Computer build, recommendations, what not.

[snedman]

1. My Pc computer will be used for gaming. Playing games like League of legends, runescape, day-z, Rome total war series. Games like that. Will be on at all times, will be shut off when im sleeping and at school. Meaning i wont leave it running for no reason. Will let it run if im afk or something for a couple hours.

2. My MAX budget is $1000, NO MORE!!

3. I live in the United States, so obviously want to order parts from the US.

4. N/A

5. Ok, so im am building my Pc around the graphics card, ik thats weird, but I have always just wanted a computer that can run everything graphically. Because I have yet to have that. SO, on that Note. I am getting the Gtx 970 graphics card. Unless you can find better, for same price, I dont wan't it. The graphics card is so under priced atm. Quite obviously I want Intel. Not AMD. I prefer Intel over AMD. Prefer not to have Corsair products because of so many issues i hear of them having.

Build so far: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wGVzHx
You can either click link and edit it and post in response
or I am typing here and you can type reply, but please type why to changes in response.

Most of these were helped picked by a friend, other friends have chipped in on things like Ram mainly.

Build: Motherbooard(Can be changed, must be Intel supportive): Asus H87M-E Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=

Cpu: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor(Can be changed, Intel)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=

Ram: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory(Goodluck with finding better Ram) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=

SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive( Would prefer to stay with this. If i can get price down on overall total would like to get 250 Gb SSD) http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electr...3328903&sr=1-1

HDD: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive or HGST/Hitachi (HUA723020ALA641) Ultrastar 7K3000 2TB 64MB 7200RPM 3.5"

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=

http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-HUA723...HGST%2Fhitachi

Would prefer between these two, but if know one with better quality and low price.

VIDEO CARDPride and joy of this computer): VGA 04G-2974-KR GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 ACX 2.0 PCI Express 3.0 (honestly, if you can find better for this price, I would be Speechless) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=

Power supply: This is a part that I need help on too, I have a power supply that is older, that my dad still has from his old computer build and I am using his case too, which ill talk about later. Ultra ult-500P, it is older. http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...-ultra-v-series-500w-power-supply-review.html

Do I stick with this, my build says its running around 323W- not including cpu coolers and case fans, i see no need for anything more then 500, but my friends say I should get a 650 for the future if i want another graphics card or what not. But with this graphics card, I think ill be set for a while, and by then ill have the money to just buy another power supply or even a completely new build if need be.(Technology advances fast)
My other choice for a Powersupply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650 G 80 PLUS GOLD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID= Oh my god! 10 year warranty, ill be set for life. Subject to change, do i stick with my powersupply or just shell out the $70 ish, remember im on my budget.

Operating system: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit): Already have, friend is giving to me for free, can install via flash drive.

Optical drive: UHHH, no idea. Just pick me on honestly, i dont plan on using disks, most websites have the software to download. But if you say I need, one then ill get one.

Case: My dads old case, my friends say it should still work with new motherboards, think the 4-5 80mm fans will be enough, if not ill get liquid cooling. Is 4-5 80mm fans good enough? Do I need liquid cooling for my build? And people say 80mms are loud, i want a quiet computer, so Liquid im assuming. Expensive though. If i need a new case, new cost reductions somewhere else. The case: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1258

CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO(friends recommended me, if you can find better for a low price, im fine with it.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-099-_-Product

6. ^

7. I would like to overclock-superclock, whatever. A good bit of motherboards come with a button. So if you think i should, just say it.

8. Ehh, resolution size- anything from 1920 x 1080 and up. My graphics card can support 4k, so... I think ill be fine.

9. I plan on buying all the parts- Black friday, Cyber Monday.
SO guys, put in all opinions

 

[Cerb]

9. I plan on buying all the parts- Black friday, Cyber Monday.
SO guys, put in all opinions

That's awfully far out. For example, I'd have upped the CPU to a i5-4690, but tomorrow it will be up another $15 at Newegg, and Amazon is usually not far behind.

In general, though, I would say that for your games, you would be better off with a faster CPU, and lesser video card, unless you have 2560x1440 or higher monitor.

CPU cooler:

The CPU comes with a good enough cooler. Without overclocking, or trying to get things really quiet, it will be fine.

TBH, the last couple years have not had many good PC part deals on BF or CM, except for storage.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Plan on getting a new PSU and case. That PSU only has 2 Sata and one 6 pin for GPU. The case is an antique.

The good news is there is an Antec neo eco 620 on sale right now for $23.- http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2405079

And a $20.- mid tower ATX case http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2404756

 

[AllWhacked]

I would look into either an H97 or Z97 motherboard vs H87. For starters they're around the same price or less. And the H97/Z97 are Broadwell ready whereas we don't know with the 87 series. For recommendations, you can get the ASRock H97M Anniversary for $60AR - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-547-_-Product

For CPU, I would spend $10 more and get the i5-4590. It's faster and not that much more. You can pick it up for $199.00 at Amazon ($.99 cheaper than NewEgg). -
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-4590-...ywords=i5-4590

The RAM you picked is fine. You don't need over 8GB and while faster MHz ram is nice, it doesn't really matter unless you're running an APU system.

The SSD is a solid quality/performance, though you can get the 240-256GB SSDs on sale from $80-$100 fairly often. The 240GB Sandisk Ultra II was $90AC at TigerDirect the other day. And if you have the extra money, you can get an Samsung 840 Pro for $135 at Amazon right now.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electr...amsung+840+pro

The mechanical HDD (either brand you chose) is fine, though I found that if you're just running your games off it, you don't need a black series for the speed (just get any old 7200RPM drive). It might shave a few seconds vs using a 2TB WD (I forgot what color their 2TB Blue equivalent are), but on my main gaming system I've exceeded 1TB of space for games. I can certainly delete the older games to make room, but you can currently get 2TB for around $80 and 3TB for $90. $30-$40 more for 2-3x the space may be worth it.

The GTX 970 is a fine choice. And if you're primary purpose is to game, then it does make sense to build around the GPU you have. Once you get an i5 (any Haswell i5), you gain more performance by upgrading the GPU than CPU.

For PSU, look into a 550W-650W 80 Plus Bronze or Gold (modular or not depending on preference & budget). You can regularly get those Antec ECO 620W Bronze PSU (Seasonic Made) for $35AR at NewEgg. There was a good deal for a modular Seasonic 620 not to long ago for the same price. You can also get those XFX 550W Bronzes for $26AR at TigerDirect. If you plan to SLI and are patient, you can sometimes score a 750W Modular Bronze for $40AR.

If you want 750W and don't mind spending a bit more, I've seen 750W Gold go for $60AR if you're patient. The other day there was a deal on for a Seasonic Modular 750W Gold for $65AR and before that an eVGA model with 10 year warranty for $60. And there is currently a deal for a Rosewill Capstone 750W non-modular Gold (made by SuperFlower--a very respectably, quality OEM like Seasonic) that is on sale now for $60AR.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182073

You don't need a 750W if you're running single and even dual 970s, but the price for 750W and 650W gold seem to be the same, so why not.

Unless you plan to play blurays, you can get any old DVD+/-RW for around $15 (sometimes as low as $10). Any brand works (LG, Asus, LiteOn)

Your dad's Antec was good for it's time. I personally own 3 of them and 4 chieftec models (same design). However as you said the 80mm fans are loud and if you get a board with a USB 3.0 header and you want to utilize it, you'll have to pay around $10 for a front panel adapter. Furthermore, where the HDD and GPU line up, you'll have a problem with long cards. Overall, it's cheaper to get a cheap $20 case that offers USB 3.0, like those Ultra cases recommended, than to keep using the Antec case.

i personally own two of the Ultra Etorque H4 (white & black)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...952&CatId=1509

I got them for $20Ar and while they're ugly, they do have 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.0, SATA Dock. Also the upper drive tray can be removes to allow room for longer cards. in any case, shop around for cases. I've picked up on occassiona the ThermalTake New Soprano Snow Edition for $35AR. It's like the poor man's Antec P280. If you can afford the Antec P280, they usually sell around $100, though I picked up two for $50AR & $60AR last year, so if that's your dream case (as it was mine), I'd suggest getting a cheap case now and upgrade later.

The CPU cooler you have is fine, but you can skip it if you're not getting a K processor since the non-K can't overclock and they'll run fine on the stock heatsink that comes with the CPU. Also you don't need liquid cooling. Generally, a quality air cooler like the Hyper 212 is going to be maybe 1-2 degrees hotter than a single 120mm fan liquid cooler. The dual 120mm or larger though can shave off another 10+ degrees depending on the overclock. But again, with no overclock then you don't need anything beyond stock unless you find the fan too loud (which it isn't).

If you want to overclock then you want either a Z87/Z97 motherboard--preferably a z97 unless you get the z87 much cheaper. Also you'll need to get a CPU with a K at the end. So either i5-4670K/i5-4690K or i7-4770K/i5-4790K. Only the K processors are unlocked to allow overclocks and only the Z87/Z97 boards will overclock them. You can however overclock the Pentium G3258 20th Anniversary chip on most motherboards (though you may need a BIOS update and you should check and confirm if it's possible to overclock or not as it's not universally supported except on Z87/Z97 boards).

As for buying parts on black friday/cyber monday, I personally have found over the last few years that the best deals tended to come in the weeks prior to black friday. For example, picked up a PowerColor 7950 Boost edition for $160AR, Sapphire 7970GHz for $220 and i7-4770K for $200 two weeks before BF. By the time BF rolled around, inventory on older graphics cards had been phased out and the next best deal on CPU was $280. Basically the time between now and BF is the best time to buy. Especially if they offer an iron egg guarantee (eg. you can return items by January 31st).

 

[schmuckley]

1k?
4790K with Biostar z97 mobo + 280-290x + decent $100 PSU
ssd + some storage
Probly that Rosewill 750w Gold PSU "Capstone"
You would like.
would be reliable as well.
Cooler? eh..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...TC-Froogle-_-CPU+Cooling-_-Enermax-_-35214023

or Silenx Effizio 120

Both are better than that Hyper 212 for less
I use a bong cooler..but I know those 2 are better.

 

[mfenn]

My thoughts:

- CPU: Good
- Mobo: I'd rather see an H97 or Z97 board with guaranteed support for your Haswell Refresh CPU. The ASRock H97 Pro4 fits the bill and saves you about $5.
- RAM: Fine, but too expensive. This Team kit saves you about $15.
- SSD : $100 is way too much for a ~128GB SSD. This Kingston 240GB Sandforce drive for $103 is a better deal for $3 more.
- HDD : The WD Black series has minimal performance advantages; really what you're paying for is the warranty. This Seagate 1TB drive saves you $20.
- GPU: Good
- PSU: Definitely necessary. Those old Ultra units weren't high quality back in the day, and they haven't aged well. The unit you've picked out is fine, but the Neo Eco 620C saves you about $34 (as has been pointed out).
- Case: It's been a while since I've seen that old Chieftec design. It's a true classic, but is pretty outdated in terms of case technology (80mm fans, no USB 3.0, top-mount PSU, etc.). With the savings above, you can easily afford a nice new case like the Corsair 200R for $40 AR AP.

 

[Cerb]

9. I plan on buying all the parts- Black friday, Cyber Monday.
SO guys, put in all opinions

That's awfully far out. For example, I'd have upped the CPU to a i5-4690, but tomorrow it will be up another $15 at Newegg, and Amazon is usually not far behind.

And now, the i5 is back up over $20 at both retailers.

Meanwhile, a power supply I've been itching to buy just got a $30 rebate at Newegg, and my next monitor a $27 off code, with Newegg already being the lowest price around, short of eBay. If the Visa Checkout works like I think it will, that will be $61 off what they were just a couple days ago, when I last checked prices (or maybe it will have expired again, by the time I check out...).

Now, on any given day, that could be Amazon, Superbiiz, or NCIX, and any particular model of some part (I've just been watching that PSU and monitor for weeks, now, waiting for the next sale price to buy each--and the PSU is a Rosewill, so of course NE has the best price on it ). But, the chances of BF/CM deals on PC parts beating the sales that have just ended in the last several days, or just begin in the last few days, are slim, so long as you don't limit yourself to one store.

When you have the money, and are ready to throw it down, do so. One good BF deal will be made up for by the lack of savings on the rest of the parts, as has happened at least the last 2 years in a row, now. The constant rolling sales have replaced the annual big day sales. Price compression over time, and new hardware replacing old, far outweighs the value of those major holiday sale days, now.