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Custom PC Build - Help Request #175,385,498,771,888,472

BroncosFreak87

BroncosFreak87

Junior Member
Please excuse me if I'm posting this in the wrong place. Advise me where to put it if it's the wrong spot.

Anyway, hey I'm Travis, I'm brand new here, I'm just getting back into the PC gaming world. To give you an idea of how long it's been (a decade), I had an Intel Pentium 4 Processor HT 3.2, 512K Cache, 800 MHz FSB; and a Radeon 9500. The rest I don't really remember. LoL. It hurts just to type those things, but it provided a few years of great gaming. Then it came, the cancer. It changed everything.

Now that it's...sort...of...gone (???? - classic denial, I just want to game again), I want to build a PC...well that is, have someone build one for me. I've landed on eCollgePC.com. Now now, settle down, this isn't a question of whether or not I should get a computer from them. I've already heard a TON of good things about them, especially for people on a tight budget with most of their money going to medical bills. Yes I know it's not the best, I know I could get a lemon (that could happen anywhere), and please here me shout this: I KNOW I COULD BUILD ONE MYSELF FOR MUCH CHEAPER!!!!

Those latter points are not what this post is about. I really don't want to get into those issues. What I DO need/want help on, is the PC build itself. Keep in mind my budget is around $1,000. If there is some grand component you thing I should have, forget it. I need to stay mid to bottom level here. I just want to play games, I don't need to play games at the hottest level and burn my PC in glory! I just need to be able to see the game.

Alright, now that we got that TLDR; speech out of the way, the moment of truth. My mid level build, please advise:

Processor: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5Ghz 6MB Cache Quad-Core |

Cooling: Stock Intel LGA1150 Heatsink and Fan |

MB: ASRock Z97 Extreme4 (Intel Z97 DVI, HDMI, 3xPCI-E, 8xSATA, 4xDDR3) |

Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) Corsair Vengeance 12800 DDR3 1600Mhz |

Hard Drive: 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache SATA3 6Gbps Western Digital Blue |

Drive: 24X LG SATA Dual Layer DVD /-RW/CDRW |

Graphics Card: 2GB ATI Radeon R7 260X GDDR5 PCI-E DVI/HDMI |

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 64bit (Includes DVD + COA) |

Case: Apevia Black/Green X-Dreamer 4 (4 5.25, 5 3.5) 5 Fans, Audio/USB 3.0 |

Power Supply: 600watt Corsair CX600 V2 80 |

Networking: Onboard 1Gbit LAN included |

Sound: Onboard HD 7.1 Sound included |

Neon Lights: 2x120mm Green Neon Fans |


Okay, that's it! I have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor already. ANY advice would be welcome as far as the build goes. But my most glaring questions are:

Are the MB and Power Supply overkill? Spot on? Not enough? (I could save some money downgrading those if what I have here is overkill)

Should I go with something like the Geforce GTX 750 Ti instead of the Radeon 260X? A different card of the like?

Is it worth getting a sound card? Or is the Onboard enough? I've heard that if you really don't care much, that with headphones the onboard stuff is actually really quite decent.

Do I need more cooling?

Is a Blu-Ray drive something I'm going to regret passing up? I have players already. I won't be watching movies from the PC.

I know Windows 8.1 is pretty hated by many. I'm used to the tiles. I won't be using touch however. It won't bother me overall, but is it going to bother my gamingAnything else you see as a problem? Any suggestions overall?


Okay, I know this really was a long post. I know a lot of people will skip over it for that alone. But to those of you that help a returning semi-clueless gamer out, I say thank you very much.

-Travis

Moved from Computer Help.

mfenn
General Hardware Moderator
 
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I have asked a mod to move it. In the mean time, I do have some thoughts:

Some may tell you that the power supply is too much. But if you decide to go crossfire later (or just an upgrade) you will be glad you bought something that will last.

The only thing I would recommend is an SSD in addition to, or replacement for, the hard drive. The WD blue is a good drive, but you are really going to enjoy the new computer experience with your OS on an SSD. The Crucial MX100 and BX100 are a good bang for the buck right now.
 
Hmm, how much does the build above cost? It seems to me that there is no way it should be running you $1000.
 
mfenn said:
Hmm, how much does the build above cost? It seems to me that there is no way it should be running you $1000.
Click to expand...

By all means, if you can find me a good company that will take those components and build me a computer for less than $970, I'd be more than grateful for it.
 
There are several custom computer building companies. Most of them charge an awful lot. :\

First, I decided to do a quick Newegg search to see if they have any good gaming machines in your range. And I found one!

CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme H170

  • Intel Core i5 4460 (3.2GHz)
  • 8GB DDR3 500GB HDD
  • Windows 8.1 64-Bit
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2 GB

It has a slightly slower CPU, and a slightly small HDD, but a much faster GPU. And it's only $800.

If you're wondering about the brand, Cyberpower is one of those small custom computer building companies I mentioned. (Though it's not that small - it's probably bigger than the one you mentioned - it's smaller than Dell.) I'm sure you could put together a more customized build at their website, but it would probably cost more.
 
Ken g6 said:
If you're wondering about the brand, Cyberpower is one of those small custom computer building companies I mentioned. (Though it's not that small - it's probably bigger than the one you mentioned - it's smaller than Dell.) I'm sure you could put together a more customized build at their website, but it would probably cost more.
Click to expand...

I very sincerely appreciate the time you took to look into that for me.

Ironically, Cyberpower is the only site I was able to build a cheaper version of the same. This, however, was aided by a President's day sale. This actually spurred a quick spontaneous purchase. Because I was racing against a "Deal Ends" clock. I had only heard of CyberPower in passing beforehand, and didn't have much time to research it. After digging deeper the following day, with my order in limbo (I had purchased it, but it had yet to hit the floor), I found out that while Cyberpower had competitive pricing, was growing rapidly, and even won some awards, there was major trouble brewing.

First, when I attempted to contact them through e-mail and phone it was very difficult to get a hold of them. When they finally did write back via e-mail, my comprehensive e-mail was reduced to a generic response that answered only 1 out of 5 of my questions. And it was the only answer that had Cyberpower's interests at heart. Red flag #1.

Red Flag #2 came in the form of: when I was finally able to reach them by phone. I knew more than the guy I was talking to. As I may have given the impression I don't know a lot in my OP, and I know it's Taboo that I don't just "build my own" so I probably lose instant cred there (even though the ONLY reason I'm not is I just don't have the time, I have a cancer to fight, please excuse me!!), but I actually do know quite a bit. In my time away from PC gaming, I've still kept up. There is nothing wrong with the written word alone when it's all one can conjure up! That being said, I'm generally able to keep my e-peen in check and realize a guy who builds computers for a living SHOULD know more than me. I had respectfully given way to his knowledge, only to find out that respect was unwarranted. This kind of made me sad. And very worried.

I then dug into the belly of the beast. I have another site I attend to, and it's one I've come to trust. It's a public forum such as this. A poll was taken of previous CyberPower PC customers. Out of nearly 2000, almost 1500 of them had a bad experience. Ouch. It can happen anywhere I understand that. But that is extremely awful. Yes, there are probably many of those votes taken by people that never even touched a computer of theirs. Nor tried. There are probably some votes where the computer was great just the customer service was bad (something I'm more willing to put up, as long as the machine is running). Then again, why call customer service if there isn't a problem yes? On that same site, similar polls for other companies I knew of returned results to the exact opposite, maybe 75-90% satisfaction, rather than 25%. My mind was made up.

Long story short, I cancelled my order, and continued my search. Now I had heard of many custom building sites. Unfortunately, the ones I knew were premium, top of the line, customer service giants that cost a great deal. Puget, Falcon NW, Quite PC, Origin PC, Digital Storm, Maingear, etc. Then, in my search for value at a good cost, I stumbled across a Lifehacker.com article. In it, the people at Lifehacker had asked it's readers to nominate the best custom builders. The top 5 nominated sites were chosen. The usual suspects were there but for one I'd never heard of. That's when I found ecollegePC.com The main reason? Quality at one of the best prices you can find. Great customer service, and knowledge. I was sold. I built the computer above, and have yet to find comparable prices with those very components. That is, except for CyberPowerPC...but we all know where I stand there!

My search isn't done yet though, I'm not 100% sold. I am going to try everywhere I can find. But I'll make sure to get all my research in before buying anything!
 
Ooohkay, so I guess you're set on ecollegepc then.

Hey, this looks good. If you customize it with a GTX 960 and an MX100 SSD (one of those grand components I think you should have 😉) it's exactly $999. But without OS. 🙁

Well, you can pay too much for a nice company whose customer service you'll probably never use. Or you can get a cheap deal from Cyberpower. Or you can get a good deal from Newegg (whose customer service is generally considered good) selling a Cyberpower PC. Or you can build your own.
 
ketchup79 said:
What is keeping you from building your own? There are a lot of sites with tutorials out there.
Click to expand...

I've built 3 computers in the past. Up until 2003 I was a building fiend! In 11 years, you can imagine a lot changes. Brand reliance changes, new companies emerge, little intricacies emerge that weren't there before as far as builds, components etc. (Such as your recommendation for a Solid State Drive). All this adds up to my need for advice here. I probably overshot and misled by overusing an artificial humbleness trait I conjured up for this little endeavor. It just boils down to me losing "the touch" by being out of the game for so long.

At any rate, to answer your actual question, I'm unable to build myself these days. I just can't. Due to complications and chemo. I'm in so much pain it's ridiculous. Confined to a wheelchair, fentanyl patches, the works. I pretty much get to "sit there" as it is. Then the chemo just makes me so incredibly sick. But I'm ready to play something other than a console from bed. While they have been fun (a TON of fun), I want to get some PC gaming in. I just want to feel a little normal again.

For me, with my circumstance, surroundings, and health; it just makes an incredible amount of sense to have someone that cares about computers build me a computer. Unfortunately for my wallet, the more they care, the more I would need to spend! But this site I've found, I've just heard so much good. And I have the funds I need to build the computer I need to do what I want to do! I'm blessed for that.

All that being said, if there is anyone that can find a better deal from a reputable company, I want in!
 
Ken g6 said:
Ooohkay, so I guess you're set on ecollegepc then.

Hey, this looks good. If you customize it with a GTX 960 and an MX100 SSD (one of those grand components I think you should have 😉) it's exactly $999. But without OS. 🙁

Well, you can pay too much for a nice company whose customer service you'll probably never use. Or you can get a cheap deal from Cyberpower. Or you can get a good deal from Newegg (whose customer service is generally considered good) selling a Cyberpower PC. Or you can build your own.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say "set on" as much as "impressed with". I'm more than happy to jump ship and board somewhere else if evidence warrants it.

I need an OS unfortunately, so I need to calculate that into my price. Whether I get it from the company or somewhere else.

And I wouldn't call it "too much". I'm old enough to have learned sometimes money is less about finding the best deal, and more about giving the mind relief.

I really have given this a lot of thought. And I'm not in any way new to all this. I love NewEgg. I've used NewEgg for a lot of things. It helped me build my last machine, almost 100%. So I love em. But it's not like the price difference is that striking between the CyberPower PC with shady specifications (why do they provide so little detail? I question that strategy) and the PC I built on eCollege. Oh, and the deal I got on Presidents day was a $40.00 difference. Still cheaper, but man if only you could have heard that phone conversation. It still blows my mind, and I'm still telling a new friend the story almost daily. My conversation with eCollegePC today was so much better. Exactly what I wanted it to be. It truly was.

But again, I don't want the focus to go this direction. I truly worried about it being about price and self-build instead of what I intended with my initial post. Perhaps I went about wording it inefficiently.
 
I'm just going to throw this out there. If you've built your own PC before, I don't see a compelling reason to use the web store you found to build it for you. Their prices really aren't all that good. I calculated that they're running a 23% markup vs. market prices, which makes sense for the company to stay in business.

Also, I find it pretty disingenuous that they advertise prices for their systems without an OS. That's not a system, that's a collection of parts, and it means they're selling untested machines, since they obviously never turn them on.

OP, build your own system unless you don't have the time or physical ability to. You'll be better off in the long run.
 
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The main problem with the machine above is that its GPU is incredibly underpowered for a $1000 gaming PC. You should be looking in the realm of the GTX 970 or R9 290X, both of which are 2-3 times more powerful. A secondary problem is that it doesn't have an SSD.

If you can't build it yourself, you should cut down on the CPU and mobo in order to fit a more powerful GPU.
 
ketchup79 said:
The article is fairly recent, and some of them are just "over the top" but there are a couple (like eCollegePC) that may offer what you are looking for:

http://lifehacker.com/five-best-custom-pc-builders-1664766332
Click to expand...

Oh sweetness, I'll try building one from each of these places. It does give some props to ecollegePC, but it looks like an underdog situation there. I have actually tried Falcon NW and Origin (the old Alienware guys before it got sold to Dell, back when they actually built something worthwhile). But I haven't tried the other 2, I have heard of Puget though. I do hear they are pricey but good.

Thanks for the time you've taken to help me out with what I want.
 
mfenn said:
The main problem with the machine above is that its GPU is incredibly underpowered for a $1000 gaming PC. You should be looking in the realm of the GTX 970 or R9 290X, both of which are 2-3 times more powerful. A secondary problem is that it doesn't have an SSD.

If you can't build it yourself, you should cut down on the CPU and mobo in order to fit a more powerful GPU.
Click to expand...

You know what? You're right. The problem is, this isn't a $1,000.00 computer. It costs $1,000.00. But it's actually much cheaper as far as the component prices. Probably around 600-700 I'm guessing. I will work on researching the cross value of Motherboard --> GPU and HD --> GPU. I think they are closer to equal value/performance than you may be thinking. But I bet you're right and I need to find more of a middle ground. That being said though, a $1,000 from these places is not a $1,000.00 computer for a self build.

With what I can tell and please don't take offense if I'm wrong here. But it seems like you are very knowledgeable and good at building systems. But maybe have less experience with these websites that sell custom PC's. Give it a try, building some of these computers on these sites. This will give a really good understanding of where I'm coming from as far as price and components etc.

Here are a few of the sites I've tried.

www.ecollegepc.com/
http://www.falcon-nw.com/
http://www.originpc.com/

There are tons more, but that should be sufficient, those are just some of my favorite.

It's not that I'm not appreciative of the advice, or even disagree with it. It's just that maybe the focus is on the wrong thing, and the advice is based on a self-build rather than a custom PC website build.
 
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Termie said:
I'm just going to throw this out there. If you've built your own PC before, I don't see a compelling reason to use the web store you found to build it for you. Their prices really aren't all that good. I calculated that they're running a 23% markup vs. market prices, which makes sense for the company to stay in business.

Also, I find it pretty disingenuous that they advertise prices for their systems without an OS. That's not a system, that's a collection of parts, and it means they're selling untested machines, since they obviously never turn them on.

OP, build your own system unless you don't have the time or physical ability to. You'll be better off in the long run.
Click to expand...

I kind of get the feeling you haven't read the entire thread. Take a look at some of my other posts, I explain why I can't build my own. I understand why it may be a little strange they set prices on machines without operating systems, but they have a 3 year parts and labor warranty, and they test every system before getting them out (I don't know what they do if you don't add an operating system into the build, which you have the option to with every single build. Maybe they throw a drive with one installed and test all the other components. I don't know. But at that point it almost becomes the buyers mistake don't you think? But they do test their machines before getting them out.). If I were their first customer it would be a problem perhaps, but after they've built a customer base and that base is happy, it provides the faith I need to buy from them.

Not only that, but virtually every single other custom build website runs the exact same model. Once you've built a machine on one, you pretty much know how to do it everywhere!

As far as price goes, yes, they have a high markup. That I know. But the prices from ecollegePC are pretty much the best I've found. I've challenged (for my benefit) everyone that mentions the cost to find me a better price from a custom build site. It would be beneficial for me. I've been shown pre-built machines at a better cost, but none of them quite have the components I want so far, if they did, they would probably be about the same price. But that's why I'm here, to try and try and try to find something better. When I see what I want, I'll know! Just because I keep saying no doesn't mean I'm stuck on anything, I just have my own opinions and preferences.
 
Ken g6 said:
Not a bad value, but only a 300W PSU. It might support a GTX 960, but I'm skeptical. If you're willing to dig into the case and replace the PSU too that's fine, but the OP isn't able to.
Click to expand...

I noticed that very thing. I unfortunately passed on it when I saw that. Not only that, but I just don't like not being able to see brands etc. I know it may be silly of me, but I just don't like it.
 
BroncosFreak87 said:
I kind of get the feeling you haven't read the entire thread. Take a look at some of my other posts, I explain why I can't build my own. I understand why it may be a little strange they set prices on machines without operating systems, but they have a 3 year parts and labor warranty, and they test every system before getting them out (I don't know what they do if you don't add an operating system into the build, which you have the option to with every single build. Maybe they throw a drive with one installed and test all the other components. I don't know. But at that point it almost becomes the buyers mistake don't you think? But they do test their machines before getting them out.). If I were their first customer it would be a problem perhaps, but after they've built a customer base and that base is happy, it provides the faith I need to buy from them.

Not only that, but virtually every single other custom build website runs the exact same model. Once you've built a machine on one, you pretty much know how to do it everywhere!

As far as price goes, yes, they have a high markup. That I know. But the prices from ecollegePC are pretty much the best I've found. I've challenged (for my benefit) everyone that mentions the cost to find me a better price from a custom build site. It would be beneficial for me. I've been shown pre-built machines at a better cost, but none of them quite have the components I want so far, if they did, they would probably be about the same price. But that's why I'm here, to try and try and try to find something better. When I see what I want, I'll know! Just because I keep saying no doesn't mean I'm stuck on anything, I just have my own opinions and preferences.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, I did miss the post where you explained why you couldn't build your own PC.

In that case, take this 4690K/GTX960 system: http://www.ecollegepc.com/intel-core-i5-4670-cpu-gaming.html

And modify it with the following components:
(1) Add Crucial MX100 128GB
(2) Drop down to Corsair 200R case
(3) Add Windows 8.1

Comes out to $1199. It's a nice system. You'll be happy with it. No need for you to spend so much time shopping around. You won't find a better price from another custom builder, nor will you find a pre-built system with these specs anywhere on Newegg.
 
Termie said:
I'm sorry, I did miss the post where you explained why you couldn't build your own PC.

In that case, take this 4690K/GTX960 system: http://www.ecollegepc.com/intel-core-i5-4670-cpu-gaming.html

And modify it with the following components:
(1) Add Crucial MX100 128GB
(2) Drop down to Corsair 200R case
(3) Add Windows 8.1

Comes out to $1199. It's a nice system. You'll be happy with it. No need for you to spend so much time shopping around. You won't find a better price from another custom builder, nor will you find a pre-built system with these specs anywhere on Newegg.
Click to expand...

See now, this is what I'm talking about. This post right here is a lot of help. Is there anything I can drop down that won't affect performance much? Maybe help me get closer to $1100, or $1050. If not that's fine. What about the Motherboard? I will admit, the one thing I just lost touch with in my time away from building is the motherboards. I just don't understand them like I used to.
 
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BroncosFreak87 said:
See now, this is what I'm talking about. This post right here is a lot of help. Is there anything I can drop down that won't affect performance much? Maybe help me get closer to $1100, or $1050. If not that's fine. What about the Motherboard? I will admit, the one thing I just lost touch with in my time away from building is the motherboards. I just don't understand them like I used to.
Click to expand...

Actually, you can drop down to the MSI Z97 PC Mate motherboard, which brings the total price down to $1175. You lose SLI and a bit of top-end overclocking headroom, but you probably don't need those things.

If you were not interested in overclocking, you could drop down to the Core i5-4590 (-$48), but don't go down any further on motherboards - the other options really aren't that great (B81, micro ATX, etc.).

And if you're OK with using only moderate settings for gaming at 1920x1080, you can certainly drop down to the GTX 750 Ti 2GB, which saves another $84. Now you're below $1100. You can also save another $10 on the case going with the NZXT Source 210 Elite. I noticed that your original pick had green LEDs, so you'll ultimately need to decide for yourself what it's worth to you to pick a case with lighting.

By the way, do not drop the SSD from the build. The system will feel dated from the moment you turn it on if you only have a hard drive in it.
 
Termie said:
but don't go down any further on motherboards - the other options really aren't that great (B81, micro ATX, etc.).
Click to expand...
Why not? The lowest option, the ASRock H81M, has only two RAM slots and PCIe 2.0, but that shouldn't make a significant difference. Being mATX it can also fit in a cheaper case like the Fractal Design Core 1000. Saves at least $50 overall.
 
Ken g6 said:
Why not? The lowest option, the ASRock H81M, has only two RAM slots and PCIe 2.0, but that shouldn't make a significant difference. Being mATX it can also fit in a cheaper case like the Fractal Design Core 1000. Saves at least $50 overall.
Click to expand...

The H81M lacks a lot more than what you mentioned. It loses SATA ports, USB ports, and PCIe lanes. It only has two expansion slots, versus 6 or 7 on an ATX board. Totally wrong for a gaming build. And the Core 1000 is not nearly as nice a case as a Corsair 200R, while only saving about $15.

I realize the OP is trying to save money, but we're not talking about a $600 budget here. He's got enough to use decent parts and still stick close to $1000.
 
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