G33k-Blog: Build A KickAss Gaming PC Build for Under $1200

Choosing the right hardware can sometimes be difficult for those wanting to build a new PC, so I decided to craft together a KickAss PC that's under a $1200. My philosophy in building computers is that you never want to build a system and skimp on any one component because you don't want a lopsided rig when it comes to performance. The parts I've put together in this build are not only for a person who games, but someone who does a lot of content creation on their computer and wants the most bang for their buck given the price restriction.

-Chris Zele

Processor:

I chose an Intel Haswell i5-4670k as my processor since it's a quad-core part and less expensive than Intel's 4770k by almost $100. The 4670k sports 6mb of L3 cache the same as the 4770k and boasts 4-cores and 4-threads and an unlocked multiplier. The chip can overclock easily to around 4.5GHz and is a great option those looking for a budget performance.

Motherboard:

I went fairly cheap on the motherboard as this ASUS Z87-A board has everything a power user really needs and it's super-duper cheap. The mobo supports SLI, has 2 SATA-III ports along with 4 SATA-II ports, and 4 USB 3.0 ports too. This ASUS board is only $130 and as it offers SLI with both cards running in PCI-Express 3.0 x8 it's definitely a great value for this build.

Heatsink:

Cooling is always very important and it doesn't need to be very expensive as there are many different options for builders to choose from. I went with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo for this build as it has a great price to performance ratio and it's cost $35 which is a small price to pay for excellent cooling. Maximum PC gave it a 10/10 in their review of it a few years ago which is a rarity as they've only given four 10's ever since their beginnings in the 90's. To read the review of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo Click here.

RAM:

I chose 8GB of Corsair XMS3 because performance doesn't improve that much if you're using Corsair Vengeance or XMS3. When you're purchasing Vengeance you're paying more for the RAM's fancier heatspeaders than you are for a performance boost. Corsair's XMS3 RAM is usually $10 to $15 cheaper too.

Video Card:

The most important component when you're gaming, editing photos, or using any multimedia program is your video card. I went with an MSI GTX 760 Gaming card as it is overclocked right out of the box and can max out 95% of all current PC games at 1920x1080 while still getting 60FPS.

Case:

I went with a Corsair 200R as it provides adequate cooling with two fans stock and great cable routing along with 2 USB 3.0 ports. Corsairs's 200R is super cheap at $60 and also has awesome cable routing and tool-less drive bays. The 200R is like a Honda Civic, it may not look like much but it will last forever.

Power Supply:

For the power supply I selected a Corsair TX750 750 watt power supply as the price difference over the TX650 was only $30 more. The TX750 is more than enough to handle a 3570k and a 660 Ti, and it can also handle an SLI setup too down the road.

Storage:

For my SSD I went with a Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB SSD because it's one of the cheapest fastest SSD to boast sequential read and write speeds of 530MB/s and 445MB/s respectively. The SSD comes with a 3-year warranty. I ditched mechanical storage as it would add to much cost to my build and I wanted to go for performance not practicality on this build.

Optical Drive: