Squeezing out as much as I can for $1500 pc build

[Mrtrickzter]

okay, so on the past few days, I decided to choose pcpartpicker for gtx 970 build for myself. But then I decided that maybe gtx 980 will be much better build and it will last me longer so here is my new list. I want everyone to critique of which part that I should change which can save me more money. Thank you everyone. I appreciate the opinion and critique.

 

Note:

I won't be overclocking my cpu.

I won't be overclocking my gpu as well.

For wifi card, I only wanna put because I want to save internet speed for my brother for his programing work (speed less than 1gb/s).  

I stick with nvidia because from my experience,   nvidia able to keep cooler temp than amd (at least on my laptops) but I will still consider AMD if 8gbs is worth it. 

Gaming will be on 1080p to 1440p. (4k does not make sense to me)

The build is for gaming and engineering college work.

 

Update: I am making lots of adjustment on my build and now I end up with 3 configuration. All haswell refresh has been changed to skylake with similar price but more powerful. The build this time includes 980ti and Fury X for consideration. 

 

(gtx 980 build)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($269.86 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($31.86 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: MSI Z170A PC MATE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($106.23 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Avexir Core Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($74.36 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($47.80 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.74 @ OutletPC) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($106.23 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.56 @ Mac Mall) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($95.61 @ NCIX US) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($31.75 @ OutletPC) 

Case Fan: Fractal Design GP14-WT 68.4 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($15.92 @ Amazon) 

Other: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 XTREME Gaming 4GB GDDR5 Graphics Card GV-N980XTREME-4GD ($563.11)

Total: $1471.03

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 16:33 EST-0500

 

(R9 Fury X build)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($269.86 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($31.86 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: MSI Z170A PC MATE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($106.23 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Avexir Core Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($74.36 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($47.80 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.74 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 Fury X 4GB Video Card  ($647.05 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($106.23 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.56 @ Mac Mall) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($95.61 @ NCIX US) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($31.75 @ OutletPC) 

Case Fan: Fractal Design GP14-WT 68.4 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($15.92 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1554.97

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 16:34 EST-0500

 

(Gtx 980 ti build)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($269.86 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($31.86 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: MSI Z170A PC MATE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($106.23 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Avexir Core Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($74.36 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($47.80 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.74 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card  ($707.61 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($106.23 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.56 @ Mac Mall) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($95.61 @ NCIX US) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($31.75 @ OutletPC) 

Case Fan: Fractal Design GP14-WT 68.4 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($15.92 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1615.53

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 16:37 EST-0500

Edited January 6, 2016 by Mrtrickzter

[vanished]

if you are not overclocking, the stock cooler will do (save a little cash there).  There are also cheaper cases.  Finally, I'm not sure you need 16 GB of RAM right off the bat.  Other than that, I don't know anything that will make it cheaper without hurting performance or getting into sketchy stuff, hardware or legal-wise.

[Mrtrickzter]

There is not much of a performance difference between the 970 and the 980 from what ive seen, id get a 970 and an unlocked cpu.

 

Other than that the build looks good.

 

I understand your point my friend but check this frame-rate test of gtx 970 vs 980. For me, I 10fps to 20fps difference help smooth my gameplay a lot 

[Mrtrickzter]

if you are not overclocking, the stock cooler will do (save a little cash there).  There are also cheaper cases.  Finally, I'm not sure you need 16 GB of RAM right off the bat.  Other than that, I don't know anything that will make it cheaper without hurting performance or getting into sketchy stuff, hardware or legal-wise.

Max cooling performance is very important to me my friend. But I can see and understand your point.

[Mrtrickzter]

Ok i see your point, for me it is just what i would personally do.

I understand my friend.

[cortexcortex]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($223.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($59.90 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($97.88 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: Avexir Core Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($74.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.88 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 Fury X 4GB Video Card  ($608.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.88 @ Amazon) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.88 @ OutletPC) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link Archer T9E 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($66.09 @ B&H) 

Case Fan: Fractal Design GP14-WT 68.4 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1502.45

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 01:00 EST-0500

 

 

You want the best performance for $1500? This is probably the best I can do. Fury X > 980. Even if you don't overclock, the K CPU will give you better clock speeds. A better cooler for cooler temperatures, a better WiFi card for better speeds (it's nice to have the option of going faster, when you need it)

[vanished]

 Even if you don't overclock, the K CPU will give you better clock speeds. 

Both the 4690 and 4690k have a base clock of 3.5 Ghz and turbo to 3.9

[cortexcortex]

Both the 4690 and 4690k have a base clock of 3.5 Ghz and turbo to 3.9

My bad, still, the 4690k is just about $5 more, so... if you ever want to OC you have the option to.

[alphaman]

if you are in us,try build with skylake+ddr4

[Mrtrickzter]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($223.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($59.90 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($97.88 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: Avexir Core Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($74.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.88 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 Fury X 4GB Video Card  ($608.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.88 @ Amazon) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.88 @ OutletPC) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link Archer T9E 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($66.09 @ B&H) 

Case Fan: Fractal Design GP14-WT 68.4 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1502.45

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 01:00 EST-0500

 

 

You want the best performance for $1500? This is probably the best I can do. Fury X > 980. Even if you don't overclock, the K CPU will give you better clock speeds. A better cooler for cooler temperatures, a better WiFi card for better speeds (it's nice to have the option of going faster, when you need it)

 

 

I can consider Fury X as my graphic card

[Mrtrickzter]

if you are in us,try build with skylake+ddr4

hmm I will see to that 

[GarnetDevil]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($107.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($71.78 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.98 @ Mac Mall)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1502.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 11:42 EST-0500

 

This is how I'd go with $1500

[TheRandomness]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.88 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($107.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($71.78 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.98 @ Mac Mall)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.88 @ OutletPC)

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.89 @ OutletPC)

Total: $1502.33

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 11:42 EST-0500

 

This is how I'd go with $1500

Thiiiiissssssss

[ristan99]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.88 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($107.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($71.78 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ Mac Mall)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.89 @ OutletPC)

Total: $1502.33

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 11:42 EST-0500

This is how I'd go with $1500

If you go this route or the Fury X just make sure you have at least a 1440p monitor with a >60 refresh rate. You'll need it with that much horsepower.

[Mrtrickzter]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.88 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($107.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($71.78 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.98 @ Mac Mall)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.88 @ OutletPC)

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.89 @ OutletPC)

Total: $1502.33

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 11:42 EST-0500

 

This is how I'd go with $1500

 

 

If you go this route or the Fury X just make sure you have at least a 1440p monitor with a >60 refresh rate. You'll need it with that much horsepower.

 

Thiiiiissssssss

this may sound bad but when I checked on my own with identical specs like you, the result is $1600. But if I just change my gtx 980 to fury X, it does not reach $1600. 

Edited January 6, 2016 by Mrtrickzter

[TheRandomness]

this may sound bad but when I checked on my own with identical specs like you, the result is $1600. 

Have you got MiRs on and all retailers on?

[Mrtrickzter]

Have you got MiRs on and all retailers on?

 

Yes my friend.

[GarnetDevil]

this may sound bad but when I checked on my own with identical specs like you, the result is $1600. But if I just change my gtx 980 to fury X, it does not reach $1600. 

Well then you can stick with the Fury X, it's a good GPU

[fragment21]

IMO 16gb is a lot and 8gb is better and more efficient.. 16gb is a little overkill so you can save money on that. but you can save around $70~ dollars if you ditched buying windows 10/8 from windows itself or newegg and buy it on a subreddit or g2a or kinguin or third party websites because it is MUCH cheaper there and you can get what you'd like for $70.

[Mrtrickzter]

IMO 16gb is a lot and 8gb is better and more efficient.. 16gb is a little overkill so you can save money on that. but you can save around $70~ dollars if you ditched buying windows 10/8 from windows itself or newegg and buy it on a subreddit or g2a or kinguin or third party websites because it is MUCH cheaper there and you can get what you'd like for $70.

 

okay and yeah I guess subreddit is a good place