$1100 New Gaming Build Advice

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romanstark

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Jun 25, 2014
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We have an old computer in our house, and my gaming laptop is a few years old and not what it used to be. Looking to build a new gaming pc to play Wildstar. Here's what I've come up with for build so far:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($106.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $1054.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

A little under budget at $1054. Figured I'd overclock slightly to take advantage of the free performance, but not gonna push it hard. I don't care too much about boot time, so I'm not convinced that a solid state would benefit me too much in mmo games like Wildstar.

Any comments or components you think I should consider instead would be appreciated. Additional info that I thought applied:

Approximate Purchase Date: this weekend
Budget Range: $1100 without mail-in rebates
Are you buying a monitor: No
Do you need to buy OS: No
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, amazon
Location: Chicago
Parts Preferences: prefer intel and nvidia only by experience
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Additional Comments: Best performance-per-cost parts prefered
 
Solution
B
Most definitely. Unless you plan on going SLI, overclocking (Z87/Z97 are the only Intel chipsets that have the ability to SLI) isn't really worth it when you have a strong i5 to begin with. The 4590 already will boost to 3.7, which is plenty, and the 780 is a good bit stronger than the 770, and will last a lot longer. If you do decide to go that route, you can also get a lower cost PSU, as 750w is a bit overkill for a single 780.

Overclocking is great, and I overclock as I see a noticeable decrease in Photoshop times, but for gaming, an OC from 3.5 to 4.5 will only equate to a handful of FPS, and certainly less than compared to a locked i5 + 780.

EDIT:: Though, I forgot when I hit 'Submit' that you're looking at MMO games it looks...
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Come on! A rig like that and no SSD...shame on you!(my aging system boots in 17 seconds) Look not only to boot times but also load times of programs(games) will be greatly improved.

 
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Just so we're clear, overclocking (the CPU) is by NO means free lol Your build (as posted above)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($106.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $1054.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available


A non-overclocked build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($106.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $927.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available


So, the 'free' performance gain actually costs you over $130 more. I would suggest at least a 64GB SSD, unless you use the computer 100% for gaming only. The SSD really makes web browsing, word processing, basic computing so much quicker.
 
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Haha, very good point about the overclocking not being free.
With your second build that you posted, would upgrading to a 780 give more performance for gaming versus the overclocked cpu?
 
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Most definitely. Unless you plan on going SLI, overclocking (Z87/Z97 are the only Intel chipsets that have the ability to SLI) isn't really worth it when you have a strong i5 to begin with. The 4590 already will boost to 3.7, which is plenty, and the 780 is a good bit stronger than the 770, and will last a lot longer. If you do decide to go that route, you can also get a lower cost PSU, as 750w is a bit overkill for a single 780.

Overclocking is great, and I overclock as I see a noticeable decrease in Photoshop times, but for gaming, an OC from 3.5 to 4.5 will only equate to a handful of FPS, and certainly less than compared to a locked i5 + 780.

EDIT:: Though, I forgot when I hit 'Submit' that you're looking at MMO games it looks like. In that case, I don't think the 780 would be worth it, unless you plan on playing them at 2560x1440 or something.
 
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Solution
Thanks for the info. And ya, I don't play usually play anything more demanding than mmo games. Most people say that in city hubs, when there's way too many people gathered together, the cpu can make a difference.

And with a slightly cheaper power supply, guess it comes closer to a $900 build. I'll consider an SSD after reading up about them.
 
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SSDs are great, and make the entire system just snappier. You're right, though, for gaming they do squat.

And definitely, the CPU is what you really need to focus on when looking at MMOs, which is why I **never** recommend anything from AMD at ANY price point for people looking to play MMOs primarily. An i5 like the 4590 will be vastly superior in CPU-intensive situations than an AMD equivalent.

Build with revised power supply:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $871.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
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At $871, the $130 extra for overclocking would keep me at about $1000, and still $100 under my original budget.
Let's say I overclocked to 4.2 max, would it be a noticeable performance increase for an MMO?
 
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It would give you a little bit more longevity and a little bit less frame drop in CPU-intense situations, but it's up to you if the extra $130 is worth it. If you're still that far under your original budget, might as well lol

And with the Haswell refresh 4690k, you should be able to hit 4.5 relatively easily.
 
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