The time has come…

[ATMINSIDE]

+1 as well. If he could add maybe another $50 to that price tag and just upgrade to a 4GB for the GPU, I think would be better because he wants this rig to be long term.

Also, check out the review of the ASUS ROG Striker Platinum GTX 760 Graphics Card Review our member did. Great performer and trailing right behind the GTX 770.

Yeah, 4GB would be a great idea actually.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp42768kr
There's the 4GB variant of the same GPU. I'd say its worth the $40.

And the ROG Striker is a great option as well, its got a hefty factory OC and a nice cooler.

 

[Theocnoob]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3FwP5

That's what I would build for your requirements.

I liked my build better. He doesn't need the SSD and intel cores beat AMD cores for gaming. No offense or anything.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I liked my build better. He doesn't need the SSD and intel cores beat AMD cores for gaming. No offense or anything.

Yes, except yours still needs an OS.

Some people actually like sticking to their budget, also.

 

[EarthDog]

intel cores beat AMD cores for gaming

Not usually. They are really close for most titles... AMD Octo's actually pull ahead when recording (not that this person is doing that, but just saying).

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Intel/Core_i7-4770K_Haswell/8.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7003/the-haswell-review-intel-core-i74770k-i54560k-tested/6 (civ is quite CPU heavy... as is that genre for the most part)
more from that genre - http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2013/06/01/intel-core-i7-4770k-cpu-review/6

 

[Theocnoob]

Some people actually like sticking to their budget, also.

But if going $50-100 over budget makes your system perform that much better, why not go for it?

With an OS and my build he's about $70 over budget. Not a big deal IMO.

 

[EarthDog]

"Budgets. They are made to be broken." - That should be a meme.

If those are the titles he plays, I can agree with that assessment. If he does not, that is a poor assessment.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

But if going $50-100 over budget makes your system perform that much better, why not go for it?

With an OS and my build he's about $70 over budget. Not a big deal IMO.

Why not? Not everyone can afford $50-$100 over budget.
You don't know the OP's situation, and $1000 might already be a stretch, or it might be a drop in the bucket.

If you're going over budget say "here's one in your budget, but I recommend X".

$70 might not be a big deal to you, but it could be make or break for someone else.

Also, this is for MMO gaming, which isn't overly GPU intensive anyway. The 760 will handle any MMO out, and then some.

 

[Theocnoob]

Also, this is for MMO gaming, which isn't overly GPU intensive anyway. The 760 will handle any MMO out, and then some.

You make good points about 70 bucks being over budget for someone. As far as the build being only for MMOs, why would someone spend $1000 on a machine with limitations? If the OP buys a machine with a better GPU, it leaves headroom for other games. I was initially never interested in racing games, RPG's, god games, etc but I was introduced to them and fell in love with the genres. Someone may only be into MMO today but if he gets into FPS (which are more demanding) tomorrow it's nice to know that he can throw in Metro: Last Light and get half decent performance. JM2C.

 

[EarthDog]

Well in that case, lets get him a 4930K... 'you never know when one can get interested in encoding'.

I hear ya, I do, but that really isn't our problem. The OP lays out what his wants are. Our members do not mind read contrary to popular belief.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

You make good points about 70 bucks being over budget for someone. As far as the build being only for MMOs, why would someone spend $1000 on a machine with limitations? If the OP buys a machine with a better GPU, it leaves headroom for other games. I was initially never interested in racing games, RPG's, god games, etc but I was introduced to them and fell in love with the genres. Someone may only be into MMO today but if he gets into FPS (which are more demanding) tomorrow it's nice to know that he can throw in Metro: Last Light and get half decent performance. JM2C.

And the 760 will easily handle any other games, especially at 1080p.

Its simply naïve to think that an FX-6300 and GTX 760 is a "limitation" for a gaming machine.

 

[Theocnoob]

Its simply naïve to think that an FX-6300 and GTX 760 is a "limitation" for a gaming machine.

No need to get insulting, ATM.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

No need to get insulting, ATM.

Not meant as an insult, just looking at price/performance here.

 

[Bobnova]

Not sure I'd worry about 2GB/4GB on a 760. Seems like it'd run out of guts to wrap textures around polygons before it'd run out of ram to store textures. Unless of course SLI, but that's probably over budget too!
Don't forget it's just a 670 with a new name (as opposed to a 680 with a new name, the 770), 670 to 680 was often a shaky upgrade.

 

[Theocnoob]

Not sure I'd worry about 2GB/4GB on a 760. Seems like it'd run out of guts to wrap textures around polygons before it'd run out of ram to store textures. Unless of course SLI, but that's probably over budget too!
Don't forget it's just a 670 with a new name (as opposed to a 680 with a new name, the 770),

100% agree on that

670 to 680 was often a shaky upgrade.

Can you explain what you mean by this? #curious

 

[Bobnova]

A 670 that OC'd very well and was on the 680 PCB was typically close to or better than a stock 680, but cost a lot less. If the new 680 didn't OC well you were gaining a few percent performance for 20-35% more money.

 

[Val155]

Wow I'm learning a lot! Thank you so much! I was planning on installing my Windows 7 that I have now on my new machine as well instead of upgrading to Win 8. Also, I'd rather have a 4gb vs 2gb Gpu if I can stay in budget. I didn't realize ssd's were so $$. I also plan on playing the mmo's wildstar and Everquest next. I really want to stay within budget at this time.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Wow I'm learning a lot! Thank you so much! I was planning on installing my Windows 7 that I have now on my new machine as well instead of upgrading to Win 8. Also, I'd rather have a 4gb vs 2gb Gpu if I can stay in budget. I didn't realize ssd's were so $$. I also plan on playing the mmo's wildstar and Everquest next. I really want to stay within budget at this time.

Make sure your Windows 7 key can support multiple installations before counting on that.

Did you buy it in a brick & mortar store, or from an etailer?

 

[Theocnoob]

I didn't realize ssd's were so $$.

SSD's are as cheap and plentiful as Coca-Cola nowadays. They used to cost $3+ per GB. Now we are far below $1 per GB on most models.

 

[ninjacore]

SSD's are as cheap and plentiful as Coca-Cola nowadays. They used to cost $3+ per GB. Now we are far below $1 per GB on most models.

That's still a pretty stiff price when compared to HDDs, but even so, I consider an SSD a must with any new build. Even just grabbing an $80 840 EVO (120gb) will make a world of difference.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Again, after talking to some pro IT guys they laughed at me when I had told them I had everything except an SSD. Grab an SSD for this build no matter what. You WILL feel the difference. Pointless going with a mechanical for OS. Don't bother upgrading at all than. And yes stick with the 4GB GPU for future proofing if you're spending it all on this and won't be doing anything for the next 3-4+ years. If you ever need more juice, grab one used so I suggest grabbing a 4GB reference GPU since they are more common and easier to find.