Need Gaming PC Advice. Details Inside!

[NyK]

Hello!

I'm looking to build a new gaming PC, primarily for Final Fantasy XIV. You can see the minimum & recommended requirements at http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/product/ (click on "Pricing / Platforms").

Ideally, I would like to build something for $1k to $1.2k, but I can extend to $1.6k if absolutely necessary. This price is for everything (including shipping) except the monitor.

I can't actually build it on my own, so I got some stuff quoted by AVADirect. Below is one of the builds they suggested for just under $1.5k, but I feel like I should be able to do better...

+ MINI GAMING PC, Core™ i7 / i5 Z87 / H87 Subcompact Cube Gaming Computer System 1 $1491.06 $1491.06
BITFENIX, Prodigy Arctic White Mini Tower Case, Mini-ITX, 2 slots, Steel/Plastic
CORSAIR, CX600M CX Series™ 600W Modular Power Supply, 80 PLUS® Bronze, 24-pin ATX12V v2.3 EPS12V v2.91, 2x 8/6-pin PCIe
INTEL, Core™ i5-4670K Quad-Core 3.4 - 3.8GHz TB, HD Graphics 4600, LGA1150, 6MB L3 Cache, DDR3-1600, 22nm, 84W, EIST VT-x XD, Retail
NOCTUA, NH-L12 CPU Cooling Fan, Socket 2011/1155/1156/1366/775/FM1/AM3/AM2, 93mm Height, Copper/Aluminum, Retail
ASUS, H87I-PLUS, LGA1150, Intel® H87, DDR3-1600 16GB /2, PCIe x16, SATA 6Gb/s RAID 5 /6, HDMI + DVI + VGA, USB 3.0 /4+2, HDA, GbLAN, mini-ITX, Retail
CORSAIR, 8GB (2 x 4GB) XMS3 PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.65V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
EVGA, GeForce® GTX 760 SuperClocked 1072-1137MHz, 2GB GDDR5 6008MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DP + HDMI + 2x DVI, Retail
SEAGATE, 1TB Barracuda®, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 64MB cache
LITE-ON, iHAS124 Black 24x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner, SATA, OEM
MICROSOFT, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM w/ Media
WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

They also suggested a slightly more expensive build, almost identical but with ZOTAC GeForce® GTX 680 AMP! 1110MHz, 2GB GDDR5 6608MHz.

I'm honestly so out of the loop with hardware these days that I don't know if the items/prices they quoted are good or bad.

(I don't know enough about motherboard features to list my requirements.)

I don't plan on overclocking anything (unless it's simple, low-risk and will save me a lot of money).

I have always used GeForce cards in the past.

I would like whatever system I buy to perform well for 3+ years, and for whatever setup I go with to be able to have its graphics card upgraded down the road.

I live in Portland, Oregon if that makes a difference.

I'm hoping to make the purchase within the next 1-2 months.

Are there any other sites like AVADirect with better prices?

Thank you!

(I tried to answer as many required questions as I could, albeit in a bit of a different order.)

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Do not go with that build. The RAM rated at 1.65V could potentially damage the CPU.

Here is a preliminary build.

$287 - Intel Core i5-4570 CPU + MZI Z87-G43 Intel Z87 Motherboard Combo
$120 - Crucial BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$260 - Gigabyte GV-N760OC-2GD GTX 760 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$150 - SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB
$94 - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$80 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU

You can buy your own Windows 7 license (Do note that Windows 7 Home Premium has an artificial memory limit of 16GB) and you can pick out your own case. Get the cheapest DVD/CD RW drive at the time you buy.

 

[NyK]

Thank you very much for your reply.

Is there a major difference between rev 1.0 and rev 2.0 of the graphics card you listed? AVADirect only has rev 1.0 available, it seems.

For the motherboard, what would be the mini-ITX equivalent?

If possible, I would actually like a smaller case, so if I go with AVADirect, I would have to choose from the stuff here:
http://www.avadirect.com/mini-gaming-pc-configurator.asp?PRID=27760

If having a smaller case will prevent me from putting together a solid system, however, I can change to a bigger case.

I would like to put my own system together, but don't think I'm ready. If I could find something solid from AVADirect (or any similar place), I think it would be best this time.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

This isn't the forum for asking for a manufactured PC. I wouldn't buy from AVADirect personally, you'll get a better system if you DIY on the build.

 

[Dangman]

This isn't the forum for asking for a manufactured PC.

Kinda is.

For the motherboard, what would be the mini-ITX equivalent?

As long as you choose a MSI, Gigabyte, or Asus mITX mobo, you'll be fine. Any half-decent site would have already narrow down the motherboard to mITX when you chose a mITX case. In addition, don't let ANYBODY convince you to buy a Zotac product as they tends to have poor QC and relatively poor customer support. Since you're not overclocking at all, no reason for you to get a K seies CPUs unless it's substantially cheaper than a non-K series CPU. For the RAM, make absolute sure that the RAM is rated at 1.5V. Speed and timings doesn't matter so get the cheapest RAM option that's rated at 1.5V and you'll be set. Any higher than 1.5V and you risk CPU damage.

Now, AvaDirect would not be my first choice either for a PC boutique build. I'd go with Puget Systems, Maingear, and Velocity Micro in that order. Digital Storm Online seems ok.

 

[NyK]

Hey, I really appreciate your reply and company recommendations. I'm looking through them now and sending quote requests, too.

I will update this thread with builds for feedback as I create/receive them.

 

[Dangman]

Cool.

Also additional advice: You won't need more than 550W of power at most. So if there is a higher quality 550W PSU that's the same price as an ok 750W, go for the 550W. Make sure that PSU is modular as space in a mITX setup is rather limited. However, do not go with Corsair's CX-M series as only a handful of their cables are actually modular and therefore really pointless. Only go with Corsair's CX-M series as a last resort.