FS: Best Mid-Range Gaming PC Build

ScenicDrive7 · 10-22-2014, 06:10 PM

$1,700 -- Best Mid-Range Gaming PC Build

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CPU Intel Core i5-4670K
Motherboard MSI Z97 Gaming 7
Memory 8GB Kingston HyperX FURY DDR3 1600MHz
GPU MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming
Case NZXT Phantom 530
Boot Drive Crucial MX100 512GB SSD
Optical Drive OEM DVD Drive
PSU XFX XTR 650W Gold PSU
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
OS Windows 7 64-bit

Core Component Details

CPU – Intel Core i5-4670K

It’s been almost a year since the initial launch of Intel’s Core i5-4670K and it’s still the best mid-range gaming CPU on the market today. Featuring Intel’s latest Haswell architecture, the Intel Core i5-4670K is a quad core processor with a base clock of 3.4GHz and turbo clock of up to 3.8GHz. Being a K series processor, the Intel Core i5-4670K also comes with an unlocked multiplier which can also be overclocked by as much as 15%-25% depending on luck and cooling capacity.

Motherboard – MSI Z97 Gaming 7

Based off the new Z97 chipset, MSI’s Z97 Gaming 7 is a LGA 1150 socket motherboard supporting the latest 4th and upcoming 5th generation Intel Core processors. Aside from the drop dead gorgeous looks of the board, the Z97 Gaming 7 includes MSI’s now fairly standard set of features such as MSI’s Military Class 4 components which include Hi-c CAPs, Super Ferrite Chokes, Dark CAPS, DrMos4 mosfets, and MSI’s Gen 4 fabric PCB, which improves durability, stability, and overclocking potential of the motherboard.

Additional features include support for SLI/CrossFire multi-GPU configurations, Killer E2205 Gigabit LAN, 8x USB 3.0 ports (4x in rear I/O, 4x internal headers), 8x SATA 6Gb/s with M.2 SSD support, 3x PCIe x16 slots, and 4x PCIe 1x slots. MSI has also significantly upgraded the audio subsystem on the Z97 Gaming 7 with what they call “Audio Boost 2″, which include a number of features to improve onboard audio such as a partially separated PCB, high quality Nichicon capacitors, dual TI headphone amps, and the option to connect an external 4-pin molex connector to deliver more stable power to the audio system.

Memory – 8GB Kingston HyperX FURY DDR3 1600MHz

Rated at 1600MHz, the Kingston HyperX FURY are a perfect blend of price and performance and with Kingston’s limited lifetime warranty, the memory is practically ensured to last the life of the system.

In addition to the good looks of the memory, Kingston is also using a new low profile heatspreader design which will allow larger CPU air coolers to fit without issue.

Case – NZXT Phantom 530

First seen at Computex last year, the NZXT Phantom 530 is an extremely functional case that supports not only ITX, mATX and ATX motherboards, but also support extra large E-ATX motherboards as well. There’s also room for up to 8x expansion slots, 3x 5.25″ bays, and 6x 2.5″ or 3.5″ bays with an extra dedicated 2.5″ SSD mount, plenty of space for cable management, and 444mm of clearance for those with ultra long GPUs.

Of course with all those hot components, we need some serious cooling as well which is why NZXT outfitted the Phantom 530 with both an included 200mm and 140mm fan. However, those who need additional cooling will be happy to know that the Phantom 530 also includes mounting spots for up to 10 fans depending on the size of fans used. Water cooling fans will be happy to note that there’s also space for mounting watercooling radiators as well, including NZXT’s Kraken X60 with its massive 280mm radiator. Those wishing to mount additional fans will also have the option of using the included 30w fan hub to power up to 10 fans as well to not only help reduce cable clutter, but also electrical load on the motherboard.

GPU – MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming

The MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming is MSI’s custom implementation of AMD’s Radeon R9 290 which includes a factory overclock to 1007MHz boost out of the box, higher quality components, as well as MSI’s highly regarded dual slot Twin Frozr IV cooler.

In testing, the MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming 4GB impressed us with its performance, running most of our games at high-ultra settings at 1920×1200 without issue. At higher resolutions, the MSI R9 290 Gaming was also still able to keep up thanks to its large 4GB framebuffer.

Storage – Crucial MX100 512GB SSD

The Crucial MX100 is currently one of the best value SSDs on the market today. Based on Micron’s latest 16nm Synchronous MLC NAND and the same Marvell 88SS9189 controller found on the high performance Crucial M550, Crucial is capable of squeezing up to 550MB/s sequential reads and 500MB/s sequential writes for the 512GB edition of the drive despite it being a mainstream oriented drive.

10-22-2014, 06:10 PM	#1
ScenicDrive7 Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: NJ Posts: 2,499	FS: Best Mid-Range Gaming PC Build $1,700 -- Best Mid-Range Gaming PC Build CPU Intel Core i5-4670K Motherboard MSI Z97 Gaming 7 Memory 8GB Kingston HyperX FURY DDR3 1600MHz GPU MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming Case NZXT Phantom 530 Boot Drive Crucial MX100 512GB SSD Optical Drive OEM DVD Drive PSU XFX XTR 650W Gold PSU CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO OS Windows 7 64-bit Core Component Details CPU – Intel Core i5-4670K It’s been almost a year since the initial launch of Intel’s Core i5-4670K and it’s still the best mid-range gaming CPU on the market today. Featuring Intel’s latest Haswell architecture, the Intel Core i5-4670K is a quad core processor with a base clock of 3.4GHz and turbo clock of up to 3.8GHz. Being a K series processor, the Intel Core i5-4670K also comes with an unlocked multiplier which can also be overclocked by as much as 15%-25% depending on luck and cooling capacity. Motherboard – MSI Z97 Gaming 7 Based off the new Z97 chipset, MSI’s Z97 Gaming 7 is a LGA 1150 socket motherboard supporting the latest 4th and upcoming 5th generation Intel Core processors. Aside from the drop dead gorgeous looks of the board, the Z97 Gaming 7 includes MSI’s now fairly standard set of features such as MSI’s Military Class 4 components which include Hi-c CAPs, Super Ferrite Chokes, Dark CAPS, DrMos4 mosfets, and MSI’s Gen 4 fabric PCB, which improves durability, stability, and overclocking potential of the motherboard. Additional features include support for SLI/CrossFire multi-GPU configurations, Killer E2205 Gigabit LAN, 8x USB 3.0 ports (4x in rear I/O, 4x internal headers), 8x SATA 6Gb/s with M.2 SSD support, 3x PCIe x16 slots, and 4x PCIe 1x slots. MSI has also significantly upgraded the audio subsystem on the Z97 Gaming 7 with what they call “Audio Boost 2″, which include a number of features to improve onboard audio such as a partially separated PCB, high quality Nichicon capacitors, dual TI headphone amps, and the option to connect an external 4-pin molex connector to deliver more stable power to the audio system. Memory – 8GB Kingston HyperX FURY DDR3 1600MHz Rated at 1600MHz, the Kingston HyperX FURY are a perfect blend of price and performance and with Kingston’s limited lifetime warranty, the memory is practically ensured to last the life of the system. In addition to the good looks of the memory, Kingston is also using a new low profile heatspreader design which will allow larger CPU air coolers to fit without issue. Case – NZXT Phantom 530 First seen at Computex last year, the NZXT Phantom 530 is an extremely functional case that supports not only ITX, mATX and ATX motherboards, but also support extra large E-ATX motherboards as well. There’s also room for up to 8x expansion slots, 3x 5.25″ bays, and 6x 2.5″ or 3.5″ bays with an extra dedicated 2.5″ SSD mount, plenty of space for cable management, and 444mm of clearance for those with ultra long GPUs. Of course with all those hot components, we need some serious cooling as well which is why NZXT outfitted the Phantom 530 with both an included 200mm and 140mm fan. However, those who need additional cooling will be happy to know that the Phantom 530 also includes mounting spots for up to 10 fans depending on the size of fans used. Water cooling fans will be happy to note that there’s also space for mounting watercooling radiators as well, including NZXT’s Kraken X60 with its massive 280mm radiator. Those wishing to mount additional fans will also have the option of using the included 30w fan hub to power up to 10 fans as well to not only help reduce cable clutter, but also electrical load on the motherboard. GPU – MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming The MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming is MSI’s custom implementation of AMD’s Radeon R9 290 which includes a factory overclock to 1007MHz boost out of the box, higher quality components, as well as MSI’s highly regarded dual slot Twin Frozr IV cooler. In testing, the MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming 4GB impressed us with its performance, running most of our games at high-ultra settings at 1920×1200 without issue. At higher resolutions, the MSI R9 290 Gaming was also still able to keep up thanks to its large 4GB framebuffer. Storage – Crucial MX100 512GB SSD The Crucial MX100 is currently one of the best value SSDs on the market today. Based on Micron’s latest 16nm Synchronous MLC NAND and the same Marvell 88SS9189 controller found on the high performance Crucial M550, Crucial is capable of squeezing up to 550MB/s sequential reads and 500MB/s sequential writes for the 512GB edition of the drive despite it being a mainstream oriented drive.