Need advice for $650ish gaming PC

[SleepingCake]

Approximate Purchase Date: Next couple of days


Budget Range: $650


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, web surfing, watching videos, listening to music, etc.


Parts Not Required: GPU (at the moment), keyboards, mouse, and monitor.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: None really


Country: US


Parts Preferences: Intel


Overclocking: A little


SLI or Crossfire: Not sure


Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080


Additional Comments: I'm looking for the best system I can get for around $650 right now and I'm looking to get everything buy the gpu which I'll be getting a few weeks after. This is what I'm currently thinking about getting http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hTWZ3C

Thank you for any and all help.

 

[turbopiki]

Change the PSU for one of these everything else is fine

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220gs0550v1
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220gs0650v1

EDIT: i see you said a little OC, does that mean you are not comftroable OC. If yes get H97 motherboard and XEON E3 1231 v3 and you dont need to OC

 

[Onus]

I agree with turbopiki, except that I'm not sure that XEON has the IGP, so you may need to keep the i5 in order to have any display at all. If not interested in any more than mild overclocking, the Intel stock cooler will be sufficient. Otherwise, you can a less expensive alternative from http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2478892/alternatives-hyper-212-evo-budget-cooling.html instead of the Hyper212 EVO, which is not a bad cooler, but is a bang/buck Loser compared to many of its competitors.

 

[gerr]

Looks good other than your PSU. If you want SLI, you will need at least a 750W PSU, or a 500W for single GPU. I would check the PSU quality charts and get a better quality PSU.

Price difference between the Corsair 200R and 300R is minimal, and the 300R is a really good case for the money.

 

[turbopiki]

I agree with turbopiki, except that I'm not sure that XEON has the IGP, so you may need to keep the i5 in order to have any display at all. If not interested in any more than mild overclocking, the Intel stock cooler will be sufficient. Otherwise, you can a less expensive alternative from http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2478892/alternatives-hyper-212-evo-budget-cooling.html instead of the Hyper212 EVO, which is not a bad cooler, but is a bang/buck Loser compared to many of its competitors.

My bad forgot he wont buy GPU straight away that model of XEON doesnt have IGPU

i5 it is

 

[gerr]

Some Xeon's do have the iGPU, but none of them will give the preformance of an OC'ed i5-4690K.

With that being said, I presumed the OP already had a GPU he was going to install. If not, I would wait until the Broadwell CPU's come out as they have a much better iGPU built in.

 

[TofuLion]

well done, but i made a couple changes:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($131.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($73.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $653.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-11 18:10 EDT-0400

assuming you aren't going to go with a multiple GPU configuration, the XFX 550 is plenty and MUCH higher quality than a Corsair CX. also, the coolermaster 212 EVO is pretty good for the price, you will want something a bit better to get a nice, cool overclock and the CRYORIG H5 is much more capable.

 

[Outlander_04]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $653.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-11 18:32 EDT-0400

proper SSD , quality psu , and a motherboard with the same feature set and quality

 

[yeskay]

Approximate Purchase Date: Next couple of days


Budget Range: $650


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, web surfing, watching videos, listening to music, etc.


Parts Not Required: GPU (at the moment), keyboards, mouse, and monitor.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: None really


Country: US


Parts Preferences: Intel


Overclocking: A little


SLI or Crossfire: Not sure


Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080


Additional Comments: I'm looking for the best system I can get for around $650 right now and I'm looking to get everything buy the gpu which I'll be getting a few weeks after. This is what I'm currently thinking about getting http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hTWZ3C

Thank you for any and all help.

Consider this solid build with better motherboard, PSU and Case with Window:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($73.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $624.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-11 18:32 EDT-0400

Notes:

Why Gigabyte?

Because they make stable, durable and performance oriented motherboards. Have the lowest RMA for their boards. See the images below:

Gigabyte with least RMA returns over the past two years

Major Motherboard and Graphics Card Manufacturers RMA Rating

Read the full article here - Reliability report: Gigabyte top for motherboards, MSI for graphics

What Gigabyte says about its Black Edition Motherboards:

GIGABYTE Black Edition motherboards undergo an extra 168 hours (7 days) of stress testing before shipment to ensure premium quality for our customers.

During the 168 hour test, each motherboard needs to pass rigorous, full system validation testing for 1 full week. GIGABYTE has built a custom testing facility at our Taiwan (Nanping) factory.

A Certificate of Validation is included with every board, issued by the GIGABYTE factory and signed by the manufacturing VP & GM to indicate that each board has passed our highest test standards.

- The Antec 620W quality PSU can deliver 48Amps on its +12V rail, which is good enough to handle most high end cards in the market, and is more than enough to power your entire rig.
- The case has a generous window, aggressive look, spacious, comes with 2x120 mm fans and also provides options to add more fans or radiator, if more cooling is needed.

(OR) SSHD Hybrid Drive will be enough. But If you're looking for a dedicated SSD in your build, consider this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Transcend SSD370 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($57.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.75 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $657.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-11 18:56 EDT-0400

- Get the Transcend SSD370 backed with AnandTech Recommendation.

Read the full review here - http://www.anandtech.com/show/8792/transcend-ssd370-128gb-256gb-512gb-review

Overall a solid build for the money you're willing to pay.

Cheers!

 

[gerr]

Good info yeskay!

 

[SleepingCake]

Thanks for all the information so far guys, so far I think I'm going to go with what yeskay recommended. And turbopiki when I said I wanted to OC a littler I didn't mean that I was afraid of it or anything, I'm just not sure how far I can go and still keep everything cool. I don't already have a GPU, I intend on getting on a couple of weeks after I get everything else, still debating on which one to get as of now.

 

[gerr]

I heard AMD is releasing a new series of GPU's soon, so I would wait on that as it might drive existing AMD & Nvidia cards down in price.

 

[TofuLion]

dont go with the Corsair SPEC-03 its small and low quality. go with a 200R for sure.

 

[gerr]

If you catch a sale, you can get the 300R for only $10 more than the 200R. Question is if you need the extra stuff the 300R provides. I would research the differences and make a choice.