discussion New Mid-End Build ($1000-$1300 all in)

[mbamg]

I'm a Canadian building a Desktop PC for gaming (primarily for ArmA 3), though it may be used to run virtual machines in the not-so-distant future. This is my first build in a long time, so I'm still trying to familiarize myself with market prices.

So far I've gathered these parts (prices include tax):

Chassis: Cougar Solution Black Steel Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($10 from TD.ca)

MB: Looking for LGA 1150 socket board

CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K Unlocked Quad Core 3.5GHZ/3.9GHZ Processor LGA1150 Haswell 6MB Cache Retail ($263 from DirectCanada)

CPU Cooling: Not sure what I should buy within my budget

Video: Looking for R9 280X/GTX 770 used or new

Sound: Would be nice, but not a priority

RAM: ADATA XPG V2 Series Tungsten Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 DIMMs ($102 from CC)

Storage: Looking at OCZ Vertex 460 240GB vs Crucial MX100 256GB

Power Supply: Seasonic S12G-550 Gold 550W ATX 80PLUS SSR-550RT PSU DC to DC ($79 from NCIX)

If I haven't had a brain fart, so far I've spent $454.

I guess my biggest problem right now is figuring out whether my system will be upgradeable (Xfire/SLI, additional sound card), which is one reason why I've been holding off on the MB purchase. I'm also concerned that my PS won't be able to handle overclocking or dual graphics.

I wish to finish this build ASAP, but am willing to wait until Black Friday if the price differences can justify the additional time.

 

[Dzzope]

And new Nvidia cards should be out by then.

PS will do oc but not dual cards (I tend to aim at 850+w for mid-high end dual cards(Though some big(power needs) set-ups could push that)).

Look at gskill ram 1866/2133/2400mhz, should be about the same price and faster.

Maybe look at the OCZ Arc 100.. recently reviewed here, it seems to be the biz for bang - buck - capacity.

While basic cases are totally fine, just be sure it's got some kind of functionality (decent airflow, dust filters, some way of tidying cables, Meets the requirements of your hardware (atx board, GPU length etc))

You say $1k-1.3k budget but your looking at about $800 with what you've got. Whats the rest for?

 

[mbamg]

I'm not sure whether I will keep my costs within $900. If I buy a 240 GB SSD + decent MB + cpu fan cooler + new video card I could be pushing $1100.

The Cougar Solution fulfills all that you stated (decent airflow, dust filters, some way of tidying cables, Meets the requirements of your hardware (atx board, GPU length etc)). The only issue is that it's light and flimsy.

I don't really want to cheap out on a MB but am not sure of how to justify costs when I purchase one.

The same goes for the video card. Looking at my list as of now that's the one component that will raise my build costs above $1000. What improvements will be coming down the line for Nvidia's new cards vs AMD's Tonga?

I think it'll be useful reference if people can compile some lists of the remaining products to be purchased. That way I'll have an idea of what to look for when I'm browsing online.

 

[Dzzope]

Motherboard, basically and z97 will do you but I do tend to aim at the ~$200 mark myself in something with good quality components rather than every possible feature you could think of.
But it's rather hard to go wrong these days. My manufacturers (personal preference) are Asus, Msi, AsRock.

For a 770, the DCII is basically unbeatable(in the just above stock price range), totally over-engineered (believe they used the same components as a 780 and that is a really good card, ignoring the GPU)
As for new features, DX12 would be a big one if you don't upgrade often (1-2 years, assuming they include it). Other than that, it's all rumour and speculation till they actually release it.