$1,000 PC Build Ideas?

Greetings, fellow forum members 🙂

A girl is looking to buy a PC and is planning to drop about $2500 (though she might go up by a few $67 if we decide to upgrade certain parts). She needs a monitor (24", FHD, IPS) and the actual "tower."

The PC will be used for work in programs such as: Maya 3D, iClone 6, Blender, Adobe Premiere, and After Effects. That said, she likes to mess around with gaming every now and then, so the rig should be adequately equipped for that too.

To be honest, I haven't been keeping up with hardware trends over the last few years, so I'm honestly a bit lost on which direction to take. Should we go with Intel or AMD? We were also thinking about waiting a couple of months before buying an SSD if that extra cash could be better spent on a superior GPU or processor.

We have some rough ideas of what this setup might look like, but nothing is set in stone yet; everything is subject to change:

CPU: ?
MBO: ?
GPU: GTX 950 or GTX 960 (depending on what fits the budget and what makes more sense given the software requirements mentioned above—I'd appreciate your thoughts on this)
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 1x8 GB 1866 MHZ (we can easily add another 8 GB later if it turns out to be necessary)
HDD: Toshiba 1TB
SSD: ?
PC Case: Bitfenix Nova Midi (Window)
PSU: ? (though I suspect someone would find something sufficient for $150)

Monitor: Samsung or DELL

As I mentioned, the absolute limit is $2567. It’ll be a cash purchase. Your valued suggestions can come from any store across the US since everything will most likely be ordered and paid for via COD. It isn't even an issue for us to drive over to a major city like Chicago to pick things up. And no, all components don't need to come from the same retailer. Feel free to mix and match.

We truly appreciate the help 🙂

Processor
For the case, I’d suggest picking up something slightly more robust or better equipped (at minimum a Zalman Z3 or a Koolink DeathClaw, but you could go higher with premium options like a Fractal R4/Define S or even a TT Suppressor 31)
SSD - grab a Samsung EVO 250GB from a retailer that offers a 5-year warranty
As for the power supply, you have plenty of ways to go: the CS450M (it's Gold rated, modular, and a great price at Micro Center) or the Hyper M 500W (which gives you modularity and a 5-year warranty), or just a standard non-modular unit (cheaper, and still carries a 5-year warranty), or an XFX TS 450W (solid price and a 5-year warranty)

The motherboard really depends on your budget - this one and this one are both excellent deals for what they cost

If you want to go this route:

Intel XEON E1231 V3 — basically a repackaged i7 without the integrated graphics.
LC CC 95 — honestly, you don't strictly need this if you've got a decent case and the stock cooler, but hey, having lower temps and a quiet rig isn't a bad idea at all.
KINGSTON 2X8 GB 1600 MHZ (16GB) — RAM is super cheap right now, and even an SSD—if you ask me—is worth the extra cash. Prices are dropping anyway, and if you haggle, you might even snag a better deal.
GIGABYTE B85M DS3H-A — a solid board with USB 3.0, SATA 3 support, and it can handle up to 32GB of RAM. It fits the budget and the goal perfectly.
TOSHIBA P300 1TB SATA 3
GIGABYTE GTX 950 2GB GDDR5 — there's really no point in jumping to a GTX 960; the tiny performance boost isn't worth it. $117 For someone just playing games here and there, paying more for maybe 10% extra power doesn't make sense.
LG DVD-RW SATA
FORTRON HYPER 500W 80+ — a classic choice here. It's reliable, quiet, comes with a 5-year warranty, and has plenty of connectors, so adding an SSD or another drive later is easy. Plus, this build won't pull much power—you'll likely stay under 200W even at full load.
COOLERMASTER 452 SILENCIO USB 3.0 — a beefier case with a more classic look. It’s pretty well-sealed against dust, has decent cable management, a toolless design, and enough room for longer graphics cards.
AOC LED IPS I2476Vwm 1080p — features anti-flicker, an AH-IPS panel, and both VGA & HDMI ports. You can find more info about it online.

= $2573total, including shipping and assembly.

@ Kimberly Gomez34, graniteharbor85

Wow, I have to say, I was honestly left a bit stunned by those recommendations.
I had no idea that Xeon-i chips were even an option alongside Haswell, Skylake, and the rest. I always assumed they were strictly reserved for servers. If anyone doesn't mind, could I get an explanation as to why a Xeon might be a good call here?

Regarding the CPU cooler, it’s actually not a bad choice at all. I completely overlooked one of the most important factors when I was listing my needs: silence. That's on me. For what it's worth, I'm running an LC-CC-95 in my own rig right now and I'm pretty happy with it.

We hadn't initially planned on jumping up to 16GB of RAM, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have the extra headroom. Her 3D modeling work isn't incredibly demanding right now, but who knows what the landscape will look like in three or four years? We need this PC to last.
We'll hold off on the SSD for now then.

The motherboard looks good to me. Same goes for the HDD. I'm not entirely sure if we'll pull the trigger on a drive, but since it's cheap, it might be worth grabbing just to have it on hand.

The power supply caught my eye too. The quiet operation and the modularity are 👍

Now, the case... that's where things get a little complicated. The girl is very visual about these things, so she’s set on specific cases that catch her eye. Personally, I wouldn't have any issues with the CM Silenc—I'd probably sell a kidney for that case—but she's a different story entirely. So, let's keep hunting for cases to see if anything else hits the mark, though she likely won't want to shell out more than about $150 for the same thing.

The monitor situation is basically the same headache as the case. She's got her heart set on those Samsung and Dell models and she just won't budge 😬

"Budget" Xeon chips are actually built on the exact same silicon as mainstream quad-core Intel processors (like the i5 and i7 series). They utilize the same standard consumer sockets; the main difference is that Xeons (for the most part) lack integrated graphics—which actually helps with slightly lower TDP and temperatures—and they support server-grade RAM. Plus, they’re typically higher binned chips—click here. Of course, you'll see a few models that vary by just 100MHz; that's really just filler to expand the product lineup and create more "options." The primary reason anyone recommends them to you is quite simple: for some reason, they end up being several dozen dollars cheaper than their mainstream counterparts
.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. 👍

If you're looking at cases, maybe check out something like a Bitfenix, Zalman Z1 neo, Z3 +, Z9 neo, Z11 neo, Koolink DeathClaw, Coolermaster K350 / 380, or even an Antec GX 505.

I have a feeling a lot of them won't be a hit because they all sport that aggressive "gamer" aesthetic. Honestly, the Z3 probably stands the best chance; it looks much more understated, plus it’s an absolute steal for the price. That new Bitfenix model has a nice minimalist vibe, so she might actually dig the CM, the R4, or even the F31... they all share that same clean, Fractal-inspired style.

Listen, guys, this whole thing with the PC case is becoming a massive headache, for heaven's sake. It’s better to just leave about $167 extra in the budget so she can pick one herself. Why on earth would we waste our nerves over 😬

Anyway, I've finally settled on these specs for her build:

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury Red 1x8 GB - she claims she doesn't need 16GB 🙄 🍿 But fine, whatever, it's easy enough to add more later, along with an SSD.
MBO: GIGABYTE GA-B85M-DS3H-A
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 950
HDD: Seagate 1TB 64MB Cache
PSU: Corsair CS450M

We're looking at roughly $500 here, which leaves plenty of cash left over for her to grab whatever monitor or case she actually likes. And maybe some fancy lights if she's feeling the urge.

So, gentlemen, my sincere thanks for all the advice and for pointing me in the right direction regarding what to look for when assembling this bucket of bolts.
Don't take it personally that I ended up doing things "my way" in the end, but orders came from the top, and there's nothing I can do about that. 🙂

If I need anything else from you lot, I'll be in touch.

Have a pleasant rest of your evening 🙂

IMO:

If you're planning on sticking with 8GB of RAM, you might be better off grabbing that cheaper B85m Pro3 motherboard instead. You could even save some cash by picking up a more budget-friendly power supply—something like a Hyper 500W or an XFX 450W—if that helps you fit an SSD into the budget right away. Honestly, you aren't really losing much performance by making those swaps.

One Intel Core i7.
One Gigabyte B85M micro-ATX motherboard. S1150 socket, DDR3, with VGA, HDMI, DVI, USB 3.0, LAN, and SATA III.
One SanDisk 120GB SSD, plus a Kingston Fury SATA 3 2.5".
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
One XFX TS 450W power supply, 80+ Bronze rated. It puts out 60mj.
One Zalman Z1, black USB 3.0, with dual 120mm fans.
One set of Kingston DDR3 1600MHz, CL11, 16GB (2x 8GB sticks).
ASUS Nvidia GeForce GTX 950, 2GB GDDR5, 128bit
One 90mm 4-pin CPU cooler, works with Intel or AMD.
Just an AOC 24" LED monitor. Comes with VGA and HDMI. Has that anti-flicker tech, too.
Total: $2602

I’d do it this way—you get an SSD right out of the gate.
Futura.

If you need one, just grab a USB drive. 👍