Help building my first gaming rig
 

The PC vs Console thread really got me going (although, I've been wanting to do this for some time) I want to build a nice gaming rig that I can use to play some PC exclusives on as well as not having to worry about it being slow as hell compared to my POS laptop.

What I want -

1. Must be able to run graphics at med/high settings. (770 card?)
2. I'd like to have good storage for movies/music (I don't know the advantages/differences of an SSD/HDD.
3. I'd like to have an HDMI port so I can move it into my living room on the big screen.
4. I do need a monitor. Undecided whether or not I want to run a dual/tri monitor setup yet.
5. I still burn CD's and Dvds. Will need a drive that supports both.
6. 8 GB of Ram at least with options to upgrade to 16gb in the future.

To sum It up I want a Rig that can do it all with little to no issues speed wise. I have a budget of around $1000, which is pretty flexible.

I also like pretty things. So I'm not afraid to spend a little more on a nicer case. Am a big fan of the Cooler Master Stryker case, I love the cases with the windows in the side with LEDS.

If anybody would like to help me I would greatly appreciate it. I just want to be apart of the PC master race.



EDIT:

This is build I am going with, unless I find good deals on better components.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/287w2
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/287w2/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/287w2/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($174.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($312.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 37.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1268.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-26 20:46 EST-0500)

770 dominates, you will be good with that card for a good while, and you can always add another later in SLI.


SSD is not good for storage. IT is basically an instant read hard drive. I run an SSD for my operating system/games that need performance, and all my other stuff goes on the HDD, If it is in your budget, get both.

Any modern graphics card has HDMI output, including the 770.

Monitor you cant go wrong with many different ones. A decent 60hz monitor can be had cheaply.

You can get a cd/dvd rom burner for about 25 bucks that will suit you perfectly fine. Standard drive for systems, unless you want bluray.

go 16b now, it wont cost much more.

Remember to pick the right motherboard.

You can easily do this for a thousand. For cases i am a minamilist, but if you like pretty ones like at NZXT. They make lots of good performance yet still pretty cases for budget minded builds.

Let me see if i can build you a system~

770 on a $1k budget is likely not going to happen without some serious sales of like $200.

here ya are : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...nc&output=html

Check out the "Excellent Best Overall" build. $960 (probably much cheaper now as the doc was updated a while ago)

http://i.imgur.com/IA7iMrQ.png

Like I said in the OP, my 1k is pretty Flexible. I know the 770 is an expensive card, but It it a beastly card, so I want it.

OK so this is a pretty damn beastly system.. There is LOTS of tweaking that can be done to this.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/27Mja
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/27Mja/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/27Mja/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($77.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($312.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT NZXT H230 White ATX Mid Tower ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80+ Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.97 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: BenQ GW2255 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1067.44
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-24 15:04 EST-0500)

I had to take the SSD out to get it down, and keep the 770. Though, SSD is a luxury ( a nice one :P)

I'm still pretty flexible. What are your thoughts on upgrading with Asus Sabertoothz77 Mobo instead of the AsRock? Just curious. Would it be overkill for my system? Not a fan of the case but I know that is like a Cell phone cover, hundreds of thousands are out there :p and good looking out on the Windows 7. 8 is just ass IMHO

And when I say flexible, I'm taking $1000-$1300

As for the spreadsheet builds, they dont include a monitor or an OS. Though there is nothing wrong with either of these builds, as they are roughly 2.5x as powerful as the next gen console.

AsROCk makes the best motherboards that exist IMO. You cant go wrong with them.

Nothing wrong with an Asus z77 board though, would be better than what I picked you. It will allow you SLI and big overclocking headroom. If your not ocing, no reason to go with a motherboard like that.

And yea, there are TONS of cases out there, and in that price range too, that's all personal preference.

Yeah, definitely not any plans of overclocking on this machine. I had read a ton of reviews on the z77 and they were great. I'd just not read about the AsRock Much.

I think I am leaning towards this case, I really like how it looks as well as easy access to the inside and the good slots for cable management

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811139013

I also like the easability of mounting fans on the case for cooling the gpu

Corsair makes great cases I kind of wish I got the Corsair 900 instead of the coolermaster HAF X I went with.

If you dont need ocing, then that's a lot of money for a motherboard. Though, if you want a more powerful motherboard I would look at the ASrock extreme 4. Very good SLI board and good price.

My asrock extreme6 was able to achieve higher overclocks in most situations than the Sabertooth.

Also, the sabertooth boards have very high defect rates.

I just looked at the asrock extreme 4 and its incompatible with my CPU says pcpartspicker

In the grand scheme of things, the motherboard is pretty overrated when it comes to a gaming rig, especially if you aren't going to OC, IMO.

No purpose is spending a ridiculous amount of money on a very high end quad sli board when you'll never use it anywhere near its intended use.

They should make a different version for each chipset. It may have a slightly different name for the z77 chipset. Mine is x89.

Also, if you dont mind doing a little digging, waiting, and wheeling and dealing you can score some lightly used stuff here

http://www.reddit.com/r/hardwareswap/