Help me build a gaming PC around i5 4690 [1100$]

mechanicarts

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Jun 15, 2015
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Hello, I intend to buy a gaming rig. I had no clue about the subject. but after weeks of looking around for info, and asking some people, I have decided on the i5 4690 as far as CPU goes. Not the 4690K, I'm not interested in overclocking, because I expect my computer to perform top-notch for a long time.

I was also decided on the ASUS STRIX GTX960 but then I saw a lot of people praising the R9 290 instead. It is also kinda cheaper and allows for some wiggle room for the other parts. But it is already 1.5 year old. What should I do?

My requirements-preferences are as follows:

■ The 1100 budget must contain a screen. No other peripherals or OS.
■ Will be used for video editing and CPU intensive jobs (I hope the i5 does the job more than adequately)
■ Will be used for gaming, I want to play new games in very high quality for some years.
■ Will be on a lot, maybe 24/7, for rendering, exporting etc. Needs to keep cool, I don't care very much about noise as much as I care about temperatures.
■ I would like to have multiple programs open simultaneously (Photoshop and Premiere and Chrome) so as high RAM as it can go within the budget.
■ I'm not particularly interested in an SSD for now. I don't think I will miss it, because I've never had one. If it fits in the budget, put one.
■ I care more for performance than looks, so if a box is more spacious/has better airflow but simpler in looks than another one in the same price, I'll prefer the first box.
■ Also need it to have a CD drive.

Also guys, I live in Greece, where most parts have higher prices. I also can't order from Amazon/Newegg or other US sites like that because they don't ship to Greece, or they add some $200 import fees etc.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($289.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($58.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($319.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VX228H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($139.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1127.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-15 14:04 EDT-0400

I know you can't buy from these sites, but just use this as a reference. You can change the SSD & HDD to a Seagate Hybrid if you'd like. Hybrids are basically HDDs with a small amount of SSD inside.
 
Solution
Wow, I was extremely hyped to see you included both an i7 AND a GTX970, but then I checked the prices in a price comparison site for my country.

i7 = 365$
GTX970 = 370$.

This really is disheartening.

EDIT: I know you said "reference", but hundreds of dollars of difference isn't really comparable. Perhaps I should drop the target budget to avoid further confusion?
 


You could maybe push the i7 down to an i5 4690 or 4590.
 
I ran your build with an i5 through the price comparison website and ended up with a 1400 dollar composition. I don't think I should be asking in a non-Greek website about my build, since the prices are extremely different. My GPU question though (gtx960 vs r9 290) still stands. I should probably add it as a new subject right?
 


r9 290.

Why don't you come up with a build that will suit your budget? I can give advice.
 
Thank you for your answer and sorry for my constant bugging, it's just that this is my first rig, things are also pretty tight and I'm looking to scrape off costs from everywhere possible (without making downgrades).

cpu i5 4690 = 235€
mobo ASRock h87 Pro4 = 86€
gpu VTX3D R9 290 V2 X-Edition = 295€
ram Corsair 12GB (3x4) DDR3-1600 = 96€ (will the 3 sticks work with the mobo?)
psu Corsair VS Series VS550 80Plus = 57€
hdd Toshiba DT01ACA100 = 52€
case CoolerMaster K380 = 45€
screen Samsung T22D390EW = 139€

1005€

I opted for some cheap af parts, but I don't really know where I should skimp or not.
 
Your mobo is dual channel, so no, it wouldn't work out. Well, technically, it would, but the performance would be bad.

So what I suggest for the RAM is 2x4 GB. 8GB is sufficient, and 12GB is a little overkill.

For the GPU, no, don't get it. Get a different brand. Look up the brand of GPU before getting it, and look at the reviews. VTX3D is a really cheap version of PowerColor GPUs. It's not worth it, don't get it.

And for the Mobo I'd try to get a h97 if possible.

Everything else is good.
 
mobo Asrock H97 Anniversary = 77€
RAM Crucial 8GB DDR3-1600MHz = 55€
GPU Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB = 305€ (this was actually my first thought, since I saw it was considered a "big" player in the AMD cards field)

965€

Good choices?

[strike]35€ is pretty low to upgrade something major I guess?

Maybe I'll spend the rest on a set of decent headphones. I thought of the screen first, but this one has some good reviews on the site.[/strike] turns out I forgot to factor in S&H and 35€ should be plenty.

UPDATE: Found a GTX970 in a german site for a mere 315€. It's from Inno3D and it has a lot of good comments for having a beast cooling system. I'm persuaded to go for it from the benchmarks and reviews, unless I'm missing something critical.