Building a gaming rig for $3000 ish, Recommendations?

[Freedom_Fries]

Trying to piece together a new gaming rig. I will probably wait until black Friday/cyber Monday to purchase most of the parts. I'm looking to build a solid rig that will last me about 3 years with minimal upgrades (maybe add another graphics card SLI down the road)

The biggest debate right now, is graphics cards. Do I buy an expensive top tier card (780ti / 290x) or do I buy a mid range (780/ R9 290) and plan on purchasing 1-2 cards down the road to increase my systems survivability for future titles, planning on the upgrade of a by then 1 generation old card to have dropped in price.

Here's my build plan so far, pending changes to the graphics card setup.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1UtTE

I have no idea how to build a rig, so I'll be following tutorials via magazine and the internet, so I don't plan on overclocking or water cooling or anything complicated that might lead to financial regret coupled with cro-magnon rage and a real life physics demo featuring the contents of my office.

 

[realchaos]

What is your monitor resolution?
Do you really need a blu-ray drive?
Do you really need Wi-Fi?
Is this purely for gaming?

 

[Computerchap]

If you're not overclocking or water cooling why do you have a K series card and a water cooler? Ha, that aside I changed you to a i5 as it is plenty for gaming, I changed the mobo to one with wifi built in and dropped the adapter I went down to 8 GB (again plenty for gaming) I chose a Fractal design define R4 for a case. I dropped the fan as the case comes with fans. And really, you don't need that much SSD storage so I dropped the 512 SSD down to a 256 SSD And I chose the 780 as it will be top notch for gaming and adding another will last you for years. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1YwiS

 

[Immaculate]

If the builder has a the money and know how, then I say get the best for the budget. Not necessarily needs, sure games can run fine on 8GB of RAM but maybe they do some heavy modding, I know I wish I had more RAM when I mess around with Skyrim's uGridsToLoad (how many cells are loaded).

You say no watercooling yet or build is watercooled?
Do you want a monitor? With a budget like that I suggest 1440p.

 

[Immaculate]

No key+mouse/headset.
Ivy-E
Quad channel RAM.
290X
MicroATX.
1000W PLATINUM
Noctua Air Cooled
This will absolutely crush all the suggested builds.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1YwP2

 

[Computerchap]

No key+mouse/headset.
Ivy-E
Quad channel RAM.
290X
MicroATX.
1000W PLATINUM
Noctua Air Cooled
This will absolutely crush all the suggested builds.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1YwP2

Why would he need 32 GB of ram or a i7 4930K for gaming?

 

[realchaos]

No matter how you look at it, Socket LGA 2011 is stupidly overkill in gaming. So is 32gb of RAM. As is a 512gb SSD.
Just because the OP can, doesn't mean he should.

 

[Immaculate]

Some people got money to burn. HE/SHE may want the best of the best. I simply used their budget.
In your build you have a GTX 780 AND 780Ti.

 

[realchaos]

As stated, just because the OP has money to spend, doesn't mean he/she should.
The OP can get a build (that doesn't use LGA 2011 or 32gb of ram or 512gb SSD) at a much cheaper price while performing the same in games. Isn't that better? Same performance at a cheaper price?
I can create a build that I would recommend if the OP can kindly answer the questions posed above.

 

[Immaculate]

Considering Ghosts will be 50GB on PS4, I dont see 512GB being too much storage.

Here is a non 2011 socket build. All of you people know if you had the money you would build a LGA 2011 pc.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Yx9v PC with 1440p monitor.

 

[Freedom_Fries]

What is your monitor resolution?
Do you really need a blu-ray drive?
Do you really need Wi-Fi?
Is this purely for gaming?

Thanks for the input everybody.

I want a blu-ray, because its not that expensive, and I can watch movies on it.

I do want wifi, because its just convenient, and I dont have wires routed upstairs into my office.

The computer is essentially just for gaming, because everything else I use my computer for my tablet can already do.

I was thinking the large amount of ssd storage because of the size of current games, and the fact that almost my whole games library is on steam. The price isnt much of a factor for me on the storage. I have a 120gb ssd that I use now on my laptop, and for games like Skyrim, it really chops out the load times.

I do not need a monitor quite yet, so that affords me more $ for my main build. I will go 1440p once the prices drop a little bit in this crazy marketing scheme that is 4k.

 

[g-unit1111]

No matter how you look at it, Socket LGA 2011 is stupidly overkill in gaming. So is 32gb of RAM. As is a 512gb SSD.
Just because the OP can, doesn't mean he should.

Completely agree. I'd spend $2K on the rig and then the rest on monitor(s) and accessories.

I want a blu-ray, because its not that expensive, and I can watch movies on it.

I'm personally not a fan of BD-R on PCs, the lag makes movies unwatchable and everything is moving toward cloud computing and online storage anyways so you'll probably never need a CD or BD-R drive in the future.

 

[Immaculate]

Is case size a concern?

 

[Freedom_Fries]

Is case size a concern?

Nope, I'd prefer to not have my computer sound like a helicopter, and I would like to have room for a second video card later on

 

[Immaculate]

This.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1YCk3

 

[Freedom_Fries]

This.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1YCk3

I like it, thanks for the ideas

 

[Computerchap]

^ no need for that i7, i5 will be fine 8 GB of ram will work fine too. Also it seems you forgot a graphics card.

 

[realchaos]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($174.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($509.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($509.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic Platinum 860W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($98.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor ($549.00 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K60 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse ($64.62 @ B&H)
Headphones: Logitech G930 7.1 Channel Headset ($98.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $3033.16
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-07 02:16 EST-0500)

You only need an i5 and 8gb of ram for gaming.
Included a 1440p monitor.
SLI GTX 780 will destroy any game at 1440p.
250gb SSD. Use it wisely, and it should be plenty enough.

 

[Immaculate]

No, I didnt forget a GPU.
Its well within the budget. If you really don't want to upgrade for 5+ years go for that Ivy-E. Its like being able to afford a sports car, people say "is it really necessary?" answer is, no. But if that's the kind of PC hardware you want, 2011 is like a Lamborghini.
The savings in money from i7 to i5 is negligible with the provided budget. Same with the RAM.
If TES6 is 64bit that extra RAM will help if they plan to add mods.

 

[realchaos]

Except in 5+ years, Ivy-E will be extremely out-dated and the gpu would have been upgraded somewhere between the 2-3years mark.
This is a gaming rig, and in a gaming rig the gpu is the most essential part. Why get a single R9-290, when you can get a SLI GTX 780? An i5 and SLI GTX 780 will provide a much better gaming experience over an Ivy Bridge-E and a single R9-290.

 

[Computerchap]

Well, if he were video editing or something very processor heavy your build would be justified. This would be like if someone wanted an off-road vehicle and you sold them a Lamborghini, it may be pretty kick-ass looking and sounds really awesome, but it won't do what he wants it to do as well as g-unit's will.

 

[sacara21]

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($355.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($355.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($735.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 550D ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic Platinum 860W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse ($51.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2663.30

You absolutely do not need an i7 or 16gb of ram for gaming.
This is what I would do if I was you. This leaves you room to upgrade down the line with another 780ti in a year or two.
If you like extremely fast load times put those two SSD's in RAID or just keep 1TB of SSD space.