A Tale Between Two Builds

Budget:
As cheap as possible (Max $1400, but looking to spend less) I do not need a monitor, mouse/keyboard or speakers

Expectations:
I need stability and reliability. Most of our storage is on our NAS, so a 240GB SSD should be plenty to get things going.

Usage:
Gaming and general productivity (web, Office apps). I do not play FPS (generally most GPU intensive genre) and stick with games like Civ 5, Tropico 5 and TellTale's Walking Dead. Not exactly pushing boundaries, but I do run at 1920x1080 so a 2GB card with DVI is a must. With that said, Watch Dogs does look quite interesting and is free with NVidia cards. Not going NVidia just for that reason, but is worth considering.

Special Needs:
Easy access USB 3.0 ports... that is about it.

Saved Ticket #: 981597 and 981896

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm VIRTUE
Processor: Intel Core i5 4590 3.30 GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Z97M-PLUS (Intel Z97 Chipset) (MATX)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance
Power Supply: 500W Corsair CX
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (250GB Samsung 840 EVO)
Graphics Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)

The other option (and second saved ticket) is an AMD build with an FX-6350 and ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS, but otherwise similar to the above. It is roughly $170 cheaper, and although I know the Intel build is faster in most games, I am not sure I will see the $170 difference, making the AMD more tempting.

With price being a concern, though both within budget, any recommendations on overall build?

Second, I know the 750 TI is a low level card, but am I severely hurting myself when spending $30 (or whatever) more would give me a huge jump in performance? My current graphics card is a GTX 260 and have had no trouble with my games.

If your max is $1400, the Vanquish II Ultimate is where to get a kick-butt gaming machine. Once you figure in peripherals and shipping/taxes you're bouncing around just south of your budget line.   

Here is a recent list of suggestions for current generation graphics cards: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7981/best-video-cards-april-2014

The short and sweet of it is AMD has the better price/performance story for graphics cards.

As far as the Intel vs AMD on for CPU/Motherboard, I would go Intel. The AMD does not have any SATA 6Gbps ports nor USB 3.0. The bigger concern is the SATA which won't allow you to get the full benefit of an SSD. Also, for the AMD motherboard you selected, you will need another case. The Corsair 350D supports mini-ITX and micro-ATX motherboards. You AMD motherboard you selected is a full ATX form factor. You could go with the A58M-K, instead, but the same issues of older generation ports is still an issue.

All that said, unless, you really feel you need the smaller form factor of the Virtue, I would suggest a Vanquish Level 3 or Level 4. It is the best deal you will get from DS.

Some people love Windows 8, some hate it. But it comes with improved performance and support for newer versions of DirectX. You can turn off the Metro UI in windows 8.1 fairly easily. Word is that the next iteration will add back a more familiar Start Menu. Anyway, it is something to think about as far as the OS.



Edited by danjw1 - 26 May 2014 at 6:27am

Thanks for the help bprat22 and danjw1. After going back and forth between the Vanquish 3 and 4, I decided to go with the Vanquish 3, sans SSD. I may be too spoiled at this point, as I have been running a 250GB SSD for over two years now in my current PC (a hand-me-down going to the wife since her 5 year old computer is showing its age), but I am going to see how it runs without the SSD. If the experience just begs for the upgrade, I can always add it with the $300 savings between the two and still come out ahead.

I believe your recommendations for the better video card were spot on, and I was probably trying to save too much money now and just hurting myself in the future.

Now I just have to wait for the computer to arrive!