Rate my sub $800 build!

[Lyfer]

I haven't built a rig in almost a year and have been out of the loop for a while. Building for a family member. Goal? 1080p gaming for Wow, SC2, Dota 2, D3 and light BF4. Already have a 1TB HDD, kb/mice and his community college will supply Windows 7 or 8.1 (which is more better for gaming?) We also are reusing an old DVI Samsung 21" 1080p display until he can get the funds for an IPS 24+ upgrade.

Here's the list we settled on:

CPU - Intel Core i5 - 4690 (non K) - 3.5ghz $210 (no plans in overclocking)
Mobo - ASrock H97M Pro4G MicroATX $80
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws 8gb DDR3 1600 (4gb x 2) $73
GPU - Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X $180
SSD - Crucial MX 256GB $115
PSU - Corsair CX600 $55
Case - CoolerMaster N NSE-200-KKN1 MicroATX - $50
Optical - Asus DVD $17

Total $799'ish ($780 after MIR's)

Thoughts and feedback? Thanks!

 

[Ken g6]

As long as you're getting H87, you might as well get H97 instead. Avoid any potential compatibility issues.

The GPU feels a little underpowered for the CPU. But I guess that's not unusual for WoW.

Win 8.1 is better for BF4 gaming, anyway.

 

[bonehead123]

As long as you're getting H87, you might as well get H97 instead. Avoid any potential compatibility issues.

The GPU feels a little underpowered for the CPU. But I guess that's not unusual for WoW.

Win 8.1 is better for BF4 gaming, anyway.

H97...check,
R290x....check... and.........
W8 vs 7....depends, ymmv 🙂

you might also wanna allow a few $$ for some good case fans. I know the CM case probably comes with 1 or 2, but you'll probably need 4-6 if you plan to overclock at all...........

 

[mfenn]

I haven't built a rig in almost a year and have been out of the loop for a while. Building for a family member. Goal? 1080p gaming for Wow, SC2, Dota 2, D3 and light BF4. Already have a 1TB HDD, kb/mice and his community college will supply Windows 7 or 8.1 (which is more better for gaming?) We also are reusing an old DVI Samsung 21" 1080p display until he can get the funds for an IPS 24+ upgrade.

Here's the list we settled on:

CPU - Intel Core i5 - 4690 - 3.5ghz $210 (no plans in overclocking)
Mobo - ASrock H87M Pro4G MicroATX $80
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws 8gb DDR3 1600 (4gb x 2) $73
GPU - Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X $180
SSD - Crucial M500 240GB $115
PSU - Corsair CX600 $55
Case - CoolerMaster N NSE-200-KKN1 MicroATX - $50
Optical - Asus DVD $17

Total $799'ish ($780 after MIR's)

Thoughts and feedback? Thanks!

Pretty good start, I'd make the following suggestions:

- CPU: There really isn't very much perceptible difference between the non-K Haswell i5's. So I'd pick up the i5 4440 for $175 AP. That frees up $35 to spend elsewhere.
- SSD : The M500 has been superseded by the MX100 which is pretty much better in every way and costs the same at $115.
- GPU: With the $35 saved on the CPU, you can bump the GPU up to the R9 280 3GB for $200 AR, which will give you a better BF4 experience.

 

[Lyfer]

Pretty good start, I'd make the following suggestions:

- CPU: There really isn't very much perceptible difference between the non-K Haswell i5's. So I'd pick up the i5 4440 for $175 AP. That frees up $35 to spend elsewhere.
- SSD : The M500 has been superseded by the MX100 which is pretty much better in every way and costs the same at $115.
- GPU: With the $35 saved on the CPU, you can bump the GPU up to the R9 280 3GB for $200 AR, which will give you a better BF4 experience.

Thanks, will absolutely bump the SSD to the MX100. the i5 4440 has a turbo of 3.3ghz vs 3.9ghz of the 4690 (non k), wouldn't that matter? Also I thought the R9 270x facotry OC'ed was pretty close to the R9 280 (non X). Also the 280 looks like to be a huge card as I was worried it might have issues fitting with the mobo/case and getting enough juice from the Corsair CX600.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks, will absolutely bump the SSD to the MX100. the i5 4440 has a turbo of 3.3ghz vs 3.9ghz of the 4690 (non k), wouldn't that matter? Also I thought the R9 270x facotry OC'ed was pretty close to the R9 280 (non X). Also the 280 looks like to be a huge card as I was worried it might have issues fitting with the mobo/case and getting enough juice from the Corsair CX600.

No, the increase CPU speed will not matter in the games that are listed. SC2, WoW and Diablo III are easy to run, and BF4 will benefit more from the GPU than from the CPU.

Power consumption between the two cards is close, and the CX600 has plenty of power for either (R9 280 is basically the same thing as a 7950 Boost). The big difference is that the R9 280 has 3GB of VRAM versus the 2GB on the 270X. That makes games with large textures and/or AA run better because it doesn't have to load data from the (slow) main memory.

As for length, the R9 280 that I linked is actually shorter at 10.32" versus 10.4" for the Vapor-X 270X. At any rate, either card will fit because the N200 has a huge amount of front clearance for the GPU, it could extend all the way to the front facsia (~15").