a new computer for the nerd

[yester64]

Hi, i am thinking of buying a new computer but not sure what computer.
If i go all-in-one i could get an imac. refurb or new. I read that there is a software that allows you to parallel run windows and mac at the same time.
Anyway, i feel like i don't want to build anymore a pc and rather buy one. To be honest, there is not a lot of hardware that i switched on my current pc which i had for 7 years. My psu need to be 2x to be replaced.
Even my graphics card is still ok which is a Nvidia GT8800. Old now but still ok for most games i play.
So what you think. Any suggestions? Is a iMac ok with parallel software for playing and using some windows software or should i rather get a build pc?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[tp4tissue]

4770k

asus z87 pro (no reason to get deluxe, haswell is low power)

2x8gb 2333mhz ram

650watt psu

Nvidia 780 (non-ti) or radeon 290x if you want easier overclocking

Thermaltake Frio, or NH-D14..

Samsung 840 pro 256gb


all this should come out to ~$1400 with a case too..


Should overclock to 4.8ghz easily... smoke anything vendors are selling for double the price


To match this performance at Alienware or Dell,  you gotta pay $3000, and you only get a basic OC of 4.2ghz

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

[JPG]

4770k

asus z87 pro (no reason to get deluxe, haswell is low power)

2x8gb 2333mhz ram

650watt psu

Nvidia 780 (non-ti) or radeon 290x if you want easier overclocking

Thermaltake Frio, or NH-D14..

Samsung 840 pro 256gb


all this should come out to ~$1400 with a case too..


Should overclock to 4.8ghz easily... smoke anything vendors are selling for double the price


To match this performance at Alienware or Dell,  you gotta pay $3000, and you only get a basic OC of 4.2ghz

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

This setting is probably overkill for his needs. Not saying it's bad and it's better to get one that is stronger if you want to keep it for a longer time, but the best is to gauge the amount of time you want to keep it and the performance you need versus how much you want to pay.


Honnestly, my i5 2500K stock is still kicking ass for all I do and it's 2 years old and it was in the 200$ range at that time. So the CPU and GPU TP is suggesting are probably overkill by far, more so if you overclock them. But I think that choosing your parts is a good way to go even if you don't build it yourself. Most "prebuild" computers will have some choices made that are not necessarily the best for you.


My best recommendation is to go to tom's hardware website, look for best cpu/gpu/whatever of the month. They suggest things for different budget. Then orient your choice based on that and common sense and you should be fine.


But the first thing to do is to identify your needs!

[tp4tissue]

4770k

asus z87 pro (no reason to get deluxe, haswell is low power)

2x8gb 2333mhz ram

650watt psu

Nvidia 780 (non-ti) or radeon 290x if you want easier overclocking

Thermaltake Frio, or NH-D14..

Samsung 840 pro 256gb


all this should come out to ~$1400 with a case too..


Should overclock to 4.8ghz easily... smoke anything vendors are selling for double the price


To match this performance at Alienware or Dell,  you gotta pay $3000, and you only get a basic OC of 4.2ghz

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

This setting is probably overkill for his needs. Not saying it's bad and it's better to get one that is stronger if you want to keep it for a longer time, but the best is to gauge the amount of time you want to keep it and the performance you need versus how much you want to pay.


Honnestly, my i5 2500K stock is still kicking ass for all I do and it's 2 years old and it was in the 200$ range at that time. So the CPU and GPU TP is suggesting are probably overkill by far, more so if you overclock them. But I think that choosing your parts is a good way to go even if you don't build it yourself. Most "prebuild" computers will have some choices made that are not necessarily the best for you.


My best recommendation is to go to tom's hardware website, look for best cpu/gpu/whatever of the month. They suggest things for different budget. Then orient your choice based on that and common sense and you should be fine.


But the first thing to do is to identify your needs!

My list offers probably best performance per dollar with the exception of the GPU..

If you change the GPU to something like a nvidia 770 or ati 280,  then it really is the pound for pound king...


Overclocking is really important because it's 37% increase in cpu speed..

if you don't use OC, then performance per dollar drops dramatically..



and the OP was gonna buy an imac, that's at least $1500... and my list will destory any IMAC, or any MAC period...

[IvanIvanovich]

I have to agree. Building a PC is the way to go 95% of the time. The other 5% is for some special scenarios like low end nettops. Well maybe a bit more if you take into bundle/barebones deals... but is it really a prebuilt... I guess you can argue. Sure it takes a little effort to put it together, but I think the difference on the level of hardware you can get for a lower price than prebuilt is easily more than worth it. Macs are a whole other thing. Mostly paying for having official OSX and the Apple aesthetics, though most of their products do have a good build quality compared to other prebuilt. If your aim is to have OSX, then you could also go for a Hackintosh. There are some good lists of OSX compatible parts to make builds with on the cheap.
Also, depending on how much of an upgrade you want, you shouldn't be scared of used market either. You can pick up last gen parts for cheap prices from the people that upgrade every generation to get the extra 5% performance bump. While it's a bit old, I picked up a nice deal a few days ago on a MSI P55GD5 and Xeon X3460 for like $40 shipped. I'm going to take the Xeon for myself and put my i5 in the MSI and upgrade my father. For him it will be a massive upgrade from the Atom PC he has, and the savings is huge compared to new parts.

[noisyturtle]

You can get something that is perfectly suitable for playing all the most technologically advanced games at med-high settings for the next 3-4 years for less than $800. I wouldn't spend much more than $1000.

DO NOT BUY MAC

[dustinhxc]

Dell XPS Series! Im on my 2nd one. Love them.

[yester64]

4770k

asus z87 pro (no reason to get deluxe, haswell is low power)

2x8gb 2333mhz ram

650watt psu

Nvidia 780 (non-ti) or radeon 290x if you want easier overclocking

Thermaltake Frio, or NH-D14..

Samsung 840 pro 256gb


all this should come out to ~$1400 with a case too..


Should overclock to 4.8ghz easily... smoke anything vendors are selling for double the price


To match this performance at Alienware or Dell,  you gotta pay $3000, and you only get a basic OC of 4.2ghz

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

OK that looks like i am building again.

Anyway, do you really need a i7? I am doing nothing really hardcore. Well, i play games but i wonder if an i5 is ok too?

[noisyturtle]

4770k

asus z87 pro (no reason to get deluxe, haswell is low power)

2x8gb 2333mhz ram

650watt psu

Nvidia 780 (non-ti) or radeon 290x if you want easier overclocking

Thermaltake Frio, or NH-D14..

Samsung 840 pro 256gb


all this should come out to ~$1400 with a case too..


Should overclock to 4.8ghz easily... smoke anything vendors are selling for double the price


To match this performance at Alienware or Dell,  you gotta pay $3000, and you only get a basic OC of 4.2ghz

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

OK that looks like i am building again.

Anyway, do you really need a i7? I am doing nothing really hardcore. Well, i play games but i wonder if an i5 is ok too?

The difference between the i5 and i7 is negligible and most games will run the same on both CPU's. Put that money towards a better graphics card.
Check out these numbers, for gaming there is no point right now: http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1061

[Candyflip]

4770k

asus z87 pro (no reason to get deluxe, haswell is low power)

2x8gb 2333mhz ram

650watt psu

Nvidia 780 (non-ti) or radeon 290x if you want easier overclocking

Thermaltake Frio, or NH-D14..

Samsung 840 pro 256gb


all this should come out to ~$1400 with a case too..


Should overclock to 4.8ghz easily... smoke anything vendors are selling for double the price


To match this performance at Alienware or Dell,  you gotta pay $3000, and you only get a basic OC of 4.2ghz

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

OK that looks like i am building again.

Anyway, do you really need a i7? I am doing nothing really hardcore. Well, i play games but i wonder if an i5 is ok too?

The difference between the i5 and i7 is negligible and most games will run the same on both CPU's. Put that money towards a better graphics card.
Check out these numbers, for gaming there is no point right now: http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1061

yea noisy is totally right on this one, i7 has hyper threading which is useless for gaming.

[paicrai]

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

wow can macs do stuff?

[yester64]

btw.. the ram gives me headaches.
If i would get ddr3 3000, its out of my price range.
What is good and will give me a good value?

[yester64]

4770k

asus z87 pro (no reason to get deluxe, haswell is low power)

2x8gb 2333mhz ram

650watt psu

Nvidia 780 (non-ti) or radeon 290x if you want easier overclocking

Thermaltake Frio, or NH-D14..

Samsung 840 pro 256gb


all this should come out to ~$1400 with a case too..


Should overclock to 4.8ghz easily... smoke anything vendors are selling for double the price


To match this performance at Alienware or Dell,  you gotta pay $3000, and you only get a basic OC of 4.2ghz

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

OK that looks like i am building again.

Anyway, do you really need a i7? I am doing nothing really hardcore. Well, i play games but i wonder if an i5 is ok too?

The difference between the i5 and i7 is negligible and most games will run the same on both CPU's. Put that money towards a better graphics card.
Check out these numbers, for gaming there is no point right now: http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1061

yea noisy is totally right on this one, i7 has hyper threading which is useless for gaming.

I changed it to i5-3470 as recommended by ars. is a little cheaper too but seems to have the best value/performance.

[tp4tissue]

4770k

asus z87 pro (no reason to get deluxe, haswell is low power)

2x8gb 2333mhz ram

650watt psu

Nvidia 780 (non-ti) or radeon 290x if you want easier overclocking

Thermaltake Frio, or NH-D14..

Samsung 840 pro 256gb


all this should come out to ~$1400 with a case too..


Should overclock to 4.8ghz easily... smoke anything vendors are selling for double the price


To match this performance at Alienware or Dell,  you gotta pay $3000, and you only get a basic OC of 4.2ghz

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

OK that looks like i am building again.

Anyway, do you really need a i7? I am doing nothing really hardcore. Well, i play games but i wonder if an i5 is ok too?

The difference between the i5 and i7 is negligible and most games will run the same on both CPU's. Put that money towards a better graphics card.
Check out these numbers, for gaming there is no point right now: http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1061

yea noisy is totally right on this one, i7 has hyper threading which is useless for gaming.

useless for "most games".. true....

but.... since the difference in price is only $100, and the difference in well threaded apps is ~20-30% increase..  I'd say objectively, it's worth it since you are getting the $100 worth..


However.. if you are sure to NEVER use threaded apps.. then yea... you can save the $100..

So based on my list... you would drop to a 4570k, and nv 770gtx or radeon 280.

Now... that is around $300 savings.. get one of those nice Lightboost 27" gaming monitors..

[Novus]

Build a PC. I mean if anything, the motherboard quality you get is much higher, has more features and more importantly is standardized ... unlike those gimped OEM motherboards.
Oh and PSU isn't some crappy mass produced foxcon pos with non standard things.

[Candyflip]

4770k

asus z87 pro (no reason to get deluxe, haswell is low power)

2x8gb 2333mhz ram

650watt psu

Nvidia 780 (non-ti) or radeon 290x if you want easier overclocking

Thermaltake Frio, or NH-D14..

Samsung 840 pro 256gb


all this should come out to ~$1400 with a case too..


Should overclock to 4.8ghz easily... smoke anything vendors are selling for double the price


To match this performance at Alienware or Dell,  you gotta pay $3000, and you only get a basic OC of 4.2ghz

No Apple mac can catch this thing... NOT EVEN CLOSE...

OK that looks like i am building again.

Anyway, do you really need a i7? I am doing nothing really hardcore. Well, i play games but i wonder if an i5 is ok too?

The difference between the i5 and i7 is negligible and most games will run the same on both CPU's. Put that money towards a better graphics card.
Check out these numbers, for gaming there is no point right now: http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1061

yea noisy is totally right on this one, i7 has hyper threading which is useless for gaming.

useless for "most games".. true....

but.... since the difference in price is only $100, and the difference in well threaded apps is ~20-30% increase..  I'd say objectively, it's worth it since you are getting the $100 worth..


However.. if you are sure to NEVER use threaded apps.. then yea... you can save the $100..

So based on my list... you would drop to a 4570k, and nv 770gtx or radeon 280.

Now... that is around $300 savings.. get one of those nice Lightboost 27" gaming monitors..

I need an i7 for editing and stuff, also people find it useful for streaming games and whatnot. But other than that I'd say go with the i5 k and spent more on the GPU.

[dustinhxc]

i use i7 3.4ghz for designing..

[kfmfe04]

TL;DR  It depends on how nerdy/geeky you are and in what ways, but Nah - it's definitely NOT necessary to always build a machine...

I've got a bunch of boxes running right now:

1. i7-3770k/asus P7-LX/GTX760 Win8 gaming/Ubuntu vbox machine (built) - mostly for the 32GB RAM that I use for C++ development
2. 2009 27" imac
3. 2009 13" mbp
4. older HP server box running Ubuntu

I've considered turning 1. into a Hackintosh for kicks, but have avoided the hassle.  Over the years, I've also had Dells and built many, many boxes.  FWIW, I'm pretty OS-agnostic, or perhaps more accurately, I like all OSes, but do have a preference for Unix-like OSes and nice GUIs (OSX is still more polished than Ubuntu, but they've improved).

It totally depends on what you are doing - yes, if gaming is your primary concern, then building a box makes sense.  To be honest, if I could only have one of those 4 boxes, I would pick either the imac or the mbp simply for the ability to run OSX, Win8, and Ubuntu easily and hassle-free.  Most of the day, I am using the mbp, with Ubuntu/vbox running on the custom box in the background.

I use OSX 95%+ of the time for its superior GUI (imho) - I'm mostly jumping between Chrome and iterm2/byobu-tmux most of the day.  In the backend, I program C++ on Ubuntu/vbox - don't care what hardware it's running on.  The other 5%, I run dota 2 on the gaming box, but could easily do it on the imac instead, so my custom-build is actually overkill for that purpose.

If you do not need portability, getting an iMac is fine - if you need portability for about the same price, the Retina 13" mbp is good.  For most purposes, CPUs today have enough cores and memory to do what most people need to do - there's no reason to obsess over specs like a crazy fanboi unless you really need them.  Expandability used to be a concern with Apples, but with superfast USB3, Thunderbolt ports, and even WIFI/ethernet networking it's easy to add additional storage - just make sure you get enough memory on your mbps (iMac memory tends to be user-upgradeable so that's OK).

For the OP - yes, you can run many windoze apps directly using WINE (free) - you can check the ones you need here:

http://appdb.winehq.org/

In the worst-case-scenario, you can turn your imac or mbp into a duel-boot OSX/Windoze box or if you don't need gaming performance, easily run Windoze inside a virtualbox in OSX - there are many viable options these days.

EDIT: as far as longevity of these machines, I don't intend to replace the mbp for another 1=2 years (will be 6-7 years old by then) and the imac for probably even longer than that...

[Badwrench]

I agree that you should build your own, you get so much more for the $$.  I also feel that you should have a little fun and do something different.  The build that TP put together is overkill for most people, but if you have the budget, would be a great rig.  The one I put together should be able to pull great frame rates in pretty much every game out there @ 1080p with the settings maxed out. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler:  Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard:  ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory:  GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($169.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($240.30 @ Newegg)
Case:  Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply:  Rosewill Capstone 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1007.20
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-20 20:33 EST-0500)

Pick your OS of choice and go.  You can do the same performance in a larger form factor for a little less, but I like the idea of a relatively tiny computer that is still quite powerful.  Also note that I did not add any storage other than the SSD.  You can add a 2-3 TB for roughly $100 for storage.   

[tp4tissue]

I agree that you should build your own, you get so much more for the $$.  I also feel that you should have a little fun and do something different.  The build that TP put together is overkill for most people, but if you have the budget, would be a great rig.  The one I put together should be able to pull great frame rates in pretty much every game out there @ 1080p with the settings maxed out. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler:  Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard:  ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory:  GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($169.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($240.30 @ Newegg)
Case:  Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply:  Rosewill Capstone 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1007.20
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-20 20:33 EST-0500)

Pick your OS of choice and go.  You can do the same performance in a larger form factor for a little less, but I like the idea of a relatively tiny computer that is still quite powerful.  Also note that I did not add any storage other than the SSD.  You can add a 2-3 TB for roughly $100 for storage.   

I dont' think you'd need an optical drive, you could just reuse your old one..

and the asrock... mmmmm i highly recommend the Asus for overclocking, their bios works better than the asrock.. 

I highly recommend not to get an AIO liquid cooler for the CPU.. it doesn't really give additional  performance/ overclock headroom.. an NH D14 will be way more quiet..

The AIO liquid cooler is however good for graphic cards if you're willing to do a little modding.

[distel]

consider a Intel Xeon E3-1230 v3, 4x 3.30GHz (for 1150)
It's like a Coe I7 4770, 4x 3.40GH without overclocking and 100mhz less, but about 50$ cheeper (at least in Germany).
It about $243.08 in the US (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646e31230v3)
You can order a ceaper board as well as beacause overclocking is no option any more (in germany electricity gets more expensive every year).

Compared to the I5's it got Hyper-Threading (not supported by the most games but if you want to render a video or stuff like that the Xeon will be much better than an I5).

[baldgye]

DO NOT BUY MAC

DO BUY A MAC

[Badwrench]

I agree that you should build your own, you get so much more for the $$.  I also feel that you should have a little fun and do something different.  The build that TP put together is overkill for most people, but if you have the budget, would be a great rig.  The one I put together should be able to pull great frame rates in pretty much every game out there @ 1080p with the settings maxed out. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler:  Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard:  ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory:  GeIL EVO Leggara Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($169.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($240.30 @ Newegg)
Case:  Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply:  Rosewill Capstone 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1007.20
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-20 20:33 EST-0500)

Pick your OS of choice and go.  You can do the same performance in a larger form factor for a little less, but I like the idea of a relatively tiny computer that is still quite powerful.  Also note that I did not add any storage other than the SSD.  You can add a 2-3 TB for roughly $100 for storage.   

I dont' think you'd need an optical drive, you could just reuse your old one..

and the asrock... mmmmm i highly recommend the Asus for overclocking, their bios works better than the asrock.. 

I highly recommend not to get an AIO liquid cooler for the CPU.. it doesn't really give additional  performance/ overclock headroom.. an NH D14 will be way more quiet..

The AIO liquid cooler is however good for graphic cards if you're willing to do a little modding.

The Asrock was chosen based on the price point and the options it comes with.  I figured it would give a nice mild OC, and it had vrm coolers as ITX cases don't have a lot of air flow.  As for the cpu cooler, I went with an AIO due to the space limitations of the psu being right above the mobo.  I know that there are good low profile air coolers, but I don't like the idea of it being mounted 2mm under the psu (pulling very little air). 

[Lanx]

i went with an AMD build, cuz no one does and since 1994 (when i first built my first pc) 65% have been AMD builds
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2FipV
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard:  Biostar TA970 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory:  Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card:  XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card  ($142.99 @ NCIX US)
Case:  Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply:  Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive:  Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer  ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit)  ($94.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $819.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-21 19:27 EST-0500)

yea take out the optical drive if you want, add in a better cooler everyone gets the 212, since it performs well and is super cheap.

[yester64]

consider a Intel Xeon E3-1230 v3, 4x 3.30GHz (for 1150)
It's like a Coe I7 4770, 4x 3.40GH without overclocking and 100mhz less, but about 50$ cheeper (at least in Germany).
It about $243.08 in the US (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646e31230v3)
You can order a ceaper board as well as beacause overclocking is no option any more (in germany electricity gets more expensive every year).

Compared to the I5's it got Hyper-Threading (not supported by the most games but if you want to render a video or stuff like that the Xeon will be much better than an I5).

Sounds interesting. I consider it.
Lower energy cost benefits everyone.

This is how i have it right now. considering every option. Thing is, this will be a second pc since i want to keep the other one as a spare for my wife. I also will need to add a harddrive and a blueray writer.
Not sure about the ram and the harddrive. I always used western but i am open to others. It has to be just a fast drive, especially copying.
Sadly, i can not blow to much on the graphicscard. As i seen the prices i had a shrinking wallet. I am sure they are great but i have to keep it lower. In the end, it can not be than $1500 total.

-   Intel Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell 3.3GHz LGA 1150 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31230V3    $264.99    -$15.00 Instant    $249.99
-   MSI Z87M GAMING LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard       $159.99    -$20.00 Instant    $139.99
-   Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl w/ USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case       $119.99    -$20.00 Instant    $99.99
-   MSI R9 270X GAMING 2G Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card       $219.99         $219.99
-   Rosewill CAPSTONE-650 650W Continuous @ 50°C, Intel Haswell Ready, 80 PLUS GOLD, ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92, SLI/CrossFire Ready, Active PFC Power Supply       $119.99    -$30.00 Instant    $89.99
-   GeIL EVO POTENZA 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2666 (PC3 21330) Desktop Memory Model GPW38GB2666C11DC       $89.99         $89.99
-   SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)       $249.99    -$50.00 Instant    $199.99
-   Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler       $99.99    -$18.00 Instant    $81.99

[Coreda]

If you're interested in a list of well thought-out builds you should check out Hazaro's build list spreadsheet here. There are budgets from $500-$2500 all with relevant notes, and updated weekly. Definitely recommended.

As for buying a Mac, you'll miss out on most Steam games and you won't be getting a beast machine but they work well, have a great OS and in my experience last a long time without significant issues. Try them out and see what you think, otherwise stick with Windows for price-performance ratio.

[PointyFox]

DO NOT BUY MAC

DO BUY A MAC

Lol Mac.  That's like someone asking what kind of car to get for drag racing and someone suggesting a skateboard.

[yester64]

If you're interested in a list of well thought-out builds you should check out Hazaro's build list spreadsheet here. There are budgets from $500-$2500 all with relevant notes, and updated weekly. Definitely recommended.

As for buying a Mac, you'll miss out on most Steam games and you won't be getting a beast machine but they work well, have a great OS and in my experience last a long time without significant issues. Try them out and see what you think, otherwise stick with Windows for price-performance ratio.

Thanks for the link. i am studying now.
Got to say i haven't build in a long time so this is a welcome opportunity to dig in again and see what options are available.

[rowdy]

DO NOT BUY MAC

DO BUY A MAC

Lol Mac.  That's like someone asking what kind of car to get for drag racing and someone suggesting a Rolls Royce.

FTFY

[tp4tissue]

consider a Intel Xeon E3-1230 v3, 4x 3.30GHz (for 1150)
It's like a Coe I7 4770, 4x 3.40GH without overclocking and 100mhz less, but about 50$ cheeper (at least in Germany).
It about $243.08 in the US (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646e31230v3)
You can order a ceaper board as well as beacause overclocking is no option any more (in germany electricity gets more expensive every year).

Compared to the I5's it got Hyper-Threading (not supported by the most games but if you want to render a video or stuff like that the Xeon will be much better than an I5).

Sounds interesting. I consider it.
Lower energy cost benefits everyone.

This is how i have it right now. considering every option. Thing is, this will be a second pc since i want to keep the other one as a spare for my wife. I also will need to add a harddrive and a blueray writer.
Not sure about the ram and the harddrive. I always used western but i am open to others. It has to be just a fast drive, especially copying.
Sadly, i can not blow to much on the graphicscard. As i seen the prices i had a shrinking wallet. I am sure they are great but i have to keep it lower. In the end, it can not be than $1500 total.

-   Intel Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell 3.3GHz LGA 1150 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31230V3    $264.99    -$15.00 Instant    $249.99
-   MSI Z87M GAMING LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard       $159.99    -$20.00 Instant    $139.99
-   Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl w/ USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case       $119.99    -$20.00 Instant    $99.99
-   MSI R9 270X GAMING 2G Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card       $219.99         $219.99
-   Rosewill CAPSTONE-650 650W Continuous @ 50°C, Intel Haswell Ready, 80 PLUS GOLD, ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92, SLI/CrossFire Ready, Active PFC Power Supply       $119.99    -$30.00 Instant    $89.99
-   GeIL EVO POTENZA 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2666 (PC3 21330) Desktop Memory Model GPW38GB2666C11DC       $89.99         $89.99
-   SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)       $249.99    -$50.00 Instant    $199.99
-   Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler       $99.99    -$18.00 Instant    $81.99

DO NOT buy the xeons.. you can't overclock them except on the x79 platform and they're different chips all together.

times have changed.. only  cpu with -K designation can be OCed


4770k, $300,
Asus z87 pro, $200

If you have microcenter you can get the above 2 piece @ $400 total, because of bundle saving.


Ram, 2333/2400mhz $100

PSU, (DO NOT GET ROSEWILL)  something from seasonic (some rosewill are, most are not) $70

GPU, (780, nonti) $500

Case, corsair 330r or a 2xx-r   they're only ~$50... $20 on sale

Trust me a $100 cases are not worth it... waste of money, doesn't perform better because modern hardware runs fairly cool regardless of case.. 

NH-D14, $100, "i've seen $70 on sale"

samsung 840pro $200,  $180 on sale


This adds up to slightly more than $1600 if you bought the parts without deal hunting..

with a little deal hunting..

It should come in below $1500...

The list you posted prior has some large gaps in terms of "best, price to performance ratio"

[paicrai]

Fill out your budget with stuff you want. Sorry for not being super useful, but that should work.

[baldgye]

DO NOT BUY MAC

DO BUY A MAC

Lol Mac.  That's like someone asking what kind of car to get for drag racing and someone suggesting a skateboard.

I sense much butthurt.

[tp4tissue]

DO NOT BUY MAC

DO BUY A MAC

Lol Mac.  That's like someone asking what kind of car to get for drag racing and someone suggesting a skateboard.

I sense much butthurt.

i don't understand which one is the skateboard? 

i mean. the most expensive mac might be overpriced, but it's not a skateboard... xeons are very fast for what it's designed for.

[baldgye]

DO NOT BUY MAC

DO BUY A MAC

Lol Mac.  That's like someone asking what kind of car to get for drag racing and someone suggesting a skateboard.

I sense much butthurt.

i don't understand which one is the skateboard? 

i mean. the most expensive mac might be overpriced, but it's not a skateboard... xeons are very fast for what it's designed for.

I think [100% no sarcasm] that he really dislikes drag racing and feels that skateboarding is morally superior due to having more depth and being more challenging over all.

[tp4tissue]

DO NOT BUY MAC

DO BUY A MAC

Lol Mac.  That's like someone asking what kind of car to get for drag racing and someone suggesting a skateboard.

I sense much butthurt.

i don't understand which one is the skateboard? 

i mean. the most expensive mac might be overpriced, but it's not a skateboard... xeons are very fast for what it's designed for.

I think [100% no sarcasm] that he really dislikes drag racing and feels that skateboarding is morally superior due to having more depth and being more challenging over all.

derrrrr..... vroom vroom??