[Build Ready] $900 1080p Gaming Machine with SSD and mirrored storage.

PCPartPicker Part List

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Requirements and Use:

• Play new games at 1080p with medium-to-high settings (not max).
• SSD for a fast and responsive OS.
• Large amount of mirrored storage.
• Buying from US.

Budget:

• $600 to $1000.

CPU:

Research and Reasoning:

• I arbitrarily chose Intel over AMD to reduce research time.
• Intel Nomenclature: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/processor-numbers.html
• The current Intel sockets are LGA 1150 (a.k.a. Socket H3) and LGA 2011-v3
• The current Intel architectures are Haswell and Broadwell. Broadwell is too new and expensive.
• Intel brands by increasing performance: Celeron, Pentium, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7

Resulting Requirements:

• Intel, LGA 1150, Haswell, 4 cores

CPU Cooler:

• The CPU I chose has a cooler, so I think I don't need to buy one.

Thermal Compound:

• Arctic Silver 5 seems to have good ratings.

Motherboard:

Requirements:

• 3 SATA 6 Gb/s
• 6 back USB ports (add-in card acceptable)

Memory (RAM):

Research and Reasoning:

• The current tech is DDR3 DIMM 240 pin and DDR4. DDR4 is too new and expensive.
• I can imagine using 16 GB of RAM when gaming and programming.

Resulting Requirements:

• 16 GB of DDR3 DIMM 240 pin RAM

Storage:

Research and Reasoning:

• I considered having 2 SSDs in a RAID 0 (striping) configuration, but I found that you get more performance by spending the same amount on a single larger SSD.
• http://techreport.com/review/22358/ssd-performance-scaling-across-the-spectrum
• http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-raid-benchmark,3485.html
• I plan to have 1 SSD for OS and programs, and 2 HDDs in a software-level RAID 1 (mirroring) for data.
• (I have external drives and backup software for backups. The mirroring is just for mirroring.)
• All drives should support SATA 6 Gb/s.
• Need 2 TB mirrored space.

Resulting Requirements:

• One SSD with at least 400 GB and SATA 6 Gb/s
• Two HDDs each with at least 2 TB and SATA 6 Gb/s

Video Card / Graphics:

Research and Reasoning:

• I arbitrarily chose Nvidia over ATI to reduce research time.
• GeForce Nomenclature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce# Nomenclature
• Current GeForce Series: GeForce 900 series
• Current GeForce Architecture: Maxwell

Resulting Requirements:

• Nvidia GeForce 900 series

Case:

• I'm not sure how to choose a case.
• How do I put dust filters on this?

Power Supply:

• Probably want modular for increased airflow.

Optical Drive:

• Need to read blu-ray

Monitor:

• I already have a 1080p monitor.

Operating System:

• I already have Windows 8.