$1200 Intel Build

[TheGrambo]

I am building a PC going mostly by the PC Gamer Mid-Range Build.

http://www.pcgamer.com/pc-build-guide-recommended-mid-range-gaming-pc/

Now I've selected a few different items to tweak and save some money. But I'm concerned that it may not all be as good as it can be. I'm hoping I've done well enough but I would like some opinions on my build to see if I can improve it while staying around the $1200-$1400 range.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($161.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($352.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($18.29 @ Amazon)
Total: $1195.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:14 EDT-0400

 

[blue_smoke]

Do you really need an optical drive?

Ditch the Corsair CX series, go for RM or something like a rosewill Arc series.

 

[TheGrambo]

Do you really need an optical drive?

Ditch the Corsair CX series, go for RM or something like a rosewill Arc series.

The optical drive is for the programs my school sends me. I know it's an outdated medium but I'm kind of stuck with it. Also did you have a PSU in mind to replace my Corsair?

 

[fudgecakes99]

go 390 if you don't plan on overclocking the 970 it has 8 gigs of vram same price.

 

[blue_smoke]

Do you really need an optical drive?

Ditch the Corsair CX series, go for RM or something like a rosewill Arc series.

The optical drive is for the programs my school sends me. I know it's an outdated medium but I'm kind of stuck with it. Also did you have a PSU in mind to replace my Corsair?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182300&cm_re=Rosewill_ARC-_-17-182-300-_-Product

 

[fudgecakes99]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $329.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:26 EDT-0400

 

[TheGrambo]

Do you really need an optical drive?

Ditch the Corsair CX series, go for RM or something like a rosewill Arc series.

The optical drive is for the programs my school sends me. I know it's an outdated medium but I'm kind of stuck with it. Also did you have a PSU in mind to replace my Corsair?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182300&cm_re=Rosewill_ARC-_-17-182-300-_-Product

I am not confident in my ability to determine why this is better than my Corsair. I'm sorry to bother but could you explain why this is the better PSU?

 

[TheGrambo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $329.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:26 EDT-0400

I do not plan on overclocking so thank you for your input. I do plan on both gaming and game developing so does that affect your choice on this card?

 

[fudgecakes99]

8 gigs gddr5 over 3.5 useable on the 970. and it's the same price or cheaper. Generally though non oc'ed id say 390 would perform better.

Regarding corsair psu's a while back they had some fairly faulty capacitors in that specific line of psu's hence the cheaper price, and you don't want to skimp out on your psu, it goes bad you risk losing everything.

 

[fudgecakes99]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Thermaltake 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($60.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $389.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:52 EDT-0400

This is a great psu 80+ gold efficiency if you're planning on a psu this is great. Also its normally 90 bucks but theirs a 30 dollar rebate so its 60 for now i'd get this over the cx or any other psu any day plus its 750 watts.

 

[SuperAwsomeOne55]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $329.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:26 EDT-0400

I do not plan on overclocking so thank you for your input. I do plan on both gaming and game developing so does that affect your choice on this card?

I would recommend the 390. Its newer and it does perform slightly better, If youre in it for the nvidia bonuses like shield streaming and all that, the difference will not be major. Its pretty minor but the difference is there and there is the added bonus of vram but at 1080p that 3.5gbs probably wont be taken up anyways.

 

[TheGrambo]

8 gigs gddr5 over 3.5 useable on the 970. and it's the same price or cheaper. Generally though non oc'ed id say 390 would perform better.

Regarding corsair psu's a while back they had some fairly faulty capacitors in that specific line of psu's hence the cheaper price, and you don't want to skimp out on your psu, it goes bad you risk losing everything.

Thank you for your explanation. The Corsair will definitely be swapped out now. I've had a PSU go bad before and don't want to experience that again.

 

[TheGrambo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Thermaltake 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($60.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $389.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:52 EDT-0400

This is a great psu 80+ gold efficiency if you're planning on a psu this is great. Also its normally 90 bucks but theirs a 30 dollar rebate so its 60 for now i'd get this over the cx or any other psu any day plus its 750 watts.

Thank you for your recommendations. I will definitely pick up the 390 and the PSU you suggested. Are there any other issues with my build that you can see? I had the hardest time with picking the motherboard.

 

[TheGrambo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $329.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:26 EDT-0400

I do not plan on overclocking so thank you for your input. I do plan on both gaming and game developing so does that affect your choice on this card?

I would recommend the 390. Its newer and it does perform slightly better, If youre in it for the nvidia bonuses like shield streaming and all that, the difference will not be major. Its pretty minor but the difference is there and there is the added bonus of vram but at 1080p that 3.5gbs probably wont be taken up anyways.

Thank you for your reply. I'm sold on the 390.

 

[Gracodana]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w86wbv
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w86wbv/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($113.81 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($83.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card ($508.27 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill HIVE 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1293.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:37 EDT-0400

You did say that you had up to $1400 so I thought maybe you would move up to a 980. The motherboard wont make to much of a difference and unless you had a particular preferance on that one this will work great. The SSD here is just a little cheaper granted a little slower to but you wont notice much, the 2tb hard drive will diffinetly help I think.The cx series is pretty bad.

 

[TheGrambo]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w86wbv
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w86wbv/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($113.81 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($83.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card ($508.27 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill HIVE 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1293.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:37 EDT-0400

You did say that you had up to $1400 so I thought maybe you would move up to a 980. The motherboard wont make to much of a difference and unless you had a particular preferance on that one this will work great. The SSD here is just a little cheaper granted a little slower to but you wont notice much, the 2tb hard drive will diffinetly help I think.The cx series is pretty bad.

I was considering the 980 at one point, but I didn't a big enough gain to justify the price. Thank you for your input as well on the other parts, I will upgrade to the 2 TB drive and save on the SSD. Also what did you base your motherboard suggestion off of? It doesn't seem to have reviews that are better than my own? Not that any motherboard has overwhelmingly positive reviews.

 

[fudgecakes99]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMfioWnKzvk

I'd say on average a 10-15 frame difference from 970 to 980. About the same temps and close wattage. Granted those are reference models and not even oc'ed. Gl with the build.

 

[TheGrambo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMfioWnKzvk

I'd say on average a 10-15 frame difference from 970 to 980. About the same temps and close wattage. Granted those are reference models and not even oc'ed. Gl with the build.

That's definitely not enough to justify the price difference. And I see the 290 almost kept up with the 970 so I would assume the 390 would perform even better. So my graphics card is settled. Just have to wait 1-3 months for it to ship after I order it.

 

[TheGrambo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($161.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($18.29 @ Amazon)
Total: $1173.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 18:31 EDT-0400

After taking in all suggestions I have reworked my build to include my new PSU, SSD, and Graphics Card. Thank you to all who helped out!

 

[Carl Abraham]

Was going through the exact same budget: this is what I settled on finally (after all the recommendations here)
I plan to use the SSDs in RADIO 0 and the HDDs in RAID 1. But if you're not doing those, you wouldn't need two of each
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XB EVO ATX Desktop Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1224.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-12 18:03 EDT-0400

 

[fudgecakes99]

Was going through the exact same budget: this is what I settled on finally (after all the recommendations here)
I plan to use the SSDs in RADIO 0 and the HDDs in RAID 1. But if you're not doing those, you wouldn't need two of each
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XB EVO ATX Desktop Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1224.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-12 18:03 EDT-0400

Why two 256gb ssds and two 2tb hdds? You can save space and some money by just getting one 512gb ssd and one 4tb hdd. Or even a higher rpm 3tb hdd.

If you're going for a smaller build i say look at a fractal design r5. Amazing case, and it has that clean look where you can't see the external bays.

 

[Gracodana]

Was going through the exact same budget: this is what I settled on finally (after all the recommendations here)
I plan to use the SSDs in RADIO 0 and the HDDs in RAID 1. But if you're not doing those, you wouldn't need two of each
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XB EVO ATX Desktop Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1224.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-12 18:03 EDT-0400

Why two 256gb ssds and two 2tb hdds? You can save space and some money by just getting one 512gb ssd and one 4tb hdd. Or even a higher rpm 3tb hdd.

If you're going for a smaller build i say look at a fractal design r5. Amazing case, and it has that clean look where you can't see the external bays.

he wants to have raid, this build wouldn't be ideal for most users but for a production pc it's pretty nice.

 

[fudgecakes99]

Running two ssd's in raid isn't better then a single nvm ssd. Sure it's more cost effective to run two ssd's and get roughly 900mb of read and 700mb of write. But a single nvm card would give you 1.8 gigs read and write. Granted theirs a pretty big premium at the moment, but for a production pc, i'd imagine it'd be a lot more useful. As the tech goes on i expect it to drop in price significantly.

 

[Gracodana]

Running two ssd's in raid isn't better then a single nvm ssd. Sure it's more cost effective to run two ssd's and get roughly 900mb of read and 700mb of write. But a single nvm card would give you 1.8 gigs read and write. Granted theirs a pretty big premium at the moment, but for a production pc, i'd imagine it'd be a lot more useful. As the tech goes on i expect it to drop in price significantly.

You do understand what RAID 0 does do you?

 

[fudgecakes99]

Running two ssd's in raid isn't better then a single nvm ssd. Sure it's more cost effective to run two ssd's and get roughly 900mb of read and 700mb of write. But a single nvm card would give you 1.8 gigs read and write. Granted theirs a pretty big premium at the moment, but for a production pc, i'd imagine it'd be a lot more useful. As the tech goes on i expect it to drop in price significantly.

You do understand what RAID 0 does do you?

Putting data between two drives in strips to improve overall drive performance. But at the same time, causing a higher chance of failure if one drive goes you're out of data. Unless thats a different raid i'm thinking about?