New Build

[UConnHusky1]

1. My PC will be used for all different kinds of games (high-end and low-end), college work, movies, Skype, video-chatting, etc

2. The most I can go is around $1000-$1500, however my parents, siblings, and more of my family said they will chip in about $1000. So figure $2000-$2500, maybe even $3000 if I can make $500 in a month.

3. I will be buying my parts from the US.

4. I think a human knows how to read. Read #3.

5. I dont care what brands. I just want it to last for a good 5 years. I paid very little for parts (big mistake) and now the PC is garbage.

6. Nope, all new parts.

7. I dont care about overclocking. As long as it is a good performs well.

8. I dont really care about the resolution, as long as there wont be any fuzzy crap showing up in my games or documents.

9. I would like to get the whole thing done by my birthday (April 22)

10. I dont have the OS yet, however I prefer Windows 8.1 over Windows 8 and Windows 7. I also need a new keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

Please make this a good PC. For the last 2 years ever since I built my crappy PC, I had to work 2 part time jobs and while working around school.

 

[gammaray]

thing is you have enough budget to build whatever you want regarding your needs. as it stands, it's a matter of opinions and brand preferences.

 

[mvbighead]

Eh, because it's fun... here is a build for just under $1500:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3fwWc
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3fwWc/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3fwWc/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus B85-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($113.49 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Video Card ($305.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($98.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS24AH-P 24.0" Monitor ($226.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech MK710 Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1416.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-24 09:52 EDT-0400)

I'm sure there will be some nitpicking here and there, but from my POV, I would not spend much more than this on a build... and even then, I went a little above and beyond in some areas. A 240GB SSD plus 2TB of spinning disk for storage. This should be a solid build that would last for quite some time.

 

[DSF]

Do you want to try to keep the build to $1500 if you can, or do you want to take advantage of the "free" money from your family if it will go to good use?

If you're looking to limit the price as much as possible, something along the lines of mvbighead's post is probably what you're looking for. As he said, I or others might quibble on specific parts, but that's the basic idea of what you're going to go for. About $1500 bucks, and in terms of the prices of the core components that should be GPU > CPU > Mobo > RAM.

If you want to spend a little bit more and you feel like the money is cheerfully given by your family, I would put extra money into peripherals like monitor/keyboard/mouse/headphones that will last a long time, rather than into the box itself.

You're pretty much in the perfect time frame to be asking about parts since you want to have it done by April 22.

This is probably the most important concept in my whole post:
Don't lock yourself into one specific part from one specific manufacturer. Spend the next week or so browsing the forums and understand which parts are comparable to one another. Then, over the next couple weeks, nab deals that are irresistible as they come up. So if you figure it's not unreasonable to spend $80 on a PSU for your computer, and a high-quality Seasonic unit goes on sale for $50-60, snatch it up and stash it. lehtv and mfenn are particularly good about tracking these deals, so trust their judgment when they recommending purchasing. Just plan to purchase all the parts by April 12th or so to give yourself time to receive the pieces and build before any of the 30-day return periods are over.