First Ever Build

[FableOfCable]

I have decided to take a step up in performance. I currently use a laptop hooked up to a monitor for gaming, and it's ok though it cant handle a game like Beam NG Drive very well. I'm considering selling it so I can build a tower PC since the portability is handy, but I don't use it much. I much rather be able to upgrade it and spend less money for significantly better performance. I play a wide variety of games, such as Far Cry 3 and Minecraft (I host a server to play with friends). I want to overclock and am not to concerned about noise, although I prefer a more quiet build because I chat online. I have been asking around and I think I have a pretty refined list. I don't need more peripherals or an OS. The monitor I use is 1080p 60 Hz. I plan on upgrading in the future to 2 way SLI. Performance comes before looks for me, but I don't want a brown case or anything like that. I cant raise my budget any more and lowering the price if possible would be nice. 

 

I made a list on PC Part Picker: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gCgVD3

 

I read reviews and looked at real world benchmarks to come up with these parts. All opinions and personal experiences with these parts are welcome, as that helps me choose better parts. 

[Prömetheus]

Hope ya like it

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($239.99 @ Newegg) 

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

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z87X-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($106.49 @ Newegg) 

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

Storage:  Sandisk  128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.07 @ NCIX US) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.43 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card:  Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($324.99 @ Newegg) 

Case:  Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply:  Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $952.92

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-30 21:01 EDT-0400)

[Megazero]

This will let you have better GPU and SSD (I really dont think 32GB SSD can do much, unless you use it as cache like my laptop did, which is ok but still not as good as an SSD dedicated to the OS). 2 ways SLI isnt very good compare to 1 single powerful card so if you want to do 2 ways 760 it's better to just wait until you have enough money and goes with 780.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)

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

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($81.00 @ Newegg)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($87.32 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.98 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $919.23

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-30 21:03 EDT-0400)

If you are willing to drop the SSD and purchase it later on (like the time you want to upgrade to 2 ways SLI), a 780 is possible within 1000$

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)

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

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($81.00 @ Newegg)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($87.32 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($467.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.98 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $997.24

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-30 21:05 EDT-0400)

If you want to stick with intel CPU, with SSD:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.99 @ NCIX US)

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

Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($106.79 @ Newegg)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($87.32 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.43 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.98 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $983.46

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-30 21:08 EDT-0400)

or without SSD but 780

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.99 @ NCIX US)

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

Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($106.79 @ Newegg)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($87.32 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.43 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($467.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.98 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $1071.47

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-30 21:09 EDT-0400)

Which is really a better choice IMO since I dont like AMD all that much

[Hidden Orange]

Try this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($228.99 @ NCIX US) 

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

Motherboard:  ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($124.02 @ Newegg) 

Memory:  Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  PNY XLR8 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.43 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card:  EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Dual Superclocked ACX Video Card  ($258.50 @ Amazon) 

Case:  Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $927.88

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-30 21:03 EDT-0400)

 

More GPU power; less SSD space.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($239.99 @ Newegg) 

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

Motherboard:  ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($124.02 @ Newegg) 

Memory:  Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.43 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Dual-X Video Card  ($299.99 @ Newegg) 

Case:  Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $920.37

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-30 21:05 EDT-0400)

[Hipstair]

Here you go Fable: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Hippeminecraft/saved/ht7v6h

 

Real quick I'll explain why I chose each part:

CPU: The 8320 is a great cpu. It has 8 cores, which is plenty for gaming or anything else you want to do. And its almost $100 less than the 4670K

CPU Cooler: Although the Hyper 212 Evo is good, The Shadow Rock 2 is better. It cools better. Its quieter. You can even overclock the CPU with this.

Motherboard: Asus makes some good motherboards in terms of features and overclocking and reliability. Plus, it features the 990X Chipset, one of the best on AM3+

Graphics Card: The R9 280x will destroy the 760 and 770. For this price, the 280x is the way to go. Plus, it uses the Asus Direct CU 2 cooler.

Storage: Same hard drive you chose. Seagate hard drives are really good. The SSD has decent capacity and is quite fast, sporting 550mb/s read and 520mb/s write speeds. This build can allow for the 240GB version of this SSD, and it will still be in your budget.

Power Supply: This power supply has and 80+ Gold rating, making it very effiecient. You also have headroom to add a 280x in the future.

Case: For the price, this case is hard to beat. It has pretty much all of the features higher end cases at a much lower price point.

Fans: You need a case intake. Just ask Linus as to why Noctua's fans are amazing.

 

Have fun with your build!

[FableOfCable]

Wow, I didn't think it was possible to get so much performance for $950 and thank you all for the very quick replies. I really don't need to much SSD space because I'm just going to put windows on it. I need to think about what option I will take for a few minutes.

[Hidden Orange]

@Hippeminecraft, you could use the BBcode Markup to make it easier to look at your build.

[Megazero]

Wow, I didn't think it was possible to get so much performance for $950 and thank you all for the very quick replies. I really don't need to much SSD space because I'm just going to put windows on it. I need to think about what option I will take for a few minutes.

Even if you only going to put OS on the SSD, I still think around 64GB is the minumum, cause you will most likely to left your picture and random stuff on the C drive that you usually dont notice.

[FableOfCable]

Well there are ways to reassign paths like pictures on the 1 TB hard drive but you guys have clearly struck a balance and got a 770 in there. In any case, I dont feel like arguing. Extra storage is always welcome if it in budget.