2015 Build! $1000 budget, maybe $1150 if needed. Advice? :)

Since this thread goes up to $2000, I’m looking for some input on my own build—not exactly an expert here, so just give it to me straight regarding what works and what doesn't. Tell me what else I should add, and more importantly, why certain parts suck. I could potentially push the budget to $2000 if needed, or maybe even go up to $333. I put this together based on the
Links catalog. Thanks in advance.

PCI-E EVGA NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970, 4GB DDR5,
$646 DualDVI, HDMI, DP, Full Retail Price:

Intel Core i7-8700K, 3.5GHz, 16MB cache, Eight Core Price:
$500

ASUS ROG Maximus motherboard, AMD970/SB950, DDR3, audio, G-LAN, S-ATA,

RAID, PCI-E, SLI, USB 3.0, ATX, AM3 / AM3+ socket Price: $230

PC-14900 Memory, 8 GB, G.SKILL RipjawsX series, F3-14900CL10S-8GBXL, DDR3

1866MHz Price: $223

120.0 GB KINGSTON SSDNow V300, SV300S37A/120G, SATA3, MLC-Chip, up to

450/450 MB/s Price: $180

Cooler Master Hyper 212, socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2/939

Price: $26

What kind of PSU is enough?......................................... .................................................. .
650W PSU, LC POWER Silent Giant Green Power LC6650GP2 V2.3, Bronze,

140mm fan. Price: $166 ?????
550W PSU, Corsair VS550, ATX v2.2, 80mm fan, PFC Price: 379.00

USD??????.......................................... .................................................. .................................................. ....

....

EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G5 Gaming Case, MIDI, USB 3.0, hot-swap bay, no PSU, white

Price: $133

DVD±RW LG GH24NSC0, 24x, SATA, Dual layer, black, bulk Price: $43

1000.0 GB WESTERN DIGITAL Green, WD10EZRX, SATA3, 64MB cache,

IntelliSeek, for desktop Price: $186

No need to spam the same post three times; you started a thread, which is plenty. Are you planning on gaming? Links is overpriced, so maybe check out a different store if you can. If you're paying cash, an online shop might be better.

Let's dive in:
That GPU is way too expensive. You could grab an MSI NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 for about $100 less, or an XFX NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 for $500 (though that one only has a two-year warranty, whereas the MSI has three). Honestly, you could probably fit a much stronger card in that budget if gaming is the goal.

The SSD isn't great—they started using cheap memory in those V300 models, so they aren't really a good pick anymore. I'd look at Kingston Fury instead.

If you want a budget cooler that actually works, the LC POWER LC-CC-95 is a solid bet.

There were enough failures and glitches with Green drives that I'd suggest going with Blue; the price difference is pretty negligible.

This build won't pull more than ~300W with that card, so a decent 450W power supply should cut it. But, I guess you could go with 550W just to have some extra breathing room.

Why Links? Are you paying in installments or using a credit card? Unless there's some specific financing deal I'm missing, I don't see much point in shopping at Links—they seem to be about 20% more expensive than everyone else.

First off—sorry for the extra posts. My bad.🙂 I didn't know where to find a group actually lively enough for decent conversation and advice. 🙂 Well, fine—glad you finally chimed in. This list isn't set in stone yet—expect more changes coming my way. I went with Links because they're the most convenient option for me—though if there's a better way to save some cash, I'm all ears. $100 Look, I don't really care about the details down there—it's not my problem. My actual concern is this: if something dies, am I actually allowed to crack open the case and pull out just that one part to mail back to whoever I bought it from online? Or am I stuck sending the entire rig back? Heh. And here’s the big one—since I'm definitely not some "Pro" tech guy, how am I supposed to even identify the specific failure just to send a single component? Plus, I’m rarely home, so if they ship it back while I'm out, who's going to verify if it's actually fixed? Can I swap parts myself, or will they just give me that "we sent it back in perfect working order" excuse?
The card—but we ended up finding out that YOU were the ones being careless with the handling—and then they just bail and walk off with the card. $667 To hell with it. Now you finally see why I actually give a damn—if you can even call it that. $100 More or less. 🙂)
And then there's the more important stuff.

I'm looking for some input here—with new hardware dropping constantly, it’s hard to keep up. I want to put together a build with a budget around $6,000—maybe a bit more if it actually makes sense. $2333 Think about it—you're better off investing a little more now than dealing with the headache later. 🙂)
The AMD and Intel version... thanks again. 🙂)
P.S. Who do you guys think is the best option here in the States for online shopping—specifically when it comes to how reliable they are and how fast they handle returns? 🙂

There’s a difference of over $333 for the exact same parts between Links and some webshop in New York City. You could also try Best Buy if they're nearby, though I guess their customer service isn't always the best when it comes to returns.

EVGA AMD Radeon R9 280, 3 GB GDDR5 — price? $679
Price check—PowerColor AMD Radeon R9 280A TDFD, 3 GB GDDR5. $629
ASUS AMD Radeon R9 280 gaming, 3 GB DDR5—price? $650

The PowerColor AMD RADEON R9 270 DD ??—2GB DDR5, DVI, HDMI, and Department of Defense—is on sale right now. $666 (links-a)

I can get to this point here, for example— $667 What's your recommendation for a GPU? Is it actually worth the upgrade—are they really better than these current ones, and by what percentage roughly?
ASUS AMD RADEON R9 270 x or PowerColor AMD RADEON R9 270 DD ??
I'm pretty much right by the Home Depot.
Thanks. 🙂

EVGA AMD Radeon R9 280 x, 3 GB GDDR5
Kingston Fury 8 GB DDR3, 1600MHz, DIMM memory.
It's a 1 TB hard drive—specifically a Western Digital Blue ST1000DM003, spinning at 7200 rpm, 3.5", SATA III. I guess that's all there is to it.
It’s an Intel Core i5-4460, based on the Haswell architecture, running at 3200 MHz on a socket 1150.
I guess we're looking at an ASUS GA-H81-D3 on a socket 1150.
The Fortron Hexa Plus 500W 80+ power supply—it’s an active 12cm unit. I guess it gets the job done.
ZALMAN Z3 case, no PSU included.

Total cost: $2030

You could probably throw in a 120GB SSD as well.

Found this at Home Depot. Looks like they have it in stock.

Benjamin Peterson5 said:By the way, who would you guys recommend as the best Best Buy equivalent here in the States for online shopping? I’m looking for a reliable spot—specifically one that actually handles returns quickly and doesn't make it a total nightmare when something goes wrong. 🙂

If you're only looking at those two shops, I’m guessing you're checking out locations in Rhode Island, St. Louis, or maybe even somewhere like Virginia.
If you go with one of those six options in the link, you can save a massive amount of cash if you pay upfront—it’s really up to you, though. You laid out the warranty issues perfectly, but keep in mind that the delivery service will notify you when your package arrives. Otherwise, the only real difference is whether you'd be mailing a return back to a shop in a place like Chicago or Miami, versus just walking right into a Home Depot or Best Buy to handle it in person. That said, don't expect the physical route to speed things up; in fact, it’ll most likely take even longer.

If you're looking for where to buy your gear, here are my top recommendations: ADM, Centro, IT Futura, Magazin RS, and Uzishop. Just a heads-up, Uzishop is a pure online retailer, whereas the others actually maintain physical inventory you can rely on. Also, most of them offer free assembly if you order a build, though Centro does charge a small fee—roughly $6—for configuration services.

You should probably just Google some reviews for those shops and compare their prices before making a final call.

1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866
1 x AMD FX-Series X8 8320 Processor 3.5GHz,16MB,125W,AM3+, FD8320FRHK
2 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingmax, 1600MHz, FLGF
1 x Western Digital DT01ACA100 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB
1 x Kingston Fury 120GB SSD, 2.5", SATA 3 6G
1 x Fortron 500W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA5005003, 12cm fan
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. Standard MB
1 x SCYTHE Katana 3 SCKTN-3000A White Box, 754/939/AM2/AM2+/AM3
1 x ASUS AMD Radeon R9 280 gaming 3GB GDDR5 384bit, R9 280 GAMING, TF4
1 x LG GH24NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R

$2059
www.newegg.com
if you're leaning toward an AMD build

2 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingmax, 1600MHz, FLGF
1 x Western Digital DT01ACA100 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB
1 x Kingston Fury 120GB SSD, 2.5", SATA 3 6G
1 x Fortron 500W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA5005003, 12cm fan
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. Standard MB
1 x ASUS AMD Radeon R9 280 gaming 3GB GDDR5 384bit, R9 280 GAMING, TF4
1 x LG GH24NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H, Socket : 1150, Intel® B85
1 x Intel Core i5-4460 Processor (3.20GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box

$2067

if you go the INTEL route

honestly, wherever you buy it—Best Buy, Home Depot, Newegg, or any other online shop—it doesn't matter for service. You'll be waiting just as long whether you take it to a local shop in your town or ship it to a service center in a big city like Chicago.

just save the cash upfront and buy a decent machine instead.🙂 Best Buy is overpriced, and Home Depot is a joke; I wouldn't even buy a blank DVD from them.

shipping costs for a full PC repair will be $13, so I don't see why that would be an issue.🙂

If you can manage to swing $2333 then you might just grab a graphics card that keeps you worry-free for the next few years:
1 x AMD CPU Desktop FX-Series X8 8300 (3.3GHz,16MB,95W,AM3+) box
2 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 Mhz (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x LC POWER LC-CC-95, socket 775/1155/1156/AMD
1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+
1 x OCZ SSD ARC 100 120GB,R475 /W395,95K,S3
1 x Western Digital DT01ACA050 (3.5", 500GB, 32MB, SATA III-600)
1 x LG GH24NSC0 sat Bulk Black 24x
1 x Zalman Z3+, USB3.0 black
1 x Fortron Raider S PSU 650W, 80+ SILVER
1 x Sapphire R9 290, TRI-X, 4GB, GDDR5

Total: $2314

www.futura-it.com