$2,000 Gaming PC

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Hambros

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Hello Tom's Hardware Forum Goers,
I need you to build me a gaming PC! Firstly, I hope to get input from at least a couple of people so the information is not biased/inaccurate. For those who read and helped me along with my last thread, know that I have run across a few "fortunate" events, and I am instead going to build a full size PC with a budget of $2,000.


Approximate Purchase Date: this week (I Hope!)

Budget Range: $2,000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Recording, Editing

Are you buying a monitor: Not with the budget. Recommendations are great though 😀


Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg/Any

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Wisconsin, USA

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU (Preferably the new 4790k)

Overclocking: Maybe (If need be... I don't think I'll need to with the 4790k)

SLI or Crossfire: Yes or No

Your Monitor Resolution:1920x1080

Additional Comments: I'd like to run BF4 on Ultra at 100-150 fps ONLY because that will ensure the rig support games for years to come.

Also, I like the look of almost all of the $2,000 Intel builds on the High-End Intel-Based discussion.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2141770/bestconfigs-high-end-intel-gaming.html

However, I am not very knowledgeable on the subject, and instead turn to you. I do, however, know that the posts are meant to compete with each other for the best, and I would like to know WHAT'S THE BEST OUT THERE?

* SLI/Xfire is possible if that means creating the best!*

Thanks in advance for anyone who posts.
 
Solution
g-unit1111
With that kind of budget i would imagine that your pc would look something like this (give or take);
i7 4790k
MSI or ASUS Gaming Mainboard with at least 2 PCIe lanes at at least x8 speed or faster
1000 watt+ Power Supply - probably a Corsair or Seasonic GOLD rated at least
At least 256GB SSD and 1TB+ HDD combo
Crossfire R9 290 or better
16GB 1600MHZ+ RAM
$80+ Case with adequate cooling (and probably additional fans)
$30+ CPU cooler
$15 DVD Drive
(Optional) Additional Sound Card (Sound Blaster Z or better)

It's going to look around what you see above. just dont forget a keyboard and mouse, if you need them.
Either way its going to be a sweet build. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Generalizing is never, ever a good way to go especially when people come...
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You'll only be using one monitor?
Also, do you need a keyboard, mouse, headset, speakers, pci wireless adapter, sound card?
My advice, cut into some of that $2000 budget and get an awesome screen (you'll be so glad you did), nice mechanical keyboard (blue switches sound cool), nice laser mouse, etc.
 
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With that kind of budget i would imagine that your pc would look something like this (give or take);
i7 4790k
MSI or ASUS Gaming Mainboard with at least 2 PCIe lanes at at least x8 speed or faster
1000 watt+ Power Supply - probably a Corsair or Seasonic GOLD rated at least
At least 256GB SSD and 1TB+ HDD combo
Crossfire R9 290 or better
16GB 1600MHZ+ RAM
$80+ Case with adequate cooling (and probably additional fans)
$30+ CPU cooler
$15 DVD Drive
(Optional) Additional Sound Card (Sound Blaster Z or better)

It's going to look around what you see above. just dont forget a keyboard and mouse, if you need them.
Either way its going to be a sweet build. Enjoy!
 
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Eizo Forris monitors are a little pricey, but they're gorgeous. You could also easily upgrade to a 2560x1440 resolution monitor. Give your $2000 (or slightly reduced budget) something to actually DO instead of running a 1080p monitor. It would be bored.
 
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I made ramen and came back, but you didn't respond. So, I'll assume you were gonna buy an ok $150 1080p monitor, and you need a mechanical keyboard for about $100, but keyboard is personal preference, so adding in monitor budget and taking out keyboard, here's one way to spend $2050:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Thermal Compound: Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme 3.5g Thermal Paste ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($143.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($310.20 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($310.20 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor ($454.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2046.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

People might say amd is better performance for the money, but nvidia's sli support for games is MUCH better.
I couldn't fit sli 780's in because of the monitor, and also because 770's are better price per performance, and two 780's would be overkill and a waste.
Evga G2 power supplies are pretty much the best on the planet right now, and 850 watts is all you'll need.
Gave you your choice of cpu, even though it's overkill. Hyper 212 evo is default.
If you need more hard drive space, or you don't need an ssd, that's all preference as well. Ssd's hardly do anything for gaming.
 
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Damn, forgot that 2560x1440 monitors need more than 2GB.
Had to drop the ssd because I liked the other components too much.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Thermal Compound: Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme 3.5g Thermal Paste ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($143.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.50 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor ($454.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2044.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
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With that kind of budget i would imagine that your pc would look something like this (give or take);
i7 4790k
MSI or ASUS Gaming Mainboard with at least 2 PCIe lanes at at least x8 speed or faster
1000 watt+ Power Supply - probably a Corsair or Seasonic GOLD rated at least
At least 256GB SSD and 1TB+ HDD combo
Crossfire R9 290 or better
16GB 1600MHZ+ RAM
$80+ Case with adequate cooling (and probably additional fans)
$30+ CPU cooler
$15 DVD Drive
(Optional) Additional Sound Card (Sound Blaster Z or better)

It's going to look around what you see above. just dont forget a keyboard and mouse, if you need them.
Either way its going to be a sweet build. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Generalizing is never, ever a good way to go especially when people come here looking for specifics. There's way too much crap hardware out there and you definitely need someone to sort the good from the crap.

I personally wouldn't get an i7 for gaming, and there's *ZERO* reason to pair a $2,000 build with a $50 case, it really makes the whole thing look cheap..And for Haswell you want DDR3-2133 or better, there's no reason to get DDR3-1600,

Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme 99.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($161.13 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M550 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($156.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Dual Classified ACX Video Card ($689.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout with Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1733.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

That gives you $200+- for whatever monitor you want. Or $150 for a 1080P monitor and then spend the rest on a nice mechanical keyboard and mouse.
 
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Solution
Why would Haswell make a difference needing DDR3-2133? You have to overclock the ram on the motherboard, which I wouldn't feel very comfortable doing, let alone someone else on their first build!

There is a reason to get DDR3-1600, it's the ram speed that all motherboards use without overclocking. And it's perfectly fast enough for gaming.

$50 cases don't make everything look cheap, there are a few that look nice and perform well. And cases are always personal preference. Some people don't like the look of "refrigerator door" pc cases.
I do like Fractal cases, but spending $120 on something that does nothing for the performance of my pc is hard to justify.
 
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If it was my computer:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($304.99 @ NCIX US)
Thermal Compound: Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme 3.5g Thermal Paste ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H97-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($105.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.50 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($699.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($112.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Eizo FG2421-BK 240Hz 23.5" Monitor ($600.70 @ Amazon)
Total: $2051.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

240Hz Eizo (I'm in love), don't need to overclock for gaming (saves money on heatsink and z version motherboard), don't want an ssd, don't need an optical drive.
 
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Here's the build I went with. Last part is coming in tomorrow. I'm a first time builder as well, so I'm sure this is not perfect but I'm happy with it! I'm not planning to overclock, but have everything in place (minus some extra cooling) if/when I want to down the road.:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K Processor ($330 @ amazon)
CPU Cooler: Stock one that comes with CPU
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-DELUXE ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboard ($280 @ amazon)
Memory:Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 C9 1600 MHZ (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory CMY16GX3M2A1600C9 ($170 @ amazon)
Storage: Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 1TB SATA III SSD MZ-7TE1T0BW ($432 @ amazon)
Storage: Several existing WD Black 1TB HDDs
Video Card: ASUS Direct CU II Thermal Design Graphics Card GTX780-DC2OC-3GD5 ($500 after rebate @ amazon)
Case: Corsair Obsidian Series Black 550D Mid Tower Computer Case (CC-9011015-WW) ($130 @ amazon) - I love this case.
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series 860-Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply AX860 ($170 @ amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-Ray Drive (BC-12B1ST) ($62 @ amazon)

Total: approx $2100
 
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I got the 1TB because I plan to run all games + OS on it. Also, I try not to buy lower capacity drives anymore because as time goes by and I upgrade my system, I end up having multiple low capacity drives taking up space, and I'm too cheap to throw them out if they still work. That's personal preference, but I imagine one could easily get by with 256GB.

I got the Corsair 860W mostly for future proofing. I plan to go SLI down the road and I still have multiple HDDs I'm going to put in. Again, it's overkill for now, and might be for some time, but it's a quality power supply and I'd rather pay a little more to have a high ceiling and a bit of future proofing. The fan only spins when it needed so I'm hoping to have this PSU for many years and use it for future builds.

I chose 16GB of RAM because I do some programming on this machine as well and with 9GB in my current machine I've hit the ceiling on that a couple of times already.

Blu-Ray player / DVD burner is because I expect to watch blu-rays on this PC from time to time. I don't however need a blu-ray burner.

You can see the "future proofing" theme in my build. There no guarantees only guesses on what I'll want down the road, but I'm trying to stack the odds in my favor that I can upgrade down the road without having to start from scratch. I don't mind forking out the extra bucks in that attempt.
 
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The future-proofing reasons are fine. 1TB ssd seems a little lavish, cuz in a few years it'll be half the price.

But anyway, please tell me you didn't order the corsair 860w yet. It's way overpriced and an older model. Evga just released the G2 850 model, and it's the best psu currently and way less than the corsair. Newer, better technology, and cheaper.
 
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Yeah, the 1TB SSD is admittedly a bit lavish. I do like that it's a "get it and forget it" purchase. I don't have to worry about making sure I've got 15-20% of the drive empty to keep SSD performance up, and I can download just about anything at anytime to my main drive without first looking to see if I have space avail. Most folks would be wise to choose a smaller drive if looking to keep to a budget. I'm guessing it will cost 1/2 the price in a year's time.

Thanks for the heads up on the PSU, but I have it already. I had a hard time picking out a PSU and switched from a Seasonic at the last minute because I heard there are often mounting problems in the Corsair cases. It's not the best, but I think it will do, and it's got a 7-year warranty for whatever that's worth.
 
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I would go for something like this:

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

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($334.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($204.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($148.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($599.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout with Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1760.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

With the other 250$ You can get

a) liquid cooling (for more intense overclocking)
b) 16gb RAM
c) bigger SSD
d) SLI two GTX 780s instead of the 780 ti

Depends on what you really need! Cheers!
 
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I have the i7 4790K proc. With regard to the CPU cooler, would you recommend the Hyper 212 EVO over the Intel stock cooler even if I'm not overclocking? if so, why? I'm on the fence.
 
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Have a Mouse and Keyboard, Monitor will be separate. I want no sacrifices to the tower's shear power
 
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Thanks for that. Does this build go on the idea of overclocking? I don't know if I'm entirely comfortable doing that.
 
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According to another thread, 2-way SLI with two GTX 770 4GB cards offers better performance at 1440p than one
780 ti. Also, the prices would be similar. Any ideas on that?
 
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1080p , it may seem like overkill of sorts but that's just me :) But I think the card can run all games at 1440p min. of 80-90fps

 
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80-90 fps sounds good for one card. Maybe I'll consider 1440p :)
 
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Yeah I mean you can cut back on some of the costs and try to get a even better 780 ti like the RAM and the case, I only chose them purely for aesthetics

Quote from hexus.net
'Looking at the benchmark results thus far, the GTX 780 Ti, especially overclocked variants, only make sense if you're playing at a 2,560x1,440 resolution. Pairing it with a standard 1,920x1,080 monitor is overkill in the extreme.'

 
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Overkill on 1080p is my comforter because I want to ensure the system support future games.
 
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