DaivdBaekr

Moderator
Contributor
I don't know dick about hardware or building them.

Currently what I have picked out so far, in the likely event there's better hardware for roughly the same price you can recommend, please do.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7d4xzy
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($86.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($117.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1013.79


I already have peripherals and a monitor. Won't be making final decisions until just before Cyber Monday which is 2 months away 3 weeks away soon :-D.

After I assemble it there will be open-case pics. There will be cable management and it will make you cum.
 
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Chance

Australian Skial God
Contributor
I don't know dick about hardware or building them.

Currently what I have picked out so far, in the likely event there's better hardware for roughly the same price you can recommend, please do.

Processor:
Intel Core i5-4690K (3.5 GHz)

GPU:
EVGA GeForce GTX 970 04G-P4-3978-KR

Motherboard:
Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150

Memory:
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Power Supply:
EVGA 220-G2-0850-XR 80 PLUS GOLD 850 W

Case:
Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window

Optical Drive & Storage:
Undecided. The optical drive will just need to serve its purpose of installing Win7. Storage I'll probably just get a cheap 500gb HDD since no one has convinced me I need an SSD.

I already have peripherals and an Asus monitor that can do both VGA/HDMI. Won't be making final decisions until just before Cyber Monday which is 2 months away.

Oh and I'll get some hyperlinks for the picks above later tonight, for convenience's sake.
I actually can't think of anything much better for those price points. Nice build!
 

185db

Epic Skial Regular
I highly recommend a 1 terabyte hard-drive.

I have one and I only get to use about 900 gb of it because of OS and other stuff. I currently have about 15 games installed on my computer, and I have 700 gb free. I noticed you have 100+ and I don't know how many others outside of steam, but you will really want the extra disc space.

I think they generally run for around $40 or so.
 

Chance

Australian Skial God
Contributor
I highly recommend a 1 terabyte hard-drive.

I have one and I only get to use about 900 gb of it because of OS and other stuff. I currently have about 15 games installed on my computer, and I have 700 gb free. I noticed you have 100+ and I don't know how many others outside of steam, but you will really want the extra disc space.

I think they generally run for around $40 or so.
That would depend on how many of his games he actually plays.
 

DaivdBaekr

Moderator
Contributor
I only use 120GB of my 500GB drive, and I've had it about 3 years now. Only games I actually have installed are TF2, Skyrim, and L4D2.

Originally I was gonna wipe this 500GB and give it to my dad, then pick up a faster one. But he's fine with his current one and the external I gave him so I'll probably just carry it over into my new build and save myself some trouble. Same for the optical drive.

Someone told me it'd be better to get a lower efficiency (bronze?) power supply with the same wattage and spend the difference on an extra fan / better case, but Bott suggested I look and see how much money I'd save using the gold efficiency one long-term, so next utility bill we get I'll have a rough idea of which to get. I'm guessing the higher-efficiency one will win out, though.
 
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DaivdBaekr

Moderator
Contributor
So,

Bump RAM up to 12GB?

I'm actually thinking of bumping my budget up a hundred or two dollars and getting some slightly better stuff since I'm going by pre-Cyber Monday prices anyway.
 

Meowcenary

Gaben's Own Aimbot
Contributor
So,

Bump RAM up to 12GB?

I'm actually thinking of bumping my budget up a hundred or two dollars and getting some slightly better stuff since I'm going by pre-Cyber Monday prices anyway.

Currently anything more than 8GB of RAM is superfluous for gaming or general computer use, unless you're doing something that needs more.

The only game I've seen so far that recommends more than 8GB of RAM is the new Battlefront title, but that game is really high on the system requirements.
 

DaivdBaekr

Moderator
Contributor
Currently anything more than 8GB of RAM is superfluous for gaming or general computer use, unless you're doing something that needs more.

The only game I've seen so far that recommends more than 8GB of RAM is the new Battlefront title, but that game is really high on the system requirements.
Yeah, I dunno. I'd like to just sink the money in when things are especially cheap on CM rather than pop some in later, even though memory is pretty cheap already.

Any opinions on SSD? The only advantages for games I've heard is fast boot times and short loading screens. And I dunno if I want to blow a couple hundred dollars just for those two things.
 

Meowcenary

Gaben's Own Aimbot
Contributor
I've never used an SSD myself, but one of my really techy friends has one and loves it. He said SSD's are a hell of a lot quicker when it comes to loading things, but the downside is they cost more than normal hard drives.

If you got the money to spare (and don't mind spending it) you can't really go wrong with a SSD, but if you want to save the money regular hard drives are fine.
 

PsychoRealm

Australian Skial God
Contributor
Yeah, I dunno. I'd like to just sink the money in when things are especially cheap on CM rather than pop some in later, even though memory is pretty cheap already.

Any opinions on SSD? The only advantages for games I've heard is fast boot times and short loading screens. And I dunno if I want to blow a couple hundred dollars just for those two things.
Use SSD for your OS partition (C: drive) - it should be enough. That being said, 120/250GB SSD for OS partition and 1TB SATA drive for multimedia should be more than enough. I bought THIS ONE for my wife's laptop - Win 10 now fires up in 4 seconds.

Also, your motherboard is overkill. You can get decent LGA1160 (H3) for as low as $90. Example - ASRock H97 Pro4.

Another motherboard to consider (seems to be very popular) is Asus Z87 PRO for $140.
 
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Chance

Australian Skial God
Contributor
Currently anything more than 8GB of RAM is superfluous for gaming or general computer use, unless you're doing something that needs more.

The only game I've seen so far that recommends more than 8GB of RAM is the new Battlefront title, but that game is really high on the system requirements.
Battlefront doesn't even really need more than 8gb. Don't know why they recommend more.

Yeah, I dunno. I'd like to just sink the money in when things are especially cheap on CM rather than pop some in later, even though memory is pretty cheap already.

Any opinions on SSD? The only advantages for games I've heard is fast boot times and short loading screens. And I dunno if I want to blow a couple hundred dollars just for those two things.
I'd only recommend an SSD if loading time for your OS or games annoy you. I've considered getting one, but I don't need it. All my shit loads pretty fast already so it would feel like a waste to me.
 

DaivdBaekr

Moderator
Contributor
Use SSD for your OS partition (C: drive) - it should be enough. That being said, 120/250GB SSD for OS partition and 1TB SATA drive for multimedia should be more than enough. I bought THIS ONE for my wife's laptop - Win 10 now fires up in 4 seconds.

Also, your motherboard is overkill. You can get decent LGA1160 (H3) for as low as $90. Example - ASRock H97 Pro4.

Another motherboard to consider (seems to be very popular) is Asus Z87 PRO for $140.
The ASRock reviews are a little mixed, but it meets all the criteria and for ~$90 I'm willing to take my chances. Good catch.
I'm sold on an SSD. Was gonna pitch the Samsung EVO 840 instead of 850, but after looking at some comparisons I'll probably follow your lead and get the 850.

If extra money's not an issue i7-4000+ helps too.
I'm expecting to be well under budget, but the current i5 already seems like a solid choice. Is there really a need for the extra .5GHz? And hyperthreading doesn't seem important right now or in the immediate future.
 

StantoMacGuffin

Positively Inhumane Poster
Contributor
Okay so what you need is a Raspberry Pi, those things are on the bleeding edge of modern computing. :doge:
 

Chance

Australian Skial God
Contributor
The ASRock reviews are a little mixed, but it meets all the criteria and for ~$90 I'm willing to take my chances. Good catch.
I'm sold on an SSD. Was gonna pitch the Samsung EVO 840 instead of 850, but after looking at some comparisons I'll probably follow your lead and get the 850.


I'm expecting to be well under budget, but the current i5 already seems like a solid choice. Is there really a need for the extra .5GHz? And hyperthreading doesn't seem important right now or in the immediate future.
For gaming the i7-4790k only gives you at most 2-3 frames over the i5-4690k. So it's not really worth the extra dosh.
 

DaivdBaekr

Moderator
Contributor
The price for this build has already fallen about 80 USD. Friend of mine suggested ordering it closer to Black Friday to Cyber Monday, so the risk of the more popular parts (SSD and the processor, I imagine) being already sold out where they're sold cheapest. Orders will likely be processed slowly, so worst case scenario so I can just cancel a more expensive order before it starts processing, and jump on the better deal when it comes along.

Good idea to order everything Friday evening?
 

PsychoRealm

Australian Skial God
Contributor
The price for this build has already fallen about 80 USD. Friend of mine suggested ordering it closer to Black Friday to Cyber Monday, so the risk of the more popular parts (SSD and the processor, I imagine) being already sold out where they're sold cheapest. Orders will likely be processed slowly, so worst case scenario so I can just cancel a more expensive order before it starts processing, and jump on the better deal when it comes along.

Good idea to order everything Friday evening?
Black Friday is a myth and marketing move.

Also, buy THIS.

:)
 

DaivdBaekr

Moderator
Contributor
Stuff's ordered. Ended up ordering a 650W PSU (same make, same efficiency) since it was compatible and I wasn't gonna need 850W in a million years anyway.

And now the Great 4-7 Business Day Wait begins.

Black Friday is a myth and marketing move.

Also, buy THIS.

:)
lol it was sold out before I even saw this
 

DaivdBaekr

Moderator
Contributor
Update: H97 won't allow my Win7 boot disks to run, even in its legacy / compatibility settings. New $1000 brick. @PsychoRealm y u suggest dis
 
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RMSniper

Legendary Skial King
Contributor
@DaivdBaekr - I am about to purchase the 850 EVO in 250GB to have as my boot drive, while I purchase a 1-2TB HD for other stuff. Do you have everything set up and running now? Can you review the 850 EVO?