Starting a build with a limited budget.

[Cody_Jones]

Hey guys, I'm a newbie here lol. But, I'm starting a gaming PC build after being out of the PC gaming scene for a few years. I've been messing around on consoles a lot the past couple of years, as it was what my friends were doing, so I ignored the obvious superiority of PC gaming vs console solely to jump on the current bandwagon at the time. A lot of my RL friends arent exactly hardcore gamers, so even mentioning a gaming build to them gets the typical looks and comments we all have learned to expect from the console fanboys.

Anyway, to the point. As I said, I'm starting a new build but my budget is considerably limited. I was paralyzed last year in an ATV accident and am unable to work at the moment so my only source of income is disability. So this means the build will likely take a couple of months to accumulate the necessary parts.

That said, I want to build a PC at/or around the $1500USD mark, maybe less, maybe a bit more. I would like above 8gb of RAM as I do a lot of rendering and Photoshop based things and prefer quick render times of course. But that is mostly a secondary concern. It is going to be mostly a gaming machine. BF4, Crisis, skyrim and etc. Basically the typical gaming preferences at this moment in time.

I have followed Linus' vids on YouTube for a while and of course have been referencing his reviews for future purchases. But we all know how fast this market evolves and changes, so I'm asking you guys for suggestions at this moment in time. I'd like a machine that would last a year or two without any major upgrades. Peripherals are a useful tip as well, I already have the basics ( monitor, keyboard, mouse, lacking headset. ). But plan on upgrading, but aren't extremely necessary purchases at this point. Will be a Windows machine, possibly dual boot Ubuntu.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time guys,.

[dizmo]

Instead of shelling out money for more RAM, if you're doing a lot of PS you could just get a small 32gb or 64gb SSD and use it as a scratch disk.

Does your build need peripherals, Windows, monitor etc?

If you're building up over time I'd just wait until the 900 series Nvidia stuff comes out.

[SAV1OUR]

$1500 what? potato's? 

please read before posting 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/

use the quote button if you want my help 

[Cody_Jones]

$1500 what? potato's? 

please read before posting 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/

use the quote button if you want my help

USD. Fixing.

[SAV1OUR]

USD. Fixing.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($339.93 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($146.97 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Corsair Force LX Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($373.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1374.81

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-15 02:01 EDT-0400

[Cody_Jones]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($339.93 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($146.97 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Corsair Force LX Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($373.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1374.81

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-15 02:01 EDT-0400

Wow, quick reponse. Thanks alot man. Is the R9 290 really the best option around this price range? I've watched reviews of it, but that really doesn't give you a true sense of what it would be like to own one day to day if you understand where i'm coming from. Apologies for not reading the post you mentioned, I posted this on my mobile and it can be a little frustrating at times on forums with a phone.

[SAV1OUR]

Wow, quick reponse. Thanks alot man. Is the R9 290 really the best option around this price range? I've watched reviews of it, but that really doesn't give you a true sense of what it would be like to own one day to day if you understand where i'm coming from. Apologies for not reading the post you mentioned, I posted this on my mobile and it can be a little frustrating at times on forums with a phone.

290 has the best bang for the buck out there and is pretty much equal to the 780, and yea the ipboard for the sites pretty shitty 

[Cody_Jones]

290 has the best bang for the buck out there and is pretty much equal to the 780, and yea the ipboard for the sites pretty shitty 

Yeah the 780 is an easy 500-600 bucks at this point too.. way outside my price range