The Sonic Zone Computer Building Thread

[Wolfy]

Come on, guys. I know all of SonicZone would love to have a computer with one of these installed:




But unfortunately, many don't wish to go the extra mile for a pre-built computer with crazy specs cause of that damn insanely high price. The usual alternative is the glory of building your own computer, yet many can't find proper specs for a good price. That is why this thread exists. If there's already a thread like this, then I hereby am a jackass for doing this but it's not my fault that one is dead.

In that case, Welcome, to the:

SonicZone Computer Building Thread

This thread exists as a place of organization for those that need advice/help on building computers, or those who are attempting to build their own computer within a specific price range. If you've assembled a cheap and powerful build and wish to post it here, feel free to do so! This thread is also here to clear up misconceptions about building proper PCs for accomplishing tasks such as gaming and video editing. You can discuss new hardware entering the market here as well. Please feel free to make requests for certain builds if you have a price range in mind.

If you would like to submit a build, please follow the template below. Make sure to include the price and a link to a site where the item can be purchased, preferably Amazon or Newegg. Including a case in your build is optional, however. If you include an SSD in your build, please make sure to display it as such. I'll add them straight to the build index as soon as I see them. Warning: Prices might differ between countries.

Motherboard:

Graphics Card:

RAM:

Processor:

Power Supply:

Storage Drive:

Optical Drive:

Case:

Total Price:

Example:

Motherboard: ASUS H81M-A LGA 1150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132044
Price: $65

With that said, Happy hunting! I hope to see some great builds for you guys, and hopefully, lots of you getting the machines you want!

~Build Index~

All the builds you post will be added here!

Build by: Wolfy
Name: Wolfy-002

Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VI Hero LGA 1150, Z87
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131989R
Price: $170

Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB, PCIe 3.0 w/ EVGA ACX Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130933
Price: $250

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB(2x4GB) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
Price: $92

Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell, 3.4GHz, LGA 1150, 84W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899
Price: $240

Power Supply: Corsair TX Series TX650 650W, Haswell Ready, Bronze Certified
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Price: $119

Storage Drive: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148910
Price: $109

Optical Drive: LG Black 12X Internal Blu-Ray drive model UH12NS30-OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136268
Price: $46

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
Price: $99

Total Price: $1125

(I swear this build was cheaper when i bought it, lmfao)

Build by: Wolfy
Name: The Baxter's Boldest


Motherboard: ASUS H81M-A LGA 1150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132044
Price: $60


Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB, PCIe 3.0 w/ EVGA ACX Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130933
Price: $250

RAM:Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148540
Price: $69

Processor: Intel Core i5-4430 Haswell 3.0GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116895
Price: $190

Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W - Haswell Ready
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044
Price: $80

Storage Drive:Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
Price: $65

Optical Drive: LG Internal Super Multi Drive 24X - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136270
Price: $22

Recommended Case for Price: Antec VSK-4000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129187
Price: $40

Although you should probably use a case that you like the look of. My recommendation is only there in case you're looking for a cheap but good one.

Total Price: $736
With case: $776

Build by: Sapphire
Name: Red Iris
Price Range: High End
All Prices in AUD, USD prices in parentheses

Motherboard:
ASUS Maximus VI Formula
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23631&zenid=0bda5bd78d44b130610f3cab3975bc2a
Price: $449.00 (USD $299 on Newegg)

Graphics Card:
ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=24153&zenid=0bda5bd78d44b130610f3cab3975bc2a
Price: $849.00 (USD $699 on Newegg)

Memory: Anything ~8GB+ @ 1600MHz

CPU:
Intel Core i5 4670K
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23495&zenid=0bda5bd78d44b130610f3cab3975bc2a
Price: $272.00 (USD $240 on Newegg)
CPU Cooler:
Corsair Hydro Series H100i
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22307&zenid=0bda5bd78d44b130610f3cab3975bc2a
Price: $149.00 (USD $64 on Newegg)

Power Supply: Anything ~550-600w+ - 80 Plus Certified

Storage Drive 1:
SanDisk Ultra Plus 128GB Solid State Drive
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_902_909&products_id=23754
Price: $109.00 (USD $94 on Newegg)
Storage Drive 2:
Seagate Barracuda 2TB
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19554&zenid=0bda5bd78d44b130610f3cab3975bc2a
Price: $99.00 (Same in USD)

Case:
Cooler Master HAF X
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_31&products_id=14840
Price:$199.00 (Same in USD)
(Any alternative is okay)

Total Price: $2126.00 (USD $1694.00)

[Tanassy]

Build by: Sapphire
Name: Red Iris
Price Range: High End
All Prices in AUD.

Motherboard:
ASUS Maximus VI Formula
Price: $449.00

Graphics Card:
ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II
Price: $849.00

Memory: Anything ~8GB+ @ 1600MHz

CPU:
Intel Core i5 4670K
Price: $272.00
CPU Cooler:
Corsair Hydro Series H100i
Price: $149.00

Power Supply: Anything ~550-600w+ - 80 Plus Certified

Storage Drive 1:
SanDisk Ultra Plus 128GB Solid State Drive
Price: $109.00
Storage Drive 2:
Seagate Barracuda 2TB
Price: $99.00

Case:
Cooler Master HAF X
Price:$199.00
(Any alternative is okay)

Total Price: $2126.00

For anyone asking, this is my personal build. As for why it's missing parts, well, all of the other parts are no longer available at my store. As for Optical Drive, it's no longer a needed component, thanks to Steam.
yes, I realise this is a high-priced build, but it's also a really good build. I choose parts that have a good price/performance ratio, a good feature set, and my PC is focused on forward thinking, a little thing I think you should all respect when it comes to PC building. It's all well and good to get a cheap PC, but the beauty of picking your own parts is in giving your rig a life expectancy.

If anyone needs help in the kinds of components needed for certain types of builds, come to me. Whether it's gaming, art, video editing, or all of the above, there's a sweet spot for all of them. Just don't get cheap on your parts, because a poor build will bite you in the ass, and there's nothing you can do about it.

It's also important to note that building a PC requires three things.. the first is patience. The second is a good, static-free area to set things up in and tools to get the job done, a screwdriver generally being sufficient. The third is a little more tricky, and it's that you need to know what you're doing. If you're ever stuck or confused during your build, don't experiment. Always ask or consult the internet for help.

[Trigger215]

Building the MaximumPC September 2013 budget build with Win8.1 Preview. I forgot the specs, however. If I can, I'll modify this post to include them.

[Wolfy]

Building the MaximumPC September 2013 budget build with Win8.1 Preview. I forgot the specs, however. If I can, I'll modify this post to include them.

Nice setup but I have to argue that some of these specs aren't exactly as good as you could get. For instance, it's better to use an nVidia/Intel combo rather than AMD/Intel. If you wanna use a Radeon card you should likely go for an AMD processor but that's just my opinion. IMO my build (The Baxter Boldest, specifically) would perform better than this while retaining a cheaper price. While a price for a case isn't included, I may add specific cheapass options or a personally recommended case in the future.

[TheGameNinja]

I really do not like Windows 8, but should I just break down and get it anyway? Or should 7 still be a decent option?

[Wolfy]

I really do not like Windows 8, but should I just break down and get it anyway? Or should 7 still be a decent option?

IMO don't choose something you aren't used to or not willing to adapt to. In terms of overall use of a computer and getting the most out of your hardware, Windows 8 will not make a difference, so you aren't really obligated to upgrade. The choice of 7 or 8 is entirely up to you, though I would choose Windows 7.

[Sloggy]

[TheGameNinja]

So as far as the actual building of the PC, is there anything one should know? I mean the actual assembling of parts into the computer.

[Wolfy]

So as far as the actual building of the PC, is there anything one should know? I mean the actual assembling of parts into the computer.

Follow the motherboard and case manuals the closest, they'll be the biggest help. If you need anything else, it wouldn't hurt to ask someone like me or watch a video on building.

[TheGameNinja]

For video editing and gaming, how does this look? Found it on Reddit and the description for what it's supposed to do was near identical to what I need.

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

[Wolfy]

For video editing and gaming, how does this look? Found it on Reddit and the description for what it's supposed to do was near identical to what I need.

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

You can get the same exact thing for far cheaper. For one, you won't need a separate CPU cooler aside from stock unless you plan to overclock(which I'm sure you don't.) Next, a full tower case is REALLY big. I'd say if you want a good form factor, go for a mid tower or a micro-ATX. As for RAM, I wouldn't go for anything above 8GB unless you're planning to use a RAMDisk.

I have a similar(but far cheaper) build to this up in the Build Index, titled The Baxter's Boldest(lolcory) You might wanna look into that, since it uses many of the same parts but is more than 500 dollars cheaper. If you still have a lot of money on you though, you can try the first build I posted, which is a bit stronger than The Baxter's Boldest(and is the same build I'm currently running right now).

Good luck with whatever you pick, anyways.

[TheGameNinja]

You can get the same exact thing for far cheaper. For one, you won't need a separate CPU cooler aside from stock unless you plan to overclock(which I'm sure you don't.) Next, a full tower case is REALLY big. I'd say if you want a good form factor, go for a mid tower or a micro-ATX. As for RAM, I wouldn't go for anything above 8GB unless you're planning to use a RAMDisk.

I have a similar(but far cheaper) build to this up in the Build Index, titled The Baxter's Boldest(lolcory) You might wanna look into that, since it uses many of the same parts but is more than 500 dollars cheaper. If you still have a lot of money on you though, you can try the first build I posted, which is a bit stronger than The Baxter's Boldest(and is the same build I'm currently running right now).

Good luck with whatever you pick, anyways.

To be fair, it would help if those builds listed what they were designed for. You guys might be able to look at the parts and know what it's capable of but it's gibberish to me. @_@

I plugged your first build into pcpartpicker and it came out a little cheaper than what you've got listed.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2yb14

Now, I'm probably going to go with Windows 8 64 bit, but there's a few different versions of that. There's a standard one, Professional, etc. Which one should I get?

[Wolfy]

To be fair, it would help if those builds listed what they were designed for. You guys might be able to look at the parts and know what it's capable of but it's gibberish to me. @_@

I plugged your first build into pcpartpicker and it came out a little cheaper than what you've got listed.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2yb14

Now, I'm probably going to go with Windows 8 64 bit, but there's a few different versions of that. There's a standard one, Professional, etc. Which one should I get?

Yeah, I think it sort of would help if I labelled that, lol. Then again, you can usually tell just from looking at the parts.

As for my build turning out cheaper on the part picker, that's likely cause my prices were all from Newegg(which is where i bought my parts) and I got them all from there so they could ship the same day.

As for your question regarding Windows 8, there's a list of feature differences between the regular and Pro versions here. From what it seems, I'd say the regular edition is more worth it. Most would bash Windows 8 entirely but I'm going to respect your preference.

What I will note though is that Windows 8 apparently can have several incompatibilities with technologies such as USB 3.0 and parts that aren't specifically optimized for Windows 8. I haven't gotten first hand experience with any of these issues myself, but I've heard they get quite nasty. What I would do is keep two partitions on my hard drive or SSD and have Windows 8 on one, then Windows 7 on the other for compatibility reasons. If you wanna give Windows 8 a shot though, knock yourself out.

[TheGameNinja]

Ch-ch-ch-changes: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2yFVA

[Wolfy]

Ch-ch-ch-changes: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2yFVA

This is a quite nice build for the most part, but the biggest issue with it appears to be the processor you selected. Eight cores might be a nice investment for the future, but as of now, there are hardly any applications and/or games that take advantage of a processor with more than four cores. Despite how cheap that eight core is, it won't have much practical use in the things you described. If you REALLY want a core amount higher than four, I would say go down to six, since there are a few things that support six. For price though, it would be better if you just used a quad core processor with a high clock speed(since you need to keep in mind that clock speed is a VERY important factor)