$1,000 Build for a Friend

[jordan1794]

Hello all! My friend recently came to me wanting to build a new pc. He has 0 knowledge here so he asked me to help.
He wants to keep it at, or around $1,000 but he also wants it to be upgradable later down the road.

I've come up with a build, but I'm a tad bit over his $1,000 budget, I was wondering if I could get some help tweaking the parts to get within budget, without sacrificing performance too much.
He also wants to learn about overclocking in the future, so it needs to be fairly decent parts that can take some pressure.

Here is what I have:


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($115.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks PH-ES614PC_BK ATX Full Tower Case ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($81.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Acer UM.WV6AA.B01 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Combo MK270 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z213 7W 2.1ch Speakers ($27.39 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1184.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-10 18:08 EDT-0400

 

[peche]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Peche/saved/MnVXsY

 

[jordan1794]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Peche/saved/MnVXsY

He needs mouse/keyboard/speakers/Blu-Ray drive.

Right now he uses a laptop, and nothing out of it cal be salvaged :/

 

[erocker]

All looks good to me, though he might be better off with a cheap-ish headset over the speakers. The rig will run pretty much everything.

 

[peche]

He needs mouse/keyboard/speakers/Blu-Ray drive.

Right now he uses a laptop, and nothing out of it cal be salvaged :/

my fault !

 

[EpicShweetness]

May I suggest that you lessen the vid card to a gtx 960 instead, the resolution of the monitor (1080p) does not justify a gtx 970 as of right now. You could say future proof, but that's actually a load of sh*t. $200 now, and $200 in the future makes more sense then $350 right now. Oh and yes I own a"K" part but unless your friend plans on overclocking get that out of their and get the non-K part or cheaper like a i5 4460.

 

[peche]

i will replace video card for a Gigabyte unit, better cards,
Evga =good brand.. but boring one...

 

[Ikaruga]

I would buy a cheaper non-k CPU and spend the saved money on a better monitor.

May I suggest that you lessen the vid card to a gtx 960 instead, the resolution of the monitor (1080p) does not justify a gtx 970 as of right now. You could say future proof, but that's actually a load of sh*t. $200 now, and $200 in the future makes more sense then $350 right now. Oh and yes I own a"K" part but unless your friend plans on overclocking get that out of their and get the non-K part or cheaper like a i5 4460.

You need a 970 for 1080p, (and more). This interweb thingy, that 970/980 are overkill of 1080p has to stop, really. Almost all games are GPU limited, the faster your GPU, the better, end of story.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

May I suggest that you lessen the vid card to a gtx 960 instead, the resolution of the monitor (1080p) does not justify a gtx 970 as of right now. You could say future proof, but that's actually a load of sh*t. $200 now, and $200 in the future makes more sense then $350 right now. Oh and yes I own a"K" part but unless your friend plans on overclocking get that out of their and get the non-K part or cheaper like a i5 4460.

$350 makes far more sense now. Buy the best GPU you can afford at the time. You will be glad you did.

 

[EpicShweetness]

$350 makes far more sense now. Buy the best GPU you can afford at the time. You will be glad you did.

To each their own, I'm just speaking from personal experience. Just think about how GPU's advance. In about 2 years $200 will buy a GPU exceeding the GTX 970, and at that point an upgrade would be necessary.

 

[jordan1794]

He also wants to learn about overclocking in the future, so it needs to be fairly decent parts that can take some pressure.

Also, he wants the computer to be upgradable, so the CPU needs to be good enough to still hold it's own 5 years+ from now.
Thanks for the replies though!

Think he is just going to have to dish out the extra $200, I don't see a way of cutting the budget that much without sacrificing a great deal of performance and longevity.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

To each their own, I'm just speaking from personal experience. Just think about how GPU's advance. In about 2 years $200 will buy a GPU exceeding the GTX 970, and at that point an upgrade would be necessary.

Or you can just buy a sweet card now and skip a whole generation like I'm doing.

 

[peche]

May I suggest that you lessen the vid card to a gtx 960 instead, the resolution of the monitor (1080p) does not justify a gtx 970 as of right now. You could say future proof, but that's actually a load of sh*t. $200 now, and $200 in the future makes more sense then $350 right now. Oh and yes I own a"K" part but unless your friend plans on overclocking get that out of their and get the non-K part or cheaper like a i5 4460.

i preffer a second handed GTX 760 / 770 or eve 680 than a 960......

Or you can just buy a sweet card now and skip a whole generation like I'm doing.

correct!

 

[brandonwh64]

Change out case with a NZXT source 210 these are low priced and very good in terms of quality.

 

[jordan1794]

Alright, well the parts have been ordered!
Pretty much everything as listed, except that we went with a 1 TB hard drive instead, and put the extra bucks into getting a EVGA FTW GTX 970, that way I can show him BIOS modding down the road with a little more security.

 

[OneMoar]

Alright, well the parts have been ordered!
Pretty much everything as listed, except that we went with a 1 TB hard drive instead, and put the extra bucks into getting a EVGA FTW GTX 970, that way I can show him BIOS modding down the road with a little more security.

should have gone with a SSD it makes all the difference in the world literally day and night its not just boot times
I would definitely get one as soon as possible

 

[jordan1794]

should have gone with a SSD it makes all the difference in the world literally day and night its not just boot times
I would definitely get one as soon as possible

Well again, he is used to a laptop so nearly anything is going to be a super computer for him lol.

The idea here is for him to learn and then upgrade it later, but have plenty of time to learn HOW to upgrade it before he NEEDS to upgrade it.