazon) 
Case:  NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ NCIX US) 
Monitor:  Asus VX238H 23.0" Monitor  ($139.99 @ Micro Center) 
Total: $1177.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-30 19:43 EDT-0400)
 
and 
 
 
CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($229.98 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($141.98 @ OutletPC) 
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II  Video Card  ($309.99 @ Amazon) 
Case:  NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor:  Asus VX238H 23.0" Monitor  ($139.99 @ Micro Center) 
Total: $1304.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-30 20:00 EDT-0400)
 
I picked the t40 over the evo in the first build purely because its blue and the phantom case cause it looks cool. I picked the 770 cause it fits in my budget and shadowplay seems useful but I'm still considering AMD gpus as well. Also note that I'm not TOO far from a Micro Center and they offer the I5 it for the same price as the 8320 I think. So which build is better and what changes can I make to make it even more so?
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So I am planning to build a gaming pc that also works for school for the next school year (September). I have 2 builds created on pcpartpicker:

 

 
CPU:  AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($154.97 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler:  Enermax ETS-T40-BK 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($118.00 @ Newegg) 
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II  Video Card  ($309.99 @ Amazon) 
Case:  NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ NCIX US) 
Monitor:  Asus VX238H 23.0" Monitor  ($139.99 @ Micro Center) 
Total: $1177.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-30 19:43 EDT-0400)
 
and 
 
 
CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($229.98 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($141.98 @ OutletPC) 
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($80.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II  Video Card  ($309.99 @ Amazon) 
Case:  NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor:  Asus VX238H 23.0" Monitor  ($139.99 @ Micro Center) 
Total: $1304.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-30 20:00 EDT-0400)
 
I picked the t40 over the evo in the first build purely because its blue and the phantom case cause it looks cool. I picked the 770 cause it fits in my budget and shadowplay seems useful but I'm still considering AMD gpus as well. Also note that I'm not TOO far from a Micro Center and they offer the I5 it for the same price as the 8320 I think. So which build is better and what changes can I make to make it even more so?

 

Second one for sure

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I don't have a steady income... I just saved up 1200 from past allowances and other stuff so it will probably take a looooooooong time before I can save up another $80 unless I go ham and skip 2 meals a day :/ I guess that makes this a really budget tight build but I not really?

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I don't have a steady income... I just saved up 1200 from past allowances and other stuff so it will probably take a looooooooong time before I can save up another $80 unless I go ham and skip 2 meals a day :/ I guess that makes this a really budget tight build but I not really?

You should for sure get the first one. The second one is better but it wont really be that noticeable unless you are a frames snob like me... Lol. You should be perfectly fine with the first one

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For what school purposes? If only for Office Products like Word and Powerpoint, you really won't need that much power.

 

Are you planning on overclocking? 

 

What games are you planning to play.

 

You can get by with a $700~$800 build that is already 1080p capable.

 

It's better to save money than use it all on the desktop especially if you are a student. That $500 can already buy you alot of stuff.

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I think I'll use this desktop mainly for gaming but also a little bit of school work and I don't want to replace any of the parts anytime soon (2-3 years?) so I feel like something of this budget would last me a little longer than the $700 -$800 builds. I like to play games like COD, graphically intense MMORPGs like Blade and Soul, League of Legends, Watch Dogs (cause it comes with the GPU) etc. I'll probably attempt to overclock the cpu and gpu for the first time because I would like to squeeze out more performance. I am also thinking that even if I do upgrade if the future that I don't want to replace every part of the computer so going with more capable parts would be a good investment.

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