Is this a good gaming rig, nice for the next few years?

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spyguy001

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Apr 14, 2013
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I would like to know if these specs can be good for a gaming pc. I am really new at this and i want to build a good gaming pc that is preferably better than the ps4 specs and will last me a few years without upgrading anything. Also, the link is here:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7782889&sku=B69-1560

I am grateful for any additional info you guys could provide, for ex, how much will a pc cost minimally that will beat the ps4 or xbox720 specs and last about 1-3 years more with any new games on at least medium-high settings.
 
Solution
Hey, you could always start. 2 months ago, I didn't know a thing about computers. Now I'm a forum regular here. Buying my own build in 3 weeks, so I had to tweak to perfectness. Anyway, here's the final build, nothing changed.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung...


All ways, and I mean always, choose 1 faster card over 2 slower cards.
 
Aren't the micro-stuttering and other issues fixed with the drivers by now? Anyways, good news. Uncle decided to gift me a win 7 product code. So that gives me room for about $90 in the budget. I apologize for the apparent disregard for your advice, but i am not able to keep my hands off the 780 and made a build. A Haswell and 780 build. Here:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.89 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($93.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Expansys US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($648.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($2.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Microcenter)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($137.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm Quick Fire Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard ($74.99 @ TigerDirect)
Mouse: Razer RZ01-00152400-R3M1 Wired Optical Mouse ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech Z130 5W 2ch Speakers ($14.51 @ Amazon)
Other: HDMI Cable ($2.69)
Total: $1709.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-25 18:02 EDT-0400)

Or if that is messy, the link: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/spyguy001/saved/1PkG

As i said earlier, sorry for the disregard, but 95% of a Titan with 65% the price is hard to resist. Any complications or things to improve in the build?
 
I am going for the nzxt cuz it had everything i wanted in a case for a very afforable price. R4 is better but comes with the $40 premium that i cant get yet. I will keep the case for the times that i do have the room, but with haswell and 780, the r4 is not possible without making cuts elsewhere, and that does seem appealing cuz i like the nzxt. For the psu, i will check out that one and a few others for your opinion.
 
You are spending too much in unnecessary areas. Games don't use much CPU power and Haswell doesn't boast much over Ivy Bridge any way. For the 780, it doesn't really give much performance, especially at 1080p. At 1080p, it's pretty much identical. The key to building computers is to not bring up your expectations too high.
 
I really do want the 780, thats that. I know that i wont feel much of that with the 1080p monitor now but i plan for it to last. As for haswell, seeing as i can make it work, why not? Seeing as i cant make it work, i have a ivy bridge to build. You guys really are a great help, i have tons of perspective build.
 
ballerslife is right, don't power you're $1700 worth of parts with a $37.99, that just make no scene, you should also really get your self a nice case, what's the point in having all these nice parts in a cheap case?

CPU doesn't matter much at all in gaming, especially not the maximum of 10% difference between Ivy Bridge and Haswell, really you could get a 2500k and have no problems at all.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($152.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.89 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($93.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($648.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Microcenter)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($2.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($137.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm Quick Fire Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard ($74.99 @ TigerDirect)
Mouse: Razer RZ01-00152400-R3M1 Wired Optical Mouse ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech Z130 5W 2ch Speakers ($14.51 @ Amazon)
Other: HDMI Cable ($2.69)
Total: $1712.52
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-26 14:29 EDT-0400)
 
Ok, so haswell is off, but i still want the 780. That build is WAYYYYYY overbudget, like $40-50 over budget. I probably should have said this before and i may have but i want the price to be less than $1740 before all the rebates and discounts kick in. The reason is that the promos and discounts will not last till August and there is no assurance that the overall price will be lower than. I still have to buy the parts with the money in the budget before i get the money back with the mail in rebate. Take about $30-40 off that build and i can accept it knowing that the price has the possibility to drop when i get the parts. As for the case, I do like the fractal but my sibling and parents do not. I like the bitfenix shinobi too, as they do too, but that case does not provide that good of a cooling factor so i chose the nzxt source 210 elite, as we all agreed on that too. Also, due to the fractal having a solid front panel, as the case with the bitfenix shinobi, other people have told me off it because they say that the solid front panel restricts the airflow. I am going to talk the fractal over with my family so i think you can keep that case there. If i am not succesful, could you guys find something that looks like the nzxt or the bitfenix as those are looks that they like. My parents hate flashy leds and flashy lights.I want to be as future-resistant as possible. I saved that build as a prospect one and i will edit it soon in order to get your opinion. What can you do to edit the one above?
 
Anyways, my parents like the bitfenix shinobi the best and i chose that. Here is the build i made. It costs EXACTLY the max budget, which is $1750 and i am counting on discounts and rebates, and price drops when i buy it in august.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($130.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($93.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($659.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Kingwin CF-012LB 40.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($3.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case Fan: Kingwin CF-012LB 40.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($3.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case Fan: Kingwin CF-012LB 40.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($3.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case Fan: Kingwin CF-012LB 40.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($3.98 @ Outlet PC)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: AOC E2460SD 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm Quick Fire Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard ($74.99 @ TigerDirect)
Mouse: Razer RZ01-00152400-R3M1 Wired Optical Mouse ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech Z130 5W 2ch Speakers ($14.51 @ Amazon)
Other: HDMI Cable ($2.69)
Total: $1751.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-27 09:41 EDT-0400)

I chose to take the 750w psu cuz i plan to sli when the card is not enough. PS, the price listed is the one before all the discounts, rebates and shipping. If you make a build, please list the price as such and tell me that it is listed as such. Thanks guys.
 
The fans are there to make for the bad airflow of the bitfenix shinobi, i think they would help, but then again, this is the first time i am building a computer. What about an acer instead? Can you recommend one that does not take the build above the budget? So far, only the AOC and acer have kept it below. Even the VH238H was more expensive than this. I guess it might be bad, but a lot of reviews i read praised it? Also, is the 5ms response time enough? The AOC one is the one above and the acer one:

Monitor: Acer P246HL Abd 60Hz 24.0" Monitor
 
Anort3: Haswell might not overclock as much but is faster clock for clock. So Haswell at 4.2Ghz is equal to Ivy at 4.4Ghz. And Ivy runs hot just like Haswell.

Thats what another toms user, who i asked to comment on my builds told me. Do you guys agree, disagree with the statement? I dont know if haswell is worth the small increase in price and i would like your opinions before i make my perspective builds.
 


You're not going to notice the difference between Ivy Bridge and Haswell in games, at all. At your budget your're not going to be getting a good screen, the AOS one is okay it's just not amazing, 5ms response is really good, it's starts to be a problem at about 8-10ms.

Really I couldn't recommend the Fractal Design Define R4 any more to you, ask anyone on any computer forum and they will say it's a good case. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcadefr4blw

The keyboard you have chosen, it has MX-Brown switches, they have a lot of tactile feedback, most gamers prefer MX-Red switches that have little to no feedback so they are very require a lighter touch to press. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-keyboard-ckseries
 
Alright, i think there is a misconception here. That PC will be mine, but my whole family will use it, and as i much as i want it, they are not gamers. My gaming is one thing they want to be rid of. Haswell is worth the little premium by them once i explained it to them (my parents). Their word holds opinion on this, especially if they are the ones funding the PC. I really dont think they prefer the Fractal's looks, even though it is a great case imo. That's exactly what i have been trying to tell my parents, and the bland "fridge" (freezer/referigerator) look and cost is not convincing them otherwise. they like the bitfenix the best as it kinda has the best of both. They would not prefer a gamer's keyboard switch.Especially reds with their light actuation force. I think that brown is a much better choice that they agree on as it is a sort of a mix between blues and reds/blacks, offering both gaming and typing comfort. I myself prefer the blacks as i have heavy hands, but i am afraid higher authorities command otherwise. Also, is the ACER at least a little better than the AOC?
 


Well that's surprising, I would have thought that the sleek, simplistic design of the R4 would suit your parents down to the ground, Acer isn't really any better than AOC.
 


Well that's surprising, I would have thought that the sleek, simplistic design of the R4 would suit your parents down to the ground, Acer isn't really any better than AOC.
 
That was one arguement i used. But thee preferer the "professional" look of the bitfenix and nzxt. Eh, at least i like the bitfenix too. And with four extra fans, cooling wont be that much of an issue.