which of these two is better and why?

dchas68

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http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/cyberpowerpc-cyberpowerpc-zeus-mini-zma400-gaming-pc-amd-a10-7700k-kaveri-apu-1tb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-1-eng-zma400/10288653.aspx?path=617e3d909877302f81f2d9e73d34d41den02&SearchPageIndex=1

this is a gaming PC that comes with a mouse and keyboard from best buy. its $200 cheaper then a custom PC part list i have been working on for quite some time. my friend said custom desktops are much better as they are cheaper, more familiar internally to you, and easier to upgrade. im just looking for a bad ass gamming PC. this is the one i have designed VIA pcpartpicker. bare in mind that the cost shown is skewed as i live in canada and shipping is difficult. the estimated final cost is around $1300.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hb9fhM

i just want to know how much better mine will be then the one from best buy, if at all. or if anyone has anyrecomendations on a better complete build, or improvements to my custom one that would be appreciated as well.
 
Solution
Yeah, that build should be able to run pretty much everything maxed out. The only games it can't run on max settings are probably Crysis 3 (that game is really, really heavy to run) and Watch Dogs (for now, the optimization is horrible and will hopefully be fixed in the future).

mjranew

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The one you made is clearly better in pretty much every facet. I would do a 4670k instead of 4690 because you'd be able to overclock it. You will not be disappointed in making your own PC, and it is a much more enjoyable venture than buying an all in one. The graphics and cpu performance are definitely worth the cost difference. Also consider if price is an issue, cutting back on your Graphics card a little and getting a cheaper one. Getting a GTX 760 could save you over 200 dollars and you would be getting a much better overall computer for around the same price as the prebuilt one.

One other thing: get Windows 8 vs windows 7. Windows 8 performs MUCH better in games than Windows 7. You can change the interface by downloading windows shell or something to add the start menu back.
 

cub_fanatic

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Your Z97 + 4690 + R9 290 kicks the everliving shit out of that pre-fab'd piece of junk. The GPUs alone are miles apart. The 290's VRAM is comically better than the 270x (4GB 512-bit GDDR5 vs 2GB 256-bit GDDR5). The only thing that they have in common is the R9 in their name. I also don't know why they would pair an APU with a GPU that it can't crossfire with. You would have been spending about $50 more on that APU for something that you would never use. Every single part in your build is superior. I don't know how set you are on that case, but here is a great deal on a white Thermaltake mid-tower from Tiger Direct: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7666841&CatId=1509 It is like $95 off the regular price right now.
 

dchas68

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would you mind re-working my pcpartpicker list to reduce the price without sacraficing much in the way of preformance.? this is my very first build. the close i get to having the money for it the more nervous i get that im not going to need what i have. all i am going to be using it for is primarily MOBA's and RTS's like, LOL, GW2, DOTA2, maybe a few racing games? and maybe a FPS or 2. i want it to be able to handle maxed out video settings (medium-high to super-high).
 

mjranew

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Sure, no problem. However, what resolution is your monitor? That would make the ultimate difference.
 

dchas68

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im very new to computer building, for that reason the first half of your message may as well be written in german :p lol. if im correct, you were saying that my build is superior in every aspect and the pre-fab-shit-box's build doesnt even make sense. as far as that tower? im not sure if all of my parts would fit in there, and im prettty in love with the asthetics of the phantom. in terms of quality of the case tho, which of the two would you say is better? i read lots of reveiws on the phantom and most neggative reveiws were because the phantom was DOA (damaged on arrival). that being said, i am also aware that thermaltake has a better reputation.
 

dchas68

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http://www.amazon.ca/BenQ-RL2455HM-24-inch-Console-Monitor/dp/B007HSKSMI
 
The partpicker is a much stronger build.
1. Gaming performance is mostly determined by the strength of the graphics card. In this case, a R9-290 is stronger than a r9-270X
2. AMD cpu chips have much weaker cores per clock than intel.
The amd has a passmark rating of 5249, the 4690 has a rating of 7864.
 

mjranew

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http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/

At 1080p 60hz, this is the build I recommend. It is around 200 bucks cheaper by switching out the cards. However, It can be had for MUCH cheaper if you look out for sales on these items. I've seen the 4670k for as low as $200 and the 760 for as low as $200 as well.

Performance-wise, the 760 can easily run every game out at 1080p 60hz at ultra settings minus maybe Crysis 3 or Watch_dogs, and even in those games, all you need to do is turn down Anti-aliasing. If you plan on just playing RTS games and the occasional First person shooter, I would even consider the 760 too much of a video card, but it will age well. With the 760, you can cheaply and effectively add another card for SLI and it will add up to 80% more performance. I would definitely consider getting the 4gb model vs the 2gb model however, due to many new games requiring more vram.

If you're going to buy a CPU cooler, you might as well get the overclockable i5-4670k. With the Hyper Evo you can easily get it to 4.0 ghz, maybe even a little higher if you push it, and it will have good resale value if you plan on upgrading in the future.

If you want to bring prices down even further, you could skimp a little on the case and get one of the cheaper 30-40 dollar ones. Cases are mostly just for show. Just pick one with decent air flow. I don't know what your preferences are.

Ultimately, with the parts you picked, you'd have a beast of a build that can handle anything you throw at it at 1080p easily. Adding a second 760 in SLI is a very cost effective way of upgrading down the road.
 

dchas68

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i need the permalink. or the plain text version. this just opens my setup in my browser.
 
More adequate RAM, a CPU that's practically a 3% slower i7-4770 with no integrated graphics and a better GPU. I also removed all the overrides on the retailers because doing that saves a bunch of money:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($326.13 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $953.02
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-02 13:03 EDT-0400)
 

dchas68

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will the preformance of the build be adequate for what i need it for?. will it be able to run max graphics?
 
Yeah, that build should be able to run pretty much everything maxed out. The only games it can't run on max settings are probably Crysis 3 (that game is really, really heavy to run) and Watch Dogs (for now, the optimization is horrible and will hopefully be fixed in the future).
 
Solution

cub_fanatic

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Everything should fit with plenty of room to spare in either of those cases, they are both full ATX mid-towers (Basically they are huge). The only reason I mentioned that Thermaltake is because it is massively discounted right now and it will save you a few bucks without sacrificing any performance at all. And the other posters were right about the 4670K instead of the 4690. You might as well get the "k" (basically means the CPU is unlocked for overclocking as high as you want) because you are getting a Z-series motherboard (Z also means unlocked for OC'ing). And someone else mentioned Win 8.1 over Win 7. This is a good idea since Win 7 won't be supporting future versions of DirectX which is important for high detail gaming. You can still play future games in DX11 and even DX9 but they won't look as good.

As for what to do with the extra $40 or so if you get the other case, you can spend it on a 250 GB 840 Evo since they are currently only $135 at Newegg (only today though, unfortunately). They might even be sold out by the time you read this... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147248