Building Gaming PC - No Experience - $1700 Build

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Haus the Boss

Junior Member
Sep 27, 2013
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Hey there. I'm new to this forum as well as building PCs. Thought I'd make a thread asking for opinions and advice from all you friendly and knowledgeable folks out there.

I plan on building a gaming PC from the ground up within the next month (Battlefield 4 is coming soon). I'm ordering parts from newegg based on a video I saw on youtube. The PC in said video seems like a good build for what I'm trying to do. I'm wanting a reliable build that will run Battlefield 4 on ultra settings with at least 60fps. I'd like it to be upgradable for the future as well. Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZAoY3ZxmB0

The cost of that build was a little over $1500, but I'm willing to throw down a couple hundred more if something in the build should be modified. I don't really have a brand preference for parts and don't plan on overclocking (Mostly because I'm clueless and have never done anything like this before).

The most experience I've had with something like this was watching my friend install a graphics card for me years ago. I'm on my own with this build, and it's a little scary having no real experience. I've seen people say building PCs is much easier than it looks, especially with all the help and tutorials you can find online, so I'm hoping that's the case. So what can you guys tell me? Will this build work for me, or am I in over my head?

Here's a list of the parts if you didn't look at the video:

Sentey Full ATX Sized Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product...

Galaxy GTX 780 OC edition - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product...

OCZ 750W Fata1ity PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product...

Crucial 1600mhz DDR3 8GB (X2) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product...

Mushkin 240GB SSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product...

1TB Western Digital Black Hard Drive - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003...

MSI Z87 GD45 Motherboard - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D...

Enermax T40 CPU Cooler - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007...

Haswell 4670k i5 CPU - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C...

Thanks for any advice you guys can give me :)

Edited for language. We keep technical forums clean so that people can visit them from places with restrictive content filters.

mfenn
General Hardware Mod
 
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lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
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Welcome to the forums. That build looks OK but there are several things that could be improved. But the basic principles are OK.

Not sure why you're calling Enermax "<redacted>".

Just to make things clear:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming, BF4

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1700

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US (Newegg)

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
No parts. Not even peripherals (monitor, kb, mouse etc)?

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Not planning to. But on your budget I'd have the option to

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
Please answer

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
During October

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
Yes? Windows 7 or 8?

Edited for language.

mfenn
General Hardware Mod
 
Last edited by a moderator:
H

Haus the Boss

Junior Member
Sep 27, 2013
11
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0
Thanks for the reply. I don't plan on using current parts other than my Razer Special Edition mouse. I'll be buying a new monitor and keyboard to go along with this new build, but am willing to go over budget doing so. I'd like to play at 2560x1440 resolution but 1920x1080 would suffice. As far as software is concerned, I'll more than likely go with Windows 7.
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Well, before I can suggest a build, you should decide whether you want to go with 1920x1080 or 2560x1440 because it's really two different budgets we're talking about.

In general, if you want decent gaming performance on 1080p without making compromises on other parts, you need to spend at least $1100 including the OS, but up to about $1500 is still alright in terms of value for money. In addition to that, a monitor will cost $150-300.

For 1440p, the same $1100 build can play most games alright but I would recommend spending at least $1300, and possibly up to $1700-1800 for an NVIDIA dual GPU setup. In addition to that, you need to spend $400-650 on the monitor.

My advice: since this is your first rig, go with 1080p. And since you're going to be playing BF4 and possibly other shooters, you'll benefit more from a gaming-oriented 120hz or 144hz display than a higher resolution 60hz display.

Finally it'd be good to know in more detail when you're planning to buy. It won't make a lot of sense to post a build with a specific set of components until a few days before you plan to buy because newegg's prices, promos, rebates, and combo deals change so quickly - and they're definitely worth taking advantage of.
 
H

Haus the Boss

Junior Member
Sep 27, 2013
11
0
0
Thanks for the advice. Looks like I'll go with 1080p then. I actually want to order my parts and get started as soon as possible, I just wanted to post something out there to get some opinions before I go ahead with the purchase.
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
OK. If buying in a few days:

CPU+Mobo - i5-4670K + MSI Z87-G45 Gaming $355 with additional $20 off using the 4670K gift card code (order this bundle first, then use the gift card in another shopping cart for the rest of the build)
Cooling - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo $35 ($30 AR)
RAM - Team Vulcan 2x4GB 1600 $55 AP or Team Vulcan 2x8GB 1600 $115 AP
GPU - Gigabyte 7970 $310 ($280 AR)
SSD - Kingston V300 120GB $90 or Samsung 840 EVO 250GB $178
HDD - Seagate 2TB $100
DVD - LG DVDRW $15 AP (optional; if you don't use optical disks apart from the Windows installation disk, you can create a bootable USB drive for the Windows disk using another computer)
PSU - Cooler Master V700 $125 ($90 AR) (a pretty nice deal for a fully modular, high performing Gold rated unit built by none other than Seasonic; review at kitguru)
Case - Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 $65 (worth $100)
Monitor - Asus VG248QE $266
Keyboard - Rosewill mechanical Cherry Blue $65 ($50 AR)
OS - Windows 7 64 OEM $91

Total: $1552 ($1472 AR) to $1720 ($1635 AR)

Own a mousemat?

For 1080p gaming I'd definitely just get a 7970 since it's so great for what you pay. I think it makes more sense to get a near-high end card for a relatively small amount of money, with a plan to upgrade it within the year, than spend a huge amount of money now for a relatively small improvement in performance and playability, e.g. a GTX 780.

However... it also depends on what your aim is. If you want to play BF4 at the highest settings and still get smooth framerates (>60 fps), there's really only one solution: dual graphics cards. At 1080p @120hz, GTX 770 2GB SLI would be the way to go but it costs $760 for two cards.
 
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Haus the Boss

Junior Member
Sep 27, 2013
11
0
0
Very cool! Not sure how I feel bout a mid tower case though. I was wanting a full tower case for the extra space inside. Figured it'd make installing the hardware a tiny bit easier and help with airflow and future upgrades - or maybe I'm wrong and the case size isn't a huge deal. I also found a nice monitor on sale from best buy: http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/de...otp-app34-115?skuId=6814952&pid=1218807855012 not sure if that link will work or not (I'm using my phone at work now).
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
I've only worked with mid towers and haven't had any trouble space-wise. The cooling provided by Arc Midi's three 140mm fans is more than enough for any single GPU setup even with overclocking, and even dual GPU will be fine.

A full tower will inevitably cost something like $50-100 more, or even more than that. I don't see the benefit myself.

Given your budget and the focus on FPS gaming, definitely get the Asus VG248QE which is 144hz. The Dell monitor is $190 so not that much cheaper, and it's only 60hz, not really a gaming monitor, just a regular one.

@tg2708
That's also 60hz. I don't see why he should get a 60hz IPS panel for online FPS gaming. Apart from that, great monitor.
 
T

tg2708

Senior member
May 23, 2013
687
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lehtv said:
@tg2708
That's also 60hz. I don't see why he should get a 60hz IPS panel for online FPS gaming. Apart from that, great monitor.
Click to expand...

you are correct but my suggestion of this monitor was because it was on sale and I felt the urge to post it everywhere so that everyone had a chance to snag it at an additional $50 off :).
 
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
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www.mfenn.com
Haus the Boss said:
Very cool! Not sure how I feel bout a mid tower case though. I was wanting a full tower case for the extra space inside. Figured it'd make installing the hardware a tiny bit easier and help with airflow and future upgrades - or maybe I'm wrong and the case size isn't a huge deal. I also found a nice monitor on sale from best buy: http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/de...otp-app34-115?skuId=6814952&pid=1218807855012 not sure if that link will work or not (I'm using my phone at work now).
Click to expand...

Much of the time, a full tower is a big empty box with lots of poorly directly airflow. Case manufacturers can get around this by adding lots of fans, but that just makes the case loud.

At the end of the day, the fan on an actively cooled GPU or CPU can only pull a given volume of air over the heatsink. As long as you've can provide that volume of cool air (which a good mid tower can do), you're good to go.
 
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Haus the Boss

Junior Member
Sep 27, 2013
11
0
0
Thanks a lot for the help. I decided to go with the 7970 card and the monitor you recommended. The combo deal for the CPU and Motherboard isn't valid anymore. Should I stick with those same choices, or look for other deals? Will this build allow me to crossfire two 7970s in the future (assuming I upgrade the psu)? I plan on ordering the parts tonight. thanks again.
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
What do you mean? The combo seems active to me

Compared to the G45 Gaming, the G55 lacks the high end audio (Realtek ALC892 vs ALC1150) and the high end LAN (Realtek 8111G vs Qualcomm Killer). G45 Gaming has 8 phases but I can't find info on the power delivery in G55. It's probably 8-phase as well.

The promo on the power supply has expired. $125 AR is too much to pay for it... so unless you ordered it while the promo was active, here's what I'd recommend:
XFX 750W Gold $110 ($90 AR) @ NCIX
Seasonic X650 $105 AP ($90 AR) @newegg
Rosewill Hive 750W $90 ($70 AR) @newegg
in that order
 
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