im thinking of building another pc with money i won in a chess tournament and i really dont know if i should go gpu heavy or more of a balanced rig i also have no idea what to buy, any ideas? (primarily a gaming build btw)
How about this?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/r6LddC
Total: $2145.89
It is a little bit over budget, but the extra $150 really gives it that premium feel.
Do you want to go AMD or Intel?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/f3P8bv
... that original $2000 budget really gives it that premium feel :P
- better CPU Cooler, much better PSU... if you don't like the case, you've still got plenty of options in the ~$110 range that are very nice... that enthoo case is just overpriced as hell... and the Hitachi Deskstar is a more reliable 2TB drive than the Caviar Black... I said it... I could completely redesign the whole build, but I figured I'd show you what "premium feel getting knocked off" looked like...
$2000 and no SLI? Well, I say that. What would be better, dual 770-780s or a 780ti?
why would he SLI? just causes problems... and a 780ti can run most games single monitor at 4k ultra...
Of you're going for gaming then go GPU heavy. With $2000 there's not much of a reason you can't have a decently balanced machine with a lot of graphics power. unless you really need a shit ton of ram for video rendering.
Here's my list. Probably needs a couple more fans.
Leon the Loner has the right idea. Gaming mostly relies on a GPU. That is why going AMD is often a good idea for gaming machines. At a $2,000 budget you should be able to get a solid Intel system, but if gaming is your primary use, dedicate a lot to the GPU.
FYI, I have an OLD 8150 8-core AMD processor paired with a GTYX-660ti, and my machine games far more smoothly than another i7 2700k with a Radeon 7770. You need some serious graphics hardware before you will see any CPU bottle-necking in most games.
Hitachi Deskstars were called "deathstars" for a reason. I think Seasonic 2TB commercial grade is fine, and they only cost $100. I put them in everything. I would go Toshiba over Hitachi. From the stats I have seen, both Hitachi and Samsung have higher defect rates in spinning HDs. WD is fine, but you are right that the "Black" drives have substantially higher failure rates. I think it is because they are low-volume "performance" drives.
I saw a test bench for HDDs on some site... forget... I'm at work, I'll dig it up later... with 1TB/2TB Hitachi Deskstars lasting at a 99.7% after 2 years, 99.4% after 3 years...
the nearest competitor was WD Black drives at ~97%
Seagates had about 79% after 3 years...
I think I've seen factual studies that literally disprove EVERYTHING you just said lol :P
The Hitachi Ultrastar drives aren't so hot, however...
http://blog.backblaze.com/2014/01/21/what-hard-drive-should-i-buy/
Deathstar, huh?
I was off on the numbers a bit... but look at the 36 month survival rate...
for 2k i'd pick up a 295x as a grafx card
is the 200 dollar case really necessary otherwise i like it
i kinda want something small im going to college next year and i wanna save space in my dorm
how bout this? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BCQwyc
Well, the prodigy is still pretty damn big.
I'm going to put a plug for the Node 304. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcanode304bl
if you have 2000 dollars dont just blow it just because. with cards past the r9 290 the price to performance plummets. it isnt worth it if you ask me unless you have everything else with your set up already awesome. do you have a 1440p or high refresh rate monitor? do you have nice speakers? Also the fans that come with most all in ones are noisy and if noise is equalized their value next to high end air coolers diminishes.
and heres a case to consider. it it is well designed and comes with 2 quality fans to start with.
http://www.amazon.com/Phanteks-Enthoo-Chassis-Window-PH-ES614P/dp/B00K6S1B3Q
If you're looking for something small:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XtDnyc
Whenever I do a build I always try to leave room for expandability, but if you want a comparable case for less the Enthoo Pro will always treat you right.
The Enthoo Pro still has more radiator options than most cases out there.
Why did you put an i7 in there? Last I heard i7's were overkill for video games and you can get away with just an i5. Unless you're rendering of course.