Looking for the Best Build in Terms of Value, Future-Proofing (~$1200 max)

[TAC93]

So I'm a casual gamer, looking for decent specs at a good price. I'm also looking to build iwth an eye towards future proofing (I'd like to be able to upgrade in a few years once performance begins to decline). So my goal is to get the best possible value in terms of performance, not to necessarily spend $1200.

Reading online, the best value at CPU would be an i5, but which one of the series gets me the most for my money? And at VC the GTX 760 looks like a good value, but is it? I wasn't sure, so I thought I'd ask the experts.

In regards to future-proofing, I'm looking to put my money into the parts that seem to age the best (PSU, HSF, mobo?). So for those parts I'd be looking for maybe slightly better specs, hopefully good enough that when I'm forced to upgrade my CPU and VC, those don't need replacing (but still looking for a good value).


Approximate Purchase Date: Within the month.

Budget Range: ~$1200 max, but I'd prefer to spend less if more cost effective.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming only.

Are you buying a monitor: No.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: No preference.

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Parts Preferences: No preference.

Overclocking: Yes.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, if cost effective.

Additional Comments: Regarding the case, I'm looking for the cheapest, sturdiest option that gets the job done. A little room for upgrades doesn't hurt, but I don't care at all about the appearance of the case.


Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

 

[Extremehotdog]

CPU: Intel Core i5 4670K
Motherboard: MSI Z87M-G43
Case: NZXT Phantom 410
Optical Drive: Asus 2421st
Ram: HyperX Blu 8gb
Cooler: Enermax ETS T40 TB
PSU: Seasonic M12ii
GPU: EVGA 770 Superclocked
SSD: Samsung 128gb 840 Pro
HDD: 1tb Seagate Barracuda
OS: Windows 8
Total: $1135

 

[mcdonh]

ok here we go, this suits you needs and price the best I can manage:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)
Total: $1183.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-17 19:57 EST-0500)

permalink here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23Zua

Hope this helped
Mcdonh

 

[TAC93]

ok here we go, this suits you needs and price the best I can manage:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)
Total: $1183.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-17 19:57 EST-0500)

permalink here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23Zua

Hope this helped
Mcdonh

Thanks so much for the advice!

Quick couple questions: So you think the GTX 770 is a better value than the 760? I see there's about a $150 difference between the two, but according to benchmarks I've seen the difference in performance is only a few percent. Is that incorrect? Is the 770 worth the extra cash?

As far as the cooling and motherboard go, do you think those will still fit my needs in ~3-4 years (e.g. when I upgrade my VC and CPU, would they still be good enough to support them)? I'm hoping to put my money into areas that won't need as much upgrading in the long run, in order to save money. But if that's just not economically feasible then that's fine.

Sorry if these questions are confusing, but I've been trying to find some advice on these topics for a while, so any help or recommendations at all would be extremely helpful.

 

[Extremehotdog]

ok here we go, this suits you needs and price the best I can manage:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)
Total: $1183.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-17 19:57 EST-0500)

permalink here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23Zua

Hope this helped
Mcdonh

Thanks so much for the advice!

Quick couple questions: So you think the GTX 770 is a better value than the 760? I see there's about a $150 difference between the two, but according to benchmarks I've seen the difference in performance is only a few percent. Is that incorrect? Is the 770 worth the extra cash?

As far as the cooling and motherboard go, do you think those will still fit my needs in ~3-4 years (e.g. when I upgrade my VC and CPU, would they still be good enough to support them)? I'm hoping to put my money into areas that won't need as much upgrading in the long run, in order to save money. But if that's just not economically feasible then that's fine.

Sorry if these questions are confusing, but I've been trying to find some advice on these topics for a while, so any help or recommendations at all would be extremely helpful.

Yes it is worth it, look at this chart:
http://files.tested.com/photos/2013/06/25/49253-gtx760_infinite_ultra.jpg

 

[TAC93]

ok here we go, this suits you needs and price the best I can manage:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)
Total: $1183.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-17 19:57 EST-0500)

permalink here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23Zua

Hope this helped
Mcdonh

Thanks so much for the advice!

Quick couple questions: So you think the GTX 770 is a better value than the 760? I see there's about a $150 difference between the two, but according to benchmarks I've seen the difference in performance is only a few percent. Is that incorrect? Is the 770 worth the extra cash?

As far as the cooling and motherboard go, do you think those will still fit my needs in ~3-4 years (e.g. when I upgrade my VC and CPU, would they still be good enough to support them)? I'm hoping to put my money into areas that won't need as much upgrading in the long run, in order to save money. But if that's just not economically feasible then that's fine.

Sorry if these questions are confusing, but I've been trying to find some advice on these topics for a while, so any help or recommendations at all would be extremely helpful.

Yes it is worth it, look at this chart:
http://files.tested.com/photos/2013/06/25/49253-gtx760_infinite_ultra.jpg

Interesting, so I guess this is out of date? http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-8.html

That's is where I received a lot of my info regarding the best VC for the money, so if that information is flawed please let me know.

 

[mcdonh]

Despite that graph the 770 actually is a fair amount better because you can overclock it, in addition if you want to later you can get another 770 for sli which is a very nice setup. and for the earlier question it is almost impossible to future proof due to new technologies but that should do pretty well as it is of the newest socket.

 

[DSzymborski]

ok here we go, this suits you needs and price the best I can manage:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)
Total: $1183.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-17 19:57 EST-0500)

permalink here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23Zua

Hope this helped
Mcdonh

Thanks so much for the advice!

Quick couple questions: So you think the GTX 770 is a better value than the 760? I see there's about a $150 difference between the two, but according to benchmarks I've seen the difference in performance is only a few percent. Is that incorrect? Is the 770 worth the extra cash?

As far as the cooling and motherboard go, do you think those will still fit my needs in ~3-4 years (e.g. when I upgrade my VC and CPU, would they still be good enough to support them)? I'm hoping to put my money into areas that won't need as much upgrading in the long run, in order to save money. But if that's just not economically feasible then that's fine.

Sorry if these questions are confusing, but I've been trying to find some advice on these topics for a while, so any help or recommendations at all would be extremely helpful.

Yes it is worth it, look at this chart:
http://files.tested.com/photos/2013/06/25/49253-gtx760_infinite_ultra.jpg

Interesting, so I guess this is out of date? http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-8.html

That's is where I received a lot of my info regarding the best VC for the money, so if that information is flawed please let me know.

Remember, best performance/dollar right now and most future resiliency aren't necessarily the same charts.

 

[TAC93]

ok here we go, this suits you needs and price the best I can manage:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($92.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)
Total: $1183.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-17 19:57 EST-0500)

permalink here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23Zua

Hope this helped
Mcdonh

Thanks so much for the advice!

Quick couple questions: So you think the GTX 770 is a better value than the 760? I see there's about a $150 difference between the two, but according to benchmarks I've seen the difference in performance is only a few percent. Is that incorrect? Is the 770 worth the extra cash?

As far as the cooling and motherboard go, do you think those will still fit my needs in ~3-4 years (e.g. when I upgrade my VC and CPU, would they still be good enough to support them)? I'm hoping to put my money into areas that won't need as much upgrading in the long run, in order to save money. But if that's just not economically feasible then that's fine.

Sorry if these questions are confusing, but I've been trying to find some advice on these topics for a while, so any help or recommendations at all would be extremely helpful.

Yes it is worth it, look at this chart:
http://files.tested.com/photos/2013/06/25/49253-gtx760_infinite_ultra.jpg

Interesting, so I guess this is out of date? http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-8.html

That's is where I received a lot of my info regarding the best VC for the money, so if that information is flawed please let me know.

Remember, best performance/dollar right now and most future resiliency aren't necessarily the same charts.

I understand that, but unfortunately I didn't know enough about the history of VCs to be able to project the industry in several years. So the best I could do was find the best performance for the money, even if that isn't necessarily a good representation of value in the long term. Thankfully I've received some great information in the thread, to help me make a more informed choice.

I'm really grateful to everyone who replied, I've learned a lot. I think I'll go with mcdonh's build, look to SLI in the future to get more life out of the 770, and hopefully the mobo stands up to the test of time. Overall, it looks like a great value, and I'm really looking forward to putting it together.

 

[mcdonh]

good luck mate, enjoy putting it together, glad I could help