IBuyPower - gaming machine

[jetlagged]

Hi,

Building a computer for gaming/homework. IBuyPower comes out at 1294. Is it worth it or can I save money building myself.

If difference between this and building myself is $100 than I can order this from them.

Specs:

Cyber Monday Intel Z97



Black Friday Limited Time Offer : 1 x [FREE] - iBUYPOWER High Performance Gaming Mouse Pad - Free with any System ($19 Value)
Black Friday Limited Time Offer : 1 x [FREE] - KWORLD G98 Gaming Headset - Free with any System ($29 Value)
Black Friday Limited Time Offer : 1 x [FREE] - iBUYPOWER MEK Mechanical Gaming Keyboard (Red Switch) - Free with all desktops ($79 Value)
Case : 1 x Raidmax Seiran II Gaming Case
Processor : 1 x Intel® Core™ i7-4790K Processor (4x 4.0GHz/8MB L3 Cache) - Intel® Core™ i7-4790K
Processor Cooling : 1 x Asetek 510LC Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1150] - ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)
Memory : 1 x 8 GB [4 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand - **Free Upgrade to 16GB DDR3-2133 ADATA XPG**
Video Card : 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 - 4GB - ASUS TURBO - Single card
Free Stuff : 1 x [FREE] - 802.11AC Dual Band Wireless USB Adapter - FREE with iBUYPOWER Desktops
Free Stuff : 1 x [FREE Game Download] - Intel Gaming Bundle: Just Cause 3, CSGO, and World of Warships - free w/ Intel Processors
Free Stuff : 1 x [FREE] - McAfee Antivirus PLUS - FREE with any System ($49 Value)
Motherboard : 1 x Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI -- 2x PCIe x16, 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 - *Free Upgrade to Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 -- 3x PCIe x16, 4x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0
Power Supply : 1 x 650 Watt - EVGA SuperNOVA NEX650G - 80 PLUS Gold - Free Upgrade to 750W EVGA Power Supply - 80 PLUS Gold
Primary Hard Drive : 1 x 128GB SanDisk Z400S SSD + 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Optical Drive : 1 x 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW - Black -- Free Upgrade to 14X LG Blu-ray Re-writer
Sound Card : 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card : 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Operating System : 1 x None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only
Keyboard : 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard
Mouse : 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse
Advanced Build Options : 1 x Tuniq TX-2 High Performance Thermal Compound - The best interface between your CPU and the heatsinks
Warranty : 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service
Rush Service : 1 x No Rush Service (Usually Ships in 10-15 Business Days)

 

[C12Friedman]

Here's near the homebuilt equivilent
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i GT 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($42.50 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.10 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($289.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Raidmax Seiran (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1036.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-30 16:06 EST-0500

PCPartPicker doesn't show a price for the RaidMax Seiran II so add $55 for it (current NewEgg price)
PCPartPicker doesn't show the Asetek 510LC Liquid CPU Cooling System at all, I substituted the Corsair H80i GT (which I figure to be about the same)

I'm seeing about a $200 markup

 

[jetlagged]

Thanks C12Friedman for your answer and appreciate the effort in going through PCPartPicker. I think I will go with self build then as that is a bit of change. I also don't need the optical drive (which I couldn't remove from the system) so that saves me some more money. In terms of the processor I only intend to play StarCraft 2. Is that processor an overkill?

 

[C12Friedman]

Yeah, the i7 is overkill for almost all gaming - basically the difference between the i5 and i7 is the i7 has hyperthreading (the ability to mimic 4 additional virtual cores) but few games currently take advantage of hyperthreading. For the ~$100 difference you can easily go to a Core i5-4690k without any observable performance penalty. You might look into changing the savings a little by a slightly higher investment in the motherboard for a little better stability (especially if considering overclocking in the future) I'd think the Asus Maximus VII Gene or Maximus VII Hero would be good options IMO