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Resolved Question

Build me a PC :)

by Jun 4, 2014 8:11AM PDT

Hello CNET. I really need someone to build me a PC because I have absolutely no idea what to build. I prefer Intel processors and Nvidia graphics cards, but ai can stray away from Nvidia if need be. My budget is around $1200-1500ish. I plan on buying it from Cyberpower just because of the warranties included. Thanks so much! Happy

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DiezelUSMC has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer
10 Posts
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Best Answer

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Fantastic Desktop Build
by Jun 4, 2014 12:53PM PDT

Note* Start reading from Summary at the bottom if you're lazy. :-P
For starters, cyberpower is great, no doubt, but the warranties you seek, how often do you really need them? If you treat the machine with respect, it'll give you much more than you'd ever imagine. You mentioned spending $1200-1500 for a desktop. I've put together a list, all from a trusted site, Amazon. If anything fails, call the manufacturer, they're really good about fixing stuff too. Just use google to find the number.
Amazon has great policies, never had a problem with them once. If you select free shipping, wait about two weeks for all the parts to arrive, then drive to your nearest computer store and have them build it for you. I.E. MicroCenter, Frys Electronics, etc.. The manual labor cost is probably around $150, and probably $25 for anything small I'm forgot.

Case- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CECMT10/?tag=pcpapi-20
Case Fan (buy two)- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006CSKM20/?tag=pcpapi-20
Case Fan Controller (adjust RPM, touchscreen, cool)- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPA0QRE/?tag=pcpapi-20
CPU- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CO8TBQ0/?tag=pcpapi-20
CPU Cooler (fan)- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Q7C146/?tag=pcpapi-20
CPU Thermal Compound- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004AGXHDC/?tag=pcpapi-20
Motherboard- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D12OANW/?tag=pcpapi-20
Memory (RAM)- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RFBIUU/?tag=pcpapi-20
Optical Drive (cd/dvd/br)- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SUO068/?tag=pcpapi-20
Power Supply- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EB7UIRS/?tag=pcpapi-20
Storage (SSD for OS, HDD for installing games)- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQ4F9ZA/?tag=pcpapi-20
and the HDD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005T3GRNW/?tag=pcpapi-20
Video Card (GPU)- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J0ISHMQ/?tag=pcpapi-20

Summary:
Intel i7-4770K $335
MSI H87-G43 $95
EVGA GeForce GTX 720 Ti 2GB @ 1.2GHz $175
Corsair Vengeance 16GB RAM (4x4GB) @ 1600MHz $165
Crucial 120GB SSD $70
SeaGate 1TB 7200RPM HDD $55
Asus BC-12B1ST (CD/DVD/BR) $60
Corsair RM650 $105
Raidmax ATX-605BT $90
Other (thermal paste, both fans, cpu fan, fan controller) $85

Total (rounded up): $1250, or $1235 to be more exact.

If you go to order all of this from Amazon at one time, and click free shipping for most, the price drops a little.
This build is probably future proof for at least 5 years. You can play any current game with maxed settings.
Hope this helps with some ideas. If you actually do build this, PLEASE post link to pictures of finished product. Happy

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Fantastic Desktop Build - update
by ilikerhinos Jun 4, 2014 1:02PM PDT

Sorry for misguiding you. After going through a fake order at amazon, the total is $1331.62 as of now.
Order Summary
Items (14): $1,225.95
Shipping & handling: $51.87
Free shipping: -$39.97
Total before tax: $1,237.85
Estimated tax to be collected:* $93.77
Order total: $1,331.62

That leaves plenty of room for the three SATA3 cables ($25) and any manual labor to put this together.

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PC
by DiezelUSMC Jun 4, 2014 3:17PM PDT

Wow this was extremely helpful! I didn't even think about going to the local computer store! However, I do have one question. Will the 720 TI be enough to last me a while?

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PC
by DiezelUSMC Jun 4, 2014 3:22PM PDT

Nvm I see that it's a 750 TI now haha. Thanks so much for this I will definitely be following this build. That case is SICK too!

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Gaming rigs
by Bob__B Jun 5, 2014 8:38AM PDT

There are a gazillion opinions about these things.

So here is an opinion.
Once you get up to a certain level of cpu there is not much bang-for-the-buck going higher.

If your planning on gaming and cranking up features and want playable fps the work load shifts to the video card.

So I'm going to change the mix a little.
Cpu.......save 140 bucks.
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-4670-Quad-Core-Processor-BX80646I54670/dp/B00CO8TBR4/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1402005865&sr=1-5

Gpu......add 30 bucks.
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GDDR5-2GB-2xDVI-Graphics-GV-R927OC-2GD/dp/B00GWSYVUY?SubscriptionId=AKIAIEF7KZG4SSIJ7QQA&tag=toms_shopping_gpu-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00GWSYVUY

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i5 is good and..
by ilikerhinos Jun 5, 2014 2:13PM PDT

the i5 you suggested is a great deal, although he didn't specify if he was going to be overclocking so I threw that into the equation also. The i5 only goes to 3.3GHz while the i7 has a capability of going all the way to 4.4GHz. Can't think of anything the OP will need all this power for, or even come close to using its true potential. If it were on a budget of around $500 even an i3 can get the job done. Currently I'm very happy with my i7 2600 as it gets video editing and 3D modeling just fine and dandy.
It was also on sale at the time at a local PC store closeout sale for only $200, everything was off 25-75%.

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I recently built
by itsdigger Jun 6, 2014 2:21AM PDT
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Answer
Re: PC
by Forum moderator Jun 4, 2014 8:26AM PDT

Since we have absolutely no idea what you need, we can't help. Most people I know are quite happy with a $700 PC, so your requirements must be exceptionally high if you need to spend twice as much.

If the shop can't advice you what you need, based on your requirements, it's a bad shop and I would go looking for a better one before spending so much money.

Why having a PC custom built, by the way?

Kees

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PC
by DiezelUSMC Jun 4, 2014 8:41AM PDT

I forgot to mention that I have a decent PC right now. It has a decent i5 in it and a 660 TI. I want ultimate graphics. I have the money now to spend on it and I want to be running ultimate settings on all the recent games. I want it custom built because of the warranties plus I really don't want to deal with the hassle of building one.

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Answer
There is that thing.
by Forum moderator Jun 4, 2014 9:01AM PDT

"Our tests demonstrate fairly little difference between a $225 LGA 1155 Core i5-2500K and a $1000 LGA 2011 Core i7-3960X, even when three-way graphics card configurations are involved. It turns out that memory bandwidth and PCIe throughput don't hold back the performance of existing Sandy Bridge-based machines. "
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-4.html

There's that and looking at a RED DEVIL, I like that one. More at
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-your-own-budget-amd-pc,3807.html

At your budget you might get 2 killer machines.
Bob

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