Help me keep my build sub-$1000

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
This will be a gaming rig primarily. Modded Skyrim will be the main game. Other than that, I'll also be doing video editing.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$800-$1000
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Portland, Oregon, USA. I'm relatively near Fry's and have Amazon Prime
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU
Motherboard
RAM
Power supply
HDD
Video card
Case
CD/DVD drive
Operating System
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Mouse, keyboard and ViewSonic VX2025WM
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1680 x 1050, 20.1"
I do plan on upgrading this eventually, but it's not part of this build.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP. I'm getting sick of Skyrim stuttering every few seconds.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
It would be nice if it had Crossfire/SLI support for futureproofing
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No


These are the parts I was looking at:

$199.99 - Core i5 4570 CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116896
$139.99 - MSI Z87-G45 Mother Board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130693
$144.99 - G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231609
$79.99 - Corsair 600W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048
$169.99 - Samsung 250GB SSD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W01AZ5550
$59.99 - WD Caviar Blue 1TB HD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339
$249.99 - MSI GeForce GTX 760 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745
$59.99 - NZXT Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146083
$19.99 - Lite-On DVD/CDR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
$99.99 - Win 8.1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416776

Any comments? It's been about 5 years since my last build and I haven't been keeping up with the tech since then so I'm sure I've made some mistake somewhere. Any place I could lower the price while keeping performance? I'm currently at about $1225 and I'd like to get back to the sub-$1000 range so I can afford to get a new monitor.

EDIT: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2NYDU

Thanks

When are you planning your monitor upgrade? Are you going for a 1920x1080 screen? A larger resolution? Multiple monitors?

Which programs are you using for video editing?

The Antec 300 you have in your pcpartpicker build.... I remember when I got mine 6 years ago, and when I dumped it 1 year ago after it sat in my garage for 3.5 years.

It is a great case, but it was designed just before a massive revolution in case design. So it is very much an OLD style case. I would strongly recommend getting something a little more modern....

Have you considered the Corsair 400R? It is available after MIR for the same price and is a much more modern and user-friendly design.

Other than that, looks like a solid build.

tiraides:

I'm planning my monitor upgrade probably within the next few months, probably when I get my tax rebate. I do plan on going 1080p and 24" or larger. As for multiple monitors, depending on the price I'll probably just get the 1 and use my current monitor as the second monitor.

I'm using CyberLink Media Suite 10 for video capturing (it came with the capture dongle). I haven't done any editing yet so I'm not sure if I'll stick with that or get something else.

arentol:

I thought I updated the pcpartpicker build with the NZXT Source 220 case. Whoops. Anyway, the case happens to be the piece I've researched the least so your recommendation is really appreciated. I like that one, actually.

Assuming that you plan on buying everything tonight, here's what I found:

$180 - Intel Core i5-3470 (includes $10 discount promo code EMCPHPF28, ends 2/10)
$95 - ASRock Z77 Extreme3 (includes $10 discount promo code AFMBDEAL10, ends 2/7)
$125 - Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$185 - Gigabyte GV-N660OC-2GD GTX 660
$130 - Crucial M500 240GB SSD
$60 - WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB HDD
$20 - Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE SATA DVD burner
$50 - NZXT HALE82-N 550W PSU
$97 - Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit System Builder/OEM DVD
$45 - NZXT Source 210 Elite
=====
$987 - Total before shipping and taxes

Let me concede right away that you will lose some performance compared to your build in your OP. The Haswell-based i5-4570 is faster than the Ivy Bridge-based i5-3470, the GTX 760 is better than the GTX 660, and you'll have at least 10GB more storage (after Windows installation) from the 256GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD than the 240GB Crucial M500 SSD.

Having said all of that, my proposed build is better than what you're using right now, and it can easily handle Skyrim at a 1680x1050 resolution. The biggest cost savings came from "downgrading" to Ivy Bridge (which is still a good platform for gaming, all things considered) and swapping out the GTX 760 for the much cheaper GTX 660. The motherboard and the processor come with instant discount promo codes, one of which (the motherboard) expires tomorrow.

Hey, thanks tiraides. I'm totally OK with going one generation behind what's current. Afterall, it's still about 3 generations ahead of what I have now so it's still going to be a nice improvement.

I think I'll actually wait a week and see what's on sale during Presidents Day. Newegg tends to have something going on then, right?

Well, the Presidents Day sale is up on NewEgg and it's rather disappointing. I've come up with a new list of parts and would appreciate any comments

Prices are after MIR's:

$199.99 Core i5 4570 CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116896
$114.99 ASRock Z87 MoBo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157460
$283.98 G.Skill 16GB RAM + Samsung 250GB SSD combo http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1564597
$287.98 EVGA GeForce GTX 760 + EVGA 750W PSU combo http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1565414
$49.99 NZXT case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146108
$99.99 Win 8.1 64bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416776

I've removed the 1TB harddrive for now because I have a couple older ones I can use for storage, and I've also removed the DVD/CDR because I can take that from my old system. I'm also wondering...I found a Windows 7 Backup Disk for my current install of Windows. If I'm not planning on using my current PC anymore, can I use that to install a fresh copy of Win7? If so, that would save me $99.

Either way, I'm down to $1036.92 after MIRs so that's now too bad, as long as it's a decent system.

Now to look for a decent deal on a 24" monitor

EDIT: I think I can afford to upgrade to a 27" monitor. I found this one for $349.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824276053

JPOnion said:

I'm also wondering...I found a Windows 7 Backup Disk for my current install of Windows. If I'm not planning on using my current PC anymore, can I use that to install a fresh copy of Win7? If so, that would save me $99.

Click to expand...

Technically, no.

As for your other parts, personally, not a fan of eVGA PSUs, especially that lower-end one. Personally, I'd go with this Seasonic over that eVGA:
$86 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU

Don't use mail-in rebates; they don't become instant discounts upon checkout.

I'm recommending a different set of parts to keep things under $1000 before taxes or rebates:

$185 - Intel Core i5-4430
$98 - MSI H87-G43
$70 - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$155 - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
$250 - EVGA 02G-P4-2763-KR GTX 760 2GB video card
$50 - NZXT HALE82-N 550W PSU
$45 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White ATX mid-tower case
$97 - Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit System Builder DVD
=====
$950 - Total before taxes and shipping

My proposed build stays within the Intel Haswell family, but you lose the modular PSU Dangman recommended (which is superior, but costs more), half of your RAM, and SLI support (though the MSI board supports CrossFire). However, I kept the GTX 760 and the Samsung 840 EVO SSD, which outperforms the cheaper Crucial M500 240GB SSD.

You can double your RAM, but you'll bust your budget.

A good 24" monitor to consider is the $157 Asus VS247H-P. It uses an e-IPS panel that offers better color reproduction and a larger viewing angle than the TN panels used in cheaper monitors.

HP ZR2740w seems like a good 27" monitor upon first glance, but the 12-14ms response time may cause some ghosting or blurring while gaming. If you're willing to spend that much money on a monitor, spend a little bit more on the Monoprice IPS-ZERO-G monitor. You could also look for one of the Korean IPS monitors that are sold on eBay, but that may be more effort (if not more of a risk) than you're willing to take.