Hello and welcome to the May 2014 edition of the gaming pc builds of the month here at Newb Computer Build. To start off, yes there has been very little going on with regards to any major hardware releases and the past few months, therefore the builds have had little reason for any drastic change. With this in mind I have decided to included a very exciting $2000 build in this months article, so please check that out below. I have also reversed the order of the build this month, so at the top we will be starting with the highest end build ($2000) and move down to the lowest budget build ($600).
The $2000 gaming pc builds for the month of May 2014 is a beast – this is the kind o builds that would chew up anything you throw at it. This builds is one that would be best used with more then one monitor or monitors with high resolutions – which I have included some example in the alternatives section included at the end of the $2000 build section. The build uses a crossfire configuration with a great CPU cooler, 16GB or ram, a fast SSD boot drive and more.
For the rest of the builds ($600, $1000, $1500) the notable changes have been the RAM brands for every build, this was due to price changes. As per usual I have also changed the cases up for every build – I do try to change the cases month to month to showcase any new cases releases as well to profile different case personalities / styles.
So sit back and I hope you enjoy the builds – should you have any questions, comments or suggestions please feel free to leave a comment.
Monthly Gaming PC Build ( $2027 ): May 2014
Gaming PC Build Recipe:
Game with Extreme settings at resolutions of 2560×1600
Here we have it, a rarely seen build on the Newb Computer Build site, a $2000 build. I thought that since the other three builds have not changed a whole lot in the last little bit, that I would mix things up and put in a killer $2000 gaming pc build.
This build will rock and game at resolutions 2560×1600 and beyond. Furthermore, it would be a great choice build for those that like to game with multiple monitors, with high resolutions and high frame rates.
The $2000 build comes with the i7 4770K processor, which I have rarely included in any of the gaming builds. This processor is a great fit considering upcoming games such as Watch Dogs, that have recommended an Intel i7 to play with Ultra specifications. With that, the included graphics card(s) is a pair of XFX Black Edition Double D RADEON R9 290, that are paired together in Crossfire. This bundle is what will rock through any game and still so with multiple monitors. If you would like to check out some benchmarks for a Crossfired pair of Radeon R9 290’s, then check this article out at Guru3d
The included cooler is the Noctua 6 NH-D14 cpu cooler, which is a great cool especially for its cost – check out this Tom’s Hardware article for an in depth take on the Noctua NH-D14 when compared to four closed looped cpu coolers.
$2000 Gaming PC Build Additions / Alternatives
For most of the builds I usually include an alternatives section to include some hardware you may want should you have some extra to spend, or if you want some future upgrades. For the $2000 build I include a couple of higher resolution monitor examples to give you ad idea of what you can get to maximize this builds potential; Keep in mind that you can also use multiple monitors with this build quite well.
Furthermore, I have also suggested a bigger solid state drive or perhaps even more graphics power by putting to GTX 780’s in SLI.
Same power with similar hardware – the $1500 stands to be changing very little once again. As per usual I try to focus purely on maximizing the power of a build in its respective budget. There are other pieces of hardware you could add to make it a more premium build, such as water cooling, however the budget just doesn’t allow for it the way I chosen the hardware.
The $1500 build for may includes the Intel 4670K paired with a GTX 780 graphics card. With this duo, you can expect fantastic game play even on resolutions of 2560×1600. Pair the 4670k with the ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO motherboard and a cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO and you have some pretty capable overclocking potential.
With the added Samsung 840 PRO 128GB solid state drive, you will have amazing boot /load times, as well still have a ton of storage with the 1TB Western Digital Blue storage.
The case used this month is the Corsair Carbide Series 400R. Yes, it is a cheaper case then what is included in the $1000 build, however in order to fit within budget compromises had to be made. However, do not be mistaken, the Corsair Carbide 400R is a very capable mid tower case with the following features –
USB 3.0 front panel connectors.
Built-in compatibility for SSDs in the six hard drive bays gives you the flexibility you need.
Keep your system cool with up to 10 fan mount locations (four 120mm, six 120mm/140mm)
Up to 316mm of length for modern GPUs.
Easily accessible dust filters keep the cool air flowing over your valuable components
Captive thumbscrews make it easy to remove your side panels without losing the screws
Install or upgrade your CPU heatsink quickly with the easy-access backplate cutout
Optimize airflow and keep your system neat and tidy using the intelligent cable management system
Front panel includes USB 3.0, Headphone, Mic, and an LED on/off switch
Should you want some more case recommendations, you can go with the recommended Fractal Design R4 in the $1000 build, look in the alternatives section below or see the case options from the previous couple of months.
$1500 Gaming PC Build Additions / Alternatives
If you have a little extra to spend on the $1500 build, then below are a few suggestions. For those of you who do much more then game, then an Intel core i7-4770K may be a worthy upgrade to ease video or graphics work. Or if you simply want to increase you graphics card potential, then you can SLI another EVGA GTX 780 or purchase a single more powerful graphics card such as the GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB card. Or for those of you who want to dedicate more storage space solely to your SSD, then perhaps a larger 512GB Samsung PRO SDD is a worthy upgrade.
Also, please *note that if you do decide to SLI with another GeForce GTX 780 3GB graphics card, you may want to also upgrade the power supply unit to 850W (ie. Corsair RM 850 Watt)
Another $1000 build, with some very subtle changes from the previous month. I’ve reverted back to the MSI G45 Gaming series motherboard since it’s price seems to have subsided again – which is good! The MSI G45 supports SLI and Crossfire, so if you were looking to upgrades later on, you would have that option.
The RAM used is a change to the Kingston HyperX Red, a change due to the match in price to the previous Kingston HyperX Blu. The build uses a GTX 760 paired with the Intel 4670K unlocked processor, which you can expect to play most games maxed out at extreme settings with resolutions of 1920×1080.
The case used is the Fractal Design R4, a minimalistic, quiet case. Below are some of the Fractal cases specifications –
ATX, Micro ATX, Mini ITX motherboard compatibility
7 + 1 expansion slots
2 – 5.25″ bays
8 – 3.5″ HDD trays – all compatible with SSDs, 2 – 2.5″ extra SSD positions
3 – ModuVent™ plates – two in the top and one in the side
7 – fan positions (2 Silent Series R2 fans included)
Filtered fan slots in the front and bottom
CPU coolers up to 170mm tall (when no fan is installed in the side panel)
ATX PSUs up to 170mm deep when using the bottom fan location, when not using this fan location longer PSUs (up to 270mm deep) can be used
Graphics cards up to 295mm in length with the top HDD cage installed
With the top cage removed, graphics cards up to 430mm in length may be installed
26mm of space for cable routing behind the motherboard plate
Thick rubber grommets on all holes on the motherboard plate
Colours available: Black Pearl, Titanium Grey, Arctic White
Case dimensions (WxHxD): 232 x 464 x 523mm
Package dimensions (WxHxD): 320 x 535 x 610mm
Net weight: 12.3 kg
$1000 Gaming PC Build Additions / Alternatives
Below are some hardware additions should you have some extra cash and want to upgrade a specific piece to the above build.
Since there is no SSD included in the base $1000 build I do suggest you highly considering one if you funds allow. The Samsung 840 PRO series is a great high quality SSD and 128GB is a perfect starting point to use is as your boot drive with some of your most used apps / games. For those that simply want more space for large sums of media etc. you could consider getting a 2TB drive (doubling your space) with the Seagate Barracuda 2TB drive below. For those of you that do some serious gaming or are considering gaming at higher then 1080p resolutions then you might want to consider bumping up your graphics cards with either an upgrade to a single GTX 770 or better yet getting a second EVGA GeForce GTX 760 and SLI’ing your cards.
Also, please *note that if you do decide to SLI with another GeForce GTX 760 graphics card, you may want to also upgrade the power supply unit to 850W (ie. Corsair RM 850 Watt) – Just to be safe – although you could probably get away with the included 750 Watts; up to you!
The $600 gaming pc build this month comes with the AMD FX 6300 and the Radeon R7 265. A perfect combination of power for this $600 budget gaming pc build. You should be able to get great performance at Medium – High settings in most games.
The motherboard used is the MSI 970-G46, a budget board that can support everything in this build nicely. One slightly different piece of hardware this month is the Kingston HyperX Red Ram, slightly faster then last months Kingston HyperX Blu, then just happen to align with the exact same price this month. The rest of the build includes 1Tb of storage with the Western Digital Blue, a Corsair CX Series 600Watter power supply, a cheap budget Apex pc case and an LG optical drive.
Upgrades / Alternatives for the $600 Gaming PC Build:
These upgrades and alternatives below are for anyone who may have some extra spending cash or want some ideas for future upgrades.
The upgrades and alternatives this month include an upgraded eight core AMD FX-8320 processor, a Cooler Master HAF 912 Mi Tower Computer Case, a better graphics card the Gigabyte R9 270, or a nice boot drive with a Crucial M500 120GB SSD.
These are here to act as hardware suggestions for those who has either a little more to spend or those who would like
Hi! I was just wondering what upgrade you think would be best for the $600 PC. My budget is about $700 so I figured I’d use your build as a base then spend the extra $100 on an upgrade and I just wanted to know what I would get the best results out of.
For the extra $100, if you can squeeze it in I would suggest the two options from the alternatives section of the $600 build – so the AMD FX-8320 and the R9 270 graphics card.
If paired together and you still have a tad more budget then you could then try to squeeze in a GTX 760 graphics card.
I have some questions for the 600 setup. I am getting it with the extras.
1. In the country I live (China) the GPU’s are not available (or are really expensive). An alternative I found was ZOTAC GeForce GTX 660 . Any red flags here?
2. I am new to building a gaming machine (that will be my first) and I am reading different opinions about overclocking. My intention at the moment is not to overclock. Did you choose the AMD processor because of the overclocking capabilities. Finally, is it worth doing it?
3. In case I choose overclocking do you suggest the MSI OC Genie II or should i have to read, experiment and learn myself?
4. Do you believe that it will be good to add the cooler from the 1000 build. It looks as a great value option on 30 USD if it improves performance and noise.
5. Do you believe that I might need a UPS because of the SSD? How important is it?
6. I am planning to run this on my living room together with a TV and a sound system. I am planning to use this PC as a gaming and multimedia center. Do you think I need an extra sound card?
I know questions are many. I hope they are also good and will help other people as well.
Thanks
V.
Sorry for the delay in response and to answer your questions –
1. That Zotac GTX 660 should be just fine and is a competitive card for the R7 265 graphics card highlighted above.
2. Short answer, yes I did choose the AMD FX 6300 or its overclocking potential, although on its own I would till choose it for its current cost position. I’d say yes, it is worth overclocking as it will maximize your performance, however its not like you need to right away – you could always poke around and have some fun when you want to someday and there are tons of articles that will bring you through the overclocking process step by step.
3. As to doing your overclocking – yes the MSI OC Geni would be the best place to start as it is a feature of the motherboard that will try to automate the process, clean and simple. However, to get the maximum OC potential you may need to do some manual adjusting, this is not needed though!
4. You can definitely get the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO cooler from the $1000 build – and it would help maximize OC potential keeping your temps down. It is affordable and it is a great compatible cooler.
5. I’ve been reading allot lately of people suggesting UPS’s when paired with an SSD. I don’t personally use one, so in my opinion its not needed – one should generally keep good backups of their important data, so I’d say if you are concerned with power outages and data loss, then a backup should suffice, otherwise a UPS could be useful if its a huge concern.
6. Nope, you won’t need the added sound card – even if its going to be used as a media centre as well. Perhaps if you are using the PC for a while and are an avid audiophile and start to notice your sound quality is lacking, then you could in the future, but the MSI motherboard does support Lossless 24bit/192kHz HD Audio
So far i have bought the razer naga epic. I am probably going to by the razer nostromo also. I really want to go with a mechanical keyboard so i am researching those. I plan to buy a headset, monitor and OS still. For a temporary monitor (that will be moved to another pc) i am going with Asus VS247H-P 23.6-Inch until i can decide between the BenQ XL2720T or the Asus 144hz VG278HE . Also i am thinking I shoud get a ups because of the ssd hard drive(crucial is supposed to have protection against power loss but why take the chance). I am also debating between windows 7 and 8.1 for the OS(not sure which would be best for gaming). I also am looking for info on some programs such as battle ping that can help out when gaming. I mainly look for pvp games as pve gets to be boring…lol i can figure them out way to fast. Thank you again. One more thing… For anyone that is reading your site I can tell them that i researched every build you have put up for the last 6 month and you definitely have the most unbiased, well thought out, and budget minded builds for each price range. After many countless hours I still came back to the original advice you gave me in an email over 6 months ago…lol Thank you again
The razer nagas a nice mouse, although I haven’t really used a gaming keypad too much, so wouldn’t know too much about them and the nostromo. You could go with a mechanical board that matches the mouse and such – it’s multi lighting so you could get pretty much any colored mechanical board haha. Three affordable ones could be Rosewill Rk-6000 (no colors), Cooler Master Storm or Corsair Vengeance K70. For gaming, I don’t think that the OS is a huge huge deal, but some have said Windows 8.1 speeds the system overall up, so up to you.
That’s awesome you have returned back for over 6months – and I appreciate your comments, I’m glad to have helped!
Love the sight and look forward to the new builds every month. I am currently buying the parts for a 1500 build (my first) with a few adds…lol I went with the z87 pro because it looked like it would be the easiest to overclock for a beginner. I also went with the crucial m500 120 ssd and a one terra byre wd hard drive. Usingthe ssd for boot mainly. I am thinking i would rather go with a closed loop water system for cooling, and have narrowed it down to two choices the H1001 or the seidon. The concern i have with the H100i is on the reviews there seemed to be a lot of issues with leaks. Is this something that has been corrected since then or is it just best to go with a seidon? In case you need to know i chose the corsair carbide 500r for the case and will be using the rear fan for an intake and exhaust through the top. front and side fans will also be intake. All fans will be changed to noctuas.The I5 4670k for processor and the evga atx 760 superclocked for graphics. Thank you for all the time you put into the sight. Also are there maybe any future considerations for gaming periphials such as mechanical keyboards, the nostromo from razer etc….
Awesome to hear you;re going with the 1500 build. The z87 Pro is a fantastic mobo.
I’m partial to the H100i, and any review of leaking I would say happens rarely – I would recommend it, although I’m sure either way you’ll be good, they are both great liquid coolers. I wouldn’t worry either way!
Looks like a great build, let me know how it goes 🙂
Thanks. for your advice. I’m ordering parts for your $1500 build. It will be my first. A quick question: why do you suggest Samsung Pro SSDs over EVOs?
First off, I love this site. I tell everyone I can about it when I get a chance to lol
Down to my worries/questions:
I took the 600.00 build you have here and added the 4 upgrade suggestions. I know little about computer parts and this will be my first build ever on my own, but I know even less about AMD processors and nothing about gigabyte GPUs. With that build and upgrades, will this run fine? I currently have an Alienware x51 with an i3 and a lame GT 545 GPU. ( I know, Alienware. Live and learn.) Would this build blow my current system out of the water? Maybe I just want to make sure my parts work well together, as I seem to have a slight fear that I will mess this all up and be out a little cash. lol. Anything you have to help ease my troubles would be greatly appreciated!
Well its exciting to hear that you’re jumping on the build wagon and wearing away from Alienware. The build will be significantly better, especially so when comparing the graphics card (GT 545 vs r9 270) Depending on which i3 that Alienware has, the FX 8320 should also be an improvement.
You could probably also save some cash by sparing some parts from the Alienware – are you able to take the optical drive, ram (even though it’s 6GB) and hard drive? Quickly looking at the case, it might be a tight fit for a bigger graphics card (not sure exactly), so you might be safe just getting the recommended upgrade one above.
Overall, yes the parts will work well together and will be an improvement. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Thanks for the article. But I’ll wait little more.
New desktop CPUs and DDR4 coming out soon.
I’m looking forward for build recommendation using the New desktop CPUs and DDR4
On the side note on the pricing, can you add the prices on the newegg too ?
Are you referring to the Intel processors in the planning “Devil’s Canyon”? Apparently a bunch are set for a June release, we’ll see! A day or two ago we have the release of the newer Z97 motherboards which is hopeful, however not necessarily a worthy upgrade for the current processors, especially with the release premium over the current Z87 chipsets. I’m also curious about DDR4, but haven’t head much about when they will be rolling that out – might be a while considering the new motherboard chipsets don’t support that yet. A lowered powered faster piece of a ram would be nice.
I’ll try to take some time to add the newegg links next time around, it just takes a few more minutes for me to implement, which is fine if it helps out – I’ll make a note for the next builds around!
Let me know if you find any more information on DDR4 or the new CPUs
EVGA GeForce GTX780 SuperClocked w/EVGA ACX Cooler 3GB GDDR5 384bit, DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI,DP, SLI Ready (03G-P4-2784-KR) – more graphics power with two GTX 780’s in SLI ($1019.98)
A Larger SSD: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 512 SATA_6_0_gb Solid State Drive MZ-7PD512BW ($389.00)
Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core Desktop Processor 3.5 GHZ 8 MB Cache BX80646I74770K ($334.99) – Ideal for anyone who does video / graphics work etc. on top of gaming
Get a better single Graphics Cards: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, 3GB, 3072MB,GDDR5 384bit, Dual-Link DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI,DP, SLI Ready Graphics Card (03G-P4-2881-KR) Graphics Cards 03G-P4-2881-KR ($699.95) –
More Hard Drive Space With 2TB – Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST2000DM001 Price: $83.98
SLI your graphics card with another GTX 760: EVGA GeForce GTX760 w/EVGA ACX Cooler 2GB GDDR5 256bit, Dual-Link DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI,DP, SLI Ready Graphics Card (02G-P4-2763-KR) Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2763-KR (Price: $249.99)
Processor Alternative: AMD FD8320FRHKBOX FX-8320 FX-Series 8-Core Black Edition ($159.99)
Alternative PC Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 – Mid Tower Computer Case with High Airflow ($59.99)
Crucial M500 120GB SATA 2.5-Inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT120M500SSD1 ($73.99)
Comments 20
Hi! I was just wondering what upgrade you think would be best for the $600 PC. My budget is about $700 so I figured I’d use your build as a base then spend the extra $100 on an upgrade and I just wanted to know what I would get the best results out of.
Author
Hello Richard,
For the extra $100, if you can squeeze it in I would suggest the two options from the alternatives section of the $600 build – so the AMD FX-8320 and the R9 270 graphics card.
If paired together and you still have a tad more budget then you could then try to squeeze in a GTX 760 graphics card.
Let me know if you need any clarification.
Hello,
I have some questions for the 600 setup. I am getting it with the extras.
1. In the country I live (China) the GPU’s are not available (or are really expensive). An alternative I found was ZOTAC GeForce GTX 660 . Any red flags here?
2. I am new to building a gaming machine (that will be my first) and I am reading different opinions about overclocking. My intention at the moment is not to overclock. Did you choose the AMD processor because of the overclocking capabilities. Finally, is it worth doing it?
3. In case I choose overclocking do you suggest the MSI OC Genie II or should i have to read, experiment and learn myself?
4. Do you believe that it will be good to add the cooler from the 1000 build. It looks as a great value option on 30 USD if it improves performance and noise.
5. Do you believe that I might need a UPS because of the SSD? How important is it?
6. I am planning to run this on my living room together with a TV and a sound system. I am planning to use this PC as a gaming and multimedia center. Do you think I need an extra sound card?
I know questions are many. I hope they are also good and will help other people as well.
Thanks
V.
Author
Hello Vaggelis,
Sorry for the delay in response and to answer your questions –
1. That Zotac GTX 660 should be just fine and is a competitive card for the R7 265 graphics card highlighted above.
2. Short answer, yes I did choose the AMD FX 6300 or its overclocking potential, although on its own I would till choose it for its current cost position. I’d say yes, it is worth overclocking as it will maximize your performance, however its not like you need to right away – you could always poke around and have some fun when you want to someday and there are tons of articles that will bring you through the overclocking process step by step.
3. As to doing your overclocking – yes the MSI OC Geni would be the best place to start as it is a feature of the motherboard that will try to automate the process, clean and simple. However, to get the maximum OC potential you may need to do some manual adjusting, this is not needed though!
4. You can definitely get the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO cooler from the $1000 build – and it would help maximize OC potential keeping your temps down. It is affordable and it is a great compatible cooler.
5. I’ve been reading allot lately of people suggesting UPS’s when paired with an SSD. I don’t personally use one, so in my opinion its not needed – one should generally keep good backups of their important data, so I’d say if you are concerned with power outages and data loss, then a backup should suffice, otherwise a UPS could be useful if its a huge concern.
6. Nope, you won’t need the added sound card – even if its going to be used as a media centre as well. Perhaps if you are using the PC for a while and are an avid audiophile and start to notice your sound quality is lacking, then you could in the future, but the MSI motherboard does support Lossless 24bit/192kHz HD Audio
Hopefully this information helps!
It helped a lot Corey. Thanks for taking the time.
So far i have bought the razer naga epic. I am probably going to by the razer nostromo also. I really want to go with a mechanical keyboard so i am researching those. I plan to buy a headset, monitor and OS still. For a temporary monitor (that will be moved to another pc) i am going with Asus VS247H-P 23.6-Inch until i can decide between the BenQ XL2720T or the Asus 144hz VG278HE . Also i am thinking I shoud get a ups because of the ssd hard drive(crucial is supposed to have protection against power loss but why take the chance). I am also debating between windows 7 and 8.1 for the OS(not sure which would be best for gaming). I also am looking for info on some programs such as battle ping that can help out when gaming. I mainly look for pvp games as pve gets to be boring…lol i can figure them out way to fast. Thank you again. One more thing… For anyone that is reading your site I can tell them that i researched every build you have put up for the last 6 month and you definitely have the most unbiased, well thought out, and budget minded builds for each price range. After many countless hours I still came back to the original advice you gave me in an email over 6 months ago…lol Thank you again
Author
Hello hello!
The razer nagas a nice mouse, although I haven’t really used a gaming keypad too much, so wouldn’t know too much about them and the nostromo. You could go with a mechanical board that matches the mouse and such – it’s multi lighting so you could get pretty much any colored mechanical board haha. Three affordable ones could be Rosewill Rk-6000 (no colors), Cooler Master Storm or Corsair Vengeance K70. For gaming, I don’t think that the OS is a huge huge deal, but some have said Windows 8.1 speeds the system overall up, so up to you.
That’s awesome you have returned back for over 6months – and I appreciate your comments, I’m glad to have helped!
Love the sight and look forward to the new builds every month. I am currently buying the parts for a 1500 build (my first) with a few adds…lol I went with the z87 pro because it looked like it would be the easiest to overclock for a beginner. I also went with the crucial m500 120 ssd and a one terra byre wd hard drive. Usingthe ssd for boot mainly. I am thinking i would rather go with a closed loop water system for cooling, and have narrowed it down to two choices the H1001 or the seidon. The concern i have with the H100i is on the reviews there seemed to be a lot of issues with leaks. Is this something that has been corrected since then or is it just best to go with a seidon? In case you need to know i chose the corsair carbide 500r for the case and will be using the rear fan for an intake and exhaust through the top. front and side fans will also be intake. All fans will be changed to noctuas.The I5 4670k for processor and the evga atx 760 superclocked for graphics. Thank you for all the time you put into the sight. Also are there maybe any future considerations for gaming periphials such as mechanical keyboards, the nostromo from razer etc….
Author
Hello John!
Awesome to hear you;re going with the 1500 build. The z87 Pro is a fantastic mobo.
I’m partial to the H100i, and any review of leaking I would say happens rarely – I would recommend it, although I’m sure either way you’ll be good, they are both great liquid coolers. I wouldn’t worry either way!
Looks like a great build, let me know how it goes 🙂
Author
And I do hope to incorporate peripherals more as it would make sense for a gaming pc build. What so you have lined up?
Thanks. for your advice. I’m ordering parts for your $1500 build. It will be my first. A quick question: why do you suggest Samsung Pro SSDs over EVOs?
Author
Hey –
You’re welcome and awesome!
The Samsung Pro’s are actually faster, although a factor of price per performance could come in – http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/best-ssd-group-test
So if you do find a huge price difference, you should have no problem going with an EVO, otherwise I’d opt for the PRO.
Best of luck building.
First off, I love this site. I tell everyone I can about it when I get a chance to lol
Down to my worries/questions:
I took the 600.00 build you have here and added the 4 upgrade suggestions. I know little about computer parts and this will be my first build ever on my own, but I know even less about AMD processors and nothing about gigabyte GPUs. With that build and upgrades, will this run fine? I currently have an Alienware x51 with an i3 and a lame GT 545 GPU. ( I know, Alienware. Live and learn.) Would this build blow my current system out of the water? Maybe I just want to make sure my parts work well together, as I seem to have a slight fear that I will mess this all up and be out a little cash. lol. Anything you have to help ease my troubles would be greatly appreciated!
Author
Hello Justin,
Thank you and thank you 🙂
Well its exciting to hear that you’re jumping on the build wagon and wearing away from Alienware. The build will be significantly better, especially so when comparing the graphics card (GT 545 vs r9 270) Depending on which i3 that Alienware has, the FX 8320 should also be an improvement.
You could probably also save some cash by sparing some parts from the Alienware – are you able to take the optical drive, ram (even though it’s 6GB) and hard drive? Quickly looking at the case, it might be a tight fit for a bigger graphics card (not sure exactly), so you might be safe just getting the recommended upgrade one above.
Overall, yes the parts will work well together and will be an improvement. Let me know if you have any more questions!
The price for the ram sticks and processer have gone up for a total of 16 dollars and the optical drive went down by 7 dollars
Author
Thanks Bryan! Costs do tend to fluctuate on hardware throughout the month, it’s the sad truth, that is unless you’re saving money.
Thanks for the article. But I’ll wait little more.
New desktop CPUs and DDR4 coming out soon.
I’m looking forward for build recommendation using the New desktop CPUs and DDR4
On the side note on the pricing, can you add the prices on the newegg too ?
Thanks again !
Author
Hello Kevin,
You’re welcome 🙂
Are you referring to the Intel processors in the planning “Devil’s Canyon”? Apparently a bunch are set for a June release, we’ll see! A day or two ago we have the release of the newer Z97 motherboards which is hopeful, however not necessarily a worthy upgrade for the current processors, especially with the release premium over the current Z87 chipsets. I’m also curious about DDR4, but haven’t head much about when they will be rolling that out – might be a while considering the new motherboard chipsets don’t support that yet. A lowered powered faster piece of a ram would be nice.
I’ll try to take some time to add the newegg links next time around, it just takes a few more minutes for me to implement, which is fine if it helps out – I’ll make a note for the next builds around!
Let me know if you find any more information on DDR4 or the new CPUs
yay another one<3
Author
Of course 🙂