[US] $1800-$1900 PC Build - Gaming & Other - Asking for Opinions!

[EChondo]

Hey gals/guys, my cousin has decided in the last month that he wants to build a PC and has been reading and watching various sources on what a PC is, the components, how to build one, etc. He has obtained a very good grasp on computers with very little help from me and he has been planning a partlist to purchase hopefully within the next week.
 
We are both in the U.S. in Southern California and he has a current budget of $1900, but staying under that is his goal. He will be using this computer for web browsing, gaming, media consuming, programming, and possibly other things in the future like video editing/rendering and 3D work. He wants an Ultra-Wide monitor and already has a TV in his room, so two displays for now, but he might want to expand to two 21:9 displays in the future. He won't be needing an OS since he already has a copy of Windows 7, but he will need a keyboard/mouse. He doesn't have a prior desktop to use parts from; he currently is using a medium spec MSI laptop from 2-3 years ago and it has provided him what he needs for mobility, but he would like a more stationary system for more performance heavy tasks.
 
His current part list:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme6/ac ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($91.00 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($333.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: LG 25UM57-P 60Hz 25.0" Monitor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Ultimate Wired Gaming Keyboard ($111.98 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse ($57.30 @ Newegg)
Total: $1678.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-21 20:33 EDT-0400

 

Now some of you might be asking why almost everything is from Newegg? Well there is a great explanation for that. Other stores that he can buy the parts from, like SuperBiiz, do have cheaper prices due to discounts, but these discounts only apply to one item per household, but PCPartPicker doesn't know this and applies discounts to all the parts from SuperBiiz. Also SuperBiiz doesn't have public shipping prices, so after making an account and seeing that most of the stuff isn't free shipping from them, then it doesn't really make a difference at all to buy from SuperBiiz when Newegg is cheaper or the same price due to high shipping costs. Also after adding everything to the cart in Newegg, due to most of the items being "Free Shipping" and since we are ordering so much from Newegg, 8 of the parts will only cost my cousin $1.49 to ship, the case and monitor will be $9.99 to ship(supposedly it'd be one box and the case is $9.99 to ship anyway).

 

Also we are fortunate enough to live within driving distance of a Micro Center. We will be going to Micro Center sometime soon to buy the CPU at the in-store price and if any of his other parts are there for the same price, like the case, then he will more than likely purchase them at Micro Center as well to lower shipping costs if possible. I know he doesn't have a CPU cooler, but he has decided that he will be using a stock one until he decides on either a AIO or an air cooler. Also he doesn't have Ethernet in his room yet(I'll be doing that this Summer), so WiFi is required, thus the motherboard 

 

So now that I have explained everything I can think of, what do all of you, the LTT community, think about his planned partlist? What would you change? What don't you like? Any questions or concerns? Criticism is completely warranted at this moment since next week this will be finalized(unless something happens of course).

[food158]

I think it's a pretty good build but needs tweaks. IMO, the hard drive should be bumped up to a Western Digital Blue and the ram should be a little bit stronger. Otherwise, it seems pretty good.

[SteveGrabowski0]

Hey gals/guys, my cousin has decided in the last month that he wants to build a PC and has been reading and watching various sources on what a PC is, the components, how to build one, etc. He has obtained a very good grasp on computers with very little help from me and he has been planning a partlist to purchase hopefully within the next week.

 

We are both in the U.S. in Southern California and he has a current budget of $1900, but staying under that is his goal. He will be using this computer for web browsing, gaming, media consuming, programming, and possibly other things in the future like video editing/rendering and 3D work. He wants an Ultra-Wide monitor and already has a TV in his room, so two displays for now, but he might want to expand to two 21:9 displays in the future. He won't be needing an OS since he already has a copy of Windows 7, but he will need a keyboard/mouse. He doesn't have a prior desktop to use parts from; he currently is using a medium spec MSI laptop from 2-3 years ago and it has provided him what he needs for mobility, but he would like a more stationary system for more performance heavy tasks.

 

His current part list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Micro Center)

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme6/ac ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($183.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($91.00 @ Newegg)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($333.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.98 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)

Monitor: LG 25UM57-P 60Hz 25.0" Monitor ($199.99 @ Newegg)

Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Ultimate Wired Gaming Keyboard ($111.98 @ Newegg)

Mouse: Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse ($57.30 @ Newegg)

Total: $1678.17

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-21 20:33 EDT-0400

 

Now some of you might be asking why almost everything is from Newegg? Well there is a great explanation for that. Other stores that he can buy the parts from, like SuperBiiz, do have cheaper prices due to discounts, but these discounts only apply to one item per household, but PCPartPicker doesn't know this and applies discounts to all the parts from SuperBiiz. Also SuperBiiz doesn't have public shipping prices, so after making an account and seeing that most of the stuff isn't free shipping from them, then it doesn't really make a difference at all to buy from SuperBiiz when Newegg is cheaper or the same price due to high shipping costs. Also after adding everything to the cart in Newegg, due to most of the items being "Free Shipping" and since we are ordering so much from Newegg, 8 of the parts will only cost my cousin $1.49 to ship, the case and monitor will be $9.99 to ship(supposedly it'd be one box and the case is $9.99 to ship anyway).

 

Also we are fortunate enough to live within driving distance of a Micro Center. We will be going to Micro Center sometime soon to buy the CPU at the in-store price and if any of his other parts are there for the same price, like the case, then he will more than likely purchase them at Micro Center as well to lower shipping costs if possible. I know he doesn't have a CPU cooler, but he has decided that he will be using a stock one until he decides on either a AIO or an air cooler. Also he doesn't have Ethernet in his room yet(I'll be doing that this Summer), so WiFi is required, thus the motherboard 

 

So now that I have explained everything I can think of, what do all of you, the LTT community, think about his planned partlist? What would you change? What don't you like? Any questions or concerns? Criticism is completely warranted at this moment since next week this will be finalized(unless something happens of course).

 

I say wait a month for the new GPUs. On a $1600-$1900 budget I'd want a better GPU than a GTX 970. A GTX 970 isn't going to push 60 fps locked at that resolution on ultra settings (a single 980 wouldn't either though). $170 on a keyboard + mouse is kind of ridiculous too. I'd also just buy 8GB RAM right now and wait until he actually needs more to buy 8GB extra.

[thekeemo]

also dont get hte RM go with a G2

also consider a K70

motherboard is ridiculously priced go with something like a G45 or gaming 3 from msi

[Octavialicious]

I think it's a pretty good build but needs tweaks. IMO, the hard drive should be bumped up to a Western Digital Blue and the ram should be a little bit stronger. Otherwise, it seems pretty good.

WD Blues only come in 1TB and lower, so he would need to use a Red or Black drive etc.

 

but +1, WD > Seagate

[Imabigmac]

I'm saying this but my experience is limited and there may be other factors involved that Im unaware of. However I have always thought that someone would be better off getting a expansion slot wifi adapter rather than spending the extra money on Mobo that has it. I don't know how it is on that ASROCK board but my older MSI Mpowerz77 had a terrible implementation it capped at 32Mbps.... It was a decent connection but the router was directly underneath the PC with just the a floor separating the two, so I can't imagine it was too good at a farther distance. 

 

Anyway I would strongly suggest if you/they haven't already looked into the capability of that particular motherboards built in WiFi, to do so. 

[CoolaxGaming]

also dont get hte RM go with a G2

also consider a K70

motherboard is ridiculously priced go with something like a G45 or gaming 3 from msi

+1

[SteveGrabowski0]

Something like this would be incredible in that price range. That PSU is absolute top notch for a dual card SLI system and at a crazy good price.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($279.99 @ Micro Center) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($31.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($136.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($115.98 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($91.00 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($338.98 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($338.98 @ Newegg) 

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

Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($101.99 @ Newegg) 

Monitor: LG 25UM57-P 60Hz 25.0" Monitor  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1795.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-21 21:31 EDT-0400

[SteveGrabowski0]

also dont get hte RM go with a G2

also consider a K70

motherboard is ridiculously priced go with something like a G45 or gaming 3 from msi

 

Yeah, the EVGA G2 are incredible PSUs with ten year warranties and near flawless JohnnyGURU reviews.

[thekeemo]

Yeah, the EVGA G2 are incredible PSUs with ten year warranties and near flawless JohnnyGURU reviews.

I have one in the mail right now

[SteveGrabowski0]

I have one in the mail right now

 

Nice, if I ever go SLI I'm getting a G2.

[EChondo]

Thanks everyone so far for your replies. I'll try and respond to everyone and I'll relay this thread to my cousin for him to make the final decision based on everyone's comments. However I will be responding with my own thoughts about your suggestions.

 

I think it's a pretty good build but needs tweaks. IMO, the hard drive should be bumped up to a Western Digital Blue and the ram should be a little bit stronger. Otherwise, it seems pretty good.

As @Octavialicious already pointed out that there isn't a Blue version available at 3TB, but there are Black and Red. However the Black and Red drives are extremely more expensive, like $50 more expensive, so we might go for the tad higher priced Toshiba drive or just stick with the Seagate.

 

I say wait a month for the new GPUs. On a $1600-$1900 budget I'd want a better GPU than a GTX 970. A GTX 970 isn't going to push 60 fps locked at that resolution on ultra settings (a single 980 wouldn't either though). $170 on a keyboard + mouse is kind of ridiculous too. I'd also just buy 8GB RAM right now and wait until he actually needs more to buy 8GB extra.

I do agree with you on waiting a month, but he wants to buy the parts next week. Also since he is buying the GPU from EVGA then he can do the Step-Up program if he wants to. So using the 970 until the 980ti hits then he can just pay the difference+postage I believe.

 

As for the peripherals he is doing a blue theme, so if you can find a keyboard that has blue backlight and Cherry MX Blues(his preference on clicky/tactile, not just because they are blue), then by all means link it.

 

Now about RAM, he wants 16GB just to be done with it, so he is willing to pay for that extra 8GB right now instead of might having the need later on. I have mentioned this before to him, but that is his choice on the matter.

 

also dont get hte RM go with a G2

also consider a K70

motherboard is ridiculously priced go with something like a G45 or gaming 3 from msi

Thanks for the PSU recommendation, it does look great and we had a Corsair HX750i listed before, but we have been experimenting with parts at lower prices to see where we can get the price. I'll mention it to him and it might very well be changed to the G2.

 

A K70 is a no-go. He won't be happy with the red backlight because of his blue build theme and overall he doesn't like the design of the K70.

 

As for your motherboard recommendations, again the red will clash with the blue and it doesn't have on-board WiFi. So he'll need to buy a WiFi expansion card, which is around $30, which will put the G45 and the Gaming 3 close to the price of the current motherboard.

 

WD Blues only come in 1TB and lower, so he would need to use a Red or Black drive etc.

 

but +1, WD > Seagate

You are correct, but the WD Black and Red are way more expensive, I'll mention the Toshiba drive that is $10 more to him though.

 

I'm saying this but my experience is limited and there may be other factors involved that Im unaware of. However I have always thought that someone would be better off getting a expansion slot wifi adapter rather than spending the extra money on Mobo that has it. I don't know how it is on that ASROCK board but my older MSI Mpowerz77 had a terrible implementation it capped at 32Mbps.... It was a decent connection but the router was directly underneath the PC with just the a floor separating the two, so I can't imagine it was too good at a farther distance. 

 

Anyway I would strongly suggest if you/they haven't already looked into the capability of that particular motherboards built in WiFi, to do so. 

Thank you for the insight on the motherboard WiFi. However I did notice that your MPowerz77 is only 802.11b/g/n and the ASRock Extreme6 is 802.11ac, which is a more updated version of 802.11n. I know WiFi can be a bit finicky, but right now he doesn't have any other option. In the Summer I'll be running CAT6 to all of the rooms in his house so he won't be on WiFi for too long.

 

I do appreciate the concern and will be doing some testing, thanks for the heads up!

 

 

Something like this would be incredible in that price range. That PSU is absolute top notch for a dual card SLI system and at a crazy good price.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($279.99 @ Micro Center) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($31.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($136.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($115.98 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($91.00 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($338.98 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($338.98 @ Newegg) 

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

Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($101.99 @ Newegg) 

Monitor: LG 25UM57-P 60Hz 25.0" Monitor  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1795.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-21 21:31 EDT-0400

 

Thank you for the quick build and I do agree that it is similar to something I would do, but unfortunately my cousin does require a keyboard/mouse. Also that build is not within budget; taxes are not included. With tax the total cost will be $2,033.90. Tax from Newegg is 7.5% and since we are buying the CPU from Micro Center, the district it is in charges 8% tax. All the parts from Newegg will end up costing us $1731.51 after tax/shipping and then the CPU from Micro Center will cost $302.39 after tax.

 

I do appreciate the build and I will be bringing up the G2 PSU up with my cousin, as well as other suggestions here in the thread. Thanks again!

[SteveGrabowski0]

I do agree with you on waiting a month, but he wants to buy the parts next week. Also since he is buying the GPU from EVGA then he can do the Step-Up program if he wants to. So using the 970 until the 980ti hits then he can just pay the difference+postage I believe.

 

One thing to consider is EVGA might not offer the 980Ti in its Step Up program. For instance, you can't Step Up to either a Titan X nor a GTX 750 Ti right now, and they only offer one model of 980 for Step Up. Sorry I forgot about the sales tax lol. I'm used to paying no sales tax on newegg items since I'm in Texas.

[EChondo]

I'll update/bump this thread when I've talked to my cousin about the recommendations. We'll more than likely be doing a build log and setup pictures, which should be next weekend if the parts come in by then!
 

One thing to consider is EVGA might not offer the 980Ti in its Step Up program. For instance, you can't Step Up to either a Titan X nor a GTX 750 Ti right now, and they only offer one model of 980 for Step Up. Sorry I forgot about the sales tax lol. I'm used to paying no sales tax on newegg items since I'm in Texas.

Actually you can Step Up to this 750ti if you're in the U.S., but you are right about the Titan X. The 980 that is available would be the one my cousin would pick actually since he isn't very interested in overclocking right now. I will keep in mind about the 980ti not being available though, good call. 
 
And no problem about sales tax! It is a very good build, the only thing I'd change would be the case and mobo(due to personal preference). I wish I could live in Texas though, some highschool friends have moved there and I love the laws as well.