Getting a better price/performance

[Raihan Ahmed]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/RfjHbv
So i am about to buy/build this silent gaming pc in about 1 weeks time and a friend wants to also build a similar system with a gtx 970 + i5 4690k except he wants to cut down on price as much as possible, with every part, getting the best price/performance. If any 1 has any lists or parts to replace please let me know thanks.

 

[sincreator]

This motherboard gets good reviews and saves a little bit: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Intel+Socket/Socket+1150+-+Intel+Z97/Asus+Z97-A+Intel+Z97+%28Socket+1150%29+DDR3+ATX+Motherboard+?productId=60705

I noticed the MSI M-Power there as well for around the same price as the ranger. It could be a good alternative as well. http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Intel+Socket/Socket+1150+-+Intel+Z97/MSI+Z97+MPOWER+Intel+Z97+%28Socket+1150%29+DDR3+ATX+Motherboard+?productId=60546

You can save some on the SSD without sacrificing much. The Crucial MX-100 256gb gets really good reviews. It's every bit as good IMO. http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Storage/SSDs/190GB+-+290GB+SSD/Crucial%C2%AE+MX100+256GB+SATA+2.5%E2%80%9D++7mm+%28with+9.5mm+adapter%29+Internal+Solid+State+Drive+?productId=60860

You can save some money on the PSU as well. XFX 850w semi-modular. Made by Seasonic, and is an excellent unit: http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-Edition-Modular-Certified-P1850XXXB9/dp/B008O50WG0/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1420219189&sr=1-3&keywords=xfx+850w

 

[Darkbreeze]

This is a suitably comparable build, a bit cheaper. If you want the rig to be silent, or even quiet when under a decent load, you don't want the 212 EVO on there. Get a higher end cooler with a lower decibel level like Noctua or Scythe. The EVO is fine at low to medium loads. Above medium load the cooler gets noisy, especially at high loads. You might even start out with the stock cooler at first and upgrade later.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£173.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£110.39 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£56.57 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£77.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£53.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£269.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case (£78.73 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £934.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-02 17:17 GMT+0000

 

[Darkbreeze]

Same build, with a really decent and extremely quiet Noctua cooler:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£173.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£59.99 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£110.39 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£56.57 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£77.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£53.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£269.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case (£78.73 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £969.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-02 17:23 GMT+0000


Even with the Noctua cooler you shave £40.00 off the price and if you are willing to go with an entry level case you can probably cut another £25-35 off the price.

 

[sincreator]

You could knock off a bit more by going with a fractal r4 case, corsair carbide, or zalman z9 U3 as well darkbreeze. Maybe change the PSU to the xfx 850w semi-modular as well to drop the price again, while keeping the headroom for a second GPU and overclocking if needed. Just some suggestions.

PS: I recommended the same SSD and Motherboard you did, lol.

 

[sincreator]

I don't know how we both missed this one. But the EVGA ACX 2.0 GTX 970 Superclocked Edition was on sale at the same site: http://www.cclonline.com/product/160730/04G-P4-2974-KR/Graphics-Cards/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-970-Superclocked-with-ACX-2-0-Cooling-4GB-Graphics-Card-PCI-E-DVI-HDMI-DisplayPort/VGA2721/

Drop another 40 right there and a better card.

 

[logainofhades]

These are the changes I would make.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£173.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£104.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£56.57 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£77.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£53.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£278.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: NZXT Source 530 ATX Full Tower Case (£64.79 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£72.90 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £909.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-02 17:40 GMT+0000

 

[sora]

OP, you can easily save some money by downgrading the cooler and the SSD.