Need help building or picking a PC - $1.5k

[cfcfaerber]

I have posted a few times on the forums before and was hoping to build my own gaming pc. I currently have own a TOSHIBA Satelite A665D and need to upgrade because my laptop seems to want to shit the bed when I play Dota 2. My other posts asked about builds that I tried to come up with that I thought were good for what I am looking for but based on comments I received it seemed like I was off the mark from what I was actually looking for. Which is basically:

A fast and relatively quiet desktop PC that will allow me to run the more recent video games released on high graphic settings without the computer blowing up. I know that seems vague, but I have no intentions on overclocking. I am willing to pay about $1500 but would like to pay much less if there is a "value" alternative that still has everything I am looking for.

If you have a build that fits this description I have faith in myself that I could put the machine together or something pre-built with what I am looking for would be good.

Any help would be much appreciated. THANKS!

Here is one of my older posts: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2310141/advice-gaming-build.html

 

[TomThePotato]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($107.93 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($128.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card ($579.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1373.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-18 22:28 EDT-0400

CPU Cooler is unnecessary but is quieter than the stock. GPU can be changed to the 970 version which is the best bang for the buck imo. Z97 for future SLI if you want.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($345.66 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($94.99 @ B&H)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1166.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-18 22:28 EDT-0400

The missing parts, Case, extra cooling, keyboard and mouse and DVD are for OP to choose and a decent amount of budget left to do it with. There may also be enough to upgrade the GTX970 to GTX980.

 

[bsod1]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card ($559.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1301.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-18 22:49 EDT-0400

 

[DonkeyOatie]

It is interesting to see how we think the same and different.

CPU: Top i5, check.
CPU cooling: not necessarily
Motherboard: Each to their own
RAM: Same brand, different takes. Standard, low CAS, high speed.
SSD: 256Gb from good brands.
HDD: I'd normally choose the same as the others, but went a little bigger.
GPU: 980s (970 for lower budget, but I tried)
PSU : Top brand, but 660 to 850W

Do you need OS and monitor? It would change my build if you do not (I can get a 980 then, easy)