$1200-1400 Gaming PC

[Kermit]

Hey, I know I know.

There are maybe 300+ topics like this on the LTT forum.

BUT, new tech gets released all the time, and I'm building a PC for a friend (pricing and ordering everything too). My question is, what is the most up-to-date gaming PC that fits into my $1400 budget

 

P.S. Please no 960s lol

[Bob Jim]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($125.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($48.49 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.89 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($688.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: NZXT H440 (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $1434.21

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-19 02:02 EDT-0400

This is the best you could do for the money. To get it below $1400 if you really have to remove the SSD; while it is nice, it is not 100% necessary. The GTX 980Ti is pretty much the best single GPU, and the I5 4690k is a very good processor.

[Suffokation]

Something like this I think would be good.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($229.99 @ NCIX US) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 240M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($115.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($48.49 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Crucial BX100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ Adorama) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($319.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($319.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1363.30

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-19 02:03 EDT-0400

[Zayzo]

 

Something like this I think would be good.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($229.99 @ NCIX US) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 240M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($115.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($48.49 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Crucial BX100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ Adorama) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($319.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($319.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1363.30

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-19 02:03 EDT-0400

 

Why two 970s instead of a 980 ti?

[Suffokation]

Why two 970s instead of a 980 ti?

At 1080P and 1440P it will be much faster.

For 4k, not so much.

[Zayzo]

At 1080P and 1440P it will be much faster.

For 4k, not so much.

I prey someone doesn't use a 980 ti or 2x 970s in 1080p..................................................Or even 1440p.

[Suffokation]

I prey someone doesn't use a 980 ti or 2x 970s in 1080p..................................................Or even 1440p.

Two 970's are perfect for 1080P and 1440P.

It will max out lots and lots of games at 144Hz.

 

It's essentially a case of "I don't want to go below 60 FPS at all".

[Zayzo]

Two 970's are perfect for 1080P and 1440P.

It will max out lots and lots of games at 144Hz.

 

It's essentially a case of "I don't want to go below 60 FPS at all".

And what if his monitor is only 60hz? 1080p?

[Suffokation]

And what if his monitor is only 60hz? 1080p?

Then he won't have to go below 60Hz?

[Zayzo]

Then he won't have to go below 60Hz?

A single 970 maxes out nearly all games @1080p 60 fps............................... Sounds like a waste of $ 300... better spent on a monitor.

[Suffokation]

A single 970 maxes out nearly all games @1080p 60 fps............................... Sounds like a waste of $ 300... better spent on a monitor.

It actually doesn't. Games like Metro Last Light will drop below 60 fps quite a lot.

[Zayzo]

It actually doesn't. Games like Metro Last Light will drop below 60 fps quite a lot.

I said nearly....

In most games it does get over 60 fps.

There's only a handful where it doesn't.