Looking for advice on building new gaming comp 1000-1200+-

[gt1310]

Hello,

My current gaming computer isn't performing as well as it used to with current games and it has crashed several times in the past couple of days Similar types of crashes happened with my old computer before it went to a better place, may it rest in peace.

I've been looking around on popular custom gaming rig sites such as CyberPower and iBuyPower for ideas and I know that custom builds are possible without overpaying for their services. I am not as knowledgeable as you gentlemen and ladies so I thought that I'd ask for advice.

Some things that I hope I could get in the rig: i5 or i7, nVIDIA GTX 970 or similar. 250 SSD, ~1TB HD, 8GB DDR3, liquid cooling, an ideal amount of fans, and enough power supply. If the price goes over $1000 that would be fine, but that's a rough estimate and a goal price.

Looking to run games like MKX, GTA V, and Hardline on high easily.

Thank you in advance for your help!


GT

 

[Alectfenrir]

Hello,

My current gaming computer isn't performing as well as it used to with current games and it has crashed several times in the past couple of days Similar types of crashes happened with my old computer before it went to a better place, may it rest in peace.

I've been looking around on popular custom gaming rig sites such as CyberPower and iBuyPower for ideas and I know that custom builds are possible without overpaying for their services. I am not as knowledgeable as you gentlemen and ladies so I thought that I'd ask for advice.

Some things that I hope I could get in the rig: i5 or i7, nVIDIA GTX 970 or similar. 250 SSD, ~1TB HD, 8GB DDR3, liquid cooling, an ideal amount of fans, and enough power supply. If the price goes over $1000 that would be fine, but that's a rough estimate and a goal price.

Looking to run games like MKX, GTA V, and Hardline on high easily.

Thank you in advance for your help!


GT

I'll cook up a part list for you now, but do you need any peripherals and monitors or do you already have it?

And will you be overclocking your hardware too?

 

[Alectfenrir]

Okay heres the part list:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/crQsCJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/crQsCJ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($231.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($359.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 450D ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($87.33 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.49 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1310.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-24 02:48 EDT-0400

Fits everything you asked for, an i5 OCable, a GTX 970, a 256 GB SSD, a 1 TB Drive, 8 GB DDR3 RAM, liquid cooling and a sh*t ton of fans with this high airflow case.

 

[gt1310]

Okay heres the part list:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/crQsCJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/crQsCJ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($231.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($359.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 450D ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($87.33 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.49 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1310.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-24 02:48 EDT-0400

Fits everything you asked for, an i5 OCable, a GTX 970, a 256 GB SSD, a 1 TB Drive, 8 GB DDR3 RAM, liquid cooling and a sh*t ton of fans with this high airflow case.

Hi Alectfenrir,

I like that whole set-up a lot. I might just go for exactly that. Do you think that Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card would work just as well as that Gigabyte one? The former is about $80 cheaper that I found on Newegg.

Thank you very much for your recommendations,

GT

 

[Alectfenrir]

Sorry for the late reply, but yes the card you suggested will work almost as well as the one I recommended you.

The one I showed you is the G1 Gaming edition which has slightly higher clock speeds meaning better performance, but the one you suggested has lower clock speeds however the impact of performance between these two graphics cards are quite miniscule. So my verdict is, yes go with the one you suggested.

 

[Rapajez]

If you don't want to overclock, you can shave off $200+ by dropping the water cooler (the radiator can be noisy), you can drop to an i5-4590, and a cheaper H97 motherboard.

These days the actual, in-game performance bumps can be negligible, with a moderate OC. It is a fun part of building your own PC though, so I wouldn't blame you for going that way.