I have a extra $150 to spend on my $1500 system, what would you recommend?

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jbell2825

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Jun 3, 2014
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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CgHxCJ

This is my current build for a new gaming PC. I don't play many FPS, its mostly strategy, RPG, and games like dying light and Metro last light catch my eye too.

With this extra $150 what would you buy?

SSD
upgrade to I7
Upgrade monitor (what's the point in spending money if your monitor cant show it)
other

Let me know what would be your recommendation.

Thank you
 
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AdviserKulikov
SSD, hands down. Biggest improvement you can make with a little cash to any pc. You already have ok monitors, and for 150 all you would really be doing would be to add a 3rd middle of the road monitor.

Your CPU is equivalent to an i7 already for gaming, unless they suddenly start using way more threads.
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SSD, hands down. Biggest improvement you can make with a little cash to any pc. You already have ok monitors, and for 150 all you would really be doing would be to add a 3rd middle of the road monitor.

Your CPU is equivalent to an i7 already for gaming, unless they suddenly start using way more threads.
 
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Solution
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($126.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($118.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: *MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($347.99 @ Amazon)
Case: *Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($68.01 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: *Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: *Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: *AOC e2752Vh 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($179.99 @ Best Buy)
Keyboard: *Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1464.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 16:05 EST-0500


Added a better PSU
Added a better Cooler
Added an SSD.

 
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SSD or 144hz monitor or both :)
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($126.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: *MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($347.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: *Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: *Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ XL2411Z 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($249.00 @ Mac Mall)
Keyboard: *Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1500.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 16:10 EST-0500
 
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I don't think he has bought the monitors yet.
 
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I would stay away from the Seagate Barracudas. I know everyone has their hdd stories but some online research and I feel the consensus is the quality control is not up there. Grab an Intel/Samsung SSD and a WD Caviar Black, imo.
 
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Wow, thanks for all the great advice. I will update my list and repost in a second.

Curious, no one thinks I should upgrade the CPU? Hasn't the trend lately been for a recommended i7 in video games? Is this not going to be the standard going forward? Or are the current recommendations over kill and not a realistic requirement (game companies getting lazy)
 
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Some games do better with the Hyper Threading on a i7 (BF3 and 4 for example), but most times the gains are small. The gains from an SSD are just plain giant, even on a budget model.



 
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The current trend is to recommend the unlocked i5 because it gives almost identical performance in game as the i7 model. The i7 model basically just adds hyper threading which virtually splits the cores. If someone is recommending the i7 for gaming it might just be because there was extra room in the budget. (Or they don't know what they are saying)

 
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Some of it is to do with the architecture the current consoles use, 8-core but relatively low clock speeds. A decent quad core will perform similarly when optimized.

There is also the rule of diminishing returns with performance and price and then our own lack of ability to tell the difference between 120fps and 140fps.
 
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I wouldn't know about the monitors myself as I use large LG TV's for my displays.

In my personal experience Seagate Barracudas offer good performance for a couple years, then it becomes twitchy. Had 2x2tb that both died, one was under warranty and RMA'd but the other was not, of course also lost a lot of data.

I have Samsung HDD's that are 6 years old, still running flawlessly and they have been through a lot.
 
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That build looks sweet, trade you 😀





 
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Ewww, Tv's usually do not make good monitors because of their response time and latency. If you play fps at high frame rates you will notice a difference with a 144hz display. I personally have the asus VG248QE and it is an awesome display. Once you do some work with the color settings, googling will give you guides on how to configure the colors. The benq also has people complaining of the colors out of the box so going benq doesn't mean no tweaking.
 
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Yah, if you get a tv, you want some sort of "gaming mode" option. What it does is reduce post processing (making picture look niceR) and reduce LAG. None of this LAG junk matters unless you are a twitch player, or OCD. If you just play MMO, RPG, occasional FPS, it won't matter as much.
 
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The BenQ is like $20 cheaper I think, both are great brands for monitors.
 
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I am aware, however a 2ms response time at 1080p with a 37" and 32" screen is nothing to be concerned about!

I find that the white on my screens is closer to what I approximate it as, and as I watch a lot of movies screen size is pretty important. Also playing Starcraft 2 on a 32" is just fun. Anyway, not here to discuss my monitor choices, I even said I'm not the guy to ask about it 😉
 
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Nope, everything looks perfect.
 
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