PUre gaming rig $800-$1000

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Nedal Ghamrawi

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Oct 11, 2014
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This is pretty forward I'm looking for a pure gaming build that can run games like witcher3 and the new dragon age. At the same time I still want to do very basic audio editing.

What I have
144hz 1080p monitor
Gaming mouse and keyboard
If you guys could include either windows 7 or 8 must be 64bit.
 
Solution
Darkbreeze
Here is another option. If you want to be able to overclock the CPU you can switch the K version of the CPU and add a Hyper 212 EVO. It will be about fifty bucks more altogether but it would also increase performance considerably. Or, just get the K model now and a cooler later. This is slightly over budget but you can play with it how you like. Without the OS it was under but I wouldn't downgrade anything if you plan to get the results we discussed.

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 Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)...
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Here is what I'd consider:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($112.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 290 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($250.75 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $959.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-18 17:47 EDT-0400
 
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Here is another option. If you want to be able to overclock the CPU you can switch the K version of the CPU and add a Hyper 212 EVO. It will be about fifty bucks more altogether but it would also increase performance considerably. Or, just get the K model now and a cooler later. This is slightly over budget but you can play with it how you like. Without the OS it was under but I wouldn't downgrade anything if you plan to get the results we discussed.

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 Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1069.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-18 21:45 EDT-0400
 
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Solution
This is a $1k pure gaming build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($107.93 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $995.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-18 18:06 EDT-0400

A overclocked i5-4690K is the best option for high FPS. Enjoy your 144hz 1080p monitor :)
 
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Yeah it is. Ahem. Highly original too. It's all the same as my build, except the stuff that's inferior like the case, PSU and motherboard that only has simple 4 phase power VRMs (Which are NOT optimal for overclocking) instead of a digi+8 phase power like the ASUS. If you're gonna step on somebody's di#$ in a build thread, at least have a better build or some kind of reason why it's a better choice.

Also, no offense to lunyone, because he managed to get his post up prior to mine, AND, he never claimed it was for overclocking, but that ASRock is a 4 power phase design too, so it would be kinda stuck where it's at. Which might be ok, my build didn't include the K version CPU or a cooler either. I was leaving that decision up to Nedal because his geographic location might make all three builds irrelevant anyhow.
 
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Sorry darkbreeze but they are different Haswell builds: You suggested a stock $1070 build and i suggested a overclockable $995 build.

Your build:
CPU: Intel Core good i5-4690 3.5GHz paired w/ a 4+1 PWM ASUS Z-97A. I see your confusion: its marketed as 8 PWM.

My build:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz w/ CM Hyper 212 EVO + Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI. This generation Z97 Gigabyte budget boards are good overclockers. Even a budget 4+1 PWM GA-Z97X-SLI can easily achieve i5-4690K@4.5 w/ a CM 212 EVO.

Your build:
Storage: : Seagate Barracuda 1TB + SSD. Its great but OP asks for a $1k pure gaming build. SSD wont help OP get high FPS in games. i5-4690K@4.5 will help there.

My build:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB.

Your build:
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze. Its a good psu. But its not EVGA SuperNOVA Gold (tier 1 psu).

My build:
PSU: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze. Made by SeaSonic. Excellent psu.

Both Corsair 200R and Corsair 300R are good options. I just tried to keep budget under $1k.

Finally GTX970. It is a no-brainer. Any $1k gaming build will have one now a days :)

Anyway your build is very good too darkbreeze! kudos!
 
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EVGA lower tiered PSUs meet specs and are not problematic. Since your PSU is only a 550w, the minimum spec for that card, I don't think it's a good choice IF they were going to overclock, which was your emphasis. I would never disagree that Seasonic made PSUs are among the best, if not THE best overall brand.

And, I did mention the options for the overclocking package. I simply didn't include it in the build and I also went past his budget a bit because I've worked with this individual before and knew exactly what he was looking for. That being said, either build, or actually all three, would fit the bill.
 
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And I wasn't confused as to the power phase, it's not a 4+1 unless all the review sites are also confused. This is directly from HardOC. Other in depth reviews provide similar information so unless you can show me, and if it is only a 4+1 I'd like to know, that it is, I'll operate on the assumption that it's not.


ASUS Z97-A


The Z97-A is based on the Intel Z97 Express chipset and uses an 8-phase digital VRM power design, ESD guards, 5k capacitors, enhanced DRAM overcurrent protection, stainless steel I/O ports. When it comes to features there isn’t much that isn’t provided by the chipset directly.
Click to expand...

Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI


Looking at the VRM heatsinks on the Gigabyte Z97X-SLI, we find an 8pin EPS power circuit that uses a 4 phase VRM and also houses 60A chokes. For the moderate price of the Z97X-SLI, we aren’t surprised to see this type of set up.

As you can tell from the overclocking, while the Z97X SLI can handle overclocks, temps were way out of range, and voltages were high in order to hold the 4770k stable. In past reviews, we have been able to get the 4770K stable at 4.4GHz to 4.5GHz at 1.35volts, but this can be due to multiple things such has its lower VRM phase, however we needed to make some changes to gain stability.
Click to expand...
 
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"The CPU socket makes use of an 8 phase VRM with fully digital power delivery. ASUS are using an “8 Phase” design but it has 4 PWM drivers, 8 chokes and 8 caps compared to their higher end boards which get 8 PWM drivers or more."

http://www.eteknix.com/asus-z97-a-lga-1150-motherboard-review/2/

And XFX 550W 80+ Bronze will be great in this build: The GTX 970 has a low TDP, coming in at just 145 W!
 
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I see and believe now. However, I haven't run across any reviews of the Z-97A indicating problems with overclocking as I have, several in fact, with the Gigabyte model. In reality, if overclocking is desired, I probably wouldn't use either of these boards and would instead recommend a Sabertooth Mark 1 or Mark 2 (Probably Mark 2, I think the "Armor" is stupid.) or from Gigabyte, the Gaming 5 at minimum.
 
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