$2000 Gaming PC

[Guest Philosophy]

Hello, I am by no means new to this but I figure Ill get the communities opinion before buying and building this. I want to build an awesome gaming rig for a friend for Christmas. So him and I can both use PC (He plays on PS4 currently). I need some extra in the budget for a mech keyboard and a nice mouse, I am going to buy all peripherals at fry's.  Anyway here are the specs. 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LkzsjX

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LkzsjX/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($329.99 @ Newegg) 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($94.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($121.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($129.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Toshiba  2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($549.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.00 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: NZXT HALE82 V2 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($102.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1682.89

[AlwaysFSX]

I like what I see, for the most part. Is this pretty much strictly a gaming PC?

[Guest Philosophy]

I like what I see, for the most part. Is this pretty much strictly a gaming PC?

He does so photo editing and programming also. He is a computer science major. 

[sabot]

If you can put a little money into the gpu and get two 970s, you will have a lot more performance as per Linus's most recent vid!

[ImBleu]

http://youtu.be/3jDXbYuNf_s?t=7m43s

 

Why not just have Linus's opinion? 

 

This is what he reckons the best you could get is at $2000

[AlwaysFSX]

http://youtu.be/3jDXbYuNf_s?t=7m43s

 

Why not just have Linus's opinion? 

 

This is what he reckons the best you could get is at $2000

Because Linus can make some pretty...strange builds.

 

He does so photo editing and programming also. He is a computer science major. 

Just a few changes, only my thoughts.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.29 @ Amazon)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($109.99 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($131.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: Team Dark Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($134.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Toshiba  2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($79.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($342.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($342.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($98.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Amazon)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($99.98 @ OutletPC)

Total: $1725.16

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 09:59 EST-0500

[Guest Philosophy]

http://youtu.be/3jDXbYuNf_s?t=7m43s

 

Why not just have Linus's opinion? 

 

This is what he reckons the best you could get is at $2000

 

 

If you can put a little money into the gpu and get two 970s, you will have a lot more performance as per Linus's most recent vid!

 

For 1440p gaming I do not need dual 970s though, I put more into the processor and other parts of the build. He does do some editing of photo and video. I feel as mine is little more rounded and not strictly for 4k gaming. 

[MasterRaceFanBoy]

better ssd, ram and psu.. oc this i5 to 4.8 and he'll be more than fine.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.29 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($94.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($121.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Team Vulcan GOLD 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($134.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Toshiba  2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($79.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($549.95 @ B&H) 

Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($98.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1564.13

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 10:09 EST-0500

[Guest]

Faster Ram

 

The EVGA Supernova G2 750W will allow for SLI in the future. It is also at a crazy price of $79.99 after rebate. It is one of the best psu's on the market.

 

The GTX 970 is far far better value than the GTX 980. Also the Asus Strix has zero fan mode so it will be quiet when doing other things besides gaming.

 

The Gigabyte Sniper is a great gaming board, and has some of the best on board sound.

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G1.SNIPER Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($81.90 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($342.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($98.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ NCIX US) 

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($99.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1567.78

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-14 10:14 EST-0500

[pikkie-mahn-mastah]

I don't know about your friend, but I'd rather have the parts given to me so I can build it, either by myself or with the friend that gave them to me. Will you be building it first?

[Guest Philosophy]

I don't know about your friend, but I'd rather have the parts given to me so I can build it, either by myself or with the friend that gave them to me. Will you be building it first?

I could do either, he has never built a computer. So I could give him the parts and help him build it. Either is a viable option. 

[thegamezbeplayed]

He does so photo editing and programming also. He is a computer science major. 

 

 

id recommend an i7 5820k

 

and put a noctua nh d15 on it

 

he doesnt need dual 970's id swap for a better single card and get the i7 for the content creation capabilites

[thegamezbeplayed]

i also feel you are cheaping out on the psu atleast get gold. 

 

i think this system will pull about 470 watts on a good load. 550 is cutting it close. typically you want headroom on a psu