$1000ish Gaming PC [First Build]

[Hunched]

Excluding keyboard and mouse it's $1200 CAD, which is $1075 USD, so a bit over budget.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/Hunched/saved/tVKscf

 

 

The things I'm most willing to change are the case, motherboard, and power supply.

 

For cases I'm looking for something under $100 with a window, dust filters, and good airflow.

The NZXT S340 and Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 are what have caught my eye that meet those requirements.

 

For a motherboard, the Asus Z97-A and Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 are what I've noticed, don't know which is better.

 

For a power supply I was looking for something at least 500W 80+ Gold and fully modular. The G2 seems to be the cheapest good one meeting those requirements.

 

GPU wise, I was looking at either the Asus or Gigabyte 970, was planning on going with the Asus, but since last night its price went up by $70 because Canada, so I don't know.

 

With SSD's there's been bad news about the Samsung 840 Evo's recently so I switched to a Crucial MX100

 

Everyone says i7's are pointless for gaming so I'm going with the best i5

 

Logitech seems like they have the best mice.

 

I chose the keyboard I did because it was the cheapest one that wasn't bad with Cherry MX Red switches.

 

I'm using a Z97 and a 4690k with a stock fan because I don't know if it's worth the small amount of money saved to permanently deny any future choices I may make.

Though again, I don't understand why everyone loves overclocking so much, it seems to give hardly any performance gains in games from what I've found, I feel like I'm missing something.

 

 

Please criticize or suggest changes for this build, it's why I'm posting this, I probably did something wrong or got something not as good as something else for cheaper or the same price, or even a tiny bit more.

Thanks

 

 

[SAV1OUR]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($246.97 @ DirectCanada) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.79 @ DirectCanada) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($132.98 @ DirectCanada) 

Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($89.99 @ NCIX) 

Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.99 @ NCIX) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($55.98 @ DirectCanada) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($380.00) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 3000 USB 3.0 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.95 @ Vuugo) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($82.24 @ DirectCanada) 

Mouse: Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse  ($62.98 @ DirectCanada) 

Total: $1297.85

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-02 21:03 EDT-0400

[Hunched]

It would be appreciated if people stated the reasons why they're recommending the parts they've changed in the build.

Or else I have to ask why for every part...

 

Why a Hyper 212 Evo if I'm not overclocking?

Why the MSI motherboard over the Gigabyte or Asus?

Why did you change the RAM? It seems to be the same thing but with worse cas latency

and so on...

 

I'd like feedback, not uninformative lists. Sorry if this post seems rude.

[Megazero]

It would be appreciated if people stated the reasons why they're recommending the parts they've changed in the build.

Or else I have to ask why for every part...

 

Why a Hyper 212 Evo if I'm not overclocking?

Why the MSI motherboard over the Gigabyte or Asus?

Why did you change the RAM?

and so on...

 

I'd like feedback, not uninformative lists. Sorry if this posts seems rude.

if you are not OCing why are you getting a K version of the CPU and the Z97 Mobo? Either way a 212 Evo will help cool your CPU better and probably extend the CPU life time.

He probably choose the G55 to make the build cheaper for you, the build quality between those 3 is pretty much the same, with ASUS do come out alittle better but at a much higher price for around the same feature.

[Hunched]

if you are not OCing why are you getting a K version of the CPU and the Z97 Mobo? Either way a 212 Evo will help cool your CPU better and probably extend the CPU life time.

He probably choose the G55 to make the build cheaper for you, the build quality between those 3 is pretty much the same, with ASUS do come out alittle better but at a much higher price for around the same feature.

I stated in the very first post why I was thinking of going with the K version and Z97. I admit I may be completely wrong in doing so.

I feel like if I ever do decide to overclock, I wouldn't barely do it. I'd probably go full on water cooling, go big or go home. I don't feel I'm quite ready for it though.

I'll go with the 212 Evo if it's really worth it. If I ever feel confident enough or want more performance, I'd get a $100 liquid cooler and OC.

A lot of people think the stock cooler is ugly, I get that, but honestly, I find the giant chrome brick to be even worse looking lol.

 

I'll look into the MSI G55 more. I was just under the impression Asus and Gigabyte had the best build quality, but I really don't know, I'm new to all this stuff, which is why I'm here.

[bostonstapler]

gtx 970 strix from asus price went up to 449$ from 379$. Heads up if you were leaning towards this card on ncix. Good thing i purchased , well pre-purchased for 379.99$ : )

[Hunched]

gtx 970 strix from asus price went up to 449$ from 379$. Heads up if you were leaning towards this card on ncix. Good thing i purchased , well pre-purchased for 379.99$ : )

Yea, it's stupid.

 

S340's are now in stock, so I could order everything but the GPU and have it all built and ready for when their prices become not stupid again.