The no-build, new build...

[FLS]

Are the R290's still having that issue? I remember AMD changed the fan profile for the r290 quite awhile ago and were calling it fixed ...... but I dont have one so I'm just curious .. With AMD's prices dropping on the 290 and 290X... they look like a great bang for the buck cards.

The only other thing that crossed my mind was the monitor being equipped with G-sync...... if thats the monitor he wants..... id prolly  lean towards Nvidia so i could use that feature .

Setting the fan to 100% may cool it more but if it gets too hot I believe it will still declock. Better then frying.

[Rolex]

It's easy to see how being out of the loop on the current crop of parts can make building a system a crap shoot. The building part is easy, it's making uninformed/wrong choices on parts that's the killer. Thanks for the input so far. I appreciate y'all taking the time to help.

I like eye candy and fps.
I don't like heat problems.
I don't want to overclock.

I'll try to make another list...

[FLS]

I haven't had time to look more but Tomshardware.com does regular  recommendations for high end systems, I just grabbed the current one. They may have a single gfx card system spec'd that would suit. They also have a monthly best cpu and best gfx card for the money at different price ranges.

[j500ss]

Rolex

Look at this one.  It runs AH just fine for me.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bdG4wP

[Bruv119]

Hate these threads makes me want to spend my hard earned cash  ,  I could rebuild my whole machine for <500 quid and it would last another 5 years.  Plus revamp the B-list machine that could also run AH very well.     

Will need a wingman to fly on it though!   

[Bizman]

Rolex, since you don't seem to have nothing against the actual building process, why not use pcpartpicker.com to compile something and then let those who know better evaluate it? Something like j500ss has is a good starting point to fine tune the parts list to suit your needs and budget.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Here's a quick setup from Amazon:

1 SeaSonic Platinum  PLATINUM-860 ; SS-860XP2 Power Supply $164.99
1 Fractal Design Define R4 Cases, Black Pearl (FD-CA-DEF-R4-BL) by Fractal Design $84.99
1 EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 Graphics Card $554.99
1 WD Red 3 TB NAS Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, SATA III, 64 MB Cache - WD30EFRX $114.00
1 Samsung SATA 1.5 Gb-s Optical Drive, Black SH-224DB/BEBE $20.15
Microsoft Windows 8.1 - Full Version by Microsoft $104.46
1 Intel Core i5-4460 Processor 3.5 GHz LGA 1150  $189
1 Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2) $35.41
1 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5 Grams $7.81
1 Kingston HyperX FURY 16GB Kit (2x8GB) 1866MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM - White (HX318C10FWK2/16) $139.79
1 ASUS Z97-A ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97-A by Asus $144.99

For less than 1600 bucks you get a killer system. This setup will murder the i7/Radeon 280 Xfire system and I even squeezed a legal OS to the price.

Then if you want an SSD, the motherboard has an M2 PCI-express port for an M2 PCI-E SSD card. You get 10Gbps connectivity for superior i/o compared to SATA drives.

Add another 260 bucks for Samsung XP941 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD MZHPU256HCGL

I'm a big fan of the Fractal Design boxes. I love the simplistic look and the features are not bad either: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5a5ZjF986M

The R5 case is even more impressive but at extra 30 bucks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRZIdbdcIiU

[FLS]

Nice list. 

[38ruk]

Hate these threads makes me want to spend my hard earned cash  ,  I could rebuild my whole machine for <500 quid and it would last another 5 years.  Plus revamp the B-list machine that could also run AH very well.     

Will need a wingman to fly on it though!   

I know .... now im looking at cases to replace my 13 year old antec 1080 amg lol...... didnt even cross my mind till the cases were talked about in here lol.

[Rolex]

Great stuff, thanks <S>.
I'll cobble up a list based on all the input.

[Rolex]

So, here's what I ended up getting:

i-5 4690 3.5Ghz
Asus Z97-DELUXE
PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Seagate Constellation ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0
Zalman 850W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Antec G500 Window case w/ a couple extra fans
Win 8.1
Total was just over $1,500
Monitor: BenQ XL2720Z  27" 144Hz 2ms (Started with a 27" at 60Hz,  but return it for this. Beautiful monitor.)

Amazon dropped off CH Pro pedals and Saitek X-52 Pro at the door a few hours ago... I'll see if I can get it set up and try to get online tonight...!

[pembquist]

This seems to be a good thread to ask a simple question. Looking at the digital storm website is it possible to build their 700 900 dollar machines for any less than it costs to buy them?

[FLS]

Looks good Rolex, let us know if you hit any snags.

This seems to be a good thread to ask a simple question. Looking at the digital storm website is it possible to build their 700 900 dollar machines for any less than it costs to buy them?

Make a list and price it on amazon or a similar site. If your cost is higher it may be that you picked higher quality parts. In general, their profit is your savings.

[Rolex]

The house looks like a landfill with boxes, Styrofoam, plastic wrap, cardboard and junk everywhere. It might take longer to clean it up than shopping and putting this thing together.   

[FLS]

The house looks like a landfill with boxes, Styrofoam, plastic wrap, cardboard and junk everywhere. It might take longer to clean it up than shopping and putting this thing together.   

Grab the leaf blower and open the front door.  Mind the cat.