Desktop for $1k

[Oldman731]

Give or take.  I've got a nice monitor, so it's just a question of the machine.

While I understand that rolling your own is probably the preferred route, I've neither the ability nor the inclination to do so.

Recommendations?

- oldman

[Gman]

There are a couple of build threads here from the last month or two that'll be pretty instructive IMO, I'll look for them and link them later tonight.  It CAN be done, you do have to pick your battles with the build, but I know a member here built a nice system with a 970 extremely capable video card, as in one of the top 2 or 3 available right now, in addition to a decent drive, 8 gb of decent ram, good PSU and so on.  

It was Kool's thread near the bottom, and for just over 1000$ he built the following, IMO a great, solid, build with good components.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Not yet purchased)
Video Card: 970 video card - not sure which he bought.
Case: Corsair C70 Military Green (Green) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply


You can always PM/email Skuzzy as well, he knows a lot about which components are good and which are crap, as well as obviously being able to tell you what AH will be best suited for.  There are many other guys here that will help you out here I'm sure as well.  Something along the above lines is what you COULD do for around 1000$ish, and that'll run almost every game out there at max, or close to it.

So far as the roll your own deal, most places will assemble your components and load your OS and current drivers as well.  The place I've used for years does so for 40$, which saves me getting piles of boxes and the several hours of unpacking and building, which is easy enough, but doesn't come with one important advantage - if any components are DOA, they are immediately replaced when choosing this route of assembly, plus they burn it in for 48 hours to make sure it all works before shipping it.  This is the route I would go, the above system or something similar, and have a reputable business assemble and install for you.  Easy peasy.  The above build you can save probably 150$ by selecting a cheaper case and a 7200rpm spinner drive as well, if you want to save some $, but still have the FPS capability of the above.

[Mitchell]

Since you have no desire to build your own system, try these guys http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

They have a lot of good reviews and a lot of free/cheap upgrades right now for their current sale.

My only problem with them is I don't like the look of the towers they offer.

[Masherbrum]

There are a couple of build threads here from the last month or two that'll be pretty instructive IMO, I'll look for them and link them later tonight.  It CAN be done, you do have to pick your battles with the build, but I know a member here built a nice system with a 970 extremely capable video card, as in one of the top 2 or 3 available right now, in addition to a decent drive, 8 gb of decent ram, good PSU and so on.  

It was Kool's thread near the bottom, and for just over 1000$ he built the following, IMO a great, solid, build with good components.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Not yet purchased)
Video Card: 970 video card - not sure which he bought.
Case: Corsair C70 Military Green (Green) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply


You can always PM/email Skuzzy as well, he knows a lot about which components are good and which are crap, as well as obviously being able to tell you what AH will be best suited for.  There are many other guys here that will help you out here I'm sure as well.  Something along the above lines is what you COULD do for around 1000$ish, and that'll run almost every game out there at max, or close to it.

So far as the roll your own deal, most places will assemble your components and load your OS and current drivers as well.  The place I've used for years does so for 40$, which saves me getting piles of boxes and the several hours of unpacking and building, which is easy enough, but doesn't come with one important advantage - if any components are DOA, they are immediately replaced when choosing this route of assembly, plus they burn it in for 48 hours to make sure it all works before shipping it.  This is the route I would go, the above system or something similar, and have a reputable business assemble and install for you.  Easy peasy.  The above build you can save probably 150$ by selecting a cheaper case and a 7200rpm spinner drive as well, if you want to save some $, but still have the FPS capability of the above.

Here is the build I created for him and $1000 is not possible (even building it himself he would be around the cost below with an SSD) and I damn near echoed your build bro, without even knowing it ahead of time.   But if you are going to build one, I cannot recommend this build enough.

Configuration #: 1GF6HT
Configuration URL: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1GF6HT
Product Name: CyberPower Z97 i5 Configurator (NO MONITOR)
Price: $1,391.00
_____________________________ _____________________________ ____________

*BASE_PRICE:[+715]

CAS:Corsair Carbide 300R w/ USB 3.0 [+30]
CD:24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CPU:Intel® Core™ i5-4690K 3.5 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150 (All Venom OC Certified) [+20]
CS_FAN:Maximum Corsair AIR Series AF120 Performance Edition 120MM High Airflow Case Fan [+39] (Maximum Corsair AIR Series AF120 Performance Edition 120MM High Airflow Case Fan)
FAN:* Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler w/ PWM fan  - Efficient Cooling Performance [-3]
HDD:256GB ADATA SP610 SSD + 1TB SATA III Hard Drive Combo [+97] (Single Drive)
KEYBOARD:AZZA Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard
MEMORY:8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/2133MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance [+43])
MOTHERBOARD:* GIGABYTE Z97X-UD3H-Black Edition ATX w/ Intel GbLAN, 3 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 1 PCI, 1 x M.2, 1 x SATA Express, or 6x SATA 6Gb/s (Extreme OC Certified) [+75]
MOUSE:AZZA Optical 1600dpi Gaming Mouse with Weight Adjustable Cartridge
OS:None - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY
POWERSUPPLY:750 Watts - Corsair RM750 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Fully Modular Ultra Quiet Power Supply [+96]
SERVICE:STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR [3 Year Labor, 1 Year Parts] LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
VIDEO:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Maxwell) [+279] (Single Card)

Since you have no desire to build your own system, try these guys http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

My only problem with them is I don't like the look of the towers they offer.

Because you have to go into the configurator and scroll down to change cases.   You are no by no means stuck with any case, it comes down to how much.   The Corsair case I chose for Oldman was below and was $30 up from the stock one.   

[Rob52240]

Bought my 5th computer from cyberpowerpc.com last weekend.  I was able to find a plain case that I liked.  I spent a bit more than 1k and it runs AH with full everything @ 60FPS solid.

[Bizman]

---
So far as the roll your own deal, most places will assemble your components and load your OS and current drivers as well.  The place I've used for years does so for 40$, which saves me getting piles of boxes and the several hours of unpacking and building, which is easy enough, but doesn't come with one important advantage - if any components are DOA, they are immediately replaced when choosing this route of assembly, plus they burn it in for 48 hours to make sure it all works before shipping it.  This is the route I would go, the above system or something similar, and have a reputable business assemble and install for you.  Easy peasy. ---

This is IMO the best advice for anyone not capable or willing to build by themselves. Small independent builder shops usually are run by gamers, being interested in building the best for a certain budget and they can use any brand of components you wish.

[Rob52240]

Friends of mine have used IbuyPower.com and they were happy with what they got.

Check out Falcon-NW.com if you want to see how much a person can possibly spend on a computer.  They even offer custom painting.

[tunnelrat]

The one thing you should take away from this, no matter what else you buy, is GET A GTX 970!!!

Although, I have yet to see one actually sold for less than $330... that card will do you for a LONG time.

[Masherbrum]

cyberpowerpc.com and ibuypower.com are owned by the same person.

[Rob52240]

The one thing you should take away from this, no matter what else you buy, is GET A GTX 970!!!

Although, I have yet to see one actually sold for less than $330... that card will do you for a LONG time.

That's what I just bought and I agree.  Best value card right now is the 970.

[DREDIOCK]

Since you have no desire to build your own system, try these guys http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

They have a lot of good reviews and a lot of free/cheap upgrades right now for their current sale.

My only problem with them is I don't like the look of the towers they offer.

I think too much emphasis is placed by most people on the look of the case considering people are going to be spending only 1% of the time looking at the case itself. I mean really. How often does on sit there and admire their case?.
The primary factor in choosing a case is whats on the inside. Does it do what you want? How difficult is it to work on when you want to install or swap things out. What kind of airflow does it have? And thats it. 

Other then the positioning of the power button and ports or anything else inside related. Lights, windows and design  are all just yadda yadda yadda.
Beyond that Its whats in the inside component wise thats important.

Its nice to have a cool looking case. Dont get me wrong But a cool looking case with garbage components is just a cool looking case with garbage components.  On the other hand a machine with great components but a garbage looking case is still a great machine.
And great looking cases usually come with a higher pricetag. If money is an issue I'd rather have an ok looking case at lower cost and see the added funds put toward better components to go in it.

If money isnt an issue.. Have at it

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I think too much emphasis is placed by most people on the look of the case considering people are going to be spending only 1% of the time looking at the case itself. I mean really. How often does on sit there and admire their case?.
The primary factor in choosing a case is whats on the inside. Does it do what you want? How difficult is it to work on when you want to install or swap things out. What kind of airflow does it have? And thats it. 

Other then the positioning of the power button and ports or anything else inside related. Lights, windows and design  are all just yadda yadda yadda.
Beyond that Its whats in the inside component wise thats important.

Its nice to have a cool looking case. Dont get me wrong But a cool looking case with garbage components is just a cool looking case with garbage components.  On the other hand a machine with great components but a garbage looking case is still a great machine.
And great looking cases usually come with a higher pricetag. If money is an issue I'd rather have an ok looking case at lower cost and see the added funds put toward better components to go in it.

If money isnt an issue.. Have at it

I like to have a black or grey minimalistic case which has no design. Just a box with clean lines and a mesh front like this fractal design case. Cheap, simple but effective.

[Bizman]

+1 for the two above. Getting a Stars and Stripes case painted by children in China has no artistic value in my eyes. Even copying the idea and layout and painting it yourself would be an entirely different thing in my eyes. But as has been said, functionality comes first, looks is something to be added when everything else has been honed to perfection.

[Rob52240]

+1 for the two above. Getting a Stars and Stripes case painted by children in China has no artistic value in my eyes. Even copying the idea and layout and painting it yourself would be an entirely different thing in my eyes. But as has been said, functionality comes first, looks is something to be added when everything else has been honed to perfection.

Those are made in the US.  Their paint jobs cost hundreds to thousands of dollars in addition to the high cost of their high end computers but they will also paint the whole system any way a customer wants it with automotive paint.

[Bizman]

Those are made in the US.  Their paint jobs cost hundreds to thousands of dollars in addition to the high cost of their high end computers but they will also paint the whole system any way a customer wants it with automotive paint.

Oh, didn't know they are painted in the US or that they can be painted by the customer's idea. I must admit the latter adds some credibility to the end user.

Anyway, the painting doesn't make the computer run better.