Gaming PC build under $1,300?

wiredotter14 said:Which stores are we talking about here?
The component selection itself is pretty much alright, I guess, but some of these parts are just way too overpriced in the first option.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 really ought to be priced lower than $1167, and that Intel Core i5-7600K should definitely be under $433, just like how it shows up in the second quote.

I mean, why not just grab the PC from one place and the monitor from somewhere else? It seems easier, right?

Well, the first option is Logitech, and the second one is Futura IT. I was actually planning on getting the whole computer through my company because it makes things so much simpler when everything comes in one single order, but clearly, that's probably not going to work out.

Hey crimsonstag84 - I kind of got stuck on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, honestly, since I haven't even bothered to look into any other graphics cards yet. I guess I'm just a little nervous about breaking my old habits and switching things up. 🤣

The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is a bit faster, and I guess it works perfectly with a 144Hz FreeSync monitor.

Personally, I’d aim for a 1440p 75Hz monitor, ideally with FreeSync and Vega support now that prices have actually stabilized. I reckon sticking with 8GB of RAM would keep everything within budget.
Going with 8 instead of 16 still makes zero difference in most scenarios.

Thanks so much for all the tips, I think I’m actually going to roll with the second option instead, though I guess I'll just stick with my GTX 1070 for now, and for the monitor, I'm looking at that Dell Best Buy model that someone mentioned in one of those other threads a while back. So, yeah, we'll see how it goes, I suppose... 😬 (the upside is that a ton of this stuff comes with a 3-year warranty, and honestly, some parts even have a 5-year one)

In my humble estimation, the Vega architecture proves itself superior to its rivals through both hardware design and software optimization; furthermore, having FreeSync at one's disposal is an absolute gamechanger for any serious gamer—to be perfectly honest, it felt like a sudden ray of sunlight breaking through a heavy fog.

It’s all fine and dandy, I guess, but that card really needs at least a 500W power supply, so that 600W unit just isn't going to cut it, probably. Also, I’ve had some pretty terrible luck with EVGA motherboards in the past, like, way too many headaches, so I eventually swapped mine out for an ASUS one and, honestly, the PC has been running smooth for five years now since then.
Once I swap everything out and toss it all into my cart, AMD ends up being more expensive than Future Shop.
But then again, Future Shop doesn't have that specific graphics card, they only have the AMD Radeon RX 580. When you compare them to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, the GTX definitely wins out. Since I'm already buying the monitor somewhere else, I figured it would be kind of silly to get the graphics card there too, maybe.
Anyway, one huge upside is the warranty period, which is at least 36 months, which is pretty sweet.

The monitor is a Dell 24" Acer Nitro, it’s got FreeSync and a 75Hz refresh rate, and stuff...

Don't just look at what the GPU demands; focus on the power supply itself. You need a solid 500W unit—but more importantly, you need one that actually delivers quality.



Here is the power consumption breakdown for the entire build, not just the GPU like I mentioned earlier. Red indicates the levels when the Vega cards are undervolted, while gray shows the stock factory settings. I can't see any link in your message. Could you please provide the URL?



Regarding the EVGA B350M Mortar on the LGA 1200 socket—it’s proven to be quite solid and reliable. Even though the specs look a bit "budget," it actually outperforms anything from ASUS at that same price point. But hey, that's just my two cents.

It’s honestly pretty ridiculous—when you add items to your cart over at AMD, they don't show you the cash price right away. Instead, they default to showing the most expensive payment option. It's a bit nonsensical, if you ask me. You don't actually see what the real cash price is until you're deep into the final stages of checking out.

Everything was such a total whirlwind, honestly, because I had to scramble and hunt down a quote within literally just one day. And get this—it ended up not even being a Dell motherboard since they didn't have it in stock, so they swapped it for some kind of ASUS ROG Strix B350-F 🤦 instead. They're claiming it’s basically in the same league, though it does run a little bit pricier 🙄
. It's just funny how things work out, I guess. I swear, for the last three PC builds I've worked on, I haven't been able to actually get what I'm looking for in the final quote, even when the store's website says everything is sitting right there ready to go. And don't even get me started on the power supplies; like with the EVGA SuperNOVA 700, there's one price listed on the product page, then a totally different one once you toss it in the cart, and naturally, the quote always ends up being the higher price 🤦
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