Gaming PC build - around $1,200 budget

It sounds like you're comparing this to a GTX 780, but honestly, those cards are pretty much on par. The main perk of the GTX 770 is just lower power consumption, whereas the R9 280 X is significantly more budget-friendly. As for PhysX being more widespread—sure, if you want to get technical—but I can't think of many notable games besides Batman that actually utilize it. Besides, even today’s high-end processors handle those effects without breaking a sweat. In my opinion, the R9 280 X is the smarter buy, though I still tend to lean toward NVIDIA. I'll probably pick up a GTX 770 once I see a good sale, but I might just grab a GTX 760 instead.
EDIT: Metro: Last Light and The Witcher also use PhysX.

Timothy Fisher79 said:That’s just wrong. The GTX 770 actually beats the R9 280 X by about 10 fps in Crysis 3, maybe 12 fps in Far Cry 3, and roughly 9 fps in Just Cause 2...

So you swapped the 280X for a 270X? 😛

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages...hmarks,20.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/G...80X_OC/12.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/G...80X_OC/14.html

crimsonstag84 said:Wait, did you actually swap out an R9 280 X for a 270X? 😛

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages...hmarks,20.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/G...80X_OC/12.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/G...80X_OC/14.html

Honestly, I’ve completely lost the thread on this discussion—I am totally lost! Catch you guys later.

Timothy Fisher79 said:Sorry, I'm completely lost on this thread now. Goodbye.

As for me, I guess 🙂 it's basically running at 290 99.9% of the time.

Good grief, you still haven't pulled the trigger on that PC? 😁

Benjamin King2 said:Good grief, you still haven't picked up that PC? 😁

No, I suppose I had to get my finances in order first so the bank would approve my loan 😂. I'm heading to the mall later this week. It’s not particularly convenient, really. If I had gone for that other setup I mentioned in my first post, I might have had it home by now, but it probably wouldn't have been much of a deal. This way, I should end up with something better for the same amount of cash. A week or two doesn't matter much, I guess.

Look, I don't know exactly how much you're currently in the red, but if you're sitting at a break-even point or even slightly ahead, it might actually make more sense to dip into the negatives a bit and just pick up a full setup with cash right now.

1 x LC Power PRO-926B Juggernaut X Case - ATX Pro-Line, ATX
1 x Asrock H77M - Intel H77, M-ATX, dual Channel 2 DDR3 - 1600
1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD, 120 GB Capacity, 2.5"
2 x 4GB DDR3 Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, HyperX, KHX1600C9D3B1/
1 x Corsair VS Series Power Supply, 550 Watt, ATX, ATX12V v2.31
1 x MSI GTX 760 Gaming 2GB GDDR5, N760 TF 2GD5/OC, Dual-link DVI
1 x LG 23EA63V-P, 23", 16:9, 1920x1080, IPS panel, 250 cd/m2
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.6 GHz), 6MB
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black DVD burner, SATA

$1,020 approximately
adm

Ryan Fowler53

Hey, let's not be too hard on him—you can tell he's still weighing his options. Plus, the way this build is put together just doesn't quite click... he's working with an $80 budget, yet he's trying to squeeze in a GTX 760 and only 4GB of RAM? That’s a tough balance to strike. And honestly, that power supply isn't really up to the task either—when I see the VS label, I think of basic office desktops rather than anything meant for gaming. If he had gone with a CX, we'd be talking about a completely different story..

Ryan Fowler53 said:1 x LC Power PRO-926B - Juggernaut X - ATX Pro-Line, ATX
1 x Asrock H77M - Intel H77, M-ATX, dual Channel 2 DDR3 - 1600
1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD disk, 120 GB Capacity, 2.5"
2 x 4GB DDR3 (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, HyperX, KHX1600C9D3B1/
1 x Corsair VS Series Power Supply, 550 Watt, ATX, ATX12V v2.31
1 x MSI GTX 760 Gaming 2GB GDDR5, N760 TF 2GD5/OC, Dual-link DVI
1 x LG 23EA63V-P, 23", 16:9, 1920x1080, IPS panel, 250 cd/m2
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.6 GHz), 6MB
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black, SATA

$700 approximately
admin

1.) Personally, I’m really against going back to Ivy or Sandy bridge processors—since we have the new Haswell generation available, there’s just no sense in looking backward when the price difference is negligible and you actually get a slight performance bump.

2.) That 4 GB of RAM? It’s going to feel incredibly cramped in about a year and a half. He’ll almost certainly find himself needing an upgrade to at least 8 GB, if not sooner, whether it's for gaming or just because modern software demands more and more juice.

3.) Putting a GTX 760 in a build with this kind of budget seems a bit wild to me—the thread title specifically mentions a "gaming PC," which means the priority should be performance, so he ought to be looking at something beefier like a GTX 770 or an R9 280 X.

4.) The hard drive is also unnecessarily small; why settle for 500GB when, for $17 a little more, he could grab a 1 TB drive? It'll serve him much better in the long run since he's definitely going to have a mountain of stuff to store on it.

5.) Now, the power supply isn't absolute garbage, but I'll say this: given that the budget is relatively high, one should really be aiming for higher-quality units—or at least a better series like the CX—especially considering how much power those graphics cards pull from the PSU.

6.) And honestly, he doesn't need a monitor—he just described it as a bucket.

7.) Bottom line: cosmicseal98, this is a textbook example of buying a total junker for way too much money.

Hey everyone, I'm looking at 2x4GB 😬

Ryan Fowler53 said:1 x LC Power PRO-926B - Juggernaut X - ATX Pro-Line, ATX
1 x Asrock H77M - Intel H77, M-ATX, dual Channel 2 DDR3 - 1600
1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD, 120 GB Capacity, 2.5"
2 x 4GB DDR3 (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, HyperX, KHX1600C9D3B1/
1 x Corsair VS Series PSU, 550 Watt, ATX, ATX12V v2.31
1 x MSI GTX 760 Gaming 2GB GDDR5, N760 TF 2GD5/OC, Dual-link DVI
1 x LG 23EA63V-P, 23", 16:9, 1920x1080, IPS panel, 250 cd/m2
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.6 GHz), 6MB
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black, SATA DVD writer

$700 approximately
admin

Why do you paste this exact same build onto every single thread?
And while we're talking specs—that motherboard and power supply aren't a great value for the money.

By the way, if you actually read the post, the OP can't use just any retailer because of their payment methods, and they already own a monitor with 2560 x 1600 resolution.😉

Correction Ryan Fowler53 regarding the RAM memory.

Does anyone know if the R9 290 cards have hit the shelves here in the States yet? I can't seem to find them anywhere. It’s the same story with the R9 280 Toxic; they just aren't showing up in my searches. 🤷
Also, I should mention that my financial situation suddenly improved, so I'll be paying in cash. 😁
The reason I'm asking about these two specifically is that I plan on grabbing whichever one I find first. If anyone has info, a quick reply would be appreciated. Thanks.

Honestly, just shoot some emails directly to the shops and ask. You'll actually be better off paying in cash; you'll snag a better deal and open up way more options. Check out places like Best Buy, Micro Center, or even Newegg once the holiday rush dies down—maybe hit up B&H Photo or even Walmart if you're lucky.

Hey, look what just popped up: an R9 290

Alright, here’s the full build list again:

FX 8320
ENERMAX T40 BLACK T.
ASUS M5A97 R2.0 EVO
PATRIOT VIPER 2X4 GB 1600 MHZ (8GB)
SEAGATE 3,5 1TB SATA 3 SSHD
SAPPHIRE R9 290 4GB DDR5
LG GH24NS95 SATA
FORTRON FSP RAIDER 650W 80+ SILVER
ZALMAN Z5 PLUS

$2695 - Futura it

But now you're dealing with a different headache—you can't find an Accelero Xtreme anywhere in the States right now. Honestly? It might be easier to just save yourself the trouble and grab the MSI GTX 780 3GB OC TF IV GAMING instead. You get great cooling straight out of the box and a solid warranty, plus when you factor in the cost of a separate cooler, the price ends up being pretty much the same anyway.

Also, I totally forgot since this thread has gotten so long—did you actually decide if you need that hard drive or not? Just a reminder: this is a hybrid HDD/SSD, so it'll run faster than a standard old-school drive while still giving you plenty of storage space.

If you don't need that, then my suggestion for a ssd stays the same.

graniteharbor85 said:Here is the full build again:

FX 8320
ENERMAX T40 BLACK T.
ASUS M5A97 R2.0 EVO
PATRIOT VIPER 2X4 GB 1600 MHZ (8GB)
SEAGATE 3,5 1TB SATA 3 SSHD
SAPPHIRE R9 290 4GB DDR5
LG GH24NS95 SATA
FORTRON FSP RAIDER 650W 80+ SILVER
ZALMAN Z5 PLUS

$2695 - Futura it

You have a different issue now because you can't find an Accelero Xtreme anywhere in the States. I suppose it might be easier to just save yourself the headache with the MSI GTX 780 3GB OC TF IV GAMING. You would get decent cooling right out of the box and a better warranty. Price-wise, it might even end up being similar once you factor in the cost of a separate cooler.

I've already forgotten if you actually need an HDD since this thread has dragged on so long—this one is a hybrid HDD/SSD, so it offers better performance than a standard hard drive while keeping the high capacity.

If you don't need one, my recommendation for an ssd remains the same.

Good grief, I'm going to lose my mind, honestly. 🙂

Pure perfection, man—just grab it! 😢

I suppose I could always install that cooler later on. If I did
that, would I lose the warranty on my graphics card? It's not that I'm planning to mess with it myself, but if I were just buying a bucket of parts, I'd want to know. Also, I forgot to mention one thing at the start: I was thinking about reusing the sound card from my old rig. It's a Creative Labs Audigy SB 5.1. I paid about $50 for it ages ago. Back then, I needed 5.1 surround because I was grinding on aa2X. My question is whether the onboard audio on this motherboard I've picked out is actually any better than my old junk. I’m using 5.1 headphones—they're old Zalman ones, but they're decent enough, I guess

You aren't going to void your warranty if you actually do the job right and don't mess around. The GPU itself doesn't have any stickers on it that would stop you from installing an aftermarket cooler.

The Asus board has a slightly better sound chip than some of those budget motherboards, but honestly, as for how it stacks up against an Audigy—you wouldn't know for sure until you try it. Just pop it in a PCI slot and see for yourself.🙂