Hello, over the past year and a half or so I've been looking for parts to build a solid gaming rig to replace this overpriced scam of a laptop I am currently using. (No dedicated GPU, Intel HD Graphics 3000 is driving me insane) I plan to get working on the build within the month or shortly afterwards. So here's the general info about my future build formatted from the Build a PC forum guidelines:
- As the title suggests, I plan to have a budget of around $1000-$1200, $1250 is the absolute maximum.
- I live in the United States, and use USD currency.
- I currently have no real preference towards a retailer, I have used Newegg before and have had no issues.
- I recently purchased a Razer DeathAdder 2013 gaming mouse and am more than happy using it, however, I am going to be needing a new keyboard (see below about peripherals.)
- Primarily I will be gaming, heavily. I may do some light video editing with Sony Vegas in the future and rendering occasional Photoshop pictures, but gaming is the most important with regards to the build.
- I would LIKE the ability to overclock probably just the CPU if, in the end, my budget allows.
- With regards to water-cooling, it is my first build, so, I don't want to bite off more than I can chew, so, I would like to have the capacity to be able to water-cool later down the line.
- I already have a Windows 7 copy on here, so I'm probably just going to transfer everything on this laptop to my build and replace the laptop's OS with a Linux distro.
With regards to gaming:
- With my current setup, just being able to RUN games that were released after 2008 I would be pleased with, but, in all seriousness, I would like to be able to run current-gen games at High to Ultra settings and get a constant 60 fps or higher. The GPU I have currently chosen down below I'VE HEARD should be able to deliver that. (I would also like to avoid screen-tearing)
- I would like to play at a 1920 x 1080 resolution.
- I like to play shooters, platformers, puzzlers, RPG's, open-worlds, and strategy games (you can see my Steam library here: http://steamcommunity.com/id/tunaftw/games?tab=all ) But first-person shooters are the big one for me.
- Specific games I'll be playing: Far Cry 3 seems to be the most intensive game on my wishlist, if that helps.
With regards to rendering:
- Applications I will be using to render are mainly Sony Vegas Pro 12 and Photoshop CS6, I don't expect myself to be using these heavily, but I want to make sure they would have little issues with my rig.
- I don't plan to render full-on movies, but possibly a YouTube video or Photoshop picture here and there.
With regards to peripherals:
- For my keyboard, I believe I think a Mechanical Cherry MX Brown switch gaming keyboard would work for me the best. I don't plan to use macros at the time of building and programmable keys aren't necessary, just as long as I can game and type with no issues and has a good pricetag and build quality.
- I am more than satisfied with my DeathAdder 2013 mouse.
- I play mainly FPS games, I don't expect to get into WoW anytime soon.
- I'm looking for a 1920 x 1080 60hz monitor, good build quality, no fancy viewing angles (I would like to be able to change the vertical angle however), preferably 23'' wide, a fair pricetag, and I could care less about VESA. Though I think the monitor I have chosen already down below meets that description.
Other Notes:
- At the time of posting, here is my current part list:
- (6/5/14) http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WMHfhM
- Like I have said this is my first build. A few of my colleagues are also PC enthusiasts, but they seem to have a lack of knowledge about building within my price range (when they build, they build at the $600 budget, or have no budget at all, no in-between.)
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I welcome all advice or criticism. If I was unclear about what I have posted so far, feel free to ask me to clarify.
Happy building!