Comparing four 1000 dollar builds

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KKAW

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Build 1: All solid parts. This is what i would have in mind when someone gives my $1000.
Build 2: Not recommended. No point in having a 4690K if you don't have a cooler that will enable proper overclocking. The motherboard is a slight overkill. I generally do not recommend ASUS flagship GPU's because their performance in benchmarks usually are lacking compared to others. PSU is a overkill. Very disappointed cult of mesh.
Build 3: Maxwell isn't exactly new as he states. GTX 970 actually has 3.5 VRAM and 0.5 GB of slower and lets just say sh*ttier VRAM. Not hitting on MSI, because i would actually highly recommend to go with MSI as a GPU brand, however his reasoning behind it is disgusting. PSU again, overkill.
Build 4: Same thing applies to the GPU here about the ASUS statement i made. Also unless you are going to perform a lot of tasks & programs that utilize 8 threads, this is not the right CPU to go with. The word he uses "Gaming" is completely wrong if you are putting a bloody Xeon 3.4 Ghz in the build. EVGA B series is bad.

Recommending: Build 1

I have genuinely lost respect for Cult of mesh & HardwareDealsUs.
PTechTips, not that great but not as bad as those 2.
 

WIPGamer

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Thanks for your help!!! I was kinda iffy on my build because I have never heard or the ram but nobody ever points it out and I suppose that means it's good. Again, thanks for your help and hope you have a good day!!
 

KKAW

Admirable


All your choices are solid, however if you are thinking of doing some mid~high range overclocking on the 4690K a $100~110 motherboard will help. As long as the brand is listed in PC PartPicker for RAM you are fine ^^

I use 2x8 GB of Team Elite Plus RAM, i bet you haven't heard of it, however it works great!
 

KKAW

Admirable




1080P? GTX 970 (non reference) & overclock it.
1440P? R9 390 (non reference) & overclock it
 
Hi,
The first build is fairly solid however the main changes I'd make are:

1) CASE - I don't get the impression it's a great case. There are several options though one I can think of offhand is the NZXT 220 which has I believe two, 12cm PWM fans (use one as front intake and one as top-rear exhaust). So you should be able to connect them to the motherboard and setup a suitable fan profile for them and the CPU fan.

Among other reasons to dislike certain cases, the type of FANS used are important for a gaming PC.

2) DDR3 memory - perhaps the ADATA is okay, but personally I prefer spending a bit more on Corsair or G.Skill with good customer feedback scores. I'd probably go for 1866MHz CAS9 as well.

Other:
a) As for the GTX970 choice the MSI appears fine, however there are several good options. I'm not sure if the Gigabyte version offers 0dB fan control support (turn fans off completely). I also like the Asus Strix which has a backplate and appears to be good quality, and the EVGA ACX2.0 cards (no backplate except separately added).

b) Motherboard?
A few options. I usually recommend Asus or Gigabyte first but I always look at review and customer feedback...

c) Windows:
Don't forget Windows though at this point you may wish to wait and buy Windows 10 64-bit OEM in about a week instead of W7/W8.1 and upgrading (do NOT buy Windows 8 since you'd have to upgrade to 8.1 first to qualify for the W10 upgrade).
 

WIPGamer

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Which motherboard and ram??
 
My build ($1011 without Windows, plus $55 rebates): http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dc4BRB

Based on the builds you had for roughly $1000USD this is my build and some comments. You can save a bit of money here and there (i.e. $20 on cheaper SSD etc, CPU cooler $35...).

My reasons:

1) Motherboard:
Unfortunately a $35 Mail In Rebate not included in the price, but the Z87 Gryphon is a very well made motherboard that has a 5-Year Warranty. It's part of the Asus TUF series and uses much higher quality parts than other motherboards.

I did a lot of research before buying this motherboard for my father concluding it SHOULD be one of the most reliable boards you can purchase.

2) CPU:
Self explanatory. For this budget it's hard to recommend anything else.

3) CPU cooler:
While I also recommend the CM Hyper 212 EVO it's worth noting this Noctua will be quieter (silent in idle at 300RPM if fans setup properly) and very quiet under full load.

If you choose a GTX970 that can disable the fans and get the Noctua it's possible to build a PC that's nearly silent. Either one is fine it simply depends on if you think the $30 or so extra over the EVO is worth the cost of a quieter experience (at $1000 that is 3% more for a quieter experience). For that matter the stock cooler is possible but too noisy to recommend.

3) SSD:
Some of the cheapest SSD's seem fine like the BX100, however for a little more I really have to recommend the Samsung 850 EVO.

4) Asus Strix GTX970:
I had a few choices here. This has fan turnoff mode like many, seems well built, backplate and overclocks almost as good as the best overclockers here. In the case of my build I've also gone with a black/brown theme due to the motherboard choice so the glaring RED of the MSI was not suitable.

5) Case: discussed in above comment

6) PSU: a few choices here but the customer feedback seems very good indicating to me it should be reliable. I do recommend modular or semi-modular to reduce cable clutter.

Summary:
I followed the basic build but spent slightly more on some parts that I believe are higher quality, whether for reliability (SSD, motherboard) or reduced noise (Noctua cooler) so use this and the other build as a guide depending on your priorities.

Note the REBATES, and how to redeem them when deciding as well.


Other:
a) The Asus Z87 Gryphon warranty may need the driver CD to be inserted and the setup started and filled out to qualify for the full 5-Year Warranty.

Read the motherboard for memory placement (DDR3), BIOS update, fan control etc.

b) Samsung Magician software should be installed for Samsung SSD's (or the appropriate software for other SSD's). Samsung Magician allows simple firmware updating (I'm not sure how all SSD's compare but some recent models were harder to update).

c) Run MEMTEST regardless of parts chosen and do so for a FULL PASS prior to installing Windows. www.memtest.org

d) A quick setup for "K" series CPU's on compatible motherboards like the Z87/Z97 is to apply the quick overclock in the BIOS which might go to about 4.2GHz or 4.3GHz depending on motherboard. The DDR3 memory might end up close to but not exactly the rated frequency (i.e. maybe 1825MHz if rated 1866MHz). That's perfectly fine provided Memtest passes.

e) CPU diagnostic: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool-64-bit-

f) Driver support for Windows 10 for the motherboard may just use Windows 8.1 drivers instead.

Good luck.
 

KKAW

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With the GTX 970 the XFX 550W is a great tier 2 PSU. Even if you are overclocking you will be good to go!
 

WIPGamer

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Well I don't really care about how the colors mix in my PC I am just going foe performance. So basically for the graphics card you chose the strix instead of the G1 because it's quieter, even though the G1 has better performance? Correct me If I am wrong. Everything else seems fine to me. Thanks!!!
 

KKAW

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I'm going to have to disagree on the other guy over there. He is basing off everything through statements stated on the internet.
It doesn't matter what brand you get, as long as it is not a blower styled cooler, it will never get loud enough to the point you can actually hear it with headphones & under full GPU load, you will barely be able to hear the fans spinning. This is for all brands. not just ASUS.

Also as far as i'm concerned, ASUS GTX cards, according to all the benchmarks i've read (a lot) have concluded it is one of the more lacking GPU compared to other brands, performance wise.
 

WIPGamer

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So i should just go with the G1 gtx 970?
 

KKAW

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G1 Gaming GTX 970 is great, other GTX 970 like MSI Gaming, EVGA SuperClocked are also great.

I don't understand this guy's build. He is using a 1 generation old motherboard and using a MicroATX motherboard, so it will have a lack of features.

The PSU is Tier 4. Your build is Tier 2.

The only thing this man improved from your first build is the case is better.

I don't understand ...
 

KKAW

Admirable


Your 1st build is FAR superior than the other build.

If you have the extra few bucks to spend, change the SSD to a 840 Evo.
Change the case to a CoolerMaster HAF 912.

A perfect build ^^
 

KKAW

Admirable


Final Revision: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/V3snVn

Trust me, you will not regret buying this. I'm surprised the Youtube channel's don't have a $1000 gaming system identical to this part pick.

HAF 912: HAF stands for Heavy Air Flow, you will have great airflow in your case for the price especially which means your case should run cool ^^
 
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