$800 build

[omghaxcode]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3tHcN

I'm building this for my wife's brother who is 15 and will be gaming on it. Does it look decent? I'd like particular feedback on the RAM and motherboard. He'll be gaming at 1920 x 1080 max. USA with a budget under $800 (His budget is $750 but I'm helping him a little)

 

[lehtv]

CPU - Good
Mobo - I'd get this combo, ends up being a bit cheaper i5-4570 + Gigabyte B85M-D2V $233 AR
RAM - that's a little pricey. G.Skill Ares 2x4GB 1600 $65
GPU - Only one year warranty on that one. I'd get either Gigabyte GTX 770 $330 with 3 year warranty, or XFX 280X DD $320 with lifetime warranty. Alternatively, get EVGA GTX 760 $250 a Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB SSD $75
HDD - good ($55)
Case - pretty good, but I'd probably get NZXT Source 220 $45 instead. If he happens to like the Rosewill case more though, go with that, it's decent
PSU - Not bad, but I'd get the XFX 550W for $50 AR instead. 5 year warranty.

about $770-780 AR

 

[omghaxcode]

CPU - Good
Mobo - I'd get this combo, ends up being a bit cheaper i5-4570 + Gigabyte B85M-D2V $233 AR
RAM - that's a little pricey. G.Skill Ares 2x4GB 1600 $65
GPU - Only one year warranty on that one. I'd get either Gigabyte GTX 770 $330 with 3 year warranty, or XFX 280X DD $320 with lifetime warranty. Alternatively, get EVGA GTX 760 $250 a Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB SSD $75
HDD - good ($55)
Case - pretty good, but I'd probably get NZXT Source 220 $45 instead. If he happens to like the Rosewill case more though, go with that, it's decent
PSU - Not bad, but I'd get the XFX 550W for $50 AR instead. 5 year warranty.

about $770-780 AR

Thanks for the input. You actually helped me with my personal build a few years ago lol. You deserve some internet points. I'll tip you some doge coins if you have a wallet.

The RAM is all interchangeable to me so cheaper looks good to me! I'm afraid the windforce won't fit in the case. I wanted the Source 220 but it doesn't have enough room for the video card unless you remove the HD bay.

 

[mvbighead]

I'd agree with the SSD note. However, there is currently a great deal to be had at newegg:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2378877

 

[lehtv]

You deserve some internet points. I'll tip you some doge coins if you have a wallet.

Hehe thanks, but I'm more interested in real money

The combo is no longer valid, but I'd still grab the Gigabyte D2V board.

The RAM is all interchangeable to me so cheaper looks good to me! I'm afraid the windforce won't fit in the case. I wanted the Source 220 but it doesn't have enough room for the video card unless you remove the HD bay.

The source 220 does not have removable HD bays, it has a traditional cage where you install hard disks lengthwise instead of sideways. Officially there's 330mm of space for the graphics card, as long as it's not blocked by an installed hard drive, but since the case has eight HDD bays, that's just not an issue. Don't install a hard drive on the same level with your graphics card and it's fine. The Gigabyte 770 is 292 cm long.

I'd agree with the SSD note. However, there is currently a great deal to be had at newegg:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2378877

It uses Sandforce 2241 instead of 2281 though, for what that's worth

 

[fire400]

a system that expensive should with no doubt get a performance SSD, for the best OS interface experience.

something with higher IOPS, read/write both at closer to 100,000 would be highly desirable.

vertex 460 for $100 on newegg!

 

[omghaxcode]

Here is what I'm thinking for final build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3uTPn


Anyone have any final input. The SSD we can add later but he doesn't care right now.

 

[lehtv]

Why the Corsair CX? It's worse in every respect compared to the XFX 550W. It's not bad, but still.. the XFX is better. HCG-620M is also nice, basically the same as XFX 550W but slightly more powerful and semi modular. $60 AR

Save $5 on RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313344

 

[Pr0d1gy]

I'd recommend bumping him up to an SSD now. They make a massive difference in load speeds and when moving large files.

 

[lehtv]

I probably would stick with the gtx770 and no ssd for a pure gaming pc on his budget

 

[mfenn]

a system that expensive should with no doubt get a performance SSD, for the best OS interface experience.

something with higher IOPS, read/write both at closer to 100,000 would be highly desirable.

vertex 460 for $100 on newegg!

Marketing IOPS specs on consumer SSDs are pure fantasy. Raw IOPS is also not an important factor for desktop workloads because they typically do not have high average queue depths. What's more important is IOPS consistency with a certain minimum IOPS level (~10K is plenty).

That doesn't mean that the Vertex 460 is a bad drive, it is actually pretty decent. It's just not the IOPS numbers that you should be looking at.

Overall though, I agree with Lehtv. At $800, you don't have the luxury of getting an SSD and a good gaming CPU + GPU. The story is different at $1000.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I probably would stick with the gtx770 and no ssd for a pure gaming pc on his budget

Agreed. More GPU preferred over SSD for gaming rig.