• Happy holidays, folks! Thanks to each and every one of you for being part of the Tom's Hardware community!

My final build. Last thoughts

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.68 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec GX500 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $800.60
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-17 14:01 EDT-0400)

Slightly lower price.

Mobo is just as good.

CPU is as fast as an i7 4770(has the i7's hyperthreading as well which the i5 lacks)

PSU better quality but not modular.
 
I'd get this:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3bvMW
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3bvMW/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3bvMW/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec GX500 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $807.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-17 14:04 EDT-0400)

I think you're playing too much for the CPU and too less for the GPU. This should get you more FPS. Also changed the Power Supply for a higher quality one.

Hope this helps.
 


A xeon-760 build doesn't seem optimized for gaming when you talk about price to performance.
 


The i7 4770k is way overkill for gaming rig. The Xenon is just no, not for gaming. The 8350 build, yes it does give a better gpu witch at least a 770 or 280x is needed if you want a good build to last for years to come on high settings.

i5 build would net you better single core performance, but youd need to come up with about $50 more to keep the 280x or a 770 and get an i5. But even having a 8350 chip, I use my system for video editing, autocad, solid works, and everything that needs those extra cores. But honestly even though I love my amd, id recommend an i5 and a gtx 770. i5 gives better performance for a few $ more, and the 770 gives an edge on 280x since the bit minding raised prices, if the 280x was still at launch price iid say go for it, but until then 770 all day long.
 
Why not? You can run whatever you like at High.

Could alternatively go for this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($327.36 @ B&H)
Case: Antec GX500 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $813.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-17 14:15 EDT-0400)

What's your concern with the Xeon+760? Can run games at High no trouble.
 
I would go with this build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($331.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Antec GX500 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $814.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-17 14:25 EDT-0400)
 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($327.36 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $852.27
 


No problems with Xenon, just not in a budget gaming build does it ever make sense to me.
 

TRENDING THREADS