Hey guys, lots of games are coming soon, and for me it's time to buy a new desktop.

For 4-5 years I've got all my stuff from PCandPARTS, very good company, but I never tried another one, don't know who is actually a competitor.

I'm not a graphics freak, my goal isn't to play the games at maximum settings, but I want something that will be enough for at least the next 5 years.

I already have a screen and a 4TB HDD that I got 2 weeks ago from PCandPARTS, so I don't need these, I'm thinking only of an SSD, like 60GB just for Windows.

So I have 2 things or issues that I want you guys to help me with.

First, deciding the specs of this new desktop:

-No Screen needed
-No HDD needed
-probably even no Keyboard, no mouse (they are cheap anyway).
What I need is:
-Case + Power supply
-Processor
-RAM
-Graphics Card
-Motherboard
-SSD
-DVD-R (blueray are important these days?)

I'm not sure if I missed anything, budget is 1000$ (I can add more if really needed)

The 2nd issue, where to buy it from?

is PCandPARTS good in desktops? should I buy the parts separately and try to build it myself?

Thanks a lot, whatever decisions and suggestions you provide will be taken in consideration, because I'm not a hardware geek and this is the only Lebanese forum with hardware geek people that i respect a lot.

Thanks again
What games do you play ? Games like Total War that only take advantage of the first two cores or games like Battlefield that use every available core ?
Die_Kapitan wroteWhat games do you play ? Games like Total War that only take advantage of the first two cores or games like Battlefield that use every available core ?
Well here's the list of games that I will be playing, remember that I'm not looking for maximum settings, I just wanna play and enjoy.

Assassin's Creed Unity
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare
Battlefield Hardline
FarCry 4
Dragon Age (the new one)
FIFA 15

I also like Total War series, so basically all of the "super" games that will be out by the end of this year.
I suggest that you build the PC yourself as it feels far more rewarding than buying a prebuilt or having someone build it for you, this PC can play most games maxed out, although you might wanna lower the settings for more demanding games to get acceptable frame rates

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (215$ @pcandparts)

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (168$ @pcandparts)

Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (85$ @pcandparts)

SSD: OCZ Vertex 460 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (82$ @pcandparts)

Video Card: Sapphire R9 270X TOXIC (184$ @pcandparts)

Case: SilverStone Temjin TJ04B-EW (159$ @pcandparts)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Semi-Modular (109$ @pcandparts)

For the Optical Drive just pick the cheapest one that fits your needs
Die_Kapitan wroteI suggest that you build the PC yourself as it feels far more rewarding than buying a prebuilt or having someone build it for you, this PC can play most games maxed out, although you might wanna lower the settings for more demanding games to get acceptable frame rates

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (215$ @pcandparts)

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (168$ @pcandparts)

Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (85$ @pcandparts)

SSD: OCZ Vertex 460 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (82$ @pcandparts)

Video Card: Sapphire R9 270X TOXIC (184$ @pcandparts)

Case: SilverStone Temjin TJ04B-EW (159$ @pcandparts)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Semi-Modular (109$ @pcandparts)

For the Optical Drive just pick the cheapest one that fits your needs
Go H61 and V3/Bitfenix Merc Alpha and get an Antec 520W with a 280x instead. Rest seems good. SSD would go 256GB version cz better value.
I chose the Z77 so he can overclock the Graphics Card
Die_Kapitan wroteI chose the Z77 so he can overclock the Graphics Card
The motherboard has nothing to do with the graphics card.

The graphics card has its own chipset and its own logic. In other words, a graphics card is a separate motherboard that has a GPU and its chipset.
You shouldn't use an entry-level mobo (H61) with a high-end graphics card like the 280X, there's no balance
No need for i7 a good i5(haswell) is more than sufficient, mobo should have the same pcie max speed as the graphic card or it will be limited,same goes for ssd,of course USB 3.0 should be there.
Rams 8gb minimum,since games like wwatch dogs are memory eater
Die_Kapitan wroteYou shouldn't use an entry-level mobo (H61) with a high-end graphics card like the 280X, there's no balance
The reason why 'balance' exists is because of bottleneck. Boards don't effect performance, they just connect everything together. He doesn't have a k series processor, nor does he have anything to do with RAID and SSD caching. He just wants to game, and game he shall. The layout of the Asrock board is great for big GPUs. I've used my 3770k with my 7970 on it for a week. Runs great. The PC doesn't care what board you use, that decision is based on your needs.

If he can pay more, I guess he can go H77 for USB 3 and SATA3. but performance comes first on that budget. So I guess it's up to him.
Die_Kapitan and AvoK95 thank you for your response, I just have some humble questions :D

Why did you choose a core i5 over those core i7s?
Is that graphics card good? (will it be enough for the next 5 years?)

THANKS!
vegetaleb wroteNo need for i7 a good i5(haswell) is more than sufficient, mobo should have the same pcie max speed as the graphic card or it will be limited,same goes for ssd,of course USB 3.0 should be there.
Rams 8gb minimum,since games like wwatch dogs are memory eater
All current motherboard have the same PCIE speed. Theyre a standard. SATA as well. They're all chipset features.
ali.bassam wroteDie_Kapitan and AvoK95 thank you for your response, I just have some humble questions :D

Why did you choose a core i5 over those core i7s?
Is that graphics card good? (will it be enough for the next 5 years?)

THANKS!
It's good for your budget. Not for 5 years. Probably 3. Depends on your preference of FPS in games. Turn off AA in all games if you're gaming in 1080P to gain maximum performance. Also learn how to overclock your card. The 280X is more than enough to game any game at max at 1080P. So no worries.

And you choose i5 over i7 is because i7 costs $100 more, and has the exact same performance as an i5. In some benchmarks the i5 actually performs better in rare cases. But an i7 will be better for future DX12 games. However due to your budget, you'll be just fine with the i5 for at least 5-6 years.
If you get an Ivy Bridge CPU I recommend upgrading the CPU when Intel rolls out Skylake, if you get Haswell then delay the upgrade till Intel rolls out Cannonlake
Die_Kapitan wroteIf you get an Ivy Bridge CPU I recommend upgrading the CPU when Intel rolls out Skylake, if you get Haswell then delay the upgrade till Intel rolls out Cannonlake

Too much information that I don't know about :(

Thanks again guys, I have another question or comment,

I feel like I'm paying too much for the case (159$) and power supply (109$), are these normal prices?

THANKS!
Intel new i5 broadwell are coming in December,dunno if it will be much better than haswell, I actually run the 1st gen of i5 and all games run between high and ultra but dunno if next big games will not need a newer i5
@ali.bassam as @AvoK95 said replace the case with a Thermaltake V3. If you want to change the PSU get something at least 80+ Bronze semi-modular like the Thermaltake Smart M, the Cooler Master V or the Antec HCG, semi-modular PSUs are better than their non-modular counterparts in terms of cable management.
@vegetaleb 1st gen i5s are still very good, they're equal to if not better than the AMD FX-8350. In other news, Broadwell was delayed till Q1 2015. AND they're not that much better than Haswell. Real change is coming with Skylake
It's not worth waiting for the new architecture.
Tt Smart series and Cooler Master V series PSUs are in the Lemon List of JohnnyGuru, meaning you should avoid.
80Plus Bronze is not that necessary, but good to have.
When you have a small budget you have to cheap-out on most components that don't effect performance, except the PSU, so a $100 case and PSU are not a very wise choice.

There is no need to do any upgrades to anything except maybe the case and the PSU. everything else is very well and would be a waste to upgrade after only a year. Some people are still using 1st gen i5s and i7s and they have no plans to upgrade them, because they still run fine without any bottlenecking of the GPU.