Upgrade time

[Shalafi]

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

Playing the occasional WoW game, Shadows of Mordor

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $1,000 is what I'm looking to spend, can spend an additional $200ish if it'll make a difference. Could I ask what I could get for an extra $200 just in case?

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

Arkansas, no Microcenter or Frys near me. Would like to order everything from Amazon if possible.

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.

Everything, including OS, this is a pure from scratch build. Includes a new monitor which probably stretches my budget to $1200.
Have keyboard and mouse.


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

Nothing

6) Will you be overclocking?

Probably not.

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

Current one is 1680x1050, but looking to get a new one

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

Within a week or two if possible. I can account for any differences in price between now and then in my budget.

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.

USB 3.0 sounds pretty good, CrossFire would be good. I'm hoping to use an AMD card since that's what I like.

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

Need to buy one. WIndows 7 is what I want.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Dangman]

$200 - Intel Core i5-4590 CPU
$100 - MSI Z97 PC MATE Intel Z97 ATX Motherboard
$131 - Kingston HyperX FURY HX318C10FBK2/16 2x8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$180 - Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB PCI-E Video Card
$105 - Crucial MX100 256GB SSD
$55 - Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$19 - Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD Burner
$80 - Antec TruePower Classic TP-750C 750W Power Supply
$77 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black w/ Window ATX Case
$92 - Windows 8.1 64bit
$158 - Asus VS248H-P Black 25" LCD Monitor
----
Total: $1197 shipped

Notes:
- For 1080P gaming, you don't need R9 280 Crossfire. But the option is still there (mobo and PSU choices) in case you want to go overkill one of these days. No, it wasn't that much cheaper to go with a non-Crossfire capable setup.

- Windows 7 is getting really close to EOL and end of support. In addition, Windows 8.1 has some under-the-hood performance that makes it faster than Windows 7. Not to mention that Windows 8.1 supports more than 16GB of RAM whereas the cheapest Windows 7 license only supports up to 16GB of RAM.

 

[Shalafi]

Thinking of going with an i5-4690K and giving that an overclock job. I would pay a little more for a motherboard that will help overclock well with this.

One more thing, I do need a wireless adapter that is reliable and won't drop a signal. Any recommendations in that area? I want something as reliable as what you'd get in a laptop.


I would also like to swap out that 280 and go for a XFX Double D R9 290.

I also think I'll upgrade from that tower you listed to this.

Also, I should have and I apologize for this, I should have mentioned I wanted a Blu Ray burner so I can watch movies. Can I get a recommendation on that? We can take out the DVD drive. I know all this is more than my original budget, but I looked over that list you gave me and I think it's ok to spend a little more here than I originally intended. I think that'll futureproof it a little better.

I thank you for your time and suggestions. It's just been a few years since I have upgraded and if I have to spend a little more to get a bit more for my money, I can do that.

 

[E4g1e]

I also think I'll upgrade from that tower you listed to this.

Here's the problem: Cooler Master's gaming cases are actually of lower construction quality than many other cases that sell for less money. Worse, the fans that are included with Cooler Master's cases actually deliver less airflow than similar fans that come with other brands of cases.

Also, I should have and I apologize for this, I should have mentioned I wanted a Blu Ray burner so I can watch movies. Can I get a recommendation on that? We can take out the DVD drive. I know all this is more than my original budget, but I looked over that list you gave me and I think it's ok to spend a little more here than I originally intended. I think that'll futureproof it a little better.

Here's the deal, You will need to spend additional money ($80 or more, on top of the cost of the Blu-ray drive) for good software that's Blu-ray capable. Any software that's bundled for free with a Blu-ray drive tends to be crappy (will downconvert HD content from Blu-ray disc all the way down to 640x480p before it gets displayed) or needlessly inconvenient. As a result, you'd be far better off completely separating your computer and your movie/home entertainment components (this means getting a separate television set and a separate standalone Blu-ray player instead of the PC-based combo).

 

[Dangman]

Thinking of going with an i5-4690K and giving that an overclock job. I would pay a little more for a motherboard that will help overclock well with this.

You basically have to overclock as soon as you've determined the build is stable since an overclock capable setup will cost you another $120:
$239 - Intel Core i5-4690K CPU
$145 - Asus Z97-A Intel Z97 Motherboard
$35 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo HSF

So you basically HAVE to overclock to justify the extra $120.

One more thing, I do need a wireless adapter that is reliable and won't drop a signal. Any recommendations in that area? I want something as reliable as what you'd get in a laptop.

The main reason why laptops tends to get better wireless reception is because they have significantly larger antennas than the ones you see on most wireless adapters.

Honestly, I would recommend a very long ethernet cable OR powerline networking over wireless networking.

I would also like to swap out that 280 and go for a XFX Double D R9 290.

If you can afford that AND the larger monitor, go for it.

I also think I'll upgrade from that tower you listed to this.

I concur with E4g1e on this: It's not a good case for the money. I would recommend the following cases over the majority of Coolermaster's ATX case line:
$100 - Phanteks “Enthoo Pro Series“ Black ATX Case
$110 - Thermaltake Core V5 Black ATX Case
$110 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$115 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$116 - Thermaltake Chaser A71 Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Graphite Series 730T ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Obsidian Series 450D ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$133 - NZXT Phantom 530 Black Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$152 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$150 - NZXT Phantom 630 White Windowed Full Tower ATX Case
$158 - NZXT Phantom 630 Gunmetal Full Tower ATX Case
$170 - Thermaltake Urban T81 Full Tower ATX Case
$190 - Corsair Graphite Series 760T ATX Case
197 - Corsair Graphite Black ATX Full Tower 780T
208 - Corsair Graphite White ATX Full Tower 780

Not like I'm anti-Coolermaster: I just recommended a Coolermaster HSF and I have a Coolermaster HAF 932 for my file server's case. I just can't recommend many or any of their ATX cases. Not even the HAF 932.

Also, I should have and I apologize for this, I should have mentioned I wanted a Blu Ray burner so I can watch movies. Can I get a recommendation on that? We can take out the DVD drive.

What E4g1e said +1

 

[Shalafi]

You are on the money here Dangman. I was looking at that very mobo to go with the Intel processor. Money man.

I still want a Blu Ray drive. I do have a separate Blu Ray drive, but I plan on using a multi monitor setup and I want to be able to watch a movie while I game.

Other than that, I am looking at the cases you are suggesting there. My current case is one of those old Cooler Master Stackers, previous one before that is a Lian Li, so I don't have a problem spending a little coin on a decent case. I prioritize cooling and air flow and expandability.

Thanks for the suggestions.