[PC] PC Gaming Builds and Gear

[MvP]

Didn't want to make a whole thread but I was asked to post this so I'll do it in here..

Finished building my first gaming PC a few days ago. It's something I've always wanted to do so I decided to give PC gaming a shot this gen instead of buying a XB1 or PS4. I did it just by watching a couple Youtube videos, browsing r/buildapc, and using PC Part Picker to make sure the parts I bought were all compatible with each other. I made some stressful rookie mistakes throughout the process but that moment when I hit the power button and everything worked perfectly made it all worth it.

Parts

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($152.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.50 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($103.31 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($66.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($107.80 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($41.22 @ Amazon)
Total: $1313.49

Pics: http://imgur.com/a/uZPk4 (sorry for the head tilt, can't fix it on imgur)

Notes

-The tower isn't staying in that spot. I'm gonna put a hard surface of some sort on the ground so I can place it under the desk.
-I had bought a cooling fan but then decided not to use it. The stock fan seems to be fine because the temperature numbers have been great so far.
-I tried my best to make the wiring look clean but some of those cables just take up serious space.
-I think people are just stubborn and afraid of change when it comes to Win 8, because it seems like a very solid OS. The whole apps/programs and start menu situation could be improved but other than that it has a great UI and I haven't had any issues with it so far.
-I didn't realize until yesterday that the blu-ray drive won't run Blu-Ray movies unless I download some sketchy software. Lack of research on my part, but not a big deal.
-I had the monitor, speakers, keyboard, and mouse already. I'm gonna buy a new keyboard soon though, and a computer chair.
-I've booted up Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag (came free w/ the gfx card), Backyard Baseball 2003, Solitaire, and a Fire Emblem gamecube ISO via Dolphin emulator so far. Everything ran smoothly at max settings.
-Before someone questions it..I don't have a router/modem in my room, and I'm not allowed to run an ethernet cable all throughout my house, so the wireless card was necessary.

 

[MrBill]

Looks like a solid rig MvP :golfclap:

A big part of it is researching the components you are putting together to make sure they don't have known compatibility issues on the bigger tech forums and just taking that leap of faith and putting the parts all together. You learn more and get more comfortable with each new build.

 

[Garrett67]

Felt pretty rewarding when you fired that bad boy up and it worked, huh ?


Great job!

 

[padman59]

Nice build. A good rule of thumb is that a stock cooling is fine as long as you're not overclocking and your PC isn't going to be in a spot that builds up a lot of heat.

I also ran into the same player problem when I bought an external blu ray player for my parents. It's pretty shitty that you have to buy licensed software in order to actually watch your blu rays.

 

[jms493]

Congrats...looks like u need a lesson on cable management though. Enjoy!

 

[Maynard]

that looks fantastic! awesome system and i am especially proud of you for having the intelligence to not be fooled by these console fanboys and making the right choice in building a gaming pc that will still be better today than the next next gen console that comes out in 5 years.

i disagree with padman on the stock fan. i think the $20 investment in a aftermarket fan is required by anyone gaming. not only will it keep your cpu cool, it will also help keep the system cool and anything you can do to reduce heat in a gaming pc is a plus. i have 7 fans in my system plus the psu fan and i always watch the heat on my GPU and system while playing games. i maintain 50 degrees Celsius which is good

dont listen to jms critical comments on your cable management. his nazi organization and heinous comments ridiculed me into spending another 150 bucks on a bigger case just so i can say i have good cable management. buy a few zip ties and tighten that shit up if you feel the need.

i STRONGLY recommend using this
http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/msi_afterburner_beta_download.html

i realize it says MSI, but it will work with any gpu - fantastic little app - you can use it to overclock, but i keep everything at default and use it for pics, videos and cooling control
please famialize yourself with the fan tab which controls your GPU fan. As the GPU warms up, the fans speed up to allow your GPU to run efficiently

wondering why you have that blue ray optical drive? do you plan to watch Blue rays on this machine? seems like alot of money for just blue ray especially if you have a ps3

 

[Maynard]

also, check ou this thread - i know it will force you to re install windows, but its WELL WORTH IT
http://www.overclock.net/t/1240779/seans-windows-8-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

 

[MvP]

Nice build. A good rule of thumb is that a stock cooling is fine as long as you're not overclocking and your PC isn't going to be in a spot that builds up a lot of heat.

I also ran into the same player problem when I bought an external blu ray player for my parents. It's pretty shitty that you have to buy licensed software in order to actually watch your blu rays.

Yeah. I don't plan on overclocking it (I literally can't since I didn't buy the 4670k) so I should be fine. I think I'm gonna hold on to the cooling fan though so I can always install it later on if I feel the need to.

Congrats...looks like u need a lesson on cable management though. Enjoy!

With the computer build AND that mess of wires you can spot under my desk, I agree lol. I'm always moving shit around so I end up with wires all over the place.

that looks fantastic! awesome system and i am especially proud of you for having the intelligence to not be fooled by these console fanboys and making the right choice in building a gaming pc that will still be better today than the next next gen console that comes out in 5 years.

i disagree with padman on the stock fan. i think the $20 investment in a aftermarket fan is required by anyone gaming. not only will it keep your cpu cool, it will also help keep the system cool and anything you can do to reduce heat in a gaming pc is a plus. i have 7 fans in my system plus the psu fan and i always watch the heat on my GPU and system while playing games. i maintain 50 degrees Celsius which is good

dont listen to jms critical comments on your cable management. his nazi organization and heinous comments ridiculed me into spending another 150 bucks on a bigger case just so i can say i have good cable management. buy a few zip ties and tighten that shit up if you feel the need.

i STRONGLY recommend using this
http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/msi_afterburner_beta_download.html

i realize it says MSI, but it will work with any gpu - fantastic little app - you can use it to overclock, but i keep everything at default and use it for pics, videos and cooling control
please famialize yourself with the fan tab which controls your GPU fan. As the GPU warms up, the fans speed up to allow your GPU to run efficiently

wondering why you have that blue ray optical drive? do you plan to watch Blue rays on this machine? seems like alot of money for just blue ray especially if you have a ps3

I still like console gaming. Don't think I'm gonna turn into one of those PC MASTER RACE guys but we'll see what happens.

I have 5 fans in my system right now (the stock, 2 in the front, one in the back, and one on the left side) not including the PSU. It feels cold no matter where I touch the case, and the temperature numbers have been solid. I'm not overclocking so I should be fine with this setup, but like I said I'm gonna hold on to the cooling fan just in case.

I'll check out that program, and like I said earlier I didn't realize the blu ray drive doesn't natively run Blu-Rays movies. I'll consider it a sunk cost.

also, check ou this thread - i know it will force you to re install windows, but its WELL WORTH IT
http://www.overclock.net/t/1240779/seans-windows-8-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

I actually followed that + a Youtube video (shouts to Carey Holzman) when I installed it. Good stuff.

 

[Garrett67]

Ignore OCD493


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Prop

 

[Maynard]

I still like console gaming. Don't think I'm gonna turn into one of those PC MASTER RACE guys but we'll see what happens.
.

yes you will...its only a matter of time. dont forget to join the vsn steam group

I have 5 fans in my system right now (the stock, 2 in the front, one in the back, and one on the left side) not including the PSU. It feels cold no matter where I touch the case, and the temperature numbers have been solid. I'm not overclocking so I should be fine with this setup, but like I said I'm gonna hold on to the cooling fan just in case.

I'll check out that program, and like I said earlier I didn't realize the blu ray drive doesn't natively run Blu-Rays movies. I'll consider it a sunk cost.

I actually followed that + a Youtube video (shouts to Carey Holzman) when I installed it. Good stuff.

dont rely on feel regarding heat. feeling the case means nothing. your motherboard, CPU and GPU all have sensors on them for maintaining a cool temp. you dont want to fuck around with that. and you certainly dont want to trust the cool case as your gauge.

your normal operating temp will be nothing to think about. you probably wont ever tax that cpu to the point of ever thinking about it. But you will tax your GPU when playing games. playing games is where you want to watch your temps. that app i posted will allow you to see your temp on screen while playing.

it never hurts to be proactive. chances are you wont need to worry about temps. but what if...you void your warranty if you fry your CPU, MOBO, or GPU
speedfan is another nice app to run from time to tme cause it will show you everything
http://download.cnet.com/SpeedFan/3000-2094_4-10067444.html

here is a cool SSD app so you can see just how blazing fast your ssd is
http://www.techspot.com/downloads/6014-as-ssd-benchmark.html

have you clocked your power on time?

 

[jms493]

Ignore OCD493

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Prop

Haha

 

[jms493]

Although i will say bad cable management will affect the airflow of your case.

 

[Hitman]

So... is 16gb of RAM overkill? :shifty:

 

[Maynard]

So... is 16gb of RAM overkill? :shifty:

kind of. i never come close to using all 8 gigs of my ram. i dont see a reason to have 16 right now. if you needed it, then sure. some do for video or streaming or whatever. but for the average gamer you wont come close to needing all that memory for a few years

 

[jms493]

So... is 16gb of RAM overkill? :shifty:

For gaming right now it is...but in the future I am sure it will be utilized.

 

[Hitman]

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor $179.99
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard $149.79
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $63.99
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $109.99
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $89.99
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card $239.99
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case $89.99
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $119.99
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer $66.99
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.98


Base Total: $1195.69

Edited to add base prices for parts..

Overkill?

 

[jms493]

What are u doing with the system? Do u need sound card? Do u need 2 tbs of storage? Do u need a blue ray writer/drive?

 

[Hitman]

Just realized the MB has onboard audio. So that's $30 I don't have to spend. I wanted the Blu ray burner/reader for when I'm finally able to hack an xbone or ps4.. :shifty: Need to be able to burn the games..

 

[Maynard]

seems high priced for an AMD with kingston memory and ssd.

whats with the sound card? no need for that unless you have the need

2tb of storage is ok, but i would rather use 2 - 1TB drives for failure reasons.

 

[x0xHumblex0x]

its been almost 7 years since my last build.....
so; i was thinking about doing another PC gaming tower.

here is what i been leaning towards:
* Barebone Kit:
Intel Core i7-4770K Processor/Asus Z87-A Motherboard/8GB DDR3 1600 Patriot Viper Xtreme Memory/Ultra 550W PSU/Cougar Solution Steel Gamer Case
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8680903&CatId=31
$579 (after instant rebate)

* EVGA GeForce GTX 760 Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0 (x16), 1x Dual-Link DVI-D, 1x Dual-Link DVI-I, 1x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, DirectX 12, SLI, ACX Cooler - 02G-P4-2763-KR
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8333216&CatId=7387
$269

* LG Super Multi Blue 16X SATA Internal Blu-Ray Burner OEM - 12x BD Read, 16x BD-R Write
$69

* Windows Windows WN7-00659 8.1 - 64-Bit, English, 1PK DSP OEM, DVD
$99


Total = $1059
Shipping:
Tues - $14.20
Mon - $29.98
Fri (next day) - $49.76

as usual; my issue with building gaming PCs, is that this will be outdated by the end of the year.
hard to keep up with technology but the parts are getting cheaper and better.