PC Gaming Specs Build

[Nuwatt]

Hey guys!

I'm currently looking to build a gaming PC with a $1,000 budget (could be getting a little bit more in the coming weeks). I was told I would need a case, case fan, water cooler, power supply, motherboard, CPU, ram chips and a hard drive (1TB I think would do fine). My friend is giving me a GTX970, so that saves me quite a bit of money on the build. Do you guys happen to have any recommended combinations that fit my budget for the best performance output?

I think I would need at least $40 left over for a monitor and keyboard, maybe less.

Thanks to all who reply

 

[Aeacus]

Here's one such build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.66 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B250 GAMING M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($107.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.45 @ OutletPC)
Case: BitFenix Nova ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($66.89 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.79 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $770.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-04 11:48 EDT-0400

Few words.

Just put GTX 970 in and you're golden. Also left plenty of free money for KB and monitor. Install the OS on SSD while keeping 1TB HDD as data storage. If you don't like the black theme and want a white theme, let me know. I'll refine the build. Also, you can go for some other PC case if you don't like the Bitfenix Nova.

 

[imsqam]

Okay, I think this is everything that you will need. Wasn't sure so I added OS, Wifi card, SSD (for fast system boot and program load), monitor and keyboard/mouse. Let me know if you don't need any of these, I can adjust the build.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HpGqJV
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HpGqJV/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.66 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Frio Silent 14 71.2 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.46 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H270M MORTAR ARCTIC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($104.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($94.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0+ Video Card (Purchased For $0.00)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($68.98 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full - USB 32/64-bit ($106.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Acer G276HLGbd 27.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor ($177.48 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Redragon K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($34.39 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Redragon Mammoth Wired Laser Mouse ($25.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1013.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-04 11:53 EDT-0400

 

[Aeacus]

Okay, I think this is everything that you will need. Wasn't sure so I added OS, Wifi card, SSD (for fast system boot and program load), monitor and keyboard/mouse. Let me know if you don't need any of these, I can adjust the build.

Your build is missing the PC case. Unless you expect OP to use this PC without a case, which can be also done, e.g test bench.

I got two questions about your build:
1. Why go with M.2 ACHI SSD that has worse performance than Samsung 850 Evo?
comparison: http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-850-Evo-250GB-vs-Crucial-MX300-SATA-M2-275GB/2977vsm159989

2. By which criteria you picked the Acer G276HLGbd 27" monitor?

 

[imsqam]

Oops, thanks for pointing that out Aeacus.

I chose the MX 300 on the basis of extra space and lower cost. I would never disagree that the 850 EVO is faster but gaming performance is not too much affected by SSD speed hence my choice. It is a matter of preferences.

I did not think the poster would be using 1440p so I looked for a lower end 1080p monitor, the G276HL is nice because it is 27", has decent pro and user reviews and fit the budget. I know that it is TN based but colors are supposed to be good. But truthfully monitors are not my strong suit so I might be missing something.
http://www.144hzmonitors.com/reviews/acer-g276hl-review-affordable-va-monitor/
http://www.techweirdo.com/acer-g276hl-gbmid-monitor-review/

 

[Aeacus]

M.2 SSD slot would be best utilized with NVMe drive rather than with ACHI drive.

For Crucial MX300, the 2.5" drive would be better used, if there's need to hook the SSD up to another PC. Since M.2 SSD slots are premium feature, not all PCs have them. While the 2.5" drive's SATA connections are common to all PCs.
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/rrvZxr,KXkwrH/

Though, for extra storage space, the HDDs are best used due to the low price per gigabyte.

About monitor. Since the monitor you picked has 6ms of response time, it doesn't do well in gaming, especially in fast-paced games. Though, it's decent monitor for browsing the web.

For the same amount of money, there are few 27" IPS panel monitors to choose from while they all have 5ms of response time,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/Tw9KHx,2vPfrH,q27CmG/

E.g Acer H276HL, review: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2459076,00.asp

But for 27" TN panel, there's even bigger choice of 2ms response time monitors with same or less price,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/jmGj4D,JcXfrH,nsTmP6,77ckcf/

E.g Asus VE278H, review 1: http://www.144hzmonitors.com/reviews/asus-ve278h-review/
review 2: http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/gaming-monitor-reviews/asus-ve278h-review

TN panel monitor is best used for fast-paced gaming due to it's fast response time (as fast as 1ms), while IPS panel monitor gives better image quality and is ideal for photo/video editing. Gaming can be also done on IPS panel but the fastest response time would be 5ms due to the current technology of IPS panels.

 

[Nuwatt]

Thanks for your replies!

I compared and combined your two builds and put together what I thought was best of the two (or more cheaper). Aside from the monitor, what I put together (listed below) came out to be $905.32. A couple things I brought over from my friends build, since I believed them to be cheaper/more efficient. That monitor pushes it a little over my limit, so I might look for a cheaper monitor, hopefully one of equal quality for roughly $100 or less (I should note that I don't really play games in fullscreen as I like to multitask). My only worry is if that case will be able to hold all of this. Here's the combined list to see if you guys like it:

CPU - Intel Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.66)
CPU Cooler - CPU Cooler - Corsair Air Series AF120 LED 120mm Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan Twin Pack - White (CO-9050016-WLED) ($18.99 (x2))
Water Cooler - SILVERSTONE TD03-LITE Durable High-Performance All-In-One Liquid CPU Cooler with Dual Adjustable 120mm PWM Fans ($59.99)
Motherboard - MSI H270M MORTAR ARCTIC LGA 1151 Intel H270 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard ($109.99)
Memory - Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($99.99)
Storage (SSD) - Crucial MX300 275GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($94.89)
Storage (HDD) - Seagate BarraCuda STBD2000101 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Retail Packaging ($79.99)
Case - BitFenix Nova ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99)
Power Supply - EVGA 600 B1 100-B1-0600-KR 80+ BRONZE 600W Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply ($39.99)
Optical Drive - Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.79)
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($86.88)
Wireless (NA) - Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99)
Keyboard - Redragon K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($34.19)

 

[Aeacus]

By seeing your combined build, i take that you like to have white themed build. So, i refined your build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.66 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B250M MORTAR ARCTIC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($86.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($107.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($107.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($77.33 @ OutletPC)
Case: BitFenix Nova ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($66.89 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Memorex 98240 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I REV 4.2 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: ARCTIC F12 PWM 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($8.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: ARCTIC F12 PWM 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($8.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $812.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-05 02:59 EDT-0400

Changes made
CPU cooler: Silverstone TD03-Lite -> Intel's stock CPU cooler (comes with CPU)
RAM: Team Vulcan 2x 8GB 2400Mhz -> Team Dark 2x 8GB 2400Mhz
SSD: Crucial MX300 M.2 ACHI (275GB) -> Samsung 850 Evo 2.5" (250GB)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda (2TB) -> Toshiba (3TB)
Case: Bitfenix Nova (black) -> Bitfenix Nova (white)
PSU: EVGA 600B -> Seasonic G-550
ODD: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS -> Memorex 98240
Wi-fi adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I -> Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I REV 4.2
Case fans: Corsair AF120 white LED -> Arctic F12 PWM
Keyboard: Redragon K552 - none

Reasons why
CPU cooler: Since i5-7500 has locked multiplier (can't OC the CPU) and it comes with Intel's stock CPU cooler, it is more than enough to cool your CPU. AIO water coolers are for unlocked multiplier CPUs (K-series) and viable only if you get at least 240mm rad. AIO with 120mm rad is so weak that it will be outperformed by most CPU air coolers.

RAM: Picked a bit cheaper RAM with gray heatsink fins for better match to the white theme.

SSD: Since Crucial MX300 M.2 SSD is ACHI and not a NVMe drive, Samsung 850 Evo will outperform it considerably.
comparison: http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Crucial-MX300-SATA-M2-275GB-vs-Samsung-850-Evo-250GB/m159989vs2977

HDD: For the same amount of money, you can get 3TB HDD. One extra terabyte also makes up the lost 25GB on SSD.

Case: Switched out the black case for a white one to match the white theme.

PSU: Your EVGA 600B series PSU is mediocre quality (Tier three) PSU with fully wired cables,
PSU Tier list: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
While my suggested Seasonic G-550 is good quality (Tier two) PSU with semi-modular cables to ease the cable management. PSU also has better efficiency (80+ Gold vs 80+ Bronze) and it comes with 5 years of warranty. If you don't care about leftover power cables inside your PC (which are great dust magnets), you can keep your EVGA 600B and save $70.

ODD: Since the build theme is white and so is the case, had to switch out ODD for a bit better match to your white theme. Didn't get completely white ODD since they don't make those anymore but got the 2nd best with two-tone coloring (black & white).

Wi-fi adapter: Since the GC-WB867D-I is discontinued product, i switched the wi-fi adapter out for newer version.

Case fans: In Bitfenix Nova, you can't see the LEDs of your 2x 120mm intake fans. So, there's not much point to go with LED fans, especially with Corsair AF120 fans that have poor performance. Replaced your case fans with good performing and silent operation Arctic Cooling fans that are also used in my AMD build. Arctic F12 PWM fans are 4-pin and can be run in PWM mode or DC mode, while Corsair AF120 fans are 3-pin and can be run only in DC mode.

Keyboard: I removed it since keyboard is personal choice (among with PC case, mouse, headphones and speakers) and i don't think you'd be happy with the clicky sounds of Redragon K552 switches that feel and sound similar to Cherry MX Blue switches.
Here's a nice video to watch about different Cherry MX switches,
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-xfY66-EsA

If you want to have mechanical KB, do as i did, go to any PC hardware store and ask to test out different KBs with different switches. This way, you can pre-test different switches and make a better decision before KB purchase.
Before i went to the store to test out different Cherry MX switches, on paper, the tactile Cherry MX Brown switches seemed to be the best. But in reality, while testing it out in the store, i didn't like the tactile bump at all. So, i ended up going with Cherry MX Silent switches that are same as Cherry MX Red switches but much quieter. My KB is Corsair STRAFE RGB that i use on my Skylake build, full specs in my sig.
Here are also few pics of my KB: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-3272328/show-newest-system-upgrade-components/page-3.html#19439439

 

[Nuwatt]

Aeacus, thank you so much for all your thought out and well-informed information and comparisons to find me what I needed, as well as going above and beyond for aesthetics. Also thank you imsqam, for giving great suggestions to help improve the final build. Glad to say I can probably afford that monitor as well as any accessories I might need with this final build 😛 Thanks again!