$1000 build advice.

[tlmills82]

I've been looking for a while and posting quite a bit recently about PC builds.  I finally got the go ahead from the boss (my wife) to spend $1000 on a new unit.  I'm looking to play as many games at as close to max as possible.

 

I'm planning on getting the ASUS VG248QE from where I work as I'll get it for a few dollars cheaper than online since I get a discount, so I'd like to get as high of FPS as possible.

 

I do not need a keyboard or mouse and don't include the monitor in the cost as it's going to come from somewhere else.  If you can squeeze windows 8.1 in that'd be great, but I can always run Linux or something .

 

I play mainly World of Warcraft, as well as skyrim, call of duty, BF4, Diablo 3 and such, but I would love to play some newer games, my pc just won't handle it.

 

Also wouldn't mind room for SLI or Xfire in the future.

 

SO far I have:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($116.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($117.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card  ($249.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $835.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 22:21 EST-0500

[Aniallation]

280X isn't going to be able to get 144FPS in those games anyways?

[KayTees]

Grip a 290 and a 750 watt G2 Super nova and a case v and it should look good

[RevoltTrain]

For the price of that 280X you could get a XFX R9 290. A much better card.

[mosin40]

This one is waaaay better:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Crucial V4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.95 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($268.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $956.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 22:25 EST-0500

Edited February 7, 2015 by mosin40

[Laputacake]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($101.99 @ Adorama)

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB AMP! Omega Core Edition Video Card ($365.91 @ Newegg)

Total: $901.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 22:26 EST-0500

[Xaring]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($101.99 @ Adorama)

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB AMP! Omega Core Edition Video Card ($365.91 @ Newegg)

Total: $901.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 22:26 EST-0500

 

I vote ^1+ to this ^^^^^^

[Imakuni]

With Windows, as you requested. Has a red theme, and can SLI:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($57.80 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($39.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($52.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($92.00 @ B&H)
Total: $986.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 22:33 EST-0500

[Imakuni]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($101.99 @ Adorama)

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB AMP! Omega Core Edition Video Card ($365.91 @ Newegg)

Total: $901.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 22:26 EST-0500

I vote ^1+ to this ^^^^^^

+ Windows.

 

EDIT: YAAAAAAAY, 1000TH POST!!!!

[Xaring]

+ Windows.

Why would you?! Just use Ubuntu (lol)

[Imakuni]

Why would you?! Just use Ubuntu (lol)

Ye, I tried once as a kid. It never got the PC to work. Turns out it was the RAM stick that died, but it got me traumatized ever since

[Clear17Mud]

Well I think that you wanted everything plus monitor for $1000 so thats what I did theme is Grey, white and black

I went over because of windows 8.1, and ram is easily upgrade able if you really need more(I know 4Gb isn't a lot). You could cross fire in the futer

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($100.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Mushkin Silverline 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($79.98 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($279.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Micro Center) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($265.00) 

Total: $1124.61

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 22:43 EST-0500

[tlmills82]

@Laputacake @Xaring @mosin40

 

How would something like this work? I forgot to mention I have a WD Black hard drive I'll be reusing.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($57.80 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($113.16 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($74.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $991.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-07 04:24 EST-0500

 

I am open to using a different case, I thought about using the NZXT S340, but I wouldn't mind the optical drive bay (to reuse my old DVD-RW drive) and the lack of anti vibration mounts for the hard drive kind of worries me.

So the case is a "up for debate" topic.  I would like a quality case, but I am open to suggestions.

 

Also would it be worth the extra money ($25) over my budget to go with this power supply?  http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

[Laputacake]

@Laputacake @Xaring @mosin40

How would something like this work? I forgot to mention I have a WD Black hard drive I'll be reusing.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($57.80 @ Newegg)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($113.16 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $991.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-07 04:24 EST-0500

I am open to using a different case, I thought about using the NZXT S340, but I wouldn't mind the optical drive bay (to reuse my old DVD-RW drive) and the lack of anti vibration mounts for the hard drive kind of worries me.

So the case is a "up for debate" topic. I would like a quality case, but I am open to suggestions.

Also would it be worth the extra money ($25) over my budget to go with this power supply? http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

That'd work

[Xaring]

Yup, that build is alright.

[Imakuni]

 

@Laputacake @Xaring @mosin40

 

How would something like this work? I forgot to mention I have a WD Black hard drive I'll be reusing.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($57.80 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($113.16 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($74.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $991.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-07 04:24 EST-0500

 

I am open to using a different case, I thought about using the NZXT S340, but I wouldn't mind the optical drive bay (to reuse my old DVD-RW drive) and the lack of anti vibration mounts for the hard drive kind of worries me.

So the case is a "up for debate" topic.  I would like a quality case, but I am open to suggestions.

 

Also would it be worth the extra money ($25) over my budget to go with this power supply?  http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

 

Build approved.

 

Also, those 25$ might come in handy, due to being +gold. Depending on location and usage, it might even pay itself with time. Time to get back to math class!

[Guest]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($106.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($63.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($101.99 @ Adorama) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 290 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($239.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1008.61

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-07 11:18 EST-0500

[SteveGrabowski]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchantCPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz)CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz)Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($101.99 @ Adorama)Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB AMP! Omega Core Edition Video Card ($365.91 @ Newegg)Total: $901.86Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when availableGenerated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 22:26 EST-0500

I'd hold off on the aftermarket cooler on that build. You wouldn't believe how cool these Haswell Refresh Xeons run. Mine maxed out at 55C while playing Crysis 3 on very high for a couple of hours, and that's the hottest I have ever seen it gaming. It occasionally hits the 80s in Prime95 but is mostly in the 70s then.

[SteveGrabowski]

@Laputacake @Xaring @mosin40 How would something like this work? I forgot to mention I have a WD Black hard drive I'll be reusing. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.99 @ SuperBiiz) Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz) Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($57.80 @ Newegg) Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($113.16 @ Amazon) Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz) Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($74.99 @ NCIX US) Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz) Total: $991.86Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when availableGenerated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-07 04:24 EST-0500 I am open to using a different case, I thought about using the NZXT S340, but I wouldn't mind the optical drive bay (to reuse my old DVD-RW drive) and the lack of anti vibration mounts for the hard drive kind of worries me.So the case is a "up for debate" topic.  I would like a quality case, but I am open to suggestions. Also would it be worth the extra money ($25) over my budget to go with this power supply?  http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

I'd spend the extra on the EVGA G2 personally. It has a ten year warranty and the OEM is Super Flower, who makes outstanding PSUs. That's a pretty killer build, though I'd also opt for the Gigabyte G1 gaming over the Strix if you can fit it in your budget.

[tlmills82]

Build approved.

 

Also, those 25$ might come in handy, due to being +gold. Depending on location and usage, it might even pay itself with time. Time to get back to math class!

  

Yup, that build is alright.

  

That'd work

What about the case?

 

The plan is to add a closed loop cooler eventually.

[tlmills82]

I'd spend the extra on the EVGA G2 personally. It has a ten year warranty and the OEM is Super Flower, who makes outstanding PSUs. That's a pretty killer build, though I'd also opt for the Gigabyte G1 gaming over the Strix if you can fit it in your budget.

So the gigabyte is worth the extra $25ish?

[Imakuni]

 

What about the case?

 

The plan is to add a closed loop cooler eventually.

 

So the gigabyte is worth the extra $25ish?

Meh, forget all of that. You are going for a custom loop. You'll need a reference PCB.

 

Get this card. It's your best bet.

[tlmills82]

Meh, forget all of that. You are going for a custom loop. You'll need a reference PCB.

 

Get this card. It's your best bet.

I guess I should have said aio liquid cooler.

[Imakuni]

I guess I should have said aio liquid cooler.

Will you watercool the GPUs? If YES, then get the EVGA card, hands down. You don't even have the option of getting another card.

 

If you said NO, then we get back to our debate. For 33$ (it's not 25$ difference, it's 33), I don't find the G1 worth it. It does run cooler and it does OC better. But not without it's costs. It's also much larger, so it ruins the airflow inside the case. It lacks the 0 db feature, so it still makes noise while idle, while building up dust. It's also more noisy under load, that's just how their cooler is. And ofc, it's a lot more expensive.

 

But that's for you to decide. As I said, I don't think it's worth it. But as you have seen from @SteveGrabowski 's post, he thinks it is. It comes down to preference.

[tlmills82]

Will you watercool the GPUs? If YES, then get the EVGA card, hands down. You don't even have the option of getting another card.

 

If you said NO, then we get back to our debate. For 33$ (it's not 25$ difference, it's 33), I don't find the G1 worth it. It does run cooler and it does OC better. But not without it's costs. It's also much larger, so it ruins the airflow inside the case. It lacks the 0 db feature, so it still makes noise while idle, while building up dust. It's also more noisy under load, that's just how their cooler is. And ofc, it's a lot more expensive.

 

But that's for you to decide. As I said, I don't think it's worth it. But as you have seen from @SteveGrabowski 's post, he thinks it is. It comes down to preference.

Thanks for the info. I will not be watercooling the GPU