time to start putting my master race together.

[Masamunemaster]

Recently I have been picking up some hours at work, and thought why not start buying stuff to get my desktop started? There are two main points to this thread, first a good place to buy from, and help with specs.

First of all, I heard that newegg was a good site to buy from, but before I get into something this costly I wanted to check with my friends here that are more versed in the trade. I'm not looking to spend thousands, but about 600 would be fine by me.

Now for what I'm hoping for, I would like something that could run stuff like ff xiv smooth, and be able to play games with my buddy on steam without too much trouble. I want to just go ahead and get a 1T hard drive and a decent RAM so I don't have to upgrade for a while. Maybe get a 8g memory, or better. I can get a mouse and keyboard from the local store if there isn't anything to amazing, along with speakers. Of course though you gotta have a good case that looks cool and helps keep it from getting toasty.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Bolivar]

I posted this link in the Gaming Resources thread stickied in General Gaming, I would follow these guidelines with a build:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=835397

A couple cost saving measures:

- A lot of modern games aren't using more than 4GBs of system RAM. You probably want to just get the 8GB now but you really could get a 4GB stick now and get an identical stick later.

- You could also defer a solid state drive. Your OS will boot slower but it won't make too painful a difference when it comes to running games. Grab your 1TB now and maybe try to scrounge up a Solid State at Christmas time.

- The GTX 760 just dropped to $199. It's an amazing card that will run most games you want at 1080p with wonderful framerates, although you probably won't max settings for the most cutting edge games (although maxing everything isn't always necessary for optimal Image Quality).

Newegg is great but keep an eye on Amazon as well, since they can incorporate sellers who ship through Amazon and you can get quick, free shipping past a certain threshold. You could also sign up for a store card or credit card if they approve you to take an extra $50 off your order. You should check things with http://pcpartpicker.com/ as well. Just keep in mind you probably don't want to order from too many sellers to pay a bunch of different shipping fees.

Most importantly, run your build by someone experienced. It's not hard to find somewhere on the internet to post a build so people can tell you if it's actually going to work or not. Don't forget to factor in a Windows license and a monitor.

Good luck (have fun)!

[Masamunemaster]

Ok after a bit of looking and debating this is what I'm thinking of doing.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2mFpVn

Is there anything I'm missing right of the bat, I was thinking sound card, but that would probably be last since its not necessary.

[Carl the Llama]

I would recommend getting a bluray as they aren't that expensive, and you have a 650w PSU which is more then enough for what you have there but I would recommend getting something like a 750 in case you ever get an extra drive and want to SLI your GPU. I would also recommend getting an i5 2500k CPU but its a lot more expensive, at $240 but you can overclock it to 4.3GHz and as far as i5s go, it really is a top range i5. I've had mine for 2 years and think it will last for quite some time (at least another 3 years if not more).

I recently had a problem with my PSU (which was 650w) and I run the following:

2x HDD
8GB RAM
i5 2500k OC'd 4.3GHz
Sapphire 7870 2gb
Bluray Writer

I was told by the chap who replaced it I needed at least a 750w if I was planning on crossfire.

As for sound card it will only be necessary if you plan on getting 5.1 or 7.1 as with the GPU you have the HDMI cable will be able to supply sound from your TV (if you use a TV for a monitor like I do).

[Bolivar]

From a quick glance you might want to spend a little more on a processor but I can't say for sure.

[Carl the Llama]

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-4670K-vs-AMD-Athlon-II-X4-750K/1538vs1548

Here is a link comparing the CPU you listed if you ignore the arrows and take a look at the information there, you will see the i5 is considerably better in almost every department.

[Masamunemaster]

I would get that added, but it says it's not compatible. I changed to a lg blu ray reader dvd cd writer.

I had to also change the motherboard last night, I didn't realize I had put a micro atx. I originally had a 350 per supply but I wanted to go a lil more just in case, and the tower I had didn't have usb up front.

I have been pondering taking the 8g memory to two 4s, maybe put less strain on a singular one. The only thing I'm really worried about is an OS, they aren't cheap for anything good. I want Linux, but I have never ran it, and Windows 7 is around 200.