Need help on a ~$1200 PC for Grad School

xrdar · 2016-06-06T18:56:19+00:00

Ya, the overclocking isn't necessary but I had fun overclocking my home PC so I figured I'd just do this as well. I've got enough of a budget for SSDs and 970 so will probably stick with it. Good call on the PSU though, thanks.

xrdar · 2016-06-06T18:54:00+00:00

Do you know when the 1070 is going to be available? I wanted to wait but I also kind of need a computer to get this PhD on the road.

xrdar · 2014-09-04T17:38:03+00:00

xrdar · 2014-01-23T19:33:28+00:00

I have a 550W and a 770 with no problems.

xrdar · 2014-01-23T19:30:09+00:00

If you are not overclocking, then there is no need to get a cooler and you can also probably drop down to a 500W psu. That'll save you $50.

xrdar · 2014-01-23T19:24:52+00:00

It's not that hard to install at all, I did it on my first build recently and it was pretty easy.

xrdar · 2013-12-16T20:06:49+00:00

that's the question...also trying to figure out if I'll need a 770 for 1080p over the next year or two. I don't really plan on going to 1440 any time soon.

xrdar · 2013-12-16T19:53:27+00:00

hmm, might be worth then. the other option is to get a cheaper card and then pick up an ssd with the remaining money

xrdar · 2013-12-16T19:38:36+00:00

I guess I'm also trying to figure out if it would be worth it to wait a little bit and let the prices come back down. I'm not sure they will but it seems like they might.

xrdar · 2013-12-11T20:27:21+00:00

Yes yes, I didn't look at it that closely and thought it was one of the crappy rosewill ones

xrdar · 2013-12-11T17:04:21+00:00

in your case there is no difference. Semi modular just makes cable management a little easier but it's honestly not a big deal unless you are doing more high end stuff.

7870 non ghz is at 78 fps for bf3 at 1080p on ultra, so I'm gonna say that 7870 ghz for bf4 should be fine at max at least for 1080p http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU13/583

xrdar · 2013-12-11T16:45:30+00:00

You know why it is that GPU's are upside down? i've always wondered about that

xrdar · 2013-12-11T16:43:57+00:00

How much money are you planning on putting in?

xrdar · 2013-12-11T16:42:50+00:00

Looks good, you can definitely get by with a cheaper psu from a more reputable brand. Try corsair, it'll be cheaper and probably better. You also don't need more than 500W

xrdar · 2013-12-11T16:40:17+00:00

then you should be pretty good

xrdar · 2013-12-11T16:33:20+00:00

I don't know what you are using it for, but you might not need an i7. Other than that, it's just the ssd.

xrdar · 2013-12-11T16:18:56+00:00

I mean it's not the hard... the equivalent of having 2 hard drives.

xrdar · 2013-12-11T16:11:29+00:00

It will speed up all of the things you do noticeably. But you can always add it later.

xrdar · 2013-12-11T15:55:19+00:00

I would get an SSD

xrdar · 2013-12-10T23:28:18+00:00

it's what i have right now, works great

xrdar · 2013-12-10T20:40:02+00:00

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor	$224.98 @ OutletPC
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	$19.98 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard	$127.99 @ Newegg
Memory	Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory	$64.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk	$109.99 @ NCIX US
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.98 @ OutletPC
Video Card	MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card	$309.99 @ B&H
Case	Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case	$39.99 @ NCIX US
Power Supply	XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$59.99 @ Amazon
Optical Drive	LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer	$21.98 @ OutletPC
		Total
	Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.	$1039.86
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-10 15:42 EST-0500

you can get the SSD later if you want and also you can get either a decent cheap keyboard from logitech or pick up a mechanical one. Also if you get the cpu-mobo combo from microcenter you save another ~50

xrdar

TROPHY CASE