Gaming build $1000-1500

[GoblinBuilder]

Hey all,

Initially I posted with a $2500 budget. Some circumstances came up that made it so I had no internet for longer than I thought, so no build, then money priorities shifted, and consequently I've decreased my budget to about $1500 for now. I'm looking for some advice.

I would LIKE to game in 1440p with high settings, but 1080p would suffice to keep me in the budget.

I would like my primary monitor to be 27".

I am in the US, and will be ordering all parts from Newegg, Microcenter, or Amazon. I ive 2.5 hours from a Microcenter and 20 minutes from a Fry's.

I would like one GPU for now, but room, compatibility and power for an additional one in the near future.

I am interested in overclocking and will look into aftermarket cooling solutions.

Games I play: WoW, LoL, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, and mmorpg's as well as DayZ.

I need peripherals, but if we can get a build close to budget without them to optimize the guts of the computer, I can use the spillover for peripherals since they're cheap.

Any help is greatly, greatly appreciated as always. Now that I'm moving off-base I hope to finally get a new build completed!

 

[Essence_of_War]

When you say you need peripherals, what does that include?

Monitor?
KB?
Mouse?
OS?

 

[GoblinBuilder]

Hey Essence good to hear from you again. Thanks for the clarification I see how that affects the gut of the PC - yes, monitor included in the build price.

KB, mouse, OS don't need to be included, I'll cover those outside the budget. Last time we did this I ended up increasing my budget by nearly a grand hah!

 

[Essence_of_War]

My gut suggestion is to go with mfenn's 1k build and add a monitor.

The dell u2312hm fpr $190 is 1920x1080 has a beautiful IPS panel and almost no input lag.
The dell u2412m for $270 is a little pricier, but gives you a little extra real estate.

If you're willing to wait for the panels a bit, you can get them in used- like new from amazon at a reasonable discount. They're opened, and returned but unused.

 

[GoblinBuilder]

I was actually looking at his build, since its in my price range. I'll have to look into the monitor deals they sound pretty good. Thanks for the suggestion. I suppose given the financial circumstances I'll wait on 1440p for now.

 

[mfenn]

My gut suggestion is to go with mfenn's 1k build and add a monitor.

The dell u2312hm fpr $190 is 1920x1080 has a beautiful IPS panel and almost no input lag.
The dell u2412m for $270 is a little pricier, but gives you a little extra real estate.

If you're willing to wait for the panels a bit, you can get them in used- like new from amazon at a reasonable discount. They're opened, and returned but unused.

I'd like to point out that you can get the cheapest Korean 27" 1440p monitor for $375. The Dells are certainly better monitors with much better QC, but the Yamakasi isn't terrible as long as you can live with some stuck/dead pixels.

The GTX 770 will play WoW, LoL, D3, SC2, and other MMOs at 1440p no problem, but it will struggle with heavier games at that resolution.

 

[GoblinBuilder]

Thanks for the suggestion, mfenn. I remember seeing that monitor. It might be worth a shot. You think this monitor, in conjunction with the recommended mid-range build would be a good combination for decent 1440p gaming?

 

[Essence_of_War]

Accounting for the games it sounds like you play, mfenn's point re:2560x1440 is well taken.

I'm personally cagey about getting caught with stuck/dead pixels, and I like the higher quality stands/bases and additional frills (OSD, extra inputs, USB hubs) that come with the Asus/Apple/Dell/HP displays, but it should be noted that it seems like most people have absolutely no problems with the Korean panels.

Amazon Warehouse Deals on say, the dell u2713hm, put it within ~$100/125 of the korean panels and in such a case, IMHO, you're getting quite a bit for the extra money.

 

[GoblinBuilder]

Oh that is a great looking monitor. I suppose the 1k build and that would put me just above budget but for the quality it may be worth it!

 

[GoblinBuilder]

Alright guys, I FINALLY secured an apartment, and should be able to have this build ordered in a week or two weeks at the most. Here's what I'm looking at:

(Copy Pasted from the mid-range system builders post)
1/5/2014 update:
i5 4670K + GA-Z87M-D3H combo $328
G.Skill DDR3 1866 8GB $68 AP
Zotac GTX 770 $330
Crucial M500 120GB $95
WD Blue 1TB $60
Lite-ON DVD Burner $15 AP
Antec HCG-620M $60 AR
NZXT Source 220 $50
Total: $1006 AR AP

For my monitor I'm looking at this, it's a 27" 1440p at 120mhz. Any opinions?

 

[lehtv]

If your budget is still $1500 including monitor and want to play on high settings with smooth framerates, I strongly recommend sticking to 1080p. Rather than buying a 27" monitor, I'd recommend 24" at 144hz. In games where you can maintain constant 100+ fps, you can turn off motion blur entirely by enabling lightboost in 2D 120hz mode.

The Asus PB278Q is not a 120hz monitor and its response time is a bit slow. It can definitely do gaming but it doesn't matter, you can't fit a $600 1440p monitor into a $1500 budget and expect to build a well rounded PC with good gaming performance with what's left. For high settings, you'd need a GTX 780 and that'd already be $500 out of the remaining $900.

I would get

i5-4670K + MSI Z87-G45 Gaming + 2x4GB G.Skill 1866Mhz $434 AR
Thermalright True Spirit 140 $50 @amazon
EVGA GTX 770 2GB SC ACX $330 AR
Kingston V300 240GB $130 @ amazon
WD Blue 1TB $60
Lite-On DVD-RW $15 AP
XFX 750W Black Edition $86 AR @ncix
NZXT Source 530 $80
Asus VG248QE 144hz $270

= $1455 AR AP

 

[mfenn]

I would get

i5-4670K + MSI Z87-G45 Gaming + 2x4GB G.Skill 1866Mhz $434 AR
Thermalright True Spirit 140 $50 @amazon
EVGA GTX 770 2GB SC ACX $330 AR
Kingston V300 240GB $130 @ amazon
WD Blue 1TB $60
Lite-On DVD-RW $15 AP
XFX 750W Black Edition $86 AR @ncix
NZXT Source 530 $80
Asus VG248QE 144hz $270

= $1455 AR AP

Nice $1500 build, gets a :thumbsup: from me.

 

[GoblinBuilder]

Awesome thanks a lot guys! I'l post back when I'm ordering the parts to check on the deals and make sure everything good. Thanks again.

 

[GoblinBuilder]

Ok guys. I'm thinking of pulling the trigger tonight, or at the latest Sunday. A few of the deals have changed but I can be a bit flexible going a over $1500 as long as it's not a significant amount. Any last opinions? I'd love to order everything from Amazon for their great shipping and customer service but it's not absolute.

 

[norseamd]

looks like a nice build. that xfx 750w black edition seems like a really nice powre supply. xfx has seasonic make their power supply. seasonic are some of the nicest power supplies around.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page625.htm
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?108088-Official-XS-Power-Supply-Ranking-Phase-I

the only thing i might worry about is if that cpu fan will fit in your case.

 

[mfenn]

the only thing i might worry about is if that cpu fan will fit in your case.

Easily. The Source 530 is a pretty wide case.

 

[norseamd]

Easily. The Source 530 is a pretty wide case.

i do not know the case so ok. was just making sure. i just checked my 140 with my thermaltake revo gene and it looks like it might fit but with maybe 1 or 2 centimeters at most.