Friend's first gaming computer

[jchenabc]

Budget $1200. For my little cousin's friend. Switching from an old laptop and Playstation to this. I am just looking for opinions on the individual parts, see if anyone has bad experience with them. I can only buy from amazon or Newegg. since I am traveling for work soon. other places will take to long to ship.

 

I don't see the kid upgrading or going crazy with over clocking anytime soon. Thanks for the feedback in advance.

 

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($241.98 @ Newegg) 

Cooler: A 212 EVO --- Already have laying around.

Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($77.98 @ Newegg) (Rebate-Great deal)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($88.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Kingston HyperX Savage SHSS37A 240G    ($99.99 @Newegg_Support)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($333.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($19.57 @ Amazon) 

WLAN card: some $30 addon from Amazon.

 

A total of around $1180

 

 

 

[BigDay]

if he's not going to overclock, don't get him the k series cpu

 

where's the link?

[pomaranc]

750W is overkill and CX PSUs are not good, If you don't plan to OC get non K CPU (if it is cheaper) and cheaper MBO (H81 B85 H97)

[smeek14]

600 watt psu would be better.

[BigDay]

 

Budget $1200. For my little cousin's friend. Switching from an old laptop and Playstation to this. I am just looking for opinions on the individual parts, see if anyone has bad experience with them. I can only buy from amazon or Newegg. since I am traveling for work soon. other places will take to long to ship.

 

I don't see the kid upgrading or going crazy with over clocking anytime soon. Thanks for the feedback in advance.

 

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($241.98 @ Newegg) 

Cooler: A 212 EVO --- Already have laying around.

Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($77.98 @ Newegg) (Rebate-Great deal)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($88.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Kingston HyperX Savage SHSS37A 240G    ($99.99 @Newegg_Support)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($333.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($19.57 @ Amazon) 

WLAN card: some $30 addon from Amazon.

 

A total of around $1180

 

 

here's a great build for 1080p and even 1440p:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.99 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.99 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($71.49 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($71.89 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390X 8GB SOC Video Card  ($429.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($106.99 @ NCIX US)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($88.88 @ NCIX US)

Total: $1200.19

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-27 12:34 EDT-0400

[VirtualR3ality]

if he's not going to overclock, don't get him the k series cpu

 

where's the link?

 

It's not that much more and you might as well get it. If later on down the line he wants to or if you want to resell it the value doesn't tank as much.

[BigDay]

i hope he has a good monitor @ 1 ms and 144 hertz refresh rate for this kind of build though... makes a huge difference

[EllieThePurpleFuzzy]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tFWwbv
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tFWwbv/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($45.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card  ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($18.75 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Other: Lots of Pizza ($50.00)
Total: $938.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-27 12:36 EDT-0400

 

if he's not gonna be overclocking then a 4690K would be pointless .

[jchenabc]

 

if he's not gonna be overclocking then a 4690K would be pointless .

 

 

It's not that much more and you might as well get it. If later on down the line he wants to or if you want to resell it the value doesn't tank as much.

 

 

if he's not going to overclock, don't get him the k series cpu

 

where's the link?

 

This is like introducing them to the world of PCMasterRace, the kid is only like 15, who knowns ... he might be super into it. I don't want to limit his options. 

A little update :  http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bGG6f7

[jchenabc]

Other: Lots of Pizza ($50.00)

 

LOL, this guy knowns what's up.

[BigDay]

This is like introducing them to the world of PCMasterRace, the kid is only like 15, who knowns ... he might be super into it. I don't want to limit his options. 

A little update :  http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bGG6f7

 

i still think the build i put together is superior to the one you have above. just change the 4690 to a k series chip and the motherboard to z97 and you're good to go. regarding your build in that link:

1. go with a z97 board as its the latest tech and is the most compatible with haswell refresh cpus
2. your ram is too expensive
3. ssd is not that great. samsung is better
4. 390x beats the 970 (i included it in my build)
5. psu is not that good. g2 or gs is much better quality

[BigDay]

if you're going to get an i5-4690k, get a good cpu cooling solution like a corsair h60 or a noctua nh-u12s. the noctua nh-u14s would be the next step up.

[ArataMaou]

 

Budget $1200. For my little cousin's friend. Switching from an old laptop and Playstation to this. I am just looking for opinions on the individual parts, see if anyone has bad experience with them. I can only buy from amazon or Newegg. since I am traveling for work soon. other places will take to long to ship.

 

I don't see the kid upgrading or going crazy with over clocking anytime soon. Thanks for the feedback in advance.

 

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($241.98 @ Newegg) 

Cooler: A 212 EVO --- Already have laying around.

Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($77.98 @ Newegg) (Rebate-Great deal)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($88.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Kingston HyperX Savage SHSS37A 240G    ($99.99 @Newegg_Support)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($333.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($19.57 @ Amazon) 

WLAN card: some $30 addon from Amazon.

 

A total of around $1180

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($42.88 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($69.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($44.49 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($84.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.89 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($327.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: BitFenix Prodigy M Midnight MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($12.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($91.71 @ B&H) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1084.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-27 13:54 EDT-0400

 

because its a child ... i left more money for better parts. However, because its a child, i recommend a small case and a build that is queit and CANT overclock .. dont want kids to be fooling around to end up burning down their house or something.

That being said ... i like this build  

[jchenabc]

if you're going to get an i5-4690k, get a good cpu cooling solution like a corsair h60 or a noctua nh-u12s. the noctua nh-u14s would be the next step up.

I sticked with the K processor, got a H60. and switched to a 620W Seasonic and lowered to a G.Skill Sniper 8 GB kit. Thanks a bunch for the help !

[Guest]

I sticked with the K processor, got a H60. and switched to a 620W Seasonic and lowered to a G.Skill Sniper 8 GB kit. Thanks a bunch for the help !

Why not use the 212 Evo that you already have ? It is a great budget cooler and will be fine for an i5.

[jchenabc]

Why not use the 212 Evo that you already have ? It is a great budget cooler and will be fine for an i5.

I was a left over from my last built. It was too tall for the Silverstone PS09B. PS09B is a surprisingly small case. Barely fit everything. I am going to pocket the EVO and use it on my Plex server.  

[Nena Trinity]

Did ya consider a 390?