help deciding the better specifications for my desktop

[echo_45]

i have 3 sets of quotations from 2 seperate local dealers and can't seem to make up my mind. here are the specs

1.

i5 4690K
Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 3
8GB Team Elite Plus 1600MHz DDR3
240GB Team Ultra L5
WD 1TB Blue
MSI or Asus GTX970
FSP Aurum S 500W
CM K380 with 2x LED fans
CM Hyper 212 Evo

or

2.

Intel i5 4690K
ASUS Z97 Pro Gamer
8GB Hyper X Fury 1800Mhz
1TB HDD
240GB SSD
GTX 970 AMP Extreme Core
Silverstone KL05 with a front fan
Seasonic G550 PSU
CM Hyper 212 Evo

or

3.

Core i5 4690K
CM Hyper 212 Evo
Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 3
Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X
Team Dark 8GB 2400MHz DDR3
Team Ultra L5 240GB SSD
WD Blue 1TB
FSP Aurum S 600W 80+ Gold
CM K380 with 2x LED Fans

The final config is the cheapest, the second configuration costs slightly more than the first, and if i go with that, do i need to add another fan for the casing? It only has a front fan. thx guys

 

[Icaraeus]

It's better to build yourself instead of purchase prebuilt, or at least in the majority of cases it is.

 

[echo_45]

It's better to build yourself instead of purchase prebuilt, or at least in the majority of cases it is.

so you mean i should try and pick up parts from different places and assemble it myself? Well yes that is an option but the price does seem to round up to about the same as the above configs.

Plus the hardware on these specs seems pretty decent. So if go with one of these, what would you recommend?

 

[TofuLion]

the reason the custom build is better is because you are actually choosing each part, and therefore you can assure you get the best quality for the money. give us a price range and we can advise you best.

 

[atheus]

These builds are essentially identical, so it's really just going to come down to how you feel about the individual parts. My guess is that these local dealers are custom building the systems, so you could get them to put whatever you want into them, right?

Aside from that, my observations are as such:
1. Seasonic is top notch when it comes to power supplies. I don't know anything about FSP.
2. The case is the face of your system. Pick one you find visually appealing, and then check reviews to see if it's a piece of junk. If it is, start over.
3. Radeon 290X vs. GTX 970 is a hotly debated choice. If you find the idea of using an extra 100 watts of power for basically nothing to be acceptable, then go with the Radeon. If you are at all concerned about global warming, probably go with the nVidia.

 

[atheus]

so you mean i should try and pick up parts from different places and assemble it myself? Well yes that is an option but the price does seem to round up to about the same as the above configs.

If the price for all the parts is about the same as it is to have a boutique builder make it for you, either you are shopping wrong, or the builder is doing something weird. I know mwave in Australia will basically assemble a computer for you out of the parts you buy from their site for an extra AUD $100, but that's a pretty rare value. I'd double-check with pcpartpicker.com and see if your price estimate is really accurate.

 

[echo_45]

the reason the custom build is better is because you are actually choosing each part, and therefore you can assure you get the best quality for the money. give us a price range and we can advise you best.

online prices (on newegg and amazon) are very cheap compared to our local prices. But getting them down is not an option, because shipping + tax makes the prices worse than the local dealers. (I live in Sri Lanka) The local price rounds up to about 1350-1400 USD for each of the above configurations.

 

[echo_45]

These builds are essentially identical, so it's really just going to come down to how you feel about the individual parts. My guess is that these local dealers are custom building the systems, so you could get them to put whatever you want into them, right?

Aside from that, my observations are as such:
1. Seasonic is top notch when it comes to power supplies. I don't know anything about FSP.
2. The case is the face of your system. Pick one you find visually appealing, and then check reviews to see if it's a piece of junk. If it is, start over.
3. Radeon 290X vs. GTX 970 is a hotly debated choice. If you find the idea of using an extra 100 watts of power for basically nothing to be acceptable, then go with the Radeon. If you are at all concerned about global warming, probably go with the nVidia.

Thank you for the response, and yep i can tweak around a bit with the configuration. lol so the 2nd configuration seems like the best choice. And i think i'll look more into getting individual parts and assembling them myself.

 

[echo_45]

so you mean i should try and pick up parts from different places and assemble it myself? Well yes that is an option but the price does seem to round up to about the same as the above configs.

If the price for all the parts is about the same as it is to have a boutique builder make it for you, either you are shopping wrong, or the builder is doing something weird. I know mwave in Australia will basically assemble a computer for you out of the parts you buy from their site for an extra AUD $100, but that's a pretty rare value. I'd double-check with pcpartpicker.com and see if your price estimate is really accurate.

Thank you for the response, yea good point there must be some assembly cost. I probably should run through the prices again to make sure. I have tried pcpartpicker and I can get the configuration for under 1200 USD, but unfortunately the local prices are way more than that. the same configuration locally costs around 1350-1400 USD. And like i've said before, shipping+tax makes it impractical to bring it down for a reasonable price. 🙁

 

[atheus]

Sounds like in Sri Lanka your part suppliers and system builders tend to overlap. There's a reasonable chance they may be the way to go, then, as like mwave they're double-dipping into the part sales profits and system building profits to make it worth their time. That being the case, just forget about their quotes and hand them the list of parts you like, and let them sort out the rest. System 2 is a good starting point, either way.

 

[TofuLion]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.95 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1055.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-18 05:43 EDT-0400

probably worth the extra 250-300