oMew wrote Hey TTG, it's been a while since I've been on these forums after the JTAG/RGH Forum was taken down, so I'm back looking to convert over to PC. I have around a $1000 budget overall for the build. I have already gone out and gotten the case (NZXT 410 Phantom in White), motherboard (MSI Z97-Gaming 5), and the RAM (Corsair Vengeance 2x8gb Blue). Aesthetically speaking, I would like this build to be White/Blue/Black, albeit the bits of read from the motherboard's heatsink. I've already made a parts list, and I would like some input on what I have so far before I make any changes. Ideally, I would like to lower the cost down if possible.

Some help is needed whether or not I should get a 960 GTX or a 970 GTX. I'm also having trouble picking out a PSU, modular/semimodular is preferred.

This build is going to be mainly used for general gaming, Photoshop CS6, some work in Visual Studios, as well as school work.

PCPartPicker part list: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
Price breakdown by merchant: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($91.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($125.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($113.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($314.00 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($81.12 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1078.05

Well obviously if you can afford it get the gtx 970 because it is easily the most bang for your buck, also if you purchase a second one down the road it will blow away any gtx 980s for almost the same price point

It's a shame that you've already bought some components, because you've wasted money. MSI Z97S SLI Krait is cheaper than the Gaming 5 and would have matched your colour scheme. 8GB RAM would've made more sense, since it would've allowed you to get an i7/Xeon which would be more benefit in editing/rendering, than the extra RAM is going to. The case is old and not very great, would have been better off with a more recent case, like the H440 or a Define series case. Will you be overclocking or not? How much of your budget do you have left for the components you haven't bought yet? Don't get a GTX 960 btw. R9 285 and R9 280X both out-perform GTX 960 and are around the same price, sometimes cheaper.

Sanctyy wrote It's a shame that you've already bought some components, because you've wasted money. MSI Z97S SLI Krait is cheaper than the Gaming 5 and would have matched your colour scheme. 8GB RAM would've made more sense, since it would've allowed you to get an i7/Xeon which would be more benefit in editing/rendering, than the extra RAM is going to. The case is old and not very great, would have been better off with a more recent case, like the H440 or a Define series case. Will you be overclocking or not? How much of your budget do you have left for the components you haven't bought yet? Don't get a GTX 960 btw. R9 285 and R9 280X both out-perform GTX 960 and are around the same price, sometimes cheaper.

I'm most likely going to overclock, nothing crazy, but I am looking to keep it higher than stock. My remaining budget is somewhere around $600. It really isn't an issue for me to send the motherboard back, now that I see that Z97S SLI Krait, and I'm completely fine with buying another case down the road.

If you can send what you've already bought, back for a refund then it would be better, but you don't need to. You're going to have to give me your budget for what is left to purchase though. I understand your budget is around $1k but how much have you already spent?

Sanctyy wrote If you can send what you've already bought, back for a refund then it would be better, but you don't need to. You're going to have to give me your budget for what is left to purchase though. I understand your budget is around $1k but how much have you already spent?

I've only spent about $300