New Build for gaming - need advices

jay628

New member
Hey all, new here and trying to get some help. I want to build a new desktop for gaming and music/movies. I want to keep the budget below $1000 USD, here is what I am thinking, can anyone give me their thoughts about it and where can I even lower the price without sacrificing much performance. Thanks!
( I am living in Hong Kong, so I will list both HKD and conver them to USD)

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 Haswell Refresh $1459HKD approx. 182 USD
Motherboard: ASUS H81M $440HKD approx. 55 USD
(are these good enough or should I go z97?)
Ram: Corsair Vengeance 8Gx1 $599HKD approx. 74 USD
HARD DISK: Seagate Barracude 1TB $420 HKD approx. 52 USD
SSD: Crucial MX100 128GB $599 HKD approx.75 USD
GPU: Asus Strix GTX 960 2GB $1750 HKD approx.219 USD
ROM: Asus BC-12B1ST Blu-Ray Combo SATA DVD Writer Box $499 approx.62 USD
CASE: NZXT PHANTOM 440 $1040 HKD approx.130USD
PSU: Cooler Master GX-2 PRO 550W $535 HKD approx.67 USD
Soundcard: Asus Xonar DSX $399 HKD approx. 50 USD
(Do I even need these if I have external DAC? or the 7.1 sound is still good for gaming when using on board sound?)

So the total price including a Windows 7 is $8630 HKD, approx. 1079 USD

If I want to lower the price to below 1000, where can I sacrifice? Or can you guys give me any suggestions on a better build?

Thanks a lot

-------------------

BTW I know the NZXT case is very expensive, and I coulda saved a lot from there, but I just like it too much...
 
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CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 Haswell Refresh $1459HKD approx. 182 USD
See if you can find a 4570 cheaper, as the Haswell refresh wouldnt be worth the premium for you.

Motherboard: ASUS H81M $440HKD approx. 55 USD
Going to need to be a tad more specific the H line is more than adequate for gaming, you wont be overclocking or anything anyways with that CPU

Ram: Corsair Vengeance 8Gx1 $599HKD approx. 74 USD
Look for a 2x4 GB kit instead

HARD DISK: Seagate Barracude 1TB $420 HKD approx. 52 USD
Seems a bit expensive for only 1TB

SSD: Crucial MX100 128GB $599 HKD approx.75 USD
Good choice, even better driver. Might want to look for a 256GB version though, as 128GB fills up rather quickly.

GPU: Asus Strix GTX 960 2GB $1750 HKD approx.219 USD
Have a look at the AMD r9 290 gpu

ROM: Asus BC-12B1ST Blu-Ray Combo SATA DVD Writer Box $499 approx.62 USD
Since you are on such a low budget, why not just exclude this?

CASE: NZXT PHANTOM 440 $1040 HKD approx.130USD
Perhaps take a look at the NZXT s340 or H440, stunning cases and cheap to boot. Though understandable if you really like the design of the Phantom 440.

PSU: Cooler Master GX-2 PRO 550W $535 HKD approx.67 USD
Dont cheap out on the PSU, have a look at the XFX XTR Series or Seasonic G series etc etc similar cost, much better quality.

Soundcard: Asus Xonar DSX $399 HKD approx. 50 USD

Have you tried using PCpartpicker? Also does it matter if any parts are second hand?
 
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What newbie said although I would like to recommend
ASUS B85 gamer as the motherboard. It even has a good audio circutry and you won't need a sound-card for gaming.
Another option would be B85 Killer by asrock. Also a gaming motherboard with decent audio
 
Thanks for all the advices. really appreciate it.
I am just wondering if theres gonna be a big differences if I lower to budget to even lower like around $800 USD in terms of performance?? Also I would like to build a PC that can be upgraded constantly, is there anyhting speicific part I should be aware of when I am choosing? I never used an AMD GPU before, I am just used to think GTXs r better...for the soundcard, I actually have an external DAC ( Schitt Asgard) for my headphone ( for music purpose), I am wondering if the 7.1 on the Xonar DSX gonna help on gaming.

Posts merged

and for the motherboard i chose, its ASUS H81M-A H81,DDR3*2,LGA 1150,USB3.0,SATA3 6Gb/s,M.ATX[HDMI] to be specific
 
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I have reworked the build a bit and lower the cost to around 900 USD.
Cpu: Intel I5 4460
Motherboard: MSI b85-g43 gaming
Ram: corsair vengeance 8gb
Hard did: WD blue 1 TB
SSD: crucial mx100 256gb
Gpu: Asus strix gtx960 2 gb
PSU: corsair cx600 v2 600w 80 plus
Case: nzxt h440

Any thoughts or suggestions?
 
Seems very good to me, you'll be able to play at 1080 at decent framerates. One thing though, 2x4gb of ram will be better if you wish to get dual channel.
 
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