Objectives:
1] able to play today's most demanding games on max settings;
2] system as quiet as possible;
3] no OC, no SLi
Notes: Sound card, optical drive, and SSD are just place holders for PSU consideration. I've my own keyboard, mouse, and opt. drv. SSD will be purchased in future.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4590S 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply ($86.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($264.99 @ Amazon)
Sound Card: StarTech PCISOUND4LP 16-bit 48 KHz Sound Card ($11.94 @ Mwave)
Total: $1366.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 23:23 EDT-0400
Things to resolve:
Mobo: check for fastest bus bandwidth. With GPU inplace do I get to use SATA6 bus for HHD? What is fastest spec for SSD? m.2? does mobo have one?
Comments:
CPU: 4690s or 4590s. 4590s on sale
Seagate & WD HDD both have 2 year Warranty, check why WD's is "better"
Case: quietest w/ good cool? check into Cooler Master N600 Windowed ATX Mid Tower
PSU: a *good* 450W should work, but ASUS recommends 500W and 28A on +12V rail. Not many 500W, let alone *good*. Antec EA-550W seems to be okay quality (parts and output) but maybe barely 80plus_plat.
Monitor: Either ASUS or BenQ 24". BenQ does not have DP. Would try 27" but the only interesting one (ASUS) seems to have bad pixel and low QC issues in the last two years.
1] able to play today's most demanding games on max settings;
2] system as quiet as possible;
3] no OC, no SLi
Notes: Sound card, optical drive, and SSD are just place holders for PSU consideration. I've my own keyboard, mouse, and opt. drv. SSD will be purchased in future.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4590S 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply ($86.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($264.99 @ Amazon)
Sound Card: StarTech PCISOUND4LP 16-bit 48 KHz Sound Card ($11.94 @ Mwave)
Total: $1366.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 23:23 EDT-0400
Things to resolve:
Mobo: check for fastest bus bandwidth. With GPU inplace do I get to use SATA6 bus for HHD? What is fastest spec for SSD? m.2? does mobo have one?
Comments:
CPU: 4690s or 4590s. 4590s on sale
Seagate & WD HDD both have 2 year Warranty, check why WD's is "better"
Case: quietest w/ good cool? check into Cooler Master N600 Windowed ATX Mid Tower
PSU: a *good* 450W should work, but ASUS recommends 500W and 28A on +12V rail. Not many 500W, let alone *good*. Antec EA-550W seems to be okay quality (parts and output) but maybe barely 80plus_plat.
Monitor: Either ASUS or BenQ 24". BenQ does not have DP. Would try 27" but the only interesting one (ASUS) seems to have bad pixel and low QC issues in the last two years.