Build for Nephew

[Spof_]

Hello and thank you in advance for the help. Looking to assist my Nephew in building out his first desktop for gaming.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Mostly gaming. WoW, Battlefield 3 (4 upon release), Team Fortress 2, Skyrim just to name a few.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$1400ish. I will be adding a $200 or so if needed to help him out.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Nashua, NH USA

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.

Since he only has a laptop, he will need everything minus a mouse.

-CPU
-RAM
-HardDrive
-Case
-Power Supply
-CD/Burner
-Video Card
-Monitor
-Non-stock Fan if needed.

Some thoughts I have had just doing some reading.
-i7 4770k (may try doing some OC on it),
-One of the Asus TUF Z87 Motherboards. maybe the Deluxe for the wireless extension, if it really helps with the signal.
-Asus Monitor (not sure which one, but one of the 24"
-Samsung 840 Pro 256
-Cool master HAF 922 or such.


5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Only reusing the mouse

6) Will you be overclocking?

Will attempt to do this. I read were there is a sorta auto OC setting with the new Z87 Asus MBs

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

Guessing it will be an 1920 x 1200, will take other suggestions. Starting with one monitor, but eventually will go to two.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Building next week or two. I would try to order mostly from Amazon, since they have an awesome return policy if anything is busted. I can order from Newegg if needed. There is a Microcenter in Cambridge, MA, but I would end up paying 6% tax if I go there, but willing to for the savings if it is worth it. (In NH there is no sales tax).

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.

Possibly Raid. Not sure on a HD setup. I was thinking the Samsung 840 Pro 256, then maybe a WD Black of some size. If there is another suggestion, I am listening. Sata 6Gb/s. Not sure if eSata would be worth it for him.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Legit Win 7 64 bit Home edition. Not sure I would bump him to Win 8 at this point. I have it on my MSI gaming laptop and as much as I think the OS is solid enough underneath, the interface is blah.

So I am flexible on the price if have to add a bit in to get more bang for the buck.

 

[Dangman]

How long of a drive is it to that Microcenter?

 

[Spof_]

How long of a drive is it to that Microcenter?

30-40 minutes depending on traffic.

 

[Dangman]

Well I am not near a PC now so cannot set up a build list for you just yet. However, you do not need a 4770K since your nephew is not doing anything that would that CPU. Your nephew will be fine with the Core I5 4670K.

 

[Spof_]

Well I am not near a PC now so cannot set up a build list for you just yet. However, you do not need a 4770K since your nephew is not doing anything that would that CPU. Your nephew will be fine with the Core I5 4670K.

Good to know. The only question I might have (just thought of it) is if broadcasting a higher resolution on Twitch using something like xsplit might make a difference. I do that now for TF2 myself and while running it I will notice some slight rubber banding/glitching on certain maps. This is on a i7 2600k. Not sure if this type of processing is more CPU intensive or not, but I know he talked about getting started on that as well. Also, good to know, since I will be upgrading just before Christmas with my system.

 

[Dangman]

Good to know. The only question I might have (just thought of it) is if broadcasting a higher resolution on Twitch using something like xsplit might make a difference. I do that now for TF2 myself and while running it I will notice some slight rubber banding/glitching on certain maps. This is on a i7 2600k. Not sure if this type of processing is more CPU intensive or not, but I know he talked about getting started on that as well.

Here's how you can figure out if that's CPU intensive: If you have a second monitor, leave task manager open (with the Performance tab selected) on that monitor while you're doing the TF2 + streaming. Under CPU history in the Performance tab, you'll see usage windows for each thread/core available on the CPU, which should be 8. If five or more of those windows are seeing 50% or more CPU usage, than yes that type of processing is very intensive. So let us know your results.

Also, good to know, since I will be upgrading just before Christmas with my system.

Just a FYI, you more than likely won't have to upgrade your CPU considering how fast it is.

 

[Spof_]

Just ran a test on my PC and the CPU History on all 8 cores seems to be around 75%. Now having said that I am using a 2600k, Nvidia 560gt and 8 gig ram. So running TF2 and broadcasting Twitch in 720p may be a bit rough, but it works fine. I seem to be maxing out on what the chip can do tho. This makes me think that for a gaming rig with Twitch consideration, the 4770k may be the better answer.

Your thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Dangman]

If you are indeed seeing 75% usage across all eight cores, then yes, that's a strong case to go for your nephew to go with the Core i7 4770K if he's doing the same thing you are.

Do note that streaming performance is also dependent on the network/internet connection so some of the rubber-banding issues you're seeing may be related to that.

All right, here's a prelim build for you:
$340 - Intel Core i7-4770K CPU
$190 - Asus Z87 Pro Intel Z87 Motherboard
$115 - Crucial BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$260 - Gigabyte GV-N760OC-2GD GTX 760 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$175 - Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD
$95 - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$20 - LG GH24NS95B DVD Burner
$80 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
$150 - Asus VS238H-P Black 23" LCD Monitor
$100 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
----
Total: $1525 shipped

 

[Spof_]

Thanks for taking the time to put the info together Danny Bui. Looking over the items and prices now. I may bump him up to the Samsung Pro 840 at my own cost. Have to see if its worth it.

Couple of quick questions:

Would you consider this case better then the Cool Master cases? I usually get those, but not oppose to trying a new case. Just don't have a lot of case experience to know the differences.

Monitor wise, if I were to throw a bit more money towards this item, is there another 24" option you would consider for Asus or another brand.

Thank you again for all the help. Most likely will start to order these parts over the next couple days once I finalize the list.

 

[tiraides]

Would you consider this case better then the Cool Master cases? I usually get those, but not oppose to trying a new case. Just don't have a lot of case experience to know the differences.

Which cases in particular are you looking at? The Antec Eleven Hundred is a well-designed case designed for excellent cooling of parts... and it had a recent price drop (currently $110 at Amazon).

Monitor wise, if I were to throw a bit more money towards this item, is there another 24" option you would consider for Asus or another brand.

The Asus VS238H-P is a good monitor for the price. It comes with an e-IPS panel (better viewing angle and color reproduction than the TN panels that most cheaper monitors come with), it has a 2ms gray-to-gray response time (excellent for gaming), and it uses LED backlighting (reduces overall weight and causes lower energy use).

If you really want to spend, say, $100 more on the monitor, you'd have to choose either a 27 inch 1920x1080 monitor (which may or may not be as good features-wise as the Asus VS238H-P) or a 24 inch 1920x1200 monitor (which oftentimes costs more than the 27 inch monitor).